Page 70 of I Dreamt That You Loved Me

I leaned into his side and listened to the music with the man who had so quickly but surely become my everything.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“This car is a hotbox.”I rolled down my window and hung my head out of it, panting like a dog while Gabriel drove up our street. My thighs stuck to the scorching vinyl seats and the scent of weed was so strong I was getting high off the fumes.

It was ninety degrees today and Devin’s A/C didn’t work.

“I can’t believe you don’t have a driver’s license,” Gabriel said.

“I can’t believe you do.”

“I’ll give you some lessons this weekend,” he promised. “Just make sure to tell me where I need to go.”

Traffic was so backed up that at this rate, we weren’t going anywhere. “I think the train would have been faster.”

“Yeah, but we have our independence. We can get out and do some sightseeing. Explore all the wonders of the Hudson Valley.” He sounded like a travel brochure. “Hey. This is our first road trip.”

I grinned at him. “If we ever get out of the city, we might see some actual open road.”

“Let’s do a sing-along.”

“I can’t sing. You sing and I’ll listen.”

“You can sing. Everyone can sing.” He flipped through the channels and stopped at an oldies station. “You can go your own way…” He swept his arm toward me.

I rolled my eyes but humored him and sang along to “Go Your Own Way.”

When the song ended, Gabriel put his fingers in his mouth and wolf whistled, then raised his hands and clapped until the light changed and traffic started moving at a snail’s pace. He flashed me a smile that brimmed with pride.

“Your voice sounds exactly like I expected. I knew you could sing.” He glanced over. “I mean, you canreallysing.”

“You’re just biased.” I could carry a tune, but I was no Stevie Nicks.

Nevertheless, we sang along to the radio with the windows down as the traffic crawled. Everyone was heading out of the city to enjoy the summer weather and escape the heat and sizzling asphalt.

Sweat trickled between my shoulder blades. I gathered all my hair and used the elastic on my wrist to secure it in a high ponytail.

When we stopped at the next light, an elderly woman in the passenger seat of the car next to us joined in and sang along to a Cat Stevens song in a sweet, warbling voice that prompted Gabriel to lean out the window and commend her singing. “That was beautiful.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she called back. “In my day, we would call you a looker. Keep an eye on him, honey,” she yelled as they pulled away.

“Have you no shame?” I said. “Making the old ladies swoon.”

“Just keep an eye on me, honey.” He winked. “It’s a wild world out there.”

Tell me about it.

When we finally got onto the Palisades about a million years later, I turned down the volume on the radio. “There’s something I need to tell you before we get to my mom’s house.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, his eyes darting to me then back to the road.

I’d only ever told one person and that was Annika, so I said it in a rush just to get it out there. “My dad was a musician, his name was Nick Ashby, and he was the lead singer of the Rogue Prophets.”

Gabriel exhaled loudly. “Jesus. You can’t do that to me. I thought you had bad news. I thought you were breaking up with me or something.”

“Why would I break up with you when we’re stuck in a car together on our way to my mom’s?” I asked incredulously. “I would have waited until the drive home. But did you even hear what I said?”

He nodded calmly. “I heard you.”