My mouth opens to protest, but I snap it shut, because she’s right. So I say nothing and instead focus on the van below and the boy working on it.
Reid is waving at me dramatically, and he’s smiling like a fool. My stomach clenches. I keep trying to remind myself that excitement and anxiety feel the same way in the body. The pad of my thumb runs against the fluffy edge of my robe one last time before I reluctantly head to my walk-in closet to get dressed.
It’s time to go, and there are no more excuses to put it off. The van’s packed, and my fate is sealed.
4
We’ve been on the road for half a day, and Reid is already driving me crazy. He’s in his own van, an entire bus length away, but he still maintains that uncanny knack for pissing me off.
Wyoming is full of a lot of nothing. The first stretch from Colorado was beautiful, but we haven’t seen anything except lonely ranches and sketchy gas stations since then. This road iscompletelyempty. I’ve seen nothing but cows for the last several miles.
The lack of traffic is getting to Reid’s head. He won’t stop fucking brake checking me. Last time he didit—about twenty miles back—my iced coffee straw almost went up my nose, and half of it spilled all over my white tank.
I’m tugging at the thin material as it slowly becomes more see-through. I could only fit a small amount of clothes in the van, and now I’m going to have my whole laundry schedule thrown off before we’ve even been on the road for twenty-four hours.
Reid pulls off on the side of the road and leans against the edge of his van, smirking at me. That fucking smirk. He thinks he’s so damn funny, but at least he noticed I was annoyed and pulled off. I’m still pissed though, so I take one more gulp and shake up the rest of my coffee. I hop out of the drivers side door onto the dusty ground. Reid is looking at me, but not quite, like he’s daydreaming or something. This is the perfect opportunity. Quickly, I rip the lid off of my coffee and chuck the ice cubes and sugar water at his fluffy brown hair.
“Laideeee,” he squeals, raking his fingers through his wet hair.
I rest my elbows on the hood of Willa, kick my right foot forward and let a smirk overtake my face in a dramatic imitation of his posture from before. He races towards me and shakes out his coffee soaked locks like a damn retriever. “Bad girl.”
Reid wiggles his finger at me as if he’s scolding me, and I’m embarrassed by the way I involuntarily bite my lip. I turn to face the van and shield my face from the sugary spray, hoping he doesn’t notice.
“Don’t call me Laide. You know I hate that.”
“Oh come on, you can’t actually be mad.”
“I am! Only my mom calls me that. Plus, I’m more pissed that I’m soaking wet on day two of this fucking road trip.”
“Oh Addie, you’re gonna get a lot dirtier than this.”
That knee-weakening grin is back, and I’m a goner. I can never be pissed at Reid for long. One touch, one smile, and he’sforgiven. Even Sebastian, Damien and Delaney’s father, likes him. Usually that man doesn’t like anyone, including his own children.
Reid’s got some kind of pull about him. Constantly luring people into his orbit like a mountain siren. I catch myself leaning in—just a little—but enough to be embarrassed.
My cheeks are hot, so I dab at them with the edge of my flannel, as if I’d be able to wipe the embarrassment away.
Reid has that distant look in his eyes again, and I can’t help but wonder what he is thinking about. My impulses take over and I reach out to nudge my pointer finger under his chin. “Hey, eyes up here.”
Now Reid’s the one looking bashful. “Come on. Let’s shower.”
“Together?!?”
“No Blondie. Gotta buy me dinner before you get me naked.”
The way he drags out ‘Blondie’ always makes my heart flutter—like he’s tasting every part of the word. That nickname has always bothered me. Mentally, I take it as an insult, but my body doesn’t seem to agree.
Sometimes it feels like he’s flirting with me, but he covers it with brotherly affection shortly after—erasing any hope I have for romance. Anytime he compliments me, he follows it with a noogie…a literal noogie. It doesn’t get more platonic than that.
He pushes me out of the way and opens the trunk of the van. Slowly, he unhooks both bikes and sets them to lean against the bumper. Reid hops up into the back of the van in one smooth move. “Shut me in, Laide?”
My cheeks puff up, trying to cool down the air before it enters my lungs. I pace, kicking a rock back and forth in the dirt—waiting to hear the shower shut off. Every few seconds, I have to wipe the shine off of my hands and on my pants—it keeps coming back.
“Ad, can you grab me a change of clothes?” I jump at his voice.
Reid peaks his head out of the side window. His hair is soaking wet and hanging over his hazel eyes. There’s a little more brown in them than green right now, matching the dirt around us. His shaggy hair looks darker than usual as it drips down into his thick brows.
I shake my head slightly as I get myself grounded in reality before replying, “Uh, sure. What do you want?”
