Page 56 of The Road Trip Romance

“No. You would be up in Montana now if it wasn’t for me tagging along,” I reply as I throw my hands up in frustration.

Tate takes another step toward me. We’re less than a foot apart now and I can feel the heat radiating off him.

“That’s not true. I think I knew from the first mile of this trip that I was never going to get back with Lacey. Meeting you or not wouldn’t have changed that,” he says.

I look away because if I keep locking gazes with him, I’m going to cry and I don’t want to cry right now.God, what is wrong with me?I’m acting like a hormonal teenager.

Tate places a hand on my shoulder. “Please come back with us. We’ll find somewhere nearby today. And then we can be back in forty-eight hours. We don’t need to stop so much, but I think none of us slept great last night.”

“Speak for yourself. The car was fantastic,” Rex interjects.

Tate’s gaze goes to him, and he glares. “Not helpful,” Tate grumbles. Rex shrugs.

“Please come back with us,” Tate pleads.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

Tate

She looks from me to each one of my friends. Watching her make this decision is agonizing. I wanted to go over there and kiss her, to tell her that she belongs with me, thatwebelong together. I had told my friends what had happened, well, some of it. And from the interaction of a minute ago, it’s clear she knows that they know.

“It’s several hours to a city with a commercial airport. At least, let us get to a city, and then you can decide what to do,” I offer, hoping she’ll accept my terms.

She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “Fine. Let’s just…go,” she says quietly as she gets into the driver’s seat. We drop the camping equipment off with the main office at the campgrounds, and then we start toward Denver. It’s a little over six hours away from our campsite. We’ll stay just east of the city tonight and then it’s a twenty-four-hour drive back to her house. If we can get a decent night of sleep, we should be able to drive it in three shifts. Worst case, we’ll have one last stop over around St. Louis.

None of us speak much. We all seem deep in thought. I’d ask my friends what the heck they are stewing about but I’m too fixated on how to get Sophia to see that the two of us can work. I’m sitting behind her, and I can smell her lotion. It’s driving me insane. I’ve adjusted my dick a dozen times, fine, like three dozen times, but it doesn’t seem to help.

I keep thinking about her. How her body felt against mine. How her lips felt against mine. Hell, how her inner muscles clenched around my fingers. God, that was hot as fuck!

But it’s more than that. It’s the talking…really talking. I’ve never had that with anyone. We’ve talked about things that I don’t even share with my friends. I talked about the parts of my childhood that I never speak about with anyone. She’s made me see what a relationship could be, what it should be. I mean, I saw how my grandparents were, but they were older and they didn’t go around showing tons of affection. I didn’t know couples could just lie in bed talking for hours. I love that. I love hearing her tell stories. I love her. I love this woman that I just met a week ago. It sounds crazy, but I’ve never felt this way with any other woman. I just wish I could make her see that we could work together and that I would never hurt her.

I sigh and look around the car again. I feel a slight twinge of guilt. I know my friends have their own burdens and yet here they are helping me with my struggle. Hell, I just made them traipse across the country for no reason at all. Guilt washes over me like a rogue wave. Penn’s extra quiet which is unlike him and that makes me feel even guiltier.

Sophia isn’t acting like herself either. She’s not singing along to music or chatting with the guys. Her eyes remain fixed ahead. She doesn’t even make us stop for a bathroom break, instead choosing to do the drive in one chunk. When we get near I-70, she pulls over at a chain hotel.

“I’ll get us some rooms. It’ll be easier that way,” she says quietly, slipping from the car before any of us can say something.

It’s quiet for a long beat and then Penn turns from the passenger seat to look at me. “You can’t let her get away. Do not let her be the one that got away.”

“He’s right. She’s amazing. And I don’t know how, but you guys definitely have something going on, something fucking real,” Rex adds.

“They’re right,” Jordan says.

I run a hand over my face. “I know,” I reply from behind my hand.

I turn to Jordan. “What the fuck did you say to her on that walk?”

He holds up his hands. “I didn’t say anything. She…I think she’s confused,” he says. “And scared. Think about it. She has two kids. She doesn’t have the luxury of just fucking around with a guy.”

“I’m not fucking around with her,” I growl.

“I know that, asswipe. But does she? Can she really trust you? She’s known you one whole week,” he points out and I know he’s right. Jordan was raised by a single mom, and I know her concerns must hit home for him.

“But it’s different. Like I said this morning, I’ve never felt this way before. I know she feels it. I just know it,” I mutter as I stare down at my hands.

“It might just take time, bro,” Penn says. I hate that he’s right. I hate that I might have to wait. I don’t want to waste any more time. Now that I know what I want, I want it. It’s juvenile, but I can’t help it.

“Maybe you’ll have to share a room again?” Rex says with a smirk.

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