Page 29 of Next Time I Fall (Excess All Areas 2)

She turned left out of the parking lot, and he winced at the car horn that beeped behind them. “Shit.”

“Fucking hell, Cerys. Isn’t it enough you almost killed me in the parking lot? That guy nearly ran straight into the side of us.”

“I know, I know. Drive on the other side of the road, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Nothing fun about it at all. I can’t get used to looking the opposite way in traffic.”

“Well, let me fix that.” Jase pulled a Sharpie from his pocket and drew a large arrow on her right hand. “Look that fucking way next time.”

Cerys studied the arrow then burst out laughing. “What happens when I’m turning right and not left?”

Jase thought about it for a second. “Fuck me, just drive. I’ll look when you need to turn.”

They’d only been beeped at once more when she pulled into the hotel parking lot.

“Do you need a hand getting up to your room?” she asked, turning the engine off.

Jase looked over his shoulder to the backseat of the car. “I don’t want to be here. Where are you going?”

“I’m going to my dad’s cottage up on the lake. He left some papers up there last weekend, so I’m going to grab them.”

“Sounds perfect. Let’s go.”

She shook her head. “You can’t just invite yourself.”

“Just did. Let’s go.”

“Jase. Please. Look, I’ll help you to your room and then I’m leaving.”

He turned in his seat and reached for her, rubbing the back of her hands. “I need some air, Cerys. I need ... fuck, I need something.”

She studied him as her fingers relaxed and slipped between his. “Fine. You can come with me. But you are going to need clothes.”

Jase handed her his room key. “Room 632. It’ll take me an age to walk up there. Can you just shove some shit in the black backpack on the chair? I unpacked. Should be easy enough. And grab my laptop and all the chargers on the desk.”

“You want me to go pack for you?”

“As penance for nearly running me over.”

Cerys looked at him and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Don’t move. And I’m taking my keys so you can’t drive off. It’ll get cold fast.”

“Better hurry up then, eh?”

Cerys growled as she got out of the car, and he watched her as she hurried across the lot.

Goddamn, he was fed up with feeling like this. Like someone had just slammed their hands on a piano, creating a jarring sound that reverberated through him. With too much reverb that would never end. Would it be too much to get a fucking minute’s peace?

When she returned to the car, she threw his backpack into the backseat, and he noticed what she’d added to the side pocket.

“You grabbed the vodka. Girl after my own heart.”

“I need to stop at the grocery store on the way up,” she said, looking up at the sky. “And I want to get there as soon as I can. I’m not very good at driving at night.”

“Let’s be honest, you’re not very good by day, either.”

A flicker of a smile touched her lips. Her very plump and rose-coloured lips. “Do you ever pause to think about whether a thought should stay in your head?”

Jase shrugged. “Too many thoughts rattle around in there. If I didn’t let them out, my head would explode. Plus, so many people want honesty, but they’re not willing to be truthful. Me, I’d rather just say it as I see it. If it pisses someone off, so be it.”

“Is that why you’re in my car heading up past East Tawas? Too much honesty?”

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