“Of course. I’ll leave now.” I slipped on sandals and an oversized sweatshirt left over from my ex last year and grabbed my keys. “Do you need anything?”
“A ride out of this shithole.” She sighed, and my own soul ached. My sister was hurting.
“Are you safe? Should I call Dad?”
“No!” she yelled. “Don’t, no. Don’t tell anyone. Please.”
“Sure, yeah.” I got into the car I’d spent four summers saving to buy. Benny B the Blue Bug wasn’t shiny and new, but he was sturdy and my guy. “Getting in and pulling up the GPS.”
Something loud carried over her end, and it sounded like shouting. Angry shouting. It reminded me of a party, but it was eleven a.m.? I wasn’t judging because I was a firm believer ofyou do you,but a rager at eleven a.m. was a new one for Cami. She might party a lot and steal guys I dated, but she took dance seriously.
“Shit, I gotta go. Please honk when you get to the address.” She hung up before I could say a word, and I put the car in reverse.
“Watch it!” someone yelled, a deep familiar voice. I winced, horrified I almost hit a human, and Michael’s large body appeared at the driver’s window. I hit the button, on autopilot.
“Fletcher, of course it’s you.”
“What are you… why are you...you’re here,” I said, not providing any evidence of my intelligence. I sounded demented. “Michael,” I said, my face tingling from mortification.
“Trying to hit me, hm?” He bent low, smiling and looking way too relaxed after what we almost did an hour ago. His face was a few inches from mine, and his lips stole all my focus. They were so full and soft and talented. Goosebumps broke out from my neck to my toes, and I shivered.
“Whoa, hey, you’re pale as fuck. What’s wrong?”
“Uh.” Right, Cami. “My sister. She needs my help.” I lifted my phone like that made it all clear. “She needs a ride from.” I paused and squinted at the address. “Shollock. Damn, that’s twenty minutes away.”
“Shollock?” Michael’s brows raised, and he frowned. “That’s not a great town. Why is she there?”
“No idea. She called me upset, and I’m going to help.”
“I’ll head there with you,” he said, not even bothering to wait before he walked around and got into the passenger side door. He was in my car, buckled and staring at me, before my brain caught up to the moment.
“Wait, no.” I shook my head, so flustered witheverythingthat nothing made sense. “You don’t have to come.”
“From what I know of that town, it’s not a great place for you or your sister to be. I won’t say anything if you want silence, but I’ll feel better knowing you’re safe.”
“You don’t need to watch out for me,” I said, annoyed at feeling incompetent. He did this. He rattled me.
“You’re right, I don’t, but I’d like to.” He narrowed his eyes and flexed a hand at his thigh before he sighed. This one felt like disappointment. The sun hit his face at the right angle, making his blue eyes darker. Like the sky right after a storm at dawn. My breath caught in my lungs at how beautiful he was, and for a moment, I forgot my task ahead of me.
I could only stare at him, at the shape of his jaw. The way his brows were thick and brown. The hair that was still a bit messy from running my fingers through it. Wait. Him… us… “Why are you here?”
“Ah well, someone… meaning me, left their wallet here.” He gave a goofy smile. “Then you tried to hit me with your car,andnow I’m tagging along to get your sister. Which, you didn’t ask for my opinion, but I’m glad you’re helping her. Those without siblings don’t understand theI love them but don’t like themargument. You might not like your sister, but you’ll do anything for her.”
“That’s exactly it.” I shook my head a bit and settled myself by gripping the wheel and wiggling my toes in my sandals. “You hit it perfectly. She called, and my stomach dropped. Of course I’d help her.”
“And I’m coming with you because I’ve heard that town is rough. If I’m assuming anything about your sister, my guess is she might’ve gotten into trouble, so having wonderfully strong male backup isn’t the worst idea.” He winked and leaned back into the seat.
“Tuck your ego in, Reiner. It’s hanging out.”
“Just the truth, baby.”
I snorted, and just like that, there was no weirdness between us. I didn’t have the paralyzing worry about what happened or didn’t happen. It felt normal. A beat of silence passed as I got onto the main road that took us out of town. Worry ate at my stomach the longer the silence went on, but not because of us. We could talk about that later. It was Cami. “Do you think she’s in trouble?”
“I don’t know her, but the fact she called you is good.” He turned toward me, and I swore I could feel my face heating from his attention. “Does she do drugs? Is she an adventure-seeking type of girl?”
“No to drugs, or at least I’d be shocked by it. She takes dance seriously, but we’re obviously not close.” My palms sweated.Ten minutes out.“Can you text her from my phone to ask if she’s okay?”
“Sure thing.”
