Page 31 of Unconditional

I was floating where I sat, letting myself ruminate in the memory of making the strongest connection I’ve ever had, with the best person I’d ever met.Talon popped my bubble in the next moment.

“What was the song?”

“What?”My eyes opened and I turned my head to look at him.He was serious.

“The song.That you bonded over.It has to be pretty obscure if you ended up becoming best friends over it.”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it,” I said, feeling heat creep into the tops of my cheeks.Ugh.

This only intrigued him further.“Come on, Blondie.Don’t tell me you’re ashamed.This was a core moment for you, it shouldn’t be embarrassing.”

“Exactly.Why would I want to share my core memories with you?”

“What if I said please?”His eyes met mine.It was brief, so so brief before he was watching the road again, but I felt the eye contact to the tips of my toes.I shuddered and hoped he didn’t notice.

I didn’t answer him right away, choosing instead to think of a way I could spin this to my advantage.He was hiding something, and despite my better instincts, I wanted to know what the hell it was.I could—and would—use this little bit of sharing time with him, to get the answers I wanted.Who was Leo?Who wasKenna?Talon had been worried to panic when she called back at The Lodge.How were they all interconnected?I was brimming to the top with questions and this might have been the only chance I had at getting answers.

“It wasWow, I Can Get Sexual Tooby Say Anything.”When he gave me a questioning look that told me he had no idea what I was talking about, I huffed.“I forgot you’re like a million years older than us.Dinosaurs probably didn’t have access toYouTube.The first line is‘If I die and go to hell real soon, it will appear to me as this room.’That’s the line we quoted.”Again, a dull look.“You had to be there.”

“Apparently.And eight years is no prehistoric age difference, Blondie.”

Shooting him another eye roll, I chewed on my lower lip, trying to think of a subtle way to ask the questions that were bouncing around in my head.When nothing came to mind, I blurted.“Is Kenna your girlfriend?”There was a brief moment of panic, and I told myself that was only because I was really hoping I hadn’t fucked a guy who had someone waiting on him.I was a lot of things, but I wasn’t a homewrecker.And then I took an extra second to scold myself for consistently blurting things that probably should be handled with more care.

Talon choked on his gum, failing to compose himself faster than I could see the shocked expression.He went from prying to closed off in half a second.

“Do you think I’d fuck you if I had a girlfriend?”

“All things considered, I don’t think infidelity would be your biggest sin.”I knew as soon as the last syllable left my tongue that I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.

“Didn’t I tell you to mind your goddamn business?”

I crossed my arms over my chest again, infuriated by the arrogance of the man beside me.“What?So, you can dig into my life but I can’t ask questions about yours?”

“Talking time is over.”He turned the radio back up, ignoring me entirely.

twenty-two

Misely

Wedidnotmakeit very far before we were faced with an entirely new obstacle that had Talon muttering very inventive curses under his breath.We had settled into yet another bitter silence, the frustration radiating heavily between our two bodies when the flurries began.

It had been snowing on and off over the four days we’d been trapped in Wyoming, but aside from the first night we’d been there, it had not been anything heavy.This, however, was no light dusting.The flakes came down in thick clusters, growing heavier with every passing minute.

What had been a clear, quiet stretch of highway had turned into driving blindly.The sheets came down so densely that neither Talon nor I could see the road in front of us.The wipers flipped furiously from side to side, unable to clear the powder fast enough to catch a glimpse of the road.The worn tires of the van fishtailed precariously on the pavement, growing more slippery by the second.

In my chest, my heart thumped uncomfortably, a sickening sense of dread pooling in my stomach.

“We have to stop,” I said, barely audible over the sound of the wiper blades as they scraped along the glass.When it seemed like he either hadn’t heard me or was ignoring me entirely, I spoke up again, forcing myself to be louder.“MacArthur.We have to stop.You can’t see the fucking road.”

He grit his teeth, fingers flexing on the steering wheel.“I’m already set back four days.I can’t waste any more time.”

I twisted in my seat, hardening my slightly panicked tone.“And just how set back will you be when we crash and die?”His jaw ticked.“If we’re dead, who will help Leo then?”It was a shot in the dark that my little remark would make any difference, but when the color in Talon’s cheeks depleted and his fingers loosened marginally on the wheel, I knew it had struck true.

Without a word, he inched the van slowly to the emergency shoulder of the road, placing it in park, relief blasting through me.He flicked off the incessant wipers and without the added noise from them, I could hear how heavily he was breathing.Despite myself, concern tightened my insides.“Talon—” He shook his head wordlessly and I fell silent.

The tense seconds morphed into agonizing minutes, my fingers pulling at a loose thread on my sweater.Needing to do something, I dug through the goody bag that Susie had packed for me, my heart squeezing when I saw that she had sent the two blue rubber ducks and had gently packed two slices of cheesecake into plastic wrap.She’d scrawled “His & Hers” in sharpie on the top, with small little hearts.Cautiously, I passed the one marked “His” over to Talon, whose eyes had not left the arctic worthy snowstorm outside.

When he didn’t react, I lay it on his lap before I began to unwrap my own.His chin dipped, looking down at where I’d placed the dessert, then back to me just as I was lifting my slice pizza-style into my mouth.His eyes widened a fraction before his eyebrows narrowed in.

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