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Chapter 16
Maia
“Are you ready for the most epic road trip adventure?” Rhett asks as soon as he sees me walk into our apartment building’s lobby. He holds out a cup of coffee and smiles. “You pack light.”
“We’ll be able to do laundry at some point, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then I’m good. There’s just one little problem.”
“Hit me. I’m prepared for it all…or at least most of it.” He grins, and my body relaxes. He makes it easy for me to tell him anything, and some of my nerves about this trip start to melt away.
“I need to get a dress. Or two.” I smile sheepishly.
Rhett laughs. “Phew. I thought it was going to be something worse. That’s easy. We’ll pass by something, I’m sure. If not, I’ll have one of my sisters take you.”
“Thank you.” I sip my coffee and enjoy the feel of the warm liquid running through me. “I don’t own anything fancy.”
“I bet one of my sisters would have something you could wear. You might not need to go shopping.” Rhett takes my bag from my shoulder and slides it on his own. I follow him out the door and to his car parked out front.
“I couldn’t ask that. Your family has done enough to extend the invite to me and allow me to come.”
“Maia, my mom is beside herself I’m bringing you. She’ll want to dress you, trust me.” Rhett holds the passenger door open for me.
“She’s that excited I’m coming?” I ask when he gets in on the driver’s side.
“Yep. I told her we were just friends, but…” Rhett chuckles as he fiddles with his car keys. When he finally manages to start the car, his cheeks are a bit flushed. “I haven’t really brought any girls home. So she’s just overexcited thinking we’re something we're not.”
I know he means no harm whatsoever from his comment, but it still stings anyway. Thinking we’re something we’re not.
But it’s true, isn’t it? We’re just friends. So it shouldn’t sting. I ignore my feelings and smile at Rhett over the rim of my coffee cup. “Sounds like a very mom thing.”
“She’ll be busy with all of the pre-wedding stuff going on. I honestly thought she was going to kill my brother for having the wedding a week after Christmas. But I guess his bride has always wanted her wedding on New Year’s Eve.”
“It is pretty romantic. And a good night to have a party.” I buckle my seat belt and settle in for the ride. It’ll be a while before we stop next.
It’s eight o’clock, and the sun is shining. Let’s hope the weather stays nice.
“Alright, so our plan is to drive twelve hours with a couple of stops. Then we’ll sleep at a motel overnight, get up early, and repeat the process until on the fourth day, we should arrive midday. Of course, that depends on several things, as you know, like traffic, weather, etc. It’s a total of forty-one hours to my home city of Pensacola. A long-ass drive but worth it,” Rhett says as he checks his mirror. “I’ll let the guest have the first choice of music.”
I connect my phone through the car’s Bluetooth and put on my good vibes playlist.
“Okay, you ready?” Rhett asks.
I nod. “Let’s go. I’m ready to see another state.”
* * *
After driving for several hours, we stop for lunch and to use the bathroom. We spent the morning listening to my playlist and jamming with the windows down.
The warm salty air through my hair as we drive south through California, and blowing on my face felt like a dream. As we went farther south and away from the coast, the air got hotter and drier. Even for late December, it’s still pretty warm, but there's a big difference between the coastal air and the inland city’s air.
“Let’s find out more about each other,” Rhett announces as we climb back into the car after our first stop. I stretch out my legs and slip my shoes off.
“Uh, we already know a lot.” I chuckle, unsure what he means.
“I know. I mean, like our favorite things.”
