Page 28 of Tension

CHRIS

I walked onto the car lot with my exact car in mind. I had seen a 2027 Vellari online, and now I needed to see it in person.

I made my way through rows and rows of cars until I finally found mine.

You know how you just look at something, and you know it was meant for you?

That's how I felt looking at this car. She was white with black accents, and I planned to change the rims to black; the interior was black leather with cream accents.

“That's a good car right there.” The voice behind me wasn’t a surprise.

I knew that once a salesman noticed me, he’d be right here, ready to help.

I turned to see a god of a man standing before me. He was tall and muscular; I felt like I had to crane my neck back just to look up at him, and he smiled down on me with the prettiest smile.

As much as I wanted to swoon in his presence, I kept my composure.

“Yes, I saw it on your website and thought I would come check it out in person.”

“Wanna test it out?” He held up the keys and pressed the automatic start, bringing the car to life.

I like a prepared man.

I made my way over to the driver's seat, and he was right behind me, ready to open the door. When I felt the expensive leather melt against my body, I knew there was no turning back.

“Feels good, don’t it?” he asked.

“It’s okay,” I said with a shrug. I didn’t want to seem too excited.

As we drove, he told me everything I had already read on the website. I just tuned him out.

I focused on the feel of the car under me. I had never had a new car, and I felt like I deserved this. I had more than earned it. Now that I wasn’t taking care of someone else, I had some money to play around with, and mama was ready to play.

“So what do you think?”

Adrian Davis, the salesman, whom I had just learned was a retired NFL player and the owner of the dealership, asked as we pulled up to the front parking spot.

“I like it,” I told him as we pulled up to the front parking spot.

I started to get out, and he stopped me.

“Let me get that for you.” He hopped out and made his way over to my side.

I got out of the car slowly, watching him watch me, his eyes roaming my body like he saw something he liked.

We stood there, him looking down at me and me looking up at him. He smiled, and I broke and started to smile at him.

“There we go. I thought I was losing my touch.”

“I'm just trying to avoid you trying to upsell me or talk me into something I don’t want.”

“Oh, trust me, from the moment I saw you, I knew you were a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.”

“I wasn’t always that way,” I told him, taking a moment to look over at my new car.

He bent down to catch my eye. “That's in the past, love. That person no longer matters. Who are you now?” he asked.

The question caught me off guard because the truth was I didn’t know. For once, I didn’t feel like I needed to have the answer, and that was okay.