Page 8 of Road Trip
Chapter Three
Abra
I let out a maniacal laugh. “Does it matter? We’re running away. We can go wherever we want. But since you asked, I’ve got a hotel reservation in San Bernardino. The reviews I saw said it was clean and quiet. How could sixty-three dollars a night go wrong? Oh and they have breakfast too! Breakfast is a deal breaker for me when it comes to hotels. I need my powdered eggs and frozen potatoes and the Belgian waffle makers that probably have more germs than the sperm-covered comforters!”
Kelly laughed nervously, and then sucked in a breath as he ran his hand back over his head and started to stretch.
“That stinkin’ hurts,” he said with a wince.
“We need to do something about this language of yours.”
“My what?”
“Your language! You swear like a kindergartener! Do you ever say ‘fuck’?”
He rubbed at his jaw and exhaled, turning to look out the window.
“I don’t know. I was just raised that way, I guess. I don’t like to offend people.”
I snorted. “Please. People are going to be offended regardless. Shouldn’t you have fun while you annoy them?” I knew I’d been coming on strong. Another defense mechanism from the ‘hood. I could be a lot for people to take. The people who stuck around me the longest adored me, but they had to put up with my mouth for a long time before they got to that part.
“I don’t even know how to respond to that,” he said with a laugh, then a wince as he repositioned himself in my seat.
Shit.I didn’t want to drive him away, but my mouth seemed determined to fuck things up with this potentially nice guy.
“Bet your ass is killing you right about now. How’s the rest of you?”
“It does hurt. They gave me some Motrin, but I didn’t want to take it without some food.”
“Oh! I have brownies in the backseat. Just grab that container…”
He reached around and damn did he make a fine sight. The shirt the other cop gave him was almost completely sheer and way too tight. His chest was so fucking amazing. I never really went for muscley guys, but Jesus did this man have a sculpted physique.
He brought the container around to the front, and I noticed him stalling. He lifted the lid and sniffed.
“Kelly?” I asked, trying to control my laughter. “What are you doing?”
“Um, are these—”
“Would I offer pot brownies to an officer of the law? Do I look that dumb?” I was a little disappointed that he would think that about me, but we all make choices about how we present ourselves. My appearance often screamed ‘fuck you.’
“I’m sorry, Abra. I meant no disrespect. Occupational hazard.” He took one out and took a big bite, moaning with happiness. Oh, to be the cause of that joy.
“These are unbelievable,” he said after he’d chewed and swallowed. No talking with his mouth full. So friggin’ polite.
“Did you make these?” he asked.
“Yep. They are loaded with my secret recipe, which includes brown sugar, crushed cocoa beans, and hashish. Just give it a few minutes and you’ll feel great.”
He paused with his mouth full like he needed a place to spit it out.
“Oh, come on. You walked into that one, Kelly. There are no drugs anywhere in this car, or on my person. You can subject me to a strip search when we get—oh.”
What started out as just a way to mess with his pretty little head had taken a turn to the dangerous. Did I want to share my body with this beautiful man? I was undecided. He was gorgeous, yes, and if I was the kind of person who could just give myself to any hot guy, then yeah. I would. Problem was that I wasn’t turned on by people easily, men or women, and I’d been with both. Something about the person had to speak to me. A person who could take care of themselves was probably my biggest turn-on. Self-sufficiency was sexy in my book. So far the jury was out on my cop.
“Abra…”
“Kelly. It’s fine. I was messing with you. Besides, you’re off duty.” He was rubbing at his jaw again, and I snuck a peek at his profile. Unbelievable from every angle. What rock had this lovely creature crawled out from under? And just how badly was I going to drive him away? I must have still been a little high on adrenaline to take some strange guy, despite the fact he was a cop, to a fucking hotel in the middle of nowhere. Too late now. I’d have to see how this played out and hope my dark side didn’t come out to play.
