She used her phone to research the drug while they were watching the movie, and felt confident it wouldn’t kill him, but he, because he wasn’t used to the drug, might have one hell of a headache afterwards.
She slipped the baggie into the front pocket of her jeans patting it down ensuring it didn’t make a bulge. No sooner had she done that, she saw headlights approaching.
***
Nikko saw her right away. He found it odd to see her standing on the side of the road, a bulky bag beside her.
Pulling up next to her, she quickly got inside, and shut the door carefully.
“I’m glad you called, babe. But what’s with the big bag?” he asked eyeing the black ruck sack she stuffed between her legs on the floorboard.
“Oh, well,” she forced a smile, trying to blow off the question. “I thought I would spend the night.”
“Um, okay.” He sounded pleased, but from the squint of his eyes, she knew he was still suspicious. To distract him, she leaned into him to press a kiss to his cheek. He gave her his lips instead. Her stomach lurched at the contact, but she didn’t turn away. The sparks that flew betrayed her heart and mind. She didn’t want to feel the heat between them, but her body still responded to everything this man had to offer.
Nikko sensed there was something up with Ronnie. His instincts told him something was wrong even though her kiss was full of her usual vigor and passion. When they parted, he peered at her more closely in the now dark interior of the car. He noticed her hair then. “Wow, you got your hair done; it looks fantastic,” he said, momentarily distracted.
“Thanks,” she murmured not able to meet his gaze. She turned looking back towards her house one last time ensuring no lights flicked on, and her disappearing act had gone unnoticed for now. Turning back to him, she gave him a dazzling smile.
“Can we go baby, I don’t want to wake up my mom. She was really sick, and Jay just got her to fall asleep. It was one heck of a day. I’ll tell you all about it when we get to the hotel,” Ronnie rushed to say, hoping her ramblings would distract him. But, he was still looking at her funny.
“Okay,” he eased up slightly. After a moment of driving in silence he continued. “Bad day, huh?” He knew he was probing as he took the turns on the curvy road with ease, but his senses told him something was bothering Ronnie. When she remained silent, he picked up his speed a little.
Nikko gave her another sideways glance and feeling his eyes on her Ronnie knew she needed to respond. But her mind was racing as her plan was running through her head. Everything had to go just right. “Yeah, rough day,” she murmured. She couldn’t meet his eyes. She nervously checked one more time behind her, to ensure her departure was not noticed. She saw no lights, and let out a soft breath.
She’s up to something, Nikko’s mind was telling him. His every instinct said something was wrong. “Jay knows you came out with me then?” he asked, trying to get her to talk.
“Of course,” her head snapped back to him. She needed to be more careful. He was picking up on her emotions. She needed to calm down and focus on him. She gave him a little laugh trying to make it sound casual. “You are not going to believe all that went down today, baby.” She added the baby after a slight pause and hoped he hadn’t noticed.
“Wow, it sounds like you did have one heck of a day,” he threw in. “Sure you don’t want to talk about it now?”
“Um, well, it sure was,” she laughed, letting out her breath. She needed to keep him distracted and so continued. “It was crazy. And I’m sure yours was boring, just filing papers, and standing in line at the clerks and sheriff’s office.”
“Um, yeah, I got all that done today. Pretty routine stuff. Boring, I don’t know,” he added nonchalantly.
Boring my ass, she thought. She was sure Barbecue Bimbo had entertained him plenty. She hid the sarcasm from her voice when she spoke next. “My poor baby. It must have been a real snooze fest.”
“Well,” he laughed to ease the tension, “I was thinking about you the whole time, so that made it not so boring. I must say I was disappointed as hell when you texted you couldn’t come. But, I guess you got busy with your mom and all. I hope she is feeling better. What was the matter with her anyhow?” he asked pointedly.
Ronnie wasn’t going to be able to stall him much longer, so she threw him a bone. “When I tell you what was wrong with her, you are not going to believe it. But she was feeling much better tonight.”
He could tell she was stalling. She wasn’t answering his questions. It bothered him. She normally wasn’t one to beat around the bush.