Fine. I slid a leg into the car, ducking my head as he guided me into his lap, fitting my legs between his long ones. I leaned back a little, so I wasn’t right up on the steering wheel, my back pressed against his chest.
Placing my hands on the wheel, he wrapped my fingers around it. “It’s like a clock,” he instructed. “You’re at ten o’clock and two o’clock right now.”
His fists tightened around mine, emphasizing my position.
I nodded, my belly still somersaulting like crazy.
“I’ll handle the pedals and the stick shift,” he told me. “You just steer.”
“Steer how?” I blurted out, tears of frustration springing to my eyes already. “We’re going to die.”
He snorted. “It’s an empty road,” he told me. “And at this hour, sure to be deserted. Relax.”
I shook my head, still unsure.
“Hey.” He nudged my chin, turning me to face him. “All you have to do is trust me, kid. You understand?”
I paused, feeling his eyes on me and his body behind me.
&nbs
p; But the fear melted away. He was in charge, and he could do anything. I did trust him.
I nodded and then took a deep breath and turned my head forward again.
His legs shifted under me, his hand reached underneath mine, and suddenly, the car purred to life as he started the engine.
His right hand settled on the gear shift, moving it into position, and his breath fell on my neck as my fists grinded the steering wheel.
“You’re going to pull up onto the street, just to the left,” he explained. “When you feel all four tires on the smooth pavement, straighten out.”
I swallowed, nodding again. “Not too much gas at first, okay?”
All I heard was another laugh, though. Okay, so maybe I didn’t trust him.
“Giving it some gas,” he warned me, and the engine revved.
I shook the steering wheel side to side, nervous, but he hadn’t taken his foot off the brake…or the clutch or whatever yet, so we weren’t moving, and I relaxed again, feeling stupid.
He didn’t laugh at me, though.
A little more gas, and I felt the tires crunch the rocks underneath. I gripped the wheel so hard I was sure my hands would need to be pried off. The left front tire climbed over a bump, and I turned the wheel in that direction until I felt the right wheel join the other on the pavement.
I smiled, a combination between a laugh and a gasp pouring out of me, and as soon as I registered the rear tires climb onto the road, I twisted the wheel back to the right to make sure I stayed in my lane.
But then the car quickly fell off the road again, back onto the same rocks and grass I just drove away from, bouncing over the bump where the pavement ended.
“Oh, shit!” I turned the wheel left, taking us back onto the road. But I was afraid I would drive into the other lane and shot right again, both tires on the right side, falling off the side of the damn road again.
I can’t do this.
I shook my head, breathing hard as I tried to right myself. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
“Shhh,” he soothed, his left hand resting on my hip. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”
My chin trembled, because I was embarrassed and frustrated, and I didn’t want to do this, because I would just make a fool out of myself. I was just going to fail! Why was he trying to embarrass me?
Tears pooled, the car slowed to a crawl, and I closed my eyes, breathing in and out to get my head straight again.