Last night seemed like forever ago, and I wasn't actually sure where we’d left things. Nothing else had happened between us. We hadn't even made it to heavy petting before we were interrupted.
The whole thing felt like a confusing emotional mess that I didn't want to talk about, much less think about.
So I did the only other thing I could think of. “Does Cas stand for Cassandra?” I always thought of Cassandra as a girl's name but maybe that was why it was a big secret. Cas was a total dude-bro in public. I could see him not wanting anyone to know he had a girly name.
He furrowed his brow and tossed me a funny look. “No. Keep guessing.”
“You know,” I mused, “maybe we should make this game a little more interesting.”
“Oh?” Cas looked intrigued. “How so?”
“Well, maybe we should add a little wager…”
“I'm listening.”
“I think if I guess your real first name by the end of the trip, I should get a prize.”
The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “What kind of prize?”
“Sex” and “your cock” were the first things that popped into my head, but if I gave them as prizes, then would I have no real hope of getting them before that? It seemed like it could be shooting myself in the foot, a risk I wasn't willing to take.
Did I go for the big guns, assume the rest of the trip was going to go the same way last night was, and bet big? Was ‘we tell Jared about us’ a fair term? I didn’t think so, and it was making a pretty big assumption that there would be something to tell. Those were the things I thought I wanted the most, but there were too many unknowns this early on in the trip.
“Winner’s choice?” I ventured.
The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “Winner’s choice, huh? Sure, why not? You’re never gonna guess it anyway.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” I was determined now. “Casper?”
“Casper? Like the friendly ghost?” He laughed. “No. Try again.”
“Cash? Casmir? Casein?”
He barely glanced at me. “No.”
“Castro?”
“You’re never gonna get it, babygirl.”
I sighed and turned my head to stare out the window. “Where are we going first?” The first stop on my itinerary had been Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona, but I felt like my plan had been thrown out the window and I had no idea what to expect.
“Oatman,” Cas grunted.
“Oatman? Where is that?” I’d done a lot of research but I’d never heard of Oatman.
“Arizona. Only a couple hours away.”
“Okkayyy… What’s in Oatman?”
“It’s a wild west town where wild donkeys roam the streets and let you pet and feed them.” Cas shrugged. “Sounded interesting.”
“Huh.” I looked out the window again, not sure whether to be thrilled or annoyed that Cas had taken such an interest in the trip that he’d done research and added stops along our route. But maybe I could really trust his excitement about a different kind of vacation. That was starting to feel genuine.
“Are we still going to Horseshoe Bend?” I asked.
“Tomorrow.” Cas grinned.
“Tomorrow?” I frowned. Horseshoe Bend had been a short stop on the way to New Mexico. How much had he changed the route that we wouldn’t even get there today? And how long was he planning to be gone? We were already three days behind schedule. It was a good thing I hadn’t booked hotels. I preferred to be spontaneous and land where I may, in case something came up or we needed a day of rest. “Where are we going to sleep tonight?”
