and stands in front of the window until Hoda notices him

Hoda stared off into space for about five minutes. She thought about nothing. She felt nothing. She itched at a spot on her arm that she often itched at. It vaguely hurt. For a moment Hoda wondered if she might get skin cancer from doing things like this every now and then. When Hoda was a child she used to love to pick at her scabs over and over and over until the spot where the tiny cut or mosquito bite had been turned into a little pink scar. Most of these scars faded with time but some of them were still visible on her ankles and knees and now this spot on her arm. She couldn't remember how this spot on her arm had started but she guessed she'd been picking at it on and off for about two years. The pink scar tissue was now raised so that she didn't have to wonder where the spot was. Her hand floated there effortlessly in blank moments like this and picked away, the only thing bringing her back into the present was the slight pain and sometimes even that didn't do it.

Hoda jumped and gasped. Harold stood right in front of her driver's side window, staring at her. How long had he been there? How long had she been staring into space. Hoda rolled down her window.

"Harold! You scared me!"

Harold chuckled.

"Yea. Pretty funny, right?"

Hoda sighed.

"How long were you there?"

Harold smiled and didn't answer her.

"Well, here, come around the other side. Get in." Hoda said, feeling a little awkward. Sometimes Harold played little tricks like this and Hoda didn't really like it. It made her feel kind of stupid. When Hoda felt stupid, she felt insecure, and when Hoda felt insecure she tended to feel like crying, and when Hoda felt like crying, sometimes she cried and that could be embarrassing at a moment like this. Harold often didn't know what to do when Hoda cried and he definitely would not know what to do if she cried right now.

Harold opened the passenger side door and got in.

"Smells like a new car!" he said.

"Yea, right?"

Harold and Hoda held eye contact for a moment. Hoda felt a little uncomfortable. Harold smiled. He put his hand on her hand. Hoda's heart leapt like a little leprechaun leaping for some gold. Harold's touch was Hoda's gold.

"You wanna drive me around?"

Hoda felt a wave of heat run through her body, starting at her mound and sending rapidly through her stomach and up to her neck then face, making her blush.

Hoda looked away from Harold's eyes, smiled, then looked back. This was somewhat calculated, a small movement she knew would carry some sexuality with it, maybe turn Harold on.

"Yea."

Hoda put her 2016 Honda Fit into drive, put her left blinker on, and went back onto the road, going about 5 miles per hour, then 9 miles per hour, activating the car's automatic lock feature, then 15 miles per hour, then 20 miles per hour, then 25 miles per hour, then 30 miles per hour, then 35 miles per hour, then 36 miles per hour, then 38 miles per hour and stayed at that speed because the speed limit on this road was 35 miles per hour and Hoda didn't want to go too fast.