6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Carson
“What the hell, dude?”
Cole falls into the seat beside me. “I could say the same.”
I shake my head. “Why are you being such a dick to her? That’s not like you.”
“And it’s not like you to go after a girl without me reeling her in.”
“So you’re mad because I’m talking to her on my own?”
He looks away guiltily. “No. That part makes me happy.”
My stomach falls fast. “Is it because you want a shot at her?”
“No. She caught your eye first. It’s just …” His knee begins to bounce up and down, and I know he’s uncomfortable talking about this. “What’s the plan? Like do you plan on her staying at the cabin?”
My head falls against the seat, because now I understand his concern. He’s just keeping me in check. Our mom made us promise we wouldn’t invite a woman into our homes until we were in love.
“Your home should be reserved for the person you want to spend the rest of your life with,” she said.
“I already told you. I figured we could park her on the camper pad out back,” I tell him honestly. “Why is this bothering you so much?”
He shrugs and looks away. “I’m not bothered. Just making sure we’re still on the same page.”
“We are,” I assure him.
We take turns driving through the night. Luna even comes out of the closet to insist she gets time behind the wheel.
She’s a really good driver. I guess that comes from spending much of her life on the road.
I glance over my shoulder, making sure my brother is still asleep. “So, I know you said you wouldn’t be staying long, but I really think you should stick around for a bit.”
She keeps her attention on the road. “Why would I do that?”
I can’t tell her the truth, so I give her part of it. “I want to give this thing a good inspection. The tires alone would send your brother over the edge. You can’t be driving around like that.”
She laughs lightly. “Yeah, well, the universe provided me new ones, didn’t it?”
“Seriously, Luna, you could have had a bad accident.”
Her expression falls. She’s a smart girl, she knows I’m right.
“I know. I’d been meaning to replace them. I’d have felt bad if I hurt someone by blowing a tire.” Her dark eyes turn my way briefly. “Thank you again. I really do appreciate it.”
“So how do you decide where to go, when you’re traveling?”
Her smile widens as she relaxes. She pulls her foot up on the seat, resting her knee against the doorframe. “I go wherever the wind blows me.”
I smile at the way she’s getting more comfortable around me. This must be her comfy driving position. “Kind of like that old Skynyrd song, Call Me the Breeze,” I tease.
“Never heard it,” she says.
“What? You’ve got to hear it.” I search for the song on my phone.
She laughs once it starts. “Okay, okay. This could really be my theme song.”
By the chorus, we’re both singing loudly and terribly along with it.
The two of us continue our terrible singing for a few more minutes until a pillow flies into the back of my head. “Don’t give up your day job,” my brother hollers from the back of the van.
Neither of us takes offense. We did sound pretty awful.
Luna chuckles. “You’re just jealous you don’t have our singing voices,” she yells back, looking at him in her rearview mirror.
He makes a snorting sound and covers his head with a pillow, rolling to face away from us.
“Is he always this pleasant?” she asks when he goes back to snoring lightly.
“He’s just tired. It’s been a long trip. He’s usually the fun one.”
Her gaze bounces between me and the road. “If that’s true, what are you?”
I shrug. “Well, I guess that makes me the boring one.”
“Hmm, I’m not getting that vibe at all.”
“Okay, so maybe not boring,” I chuckle, happy that she doesn’t think I’m dull. “I guess I’m the one who keeps us grounded. Cole is the more daring of us.”
She shakes her head, not believing that either.
“It’s true.”
“Maybe. I guess we’ll see.”
“Does that mean you’ll stay awhile?”
Luna tips her head to the side as she thinks about it. “How about we take it one day at a time,” she says.
“I guess that’s reasonable.”
A small smile plays over her face. “Is it?”
“I told you, I’m the voice of reason.”
A giggle rushes past her lips and a grin tugs at mine.
“I’m finding that hard to believe. I mean, look where you’re at. You’re in a stranger’s van letting her drive you down the interstate at seventy-five miles an hour. I think you might be a bigger risk taker than you give yourself credit for.”
I glance around her van before looking back at her. Her cheeks turn pink. “Only when the risk is worth the reward.”
“What’s the reward?”
“Getting to spend time with you.”
Her head instantly dips and her blush deepens.
We spend the next hour exchanging shy glances and smiles. It’s the strangest, best experience I’ve ever had with a woman. I can’t explain it, but I know I don’t ever want it to end.