𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒. 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙩

Jeep

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Lili turned her head towards him, stroking her thumb lightly over Cole's hand that had settled on her thigh. They were driving home from set on a surprisingly warm Vancouver September evening. The sun was slowly setting behind the large buildings of downtown Vancouver and a thought had just crossed her mind.

"Sure." he said, his gaze leaving the road for a second. She took a light breath, trying not to giggle about the fact that she was nervous about such a normal question.

"Can I drive us to work tomorrow?"

His hand tensed a little on her thigh as they came to a hold at a red light. He turned his head towards her and crooked his eyebrow.

"Like, driving my Jeep?"

She didn't know if he was emphasizing the word "my" on purpose or if it just had become a habit. Ever since she'd met him, almost everyone had asked him to let them drive his Jeep. But he was surprisingly stubborn about it. Even for his standards. He just flatly refused to let anyone drive his car. He was almost as protective about it as he was with his cameras.

"Yeah" Lili answered slowly. "I mean you'd have to walk me through, I never really drove stick but... I think I can manage."

She didn't know why, but she'd always wanted to drive the Jeep, since their first adventure in Antelope Valley. That car was attached to a lot of memories of their adventures, no matter if they had taken place in the wilds of Vancouver or the wide fields of poppies near L. A. Plus, it was a challenge and she liked challenges.

For a minute he didn't say anything, then the traffic light jumped to green and to her surprise he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

"Okay."

Lili's mouth dropped open a little. "Wait what?"

"I said okay."

"Just like that? Okay? Cole, I was prepared for a major discussion about this."

He raised his eyebrow at her again. "Why?"

"Why?! Cole you NEVER let anyone drive your Jeep. Like ever. And a lot of people tried. Skeet, KJ, Debby... I think I haven't even seen Dylan drive your car."

"So?"

She couldn't believe the conversation had really gone that way. That it had been that easy to convince him.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just not used to you backing away from something you'd been so stubborn about, that easy."

His hand caressed her thigh lightly, as a slight smile appeared on his face.

"You know that its different with you."

"Different with me?"

They'd reached the parking lot of their building by now and he stopped the car. With an amused expression on his face he turned towards her.

"Yes. And I can't believe you haven't caught up on that."

By now she was utterly confused. She really didn't get what he meant.

"Okay, I know this sounds incredibly stupid, but: why?"

He sighed, cupped her face with his hand and looked straight into her eyes.

"Lili, I'd trust you with my life. Why the fuck wouldn't I trust you with my car?"

...

"How the fuck, do you drive this thing?" Lili groaned and rested her head on the steering wheel, after she'd killed the engine for the fifth time.

She heard Cole chuckle and turned half her face towards him.

"You just need to be a little bit more gentle. You're getting of the clutch to fast."

Lili threw her hands in the air. "I've been driving for almost 4 years, why can't I do this?"

"Because you've always driven automatic, there is a difference. You should have seen me when I started driving this car. My dad almost lost his mind."

She giggled at the mental image of a 16-year-old Cole, trying to figure out the gear shift, his father next to him trying to calm himself down.

Cole nudged her in the side lovingly.

"You laughing about me?"

Lili shook her head. "No, just at the mental image of you trying to figure out a gear shift."

He shook his head and smiled.

"Come on, lets try this again, or we'll be late."