Page 178 of The Night Shift

“Kinky.”

She jabs her elbow straight into my ribs, right over the crusted-over stab wound. Pain sparks, hot and sharp. I smile through it.

“I’m going to accelerate. You’re going to steer us forward. When I tell you to turn, you turn.”

“That’s it?” she exclaims.

“That’s it.”

“Not too fast, okay?”

“You’ll be fine.”

“Just tell me when —”

I press the gas. The car jolts forward. She squeals, slamming back into me. My arm tightens around her waist, keeping her steady, my fractured wrist screaming in protest.

“You fucking asshole!” She whips around to glare at me.

My head falls back against the seat, laughter shaking through me. “You need to learn how to relax.”

“You almost killed me!”

“No,you’vealmost killed me. That was just a little fun. You really think I’ll let something bad happen to you?”

“You’re the bad thing that’s happening to me.”

“I’m flattered.”

Her lips press into a tight line. She faces forward again.

I step on the gas slowly this time. We roll forward smoothly. Her hands are still tense on the wheel, but not as bad.

“All right, turn left.”

She jerks the wheel left — too sharp, too fast. We lurch sideways, then straighten out again. She gasps, then laughs, bright and surprised.

“Not bad. But you can do better.”

She tries again, this time smoother, more controlled. The car glides into the turn without so much as a jolt.

“I’m doing it!”

I press the accelerator a bit more, speeding us up. “Told you.”

She turns to me, eyes alight. “Can we do it again?”

“Of course, we can.”

And so, we do. Again, and again, and again. Five loops around the lot. Each time, her turns get smoother. Each time, she leans back into me a little more, weight resting into my chest. Every time, her shoulder bumps my bad hand, and a fresh pain slices up my arm. But I don’t say a word. I can’t.

Holly is laughing.

She is laughing and there’s nothing sharp or defensive about it. No sarcasm, no edge. Just pure, unguarded joy. It cracks something open inside me, something warm and unfamiliar, something I don’t have the words for yet. All I know is that seeing her happy makes me happy. I want to keep her like this forever. I want to bottle up this moment and trap it someplace where nothing and no one can ever take it away. I want to protect her happiness forever.

“You’re really getting the hang of this.”

She glances back at me, laughter still lingering in her eyes. “No thanks to my shitty teacher.” Her grip on the wheel wavers slightly and the car wobbles beneath us.