We’re already a ways out of the city for the event and I thought the middle of the desert would be the perfect place for Penny to practice.
I grab her hand and put the keys in them.
“I don’t know, Linc. I haven’t driven in over a year.” Her cheeks heat, like she’s embarrassed about it.
“If you don’t like it, we’ll switch. But there’s hardly anyone on these back roads. They’re straight and usually two lanes, way different from home.”
She bites her lips and nods, looking at the flashy white convertible.
“Okay,” she sighs, getting into the driver’s seat and moving the mirrors and making adjustments to her seat so it’s just right. “Are we going anywhere in particular?”
“Nope, just drive,” I tell her.
With her sunglasses in place, she starts the engine. She’s nervous and hunching over the wheel like a grandma as we leave the parking lot.
“Relax,” I say, reaching over and placing a hand on her thigh.
“You relax,” she snaps back and I bite my lip to hold in a laugh.
“Go right.”
She puts her blinker on and waits a ridiculously long amount of time to make a safe right-hand turn. She’s tense for a while, but the dry desert air flings her hair around as she drives. Nerves quickly dissipate as she relaxes in her seat and we enjoy the endless scenery around us.
Eventually, she gives me the okay to put on the radio and we listen to music while she drives us with no destination in mind.
When I look over at Penny, smiling as she drives for the first time in a year, my heart feels full. We pass a sign for a truck stop and I point at it and she nods, expertly taking the exit and pulling into a parking spot.
“How’d it feel?” I ask as she turns off the engine.
“It feels like I’ve been holding myself back for a long time and I’m tired of it,” she says, and I know she means more than just driving.
“It’s just you and me, baby,” I say, leaning across the console to grab her chin.
“Yeah, it’s just me and you,” she replies dreamily, capturing her lips with mine.
I don’t know what I expected to gain from this trip, but Penny making this large of a commitment wasn’t even on my radar. I grab her hand and bring it to my mouth.
“When we get home, you can pick something out,” I say, kissing her ring finger.
“Are you ready for when we get home?” she asks.
“We can stay in this bubble for as long as you want, but I’d really like to introduce you as my wife to people, and that doesn’t seem fair to do without our families knowing.”
She nods, looking down at where I hold her fingers.
“Maybe we can tell your brothers first, and then our parents?” she suggests.
“We can do whatever you want, but we have one more day till we have to face reality. So let me take my bride into this shitty truck stop and show her off.”
She grins, kissing me again as we get out and step into the largest truck stop that doubles as a bar and restaurant.
We eat peanuts, order burgers without a care in the world.
No matter what tomorrow brings, we have each other and right now, that’s all that matters.
34
NO PERFECT TIME
