with cars for now, and this one will get us home in just a few minutes, if we’ll just get in it.”
To that end, she took his arm and led him around to the passenger side, opened the door, but still had to practically shove him into the vehicle. Moving the seat back to give him more room for his long legs made him growl, and she had to go through another explanation about comfort, convenience, and power seats.
When she finally got into the driver’s seat, she was no longer hoping he’d be amazed, she just wanted to calm his unease, and so she warned him, “The engine is going to start working now when I turn this key. You’ll be able to hear it working, so don’t be alarmed by the sound. And please don’t be alarmed when the car starts to move. That’s what it’s supposed to do. Okay? Ready?”
His nod was curt, stiff. He was holding on to the edge of the seat with both hands and looking straight out the windshield at the long road before them, the landscape broken only by an old barn in the distance. He was about as tense and wary as a man could get.
Roseleen sighed. She thought briefly about delaying their departure so she could explainsome more, but figured nothing was going to make his first car ride easier for him. So she turned the key. But she had forgotten about the radio that she hadn’t bothered to turn off. It came on now with the purr of the engine, and Thorn’s wide blue eyes shot right to it.
“It talks? You said ’twas not alive!”
She couldn’t help it. His tone was so accusing and disgruntled, his expression so comical in its mix of outrage and awe, she had to laugh. The station she’d previously been listening to was having a newscast, so they were only hearing a single voice speaking, but that was enough to make him think she’d lied to him.
“That isn’t the car speaking, Thorn, it’s a radio. It plays music, and there are lots of different kinds to choose from.” She switched through two noisy rock stations until she found something mellow. “See? A radio is just another convenience, this one for our entertainment.”
He didn’t appear to be listening to her, was still staring at the radio, and probably trying to decide whether he should believe her. She rolled down the windows to let some of the heat out of the car, but he didn’t even notice, so rapt was his attention on the radio.
Roseleen decided to get them home, the sooner the better. But when she put the car into gear and stepped on the gas, he shot half out of his seat, and her own reaction was to slam on the brakes, sending them skidding several feet in the dirt beside the road.
At that point, she didn’t know what to do to calm him down, and she needed to calm down herself, because his nervousness was making her jumpy. And then she did know what she could do. That that particular solution came to her so readily could only be because she’d been thinking about it ever since he’d reappeared, but she wasn’t going to berate herself for that. Help was help, and she needed some to get his mind off the terror of his first experience with a car.
So she turned to him, leaning toward him and putting her hand at the back of his neck to urge him to meet her halfway. His eyes came to her instantly at her touch, questioning, then suddenly heated when he figured out the answer for himself. But he didn’t move an inch toward her. He was going to make her move some more and do the kissing as well, because he probably wasn’t taking any chances with their bargain.
But that was okay. She wasn’t thinking about bargains right now. She’d found an excuse to kiss him that her morals couldn’t quibble over, and she was going to do it quickly before she could change her mind.
So she did scoot over more, and she even wrapped her arms about his neck. And between a few brief kisses to start, she said, “Relax. This doesn’t have to be a terrible experience for you. You should be enjoying your first ride in a modern
To that end, she took his arm and led him around to the passenger side, opened the door, but still had to practically shove him into the vehicle. Moving the seat back to give him more room for his long legs made him growl, and she had to go through another explanation about comfort, convenience, and power seats.
When she finally got into the driver’s seat, she was no longer hoping he’d be amazed, she just wanted to calm his unease, and so she warned him, “The engine is going to start working now when I turn this key. You’ll be able to hear it working, so don’t be alarmed by the sound. And please don’t be alarmed when the car starts to move. That’s what it’s supposed to do. Okay? Ready?”
His nod was curt, stiff. He was holding on to the edge of the seat with both hands and looking straight out the windshield at the long road before them, the landscape broken only by an old barn in the distance. He was about as tense and wary as a man could get.
Roseleen sighed. She thought briefly about delaying their departure so she could explainsome more, but figured nothing was going to make his first car ride easier for him. So she turned the key. But she had forgotten about the radio that she hadn’t bothered to turn off. It came on now with the purr of the engine, and Thorn’s wide blue eyes shot right to it.
“It talks? You said ’twas not alive!”
She couldn’t help it. His tone was so accusing and disgruntled, his expression so comical in its mix of outrage and awe, she had to laugh. The station she’d previously been listening to was having a newscast, so they were only hearing a single voice speaking, but that was enough to make him think she’d lied to him.
“That isn’t the car speaking, Thorn, it’s a radio. It plays music, and there are lots of different kinds to choose from.” She switched through two noisy rock stations until she found something mellow. “See? A radio is just another convenience, this one for our entertainment.”
He didn’t appear to be listening to her, was still staring at the radio, and probably trying to decide whether he should believe her. She rolled down the windows to let some of the heat out of the car, but he didn’t even notice, so rapt was his attention on the radio.
Roseleen decided to get them home, the sooner the better. But when she put the car into gear and stepped on the gas, he shot half out of his seat, and her own reaction was to slam on the brakes, sending them skidding several feet in the dirt beside the road.
At that point, she didn’t know what to do to calm him down, and she needed to calm down herself, because his nervousness was making her jumpy. And then she did know what she could do. That that particular solution came to her so readily could only be because she’d been thinking about it ever since he’d reappeared, but she wasn’t going to berate herself for that. Help was help, and she needed some to get his mind off the terror of his first experience with a car.
So she turned to him, leaning toward him and putting her hand at the back of his neck to urge him to meet her halfway. His eyes came to her instantly at her touch, questioning, then suddenly heated when he figured out the answer for himself. But he didn’t move an inch toward her. He was going to make her move some more and do the kissing as well, because he probably wasn’t taking any chances with their bargain.
But that was okay. She wasn’t thinking about bargains right now. She’d found an excuse to kiss him that her morals couldn’t quibble over, and she was going to do it quickly before she could change her mind.
So she did scoot over more, and she even wrapped her arms about his neck. And between a few brief kisses to start, she said, “Relax. This doesn’t have to be a terrible experience for you. You should be enjoying your first ride in a modern
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