Page 51 of The Night Shift

My curiosity evaporates as soon as Theo lifts his hand to press the Bluetooth button on the stereo. Four words flash across the screen:Theo Carter’s Driving Playlist. Followed by the title of the first song:Kiss Youby One Direction. Exactly one second later a prepubescent male voice fills the inside of the car and when I look to my left, long gone is the man who bought the last blueberry muffin from the hospital cafeteria two months ago just to piss me off. In his place, sits a complete stranger who seems to know all the lyrics to this song and is now singing along as if I’m not even here. When he spots me staring at him, all he does is smile and ask if I’m still cold.

“Thisis what you listen to?”

“It’s nice, huh?” He sounds vaguely proud of himself, and the song goes on playing.

“Sure. If you’re a thirteen-year-old girl.”

Theo lets out an amused huff. “So fucking rude,” he mutters to himself, smiling at the road and I feel its warmth deep in my belly.

A flush rises to the surface of my skin and I look away from his face, which really just means my eyes skate down his arms, over his t-shirt, all the way to his fingers gripping the steering wheel, and — are those gloves? Yes. The man is wearing black fingerless gloves.

Why didn’t I notice them before? They’re kinda nice. I mean as far as gloves go, they’re notbad. Whatever, they’re just gloves.Jesus, Holly. You need to chill.

We stop at a red light when Theo speaks again. “Holly?”

“What now?”

“Are you sure you’re not cold?”

“I’m fine.” I look out the window. It’s fully snowing now. A man runs down a subway station with a jacket on his head. A few steps ahead, two girls stand underneath the awning of a coffee shop. They look like college students — early twenties. One of them has short blonde hair like me and the other’s a brunette. Her dark brown hair is twisted in a loose ponytail. They’re wearing big puffer jackets and holding hands.

The blonde leans down to whisper something in the brunette’s ear, making her laugh. They seem like a couple.

A strong gust of wind whooshes past them, blowing some snow into the blonde’s face. The brunette pulls the other girl’s beanie down, covering half her face, a gesture she clearly doesn’t enjoy. But it doesn’t matter since the brunette is now laughing.

It’s a nice laugh. I can tell.

It makes her companion smile. And she doesn’t seem like someone who smiles that often. She seems like someone who doesn’t enjoy most people’s company. She thinks she is the problem. She probably is.

The blonde girl leans down to kiss the brunette. And she kisses her back. It’s a quiet promise. A silent one. Out of love, I believe.

A car horn goes off and I’m jolted back to reality, vibrating like a snapped rubber band.

“You good?” Theo’s staring at me with a tight frown between his brows.

My face is burning.

“Holly, you’re shaking. I asked you if you were cold.” The accusatory tone in his voice does nothing but irritate me more.

“I’m not cold.” I don’t know where this bullshit concern is coming from, but I’m not a fan. A few seconds pass, and he keeps glancing over at me. Around the fifth time, I speak up: “Whatis it?”

“You’re cold.”

“I just said I’m not!”

“Well, I can see your nipples poking through your dress. So you’re either cold or incredibly excited to be in a closed space with me.”

Everything in me pulls taut and I tip my face down. If my nipples weren’t poking through my dress before, they sure are now.

Theo laughs and turns the dial to increase the heat. “Better?” he asks. Another sidelong glance at me through the red hues of traffic lights.

My thighs squeeze together, and I shift to my right, a vain effort to put some distance between us.

“Are you hungry?” he asks.

“Is being treated like a two-year-old a prerequisite to sit in this car?”

“Wouldn’t know, you’re the first one.”