She pushes herself to her feet, and the rest of the girls follow. She hugs Hallie first, and I hear Hallie whisper, “Remember, literally anytime, day or night.” I don’t know what that means but it makes Julie smile, and I love anything that makes Julie smile.
Emma is next, and I don’t hear what she says but the hug is long, and she whispers in Julie’s ear the whole time. When they break apart, they hold eye contact for a second before Emma leans in and whispers one last thing that has Julie nodding. Between this little scene and the meeting in Emma’s office the other day, I’m fascinated by the only sometimes quiet redhead and am curious about her story.
Molly is last to hug Julie and doesn’t bother to whisper when she says, “Please just fuck the hot quarterback.”
Julie’s face flushes hot again, and I grin, charmed by these women and the obvious and open affection they have for each other. They remind me of the way my sisters are together, and it feels a lot like home.
The girls walk Julie to the car, and I open the door for her. With one last round of goodbyes, Julie slides in, and I shut the door behind her.
“Take care of our girl, Asher.”
I turn and face Emma. She’s standing on the sidewalk with Hallie and Molly right behind her. I consider my response for a second before saying the most honest thing I can think of.
“There is literally nothing in my life I want to do more.”
Satisfied, Emma smiles and steps back, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the other two girls.
I round the car and hop into the passenger seat. Turning to Julie, I flash her a grin.
“Ready for an adventure, Blondie?”
“Definitely not,” she mumbles.
I don’t know what it says about me, but hergrumpy mood really gets me going. I’m practically kicking my heels at the thought of a week in the car with her and of all the stops I have planned along the way. She’s going to hate at least half of them—of that, I’m sure. Julie Parker has no idea what’s coming for her.
“Well, ready or not, here we go.”
I reach out and lay a hand over hers where she’s tapping out a beat on her thigh. Then I lean over and kiss her cheek, making her face flush again. The anxious tapping and flushed face tell me that she doesn’t hate our close proximity, and I kind of love it.
Then I slip on a pair of aviators, set the GPS, and pull out into the street, noticing suddenly that my hand is still on hers, and she hasn’t done a single thing to move it away.
Chapter Fourteen
Julie
Tingles race up my leg from the spot where Asher’s hand rests. His touch makes me antsy and also calms my anxiety in a way I’m not quite sure I’m ready to explore. I can’t decide whether I want to shove his hand away or press it deeper into my leg and beg him to never stop touching me. That thought scares me shitless enough that I pick up his hand, placing it onto the wheel.
“Two hands on the wheel,” I mumble. I couldn’t give a fuck whether he has two hands on the wheel, but if he has two hands on the wheel, that’s one less hand that’s touching me in a way that makes my insides go haywire.
He looks at me with a smirk on his face, as if he can read my chaotic thoughts. I’m starting to think it’s possible he actually can.
“There are snacks in the back for when you get hungry.”
When he said he was taking care of everything for this trip, evidently he meant more than just hotels and activities along the way. He texted me yesterday that he was buying road trip snacks, and when I asked if he needed a list, he told me healready knew what I wanted. Unused to someone else taking the reins like this, I spent more time than I’ll admit feeling anxious about his snack choices. Snack choices, for the love of god.
I need to get a grip.
I have no idea how to get a grip.
Wanting to see what he brought, and a little desperate for something to do with my hands, I turn to grab the bag. But what I see when I peer into the back seat is actually three reusable shopping bags and a cooler.
Turning back to him, I say, “So when you said you were getting snacks, you weren’t kidding around.”
He just winks at me. “I wanted to make sure you had everything you liked.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “How do you know what I like if you didn’t ask me?”
He just shrugs and smiles. “Psychic.”
