Page 81 of Confusing Hearts

“Behave. My sisters are all home right now,” she warned me.

“Fine,” I said. “Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?”

“No, why?”

“Can we please just hit the road and get out of here? It’s been a rough week.”

“Aww, not enjoying being pawed over by every available female on campus?” she hissed.

“I only enjoy being pawed over by one particular, only available to me, female on campus.”

That earned me a smile and a kiss. I refrained from deepening it and kissing her the way I really wanted to.

“At the very least can we go to the cabin tonight if you don’t want to drive to San Marco now?” I asked.

“Tessa and the girls don’t . . .”

“Don’t care at all whether we leave today or tomorrow,” I interrupted. “Trust me. I asked.”

“You didn’t,” she said, with a threat of punishment in her voice.

I grimaced. “I really did. I just talked to Tessa about it. It’s fine.”

“Chase, we talked about this.”

“Jenna, the entire campus knows we’re together. I think that ship’s sailed already.”

She slunk, her shoulders slouching forward.

“Look, let’s just get out of here and forget about it all. Hopefully we’ll be old news by the time spring break is over.”

“Fine. Let me get dressed and finish packing.”

Jenna

Chapter 24

It didn’t take me long to throw a few last minute things into my bag and call it good. I’d been packing for days, second-guessing everything I put in there. I just wanted to make a good impression with his family. I was a nervous wreck as we loaded the Jeep and hit the road.

It was already late afternoon and we had several hours of driving ahead of us. It was strange. I mean, it wasn’t like Chase and I never talked, but we’d never been stuck in a car side by side for hours on end before, either.

At first there was an awkward silence. When he flipped on the radio, I didn’t like the song that was playing, so I changed it. He changed it back and started singing along, so I changed it again. I hit the scan button and we let it roll until we finally came across a song we both agreed on. I sang along with him. I knew I was tone deaf, but I just didn’t care. I loved to sing. I saw the amusement on my mate’s face, but he didn’t comment on it.

As we headed south, the scenery changed around us. I grabbed for the camera in my bag and started taking pictures through the window. It was so beautiful that everything else faded away except what I could see through my camera lens.

I was surprised when the motion stopped. I dropped the camera and saw that Chase had pulled over at a scenic overlook stop. He was watching me and I gave him an apologetic look. I had always been able to get lost behind a camera, seeing the world through its lens in a new light.

“Thought you’d get some better shots here. Plus, I could use a good stretch,” he said.

He opened his door, exited the Jeep, then closed the door behind him, and then jogged around the vehicle to open my door for me. I got out in awe of the beauty of nature around me.

“This is one of my favorite stops on the trip,” he told me.

I didn’t waste any time, or need encouragement, as I grabbed my camera and happily started snapping away. I lost track of time and had no idea we’d been there for almost an hour when I finally put the camera down.

Chase was perched on the stone wall meant to be a buffer between people and the drop-off on the other side. He was watching me. He looked peaceful and content.

“Sorry,” I said with an apologetic shrug. “Sometimes I just get lost behind the camera.”

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