Without further invitation, I open the passenger door and hop inside, fastening my seatbelt. Ryder shifts into first gear and roars down the road.
“What do you think?”
I take in the black leather bucket seats with red stripes down the middle and red trim, the swirled stainless steel of the dashboard, and high-end sound system. The car is a sleek glossy black with a red stripe painted down the middle that matches the interior. I know he must have done some serious work with the engine because it sounds incredible and vibrates powerfully when idling. If this car was a boy, I would be drooling.
“You did this?” He nods. “You really did it?” He nods again, ear to ear grin splitting his face. “It’s gorgeous. Incredible. I want to marry it,” I confess, gliding my hands all over the soft buttery leather, feeling giddy.
“Good grief woman,” he teases. “Regardless, I don’t share.”
I point to the radio. “Do you mind?”
“Go right ahead.” He hands me his phone and tells me to open up a music app he has linked to his sound system. I go through several songs before finding the one I want. Selecting it, I turn up the volume to blast out “Alive” by P.O.D.
“Punch it, Big Daddy,” I tell him. He presses the accelerator and we speed down the road.
“So, where are we headed?”
“You’re the first to get a ride in her, so where do you want to go?”
“I’m the first? Not even your dad?”
“Nope. I wanted it to be you. I knew you’d appreciate her.”
“If it’s a her, then you just destroyed my dreams of marrying it,” I give a mock pout. “Ok, maybe not. She is gorgeous. Aren’t you just gorgeous, Stella,” I coo as I pat the dashboard.
“Stella?” his eyebrow kicks up with mirth.
“Yeah, Stella. A sexy name for a sexy car,” I reply, all serious.
We drive around for a while when Ryder and I both notice at the same time that we are about to pass the Fields. Grinning at each other, he turns left onto the dirt road that will take us to the racetrack.
“I can’t wait to see you race Stella here,” I say as we approach the track. “Now, let’s see what my future wife can do.”
Ryder lines up his Hellcat at the start of the course, revs his engine a few times, wiggling his eyebrows up and down to the time of the revs causing me to bust a gut laughing, and before I know to hang on, he releases the clutch and shoots off in a flash.God, I love this. The adrenaline rush, wind whipping through the open windows, my long hair flying out everywhere. Ryder drives lap after lap, drifting, sliding, speeding around the corners like a demon. I never want it to end.
He shifts down and comes to a stop. “Your turn.”
“I’m sorry, what now?”
“Your turn,” he says, putting the car into neutral and getting out.
“No, Ryder! I can’t!”
“Yes, you can.”
“Are you crazy? I’ll probably drive it off into a tree!”
“No, you won’t.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Elizabeth, get into the driver’s seat.”
“Nuh uh. Nope. No way. You can’t make me.”
I cross my arms, shaking my head no like a two-year-old.Before I know what’s happening, Ryder has my seat belt unfastened and me hoisted up and over his shoulder as he walks over to the driver’s side.
“What is it with you guys always carrying me around like a sack of potatoes!” I shriek and grab onto the back of his shirt which causes me to notice the hard muscles underneath.
