Jessica vs. The Jerk

13. Riding in cars with boys

'Hello, stalker.'

He's not even just smirking anymore -- he's practically laughing, not bothering to hide his amusement.

'I--I'm not--' I flap my hands in a sort of thrilled panic and for once I'm thankful for bumper to bumper traffic because it means Jonah has to keep his eyes on the road and not on whatever expression is happening on my face right now.

'So what's your excuse this time?' he asks, eyes still on the road and smirk firmly in place. He's wearing sunglasses so I can't see his exact expression, but my imagination fills in the blanks.

I exhale sharply and look straight ahead. 'Avoiding the parental.'

I feel him glance at me, but I don't say any more.

'Fair enough,' he says finally.

'Thanks for letting me in,' I say belatedly.

'Not everyday a beautiful girl knocks on my door.' He says it with a chuckle, like it's nothing but a joke, but I find myself tongue-tied.

'As if,' I finally say, when I can breathe again. 'That's such a cheesy line.'

He shrugs, turning his head away as he makes a turn. 'Not if it's true.'

I know I'm blushing, and I'm glad he's wearing tinted sunglasses. I manage to roll my eyes and pretend I'm not having girly feelings right now. 'Does that line actually work?'

This time he doesn't smile. 'Dunno. First time I've used it.'

I look out the passenger side window to hide my face. The aircon hums and there's low-volume music playing in the car. I don't recognize the song, but there's a lot of guitar and angst. It's probably the last time I'll be this close to Jonah Sullivan, and I want to take in all the details.

'Interesting choice for a car.'

He gives me a quick glance. 'Why's that?'

'I don't think anyone else at school drives a car like this.'

'What do the other kids drive?'

'I don't know. Everything I know about cars I learned from TV ads.' My smile is sheepish. 'But I would have expected a cute sports car or a BMW.'

Jonah looks deeply offended. 'What's wrong with my Jeep?'

I look around at the leather interior that gleams like new and the way Jonah strokes the steering wheel lovingly, and I realize I've violated some kind of male code.

'Nothing!' I raise my hands in mock surrender before gingerly patting the dashboard like it's made of fine china. 'It's a beautiful piece of manly engineering. Super comfortable. Very macho!'

Now he looks even more offended. 'Are you mocking my ride?'

'No!' I can't take it anymore and I burst out laughing. 'Honestly, Jonah? I couldn't see you in a zippy little car.'

He gives a satisfied grunt. When we finally get on one of the city's arterial roads, the teasing tone is back. 'So...your place or mine?' The innuendo almost kills me.

'Just drop me off at Greenbelt. I can take a taxi home.'

Traffic isn't moving and he gives me a steady look. 'I'm taking you home.'

I raise my eyebrows. 'You don't even know where I live.'

He sighs and slides the sunglasses to the top of his head so I can see his eyes. The gold flecks sparkle at me, and sitting this close to him I discover the beauty spot that sits just below his left temple.