Page 17 of Joy Ride
He shakes his head softly. “There’s nothing I’d like more. Don’t tempt me, or I’ll never let you leave.” The icy cold blasts into the building when he opens the door.
We trump through the powdery snow together back to my SUV, and the closer we get to my stupid vehicle, the slower I walk.
Despite doing my best to stall the inevitable, it isn’t long before my spare tire is on the car, and I have no excuses left to stay. Travis walks me to the driver’s side and I press the key fob to unlock the door.
“I guess this is it,” I say, trying to memorize his face, the way his dark molasses eyes are rimmed with gold, his sexy dark eyebrows, and the grey in his sideburns. “I hate to leave,” my voice shakes with desperation.
Travis pulls me tight in his arms and I melt as he tenderly strokes my back. “It isn’t over between us sweetheart, if you don’t want it to be.”
Oh, how I wish I could snap my fingers and make a long-term relationship happen with him, but I’m a realist. Maybe he’s only saying that to make me feel more comfortable about not being a virgin anymore. Who knows? Maybe it’s in the book of“How to take a Woman’s Cherry and Make her Fall in Love with You”or something. My brain is being bombarded with so manywhat ifsandmaybes, I can’t think.
“If you have the time, you can stop by on your way home,” he whispers close to my ear, and I relish the feel of his breath against my skin.
“Or you could come to Wyoming?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking and my chin from wobbling. It won’t be long until I’m a sobbing wreck. “Maybe we shouldn’t have exchanged names and stayed anonymous?”
“That isn’t how it works, Goldilocks, and it’s much too late for that,” he smiles, tipping my chin up so I have no choice but to look him in the eye one last time even though my heart is breaking. “Besides, no matter how hard you tried, a woman like you could never be anonymous. Never.”
He presses his lips against mine as the snow starts to fall around us. We kiss and kiss and procrastinate for as long as we can. Travis insists on exchanging numbers and makes me promise to call if I get into trouble on the road and to let him know when I’ve arrived at Chase’s safely.
I beg to let me drive him back to Boondocks because I’ll be going right by on my way out, but he doesn’t let me, says he needs time to walk and think. I burn the image of his beautiful self, walking back to the place where all my dreams came true, into my memory.
Then, I start to cry.
Chapter Seven
Fuck. It isn’t the same without her. Before she came into my life just twenty-four hours ago, I was bored sure, but I was also perfectly happy being unhappy. Now I feel like I’ve been zapped by white lightning and flipped upside down. She’s got me reevaluating my life.
It's only four o'clock in the afternoon, damn. It’ll be a long night. I slide behind the bar and grab a beer and take a long pull.
Why did I let her go? I had the most beautiful, exciting, sexy as fuck woman I’d ever met in my life right in my hands—literally.God, her skin, those lips, and that sweet, tight pussy.It’s unimaginable that I would let her out of my sight for five minutes, never mind let her drive off to who knows where.
I swipe my beer bottle off the counter, lock the front door, and head back upstairs.
She gave herself to me. I was her first and I sure as shit would move heaven and earth to be her only.
Jolene deserves to be with a man who's devoted to her. I’d worship her, protect her, and take care of her for a lifetime. I chuckle to myself. Hell, she’d probably kill me if she knew I thought she needed to be taken care of. Obviously, she knows how to fend for herself, and despite her age, she’s done a fine job of it.
I plunk down on the couch, taking in the warmth of the fire and the sight of our pretty tree.
The place is dead without her. The sparkly angel ornament glistens in the firelight, and fuck, all the cheeriness just makes me feel empty inside. I made the worst mistake of my life.
Maybe Jolene’s tire blew out just up the road from my place for a reason. Maybe it was some sort of kismet or a magical get-me-out-of-my-misery card.
After turning off the living room lights, I head to bed. The sooner I fall asleep, the quicker the worst day of my life will be over. But I can smell her. I dig my nose into the pillow and inhale—Jolene.
I don’t like to think of her driving out there in the ice. She promised me she’d let me know when she got to her cousin’s house. I feel around the nightstand and find my phone and—
Nothing.
Not one damn text.
Chapter Eight
This isn’t really a drive, it’s more of the act of forcing myself not to turn around and go in the opposite direction, right back to Travis. Watching the snow tumble across my windshield, I sniffle like a baby andwipe the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand.
The warmth and coziness I felt the last twenty-four hours are gone. Now I’m just like everything outside my window drifting in the wind.
I realize it’s insane for me to want more from Travis, and it’s absolutely crazy to hope that somehow, something might become of us. It’s impossible to fall in love after knowing someone for only a day, isn’t it?
