Was it lying? Pretending to be asleep?

I felt bad. But happy and excited at the same time! I was turning out to be the same as Mom... But my feelings were genuine! I still had no idea if I were doing all this for her sake or my own though.

He was sweet, strong, funny, smart, rich... And even played the guitar! Felt like it was harder not to fall for him. Once I was under the blankets, and he put a kiss on my forehead, I had to resist throwing my arms around him. I wanted to give it back on his lips! Wondered what it would be like...

I was waiting for a few minutes, once he was gone. Then I reached for my phone, and gave my usual report to my Mother. About the stuff we did during the day... She must have been asleep, so I sent her a few messages instead of calling. My eyelids were getting really heavy by the end. I fell asleep quickly, for real this time.

I had no idea how long he was up working. When I woke up, he was already in the dining area with Janice. Even before I finished my morning cereals, she was about to leave. Barely got time to send a few ice cold glances in my direction! Was glad I put on some warm clothing this morning, so I didn't freeze from them. She still wasn't happy about me being here. But apparently, she greenlit to go out for the day.

"If you are ready, I'll take you to a walk around the beach." George told me, adding. "You are here for the fifth day, and still barely seen a thing... After that, we can go swimming. Or continue the driving lessons! Whatever you'd like. But I'd hate it if you left without a good sightseeing!"

I was absolutely up for it! The area was really stunning, not just the awesome villa! The beach itself, and the town close by were both amazing. To make it all better, I grabbed his hand early on, and it really felt like a date. Since it was an early Tuesday, the place was relatively empty. I guess that was one of the reasons he picked this time. Or that her slavedriver even let us go out in broad daylight! By lunch, we walked at least half a dozen miles, and the Sun really got to us. He took me to yet another restaurant, then we rushed into the waves, to survive the heat!

By this time I was smart enough to always keep my bikinis on. Regardless what plans we had, the sea was always nearby. Looks like he had the same idea! He jumped in with me all the same. And once you get started, it's not like you can swim for a few minutes and walk away.

The number of people around us started to grow exponentially. By the time I noticed it, we spent almost four hours playing in the water. Goes on to show, that everything was fun to do here. Especially with him around!

"Should we go work on my guitar skills?" I asked while we were drying on the sand. But to my surprise, he shook his head, dressing up.

"Not a great idea, look at your skin!" He pointed it out. "Your fingers are all wrinkly. The strings would cut in deep... Especially, since you're a beginner... How 'bout we go for a ride instead? We skipped a day already!"

"Oh, I'm sold on that too!" I agreed, picking up my clothes. In reality, I was already working on a plan to get ourselves completely alone... Now I had to recalculate from scratch. I had to add, laughing. "Don't complain if I end up wrecking your car though!"

Maybe if I knew what foreshadowing means, I wouldn't have said something so stupid. But we did end up practicing, and I was on a roll. Driving faster and faster, I even mastered shifting gears! I barely noticed, that it was getting dark around us. We even had to fill the tank, but he didn't complain. He navigated me to a speedy national road with no traffic on it. I was encouraged for the first time, to push the pedal to the metal!

It was awesome.

The huge engine roaring louder than I could shout, the Mustang was flying over the road! I really felt like the most powerful being in the world!

But with great power comes great responsibility... When I noticed that dog... Or deer, or whatever... I knew there's no way I could stop. I didn't needed years of training to figure that out...

It would have been better, if I hit it instead...

Instead, I spun the steering wheel, and jumped the breaks. The next second, the Mustang was spinning out of control! It left the smooth road, skipping over the uneven ground, and flew straight into the woods!

Everything got blurry, even as the adrenaline rushed my brain. The only thing I noticed was the heavy weight pushing on me from the right. Forcing a deep breath, and opening my eyes, I saw him grab the steering wheel, while accidentaly pressing me against the door.

My legs lost their strenght. I was no longer on the breaks, which actually helped him steer us clear of the trees for a while. But as the woods got thicker, they suddenly surrounded us from every direction. There was no way the Mustang could fit between them. Neither could we slow down... George yanked the wheel towards me, and a second later we stopped with a crashing sound. The car's right side smashed into a tree.

I was still pushed against the door, but I haven't got a single scratch on me. His side on the other hand, was a complete mess!

That's when I realised, how he just saved my life.