Free Crossing the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux Page B

too.”
    I slowly walked backward to my car and climbed inside, wincing as I bent my knee. Turning the ignition, the only response I received was a sickly, sputtering whirr. I repeated the motion three times, but there was no sign of engine life in sight.
    “Come on, stupid car.” I slapped the steering wheel.
    Who knew how much repairs would cost, not to mention the hassle of being without a vehicle. I tried once more to start it and groaned when it failed on me yet again.
    A tapping sound on my window startled me, and I jumped. Josh stood next to my door.
    “Trouble starting?” he asked as I opened the door and stepped out.
    “I don’t think it’s the battery because it’s making a noise.” I pressed the lock button on my key fob. “I guess I’ll get it towed to the shop tomorrow.”
    “You know a mechanic who’s open on Sunday?”
    “Mark’s dad owns a shop. He won’t be open, but he’ll let me leave the car there so he can work on it Monday. I can’t be carless for too long.”
    “I can give you a ride home,” he said.
    “Oh, I don’t want to make you go out of your way. I’ll go ask Meredith if she can take me.”
    “I don’t mind at all.” He waved for me to follow him as he started toward his car.
    I hung back for a moment but then followed him. He opened the passenger door of the black sedan before walking around the front of the car to the driver’s side. I slid into the dark leather seat, and when we were both buckled in, I got that nervous feeling that I’d had when we’d danced. We weren’t nearly as close as we’d been then, but sitting in the small car in the dark with the fog all around us, it felt just as intimate.
    Josh turned the key, and music blared through the speakers at an ear-splitting level, just the way I liked it in my car, too.
    He quickly powered off the stereo. “Sorry.”
    “No, I listen the same way. Was that Muse? I didn’t recognize the song.”
    He didn’t directly answer as he drove us toward the exit. “Um… yeah.”
    I was confused by the hesitation in his reply, so I reached for the jewel case atop the stack of CDs under the stereo.
    “Wait.” His hand shot forward and grabbed mine.
    An electrifying sensation sped from my hand to every nerve ending in my body. The car had stopped moving. Everything had stopped moving. Except Josh’s thumb, which brushed lightly over my knuckles, creating a whole new and even more stirring sensation inside me. I couldn’t breathe.
    Josh pulled his hand away and gripped the wheel like he was on a roller coaster, holding on for dear life. “Sorry, I um… I’m just not supposed to show anyone the CD.”
    “Oh.” I took slow breaths, still trying to shake off the buzz of Josh’s touch.
    He resumed driving, deftly maneuvering the stick shift as we accelerated onto the main road. I saw him glance in my direction a couple of times.
    “If you promise not to tell anyone I have it…” he said.
    I shifted in my seat so I was angled toward him. “You can trust me.”
    We stopped at a red light, and he looked into my eyes. My attempt to breathe at a normal pace suffered a massive setback. When his gaze flickered momentarily down to my mouth, I became sure I was going to need CPR.
    A horn honked behind us, and Josh turned back to the road.
    Damn green light.
    “The CD is an advance copy of Muse’s new record,” he said. “It’s not being released until September, but my dad got it for me. I didn’t mean to get all weird. It’s just that if any of it gets leaked, he could get in a lot of trouble.”
    “I totally understand. I definitely won’t say anything.”
    He braked and made a careful left turn. “Are you pretty familiar with the band?”
    “Yeah, I know most of their songs, even the early stuff.”
    “You have to hear this song.” He flipped on the CD player and pressed the track button a few times. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard.”
    He set the volume loud but not where we wouldn’t be able