Then as if the spell over her breaks, her silver eyes flutter open, almost confused. She presses her trembling fingertips to her mouth as her eyebrows slant over her nose. With both hands she shoves me back in my seat, her eyes twinkling in fury.
“Don’t kiss me again.”
The slap of rejection hurts worse than her physical shove, my mind reeling. I thought she liked me.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” My snarky response is automatic. I straighten out my jacket with two quick jerks as if I could fix my pride.
We both turn away from each other, mirrored images with our arms crossed and matching scowls. Hours pass without us talking, and I’m back to googling rentals while she watches RV repair videos.
The longer I sit there, the more I stew.
It’s what I thought would happen. What little progress Ihad made in repairing our friendship had snapped by my impatience. So, we are back at square one—only this time my mouth smells of cotton candy. I wish I regretted it, but I don’t. I thought—had hoped—for a moment, there was something between us.
Obviously not.
If I were a smarter man, I’d be camping out under the stars without a care in the world right now. But no, I had to follow my gut and chase after her. Then my stupid gut told me to kiss her. Are my instincts broken? Or maybe I just need a change of scenery, open some doors and see what other opportunities lie beyond the mountains of Rocosa.
Looking upward, I say a little prayer for guidance, because man, I’m screwing everything up on my own. A little direction would be nice.
While I question my life choices, I stifle another yawn, fighting the seductive call of sleep the best I can. My coffee cup is empty, and between the two of us, all the chocolate M&Ms have been gobbled out of the trail mix. My bleary eyes droop low, desperate for sleep.
I might not make it much longer, and I sneak a glance at Reese to see how she is faring.
At some point, she must have nodded off, her chin slowly drooping forward. My hand snakes out to catch her before she tumbles out of her seat. Like a rag doll, I position her back into place, and she slumps and slides sideways against the leather until her head bumps my arm.
Ah, crap.
Yes, I’m still furious with her... but right now? She’s angelic, so peaceful with her eyes closed. Feeling brave, I allow myself one sniff of her hair, savoring the sweetness with hints of floral shampoo. It’s light and fresh, like a spring meadow full of wildflowers. A smell that is so perfectly Reese that I greedily inhale it again before I catch myself.
That’s it. That’s the last one I’ll allow myself.
Before she can wake and punch me in the face, I try to scoot her limp body back in her seat. But she groans in her sleep, and her arm whips around me, curling tight around my waist as she cuddles into my side fully.
Ah, double crap.
An hour later and my left arm is numb, but I don’t care. I’m not moving an inch until Reese wakes up, even if we miss our stop and ride this bus straight through to Dallas. This is the closest to a hug she’ll ever give me now.
So, I rest my cheek on top of her head, savoring this rare moment while it lasts. Because I’m pretty sure she’s going to murder me when she wakes up.
Chapter Nine
REESE
“Reese.”
My name whispers like a chant in my head, soft at first, but building with urgency until something jiggles my shoulder. The beautiful mountain scenery around me shatters into a thousand glass fragments. Desperate, I rush to pick up the pieces and return to the peaceful state I once had. My shoulder is shaken again, and I grumble into my pillow.
“Go. Away.”
“Get up, Reese. The driver says we have to get off the bus.”
Bus? I open one eye, and a blurry leather seat comes into focus. I jerk upright and wince, the side of my neck stiff and tender. Tristen’s face comes into view next and the flood of memories hits me, and I wish I could escape back into my dream world rather than deal with the awkward day that lies ahead.
Tristenthe-bane-of-my-existenceDavis kissed me.
And the worst part?I liked it.
Like how the world fell away when I listened to his voice, it was the same when his lips pressed into mine. Only this wasmore intense and charged with electricity that I felt it ripple through my entire body. Even now my brain easily recalls the tingle of his lips and the scrape of his beard on my chin—and I want more. More of Tristen.
