Free Between the Cracks by Helena Hunting Page B

“You sure?”
    “Of course. But you’ll call me when you get there?”
    “Definitely.”
    Five minutes later, we were standing at the bottom of the landing, me with my jacket on and her keys in my hand, and Sarah with a threadbare blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
    “I’ll call once I pick up H. Try and get some more sleep.”
    I went to leave, but she grabbed the sleeve of my jacket. When I turned back to her, she threw her arms around my neck and pulled my head down.
    “What’s—”
    As soon as I opened my mouth, her tongue pushed past my lips. She melded her body to mine. We’d been out a few times now and I hadn’t tried to get her naked because I didn’t want to make it about that; but man, it was hard. And I was hard. There was no way she couldn’t feel it with the way every long, lean line and curve of her was pressed up against me. Her nails dug into my skin. When she shivered, I broke the kiss.
    “Maybe we could pick up where we left off when I get back.”
    Her fingers fluttered to her lips. “That’d be good.”
    “I’ll call you later.” I considered going in for one more, but it would’ve turned into a full-on make-out session, given how Sarah was looking at me.
    I started down the stairs.
    “Chris?”
    “Yeah?”
    “You’re a good person. Hayden’s lucky to have you for a friend.”
    “Wait until we bring Tee back before you go saying things like that.”
    I jogged over to her car. It wasn’t locked. But I didn’t bother to ask questions–I needed to hit the road.
    Sarah’s Tercel was a certified piece of shit. My apartment might be a dump, but her car was way worse. I couldn’t believe it still ran. It took me more than three hours to get to Hayden because the car shuddered every time I tried to go over 55 MPH. When I arrived at the truck stop in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, the sun made an appearance on the horizon, casting a pink glow over everything. It didn’t make the drive any more appealing.
    Hayden was sitting at a booth, nursing what looked to be a mug of black sludge. He barely acknowledged me when I slid into the corner where he’d set up camp. His hair was totally fucked. It looked like he’d had his hand in it for the better part of the night. There were dark circles under his eyes and they were bloodshot. For Hayden, he was a complete mess.
    “You look like shit.” No point in sugar coating it. Hayden wouldn’t appreciate it anyway.
    “I know.”
    “You haven’t talked to Tee yet?”
    “I’ve called her every half hour, but it’s dumped me into voicemail every time. Maybe her phone’s off.” Hayden lined the condiments along the edge of the table.
    “Her battery could have died,” I said.
    Hayden chewed on his viper bites as he mulled over the possibility. “Yeah. That might be it." After a long pause he asked, "You want something to eat before we take off?”
    “Nah, man, I’m good. I gotta take a leak, then we'll head out?”
    He nodded. It looked to be the only answer I’d get, so I left him at the table and hit the bathroom. He’d already settled up with the tired-looki ng waitress when I came back.
    The trip to Arden Hills was quiet. Hayden didn’t say much, other than to thank me for picking him up and comment on the shitty state of the car.
    Arden Hills was nothing like Chicago. Twenty minutes outside of Minneapolis, it had a small town feel. That Tee had grown up here shed a lot of light on who she was as a person. While I knew she wasn’t a city girl, this was way different than I’d expected.
    “You’re gonna turn up here,” Hayden said.
    I followed his directions and headed down a heavily tree-lined road.
    “It’s supposed to be on the right.” Hayden peered out the window, fingers tapping restlessly. “That’s it.”
    I hit the brakes and turned into the nearly invisible driveway. After a hundred feet of interlocking stone drive, the trees thinned out and manicured lawns and gardens took their place. A quarter mile