“You were the most beautiful woman in the world, Trouble. You still are,” I confess.
Our gazes lock and I wanna kiss her. Not to take it further, just to feel her lips against mine and make her understand I never stopped loving her.
But I know that ain’t what she wants. My feelings are a complication she doesn’t need in her life.
Tally tucks both pieces of the polaroid under the strap on the sun visor. “I can’t bear tearing us apart again.” She flinches. “I-I mean the picture.”
I put on a smile before I say something stupid like ‘Please don’t leave me! I’ll die without you!’ Instead, I opt for a casual vibe.
“I think we’ve gone done memory lane long enough for one day.”
Tally slumps in the seat. “Agreed.”
“But I like your idea to take Yolanda on the road trip.”
She whips her curls over her shoulder, smirking. “Of course. I’m full of brilliant ideas. The old girl deserves one more run before retirement.”
I rub my hands together. “Alright. Soon as I’ve put the luggage in the back and covered it with tarp we’re ready to go.”
“Let’s make some new memories, Big Guy.”
19
RUST
“Faster!”Tally shouts.
I step on the gas and the motor howls as we race the setting sun toward the horizon. Thanks to her need for speed, we’ve made good headway into Tennessee since we left in the afternoon.
She rolls down the window, holding on to the grab handle above the door to pull herself up. My brows knit. I know exactly what she’s about to do cause she used to do it when we were teens, too.
“Careful!” I warn.
“Oh, don’t be an ill pill!” Her nose scrunches. “Where’s that crazy boy who took an old car from the junkyard, added tires, and convinced me to ride it with him downhill into the pond behind the trailer park?”
I wince at the stupidity and hubris of my youth. “That stunt could’ve gotten us killed. I’m older and wiser now.”
“And no fun!”
“That ain’t true!”
“Then prove it, Big Guy. Don’t you dare slow down.”
Tally sits on the window frame, leaning out. I curseunder my breath and reach over, wrapping my fingers around the bend of her knee.
Wind in her hair, she laughs. “Whoo-hoo! Hell yeah! Still feels like flyin’!”
Her laugh is contagious and I find myself smiling, too. Fuck, I missed her thirst for life. With Tally, everything is an adventure.
“Get your pretty ass back in here!” I yell.
“Or what?”
I tug on her leg. “Don’t make me pull over and show you.”
She slips back inside the cabin, wrestling her leg free with a short-lived pout. “I knew you had me, so I wasn’t scared.”
“Put on your seatbelt right fucking now!” I growl.
