“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I laugh as I take command over the radio to find a country music station.
We make it as far as the next intersection when Linden slams on the brakes while letting out a string of curses.
“Whoa!” I brace myself on the dashboard, the seatbelt digging into my shoulder. “Everything okay?”
“Sorry,” he groans, ducking his head at my question, a soft blush spreading on his cheeks as he’s already putting the truck into reverse. “It’s just—I forgot to packKeeping Noah.”
“Aw, don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ve come prepared!” I laugh and reach down to where I’ve jammed my backpack between my legs, rummaging around until my fingers brush the cover of the beat-up paperback. Pulling it out with a triumphant grin, I flip to where I’ve stuck last week’s grocery bill as a makeshift bookmark. “And I already tabbed all those sexy barn scenes as well.”
“I don’t think getting down and dirty in the hay is as sexy as Noah and Owen made it sound,” Linden warns me, but I only shrug.
“I’m open to other places, too.”
Linden, June 27th
We’re leaving the familiar and illuminated streets of Bonham behind with only a few delays. Even at night, the city streets are busy, and we have to wait at a few traffic lights, where smaller crowds gather to head to clubs or the lakeside restaurants.
I breathe a sigh of relief when, finally, the road opens up to us, dark and seemingly endless. Three hours isn’t a lot considering some students have to travel across the whole country to see their family, but I never enjoyed driving in unfamiliar surroundings, especially at night. The chance of surprising one of the nocturnal animals, such as raccoons, foxes, or even cats, is much higher, and my heart bleeds every time I see one that didn’t survive its encounter with a car.
“I take it your coach wasn’t thrilled?” I say, interrupting the quiet. We’ve been driving in amicable silence, the radio playing Micah's selection of country music with the odd pop song peppered in here and there.
“Hm? Oh, well…” Micah must have been lost in his own thoughts, looking at the silently passing darkness outside thecar windows. “Yeah, but now he's got a couple of weeks to calm down again.” He grins at me, but by the time I dare to take my eyes off the road, he's already looking away again, making me doubt the lightness of his words.
“I hope it'll be okay,” I mutter quietly, the sentiment not just directed at Micah's relationship with his coach and the football team. Over the past few days, everything happened so fast that I barely had time to wrap my head around how it'll actually be to have him meet my parents. Granted, aside from Nicko, I've told Micah more than anyone else, but there's also the teeny tiny detail of us sleeping together that makes everything more complicated. Not that I plan to tell my parents about it, but they are still my parents. I've never brought someone home before. I already dread my mother's inquisitive glances and my father's blunt questions.
Which is so much easier to worry about than the actual reason that has me clutching the steering wheel tightly.
Because I cannot risk Micah making even the smallest offhand remark about my life at college, and thereby tip my parents off that I've abandoned the plan. That I've stopped considering coming back after I've finished my BA and will instead move on to continue down the path of yet more studying in order to become a veterinarian.
I swallow but don't manage to dislodge the bitter thoughts from the back of my throat, so I carefully pry one hand away from the steering wheel to tap Micah's shoulder.
His smile lingers only in my peripheral vision, but the soft dips in his cheeks make my insides flutter with both warmth and my guilty conscience.
With my free hand, I mimic taking a drink since I don't trust my voice.
“Oh yeah, here!” He pulls the tiny cooler into his lap and hands me a can of Pepsi.
I raise my brows until Micah huffs and takes it back to open the tab. The crack, followed by the soft hiss of the fizzy drink, makes my throat itch, and I eagerly grab the can.
I should pace myself, but I can't resist and tip my head back to eagerly gulp the whole can down, then try to catch every last drop of the sticky sweetness.
Next to me, Micah makes a noise, causing me to quickly lower the can so I can have my full attention on the road. When nothing is out of the ordinary, I look over at him questioningly.
“Nothing, you just really reminded me of what we already explored.” Micah's voice is rough and thick. From this close, it slides down my back like warm honey, exactly the way he made me feel at the beach.
Micah's hand reaches for my knee, his fingers traveling to the inside of my thigh, then trailing upward—
The entire truck jumps. Its tires hobble over the bumpy markings on the side of the road. I hiss and swerve back into my lane.
“Holy shit, I—sorry! Sorry.” My heart hammers wildly in my chest, and I quickly glance at Micah.
He's still holding onto my leg, squeezing carefully—and much lower than where his fingers were a moment ago. His hand only disappears once my breathing has returned to normal.
“Nothing happened,” he says quietly, projecting a certainty into his voice that doesn't quite cover the way his words tremble in the air.
I take the next exit to a small rest stop and park as far away from everyone else as possible.
“We need to talk,” I say into the sudden silence after I've killed the engine. My hands have returned to the steering wheel anyway, searching for something to hold on to. I also keep looking out through the windshield.
