I was seeing why I was drawn to her before. Too bad I was too drunk to remember any of it.
It wasn’t often I blacked out to the point where I didn’t remember anything, but wouldn’t you know it, the time I do is when I was with Delaney.
Delaney jogged down the stairs wearing basically the same thing she had worn yesterday except her shirt was the color of the red light on the light pole of a drag race. Normally a color you didn’t want to see, but it looked amazing on her.
She shoved her feet into a pair of tennis shoes and “All ready, Playboy.”
Not at all, but that didn’t matter.
*
Delaney
“What are we doing here?”
Jay unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car without a word.
“Okay,” I mumbled.
We were in Hilltop at the huge car dealership by the hospital. I had no idea why we were, though.
Jay tapped on my window and motioned for me to get out. “Come on, Del.”
I wished like hell that Jay’s car wasn’t so fancy so I could crank down the window instead of having to open the door because I needed the car on to roll down my window. “What are we doing?” I shouted through the glass.
“Uh, looking at cars?”
This is what he did for fun on his days off? “I’ll stay here.” Admiring cars was not my thing.
He opened the door, rested his arm on the roof, and leaned down. “Get out of the car, Del.”
“Why?” There wasn’t a reason I could think of that was good enough to get me out of this car. Jay was a car guy. I totally got that. He needed to get that didn’t mean I was going to follow him around while he looked at cars.
“Because I want to check out the new cars.”
“Is this some form of entertainment for you?” I questioned.
“Yeah. Now get out and keep me company.”
“What’s wrong with this shiny spaceship on wheels you drive now?” Jay’s car was amazing. Even me, not knowing a damn thing about cars, knew it was nice and totally expensive.
“This is a Shelby GT350 with five point two liters of screaming all-American muscle. You are completely right saying there is nothing wrong with this car.”
“Then why are we here?”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the car. “Because there’s always something better, Del.” He shut the door behind me and threaded his fingers through mine. “Humor me?”
“Just don’t ask my opinion on anything. I know zip about cars, Jay.”
“I can tell. You drive a death trap and think there isn’t anything wrong about that.”
“It’s what I can afford,” I mumbled. Sure, I would like one of these shiny, new cars but last I checked, there wasn’t a car fairy who brought you any car you wanted.
We walked around the large lot of cars with what felt like an army of salesmen circling us. Jay had already told the three of them we were just looking, but they always kept us in their sights.
“What about this one?” he asked.
We were standing in front of one of those SUVs that sparkled like a diamond in the sun. It was white and large, but also gorgeous. “I like it.” That was the best answer he had gotten from me the whole time. Again, I knew nothing about these cars we were looking at and didn’t want to seem like an idiot if I said the right thing.
“Ford Explorer. Good looking and pretty reliable.” He walked around the car while I stayed by the hood.
I glanced in the direction we had yet to go, and my eye spotted a silver SUV. “That’s pretty.”
“What’s pretty?” he asked.
I pointed down the line of cars. “The silver one at the end.”
He grabbed my hand and led me to the car I had spotted. “This one?”
I nodded. This one was even prettier than the Exploder or whatever it was he had called it. “I like the front.”
“The front?” he laughed.
“You don’t like it?” How could someone not like what the car looked like? I walked to the car window that had all of the information. “Twenty eighteen Cadillac XT5.” I looked at Jay. “What’s a XT5? Have we run out of words that we now just name cars with numbers and letters?”
Jay threw his head back and laughed. “Only you, Del,” he chuckled.
“Only me what?” I wasn’t sure what the heck was so funny. It was a legitimate question.
“I don’t know why they name them what they do, but I’m sure you’re not the only one who thinks that.” Jay nodded at one of the salesmen who was a row away.
The salesman weaved his way over to us with a big smile on his face. “I see you admiring the XT5. Very nice choice.”
“Thanks, man. Think we can take it for a test drive?”
“What?” I gasped.
“Right away. I’ll just need your license and then I’ll grab the keys.”
Jay pulled out his license, and the salesman headed into the main building of the dealership.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Uh, going for a test drive?”
“You don’t need this car,” I insisted. The man was insane.
He shook his head. “The Shelby isn’t exactly the best car to be driving around with a baby.”
I looked at his car that he had parked by the front door. “I think you can make it work.”
Jay shook his head but didn’t argue.
“Here you go, sir. If you two want to hop in the front, I’ll take the ride in the back.” The salesman handed Jay the keys with a huge smile on his face. “Just in case you have any questions.” This guy was totally laying it on thick.
Jay grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the passenger door. “Try not to look like you just sucked on a lemon, Del,” he whispered. He opened the door and helped me in.
“I do not look like that,” I hissed before he shut the door.
He gave me a thumbs up through the window, and I couldn’t help but laugh. So maybe I did look a bit grumpy, but I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t get why Jay needed to test drive this car.
“Test drives are free, Del. Unwrinkle that brow and pay attention to the car. It’s not like I’m going to buy the first car we test drive,” Jay said under his breath before the salesman got in the back.
Jay pulled out of the parking spot, and the salesman droned on and on about all the bells and whistles the car had. I drowned him out because I didn’t need him to tell me. I could see this car had everything you could ever want.
Butter soft leather seats, plush carpet on the floor, a fancy radio, and even a backup camera. I’m sure from where Jay was sitting, it seemed like he was driving a spaceship with all of the knobs and gadgets in front of him.
Not to mention, he looked damn handsome behind the wheel.
Though he seemed to be handsome no matter what he was doing. Driving fancy SUVs or sleeping on my old couch. He looked handsome always.
“What do you think, Delaney?” he asked.
The salesman was still talking even though Jay and I weren’t listening.
“Um, it’s nice. I like the color.”
“And the front,” Jay chuckled.
I slugged his shoulder. “That too,” I mumbled.