Summary: Colt isn’t about to let Gabi participate in the big job without some additional driving lessons, but that might not be his only motivation for offering to teach her.
Colt leans against the side of Gabi’s car, arms crossed, with that same smug look that gets under her skin every time. “Okay, Gabi, if you are going to insist on doing this, I need to take you out for another driving lesson first.”
Gabi rolls her eyes. “I passed my driver’s license test with flying colors, as you know. Is this just a lame excuse to get me to hang out with you again?” As much as he infuriates her, she finds some strange satisfaction in their witty banter. She gets the feeling that he’s used to girls falling all over themselves for him, not that she’s paid much attention to the whole handsome, dark and broody vibe he’s got going on. She’s here for Logan, even if he doesn’t seem to want her here right now.
“Oh, Gabi.” Colt laughs and shakes his head. “I know you’re smarter than the average eighteen-year-old, but you are just about as naive as they come. Did you already forget what happened in the parking garage? You think you are ready for anything that could happen?”
God she hates when he’s right, but she could do without his condescending tone. “Like you are so much older and wiser than me.”
“I may not be much older, but I’m much more streetwise. If you don’t want to do this, I have better things I could be doing with my time. I just don’t need you messing this up for everyone, so if you are still in, let’s go.” Colt opens her driver side door and waits.
Gabi looks at the stairs leading to Logan’s loft where he stormed off some time ago. She wishes it were him taking her out for lessons, but the more she’s tried to be a part of all this, the more he’s pushed her away. Maybe if she can prove to him she can handle it, he’ll change his mind. “I don’t know how much more we are going to accomplish in one lesson, but if it makes you happy, fine.”
Gabi gets in the driver seat and Colt grabs several orange traffic cones and puts them in the backseat before sitting next to her in the passenger seat and punching an address into his phone’s GPS. Gabi follows the directions and a short while later they arrive at an abandoned factory with an enormous empty parking lot. There’s a few street lights around the perimeter, but other than that, its fairly dark.
Colt gets out of the car and sets up a narrow corridor of traffic cones behind her car spaced several yards apart, about the length of football field in total, and then gets back in beside Gabi. “We are going to focus on defensive driving today. If all goes well, we’ll get out of there undetected, but if any obstacles come up, you need to know how to get around them, so to start, back up between the cones all the way to the end.”
The width of the corridor is barely enough to clear her tires. Gabi checks her mirrors and then looks over her shoulders down the middle of the path. She steps on the gas and is pleased with herself as she gets through the first and second set of cones without running them over.
“Stop!” Colt commands. “I hate to break it to you, but if you have someone after you, five miles per hour isn’t going to cut it. I want you going at least sixty by the time you reach the end. Start over.”
“I was just warming up,” she lies. It was taking all her concentration to stay in a straight line that she hadn’t even given a thought to speed. She sets herself up again and then pushes down on the pedal, quickly gaining speed but running over the second set of cones. “Oops.”
Colt presses his lips into a thin line. “And that’s where you would have been caught already. Start again.” Gabi tries over and over, making it a little further each time before she veers off course, but Colt still isn’t satisfied. “Maybe if I go stand at the end, the thought of hitting me will be motivation enough.”
Gabi laughs for the first time all night. “As obnoxious as you can be, I don’t want to plow you over with my car…most of the time.”
“Maybe I need to try harder then.” Colt smirks and something about the way his eyes flicker in the moonlight makes her feel a certain way she doesn’t want to feel about him. He can be such an arrogant asshole, but when it’s just the two of them, he seems to forget every so often he’s trying to shut everyone out, and lets the real Colt slip through.
Gabi’s more determined than ever this time, not just to prove to Colt but to herself as well that she can do it. She focuses on keeping the wheel steady as she looks back and goes. Her heart races as she gets closer and closer to the end, afraid to mess it up at the last second. When she cleanly sails through the last two cones, she is so excited she almost forgets to put the car in park. She leans over and hugs Colt before quickly retreating as heat rises in her cheeks once she realizes she got swept up in the moment. “Sorry, I got a bit carried away there.”
“That’s twice tonight. Keep doing that I might think you are starting to like me or something.” She still detects a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but his smile seems genuine for once.
The possibility of Colt wanting her to want him shouldn’t give Gabi butterflies, but it does. She looks straight ahead out the windshield to avoid giving herself away. “Alright then, what’s next?“
Over the next couple of hours Colt sets up several obstacles and scenarios, teaching Gabi how to maneuver around each one. There are a couple spin outs and traffic cone casualties, but for the most part, she thinks she’s done well and feels much more prepared.
It’s dark and nobody is around once they get back to the shop. “Shit. I didn’t realize how late it was again. I’ve gotta get home before my dad gets home from work.”
“I’ll take you,” Colt offers.
“No, that’s okay. I can walk.” Gabi doesn’t know why she’s saying no when she wants to say yes, but she still never wants to give in to him no matter what it is.
Colt lets out an exasperated sigh. “You know, if I offer to do something nice for you Gabi, you can just say yes for once. You don’t really want to walk home alone at this time of night, do you?”
Gabi shakes her head. Of course she doesn’t, nor does she hate the idea of him taking her. “No I don’t.”
“That’s what I thought.” Colt grabs an extra helmet, handing it to her.
“Oh,” Gabi tentatively takes the helmet. “I didn’t know we were going to ride that.”
“Don’t tell me you are surprised by this, Gabi. If you know anything about me by now, you know I only drive cars when absolutely necessary. Now I can show you why.”
“I guess,” she replies nervously, all the horror stories her father has ever told her about motorcycles swirling around in her head. “But please be careful.”
Colt swings his leg over the bike and turns back to her. “I know it’s your first time. I’ll go easy on you.” He winks at her before he turns back around. She knows he’s talking about the motorcycle, but the innuendo makes her blush instantly. She quickly puts her helmet on to cover it up and climbs on behind him. She doesn’t know what to do with her hands. Is there somewhere to hold on? That doesn’t seem to be the case so she timidly puts her hands on either side of his waist, and Colt Chuckles. “You are going to need to hang on much tighter than that.”
Gabi scoots up further and slides her arms around Colt securely. His leather jacket rides up just enough for her to feel his taut ab muscles through his grey t-shirt. She’s close enough to smell the leather mixed with his earthy scented shampoo. Of course she’s always found him attractive, but taking him all in like this is almost overwhelming and she hopes if he feels how fast her heart is fluttering in her chest, he assumes it’s just because she’s nervous about the ride.
Colt Rev’s the engine and takes off through the open garage door. The jolt’s enough to make her feel unsteady and she holds onto him for dear life. He rounds the corner right away and she just about panics, feeling like she’s going to slide right off, but she doesn’t as Colt smoothly steers back upright. It feels like they are going really fast but when she checks the speedometer, he’s going just about the speed limit and she knows it’s only for her sake. Once her body decides she’s not going to die and returns to its normal state, she actually starts to enjoy herself and can see why Colt likes it so much. All the cliches are true, and it’s a sort of freedom and exhilaration you just can’t get driving a car.
Colt must notice her hold on him loosening as she relaxes because he starts to pick up speed little by little as if waiting for her to react, but she doesn’t. She feels safe with him. He misses a turn, but he’s got her address typed in, so she assumes he’s taking a voluntary detour to prolong the ride, and she’s not going to complain. Even if she did get lost with him, at this point she wouldn’t mind.
Despite taking the long route home, the ride is over all too soon. Colt stops in front of her house and they both dismount and take off their helmets. “You didn’t hate that at all, did you?” Colt asks with a knowing grin on his face.
“I won’t be giving up my four wheels for two any time soon, but I can see the appeal now.” Gabi bites her lip, realizing how uncomfortably close they are standing to one another.
Colt lifts a hand to her face and gently tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She holds her breath as his fingers slowly trail down the back of her neck sending shivers down her spine, but then he swiftly pulls his back, clearing his throat. “Your, uh, hair was all messy from the helmet.”
She’s almost certain he was about to kiss her before he changed his mind, and she’s both relieved and severely disappointed that he didn’t. It felt right in the moment, but now she’s thinking of Logan. He’s told her to forget about him, but she know that’s not what he really wants. But what does she want? “Thank you. And thanks for the ride…and the lessons.”
Colt gives her shoulder a squeeze. “Just don’t go telling everyone how charitable I’ve been. We wouldn’t want them thinking I’ve gone soft.”
Gabi laughs. “We wouldn’t want that now, would we? Goodnight, Colt.”
“Goodnight, Gabi.” Cold puts his helmet back on and rides off, the sound of his motorcycle trailing off in the distance as she goes inside to get whatever sleep she can before the morning comes.