Chapter 22 Earned #2
I couldn’t help but replicate the gesture, finding myself appreciating how well his body filled out the tailored midnight black suit he wore.
The man was male perfection from top to bottom, and I fucking hated him for it.
It was criminal that anyone could be that ugly on the inside yet could still be so goddamn handsome on the outside.
When I made it to the last step, Darren held his large hand out for me to take, a deceptively warm smile on his face.
“Do you know what today is?” he asked as I placed my hand in his.
Anxiety spiked in my stomach at his question, my eyes searching through his for some kind of answer. When I came up with nothing, I waved my white flag. I didn’t even know what day of the week it was, let alone a damn potential special occasion.
“Thursday?” I replied tentatively.
A knowing smirk crossed his lips as he pulled me down from the last step.
“Today is our first wedding anniversary.”
I felt my face drop at the answer. It had already been an entire year since the wedding? I’d been married to this asshole for a whole-ass year? Somehow it felt like an eternity.
“Well, I hope my anniversary gift is a calendar because I actually have no idea if today is Thursday or not.”
Darren’s smirk curved until it met his eyes. “Its actually Tuesday.”
“Of course it is, silly me.” Ignoring my sarcasm, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. I frowned immediately. “That box doesn’t look like it fits a calendar. Unless it’s a pocket calendar?”
“You don’t need a damn calendar,” he replied. “Besides, as much as this is going to kill me, you’ll prefer this over anything else.”
He then handed me the box, his smirk disappearing entirely only to be replaced with something more cautious and almost irate. Ignoring his odd change in demeanor, I lifted the lid to find a bright red key fob, the word Ferrari etched down the middle.
My eyes lit up.
“Oh my God,” I whispered under my breath. No fucking way. “You got me my own Ferrari?”
His brows shot together as a scowl twisted his mouth. “Fuck no!” he answered sharply, crushing my exaggerated hopes in an instant. “That’s the key to my Ferrari. I’m finally honoring our bet.”
While I knew there was no way he’d ever buy me a car, the realization that I was finally going to get to drive his Ferrari left me stunned into silence.
He didn’t even wait for me to reply, just walked right out the front door, naturally expecting me to follow.
His sudden absence woke me out of my shocked daze.
“Wait, really?!” I called, chasing him like I’d just hallucinated instead.
I paused when I saw the car was already waiting for us in the circle drive, its beautiful red paint glistening in the setting sunlight and beckoning me to absolutely shred her out of Darren’s driveway.
“You coming, or was I wrong to give you this?” Darren asked as he stood by the car impatiently.
Excuse you, motherfucker, but I earned this.
It was becoming clear how much he absolutely hated this. It practically oozed from him. Which meant I had to ensure he didn’t regret this when it was over. I wanted as many opportunities to drive all of his sports cars as often as I could.
Dashing to the driver’s side in my stupid heels, my hands shook with excitement as I rounded the open door, wobbly legs ignored and forgotten.
Gently lowering myself into the lush seat, I sighed with satisfaction before I reached up to close the butterfly door.
It took a little more effort than expected as I had to use more strength than usual to pull the door down to close it.
“Are all Ferrari doors usually this hard to close?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Only the ones with armored plates inside,” Darren answered, already seated in the passenger seat.
I paused for a moment at that, thinking to myself how many times I had opened and closed car doors with him. I realized then that I couldn’t even remember. I hadn’t had much of an opportunity since most of the doors were almost always opened and closed for me by either Darren or a guard.
Either way, I supposed having armored car doors was a good thing, given his “profession” as a glorified crime lord.
With Darren already sitting in the passenger seat, the change in our dynamic was all too noticeable for us both, the hilarity of it being that my feet didn’t even come close to reaching the pedals. Nor could my hands reach the steering wheel.
Feeling around for the seat adjuster, I could see the smirk forming on Darren’s lips as the seat began to inch forward.
“Not a word,” I warned.
He rolled his eyes. “You don’t need to do that. The pedals and steering wheel adjust.”
“They do?” I asked, looking around for the switch.
After Darren pointed it out, I held the switch until the pedals were within a comfortable reach, then adjusted the steering wheel.
“That feature should come standard in every car. I’ve always hated how close I have to sit to the wheel just to comfortably reach it. ”
Darren froze for a moment, a deep frown forming between his brows. “I swear to God, if a fucking airbag is what takes you out…”
I snorted over his words. “Relax. I’m an excellent driver.”
“You damn well better be, or this won’t be happening again,” he warned.
I frowned. “What do you think I’m going to do? Run us off the road?”
He tilted his head to the side, eyeing me like the explanation wasn’t obvious. “It’s been a long time since you’ve driven on public roads.”
No thanks to you, asshole.
I shrugged him off. “It’s like riding a bike.”
The scowl that formed across his face was almost comical. “This car is not a fucking bike, Jaden.”
I tried not to laugh at the offense he was clearly taking by my comparison.
“It sure isn’t,” I said approvingly, smiling with appreciation as I rubbed my hands along the soft leather of the steering wheel. “I’m actually really looking forward to driving by the water, so I hope you’re okay with that.”
He cocked a brow. “Is that your subtle way of alluding to a secret plot to drive us off a cliff and into the ocean?”
I bit my tongue to silence my immediate retort. Did he really think I was going to use this opportunity to kill us both? Although, at this rate, I just fucking might with the attitude he was sporting.
“I don’t much see the point in causing an accident that’s much more likely to result in my death than yours.
Besides, if I’m going down, I figured you’d appreciate my thoughtfulness in ensuring you’re able to tag along with me since I know how much you hate me going anywhere without you,” I jeered with a wink. “So that idea is out.”
Darren’s gaze sharpened, clearly not liking the visual I just gave him. “You’re really not selling this,” he muttered.
I smirked and ignored his grumbling, focusing instead on adjusting the mirrors, lowering the seat belt guard, and extending the steering wheel closer for my reach.
“My God, are you finally comfortable enough to drive yet, or do I need to fetch a phonebook for your ass too?”
This. Bitch. I swear.
“Actually, you know what, I think that’s a great idea. Why don’t you go back inside and find me one? I’ll wait right here for you while you look.”
Darren shook his head. “Real cute,” he replied, his broodiness becoming a serious damper on my mood.
Once I did feel comfortable reaching everything, I looked at the steering wheel and my mind went completely blank. The car had paddle shifters, which meant there was no clutch to engage. I’d never driven with paddle shifters before.
“Lost, little girl? Too much car for you?”
I took a deep breath and slowly released it. “How do I shift?”
Darren reached over and pointed at each paddle. “Left is down shift. Right is up. There’s no clutch pedal. It’s not needed here.”
No clutch pedal? This should be fucking easy, then.
“Think you can handle all that, or do we need to go back to driver’s ed?”
I turned to him with a blank face. “I’m gonna drive your ass back to charm school if you keep it up.”
Darren chuckled, taking one of my hands in his and holding it tight. “Then drive already,” he said with a smirk, kissing the top of my hand and then placing it on the steering wheel.
With that, I had no other reason to hesitate. Once I pressed the ignition button, the car roared to life, that powerful engine surging with energy and giving me the kick I needed to put it in drive and engage the paddles to move it to first.
Okay, this was easy. I could do this.
“Just take it easy for the first couple of miles until you feel comfortable. If you handle it well enough, we can give the freeway a try.”
I nearly rolled my eyes. Of course Darren would still be in control, even from the passenger seat. But that wouldn’t last for much longer once I finally had the open road in front of me.
Game fucking on.