“Yes!” I hissed, and my face grew hotter. “I— ugh! Can we just stop, please?”
He laughed, a full, teasing chuckle that made it all worse. “You’re fine to barge into my apartment in nothing but a towel and commandeer my shower, but now you’re suddenly shy about needing to pee?”
I glared at him with my thighs squeezed tightly together in a last ditch attempt to preserve some dignity. “Should we talk some more about things that absolutely don’t matter, or are you fine to pull over now?”
“Okay, okay, geez,” he said, slowing the car. “But for the record, this is hilarious and I won’t be shutting up about it.”
“One mention of this and you’ll pay the price,” I muttered, practically bouncing in my seat.
He laughed, shaking his head. “Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say, hotshot. We’re stopping here.”
I flung the door open before the car had fully stopped, and darted toward a nearby patch of trees and bushes that offered enough cover.
“Don’t look!” I yelled over my shoulder as I vanished behind them.
“I amnotlooking,” he called back, still chuckling. “Not that I can see anything behind all those leaves. Although, if I tilt my head and squint through those two branches—”
“Landon!” My voice carried no real threat as I relieved myself and not even the sound of his distant laughter could interrupt my stream.
Landon grinned as I slid into the seat, his eyes trained on my shoes. “Not a wayward splash in sight. I’m in the company of a pro, I see.”
“Bite me.” I threw him a look that would have been deadly if not for the corners of his mouth tugging up into a smirk.
“I’d love to, but after you’ve had a shower,” he said, buckling up again.
I rolled my eyes, but bit back a laugh of my own. A few hours on the road, and already, the little mishaps, the teasing, and him laughing at me had settled into this easy kind of rhythm. Something about being stuck in this together, ridiculous moments and all, made it feel like it was just us, the road, and these long stretches of time that somehow sped and slowed at the same time.
We drove through late morning, the sunlight getting harsher, bouncing off the asphalt and warming the dashboard. We’d been on the road long enough for my legs to cramp. Every so often, Landon switched places with me, letting me stretch behind the wheel while he leaned back, hands behind his head, pretending he wasn’t exhausted from the early start. I couldn’t stop glancing at him. He had this way of being casually in command of the car, the road, and somehow everything else, too.
Then, as we hit the final stretch, another unplanned hiccup upset the schedule. Flapping rubber cycled beneath the car, and I slowed down, carefully coming to a stop on the side of the road.
“Sounds like a flat.”
He straightened in his seat, looking as though I’d summoned him to deliver a baby. “I… I don’t—”
“You don’t know how to change a tire?” I was already jumping out and grabbing the jack from the trunk. “Step aside, rookie. Watch and learn.”
“I can help,” he offered, crouching beside me.
“Not much to help with.”
“I’m not useless,” he protested, kneeling down but clearly unsure where to put his hands.
“Yeah, you’re really helping,” I said, grabbing the lug wrench and turning it with more force than strictly necessary. “But you can stick around and keep me company. You know, decorate the space with your dashing good looks.”
“I am decorative,” he shot back, grinning despite himself. “And highly valuable.”
I scoffed and gave the wrench another turn. “Valuable for what? Just sitting there looking confused?”
“I’m contributing morale,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
“Beautiful sentiment, but morale doesn’t tighten lug nuts,” I said, snapping one loose with a satisfying click.
He leaned a little too close as I slid the spare into position. My foot slipped on the gravel, and suddenly I was toppling sideways.
Landon was useless with tires, but quick to react. He yanked me up before I hit the ground, and I found myself cradled in his careful embrace, gazing into his eyes.
He swallowed hard. “That was close.”
