“Okay.” She appeared to do some mental calculations and then took a long swig of the water before putting the cap back on. “I can hold it that long.”
“Unless we hit a bump really hard,” Hannah said, and Rob laughed when Erika threw a nut from the trail mix at her.
“I’m going to go take a quick walk through the woods,” he said. “Then I’ll be ready to go when you are.”
“Show off,” Hannah shouted as he disappeared into the trees.
“Hopefully not,” he called back, and he could hear her laughing as he looked for a discreet spot to water a tree.
When he got back, the women had stowed the bottles and snacks, and they both had their helmets on, though Hannah’s wasn’t buckled. She was a pretty quick study, so he was starting to think she wasn’t even trying to figure it out because she wanted a reason for him to touch her.
He definitely approved.
While he didn’t want to switch the seating around, Rob knew how to be a good host. And being one of four kids, he was a veteran of the who-gets-the-front-seat wars—which he never won, of course, being the youngest. “Hey, Erika, I think it’s your turn to ride in the front now.”
She tipped her head toward Hannah. “Carsick, remember?”
“Right.” Once Erika was in, he walked over to help Hannah buckle her helmet. “Sorry, I forgot you have to sit in the front.”
She tipped her head back so he could get to the buckle, and he took his time grazing his knuckles along her jawline. “Yeah, about that. It’s not true, but nobody’s ever caught on to the fact it comes and goes depending on the situation. I want to sit in front with you, so yeah—I’ll get carsick in the back seat.”
“I like the way you think.” He finished with the buckle and sighed. “Maybe I should have tried that when I was a kid.”
“I’ve met your brothers and I’m pretty sure they would have just put a bucket in your lap and turned the radio up.”
They were still chuckling over that visual when Erika yelled at them to hurry up because not being able to pee was making her have to pee.
When Rob pulled the side-by-side alongside the store and cut off the engine, Hannah had mixed feelings. On the one hand, she’d been having a great time and would have been happy to stay out longer. But on the other hand, she was going to have to pee soon and she was glad to be out of the woods.
He helped them climb out of the machine, and they both took their helmets off. She looked at Erika and burst into laughter. “Is my face as dirty as yours?”
“Totally. And this is the dirtiest I’ve ever been in my life. I think I even have dirt in my mouth.” She grimaced and then pulled out the neck of her shirt, looking down. “Yeah, there’s dirt in my bra. In mybra, Hannah. I have dirty boobs right now.”
Hannah laughed, not only at her friend’s distress, but because Rob was trying so hard not to react to what Erika was saying. His lips were pressed together, but she could see the tilt at the corners, and his eyes were sparkling when their gazes locked.
“Are your boobs dirty, Hannah?” Erika demanded, and Rob covered his mouth as his shoulders jerked with the effort to stifle a laugh. He turned away, suddenly very busy doing something with the side-by-side.
“We were on the same ride, so probably. I’m not going to show you right now, though.”
“Why not? He’s seen your boobs already.”
Rob’s head whipped around and Hannah cringed. So much for Erika not embarrassing her.
“Sorry,” Erika said, noticing Rob’s reaction. “She told me you guys are having a summer fling, but I’m her bestie, so it’s okay. I won’t tell anybody else.”
Hannah wanted this conversation to take a hard turn away from her relationship with Rob. “I’m not going to show you right now because you never know when a campground might have doorbells that spy on you.”
Erika frowned. “Doesn’t everybody have those doorbells now?”
Hannah laughed, her hand on her stomach because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks and her stomach muscles ached, but she had all afternoon. The way Erika screamed when Rob drifted the machine around a mud corner or plowed through a puddle, sending up sprays of mud and water, had cracked her up. Of course, that only encouraged Rob.
“No laughing,” Erika said sternly. “I have to pee.”
“Me, too.” Hannah turned to Rob. “Do you need help cleaning this stuff and putting it away? Where do the helmets go?”
“I’ve got it.”
“Thank you for today. I didn’t think I was going to like it very much, but it was really fun. And that view was special. That’s where you used to have picnics with your whole family when you were a kid, right?”
