Page 12 of Dopplebanger

“You’re so going to regret saying that in about ten minutes when the coffee kicks in.”

“So to clarify, your list with three bullet-points is what you consider slow?” he asked, and I made an offended noise in the back of my throat. But before I could pull away in mock offense, he added, “I’m just teasing you. I say bring it.”

The way he looked at me sent all sorts of amazing sensations twisting through me. Desire, attraction, happiness. It was also more effective at waking me up than coffee could ever be.

I tipped onto my toes so I could feel those delicious lips against mine again. I loved the way he immediately took charge of the kiss, using his thumb to tilt my chin and deepen the kiss. Anchoring me to him with his arm around my back. Sweeping his tongue in to tangle with mine for a second before switching back to all lips.

Now that we’d found our perfect kissing groove, it’d become addictive, and I craved another hit even before it ended.

I ran my hand down the side of his face as I peered into his blue, blue eyes. “Has it always been like this?”

He covered the hand I had on his face with his and let out a long exhale. “It’s never been like this.”

A loud throat-clearing cut through the sound of my rapid pulse rushing through my head. I reluctantly let go of Evan and spun to face Tori. Her hair was mussed and her bloodshot eyesmirrored the red in mine. She blinked at the bright lights. “I came to say goodbye.”

She took a step forward and hugged me, then aimed her narrowed gaze at Evan. “You make sure that my girl experiences the best road trip of her life—and I meanthe best. As soon as you’ve made everyone in her hometown insanely jealous of her amazing life, bring her back to me, and I expect at least a whole day to myself before I see your smug mug again. Unless you screw up the trip—then you’ll see me sooner.”

I pressed my lips together, trying to contain the laugh that wanted to burst out at Evan’s stunned expression. Being tired made me less wordy, whereas it made Tori more so, not to mention scarier than usual. Less British as well, but I’d never point that out or she’d turn her threatening leer on me. “You remember my friend, Tori?”

“How could I forget?” He reached for the handle on my large purple suitcase. “I’m assuming this is yours?”

“Yeah. One wheel stopped spinning and it’s kind of heavy, so I can carry it if?—”

“Who do you think you’re talking to? Have you already forgotten how much dogfood I can lift?”

I laughed. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” I did a last-minute scan, checking I had everything, then grabbed my bag of snacks and my purse, and gave Tori one more hug. “Coffee’s already made.”

“Blimey, I love you.” I thought that might be more Irish than British, but she’d landed in the UK region, anyway.

“Love you, too.”

Once we got to the car, Evan placed my suitcase in the trunk, next to his much smaller duffel bag. He opened the passenger side door for me, something he’d only done on our first official date, and I slid inside. I couldn’t help running my hand over the dashboard.

“Don’t mind me,” I said when Evan settled behind the steering wheel, “I’m just petting your car. I like to think I’m above material things, but this car is one of the exceptions. Everything about it says sleek, powerful, and fast.”

“In other words, you’re only dating me because of the car.”

I glanced at him, relaxing when I saw the teasing smile. “Totally. Of course, everything about you says sleek, powerful, and fast, too. Why wouldn’t I go for the package deal?”

“Beats me.” His voice sounded slightly… resigned? Envious?—no, that didn’t make any sense. Unless he envied himself?

Evidently, my people-reader is off when I’m tired. I’m sure more coffee and time will recalibrate it.

I reached over and squeezed his hand, wanting to make sure we were still good. He turned his head to me, his gaze boring into mine so intensely my heart forgot how to beat, and then squeezed back. It gave me that fresh from the roller coaster feeling and put everything right with the world again.

We were finally getting to that comfortable part of the relationship where we knew each other better and experienced that sense of security that came along with the added familiarity. Bonus, it renewed the tingly, magical vibes that usually accompanied the beginnings of a relationship.

“Now I’m ready,” I said, flashing him a smile.

He fired up the engine, revving it like he’d forgotten the way it growled, and with that, we were off, on our way to our very own adventure.

SEVEN

We’d been on Highway Sixty-Four for a while and had settled into a comfortable speed and easy conversation. So far, we’d mostly seen a lot of highway, cars, and green trees.

I’d also seen a lot of Gwen’s profile—probably too much, considering I should be keeping my eyes on the road. It proved nearly impossible to abstain from daydreaming about kissing her full lips as she talked on and on about nothing and everything.

Then there were her legs. Her shorts were distracting, to say the least, and she somehow managed to sit crisscrossed on the seat, a move I could never pull off without my knees constantly slamming into something. The position made her shorts creep higher on her thighs, and I was trying not to ogle all that creamy skin, even though my eyes regularly strayed of their own accord.

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