Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head in laughter as I followed his hot ass out the door.
It was a beautiful, clear afternoon. I told Chance I wanted to drive this round. In all honesty, I needed a break from staring at his eyes and stubble for a while. My unwanted attraction to him was really starting to make me uncomfortable. Having control of the radio was also a plus to being in the driver’s seat.
“Michael Bolton? Really, Princess? You’re gonna make me sit through this?”
“What? He’s good! His voice is…hearty…robust!”
Chance started singing loudly over the lyrics to When a Man Loves a Woman. He sounded horrible. The impromptu duet between Chance and Michael was enough to make me switch to another song.
Soon after, we stopped for gas, and Chance went inside the mini-mart to get us some snacks after he finished pumping my fuel.
When he reentered the car with a large paper bag, I looked over at him and froze just as I was about to turn the ignition.
He had powder under his nose.
Shit! Was he a coke head? Had he gone to the bathroom to snort it?
“Are you gonna start the car sometime today?” he chided.
My breathing became labored as I geared myself up for a major disappointment. “Tell me the truth.”
“Alright…”
“Were you doing drugs in the bathroom?”
His eyes darkened. “What the fuck?” He was angry. “Why would you ask me that?”
“You have powder under your nose!”
He closed his eyes and suddenly erupted in laughter that lasted for at least a minute. He’d never laughed so hard in the time I’d known him. Chance kept trying to speak but would keep losing it, having to clutch his chest. He looked at himself in the sun visor mirror and swiped the powder from above his lip.
Practically shoving his finger into my mouth, he said, “Taste.”
I pushed it away. “No!”
“Taste!”
I hesitantly ran the tip of my tongue along his finger. It tasted like grape Kool-Aid or something. “It’s sweet.”
He opened the paper bag and took out one of those Pixy Stix with powdered sugar inside and threw it at me. “Your cocaine, madam.”
Relief washed over me. I also felt stupid. “Pixy Stix? You like these?”
“I love them, actually.”
“That’s pure sugar. I haven’t eaten one of these since I was a kid.”
“They were all out of Fun Dip, so these had to do.” He looked down. “I can’t believe you thought I was snorting coke. I’m not perfect by any means, but I’ve never done drugs in my life.” Chance looked seriously hurt by my assumption.
I still hadn’t started the car. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. It’s just…I don’t really know you.”
“So, get to know me,” he said softly.
We were silent for a while before I spoke, “Why are you headed to California?”
“I live there.”
I knew what I really wanted to ask but wasn’t sure why it mattered so much. My heart started to pound. “Who were you talking to on the phone this morning?”
He looked startled by my question. “What?”
“I overheard your conversation from my room. You were telling someone your plans for the day. You lied and said you were in Los Angeles.”
It took him a while to answer. “It’s complicated, Aubrey.” Then, he seemed to shut down and turned toward the window.
“Well, this was a good conversation. I’m glad I asked,” I said bitterly as I started the car and took off toward the highway.
We sat in silence for a long while. Chance looked tense and kept sucking down the Pixy Stix one by one. After about a half-hour, I decided to break the ice. “How do you keep a body like that eating the way you do?”
“Is that your way of saying you like my body? You like what you see?”
“I didn’t say that exactly.”
“Not exactly, but you implied it.”
“Jackass.”
“Lots and lots of sex, Aubrey. That’s how I do it.”
“Really? That’s it?”
“No. I just wanted to see your face turn that pretty shade of pink it does when you’re embarrassed.” He snickered. “In answer to your question, I work out a lot, and I don’t eat like this every day. But on road trips, all dietary rules go out the window. You need to be able to eat what you want to keep sane.”
“Well, from what I see, you’re pretty insane, so it’s not working.”
He smiled at me, and I returned it. The aftermath of our tense conversation from earlier finally seemed to have faded away. “Give me one of the packages of pretzels, please.”
He took one out of the paper bag and handed it to me then looked behind his shoulder to my packed backseat. “What do you have in all these bags back here, anyway?”
“Don’t touch my stuff.”
“I bet there are some treasures in this junk that would tell me everything I ever needed to know about you.”