She waves me off, reaching for her purse. “Oh, I’ll be fine. I’ll catch an Uber or something.”
“Nonsense. Let me give you a ride.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she says.
“I insist.”
“Well, if youinsist.” She’s mocking me, but not unkindly.
I lead the women to my car, which is parked right in front.
“You are not supposed to park here,” Gia says smartly when I pull open the door. “Says it’s reserved for the owner.”
“Don’t tell me,” Seraphine says, turning toward me.
I only smile in return.
“What did I miss?” Gia asks.
Seraphine rolls her eyes as she drops into the passenger seat. “Heisthe owner, Gia.”
Giavanna gasps, looking at me and then nodding in approval. “Hell yeah.” She holds her hand up for a high-five, so I give her one and shake my head. She’s fun.
She gets herself into the back seat as I round the car and get into the front.
“This is a nice car, Elliot,” Gia says from the back. “Some kind of Porsche or something?”
I flinch. Not because there is anything wrong with a Porsche, but how do you get them mixed up?
“Tesla, actually. S Plaid model.”
“Oh, fancy. I hear Ian McKellan is kind of a jerk though.”
“Ian Mckellan?” I question. What did he ever do to anyone?
“Uh, yeah. The guy who made Tesla.”
I chuckle under my breath. “You mean Elon Musk?”
“Sure, whatever.”
Seraphine giggles from beside me, and I reach over to take her hand.
“For the record, Ian McKellan is a great man,” I say.
“Professor X, right?” she asks.
“Not quite,” I answer.
“Gia, just stop. You’re making yourself look like a fool.”
“Well, I’m sorry I don’t know all the actors out there, Sera. Sheesh.”
“So, is someone going to tell me where I’m going?”
Both women burst out into laughter, and I find myself just driving as I wait for them to get themselves together. Seraphine finally rambles off Gia’s address.
It takes an hour to drop off Gia and get back to my place, but I don’t mind. I’d rather make sure Seraphine’s friend got home safe. Besides, now that we’re here, I have Seraphine all night long, in my house. And tomorrow is Sunday, no work, meaning I get to keep her all day too. And if I’m lucky, or particularly charming, maybe I can convince her to stay tomorrow night as well since we’re going to the same place for work in the morning. It’s a card I plan to play as often as I can.
