Page 96 of Drive

“No cure. But all that extra help paid off tenfold. And atSpeak,I have twice the workload of any other editor in chief. I have to listen to the submitted articles audibly while I read through, but it’s worth it for me. And then, when I finish with critiques, I have someone check my work. Turns out I’m the most dispensable employee at my own paper.”

“Jesus, Nate.”

“Worth it, Stella,” he said, pushing off any underlying pity he saw in my eyes as a nuisance, in addition to the admiration.

In his Tahoe, I sat in my seat, staring at Nate with fresh but exhausted eyes.

“You’re staring again.”

“I was just thinking about a book I want to loan you.”

“Do you now?” he said, intrigued.

“Yep,” I yawned. “It’s my favorite. You know some speculate John Lennon was dyslexic. A lot of brilliant people are.”

“You flatter me,” he said dryly.

“The compliment was genuine. And you did spring for dinner.”

“Would have done it months ago, if you’d given me ten damn minutes.”

“I was on a mission. I wanted this job.”

“I know, and I’ll stop giving you shit about it. I know what it meant to you. How compelled you are to tell those stories. It’s one of the things we have in common. Just don’t ever ask me to watch a movie with you.”

“Har, har,” I said as our smiles stretched wide.

When we pulled up to my apartment, I looked for and found Lexi’s car gone. She was most likely at Ben’s place. They’d been spending all their time together, the invitations for me to join them coming few and far between. As much as I hated to admit it, it was too hard being around them, and the rest of the Sergeants, less the Sergeant I still dreamed about.

“Where did you go?” Nate whispered across the cabin of hisSUV.

“Nowhere. Come on, my roommate isn’t home.”

“Lexi?” he asked, hopping out of his truck.

“Yeah, I don’t see her much. We’ve been best friends since junior high. I was following some douche between classes, tripped, fell, and ended up with my little pleated skirt with the big white bow around my waist. She was there to pick me up off the floor.”And history was repeating itself.

The rumble of Nate’s laugh echoed at my back. I hesitated as he stood behind me at the door. It was too late to un-invite him, and I didn’t want to overthink it. Aside from the hand full of lingering stares between us, the night had been easy. I loved easy. Once the door was open, he rushed past me.

“Which one is yours?”

“What?” I asked with my hand still on the light switch. “Where are you going?”

Realization dawned, and my face flamed when he found my room and made a beeline for my closet. “Oh, well, these are justmagical.”

I paused at my bedroom door as he held my solid white roller skates in his hands.

“You are an ass,” I said, walking toward the small bookcase I had next to my bed. I pluckedFightClubfrom the shelf and walked his way.

“Where’s the dress, Stella?” he said, sifting through my racks of T-shirts.

“I don’t have one.” I hadthree.

“Put these on and I’ll give you a raise.”

“Really?”

“No,” he said with a chuckle as he re-shelved my skates. “What’s this? A real record player? Is this closet a time warp?”