[Dawn]
Sophie grins from ear to ear, however, and rolls the window down. Aldo is about to say something when Sophie cuts him off.
“Morning!” she calls. “Change of plans!”
Aldo’s eyes don’t even go to her, he just looks at me. The two of us stare like frozen animals on safari as the predator, that is Sophie, plays with us.
Realizing what is happening, he begins to back away.
“Not so fast!” Sophie says, hopping from the van and coming around to him. She gives him the keys. “You’re driving with her.”
Aldo looks at me, the normally cool and calculated man is wide eyed and speechless. Then he smiles and snorts. “I’m driving the van with Andre. You’re playing a joke.”
Sophie pats his arm and smiles back. “No, I’m not. You’re driving with Dawn.”
“Why?” he utters.
“I think we’re all adults enough to know why.” She folds her arms and cocks her hips to the side. I told you so.
His face drains of color as he looks at me. I shake my head fiercely. I never told. Sophie is walking away, and he follows her around to the driver’s side. She’s retrieving her handbag, which I clutch and hold onto.
“But Andre and I are driving. This is for him to gain trust from Luca,” he looks like he’s pleading.
I don’t take any offense. Had you asked me a week ago if I’d spend three days in a small, confined space with the man I was crushing on, I wouldn’t even hesitate in replying to you. But now? Now with all the awkwardness and the talk, the sexual tension between us is about as hot as an ice cube. I can think of nothing worse, especially after how I stormed out.
“Luca is going to trust Andre, don’t worry,” Sophie says, patting his arm. “But as far as he, Andre, knows, you’re accompanying us up while he has another more important errand to run”.
Aldo is speechless, grasping at straws while he tries for an excuse. Finally, he accepts his fate and shuts his mouth. His lips twist. “Fine,” he mumnles.
But I haven’t given up. I’m still clutching the handbag. “You can’t leave without this!” I implore.
“Yes, I can. That’s just gas and motel money for you,” she says with a grin.
I open it and huff. “Damn.”
Sophie grins between us two. She looks like a mother who is indeed happy with herself. “I’ve got a good feeling about this.”
Aldo and I look at one another. I can see his muscles showing even through his shirt, and all I feel is stupid. His eyes linger on me for a bit and then turn back to Sophie. “But what is happening with Andre?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve set everything up with Luca. Plus, as far as the insurance company knows, it’s still Martinez driving the van.”
Aldo grunts and then rolls his shoulders. “So still the same drop off then?”
“Still the same for everything. Except for her,” she points at me.
I roll my eyes at Sophie, and she just laughs.
“So what’re you going to do then?” I ask. “How are you getting home?”
As if summoned by bad luck, a car comes around the corner. It’s one of the men. He pulls up to a stop beside us and waves. Neither Aldo nor I wave back, but Sophie does. She’s absolutely pleased with herself. She goes to the car and opens the door. “Be on the road quick though, if Andre sees you together, my plan fails.”
“Maybe we’ll let him see us?” I say.
Sophie grins, and Aldo turns to me, his eyes wide.
“I don’t think either of you wants that,” she says, seriously now. “I don’t think either of you wants that at all.” She sits down in the car, and they pull away. She’s already got her phone out and is making another call.
Aldo and I watch her drive away. We stand for a few beats in silence, listening to the grasshoppers chirping in the grass. The banana tree on the corner of the block is drooping, and I feel exactly the same.
“Guess I’ll get my things then,” Aldo says. He turns to say something else, hope on his face at an idea. Then he just smiles and walks off.
Suddenly, my heart is racing.
What has just happened?
I fold the passenger mirror down and look at myself.
What just happened?