Free Nice Girls Don't Ride by Roni Loren Page A

trying to get inspired, why not go out and see the country? Imagine all the stories waiting out there for you.”
    She’s watching me with this kind of wonder. “You’re being serious.”
    “I am.” And I realize that’s the damn truth. I want to take her with me.
    “You don’t even know me.”
    “I know enough.”
    She puts her forehead to mine. “You’re crazy.”
    “Yep. Totally. Want to be crazy with me?”
    “Monroe, God, I can’t just—I don’t know, flit off with someone I just met for the whole summer.”
    “You can. If that’s what you want,” I say, and tip her face toward me to kiss her. “But I’m not asking for an answer now. I’m giving you an open invitation. I’ll have your car fixed and delivered to you by Tuesday. I leave on Thursday at seven in the morning. I want you to come. If you want that, too, meet me at my place. If not, I’m glad we had last night. I won’t forget it. Or you.”
    Her eyes shine a bit at that and I’m worried I’ve made her cry, but she blinks it away and smiles. “You’re trying to wreck me, Monroe Hawkins.”
    “No, I follow all traffic laws.”
    She smacks my chest, and I catch her hand and kiss it.
    “I’ll see you around, princess.”
    She backs up onto the sidewalk, and her hand slips from mine. I pull away before I can hear her say good-bye.

Chapter 10
    Natalie
    I must be delirious from no sleep and great sex because as Monroe rides away, I kind of want to cry. And call him back. And tell him yes. But even though I know I’m going to make some changes in my life, I can’t imagine that going on a three-month road trip with a guy I met less than twenty-four hours ago is a wise idea.
    What if, by week two, we hate each other?
    What if last night was a fluke?
    What if . . . it’s amazing?
    I put my hand over my eyes at the last thought.
Shut up, Nat. Get some sleep and get it together.
This is not an option
. Maybe I can just tell Monroe to look me up when he gets back in town, and we can see if our chemistry really means something more than a one-nighter.
    I dig my keys out of my purse and head toward the front door, praying that the asshole formerly known as my boyfriend is curled up with the skank. I can’t handle him right now. But, of course, when I walk in, he’s on the couch in the living room like some overbearing parent waiting on the rebellious teenager to come home.
    He gives me the up-and-down look, taking in my wrinkled dress and bare feet. “Seriously?”
    For some reason, I find this comical. I want to laugh. I want to sing that P!nk song about the walk of shame. Something about looking like a hot-ass mess and wearing last night’s dress.
I’m walking, I’m walking
. I snort.
    “Are you
drunk
?” he asks, his lip curling in disgust. “If that guy got you hammered and—”
    “Shut up, Caleb.” I drop my shoes by the door. “I’m not drunk. I’m tired and want to go to my room without having to deal with you.”
    He inhales slowly and releases a God-grant-me-the-patience sigh, pushing to his feet. “Fine, you’re right. That didn’t come out the way I wanted. I’m here to apologize. Any mistakes you made last night were my fault. I drove you to it.”
    “Oh, how big of you,” I say, heavy on the sarcasm, low on the patience. “But the only mistake I made was not realizing how much of an asshole you are sooner. Anything that happened after that was far from a mistake. Best. Night. Ever.”
    The expression on his face goes tight as he stalks over to me. He puts his hands on my shoulders and attempts a sincere look. “Listen. Nothing happened with Rebecca. After you left last night, I brought her home. Let’s talk about this. We can work on things.”
    I shrug out of his grasp. “You think I care what you did or didn’t do with Rebecca? You two can have each other. Go wake her up for a morning fuck. I don’t care.”
    His lips part. He’s probably shocked that I cursed. I usually keep that in check around