«There's something broken about this, but I might be hoping about this. Oh, what a sin.»
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It turned out...he wasn't kidding. When he said 'romantic getaway in the North' she'd fully believed he was taking the piss. Like the sort of thing someone with Pierre's personality would say to enhance himself, but no. He'd been one hundred per cent serious with the proposal. She'd been reluctant to even get into his car at first, but then again Salma realised there was no other option. And she couldn't let her dress go to waste so sharing a long car ride with the guy was it. This was a situation she willingly accepted for herself. She couldn't blame Sloane or Irina for it. What a bummer.
She looked out the window. The view was appeasing. Salma fiddled with her hands and turned to him, Pierre glanced back for a millisecond, then focused on the road with a smiling face.
"How do I know you're not kidnapping me?"
He scoffed. "Shouldn't you have asked that about thirty minutes ago when I picked you up?" She huffed and drifted her attention to the window once more. "I wouldn't kidnap you because you're very scary, and so are your friends. Don't worry, you'll go back safe and sound by the end of the day."
"You cannot be scared of Irina. She's the closest thing to a golden retriever." Sloane on the other hand...that made sense.
"A very tall golden retriever with judgy eyes." He countered. His fingers tapped the steering wheel, the beat of the music filling the silent gaps. "Aurora helped me to plan this, so if you were in any type of danger, I'm pretty sure Sloane wouldn't have any problem finding you and decimating me."
"How nice of Aurora." She sarcastically said.
Pierre briefly looked at her and grinned. He'd have to somehow arrange something for her to get to know Aurora better, spend proper time with her. Maybe that would help to finally come to some sort of agreement between them. The ride carried on in silence or for the most part it did. They took turns picking the songs. Salma shifted on her seat from time to time, smoothening her dress or tucking strands of hair behind her ears. It felt like a usual thing, not awkward. Weirdly domestic. Ugh.
Everything was supposed to go perfectly this time around. No interruptions or embarrassing charades in public. A real romantic date.
Perhaps.
"What is that?" She broke the silence and pointed at the road ahead, more specifically the footpath on her side.
It was a very deserted place, except for what seemed to be a broken car and two people checking it. A man and a woman. Pierre slowed and as they got closer to the scene, they noticed the girl was on the phone while the guy stared at the car as though that would somehow solve its issues and bring it back to life.
"We should see if they need help." He was already pulling up to the side, ready to turn the engine off.
Salma looked at him. "Are you stupid? This is literally how people get killed or mugged off. In the middle of nowhere by two strangers."
He funnily studied her worried expression and her face dropped with annoyance. "I never pegged you as someone who watches horror movies and gets paranoid about them. More on the side of enjoyment."
"This isn't funny."
The car had stopped close enough for the couple to notice their presence now. "Come on, let's see if we can lend a hand and then we'll resume our date. Yes?" The good samaritan act didn't suit him at all, she decided.
