Chapter Twenty-Three
Jade
What the hell kind of alternate universe had I entered where I’m going on vacation with Brian O’Shaughnessy, kissing him in the bank, before he tells me he thinks I’m gorgeous?
And more importantly, how did I close that wormhole so I got to stay?
This isn’t real, Jade, I reminded myself.
There was no other dimension. I was still the geeky wallflower who didn’t have a chance with the Homecoming King.
He was just being nice because I was driving him to Cape Cod.
And while yes, I considered Brian my friend now that I was an adult, I knew that’s all it would ever be. He’d reminded me as much last night.
“You’re the navigator,” I told him. “Figure out a good place for us to stop for road trip snacks and,” I glanced at the fuel gauge on the dashboard. “Gas.”
He leaned across the console. “We need gas?”
“No, not yet. We’ve got a little over half a tank.”
“So, a couple hundred miles,” he mused out loud while he pulled up a GPS app on his phone.
“Wow, a couple hundred miles on half a tank—in this? That’s about what I can get with my Prius.”
“Yeah, except half a tank in your car is like six gallons. Half a tank with this is double that.”
“That’s true. I told you we should have taken my car.”
He glanced over at me with a grin. “You forget, Sunshine. I’ve got money burning a hole in my pocket. Besides, I’m hoping I can drive home.”
“And you can’t drive my car?”
The corner of his mouth lifted in an Elvis-like sneer. “I mean, it’s not very manly.”
I barked out a laugh. “I never took you as the type to be insecure about his masculinity.”
“I’m very secure in my manhood. I just like driving my truck. And you, by the way, are doing an excellent job. You parked it like a pro at the bank.”
“It’s not my first time driving a truck.”
He cocked his head. “Really?”
“Yeah, when I was a senior in college, I didn’t have a car, so my boyfriend would let me borrow his truck.”
“Did you two graduate in the same class?”
“No. He, um, was older.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Older? How much older?”
I shrugged. “Twelve years.”
“Twelve years? That’s like twice your age when you’re twenty-two!”
“Okay, obviously math isn’t your strong suit. But yes, he was way too old for me. But I was young and dumb and didn’t care at the time.”
“So, what happened? Why’d you break up?”
I stared out the windshield as I contemplated how to answer his question.
Finally, I just said, “He was a workaholic doctor who liked the idea of having a girlfriend at his beck and call but didn’t want to have to put any effort into actually being in a relationship.
And, come to find out, I was more his dirty little secret than his girlfriend.
He never told anyone about us. So pretty much the whole thing was a lie. ”
“Aw, Sunshine. What a dick. I’m sorry. If he ever comes to Haven Springs, I promise to give him a ticket.”
That made me smile, in spite of having just reminisced about a really shitty time in my life.
“Think you can arrange a night in jail, too?”
“Consider it done.”
****
Brian
Our conversation flowed easily over the next several hours, and even our silences were comfortable.
Being with Jade was just easy.
I’d even let go of wanting to correct her driving.
Sort of.
Cut me some slack—I’m a cop. It wasn’t so easy to just overlook all her traffic violations—and there were plenty.
But I forced myself to keep my mouth shut. I’d promised her in my driveway I’d behave and keep my opinions to myself, and I was a man of my word.
I noticed dark clouds on the horizon and commented, “Maybe we should think about stopping for the night. We’re just a little short of halfway, and it looks like we’re about to drive into a storm.”
“You’re the navigator, just tell me where you want to stop.”
I studied the map on my phone and told her, “The next exit’s in ten miles. Let’s see what there is there. We’re kind of in the boonies, so I’m not sure how accurate the app is when it says there’s only one hotel.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Minutes later, the sky opened up and dumped so much rain, the windshield wipers couldn’t keep up, even on high.
I noticed Jade white knuckling the steering wheel as she leaned forward, trying to see out the windshield.
Fortunately, the green exit sign appeared, and she made a right onto the off-ramp.
The app was right. There were two gas stations, one fast-food restaurant, and one diner that was connected to the one motel in town.
It wasn’t really a town, per se. More like a group of businesses on the side of the freeway collectively profiting from travelers passing through.
To be honest, if we weren’t in the middle of a downpour, I would have insisted we kept on driving.
But desperate times called for desperate measures.
She pulled as close as she could to the motel entrance, parking in the loading zone by the lobby doors, put the truck in park, then turned to me and asked, “Do you want to wait here?”
I shook my head. “No, I need to move my legs.”
“Okay, but be careful. It’s probably slippery.”
Neither of us moved to get out as the rain continued to pummel the windshield.
A crack of lightning nearby made her jump, and she reached for the door handle. I touched her arm and told her, “A vehicle is one of the safest places to be during a thunderstorm. The metal shell and rubber tires directs any current away from you and to the ground.”
“I know, but the rain has let up. I think we should make a run for it.” She stopped and corrected herself with a smile. “I mean, I think we should make a brisk walk for it.”
“Don’t wait for me, Sunshine. You go ahead and run. Unlike you, I’m not sugar. I won’t melt.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh my god, you’ve said some cheesy things to me, but I think that one was the cheesiest.”
I couldn’t even pretend to be offended.
“Yeah, you’re right, that was pretty bad.” I grabbed the handle and asked, “Ready? One, two, three, go!”
We opened our doors at the same time, and I hobbled to the entrance while Jade ran. She waited for me under the covered part by the door, then we walked inside together.
There was only one clerk, and he was helping a couple ahead of us, so we waited in line, dripping water on the lobby floor. I didn’t feel too bad when I noticed the people ahead of us had done the same.
Jade gripped my elbow, gestured to the wet tile, and whispered, “Please be careful.”
I liked that she worried about me.
In fact, I couldn’t think of a thing about her I didn’t like.