Page 10 of Hers

He told her about his brothers and reminded himself that he needed to call his mother tonight. She would be so excited.

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Slater arrived early to take Sammy driving. After the success of yesterday’s lunch, he was keen to spend more time with Sammy. She opened the door before he even had the chance to ring the doorbell.

“You’re early. That’s good.” Sammy grabbed his hand and held it in hers as she almost ran to the Commodore. “Come on. I can’t wait to get in the driver’s seat again.”

Slater chuckled at Sammy’s enthusiasm as she opened his car door and pushed him in, ran around to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in her seat and shut the door.

“Where are you going to take me? The same place as Brock, or somewhere new?”

Starting the car, he put it into gear and drove toward the beach. “The same place as Brock. I think that’s the best for the first couple of lessons.”

Sammy bounced in her seat with excitement the whole ten minute drive to the beach. She got her L plates out of the glove compartment, and as soon as he parked, she was out of the car and putting them on it.

Slater got out and took a deep breath in of the sea air before he walked around to the passenger side and got in. Sammy was in the driver’s side fixing the mirror and seat. So far so good.

“Okay, so what did you start with Brock yesterday?” He raised a brow as he faced her.

Both of Sammy’s hands sat on the top of the wheel, and she had a huge grin on her face. “We reversed out and drove down to the end of the car-park and back again. Towards the end he let me drive up and down the deserted street.”

Slater wondered why Brock had looked so frazzled when that was all they’d done. Sammy had talked about yesterday like Brock had taken her for a proper drive. Shrugging his shoulders, he put his seat belt on. “Today we’ll do the same and get you used to the car. So how about you put the car in reverse and back out of this spot? Then put the car into drive and go down to the end and around the roundabout and back again. Just drive the same as you drove with Brock.”

Sammy nodded, put the car in reverse, put her foot down on the accelerator and backed out until she hit the curb and went up it. Slater’s stomach came up and back down in seconds as she slammed on the brakes.

“Crap. Forget I did that.” She shot him an innocent smile, put the car into drive, and sped down the end of the carpark.

Holy shit!Thank God he was a shifter, as otherwise he would have just had a heart attack. In a carpark that the top speed should be twenty kilometers per hour, Sammy was doing almost eighty. He had no idea how all the wheels were still on the road as she went around the roundabout. His voice came back up again, and he yelled.

“Slow down. This is not a marathon. You’re in a carpark. Didn’t Brock tell you to slow down?” Slater ran his fingers through his hair and tried not to pull it out.

“No. He told me to have fun and get comfortable with the car. I’m going a lot slower with you than Brock.” She looked at him for way too long nibbling on her bottom lip before she turned her gaze back to the road.

Slater shook his head and took deep calming breath in and out. “Slow down and back out slowly. I might be a shifter, but I’d like to live through this.”

Sammy rolled her eyes at him, again, not looking at the bloody road. “I think you’re being a bit dramatic.”

“I’m not. You need to slow down.” He held his hands out on the dashboard to brace himself.

This time when Sammy backed out, she didn’t swear when she hit the curb, but she did slam the brakes on before she put it into drive and sped off. Sammy slowed down this time but not by much. He grabbed the door handle as she did sixty around the small roundabout. She hit a pothole and swerved.

“Stop now.” He held his chest as it started beating so fast, he was sure it would run out of his body. “Stop! Stop!” He yelled and sore he saw his life flash before him.

Sammy slammed on the brakes, and the car seemed to wobble. She turned to him. “I was slowing down. You don’t have to scream at me to get me to stop.”

“Yes, I do. You weren’t slowing down. For crying out loud, use some common sense. You go slower around the corners and roundabouts. That’s why you lost control of the car over the pothole.” He ran his fingers through his hair, yanking it out. “Ease out of park when you’re backing out and be mindful of the curb.”

“Okay, I get it. But you didn’t have to yell. I’m only learning.” Her back went ridged and her lips thinned.

“I wasn’t yelling.” Slater was, but she was going to kill them with her driving. “You almost killed us.” He knew he was shouting again, but couldn’t help it, how on earth could Sammy not know how dangerous she was in this vehicle.

“I did not. This is an empty car park.” Her voice was louder than her usual, but she wasn’t at the level he was.

“What if we were on the road?” He clenched his fists and closed his eyes for just a moment to calm his bear who was eager to get out of the car.

“We’re not. We are in this empty carpark, so I can learn.” Sammy started the car back up and drove down the carpark at a much better speed.

“This is more like it.” His bear sat back feeling better now she was going a better speed, and he relaxed a little.

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