Free Hot For You by Jessie Evans Page B

Faith hummed beneath her breath. “That means Jake will find out, too, and he’s a huge hairy stickler for safe driving. I mean, for obvious reasons, but still…he’s going to give me shit if we don’t stop to rest.”
    Mick nodded. “Back when they were in high school, Maddie and Naomi had a friend fall asleep at the wheel after a study date. She flipped her car and almost died. It made them both take the driving-while-tired thing pretty seriously.”
    Faith sighed. “What do you think? Should we get a room?”
    “We could get two rooms,” Mick suggested. “Your mom could have one, and you and I could share the other. Platonically, of course,” he hurried to add. “Just so you can rest, you know…if you don’t think you’d be able to sleep with your mom around.”
    Mick knew he wouldn’t be able to rest with Faith lying in a bed next to him, but at least she and her mom might be able to get refreshed for the ride home. He could get three rooms, he supposed, but it seemed a little ridiculous to spend that much money on beds they wouldn’t even be using overnight.
    Faith ran a hand through her hair. “Oh man, I don’t know. That’s going to be so expensive, and I’m already feeling broke after Christmas.”
    “Then let me cover it,” Mick said. “Like I said, I just finished a big kitchen remodel job and they—”
    “No.” Faith shook her head. “A fancy steak dinner was too much for a casual date, let alone two hotel rooms. It’s nice of you to offer, but I can’t accept that. If we get bullied into getting a room, I’m paying for it.”
    Mick cursed himself for opening his dumb mouth. All his talk about not wanting a serious relationship had accomplished was to make things awkward, while doing nothing to weaken the pull he felt whenever he and Faith were together. “Listen, I seriously don’t mind. I’ve got the money to spare and I—”
    “What did you mean on the phone just now?” Faith asked, scowling at the darkened highway stretching out before them. “About you and Maddie having had a talk about you and me both being adults?”
    Mick sighed. “You don’t miss a thing, do you?”
    “Nope.” Faith glanced at him, a vulnerable look in her eyes that made him want to rewind their relationship and start over. “So, what did that mean?”
    “Maddie and Naomi were…worried,” Mick said, wishing he were a better liar. But he wasn’t, and Faith deserved the truth. “They didn’t want me to hurt you.”
    Faith nodded, but the frown returned to her face. “That’s nice of them, but I don’t need anyone to protect me. Not from you, or anyone else.”
    “I know that,” Mick said, hating the hurt in her tone. “That’s what I told them.”
    Faith sniffed. “But at the same time, I think they had a point. Because this is dumb. I never should have gone out with you tonight. I knew better.”
    “What do you mean?” Mick asked, surprised at how much her words stung. “I thought we were having a good time.”
    “We are having a good time,” Faith said. “A great time. But one minute you’re putting your arm around me, and the next you’re saying we’re friends, and I don’t know what the hell is going on. But I do know that this isn’t anywhere on my list of things I want in a guy, or a relationship. I’m not into hot and cold, or head games, and I… Well, I think it’s best if we end this before it gets started.”
    “Wait a second,” Mick said. “I’m not into head games, either, I just—”
    His phone honked again, making Mick curse beneath his breath.
    “Hold on,” he said, answering the phone with a terse, “Hi, Maddie.”
    “Okay, we’ve got things all sorted out,” Maddie chirped in an upbeat voice, oblivious to the fact that Mick was in the process of getting dumped. “Jake had Faith’s mom’s information, so he jumped online and booked her a flight back to Atlanta. It leaves at nine a.m. So you two can drop her at the airport, and then head to