“I need to head out. Don’t forget to pack your phone charger. Everyone forgets those.”
“Thanks. See you in two days.”
Hanging up, I ponder her jabs and advice. She’s reminded me many times of the same thing, but it just hits differently this time. Don’t do what everyone expects, right?
But I’m just going to do what Oliver and I always do. Have fun around one another. Good old-fashioned platonic fun. Follow the traditional rule that your brother’s best friend is off-limits. I’ve been doing it for years, and the next few days will be no different.
My lips roll in and out while I stare at my underwear and bra options. Quickly, I snatch up a few extra lacy choices.
My subconscious, I’m sure.
And the next morning at 6am, with the sunrise just lighting up the sky, I’m waiting on the curb in front of my house and throw out my thumb as if I’m hitchhiking when Oliver drives up. He’s in my brother’s silver SUV.
He rolls down his window. “Need a ride?”
“Yeah. You wouldn’t happen to be a gentleman who won’t murder me and is willing to help a girl out?”
His natural suave grin has its own category when the early-morning sun lights his skin.
“Depends, did you pack enough snacks for a family of five?”
“Of course.” I smile.
He motions with his head. “Then let me pop the trunk, and welcome to your chariot.”
Oliver exits the car and rounds the back to help me load everything up. Our arms cross, bumping into one another as he attempts to lift my bag, then it’s a shuffle of feet.
We’re already tangled, and we aren’t even five minutes into our adventure.
4
OLIVER
Hailey gives me an over-the-top stern look that I notice out of the corner of my eye. We’ve been driving for an hour, and early morning kept us not so talkative until we managed to get a coffee for the road. Now she’s full-on energy.
And trying to feed me a muffin.
“Come on, Oliver. As our driver, you need to be focused and fueled.” She continues her quest to stuff the baked good into my mouth.
“You were not joking about your snack box.”
We’re lucky that all the traffic is heading the opposite direction and the interstate is quiet. This should be an easy drive until our next stop.
“I would offer you something else, but this muffin has fiber and vitamins. It’s banana bran, after all.” She smiles mischievously and attempts to feed the muffin to me by bringing it closer to my mouth.
Like a shark, I take one snappy bite to appease her, nearly biting her fingers in the process.
“Yay, you listen.”
Only to you.
The way she feeds me a few more bites would look ridiculous to most, but it works for us. Becauseobviouslythere is nothing wrong with your buddy’s little sister feeding you a muffin in a tight space while you’re reminding yourself that the backseat is not an option.
Hailey shifts in her seat when the muffin is gone and pulls out a granola bar from her bag.
“What? I could have had a power bar and you made me eat a messy muffin?”
She throws me a sly grin. “It was more fun.” She reaches toward the dashboard to adjust the sound system, and when she’s satisfied with the music, she pulls out a map that crinkles open, along with a travel book.
