Page 46 of The Friendly Fall

“You can explode the entire truck if you don’t get your timing right.”

I roll my eyes. “Ha ha. Okay, Mr. Smarty Pants, no more listening to you.”

He leans back and chuckles, like he’s not putting both of our lives at risk by teaching me to do this.

I slowly let off the clutch and give it some gas.

The truck lurches forward…

And then dies.

“Ugh!” I facepalm myself. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Yes, you can.” Nick chuckles, smiling at me. “It might take a second to get the feel for it, but you will. Just try it again.”

I take a deep breath, put the truck back in neutral, and start it again, going through Nick’s instructions in my head again.

“This is going to takeallnight.”

“Lucky for you, I’ve got nowhere to be.”

I shoot him a look as he bursts into laughter. Shaking my head, I refocus, releasing the clutch and tapping the gas…

And it doesn’t die this time.

“All right!” Nick cheers, giving me a thumbs up. “Now, let’s get moving.”

“Wearemoving,” I say, eyeing him. “I think this is a win in and of itself.”

“Yeah, at a snail’s pace. Go ahead and give it some gas, and shift into second.” He shows me the pattern again, and nods.

Ugh.

My heart flutters anxiously as I shift, the truck lurching again. I catch my breath, halfway bracing for it to die, but it doesn’t.

Yes!

“See, not a big deal. Let’s keep rolling down this road.” Nick points down the endless dirt road. “And then we’ll practice stops and takeoffs. Those will be the hardest when it comes to getting used to driving. You’re a natural though.”

“I’m not,” I correct him with a laugh. “You’re beingwaytoo nice to me about this.”

“When I taught my sister how to drive a standard, she seriously killed it over and over for the first two days of practicing. I would give yourself a little credit, Eliza.”

I nod. “I keep forgetting you have a sister. Where does she live, again?”

“She actually lives about three hours away with her husband and their two kids.”

“Is she older than you?”

“No, she’s actually four years younger than me. She’s just way further ahead when it comes to settling down than I am.”

“I know that feeling,” I comment, thinking of my brother. “My older brother is married and lives in Germany, but they don’t have kids yet. I think they’re planning to soon though. They’ve spent the last few years traveling.”

“Ah, that sounds sophisticated.” Nick chuckles. “I haven’t really traveled much. I’ve never even been out of the country.”

“I’ve only been out of the country a few times,” I go on to say, ignoring the fact that it was always with Devon.

“Where have you been?”

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