The Iron Soldier: A FourTris Divergent Story

Chapter 3

The black pickup looks brand new on the inside. The floors are vacuumed, not a speck of trash is present and this inside smells like a flowering meadow after a rainstorm. The complete opposite of Christina's car.

A grateful smile crosses my face when he looks over at me. "You are completely soaked."

"That's what happens when you get stuck in a torrential downpour."

"My gym bag is under your seat. There's a clean towel in it."

I waste no time fishing the bag out from between my legs. I unzip the bag and pull out the first thing I come across. I hand him the playboy magazine, pretending I didn't notice the cover.

His expression drops and his face flushes in a pink hue. "That's not mine."

I don't know what to say. He's helping me out, so I really shouldn't make a snarky remark, one that might make him feel uncomfortable. "I'm sure you read it for the articles." That didn't come out the way I wanted it to.

He snickers. "No seriously, it's not mine. My friend Zeke left it at me place. I was going to give it back when I saw him at the gym tonight.

"It's really none of my business." I find the towel in the bottom of the bag and pull it free, wiping my face immediately. My stomach growls loudly and my cheeks flush. Darn it. I left my onion rings on the table, and I'm not going back out in this rain to get them.

His eyes are wide with amusement. "Do I need to feed you to?"

I frown. "I ordered some food and forgot it inside."

"That's a good thing. The stuff they sell in there is practically toxic. Do you want to stop somewhere to grab something to eat?"

"No, I've already inconvenienced you enough today. I have food in my dorm room."

"Hmm, dorm room food. So you mean canned soup or pop tarts?"

I laugh, knowing how close to accurate he actually is. "Yeah, something like that."

"I was going out for a burger anyway. Why don't you join me?"

"Don't you think you've done enough already? I already owe you thirty bucks."

"I told you not to worry about it." He's smiling at me with those beautiful blue eyes and I know it will take little twisting of my arm to persuade me to join him for dinner. "Besides, it will give you a chance to tell me what those horrible flowers did to you to deserve the fate you dished them."

I exhale slowly. "Ok, but only if you let me make it up to you somehow."

"Fine with me. I'm sure I can come up with something you can help me with. Maybe have you do my laundry." He's grinning uncontrollably.

I catch my lip with my front teeth. If I wasn't so self-conscious about my social skills, I might think he was flirting with me.

He turns his attention back to the front. The truck lurches forward out of the parking lot. "So we should probably formally introduce ourselves."

My eyes are drawn to the side of his face as he drives. I take in his side profile. He has a day's worth of beard growth spread across his jaw and his hair is cut short around his ears. "Yeah, we should. I'm Tris."

"Four." He replies.

"Four what?"

He chuckles lightly. "That's my name."

"Oh." I feel stupid. "Sorry."

He smiles, looking over at me quickly. "It's okay. I know it's an unusual name."