AllFreeNovel
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I sit in the driver’s seat and pause. A lever. There should be a lever somewhere that opens the hood...
I duck down out of sight, pretending I know exactly what I’m doing while I frantically search for it.
There!
I pull it. The hood pops in front and he opens it the rest of the way, maneuvering the skinny metal rod to keep it propped up. I take advantage of the large barrier between us and breathe an epic sigh of relief that I found it on the first try before climbing back outside.
“Okay,” he says as he grabs the jumper cables off his hood. “We take the red clip and attach it to the plus sign on your battery here.”
I peek inside as he clips it onto something in my car. “Uh-huh.”
He turns toward his car, the hood also open wide. “We put the other end on my battery here. And then,” he grabs the other black cable, “we do this with this...”
I nod, watching him as he fiddles with the black cable. “Pluses and minuses,” I say. “Got it.”
He gestures toward his car. “Pop in and start my car, would you? Big red button on the dash next to the stick. You can’t miss it.”
“Okay...”
I take a step back.
“Wait—” He gently loops my arm and chuckles. “Don’t trip.”
I stop. I nearly plowed right through the red cable extended between our cars.
“Oh...” My cheeks blaze red. He releases my arm. “Sorry. I, uh...”
I fidget left and right, trying to find the best way to limbo beneath the cable, but there’s zero way to do that gracefully.
Screw it.
I drop to my knees and crawl beneath the red cable all the way to the driver’s side of his car, constantly scolding myself as dirt and gravel dig into my kneecaps. I open his door and peek inside, easily picking out the red button on his dash right where he said it’d be. I put my foot on the brake and push it, bringing the engine to life.
I stand up and close the door behind me. “Okay?—”
One step back and I bump into... him.
“Whoa...” He reaches out and takes my elbows as I stumble backward. “You okay?”
“I’m fine...” I nod, repeatedly. “Just... didn’t see you there.”
He sidles to my left, resuming his casual lean against the car door. “We’ll let that run for a few minutes and see what happens,” he says.
I realize I’m still nodding. I stop.
We’ll see what happens. Yes.
And at the top of that list: my freaking funeral.
“My name is Drew, by the way,” he says, extending his hand.
“Oh, right...” I chuckle awkwardly as I shake his hand. “Heidi,” I greet. “My name is Heidi.”
He smiles, showing off a mouth of beautiful, perfect teeth. “It’s nice to meet you, Heidi.”
“You, too, Drew,” I say with instant regret. “Hey, that rhymes.”
If he’s still smiling, I wouldn’t know, because my eyes fall right to my red sneakers. My palms sweat. My entire body feels like a radiator despite it officially being hoodie weather in Chicago right now. God, I need this to end. Charge faster, battery. I’m begging you. Hurry and release me from this terrible silence.
