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“Or we can take my dad’s Lamborghini.” I wiggle my eyebrows at her.
“You look ridiculous when you do that, you know.” She laughs.
“So whatdaya say? Should we ride in your very lovely Honda or take the Lamborghini?”
“Won’t your dad mind if you drive it?”
“Not at all. He lets me drive it all the time.”
“Really?” she asks.
“No. But he doesn’t have to know.”
“Doesn’t he have cameras up everywhere?”
“Yes, but he won’t say anything as long as we don’t drive into a pole or something. And it’s just down to the coffee shop. It’s not like we’re joyriding drunk at three in the morning.”
“Fair enough. But I hope you don’t get me fired over this.”
“I’ll cover for you. I’ll just tell him I thought it was the company car,” I say.
There’s a crashing sound, and Mittens and Zebra come bounding down the hall, chasing after each other. They end up wrestling each other like one giant ball of furry cuteness.
Ariana sneezes. “When is that doctor coming by again?”
“Oh, I think we forgot to call him. Do you still want an allergy shot?” I ask.
“I’d better get one.”
We head out into the garage, and I open her door for her when we get to the Lamborghini. “Are you sure about this?” she asks. “I really don’t want to get in trouble with your dad.”
“He’s too busy with saving the company to notice whether I’ve taken his sports car out for an hour.”
“Okay,” she says reluctantly, climbing into the low seat and folding herself into the car.
I grab the key from the digitized lockbox where he keeps all the keys to his cars and get behind the wheel.
“You have the code to his safe thingy for his car keys?” she asks.
“I’ve had it for years. I watched him put it in when I was sixteen, and he still hasn’t changed it after all these years. Even when he got a new lockbox. He just put the same code in again.”
“I guess he’s not super concerned that anyone is going to get into his safe.”
“For the most part, the staff around here have been with the family for a long time or they come highly recommended.” I back out through the already-opened garage door, and before long, we’re zooming down the long driveway and toward town. I don’t know if it’s the power of the car as I’m driving or the beautiful girl sitting next to me, but I’m feeling the biggest rush right now. I glance over and the blissful expression on Ariana’s face makes me think she’s feeling the same way.
“Have you driven this thing before?” she asks.
“A few times. I’ve never been able to get used to it.”
“It’s an incredible experience for sure.”
Just as we’re turning into the parking lot for Blue Mountain Brewery, something sharp digs into my ankle, and I yelp.
“What was that?” I look down to see one of the kittens curled up at my feet, attacking my ankles. I reach down and grab her. “What are you doing here, little one?”
Ariana giggles and then sneezes. “She must have snuck in here when we were getting in. I can’t believe we drove all the way here without her revealing herself.” She sneezes again.
I tuck the little gray striped fluffball into my shirt, and she pokes her head out of my collar. “I’m not so sure she’s going to behave herself in here.”