Free Resist Me (Change Me Book One - standalone): McCoy Raven Boys by A.O. Peart

lived. Pacific Northwest was so different from what I knew. It was much greener and cooler, even now, in summer. The air was dryer, which I welcomed with relief. I didn’t miss Florida’s humidity.
    “Are you okay?” I heard Ethan’s voice. I looked at him.  
    “Yeah, I’m fine.”
    “You went very quiet all of a sudden.”
    “I’m not much of a talker. Unless you know me well.”
    He nodded. “I’m not either,” he said and then added, “unless you know me well.”  
    I couldn’t help but laugh. It just came out funny. I guess that was his intention. Ethan reached behind his seat and produced a gigantic bag of potato chips. Uoh, my mouth watered immediately.  
    He dropped it in my lap. “Open it.”  
    He wasn’t used to saying “please” and “thank you”, but now that didn’t matter. I was hungry, so hungry that I started to fantasize about stuffing the whole bag in my mouth. I quickly ripped the seal, licking my lips in anticipation. I dug in, lifting a handful of chips out. I tilted the bag to Ethan. He put his hand in and withdrew with his fist clenched around a bunch of crispy, covered with salt chips.  
    I was already done with my first batch, so I quickly grabbed more. Worrying about the fact that I ate like a pig in front of him was the last thing on my mind now. The last meal I had consisted of a small dinner in the warehouse hideout last night. I wasn’t hungry then, so I just nibbled on some chicken pasta. I ended up leaving most of it in my bowl.  
    I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and dug in for more. “God, I’m starving. Didn’t even realize until you took this bag out.”
    “We’ll stop by a grocery store soon. There is one about ten miles from here. I usually pick up stuff there on the way to the cabin,” Ethan said.  
    I stuffed more chips in my mouth.
    “There should be a bottle of water in the glove compartment.” He tipped his chin toward the spot in front of my knees.  
    I opened it. There was one plastic bottle of water, lying on top of what looked like the truck manual and one of those multiuse Swiss Army knives. The manual wobbled a little when I removed the water bottle from the top of it, so I suspected there was something under it.  
    I shouldn’t have snooped, but the curiosity took a better of me, and I peeked very quickly, before Ethan realized what I was doing. It was a walkie talkie of sorts, but it looked more solid than just a kids’ toy. Maybe it was a two-way radio? I didn’t see anything else in that glove compartment. It looked very neat. The whole truck was immaculate, and so I started to wonder if that’s how Ethan kept everything around him.  
    “Is there more, or just this one?” I took the bottle out.  
    “Just one. We’ll share,” he informed me.  
    I unscrewed the plastic cap and took a long, slow swig. The water was lukewarm, but I didn’t care. I could’ve drunk the whole thing, I was so thirsty, but that would be totally selfish. So I put the bottle down and wiped my lips with my fingers. There was salt from the chips on them, and I so ended up spreading it on my mouth. I licked it off and caught Ethan watching me. A blush blossomed on my cheeks as if I was a schoolgirl. He was so incredibly intimidating.  
    I offered him the bottle. He took it without saying anything and brought it to his lips. His bicep bulged when he bent his arm. Thick vein pulsed under his taut, tan skin, and I had a strange urge to run my fingers over it. I mentally slapped myself, bringing my senses back to normal. I tried to reason that I was just terribly confused.
    Ethan passed the water back to me, but I knew he only drank a little. I declined and said that he should have the rest. He shrugged indifferently and did as I suggested.  
    We stayed silent for a long while; me, watching the quickly passing trees and buildings on the side of the road; Ethan, keeping his eyes straight ahead, occasionally glancing in the rearview mirror.  
    I