Page 65 of The Road Trip Romance

“What?” I ask, shaking my head because I’m not sure I heard him right.

“I was talking with the love sergeant here, and well, maybe it’s time I try a real relationship. Maybe. I’m thinking about it,” he adds quickly.

Rex laughs and gives Penn’s shoulder a light punch. “And there he is, folks. You had me worried for a minute.”

Penn shrugs and punches Rex back. “Come on. You won’t even commit to Emily. You’ve been dating forever. Maybe it’s time to shit or get off the pot, man.”

Rex’s eyes look to Sophia. “I don’t disagree. I have some real soul-searching to do. I’m thinking about going home to England for a bit and staying at my mum’s place in the Lake District. I think I need some time to really figure out what’s next and I don’t start filming again for another four months.”

Sophia smiles at him. “I think taking time to think things through is a great idea.”

“Wow, is Sophia a love sergeantorlove doctor? Maybe both,” Penn muses.

“She’s just a love,” Rex mumbles but his lips twitch with a grin.

“You guys,” Sophia says as she waves her hand at us and blushes. “I…I’m just a woman. I think maybe women more than most men think a little more in depth about this stuff.”

“Well, whatever the reason, in one week, you’ve officially helped us all start to fix our relationships…or in Penn’s case, non-relationship,” Jordan laughs.

“That’s my girl,” I say. “Maybe you should write a self-help book for wayward movie stars who need love assistance.”

She giggles. “Maybe,” she says, drawing out the word. She turns to Penn and holds out her hand.

“What?” he asks.

“Give me your phone. We need to set you up on a dating app,” she says, motioning him to hand over his phone.

He rolls his eyes and passes her the phone. She grins as she holds it up to his face to unlock it and then downloads an app.

“Let’s see. Which photo shall I use,” she muses as she scrolls through his photos.

“Definitely that one,” I say pointing to one of him on a boulder near our campsite where he’s kissing his bicep.

She laughs. “Nah, then the ladies will think he always looks like a muscle boy. Oh wait, let’s do that one,” she says, pointing to one of him pretending to jerk off a piece of corn by the Corn Palace.

“Well, that’ll attract the wrong women,” I tease.

“Valid point. OK, this one,” she says definitively. It’s a good photo of Penn standing in front of an overlook near Devil’s Tower. He definitely looks like himself.

“You sure this won’t be weird because…I’m me?” Penn asks.

Sophia shrugs. “I mean, you are weird, so how could it be worse?” she asks, and I watch her lips twitch as she fights a smile.

“Haha. Very funny,” Penn says.

“I know some actors who have used dating apps,” Rex states.

“Seriously?” Penn asks.

Rex nods and glances over at Penn. “You got to start somewhere.”

“OK, name. Well, that’s easy,” Sophia says.

“Put Pennington Bakerfield,” Penn says.

Sophia’s fingers pause over the phone’s screen as she glances up at him. “Is that, like, your fake name?” she asks.

We all burst into laughter. “Nope…that’s, like, hisrealname,” Rex finally manages.

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