“When I’m with my lady. Big dick. Satisfying sex life,” she growled. “What on earth is wrong with you?”
“I’m more curious about why you’re listening to a podcast you claim to hate.”
“I was bored,” she hissed.
“Baby, I’m flattered that you can’t live without the sound of my voice, and I thank you for your streams. But I’m right here. You can talk to me.” I reached around into her open bag and tapped the red paperback cover of Sun Tzu’sThe Art of War.“Or are you just studying up to ‘know your enemy’? Also, yes. I do have a big dick. If you want to take it for a spin, let me know.”
Willow pinched the bridge of her nose. “Everyone knows we’re ‘together’ right now. Ergo, when you say shit like that, they’re assuming it’s me that you’re sleeping with. My readers are listening to your podcast now.”
“I know. The streams jumped up overnight after Rom-Con.”
“Ryan.”
I decided to put her out of her misery. “Look at the date of the episode.”
She scrolled up to the episode description. “My point exactly. It was the week after Rom-Con. So, not only do people think I’m sleeping with you, now they think I put out easily.”
“It was pre-recorded, Willow,” I said gently. “Beforewe were together. I was traveling for speaking engagements before Rom-Con and had to batch episodes for the month so I didn’t get off schedule. I just started recording all the episodes for this month. And just to be clear, I haven’t been with another partner for quite a while. That’s why I’m vague on the podcast. Because Idoprotect the privacy of the men and women I’ve been romantically involved with. Not everyone is comfortable with that level of public visibility, and I respect that.”
The lines that crisscrossed her forehead softened. “Oh.”
Neither of us spoke until we stopped in St. Louis for a late dinner. Even then, Willow was quiet while we ate.
"Are we gonna do the next leg to Kansas City and sleep there, or do you want to go all the way?” I asked.
We had been trading driving shifts since we left Queens right before midnight, and we were nearing twenty-four continuous hours on the road. Everything hurt. I wanted to stretch out, but I knew Willow was antsy about getting to her family.
She sighed. “If we go all the way to Manhattan, we’ll get there in the middle of the night. I can’t check into the rental until 10:00 a.m.”
“Kansas City it is.”
“I’ll drive,” she said glumly as she took the keys from me.
I caught her hand in mine. “You sure you’re good to drive? I can keep going."
Willow’s mood had shifted to morose as we neared Kansas. I didn’t blame her. She was exhausted and grieving. The road delirium muddled the clarity of emotions.
Willow nodded. “I want to be able to sleep when we stop. I need to be more tired.”
I cupped her cheeks and brushed my thumbs over the bags beneath her eyes. “I think you’ll sleep just fine.”
Green eyes lifted, slicing me to the core with emerald prisms. “Every time I close my eyes, I think of Shep.”
I pulled her into my chest and wrapped my arms around her. Willow came willingly and rested against me. “Let’s get a hotel room in Kansas City. Stretch out. Shower. Brush our teeth. We’ll sleep in, check out, and then do the—what—two? Three hours left? Then you’ll be rested and ready for whatever you need to do when you get there.”
I expected her to argue and say she was fine sleeping in the car again. But to my surprise, she nodded. “Okay.”
I kept my arm around her as we walked out to the car. After 1,200 miles with 375 left to go, her poor sedan desperately needed to be washed. “Have you told Whitney and Wander?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I figured I’d tell them when we get settled. Whitney’s pregnant and Wander’s on a deadline. I don’t want to bother them.”
“They’re your best friends,” I said as Willow merged onto the highway. “I would think they would want you to bother them. What’s the point of friendship if you don’t?”
She didn’t respond.
Back at the restaurant, I had snapped a photo of our hands beside each other, staying true to my promise of not posting our faces or anything overtly romantic.
I posted it to my socials with one single word as the caption:Life.
