Page 96 of Someone You Deserve

“Yeah. I made sure to kiss the kids goodbye last night and they knew my mom would be there in the morning when they woke, but I mean look at me.” She gestures to her body. “I even wore all black so I’d blend in.”

“You act like you were robbing a bank,” I say, holding in my laugh.

“I just didn’t want to get delayed by the kids.” She bounces in her seat. “Honestly, this whole thing kind of reminds me of Monica and Chandler in Friends when they were sneaking around so no one would find out about them. It’s kind of fun, right?” she asks with a lilt in her voice. But the secrecy is less than fun for me.

Gripping the steering wheel harder, I clench my teeth. “No, Astrid. I don’t think hiding how I feel about you is fun. It’s stressful and it limits our time together.”

She sighs and I can tell my response made her excitement fizzle. “I know.” Fiddling with her hands, she twists them in her lap. “It’s not fair to you, Penn. But…”

I hold a hand up to stop her. Now is not the time to have this conversation. “We’ll talk about it later, okay? Not now.” I grab her hand and bring it to my mouth, kissing the back of it, and then sucking her index finger between my lips.

A small moan leaves her lips. “Okay.”

“Now, open up that bag beneath your seat,” I say, directing her attention to the paper bag full of our breakfast and road snacks. I got up even earlier than I normally do so I could make breakfast burritos and pack snacks for our trip. I didn’t want to stop since we have a five-and-a-half-hour trip ahead of us. Every moment that we get alone together is going to be spent wisely, and once we arrive, I have other activities planned for us to do—mostly of the naked variety.

“You made all this?” Astrid pulls out the burritos wrapped in foil, single serving orange juice bottles, and then peeks through the rest of the snacks in pre-portioned bags.

“I did.”

She sits there, stunned. “Wow.”

“What?”

“I mean, you took the initiative to plan this trip, pack food for us…” Sighing, she says, “Those are things that I usually have to worry about.”

I kiss the back of her hand again. “I don’t want you to worry about anything this weekend, okay? We both need this time away, and you deserve to have someone take care of the little things, Astrid. I want to be that someone for you.”

She grows silent and for a second, I wonder if I said something wrong. But then she leans over the middle seat and kisses my cheek. “Thank you, Penn.”

“No thanks necessary.”

She drags her nose up the side of my neck. “I still plan on thanking you, that’s for sure. I have some ideas I know you’ll be a fan of.”

Groaning, I feel my dick grow hard against my zipper. “Astrid…I’m gonna fuck you all over that fucking cabin.”

“Promise?” she whispers as she nibbles on my earlobe.

“I promise. And I never break a fucking promise.”

***

“I can’t believe this is our view for the weekend.”

“The drive was worth it just for this to be our backyard, huh?”

Miles of open fields roll before us, small hills covered in patches of snow and brown grass, leading to the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance, indigo peaks dusted with white. I can only imagine what this place must look like in the summer when everything is green. But for now, for us—it’s offering just what we need—peace.

The drive went by in a blur once I gave Astrid control of the music and she started playing songs from when we were in high school. We laughed, she danced, and then we talked a lot about our memories. But every time she mentioned Brandon, I could tell she felt uncomfortable. And I wish there was something I could say or do about that. Hopefully by the end of the weekend she’ll feel differently.

I cage Astrid in against the railing she’s leaning over on the deck. The house I rented is two stories with the bottom level reserved for the garage and den. But the top level is the entire living area—a quaint kitchen with granite counter tops, two large sofas you can sink into positioned around a giant television, three bedrooms and two bathrooms, which is way more than we need. But it was the view that sold me on this place, and now I’m glad I went with my gut.

The sound of silence fills the air around us. We’re the only house for miles and the main hub of the little town we’re in is about a seven-minute drive from here.

We’re alone. Away. Distanced from our lives back home.

And that’s exactly what we needed.

Astrid pulls her beanie down further over her ears as I press her back to my chest and circle my arms around her. “I can’t wait to watch the sunrise out here,” she says almost breathlessly.

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