Page 65 of Side Trip

Joy heard the smack of lips, a steady intake of breath, and the rustle of clothing.

“Todd, stop. Joy’s still here,” Judy said in a loud whisper.

“But your parents aren’t.”

Taryn puckered her lips and fake kissed the air. Joy snorted. She clamped a hand over her mouth. Had her sister heard her? She’d rat Joy out again if she caught Joy spying.

“She’ll tell on us,” Judy argued.

Joy gaped at Taryn. No she wouldn’t, unless Judy refused to drive her to Taryn’s cabin Saturday night. She still had to ask her sister for the ride, but with finals and senior graduation activities, Joy hadn’t seen much of Judy lately.

Joy peeked around the doorjamb. Judy sat on the edge of the bed, bent over as she untied her white sneaker. Todd lay on his side, stretched across the quilted bedspread. He rubbed Judy’s back, then ribs. His hand meandered up to her breast and copped a feel at the same instant he looked toward the doorway. He dropped his hand and Joy quickly leaned against the hallway wall, out of view, hoping she hadn’t been seen.

“What?” Taryn silently asked.

Joy pressed a finger against her lips. She didn’t want to miss their conversation.

“What time are you going to Kent’s on Saturday?” Judy asked Todd.

“Noon.”

“That early?”

“I told you, baby. I’m helping Kent and his parents set up.”

“I was hoping for more alone time with you after Callie’s brunch.”

“You’ll have me all night at the party.”

“Let’s be daring and go for a midnight swim,” Judy suggested. “Naked.”

“You want to skinny-dip, baby?” Todd made a noise in the back of his throat. Joy heard more kissing, a zipper, then Todd’s groan. “Hold that thought.”

Joy and Taryn stared wide-eyed at each other. Judy and Todd’s conversation had taken a turn down a lane Joy didn’t want to travel, or hear. Todd and Judy skinny-dipping? Gross. She didn’t need that image in her head.

But if she tried to slip past Judy’s room, her sister would see her and know that Joy had been spying.

“Hey.”

Startled, Joy looked up. Todd grinned down at her. He pressed a single finger against his lips. He slowly, quietly, shut and locked Judy’s door.

Joy had completely forgotten that eavesdropped conversation until last night in her hotel room when she’d decided which Route 66 Bucket List item to complete the following day. She’d gone withdo something daring.

As she’d done with each activity up to that point, Joy asked herself: What would Judy have done? Skinny-dip. But the risqué act had only earned Joy catcalls from two drunk idiots and a disgusted glare from Dylan. He probably thought she was flirting with him. Maybe she was. Dylan had been on her mind when she’d planned today’s side trip and those thoughts likely influenced her decision.

In the end, Joy had knocked another item off Judy’s list, an accomplishment to be pleased about in its own right. Who knows, maybe her sister would have been daring and skinny-dipped. But Joy felt like a fool.

“Is this okay with you?” Dylan asked of their location, a dark field in the middle of nowhere lit by moonlight.

Joy looked around, taking in what she could see as her eyes adjusted, which wasn’t much beyond her and Dylan, alone in the dark.

“Would you rather sleep indoors? I can find a hotel.”

She shook her head. “This is fine.” She wanted to check off another item. She did like the sense of accomplishment it provided, and she did feel a shred less remorseful as she worked her way through the bucket list. Focusing on something new would also help her feel less weird about her stunt earlier today.

“I have blankets in the trunk,” she told Dylan. She’d known beforehand that she’d spend at least one night sleeping outside. She’d come prepared, packing only the essentials: a couple of blankets, a roller bag of clothes, a toiletries and cosmetics case, and a small lockbox for her birth certificate and passport. What if she misplaced her license? Her dad insisted she keep them with her.

“What about bug spray?” He smacked his arm. “I think we’re going to need it.”

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