Page 87 of Love, Luck & Clusterf*ck

Huh.

I left his office and turned off my computer, then made sure I had all my things. Kate was on the phone, but she swiveled around and gave me a questioning look. I whispered, “I’m leaving. Talk to you tomorrow.”

Before she could hang up and grill me, I took off. As I walked out with Stephen, I couldn’t stop shaking my head over the whole thing. Freaky.

He drove, and I was a quiet passenger as I watched out the window, trying to figure out where he was taking me. We hopped on the freeway and headed east, merging right. Okay, downtown was out. We passed the airport, then merged left.

“Are we going to Chicago?”

He smiled. “Not this time.”

Hmm, what did that mean? Another thirty minutes and we were nearing the border. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m keeping you in the state. This time.”

What was even around here? There was that cheese castle and a few porn/paraphernalia shops—excuse me,adult bookstores—and I stole a quick glance at him. My face flamed right up.Fuck, Perry. This is your friend, not your sex buddy. Pull your mind out of the gutter.

He turned off the exit and it dawned on me then. I started bouncing in my seat. Why it hadn’t occurred to me earlier with the signs and billboards, I had no idea.

“Seriously?” I asked when it was in sight.

His smile was so beautiful. “You happy?”

“Seriously,” I said again. “I’ve always wanted to come here.”

He laughed, pulling into the Jelly Belly factory lot. “I can’t believe you never have.”

“Me neither.” It wasn’t as if it was a far drive; I just never made it. “I mentioned it to Dre once, but he said…. You know what, never mind.” Since Stephen told me I was leaving with him, I hadn’t once thought of Dre or Christa, and that felt too good to tarnish with unhappy memories.

We went into the lobby where there was only a short ten-minute wait, considering it was in the middle of a weekday. Then the train pulled up, and we were ready to roll.

They gave us little paper hats to wear, and Stephen took mine, placing it on my head. When he brushed a piece of my hair away and tucked it under, I shivered at his touch. I closed my eyes without realizing, taking in a breath. I opened them quickly only to find him staring at me. My pulse jacked high, along with my temperature. Was this what it was like to ‘share a moment’? If so, I could understand the hype.

An older couple climbed in behind us, breaking our contact. He cleared his throat and looked down, pulling out his phone. “I need to get a picture,” he said.

“Oh, let me,” the woman said, leaning forward. “I’ll take one of both of you together.”

As we sat there in our silly little hats, smiling for the photo, I felt something shift inside me. Whatever that was I couldn’t determine, but fortunately, by the end of the tour it had shifted back.

“Check out the orangutan, Perry.”

“Shut up.”

“But it’s made out of jelly beans. Doesn’t that make you want to run over and kiss it?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, then punched his arm. “Don’t ruinit for me.”

He laughed. “I’m glad you feel there was something to ruin. You enjoyed it, then?”

The train came to a halt and we stepped off. It’d been about a half hour of candy-making displays and jelly bean art and sitting close to someone who was becoming my very good friend.

“Yes, I did. Thank you.”

He grabbed my hand. “It’s not over yet.” He led me into the gift shop and over to the sample bar. “Go nuts,” he said.

I gazed at the colorful beauty inside the glass that contained a gazillion different flavors. Where to begin? “I’ll start with the peach and toasted marshmallow and tutti-frutti and blackberry smoothie and buttered popcorn and strawberry daiquiri and cappuccino,” I told the guy behind the case, pointing every which way. “And oh, the draft beer too.” Stephen raised an eyebrow. “It’s for you, silly. You’re the one who likes beer.”

“Yes, but I prefer mine without sugar.”

---