“What if there’s a fire?”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“Well then, yes, tell me that. But anything else can wait. I want to shut off my brain and lose myself in the story.”
Tristen takes the hint, opens his email, and starts typing a new message, immediately back to work. The tension eases from his shoulders as he settles comfortably in his seat.
Pressing play, I do the same.
But it doesn’t last long. As soon as the male narrator starts to speak, my eyes fly open. It’s familiar in a way I can’t pinpoint, and my heart flip-flops in my chest. It’s a rumbly, honey-coated voice, one that transforms the boring backstory into a cadence of seduction. Transfixed, I hang on to his every word. Disappointment fills me as soon as his chapter is over. I’m almost tempted to fast-forward to get to his next chapter. Chapter? Heck, I want him to read everything for me. My medical bills, my text messages, the backs of my ramen packages—anything I can find.
I’ve heard of love at first sight, but what about love at first sound?
Tristen pulls out my earbud and in a finger snap transports me from the imaginary book world to the dingy bus rumbling through the Colorado countryside.
“Why are you smiling like that?” he asks, scanning my face.
“What the heck? I thought I said not to interrupt me.” Flustered, I tuck my audiobook boyfriend in my pocket.
“Well, I thought it might be important since you missed the announcement. We’re pulling into our first stop.”
“Oh. Do we have to get off?”
“You should. It’s good to stretch your legs or they’ll swell.”
“Yes, Dr. Davis. I’ll make sure to stretch.”
With only ten minutes at the first stop, everyone beelines for the bathrooms. Tristen offers to hold my backpackwhen he sees me waiting in line, and for a split second, I’m almost thankful he came along.
Almost.
I’m wiping my clean, wet hands on my jeans as I walk back out, surprised to see he’s where I left him with a plastic bag of purchases in his hand. He motions for me to hurry, and we race back out to the bus.
After we reach our seats, the bus door shuts with finality, and the bus drives out of the gas station. Tristen digs through his purchases and hands me a bag of trail mix—my favorite kind.
“Oh, hey. Thanks.”
“Here, and this too.”
He places a single Reese’s Cup in my hand, filling me with nostalgia. A peace offering.
Smiling, I open the wrapper and split the candy in two.
“Wanna share?”
“Love to.”
The corner of his mouth lifts as he takes the smaller half and pops the whole thing in his mouth without breaking eye contact.
Chapter Eight
TRISTEN
Time creeps by as we hit each stop, dragging our tired bodies off and then back on the bus. Only the Springfield truck stop remains, our longest stretch before we reach our final destination. Crossing my arms, I curl into myself, the air brisk enough that my nose is frozen. I’m regretting not leaving my gloves in my jacket pocket with each shiver. Apparently the only temperature the bus has is arctic.
A soft, flirtatious giggle sounds next to me, and I nearly snatch the earbud out of Reese’s ear again. The noise shouldn’t bother me, so there’s no explanation why my hands curl into fists to punch some imaginary character out of Reese’s mind.
Ahem.Not that I’m jealous.
