Page 45 of Hairpin Curves

Megan pressed her hands into her thighs. “You wanna do this now?”

“If I weren’t driving, I’d do a lot of things right now.” Scarlett’s grin was wide, teasing, tempting, and Megan knew they were crossing into uncharted territory.

Right now, Megan would do nearly anything. “Dare,” she said.

“Take off your bra.”

Megan tried to laugh, but it was hard to breathe in this car. “Just the bra?”

“That’s up to you.”

Megan would normally never do something like this, but it was dark out, and she was feeling reckless, and so she pulled her sweater and shirt off all in one smooth, fluid motion. Scarlett’s gaze stayed fixed on the road ahead, but her lips parted slightly, giving Megan a surge of satisfaction. If this was some kind of game of chicken, if Scarlett was expecting her to wimp out, Megan wasn’t going to do it. But she needed a moment to get her bearings, sitting here beside Scarlett nearly topless.

“You need help?” Scarlett asked.

“You’re gonna help from over there?”

“Sure.” Without another word, Scarlett reached behind Megan and flicked the clasp of her bra open with one deft hand.

Megan let the bra slide down her arms, onto her lap, and she was sitting there naked from the waist up. The cold air brushed across her skin like a phantom touch, and it might have been that air or the tension that hardened her nipples into sensitive peaks. “Truth or dare?” she asked, forcing her voice to stay steady.

Scarlett exhaled shakily. “Okay. You win. I take it back. If you don’t put your shirt back on, I’m gonna drive off the road.”

Chapter Eleven

Scarlett knew she’d have memories rolling back into New York City, but the moment they crossed over the bridge into Manhattan, some neurons in her brain lit up like a fireworks display. It had been almost three years since she’d been here, but the memories flooded back so fast it stole her breath.

“You all right?” Megan asked from the passenger seat, watching Scarlett in that intense way she’d developed during this trip. Or maybe she’d always looked at Scarlett like that, and Scarlett had just never noticed it.

She’d done the whole stretch of driving from DC, which had given her something to focus on other than thoughts of Megan’s round, perfect breasts, their peaks seemingly begging to be nibbled and kissed. For the whole first part of the drive, she’d been gripping the steering wheel with intent just to keep from reaching across the space between them and touching everything she wanted to touch. Now, though, with Manhattan spreading out around them like a dazzling tapestry of light, she could think about something other than Megan: the traffic, the one-way streets, the GPS guiding them to their hotel in midtown. Normally, Scarlett would have tried to find something cheaper, maybe down in the financial district or way up in Washington Heights, but midtown would make it easy for sightseeing. Less easy, however, for driving.

There were a few benefits to arriving near midnight, though, and one was the way the traffic had eased from totally horrific to just terrible. She never drove in the city when she lived here, only on the rarest of occasions, and only a few blocks reminded her of why that was the case.

Megan, though, was rapt. She had her face nearly pressed to the windows, gaping at all the lights, trying to see up to the top of the skyscrapers. “This is nuts,” she breathed once, quietly but loud enough for Scarlett to hear, and her face was all alight.

Their hotel had a parking garage next door, and they got checked into a room on the tenth floor. “I can’t believe there are fifteen floors of this hotel.” Megan threw open the gauzy curtains and stared out at the city. “I’ve never stayed in a hotel with more than two floors before.”

“That’s not a New York thing. That’s a cheap motel thing.” Scarlett smiled anyway, flopping down on her back on the bed closest to the door. She’d take the murder bed, again, so Megan could look out the window. Megan had taken off her backpack, but she was still fully clothed and wearing her shoes, like she was ready to run outside even though it was nearly midnight and they’d been driving for four hours after walking around DC in the cold all day. She looked wide awake, breathless with happiness, her eyes sparkling in the reflected light from outside.

Scarlett didn’t even have to think hard to make up her mind. “You know, we could go out if you wanted.”

“What, now?” Megan bit her lip, but her eyes betrayed her eagerness even as she frowned. “It’s late.”

“This is the city that never sleeps, though.” Scarlett forced herself to get up, because if she stayed in bed, she was going to fall asleep. “Or it can wait until tomorrow if you’re still tired.”

Megan hesitated. “I want to shower.”

“Me, too. We can go out after.”

“You really don’t mind going out late?”

That was enough of an answer. Scarlett smiled. “Go hop in the shower. We’ll head out after.”

They were only a few blocks from Times Square, so they walked. Megan carried her instant camera tucked into a pocket but hadn’t yet taken any photos, instead staring all around in endless wonder. Even at this hour, there was a crowd, a fact Megan commented on immediately. Scarlett took Megan’s hand so she wouldn’t lose her.

They stopped next to the “same day tickets” booth at the center of everything, and Megan turned in a slow circle to take it all in. “What do you think?” Scarlett gave her a gentle nudge, speaking loud enough to be heard over the noise. “Everything you expected?”

Megan nodded, her smile as bright as these neon billboards. It was enough for Scarlett to watch Megan instead of Times Square. She’d seen the billboards, spent enough time pressing through crowds to last a lifetime. Now, she’d walk through all those crowds again to see Megan this happy.