Free Nova 05 Ruin Me by Jessica Sorensen

night.”
     
    “Really? I don’t ever remember you wearing glasses.” I take a drink of the soda then set the bottle back in the holder.
     
    “That’s because I try not to drive at night solely because of that.”
     
    “I bet you look cute in them.” I gather her hair in my hand and pile it up on top of her head. “Like a naughty librarian. Maybe we could do a recap of Friday night when we pull over. Only this time, you can pretend to be a naughty librarian.”
     
    “And what would you be?”
     
    I shrug. “A guy who wants to do a naughty librarian.”
     
    She snorts a laugh, but then her shoulders slouch. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to bring up our arrangement to you.” She scratches at the corner of her eye as she stares at the green glow of the stereo. “I think we should set some new ground rules for this trip.”
     
    “More rules?” I pout. “We already have a lot.”
     
    She stares at my jutted out lip then nibbles her own. “I know but,” her gaze collides with mine, “it just seems like doing anything while we’re spending this much time together could end up being a disaster. Besides, it’s not Friday.”
     
    “Yeah, but there’ll be a Friday in,” I look at the clock on the dashboard—nine-fourteen, “less than four days.”
     
    “Jax,” she begs with her hands clasped in front of her, “please, please, pretty please don’t make things complicated.”
     
    My pout deepens, but I surrender. I owe her that much for coming on this trip with me. “Fine, but only on two conditions. One, you don’t judge me based on anything you see during this trip.”
     
    “I would never, ever judge you,” she says, shocked. “Besides, I already know how bad your mom is.”
     
    “Yeah, but you haven’t seen the shithole I grew up in.”
     
    “I’m sure it can’t be any worse than where I live now.”
     
    I think about telling her right then that I’m moving into the same apartment complex as her. She couldn’t run away from me, either, not until we got home. But it seems like a dickhead move when she’s driving clear across the country with me.
     
    “Just promise me.” I reach for my drink again.
     
    “All right, I swear.”
     
    “And two, you play a road game with me.”
     
    “What kind of a road game?”
     
    “How about the game of pull over the car and give me road head?” I suggest with an innocent shrug.
     
    Her eyelids lower as she pinches my side. “Watch it, buddy. You’re breaking my new rule.”
     
    I chuckle, rubbing the spot she pinched. “What? You said we couldn’t fool around, but perverted jokes are fair game. Besides, we’d get bored if we didn’t banter.”
     
    She doesn’t argue. “We could play I Spy.”
     
    “Or twenty questions.”
     
    “No way. That game is too dangerous.”
     
    “Why? What are you hiding Clara McKiney?”
     
    “Nothing.” She averts her gaze to the backseat. “Hey, I forgot I bought gum.”
     
    “Saved by the subject change,” I tease her as I reach for the iPod and skip to the next song. “How about if we play truth, but promise to keep the conversations light?”
     
    She sits back in her seat with a stick of gum in her hand. “It still sounds kind of dangerous.”
     
    I wiggle my brows at her. “Where’s your wild side?”
     
    She unwraps the gum and pops it into her mouth. “I haven’t seen her in like three years,” she mutters. Her gaze travels to the back of the Jeep where the black vase is seat belted in, just in case we hit a bump or something. She suddenly squares her shoulders. “All right, let’s play truth. But let’s make it a lightning round. Make things interesting.” Her voice quivers as if she’s scaring herself.
     
    “Are you sure?” I check. “Because we don’t even have to play a game if you don’t want to.”
     
    “Favorite color?” she starts the game without missing a beat.
     
    “Blue, but you already knew that.” I hurriedly think of a question.