Page 74 of The Girlfriend Card
“We can both see other people. It just has to be … discreet.” I shot him a glance. “Which is what I wastryingto tell you over text that one day.”
He slowly turned to me with a knowing smile and met my eyes. “Yeah?”
I nodded, my stomach twisting into knots. “Yeah.”
“Huh. Good to know.” He said, confidently taking that information into stride. “Guess that means I shouldn’t show up at your work anymore then, eh?”
I giggled. “Probably not.”
“The good news is, we’ll be plenty discreet out here,” Dakota said as he turned off the road and pulled into a massive—and totally empty—parking lot outside of a factory. “You ready to learn how to drive?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be!”
19
You Got This
Dakota
“Remember,” I instructed, my voice calm and encouraging, “let the clutch outslowly.”
“Got it.” Ottavia nodded, determination etched into her face as she gripped the steering wheel. But her eagerness got the better of her, and she dropped the clutch too quickly. With a chirp of its tires, the turbocharged Porsche lurched forward. Our bodies jolted forward, too, but our heads whipped as the engine abruptly died and ground us to a sudden halt.
“Sorry! Sorry! I keep doing that!” She turned to me, her eyes large and apologetic.
“No worries.” I waved my hand. “Besides, what’s one more concussion? I was going to donate my brain to science for CTE research, anyway.”
“Dakota! Noo!” She laughed, her hands on her heart. “Maybe I shouldn’t do this? I’m not getting it—”
“Relax, I’m kidding.” I reached over and gently patted her thigh. “Trust me, you’re doing fine. It takes a little practice to get the feel, that’s all. But you’ll get it, babe. I promise.”
She nodded with renewed resolve. “Thank you.”
“Try again. This time, try to let the clutch up as slowly as you can.”
Taking a deep breath, Ottavia started the engine once more. This time, she showed more restraint, the Porsche smoothly accelerating as she gradually released the clutch.
“We’re going! We’regoing!” she exclaimed, her infectious laughter filling the car.
“Now, once the clutch is allthe way out, you can take your foot off the pedal.”
She did, her cheers growing as she steered around the parking lot in first gear.“Woooooooooooo!”
I couldn’t help but smile. I felt pretty honored thatIwas the one to teach her how to drive a car. Seeing that pure joy on her beautiful face, and hearing her honeyed laughter made a warm feeling spread through my heart.
“You’re doing great, Ottavia.” “Now give it some gas. But be easy with it, okay? This baby has a few horses under the hood.”
She gently pressed the accelerator, and the car responded with a spirited growl. I watched her confidence grow as she drove around the empty lot. Slowly, the drone of the engine grew louder as the RPMs climbed.
“Now what!?” she asked.
“Now you have to shift into second gear.”
“Oh God!” she yelled, overwhelmed by the task.
“You can do it! Just let off the gas, press the clutch in, and shift.”
She tried to jam the shifter into second gear, but it wouldn’t go, and I winced when I heard the gears grind with a metal-on-metal crunch.
