Page 53 of Road Trip
Abra looked down and shrugged her shoulders. “Huh. I guess you can see through this. Oops.” She stepped behind the rack, only partially out of view, and pulled off her tank.
“God, doll,” I said, feeling like my legs were going to give out. I stepped in front of her to block her from view a little more while the sales clerk just laughed.
“No sense getting the new one all wet,” she teased.
I was a mess from the sight of her. Tonight couldn’t get here fast enough. I adjusted the front of my shorts and prayed no one was paying attention to me.
Abra tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around to find her grinning up at me.
“Did you notice what it says?” she asked, holding out the bottom of the shirt so I could read the words. The skeleton man was embracing some sort of sewed-together looking woman and the words said ‘some things are meant to be.’
I looked up at my doll and thought that yeah, I had to think she and I were meant to be. There was no other explanation for how much she was making me feel. I swept her into my arms and kissed her passionately, ignoring the attempts by the clerk to hand me my credit card back.
“Sir,” she finally said. “I have to help another customer! Can you please sign this?” She held out the receipt to me and apologized to a couple of young girls who were giggling like mad at our display of affection. My cheeks got hot as I did as she asked. When I turned back to Abra, she just gave me that wicked smile of hers.
“See? You just have to let me get my way sometimes. It paid off for you, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, it did. It has. Stepping out of my comfort zone is not something I do often, but for you it doesn’t seem like too much of a chore. And I appreciate what you shared with me before. About your father. I’m sorry.”
She waved a hand at me. “Old news. I never met him. He was gone before I was born. It was weird sometimes when the other kids would talk about their families, but my grandparents made sure I never went without.”
“And your mom?”
She turned away and started walking.
“She’s a whole other story.”
