Chapter 75: Early Morning Text Messages
Steven pulled out of the garage and onto the morning street. He drove normally for the first two blocks, getting a feel for the car beneath him.
The seating position was lower than the Aston Martin, the wheel smaller in his hands and the whole architecture of the car was tighter.
From the weight distribution to the responsiveness of the wheel, everything about it was precise in a way that communicated intent. This wasn’t a car that had been built for comfort and happened to be fast. It had been built for exactly one thing and everything else had been arranged around that.
The road opened up ahead of him and he pressed the accelerator.
The Porsche launched immediately and completely. The engine dropped into something low tone and the city compressed around him, buildings pulling back and the road narrowing to a point in the distance.
Inside the car, Steven’s hands were light on the wheel, his back pressed into the seat, and the smile on his face was as sheepish and childish as it could be.
He changed up and the car surged again, a second wave behind the first, and for a moment the only things that existed were the road and the machine and the sound filling the cabin.
He held it for another few seconds, then eased off the gas.
The Porsche dropped back smoothly, the engine rising to its composed idle note and the city returning to its normal proportions around him. He steered toward the kerb, brought the car to a smooth stop, and killed the engine.
Silence filled the cabin but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
He sat with his hands still resting on the wheel and looked out through the windscreen at the quiet morning street ahead of him.
"Amazing," he said quietly.
He picked up his phone, glanced at the debit and credit notifications. Then tapped on the credit notification, to check his account balance.
He saw that his account balance had dropped to $1.2M when the settlement was made, before shooting back up to $11.2M after the cash rebate reward got in.
The account balance brought a smile to his face, as it meant he was now comfortably in multimillionaire territory.
"Now, all that’s left is to spend more to increase the amount," he muttered.
He stopped thinking about his account balance for a moment and turned his attention to what he had been meaning to do this immediately after he woke up, but he had been distracted by the system notification and everything else.
He checked if he had any unread messages from Lena and he saw that he had several from her.
Good morning, my handsome.
Still sleeping? I can’t stop thinking about last night. I also want to thank you. I miss you so much already. So text me when you wake up. 💕
Steven laughed quietly at the screen.
She was saying she missed him even though they had been texting until past three in the morning, which was either a very good sign or evidence that neither of them had any interest in being sensible about this.
He decided it was the former and typed back. But he felt that it also won’t be bad if it was the latter.
Good morning, my beautiful. How was your night? Hope you slept well. I’m missing you too.
Her reply came within seconds.
Lena: My night was beautiful, mostly thanks to you. How was yours? You just waking up?
Steven: My night was great, thanks to you. And yeah, it hasn’t been long since I woke up.
Lena: It hasn’t been long since you woke up, or you just woke up?
Steven smiled at the screen.
Steven: It hasn’t been long since I woke up. I’m not going to lie to you.
Lena: Thank you ☺️. What are you doing now?
Steven: Parked somewhere along the road. Testing my new car. Are you still home?
Lena: Yes, still home. Just finishing my makeup. Don’t tell me you want to drive me to work.
Steven: You don’t need the makeup at all. You know that, right? And yes. I want to drive you to work.
Lena: You mischievous smooth talker. But thank you. And I would love for you to drive me to work.
Steven: I just state the truth, beautiful. Send me your address.
Lena: It’s still smooth talking even when it’s true. But that’s exactly why I’m sending you my address right now.
The address came through immediately. He looked at it, entered it into the navigation system, and saw that it was roughly fifteen minutes from his current position.
He started the car and pulled out from the kerb.
He had to go back to the apartment first. He was still in his sleepwear, which had felt entirely appropriate for a solo test drive at seven in the morning and would feel entirely inappropriate for picking up Lena. She was finishing her makeup. The least he could do was put on actual clothes.
He drove back without pushing the car, letting it move at its own pace through the quiet streets. The morning was still early enough that the roads were unhurried and the city not yet fully awake.
He pulled into the underground garage ten minutes later, parked beside the Aston Martin, and stepped out. The two cars sat next to each other under the fluorescent lights — the deep green of the Aston and the slate grey of the Porsche — and he looked at them for a moment before walking to the elevator.
Back in the apartment, he went straight to the bedroom and opened the wardrobe. He needed something casual.
He pulled out a pair of dark slim chinos and a clean white Oxford shirt, untucked. He added the quilted Burberry jacket, which had become his default for this kind of morning, and the first watch he had purchased — the plain silver with the leather strap.
He got dressed immediately, checked the mirror and nodded to himself.
He collected the Porsche key fob from the side table alongside his phone, the Reserve Card and key card, and left the apartment.
A moment later, he got into the Porsche and started the engine. He pulled out of the space and drove up the ramp into the morning air, turning in the direction the navigation indicated, the city opening up ahead of him in the early light.
He was already looking forward to seeing her.