“None of your business.”
He laughed. “Let me guess. Noon? 5 pm?”
“Seven in the morning, buddy. I have to be home by two so I can get up in time to study.” To be honest, seven was when the test becameavailableto take, but Duke didn’t need to know that. Though…he probably did, but he let it slide.
“Okay,” he said, considering me. “One more thing. You said yes. So you can’t be worrying about what you’re not getting done while you’re with me. You have to be all in. Deal?” He held his hand out to me to shake and had the look on his face like he had won something.
Eyes narrowed playfully, I tamped down all the giddiness rising rebelliously throughout my body, met his hand with mine, and shook on it.
4
“So where am I headed?”Duke asked as we settled back into his truck.
“Let’s do yours first,” I said. My list could change based on whatever he pulled out for us to do tonight. I’d either match his crazy or be significantly less crazy.
“I’ve always wanted to buy a ticket to Europe and hop on a plane, spur of the moment,” he said. “No plans. Just up and go and buy the ticket at the counter and take off.”
“What about hotels?”
“I’d find something when I got there.”
“What if there’s nothing?”
“There’d be something.”
“What about exchanging all your money into Euros?”
“I can do that there.”
“What about work?”
He shrugged, so casual at the thought. “It will be there when I get back.”
I laughed, somewhat bitterly. “Your work must be different than mine.”
He leaned forward, tugging his hat around until it was backward, and started the engine.
“What if you don’t speak the language?”
“Google translate.”
“My blood pressure just spiked listening to you right now.”
He tapped on the steering wheel, lost in a memory that put a dreamy look across his face. “One time, back in college, me and Mike had two days off of school and work. Middle of the week. Really random that we both were free. We decided to up and go to New York City. We bought tickets that afternoon, boarded a red eye that night, and spent the next day doing a twelve-hour tour of the city before catching a flight home the next morning. And it was the best vacation I’ve ever been on. No agenda. No money. We stayed in the scariest hotel in downtown New York. We ate hot dogs off the street, carried a backpack with all of our stuff, ran across the Brooklyn Bridge, yelled at drivers on the road just because we could.”
I smiled at that. The idea of a free few days with no responsibilities was mind-boggling on its own, but to hop on a plane with no planning beforehand. To have money not even be an issue…
I cleared my throat. “Well, I don’t think we can make it to Europe and have me home by 2 am, so you’d better pick something more attainable.”
“Ladies first.”
I was all set to tell him I wanted to get a fake tattoo or steal the idea of being in two places at once fromA Walk to Remember. I was ready to borrow ideas from a movie. That was how far removed I was from a bucket list having any sort of impact on my life. But there was a part of my soul beginning to waken. However, with my current bank account situation, it would have to be a cheap type of spontaneous.
“I’ve always wanted to crash a wedding.”
He looked confused. “Why?”
“They have the best cake. And food. And it would be free.”
