She knows holding back my feelings for Adam has been difficult. ”Love you, too. Don’t get too crazy this summer without me there to keep you in line.”
“I’ll be a perfect angel.” She holds up her crossed fingers with a devilish grin as Adam pulls away from the curb.
I wave back at her through the window until she turns to leave. Then I slump into my seat. “I seriously worry about her.”
“You said she has sisters who are counselors at the same camp, right? I’m sure they’ll keep a close eye on her.”
“You haven’t met her sisters. They’re just as bad.”
We’re still on campus when I pull out my phone and the auxiliary cable. My only request in whatever vehicle we used was that it had a place for me to plug in my tunes.
“I have like five thousand songs on here. Are you ready for this, mister?”
Adam looks over at me, freaking gleaming. My heart takes a major dive before fluttering like a chimpanzee on crack. Face stern, I hold up my hand. “Okay, stop right there. We haven’t even been on the road for ten minutes and already you’re beaming at me. Seriously, Adam. If we’re going to do this as friends, there will be no affectionate gazes, no hand-holding, none of this opening my fucking door business. Friends don’t do that crap. If you don’t plan on sticking to those rules, we’ll just have to turn this truck right around so I can actually be the lousy camp counselor I claimed to be for my parents. Are we clear?”
The light turns red. We stop. Adam turns back to me, unsmiling. “Crystal.”
“Okay, good. Now let’s get this road trip off to a proper start. I spent days on this playlist. The songs are perfectly timed with our location.”
Lucky for me, it’s unusually warm for mid-May. I peel off my one-sleeved shirt to reveal the bikini top Kelly and I decided would be perfect for catching Adam’s attention.
White with black and gray leopard print, it dips low between my breasts with enough padding to make my perfect C cups look to be at least DD.
Adam looks between me and the traffic light, his eyes wide. It’s exactly the kind of reaction I had been hoping for. “What in the hell are you doing?”
“Relax, it’s just a swimsuit. I need to fix my ghost-like appearance before we make it to California. Those people are always beautifully tanned.”
As soon as the light turns green, Adam pushes on the accelerator a bit harder than necessary. I start the song “Have Love Will Travel” by The Sonics. Leaning out the window, holding my hands in the air and yelling as the wind whips my hair into the sky, I’m confident that Adam won’t be able to keep things platonic for too long.
In fact, I’m counting on it.
A mere hour into our trip I find myself crossing and uncrossing my legs, tapping against the dashboard to the wicked beat of In This Moment. Adam hasn’t said much of anything since I revealed my sexy swim top, and his eyes haven’t left the road once. It definitely was not the effect I was aiming for. I slip my shirt back on before turning to face him.
“Okay, time to start some road games. Truth or Dare.”
Adam finally glances over at me, his eyebrows drawn down. “Something else.”
“O-kaaay...how about ‘hot seat’? One of us sits in the hot seat and the other gets to ask five questions. You have to answer, but you get one veto.”
Letting out a loud breath, Adam ruffles his hair. “Jewels, I get it. Do you want me to tell you the reason we can’t be together so we can just forget this awkward business?”
“That’s not what I’m hinting at. Seriously, we’ve only known each other a few weeks.
The questions don’t have to be personal. I just want to know more about you.”
“Fine. I’ll go first. You’re in the hot seat.”
I sit tall, clapping my hands excitedly. “Okay, this is good! Fire away!”
“Why did you have to lie to your parents about coming on this trip with me?”
I roll my eyes and look out the window. “By all means, don’t hold back.”
“This is your game. If you want rules—”
“Okay, fine. I lied because they’re really protective. I knew they’d never go for it. And part of being an adult is getting to make your own decisions, right?”
He glances at me. “Why are they protective?”
“That’s another question.”
“Fine. Second question. Why are your parents so protective? Do they have a reason to be that way?”
Eyes narrowed, I wrinkle my nose back at him. “That’s three questions.”
His teeth flash with a wide grin and he chuckles. “It’s your game. Answer the questions.”