I roll my lavender oil on my wrist, grab my bag, and close my bedroom door behind me.
Maverick leans against the kitchen counter in his usualoversized white T-shirt, but this morning, he’s paired it with a thick open flannel and a black Toronto Titans hat tugged down low. Something flutters low in my gut, but when he rises to his full height, taking a step and towering over me, it’s the pulse between my legs I notice the most.
“You ready to ride, Chloe baby?”
Savannah snorts a laugh, but I bite back my smile, not ready to admit the effect he has on me yet, but based on the way his teasing lips pull up, he definitely noticed.
I roll my shoulders back, forcing my voice to come out steadier than I feel. “I thought we were all riding together?”
“Turns out, Noah doesn’t pack as light as you,” he says, reaching down for the bag in my hand. “He’s got too much shit in the back of his car. So, you’re riding with me.”
Great.
If I got lost in thoughts of him during a five minute drive to the grocery store, there’s no telling where I’ll end up after a three hour road trip.
“Don’t forget the snacks.” Savannah grabs the bag we packed last night from the counter before leaning around Maverick as he heads to the door.
“Oh, and—” He pauses, turning around to face us. “If Noah tells you I wrestled him until he agreed to these driving arrangements…” He smiles before his teeth catch the corner of his lip, and he tilts his head to the side. “I’m innocent until proven guilty.”
I roll my eyes but he’s already out the door. Savannah hooks her arm through mine as we follow him. We reach the driveway just in time to catch his shirt riding up, showing off a sliver of his back as he loads my bag into the car. I ignore the way my best friend bumps her hip into mine, and the silent squeal she’s making.
“I guess I’ll see you there,” I say, pulling her into a quick hug.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” she calls out. I don'tlook back, but judging by the slow amused grin on Mavericks face, she is making some perverted gesture behind me.
With my snacks in hand, I hop up into the passenger seat. The door shuts with a soft click, and suddenly, the air feels too quiet.
“Ready?” Maverick asks, reaching his hand behind my headrest and backing out of the parking spot.
Ready to spend three hours stuck in a car and then an entire weekend with the guy who has had a monopoly on all my thoughts the last week? Sure.
It takes all of five minutes to get out of Linden Creek and into the next small town. We drive with the windows down, which should be too cold, but Maverick keeps both the heater and the seat warmers on. My hair whips against the wind, covering my vision and tangling itself at the ends. I pull my hair up into what I’m sure could be compared to a bird's nest on top of my head, and my heart races when my fingers pull on the basic black band at my wrists.
Neither of us has said anything about what almost happened in the library last night, and if he’s cool with pretending like it didn’t happen, then so am I. Out of curiosity, I look over at him. He drives with one hand on the wheel, and the other out the window. Neither of his wrists hold my schrunchie, though, and I don’t know why that makes my stomach sink.
“What’d you pack in there?” Maverick asks, pulling me from my drifting thoughts.
I glance up at his face just as he tips his chin toward my lap. His gum snaps between his teeth before he flashes that lazy, devastatingly charming grin.
“Just the essentials.”
He reaches over anyway, prying open the grocery bag nestled between my legs. When he can’t see what he’s grabbing, his hand moves, blinding searching, and I press my lipstogether when his knuckles graze the inside of my thigh through the plastic.
His eyebrows knit together when he pulls out a bag of sour gummy worms. “These are the essentials?”
“Yes.” I snatch them back.
“No protein? No sandwiches?”
“Who eats protein on a road trip?”
“I’m a big boy, Chloe,” he says, stretching his arms over the wheel and my eyes can’t help drift over him. With his eyes on the road, I take in the strong slope of his shoulders, the thick veins in his forearms, the way his chest fills his shirt like it was made to be gawked at.
“Okay, well, next time I’ll be sure to get our road trip catered.”
“Next time?” He looks over at me, his eyes narrow just enough to make the corners lift that half-smile playing behind them, and I can’t help getting lost in them.
“Keep your eyes on the road.” I try to scold him but he just laughs at the lack of conviction in my voice. “What would you have picked up if you were in charge of the snacks? Besides cereal. I didn’t think Reese’s Puffs would travel well in the car.”
