Free All of It by Kim Holden Page B

the last few yards to the car and jumps in the passenger seat.
    I stop at the rear of the car. “This is crazy. What if I wreck it?” I whisper to myself.
    He opens the sunroof and yells, “Stop talking to yourself, Ronnie, people are going to think you’re crazy. Get in the car, baby.”
    “I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” I protest as I open the door and climb in. “Oh my God,” I think to myself, “Did he just call me baby? He did. He just called me baby!”
    He raises his eyebrows. “Oh come on. Don’t tell me this doesn’t excite you in the least?”
    I can’t help smiling … a little. A crooked, terrified smile. But, buried deep beneath the paralyzing fear of driving this incredible car, I do feel excitement. Wild, deranged excitement. “Maybe a little,” I confess. “But I don’t want to hurt it.”
    He laughs. “You haven’t seen me drive this thing, believe me, you won’t hurt it. I had her up to 150 miles an hour on the drive up from Texas.”
    “That’s not what I meant; I don’t want to wreck it,” I say nervously.
    He sighs deeply. “Have you ever wrecked a car, Veronica Smith?”
    “No,” I say quietly.
    “Exactly. You won’t today either,” he says reassuringly.
    I look at the steering wheel and can feel the nervousness ebbing as I start the engine. “Buckle up then,” I command.
    “Said like one compromised against her better judgment. Godspeed.”
    “I’m doing this under duress. Just so you know.”
    He’s stone faced. “Of course you are.”
    I can’t hide the excitement any longer, but I add emphatically, “Duress.”
    He nods and a faint smile bleeds through. “Duress. Now drive.”
    At Dimitri’s urging, instead of driving straight home I drive toward the mountains. I weave up and down the winding highway for almost two hours. I can’t wipe the silly smile off my face. The car is amazing. I feel so free. I don’t think about anything but the speed, which far exceeds the posted limits, and the beautiful scenery—both outside
and
inside the car.
    My smile is still spread from ear to ear as I pull his car up in front of my house. I kill the engine and sigh as I hand the keys to Dimitri, who’s beaming in the passenger seat.
    He’s bright-eyed and staring.
    I giggle. “What?”
    “Duress seems to suite you. And I was right.”
    “Right about what?”
    “You looked
very
sexy driving this car.” The smile lights up his eyes.
    I blush and look away, but he continues to stare. “Ronnie, will you do me a favor?”
    I nod.
    “Will you go out with me tonight? We can go to a movie, or just hang out, whatever you want. Though I do insist on buying you dinner, you haven’t eaten all day.”
    I nod again.
    “Under duress this time?”
    I shake my head.
    “That’s a relief. I’m not quite maniacal enough to bend a strong girl to my will to satisfy my
every
whim. Well, I’d love to stay and watch you work on your car. I could do with that sort of entertainment. You working on Jezebel would be very hot.” He sighs. “Perhaps next time, it looks like I have a date to plan. I’ll be back at 6:30 to pick you up. Will that give you enough time?” He looks as happy as I feel.
    I’m still speechless, so I offer another nod. It’s embarrassing how lame I can be sometimes.
    We both get out of the car and he hands me the oil, which I completely forgot about. He takes my free hand and kisses it. “Thank you for an unbelievable afternoon. I’ll be back soon.”
    I can’t speak. My hand is tingling. I turn and walk slowly up the driveway. I know any moment I am going to wake up and the dream will be over. Someone pinch me already.
    Reality sets back in when I walk in the door.
    “Where have you been?” My mom’s voice isn’t mad, but there’s an edge to it.
    “Sorry, Mom. Dimitri drove me to the store and then kind of insisted on
me
driving home.” I say sheepishly, waiting for the full wrath to come.
    “It takes two hours to drive home? You