Page 73 of Wish Lists and Road Trips

“Oh yeah?”

“What, and miss you moaning my name in your sleep?”

Her eyes bugged out and I laughed, kissing the top of her head. God, she was cute.

“You’re going to be cocky now, huh? I see how it is.”

When she smiled at me like that, it was hard to be humble. And hard to keep my hands to myself. I steered her up against a brick building, cupping her face, and kissed her slowly, the way I’d been too impatient to up until now. She melted like an icicle in my arms, blowing a soft, strawberry-flavored sigh into my mouth. My tongue slipped between her lips, sliding in the heat of her mouth and I felt myself thicken in my jeans. She made me feel heady and impulsive, and the experience was so new that I couldn’t help but gorge myself on it.

“Going in?” A man’s voice snapped up my attention and I pulled away from Brit, realizing we were standing in front of a tavern. I glanced at the sign on the door. It saidMadge’sand featured a mermaid holding a pint of beer while a sailor eyed her assets.

“Brit?” A woman with a beanie on her head stepped ahead and waved.

“Annie! Hi.” Brit looked up at me. “Annie and I met on the train.”

“I didn’t know you were traveling with someone,” Annie said. She gestured to the man who had just interrupted us. “This is my husband Jonathan.”

We introduced ourselves and Annie looked between the two of us. Brit’s lipstick was smudged in the corner of her mouth and I quickly wiped my lips, feeling like the cat who ate the canary.

“Are you two on your honeymoon or something?” Annie asked, a smirk on her lips.

Brit threw her arms around my neck. “It’s our anniversary, actually.”

I laughed, shaking my head. Nothing she said surprised me anymore. Besides, we’d never see these people again. If she wanted to play pretend, I wasn’t going to argue. Though I did wonder how she got so good at acting all these different parts.

“The motel told us this was the only place in town to get food,” Annie said. “We figured we’d see a few familiar faces. Want to join us?”

Brit looked up at me, hopeful.

“Sure,” I said, holding the door. “Lead the way.”

Jonathan and Annie were here to party and it was exactly the distraction that I needed. When they’d invited us to hang out with them, I could tell Nick would have preferred more alone time. Trust me, I would have too, but it was easier to pretend that my world was intact in a group of strangers. Even after a few days, Nick knew me too well.

After I had a burger and most of the ice-cream sundae I made Nick share, the four of us claimed a spot in the corner by the jukebox. He pressed up against me, his chest to my back, his chin resting on my head. I imagined him like a blanket wrapped around me—cozy, safe—and I let myself accept some of that safety this time. My heart could use all of the protection it could get.

He fed a five-dollar bill into the machine and pretended to argue with me about the songs we were awarded while discreetly running his fingers under the hem of my T-shirt. He was shameless with the touching, and the fact that he hadn’t toned it down for our new company had me more buzzed than the tequila Annie kept trying to give me.

“Rules of the road still apply, Nicky.” I tipped my chin to look at him. “You said I was in charge of the music.”

“That rule expired when you got the car towed.”

I pushed an elbow into his ribs and he pretended it hurt. “For that, I get two Taylor Swift songs.”

He groaned. “I knew you were too pretty to be kind.”

That comment dripped over me like honey. I made my selections, then leaned into his chest while he chose the one song I allowed him. It was “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen. Classic and crowd-pleasing, but the kind of lyrics you were too busy belting at the top of your lungs to realize how devastating they are. That was who Nick was. Perfectly hidden devastation.

I sighed inwardly at my secret. Maybe that was who we both were now.

“You two are adorable,” Annie said, tipping her drink at us, her words starting to slur. “Aren’t they adorable, Jonathan?”

Jonathan smiled at his wife. Annie’s pale cheeks were bright red, her shoulder-length brown hair pulled hastily back with a clip she’d found in her purse. “Absolutely.”

“You must be thrilled to have your vacation extended,” Annie said. “Even if it’s in the middle of nowhere.”

I winced, looking at Nick and remembering his face in the airport when he’d said, “This isn’t a pleasure trip for me.” But he was looking at me like he hadn’t heard a word Annie said.

“You want another drink?” he asked in my ear.

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