Page 42 of The Version You Hide

“Yeah.” I shrug. “Why? Is it okay?”

“Yeah. It’s perfect,” he replies, his eyes wandering over the fabric down to the sandals I’d borrowed from Kristen’s wardrobe. “I mean, it’s fine. It’s nice.”

“Okay,” I say, slowly drawing the word out. “You’re being weird.”

“Sorry.” Dylan directs me to the passenger side, and I can’t help giving him a curious look as he opens the door for me.

“You don’t have to do that,” I say. “It’s not like this is a real date or anything.”

“Ah, yeah. Sorry. I know.” He sounds almost sheepish as his hand goes up to rake through his golden-brown hair. “It’s just that… Sometimes the handle gets stuck.”

“Oh, right,” I say, strangely disappointed that he had another reason for appearing so chivalrous.

I climb in as he slips around the other side into the driver’s seat. The car takes a while to click over, and Dylan breathes a sigh of relief when the engine finally roars to life. “Thank fuck,” he sighs. “I swear this car likes to test my patience.”

A small smile twitches my lips hearing him curse so brazenly. Maybe we have more in common than I realised. He throws the car into reverse and backs out of the driveway and within minutes we’re merging onto the highway.

Several vehicles overtake us as the car struggles to reach full speed and it occurs to me now that I have no idea where we’re going. Dylan had never answered when I’d asked.

“So, where is this party anyway?”

“Cape Charlton,” he replies.

“Huh.” I’m not originally from this area. I’ve heard of Cape Charlton, commonly known as ‘the cape’, but I’ve never ventured out that way. Hell, before Henley found me, I’d never ventured anywhere.

“We’ll be there in a little less than an hour. I can’t push this baby too far or she might die on me.” He chuckles as he gives the dashboard a playful slap.

“An hour!” I complain, although somehow the thought of being in close proximity to Dylan for an extended period of time doesn’t irk me quite the way it should. “Does this thing at least have aircon? It’s so stuffy in here my skin is about to melt off.”

I reach forward and begin twisting random dials on the dash when Dylan’s hand shoots out to stop me. A bolt of electricity arcs up my spine when his hand connects with mine, his fingers pulling back too fast the only sign I get that he feels it too.

“It doesn’t work,” he says, his eyes locking briefly on mine.

“Oh.” Did it just get even hotter in here? I reach downward, gripping the winder and attempt to lower the window to allow airflow. “You must have the only car left in the world with manual window winders.”

The window has barely budged when I hear a crack. “Shit,” I curse, pulling my hand away from the door, the winder still gripped between my fist. “Um, sorry?”

Dylan glances over at me to see what the problem is. I tense, fearing he’s going to be angry when he sees me clutching a small chunk of his car in my palm, but instead he lets out a roar of laughter. “Damn. This car is such a bomb.”

I relax, sinking into the seat, relieved that he can see the funny side. If this had been Ethan’s car, I’d have been dragged from the passenger seat by my hair and left behind on the side of the road somewhere.

In fact, that very thing did happen once. Not because of a broken piece of plastic, but because he had slapped me over something trivial, causing my drink to spill into my lap, soaking the front seat and leaking down onto the floor. I can still hear his voice as though it happened just yesterday.

“Look what you’ve done, you clumsy bitch.”

“Hey.” I flinch at Dylan’s touch as his hand brushes my elbow. My head snaps in his direction. “Where’d you go just now?” he asks.

I exhale a shaky breath, brushing the thought away. “Nowhere.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I say as convincingly as I can.

He looks as though he wants to question me further but then thinks better of it. “Okay.”

His concern fades into a smile. A smile that makes me forget all about Ethan and the horrors of my past.

At least, for a little while.

---