Joel’s cheeks were flushed, and I couldn’t resist looking at his lips too. They looked soft and so damn kissable. Fuck, I wanted a taste more than I ever wanted anything in my life. The air around us felt electrified, and I struggled to remember what it was I was doing a minute ago.
It was like we were like the two polar opposites of a magnet, intrinsically attracted to each other, and I knew it was only a matter of time until we could no longer resist the pull.
I cleared my throat to speak and stop myself from acting on my thoughts and quickly put a pillow over my lap to hide my arousal. Joel jumped back, putting some more space between us. He rubbed the back of his neck, tousling his hair as he did it.
“We should do this.” I pointed to the journal.
“Do what?”
“We should follow their journey, go to the places they went, see what they saw, and find out if it has changed.”
“What, like a road trip?” Joel’s grin gave away his thoughts on the matter.
“Yeah, we can grab some essentials and see where our moms take us. I haven’t had a holiday in a while, and it would also be a good opportunity to do some traditional foods research.”
The shift in mood in the room from sexual tension to excitement about the road trip was a welcome balm to my senses. We were planning an adventure, and I couldn’t think of anyone else who I’d rather do this with other than my oldest friend.
Joel grabbed a notepad and pen from the table.
“May I?”
“Sure. Do you want a drink?” I got up and walked toward the kitchen area.
“Oh, yes, please. Chilled water would be good. I was thinking we could start by making a list of things we will need,” Joel said. He started scribbling away and muttering to himself.
I set Joel’s bottle of water on the coffee table and took a refreshing swig from mine.
“I also have a two-person tent and a couple of sleeping bags. If we can’t get a hotel, I’m sure we’ll come across a campsite,” I said.
“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea.”
I was a planner by nature, and the more detail we added to our notepad, the more excited I became.
“Hold on,” I said, deflating already, “we don’t have a car. Your rental was canceled, and I don’t own one. I usually drive Aunt Teresa’s car if I need to go anywhere outside of town.”
“Oh, crap, I didn’t think of that.” He suddenly looked dejected.
“Why don’t you ask your granddad if he knows what happened to our moms’ car?”
“You’re a genius! After all, we both have matching keys.” He lifted his keys up between us with a big smile. “I’ll ask Granddad tomorrow. If he doesn’t know, we can look at a local car rental company.”
We spent more time making plans and a list of things we didn’t want to forget. Once we finished, Joel had the idea that we should record this trip in the same way our moms had documented theirs.
I went to my office to search for a few items on the list, particularly my camera since Joel thought we should add photos to our journal.
When I came back to the living room, I found Joel standing on the balcony looking toward his apartment. I hadn’t realized how dark it was outside already. We’d been reading, talking, and planning all afternoon. The light from the streetlamp outside my balcony made Joel’s figure look melancholy.
From the set on his shoulders, I could see he was tense and deep in thought, so I decided to approach with care.
“Joel.” I placed my hand softly on his shoulder.
Joel turned around to face me and leaned back against the iron balcony railing. I couldn’t read his mood, and it was making me anxious.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s something I need to do before we go away,” Joel said.
I nodded, encouraging him to tell me what he needed. His eyes were shiny with unshed tears and so dark.
