“I wish I got it,” Chase adds. “My family dynamic is not nearly so amusing.”
“We should hit the road,” Joe interjects, checking the time on his phone. “We’ve already loaded the equipment into the van I borrowed from my cousin. Grant will ride with me and we’ll follow Chase who will take Bowen.”
“Sounds good,” Chase replies casually.
“Wait. Why does Bowen get to ride with Chase?” Grant wants to know.
“Because he’s the new guy and I’m not ready to subject him to Joe’s shitty road trip music,” Chase replies. “We can’t lose another drummer.”
I smirk but Grant’s eyes narrow on Chase. “What car are you taking?”
I didn’t realize Chase had options when it came to transportation but clearly, he does. Chase doesn’t respond to his friend with words, he just smiles very slowly. Grant swears. “Ah come on! I want to ride home with you!”
Chase doesn’t bother to respond again and instead clamps a friendly hand on my shoulder and pushes me toward the alley that leads to the back of his building. “Come on, quick. Before Grant tries bribing you for your spot.”
“I’ll give you half my gig money!” Grant calls out.
But I’m too stunned to answer. My eyes have landed on the car they’re arguing over. I’m not exactly sure what it is, because I’m not a car guy but it’s old, in mint condition, and gorgeous.
“1969 Ferrari Dino 246 GT,” Chase tells me.
“I have no idea what that is, but I’m impressed anyway,” I reply as my eyes slide over the low, sleek lines of the low, glossy cherry red car.
“It’s a classic car, ridiculously expensive, and totally impractical for New England,” Chase explains. “My grandfather gave it to me for college graduation. My brother got a 1964 Maserati Gihbli which is equally as pompous and ridiculous.”
I look up and smile at him. “But you love it.”
“My Ferrari? Yeah. I fucking do.” He grins, his eyes somehow lightening in color and his cheeks blushing sheepishly. “But not Colin’s car. That thing just looks like an older version of a Mazda Miata. A bathtub with wheels. This… My Patrizia, she’s a beauty.”
“You name your cars?” I ask as he opens the trunk for me to put my bag in, next to his which is already there. Then he walks around to unlock my door as he nods.
“Yeah. Always have.”
“Me too,” I reply and get into the car. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze lowering myself into it but it’s spacious enough once I’m seated. And way more comfortable than it appears. I reach over and unlock his door and he climbs in too. “My parents used to do it, so I guess I do it because it feels like tradition.”
“What’s the name of the car you and Autumn share?”
“Clark,” I reply and open my mouth to explain but Chase’s face lights up.
“Because it’s the same car they have inNational Lampoon’s Vacation!”
I nod and he laughs as he puts the key in the ignition and the engine roars to life with a purr. “You hold onto that thing long enough and it’ll be a classic too.”
“Good to know, because we don’t have the money to get rid of it.” I want to smile but can’t quite make my mouth do it. “Anyway, let’s hit the road.”
Chase nods and reverses. The first little bit of the drive is mostly silent. He tells me to find a radio station I like, so I do. He passes the van with Grant and Joe and leads us onto the freeway heading toward Maine. We talk about the scenery, and I tell him about my latest disaster at work. I tripped carrying two glasses of red wine and spilled them. Luckily it was just all over me and not a customer.
“My shirt was black so I tried to just suck it up and keep wearing it, because you couldn’t really see the stains, but do you know how sticky wine is?” I ask as the pine trees and rocky hills blur by outside. “And the only person who had an extra shirt was Murph.”
Chase laughs loudly. “Oh my God, he’s half your size.”
“Yep,” I tip my head back and squeeze my eyes shut at the memory of the one glance I dared to take in the bathroom mirror. “It was so tight I could barely breathe. And short. My bellybutton was exposed for the world to see. And it was pale pink with a unicorn on the front.”
“Tanner must have been thrilled with your look,” Chase says through his belly laugh.
“Harrison was more horrified than Tanner,” I mutter but I’m chuckling a little too. “Tanner joked we should make it the new uniform.”
“I’d have bought an extra couple of glasses of wine with that as my entertainment,” Chase says as he shifts gears. The interstate is busy and there’s a lot of slowing down and speeding up as he maneuvers through traffic. My eyes slide to him at the same time his slide to mine. “Put your hand on the gear shift.”
