“Caelyx, that car is probably worth more than everything I’ll ever have in my entire life combined.”
He stared back at me for a few moments, before the corner of his mouth lifted up in a smug little grin.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about the monetary value of everything you’re going to end up having in your life, Cupcake. And like I said, it’s insured. Don’t worry about it.”
His tone was so casual and relaxed, it was obvious he really wasn’t worried. But the idea of taking it out without him… If something were to happen, I wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt.
“I can’t take it without you,” I managed to stammer out.
“So I’ll go with you,” he said. “I’m used to being your passenger princess now, anyway.”
It was all just so easy for him, but that was exactly how I wanted it. I’d lied to him about why my mom was at my sister’s now, which I did feel bad about, but it couldn’t be helped. Iknew the fact that he couldn’t help me with any of my financial problems was frustrating for him, and I didn’t want a constant reminder of how helpless he was when it came to my issues hanging over his head. He’d done enough for me as it was. I didn’t want him stressed out along with me.
Plus there was the fact that I hadn’t even really explained my mom’s addiction issues to him. It wasn’t that I thought he wouldn’t understand, exactly. He’d told me that his mom had similar issues, but there was a big difference in the way unfulfilled, waspy housewives who used wine to cope with their neglectful husbands were perceived, versus someone like my mom. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed by her, but… It was easier for me if he didn’t know.
After a little more back and forth of him convincing me that everything would be totally fine, I gave in. I’d never gotten in a wreck, anyway. And as far as the house… I’d just have him stay out in the car while I quickly checked everything out.
Once we’d bundled up into our winter coats, we loaded into the Porsche. Carefully and gingerly, I slipped the key into the ignition, and the car rumbled to life around me. It was quiet, not like my loudly grumbling Toyota, the vibrations of the engine a barely-there hum under my feet.
Glancing over at Caelyx, I saw he was totally relaxed in the passenger seat, watching me with some amusement.
“How do I adjust this seat?” I asked. It was by far not the first time in my life I’d been embarrassed and annoyed with my short legs. “I can barely reach the pedals.”
He chuckled, walking me through the process of adjusting everything to my liking. Once I was settled, I put it in gear and backed out. It was a smooth drive, so much smoother than anything I’d ever experienced. It would be way too easy to get used to driving something like this.
Caelyx fiddled with the high-res screen in the center console, scrolling through a few options until the bluetooth connected to his phone and started playing music from a playlist. He kept it at a low volume, unlike the screaming rock I usually subjected him to in my car, so we could talk. After a few minutes, the intense nerves in my stomach started ebbing out, and I realized I probably wouldn’t spontaneously fling us off a cliff into a fiery death or anything.
“It’s pretty nice, right?” He finally asked, after he’d given me a long stretch of silence so I could focus. He’d probably been waiting until I stopped white-knuckling it on the steering wheel before saying anything.
“Yeah,” I admitted, because it felt wrong to try and downplay how good it felt to drive something this luxurious. It was so responsive and fluid, nothing like the jerky, temperamental sedan I was used to. “I wish I could have a car like this.”
“You can,” he assured me, and I scoffed, keeping my eyes on the road.
“Yeah, right. Maybe after I put, like, 30 years into a company and claw up the corporate ladder like a money-hungry zombie.”
“I think sooner than that,” he stated. “You look so hot right now.”
“So I don’t look hot when I’m driving my regular car?” I questioned, and he laughed.
“You do! I just mean you look like you belong in this car. It suits you.”
“Please.”
“Yours can be black, though,” he commented, and I couldn’t help but shake my head. I was pretty sure there was nothing I could do or say that he wouldn’t find hot, so there was no point in arguing or denying it.
An hour or so passed while we chatted about various things, until his phone vibrated. When he turned on the screen to check the notification, he heaved a sigh.
“A text from your dad?” I guessed, and he rolled his eyes up to the roof as he nodded.
He and Faulkner had been messaging back and forth for the past few days, which Caelyx wasn’t happy about. I could only nod sympathetically and wait for him to say something else. The idea of him finding out that I’d met with his dad behind his back, not once but twice, totally freaked me out.
“He wants to go to dinner tonight,” Caelyx commented, groaning lightly. “God, what doesn’t he get? I’m doing everything he told me to do, why can’t he just leave me alone?”
They obviously had a complicated type of relationship that I didn’t exactly understand. I got why Caelyx was so bitter about the whole thing, but I also kind of knew Faulkner’s perspective on it. He wasn’t trying to bother Caelyx, he was trying to start the process of fixing things between them. But being that I wasn’t even supposed to know any of that, I couldn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry,” I commented, biting down into my lip. “He did say he was proud of you,” I said, because I’d read it in the text he’d shown me.
“That’s a trap,” he responded flatly. “He’s trying to lull me into complacency by making me think I actually did something right, just so he can come down on me harder.”
