Chapter 4: Unexpected Drive

“Can I drive?” Aurelie repeated.

“Can… you… drive… a…car?” Tobin rubbed his eyes.

“Oh, of course!” Aurelie replied.

Tobin pointed at himself. “You may be able to tell I am in… no condition to be driving a car.”

“Oh, okay,” Aurelie said. “Do you want me to get you a taxi?”

“Why would I ask if you could drive if I wanted a taxi?” Tobin rolled his eyes then closed them tightly. “Just follow me.”

Aurelie glanced at her phone and saw a message from Braxton. She sighed and texted a quick message.

“Helping spectator to his car.”

The young equestrian then shoved the phone deep into her pocket with one hand and left the hay barn with Select Hospitality’s guitarist. Once outside, Tobin seemed to pull his act together and sway coolly like the rockstar he was. He went to the nearby fence and proceeded to wiggle through a large hole.

“What are you doing?” Aurelie hissed. “Just leave through the gate!”

Tobin stood up on the other side and dusted off his jeans, “You want me to walk through all those people? Do you think no one else will notice me? Come on, your buddies are going to wonder where you are.”

“Too late,” Aurelie sighed.

Tobin looked at her sharply. “Did you tell them?”

Aurelie snorted. “I told them I was helping a spectator to his car.”

The musician raised his eyebrows in approval. He began walking down the old service road behind the show grounds.

“Where is your car?” Aurelie asked.

Tobin pointed a little further down the road, which ended at a farmer’s field.

“I don’t see…” Aurelie began.

A pair of tire tracks appeared in the soft ground and led away from the road. Tobin stumbled off the road and into the field, pushing the crops out of the way. Aurelie looked around, then charged after him. Within moments, they came upon a sleek, navy-blue car with tinted windows and a pair of fuzzy red dice.

Tobin caught her glance. “Those were a gift, don’t even think of laughing… what’s your name?”

“Aurelie Hawkins,” Aurelie said, wiggling the handle of the door. “Do you have your keys?”

She watched as Tobin pulled his keys out of his jeans’s front pocket, noticing how the jeans hugged his muscular legs and narrow waist. She thought she saw a hint of a tattoo on his right forearm as well.

“Let’s go,” Tobin’s voice cut sharply through the air as he tossed his keys over to Aurelie.

The car rumbled to life and she carefully drove out of the farmer’s field.

“How did you even get it in there?” She asked.

“I drove,” Tobin leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Harrison Hotel on Main Street.”

Aurelie drove carefully down the service road and onto the main highway heading back to the city. Driver and passenger grew quiet.

“So, when did you start liking Select Hospitality?” Tobin suddenly asked. “Did you see our last tour?”

Aurelie grimaced. “I have only heard your music on the radio. I haven’t seen a concert.”

Tobin stared at her, but Aurelie kept her eyes straight ahead.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Aurelie could feel her cheeks burning. “I like the music, I just… have other things to focus on.”

Tobin nodded slowly. Silence fell once again. He asked about her hometown, and how she got into riding. Aurelie was surprised at how much he remembered from the time in the hay barn.

“Do you have family?” Tobin asked. “Are you close?”

“Oh yes,” Aurelie replied immediately, flooded with warm memories. “My two brothers and I still spend holidays with my parents. They still ask to watch videos of my horse shows. My parents worked hard to help me get this far.”

Tobin went quiet again. He took a breath.

“That sounds… nice,” he said. “It really does. I don’t see my family much.”

Aurelie glanced over at the grim-faced man. “It’s not something you talk about, is it? That’s okay.”

Tobin looked out the window, “You get it.”

Aurelie turned onto Main Street. “With your band, I’m sure it’s hard to find time to go see them.”

“That’s just it,” Tobin said, his voice heavy. “I can make the time, but I don’t.”

They glanced at each other then looked quickly away.

“We’re here,” Tobin pointed.

Aurelie guided the car into the valet parking and stopped. A figure came out of the hotel doors and jogged up to the car. Aurelie got out.

“Tobin, thank goodness,” the man said, opening the passenger door. “I’ve been trying to reach you, don’t you have your phone?”

“Hi, I’m Jace,” the man shook Aurelie’s hand, looking at her curiously. “Have we met?”

Aurelie nodded.

“I told you I needed a break,” Tobin said gruffly and got out of the car. “This is uh… Aurelie. She drove me back since I had a few…”

“Tobin,” Jace shook his head. “Come on, man.”

He sighed. “I’ll drive her back, but I’m using your car.”

Tobin waved his hand at his friend and calmly strode over to Aurelie as she got back in the car, this time in the driver’s seat.

She could smell his distinctive woodsman cologne as he leaned close.

“Thanks for not being a crazy stalker,” Tobin said.

He looked at her fully, his hazel eyes serious and intense. Her heart began to flutter and she could feel herself blushing.

“I mean it,” Tobin turned away. “Maybe we will meet again someday.”

Jace hopped in the driver’s seat and nodded to his friend.

“I’ll be back in a bit, Tobin,” he called. “Get some rest as we got some studio time in a couple of hours.”

The lead guitarist turned away and gave a half-hearted wave.

“Well…this is something, isn’t it?” Jace smiled. “Where am I taking you?”

Aurelie directed Tobin’s bandmate back to the horse show grounds.

Jace looked briefly at Aurelie. “Have I seen you before, at a concert or something?”

Aurelie smiled. “I was the girl who ran into Tobin…”

“Yes!” shouted Jace, laughing. “I knew I saw you before.”

He paused. “How did you end up driving his sacred car?”

Aurelie quickly recounted hiding in the hay barn and being joined by Tobin. She also admitted he had something to drink and admitted he couldn’t drive back to the hotel.

Jace seemed in awe. “He doesn’t just let anyone drive his car. He doesn’t let anyone too close, really.”

“He said he doesn’t speak to his family too much,” Aurelie said quietly.

“Tobin told you that?” Jace glanced over, then shrugged. “It’s true. He had a falling out with his parents after he moved out. They weren’t so happy with his life choices.”

Jace pulled into the show grounds.

“Hey,” he called, as Aurelie stepped out of the car. “Thanks for bringing him back… and thanks for keeping his privacy. That means a lot, to him and the band.”

“Oh, no problem.”

“Thanks anyway, and you know what? If we ever have a concert, come on back and I’ll get you backstage. You can meet the band.”

“Thank you!” Aurelie exclaimed. “I’ll remember that!”

She could only stand and watch as the car pulled away.

“Where have you been?” Braxton blurted when she returned to the barn.

“Do I tell them?” Aurelie wondered.