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The windshield collected a sheet of snow, whippers springing up to dispose of it. That was the only sound for the first few blocks, repeating every couple of seconds.
The awkward silence was suffocating her.
"This must be really inconvenient for you." She could see his frown, locked into place since the suggestion to take her to his home was expressed by Sierra, a million thoughts behind his eyes.
His brows edged lower. "Not at all." Hands clenched around the stirring wheel.
It doesn't look like it.
"I'm so sorry." She was frowning too, at the inconvenience of the weather, at the fact that she was forced on him because of the said inconvenience. She could argue with him that he didn't have to accommodate her, but there was nowhere she could stay if he said okay. Maybe when he had chosen for her to accommodate her for the night was a regrettable decision.
Rose watched out the fogged windows, courtesy of the warm air circulating in the car. Vehicles moved in long lines and they were in the midst of one. They progressed slowly, with strained visibility and slippery asphalt beneath them.
She did not feel the buzz of the alcohol anymore, too anxious and embarrassed for even three glasses of champagne to help.
Alexander switched gears, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. "It is not your fault for you to apologize."
"Maybe there is an Airbnb."
Her phone was at ten percent, the red mocking her as it displayed another issue in hand. She had no charger.
"You don't have to."
She lowered the brightness and quickly opened her data. Her priority was checking her texts, her last one at Bethany 'Everything okay?' left unread, worry unsettling her. She nibbled her lip, acknowledging that she didn't have the time to send another until her device was charging.
One problem at a time.
"I can see that this is an issue," she diverted her focus and skimmed from page to page on the internet hastily, "which is perfectly understandable as we barely know each other and I have to stay over. There has to be something available. Just give me one second."
A shift of the gear and they turned right, losing most of the traffic. Rose was determined to find a better solution. She scanned page after page, quick as lightning, too concentrated to see his hand leaving the lever and touching her knee. Her head jerked up, holding the phone tighter before relaxing at his sight, breathing in slowly.
The expected displeased expression was gone, wrinkles following along. He was grinning, one corner of his mouth rising higher than the other, his eyes holding the reassurance she needed, voice locking the deal. "Rosalie, it is perfectly fine that you stay at my home." His thump traced a circle on her skin when he returned to the road and left altogether to grab the gear again. She felt heat rising at the gesture, her breath hitching. "I was simply trying to understand..." He trailed off, a pucker coming anew between his brows.
