Page 34 of Sweet Temptation

She nodded and clambered across to the driver’s seat before I climbed into the car next to her. My heart was still racing as she pulled away. I was never driving again.

Unlike me, Anna had absolutely no fear on the road. Her eyes practically lit up when she got behind the wheel, and I wasn’t sure if I felt more traumatized by my driving or hers after she’d raced to the burger joint and back to school in record time.

“I’m shaken. Totally shaken,” I said as I jumped out of the car when we finally arrived back at the school parking lot. I couldn’t get clear of the vehicle fast enough.

“You weren’t that bad,” Anna said as she climbed from the front seat.

“She’s probably talking about your driving, Anna.” Sawyer looked a little shaken himself as he got out of the car. “Are you sure you’re not the one who needs a lesson?”

“What? I can’t help that I get my left and my right mixed up sometimes,” Anna replied.

“I was thinking more about the way you accelerated toward that yellow light,” I recalled. “We nearly took out that old lady.”

“I mean, I thought it was a universal rule that everyone went faster when the lights were about to go red.”

I shook my head and glanced at Sawyer. “Remind me to never, ever, ever get in a car with Anna again.”

Normally I would have expected him to laugh and join in with the joke, but Sawyer looked as pale as I did, and he nodded emphatically. “I’d rather have you driving me, Isobel, and that’s saying something.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “You’re both overreacting.”

“Anna, you kept trying to drive on the wrong side of the road!”

“Well, I can’t help that we drive on the other side of the road in England.”

“But you learned to drive in America.”

Anna simply shrugged, and we shook our heads at her. I had no idea why she thought helping me drive was a good idea. She barely knew the road rules herself.

“Maybe get an actual instructor next time, Isobel,” Sawyer said. Although I agreed with him, I wasn’t sure I’d be brave enough to try again.

Anna let out a long, defeated sigh. “Sorry, Isobel. I thought it would be easy to teach you.”

“It’s not your fault.” I gave her a tight smile and patted her arm. “I told you I’m a terrible driver. But maybe hold off on committing to that career as a driving instructor.”

“And maybe question if you should get behind the wheel yourself,” Sawyer added. “Seriously, do you always drive that fast?”

Anna lifted her hands in the air. “I said I’m sorry.”

“And we forgive you.” I shot Sawyer a warning look. “Now, our burgers are probably getting cold. We should go find Wes so we can eat them.”

“He’ll still be in our room,” Sawyer said. “I’ll text him and tell him to meet us down by the lake. The sun’s finally out, and I want to enjoy it while we can. Who knows how long it will stick around for.”

“I’ll text Cress,” Anna said. “She should be awake by now.”

We slowly wandered down to the large lake behind the dormitories, and I relished the feeling of soft earth beneath my feet instead of the pedals of my car. There was a wide-open grass area on this side of the water, and we found a spot to sit close to the water’s edge.

My heart was still struggling to return to its normal rhythm after the terror of my driving experience, and I took deep breaths in and out as I tried to relax. The sun was soothing, and it didn’t take long before I felt more like myself.

“I can’t believe you guys went to get breakfast without me,” Cress said as she joined us. Her hair was still damp from her shower, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. It was almost unfair how pretty she looked in the mornings without trying at all.

“You were still snoring when I came by your room,” Anna said.

“I don’t snore!”

“Don’t you?” Anna gave her a wink.

“I don’t!”

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