Breeze playfully hopped in her seat. There was so much enthusiasm in that simple twist of her body. How could I not smile? Since she’d come into my life my energy had been different. I felt happy and so damn alive.
“Here’s a creepy thought,” she whispered, her eyes wide with the promise of a story to dazzle me. “Do you think she’s got a shrine of you in her bedroom?”
A shiver ran through me as I pictured the lumbersexual with a full-blownAnyDayNowfetish. “Honestly?” I winced. “Yes.”
If I thought Breeze would sympathize, I was sadly mistaken. Her smile widened. “She probably sleeps with one of your Barbie dolls and kisses it goodnight.”
“Breeze, please be respectful. It’s an action figure.”
She laughed, leaning closer to me. The feel of her breath against my neck nearly did me in. If she kept up this flirty behavior we were never getting out of town. “I owe you an apology, Bodhi. You told me you could charm a snake, I just didn’t believe you and I’m sorry.”
“We all make mistakes,” I conceded. “And you’re forgiven.”
“Speaking of mistakes, are you sure you should be driving? What if we get pulled over? You don’t have a license.”
“The reason I insisted on driving is two-fold. First, you still can’t open the trunk even after being given ample opportunity to learn. Until you master that skill you don’t deserve to drive.”
“Whatever, Jedi master. What’s the second reason?”
“I don’t want you driving a stolen vehicle.”
Arching a perfect brow, she sat back in her seat, sizing me up. “Well, how gentlemanly of you.”
“Yes.” I smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“And what happens if we get pulled over? What if the police are looking for this car?”
“They’re not. As far as they know, it burned up in the fire.”
“Okay, smart stuff, but what if they just pull us over because the car you’re driving looks like it survived a riot?”
I sighed dramatically. She was totally overthinking this.
“Hey, it’s not that far-fetched,” she insisted. “The paint is charred and peeling. The sunroof is sealed shut. Even the windshield wipers are melted to the frame. I mean, Bodhi, what happens if a bug hits the glass and we can’t wash it away? Huh? What then, genius?”
“Stop being so extra, girl. Damn. Remind me not to take you along on a bank robbery. Look, you saw what happened with Pat. That should tell you never to underestimate the scope and size of my fan base. Maybe the cop that pulls us over because a bug has committed suicide on our windshield has an action figure of me too.”
Breeze cleared her throat and said in a low, deep tone, “Barbie doll, but yes. I get it. Your band is the future. I hear it’s prophesied to one day unify all the nations on earth and usher in a new age of peace and groovy prosperity.”
My jaw dropped as I cut my gaze to hers. No frickin’ way! “Tell me you didn’t just quote Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, my favorite movie of all time?”
“Why yes, Bodhi. I totally did. Wyld Stallyns, all the way!”
We did a simultaneous Wyld Stallions hand signal salute, which only solidified my attraction. Now I was absolutely convinced this meeting of the minds was meant to be. It was as if the universe had chucked the girl into my path just so we could share this exact moment.
I was still marveling at my good fortune when she shrieked, “Oh my god! Pull over!”
“What is it?” I slammed on the brake, still a little twitchy from last night. “What’s happening?”
“Oh, sorry. Sorry.” She soothed my tattered nerves with a kiss when we rolled to a stop. “Nothing bad, look!”
I followed her gaze and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
She snorted, patting me on the arm. “A sprinkler, Bodhi. And not just any sprinkler but the old-school rotating kind. What are the chances?”
“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “Depends on what the hell you’re talking about?”
Breeze didn’t wait for me to catch up. She was already out of the car, leaving me to ponder her words while watching her from the rearview mirror as she skipped down the sidewalk.
