Page 82 of Stand: Part One

My eyes lit up.

“Oh my God,” I whispered under my breath. No fucking way. “You got me my own Ferrari?”

His brows shot together as a scowl twisted his mouth. “Fuck no!” he answered sharply, crushing my exaggerated hopes in an instant. “That’s the key to my Ferrari. I’m finally honoring our bet.”

While I knew there was no way he’d ever buy me a car, the realization that I was finally going to get to drive his Ferrari left me stunned into silence. He didn’t even wait for me to reply, just walked right out the front door, naturally expecting me to follow. His sudden absence woke me out of my shocked daze.

“Wait, really?!” I called, chasing him like I’d just hallucinated instead.

I paused when I saw the car was already waiting for us in the circle drive, its beautiful red paint glistening in the setting sunlight and beckoning me to absolutely shred her out of Darren’s driveway.

“You coming, or was I wrong to give you this?” Darren asked as he stood by the car impatiently.

Excuse you, motherfucker, but I earned this.

It was becoming clear how much he absolutely hated this. It practically oozed from him. Which meant I had to ensure he didn’t regret this when it was over. I wanted as many opportunities to drive all of his sports cars as often as I could.

Dashing to the driver’s side in my stupid heels, my hands shook with excitement as I rounded the open door, wobbly legs ignored and forgotten. Gently lowering myself into the lush seat, I sighed with satisfaction before I reached up to close the butterfly door. It took a little more effort than expected as I had to use more strength than usual to pull the door down to close it.

“Are all Ferrari doors usually this hard to close?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Only the ones with armored plates inside,” Darren answered, already seated in the passenger seat.

I paused for a moment at that, thinking to myself how many times I had opened and closed car doors with him. I realized then that I couldn’t even remember. I hadn’t had much of an opportunity since most of the doors were almost always opened and closed for me by either Darren or a guard.

Either way, I supposed having armored car doors was a good thing, given his “profession” as a glorified crime lord.

With Darren already sitting in the passenger seat, the change in our dynamic was all too noticeable for us both, the hilarity of it being that my feet didn’t even come close to reaching the pedals. Nor could my hands reach the steering wheel.

Feeling around for the seat adjuster, I could see the smirk forming on Darren’s lips as the seat began to inch forward.

“Not a word,” I warned.

He rolled his eyes. “You don’t need to do that. The pedals and steering wheel adjust.”

“They do?” I asked, looking around for the switch. After Darren pointed it out, I held the switch until the pedals were within a comfortable reach, then adjusted the steering wheel. “That feature should come standard in every car. I’ve always hated how close I have to sit to the wheel just to comfortably reach it.”

Darren froze for a moment, a deep frown forming between his brows. “I swear to God, if a fucking airbag is what takes you out…”

I snorted over his words. “Relax. I’m an excellent driver.”

“You damn well better be, or this won’t be happening again,” he warned.

I frowned. “What do you think I’m going to do? Run us off the road?”

He tilted his head to the side, eyeing me like the explanation wasn’t obvious. “It’s been a long time since you’ve driven on public roads.”

No thanks to you, asshole.

I shrugged him off. “It’s like riding a bike.”

The scowl that formed across his face was almost comical. “This car is not a fucking bike, Jaden.”

I tried not to laugh at the offense he was clearly taking by my comparison.

“It sure isn’t,” I said approvingly, smiling with appreciation as I rubbed my hands along the soft leather of the steering wheel. “I’m actually really looking forward to driving by the water, so I hope you’re okay with that.”

He cocked a brow. “Is that your subtle way of alluding to a secret plot to drive us off a cliff and into the ocean?”