[[Until We Become Lions]]

Chapter 63

Danijela knew this was a bad idea the moment Juan returned to their rendezvous spot with a stolen FND vehicle. She had no idea what had sparked this sudden mid-life crisis and sudden need to learn how to drive, but Juan did have a point as much as she hated to admit. The sooner she finished this war, the sooner she could get Evee and Diego out. As for Anton...well, Juan was a welcome distraction. She had a particular fondness for his lopsided smile, and how his eyes never seemed fully open so he appeared as though he was in the aftermath of a nice dream. He was so far removed from the pristine nature of Clara, and the now tyrannical image she held of Anton that she felt getting closer to him was the same act as tucking her feet with a blanket to keep the monsters away. He was his own entity, and he controlled his own destiny. And Danijela wanted to know what that felt like.

It took over an hour just to learn the figuration of the clutch. 1, 2, 3 and so on. When she realized she had three brake pedals instead of just two like she imagined she looked horrified.

"Why are there three?"

"Because Little Dani, this is a manual. We aren't pussies."

After Danijela had careened through a military checkpoint and nearly flipped the car to avoid a family of crabs crossing the road, Juan directed her to a secluded area to avoid any FND forces that may have been trailing them. Her face felt hot from all the laughter she experienced as Juan clutched the door handle, half his body jumping out of his seat with each turn she took. As she put the car in the park he looked immediately relieved.

"Who is the pussy now Juanito?" She jested.

"Yeah, there's no hope for you at this point."

He pulled out a cigar he had stashed earlier in the glove compartment and began the ritual of lighting and smoking it.

"I'm going to build you a jetpack to just fly you everywhere you need to go."

Danijela socked him in the arm, her face contorted between being offended and stifling back any further laughter.

"You don't trust my driving, but I'm supposed to trust that a jetpack you made out of trash will not blow up on me?"

His mouth curled into a quick smile. They fell into a soft rhythm of chuckles as the smoke filled the cabin. Danijela's lips twitched, missing the fixation of having a cigarette between her lips until she remembered one slight detail of the tobacco that she had pushed away just a couple of hours earlier. She thought that was as low as her mood could go, but Juan was a man who sought to outdo everyone within his immediate proximity.

"So...Anton couldn't find the time in his penis enlargement schedule to teach you how to drive, I take it?"

The laughter died like a bucket of water had just been poured over a newborn flame. Juan seemed unperturbed by the quiet. Danijela drummed her fingers over the steering wheel as she looked out her driver-side window. Her bluff had already been called because she did not immediately storm out of the vehicle, abandoning Libertad as she had promised earlier. Instead, she tried to focus on the amazing view they had atop of this plateau. The highlights of the moon reflected off the top of the trees that lined the jungle floor below. The way the leaves and branches swayed, it was like she was looking out into the ocean. The beauty of it was tainted by the fact that all she could think about right now was how much she wanted to throttle Juan, but the large console in the middle made it awkward to reach over and hit effectively unless she wanted to climb over and sit on his lap to do so.

The thought made her face warm, and she chastised herself for even thinking of it, for thinking of Juan in such a way. Not when Anton was still waiting for her. Not when Clara...