“I guess it depends how long it takes us to get to Charlotte in this traffic,” I reply, following her lead. The last thing I want to do is keep going without her, and then they end up on the side of the road without us knowing. “I hope for our sake, it’s less than seven.”
“God, we’re never going to make it there at this rate.” Kaitlyn laughs, the sound infectious, and I smile, pulling into the spot behind Mira.
“Maybe not, but at least it gives us a chance to talk,” I say, watching as Mira climbs out of the car, turning back to give us a thumbs up. My phone buzzes a moment later with a text from her.
Mirabelle
Sorry! Have to pee, but didn’t want to wake Javi up!
Honk if anyone goes near the car!
“About?” she asks, and my anxiety spikes, but all I have to do to feel brave is look over at the feisty brunette next to me.
“I wanted to know if I’ve been upgraded from high fives and fist bumps since you didn’t yell at me for hugging you last week,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.
Kaitlyn’s dark eyes widen and a sputtering laugh slips from her. “Are you serious right now?”
“Hell yeah. I told you I’d follow your lead, sunshine. Are we allowing hugs, or am I still strictly in the high five and fist bump zone?” I ask, giving her a slanted smile, and Kaitlyn purses her pretty pink lips.If I leaned over, would she let me kiss her?
I’m afraid if I kissed her once, I’d never want to stop.
“I’ll answer your question if you answer mine,” she bargains, and at this point, I thought I’d made it pretty clear I’d answer anything she wanted to know.
“Deal.”
“Who’s the friend you always step out of the room to talk to?” Kaitlyn asks, going straight for my jugular. She really doesn’t hold back when she wants to know something, but I like that about her. She doesn’t let me hide, and I think that’s something I need more of.
“Luna,” I answer, and I can only imagine what Luna will say when I tell her about this later. “She’s Carter’s half sister.We were really good friends and stayed in touch after Carter kicked me out. She did a lot to help me when I was on the streets, and she’s kind of like family to me now.”
Kaitlyn’s fiddling with her necklaces, twisting them between her fingers as she chews on her lower lip. “Javi’s mentioned her before I think.”
“Yeah, they met a few times, and Javi really likes her.”
She shifts again in her seat, and I glance back at Mirabelle’s SUV to see if she’s come out yet, but she hasn’t. Kaitlyn’s brows are furrowed when I look at her again, and I can tell she’s thinking hard about something. “You can just ask whatever it is you’re thinking about,” I say, and she huffs.
“Sometimes it’s annoying how well you can read me.”
“My bad.”
Her lashes are dark against her tanned skin when she turns toward me. “Were you and Luna ever together?”
Holy shit. Is she jealous?I feel my throat catch, and I force out a short laugh. Kaitlyn’s cheeks pink, and I realize she’s misunderstanding my reaction. “No, Kait. Luna and I have never been more than friends. She kind of terrifies me, but she’s a great friend. You’d probably really like her.”
“I would?” she asks, raising her eyebrows. Is it awful for me to like Kaitlyn being jealous of Luna? I’m probably jumping to conclusions, but I think it means she cares.
“Yeah,” I say, drumming my fingers on the wheel again. “So I answered both of your questions. Are you going to answer mine yet?”
“You don’t have to worry about hugs,” she says at the same time Mirabelle walks out of the gas station with a bag of candy.
“You sure?” I ask, trying not to sound too eager. I’ve tried really hard to keep myself in check, but with Javi’s health issues taken care of and Kaitlyn and Hunter being broken up, it doesn’t feel selfish to wanther.
I think she’d make me feel alive when I touch her, learning what she likes and doesn’t, instead of the overwhelming numbness I’ve felt every time I traded myself for a shower and a night with a roof over my head.
Kaitlyn makes me want to know what it’s like to be touched gently and with care.
“I’m sure,” she says, and I think it might’ve been a mistake to talk about this while we’re trapped in a car for hours together because the last thing I need right now is to be bricked up. The athletic shorts I’m wearing are flimsy and do nothing to hide an inconvenient boner.
Fuck.
