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I stifle a yawn before taking a long sip of my coffee. I could barely keep my eyes open because Dominic wanted to get on the road at the obscene hour of three a.m. and it is now two fifty-five a.m. I practically begged to fly instead of making the eight-hour trek, but Dominic said the drive would do us good. I’m already dreading the drive, especially since Kate managed to get herself grounded two days ago for sneaking her boyfriend into the house and letting him stay overnight in her room. Dominic even got involved, asking her parents if maybe they could let it slide and ground her when we got back. He argued that it had been a hard year for me and I’d like my best friend around. Kate’s mother is a close relative of the anti-Christ, so naturally, she saidabsolutely notbefore hanging up on Dominic.
So, now it’s just me and Dominic, which is fine. I don’t feel like having to entertain anyone anyway. Kate was the only person that would have been fine with a chill weekend. Any of my other friends would be rallying to get me drunk or trying to find guys to party with. I just want to be still. Lie on the beach, read a few books, maybe eat my weight in seafood. There is this hole in the wall taco bar just on the edge of the city that has these spicy shrimp tacos that can change a person’s life. I’m also hoping that things can go back to the way they were between Dominic and me. A time when we were truly getting along and leaning on each other for the support we both need.
“I’m sorry it’ll just be us,” he says as he loads my suitcase into the car and I climb into the front seat, along with a blanket and a pillow.
“It’s fine, just don’t expect me to keep you company on this drive until at least seven a.m.,” I joke.
“That’s fair. Your mom used to sleep the first few hours too,” he chuckles and his words are like a shot straight to my chest. I swallow, not wanting to start the day like this. My eyes immediately find my feet and the fresh white polish on my toes.Focus on something else, Stass. Literally anything else.As if he can hear my thoughts, I hear him break through the emotions swimming in my head.
“It’s okay to talk about her, Stassi.” He clears his throat. “It’s the only way we are going to survive this…so we don’t get swallowed up by the grief.”
“What’s there to say that hasn’t already been said? I need to move on.”
He nods and I turn away as devastation covers his features. “Unfortunately, Stass, this isn’t something that you’ll be able to move on from easily.” I look up, wondering where this morose piece of wisdom is coming from when our eyes lock. “The pain will lessen, but it’ll never completely go away. Losing a parent…a parent you were close to at that, changes you. You’ll feel their absence in every move you make foryears.You can’t ignore or avoid this grief, Stass. You have to learn to live with it. To cope.”
“Fine, I’ll cope. Can we go now?” I rest my head against the pillow that I’ve propped against the door. “Let me know when you stop for coffee.”
The hum of the engine starts a few moments later, followed by what I assume is a playlist he made for the trip. I can expect a healthy list of everything from Johnny Cash to Cardi B. I don’t think we’re even out of my neighborhood before the first few notes of a Marvin Gaye song lulls me to sleep.
The next time I open my eyes, the sun is blazing despite the cool air circulating the car. I grab my phone from where it’s charging and note the time reads just after eight. I’m surprised I slept this long in this position, but I chalk it up to not having slept the night before. I look over at Dominic who looks surprisingly…hot.I wouldn’t be surprised if my eyebrows touched my hairline with how wide my eyes are at the moment. He’s wearing a baseball cap marked with his alma mater, backwards, allowing some of his onyx colored hair to peek out the bottom and the sides. Wayfarers cover his eyes and a smile tugs at his lips, assumedly due to the song playing as he’s moving with the music. He must have stopped while I was sleeping because he’s now wearing basketball shorts revealing strong, muscular legs thanks to living on the golf course during the summer. I rake my gaze up his body and the black v-neck t-shirt that seems to be even tighter than usual around his biceps.
Damn. He looks like a college student or grad student or whatever. He looked nothing at all like my stepfather, the man that wore a suit five days a week and business casual on the weekend.
“Have you been working out?” I blurt out.
“Look who’s awake!” His voice is way too chipper for eight a.m. and I instantly regret not just going back to sleep. “Are you hungry? We can stop for coffee if you want. We are making excellent time. Should be there in about two and a half hours.” He rambles and my eyes move to the console where I spy a Red Bull and a coffee, and an empty can in a bag at my feet.
I wince and lift the bag that also has an energy bar wrapper before tossing it to the back seat. “Maybe you should lay off the Red Bulls, speed demon.”
“A lot on my mind; I guess it gave me a bit of a lead foot, but that’s why I like to leave early.” He smiles.
“What’s on your mind?” I ask even though I know exactly what it is. What’s been on his mind for the past two months and maybe what’s been on his mind the last week.I nod in response and lower the visor to check my face but immediately regret it. I am in desperate need of some lotion and mascara and to fill in these brows.Stat.I rub a hand over my face and through my curls that thankfully feel pretty manageable. I pull them up into a bun on top of my head anyway and grab my sunglasses from my purse. “I wouldn’t mind stopping to stretch and get some breakfast.”
“Cracker Barrel okay with you?”
I scrunch my nose to showcase my slight disgust. “Do I have a choice?”
“Come on, don’t be such a snob; it’s the only place for breakfast that isn’t fast food for the next sixty miles. Unless you want…” He smirks and I put up a hand, stopping him from finishing his sentence.
“Don’t say it.”
“Waffle House.” He snickers and shoots me a smirk.
I cringe. “Didn’t I say not to say it?” I’ve been traumatized by that place ever since I got food poisoning five years ago. I spent the whole time in Charleston throwing up my entire soul and have vowed not to set foot in a Waffle House ever again.
He chuckles as we take the exit for Cracker Barrel and within minutes, we are pulling into the parking lot. I stretch my arms to the sky the second I get out of the car and bend over to touch my toes hoping to work out any kinks that may have formed in the five hours I was asleep. When I stand up, I notice Dominic staring at me.
“What?” I ask and look down at myself. “Do I need to change?” I’m wearing yoga leggings that I know highlight my ass and curves and a short-sleeved crop top but not one that revealsthatmuch skin.
“No,” he shakes his head. “I was just…” He puts his hands on his hips. “Let’s go in.”
We head inside and are seated quickly given that it’s still pretty early and I’m grateful for the coffee already on the table. “Thank God.” I reach for the coffee pot when Dominic beats me to it and flips over my mug to pour me a cup. I raise an eyebrow at him. “You’re being awfully nice to me after you’ve basically ignored me for the past week. Are we reverting back to how things were before?”
He sets the pot down without pouring himself a cup and passes me the cream from his side of the table. “I’ve always been nice to you, Stassi.” He shrugs and opens his menu. “Maybe you didn’t see it that way, but at very least I’ve always treated you respectfully.” I can hear the sincerity in his voice and see it all over his face. He leans forward slightly and reaches his hand across the table, setting it on top of mine. He squeezes it gently and gives me a small smile. “I know we used to go back and forth and sometimes you may not understand where I was coming from, but I thought you knew that I always cared about you and wanted the best for you.”
“You were overbearing.”
He lets out a sigh and slides his hand back across the table. Somewhere deep inside I miss his warm hands encased around mine. I frown because the feeling is foreign and confusing and I am not trying to deal with it before I’ve had coffee. “I was new to the parenting thing and you were…are…a handful. I was just trying to keep you safe andalive, Stass.”
