Free Stacey Joy Netzel Boxed Set by Stacey Joy Netzel Page B

never got a chance to tell them I no
longer have a car tonight.”
    “Ah. You have no ride home,” he surmised in
a suddenly somber voice.
    I pretended I didn’t notice the change in
his tone and avoided his gaze. “Not only that, but I’m supposed to
stay at their house tonight.” I made a face. “Now I feel like I’m
intruding.”
    My phone dinged a new message.
    Jenna: Summer?
    I ignored her and asked Josh, “Is the Silver
Falls Motel still operating these days?”
    He made a face at me this time. “Better to
pretend it’s not.” Then he took a deep breath and said,
“Considering I more than owe you one, I’m happy to offer a ride
back to my place and the use of one of my guest rooms.”
    I completely ignored the implication of “considering I more than owe you one” and found myself
focusing on “back to my place.” The teenager in me zipped
straight to the highly anticipated, never realized goodnight kiss
still hovering in my imagination and I found myself staring at his
mouth. The woman in me liked the idea very much.
    Another musical ding. I looked down.
    Jenna: I’m coming back 2 town.
    Crap. I worked my fingers fast: No. Got a
place 2 stay and will c u in the a.m. Shutting off phone and lving
now. U N Doug have a good nite.
    I quickly hit OK to send, even as I cringed
at the abbreviations littering my message. Being a writer, I
usually avoided them, but time was of the essence. Josh watched me
with an unsure expression, so I flipped my phone shut and gave him
a quick smile.
    “That would be great. Thanks.”
    My phone dinged. I ignored it.
    Josh slipped his hands into his pockets and
hunched his shoulders. “How long do you want to stay?”
    I followed his glance around the bar area,
then shrugged, even though it’d been a long day and I was done in
at this point. “It’s up to you.”
    His gaze flicked to my phone when it chimed
yet again. “Actually, I’m a little tired. I was up early and—”
    “Me, too,” I broke in. Then I wanted to bite
my stupid tongue. It sounded like I couldn’t wait to be alone with
him. So I quickly continued, “And after the flight, and the drive
up from Milwaukee in the snow…”
    “And the ditch,” he added.
    “Exactly. I’m definitely looking forward to
your bed.”
    Oh my God, I didn’t just say that. Mortified, I lifted my gaze to his and forced a light laugh. “I
mean, your guest bed—not your bed.”
    Shut up. Just shut up!
    A smile tugged the corners of his kissable
mouth. My face flamed so hot I swear the temperature in the bar
shot up at least five degrees. I wanted to sink to the floor and
crawl away in the dark.
    He stepped back, jerking his head toward the
dwindling crowd of our classmates. “You want to say goodbye to
anyone?”
    Ironic, coming from him. I shook my head.
“I’ll see them tomorrow afternoon for bowling.”
    His hand rested on the small of my back on
our way to the door. Warmth spread through me at his touch. As he
grabbed our coats, I quickly checked my phone to make sure Jenna
wasn’t on her way. Four new messages, the first three within
seconds of each other.
    Jenna: With who?
    Jenna: Not Josh…?
    Jenna: Summer!!!
    And then the last one, after a two minute
lapse. Jenna: Just remember, I warned u.
    I sighed as I powered the stupid thing
off.
    “Everything okay?” Josh asked. He wore a
frown and looked a little unsure of himself. Or maybe the
situation. I knew the feeling.
    I nodded and turned to slide my arms into
the sleeves of my coat as he held it out for me. When his hands
rested on my shoulders, his body was near enough I could feel his
warmth, but not pressed close in a blatant manner. I found I wanted
to lean back. Was I setting myself up for more disappointment like
Jenna suspected?
    No. Because nothing was going to happen
other than me literally sleeping in his guest room, and then I’d
leave in the morning. Sunday afternoon I’d fly back to Florida and
not see him for another five or ten years, at the