I can guess why.

My parents are rich. They’ve worked hard for their wealth, and they’re both fans of spending their money. We’ve only spent time in their luxurious townhouse, and now, I’m in Holly’s small apartment, one most wouldn’t think compares to what I grew up with.

But this is her place, so I love it.

“I’m all set.” She grabs a duffel bag off the couch and indicates I should lead the way out the door. But I don’t move yet.

“Your place is great.”

She shrugs. “It’s small.”

“So are corgis. But they’re great, too.”

That gets me raised eyebrows and the chuckle I was hoping for.

“Very true. And bonus points for liking dogs.”

“Of course. I mean, I have a soul, don’t I?”

And so we leave Holly’s place with smiles and traded jokes. Exactly how I want our trip to start.

“Can I have the keys, please?” Her hand, with its fresh green nail polish, stays extended as I load her bag into the trunk next to mine.

“Look at you, actually asking instead of just hopping into the driver’s seat.” I dangle the keys from my index finger.

She sticks her tongue out at me before snatching them. “Sometimes, I like to give the people around me the illusion of control,” Holly explains over the top of the car as she shimmies out of her puffy winter jacket, tossing it on the backseat and then sliding into the front.

As we wait for the heater to start blasting its glorious warm air, I plug in my phone and type the address into a GPS app.

“Expected travel time: two hours, fifty-four minutes. Proceed five hundred feet and make a left,” the automated female voice directs us from the car speakers.

“Three hours? Where exactly are you having me take us?” Holly sounds intrigued rather than put out by the distance.

“You’ll see. You wanna text the address to Terra?”

“That’s okay.” She shifts into drive. “I trust you.”

Boom goes the dynamite. Like a happy bomb has been dropped on my chest, an explosion of excitement and pride radiates through me.

Holly trusts me.

This is what I’ve been waiting for. But this doesn’t seem like the right time to broach the topic of dating. I’ll leave it—for now.

With a few swipes on my phone, the familiar voices of Preston and Steve and their morning crew fill the car.

Holly claps excitedly before returning her hands to ten and two. “You have their podcasts?”

“Yep. Downloaded a couple this morning. Figured they’d be good driving company.”

“You figured right.” She turns on the blinker and eases into traffic, leaving the city as the GPS directs.

“So, I need to apologize up-front. I’m probably going to fall asleep at some point.” A twinge of shame pinches my gut. “It tends to happen. Like when I’m sitting for long periods …” I trail off.

Holly reaches over, still keeping her eyes on the road, and gives my knee a squeeze. “You do you, Ben. Believe me, I wish I could sleep in the car. Just be warned, you might wake up with some new tattoos on your face, courtesy of my friend Mr. Sharpie.” We’re at a red light, and she flashes me a grin.