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Paige glared out the windshield, picking at her thumb. She was happy to see Parker again, and realizing that made her nervous. She prided herself on her independence – she worried this situation could lead to her depending on his company and kindness.
“I wanted to see some of the sights, but it wasn’t going too hot. What are you still doing here? I figured you’d be in a dive diner somewhere, eating your way through the state,” she replied. He threw back his head and laughed some more.
“Okay, fair is fair, I guess most of our time together has been spent either in this car or in restaurants, but no, I have yet to eat my way out of Louisiana. I was gonna drive out of the city a little before I stopped somewhere. You?” he asked. She let her head fall back and she closed her eyes.
“God, yes please. Screw this city, I just wanna get on the open road,” she mumbled, rolling down her window with her eyes still closed.
“I was just asking what you were up to – I didn’t realize I was inviting you somewhere.”
“Yes, you were, and yes, I accept your invitation.”
“Well played.”
Paige smiled, letting the air from the window rush over her. Maybe she should think of it as a sign, running into Parker again. Bad or good, she liked this guy. Her philosophy was usually go with the flow, stop where the ride stopped, leave when she wanted to leave – she didn’t want to leave this ride yet, so she would stick with it till she did want to leave. He was still treating her like a kid sister or something, so as long as she behaved herself and kept her distance, there shouldn't be any problem with them driving together. She felt calmer, the anxiety over liking him floating away. She brushed a hand over her hair, pulling loose strands off her sweaty forehead.
“So, besides obviously missing me, what have you been up to since last night?” she asked, letting her head roll towards him. He was smiling when he glanced over at her.
“Well, after crying myself to sleep without you there to comfort me, I somehow found the energy to get up this morning. Unlike some people,Igot up early enough to go see some of the sights before it got too hot and crowded. I was just taking a last cruise around before heading out, you’re lucky I spotted you. I almost didn’t recognize you, I thought ‘who is that tall, skinny, crazy person dressed in all black in this sun? Man, she looks pissed' – that’s when I realized it was you,” he teased. She smiled.
“You’relucky you spotted me,” she teased back.
Silence sat for a while after that between them. Paige dangled her leg out the window again. Parker rolled down his window, leaning his arm out. He had said he planned on stopping to eat, but two hours passed without slowing down and without words. She wondered when he planned on stopping again. But he stayed silent, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. Sometimes he hummed softly, barely loud enough for her to hear. She wondered why he didn’t turn on some music.
“Your stereo doesn’t work?” she blurted out. Having a filter wasn’t an asset she really possessed.
“It works,” he replied without missing a beat, like they hadn’t been silent for two hours. “I just don’t use it very much. You can turn it on.”
“Why do you let me do that?” she abruptly countered. This managed to surprise him. She saw his eyebrows lift.
“Do what?”
“Be rude, be bitchy. You let me do whatever I want. I get the feeling I could demand to drive and you’d let me. Why?” she asked. He shrugged.
“Path of least resistance? I don’t know you very well, but I already know it seems to be your nature to act this way. Lucky for you I’m a pretty easy going guy, I don’t care much what you want to do or how you act. But you are wrong on one thing – it’ll take a lot more time before I let you drive my princess,” he informed her. Paige laughed.
“Okay. Just promise to tell me to back off when you need to,” she instructed him. He nodded.
“Can do.”
She chewed on the end of her ponytail.
“So, you said you were just heading out of school when you hit the road,” she reminded herself.
“Yeah, that’s what I said. So, into Texas or up into Mississippi?” he asked. She looked over at him.
“It’s still mid-May, how early does your school let out? And didn’t you say you were twenty-five? Kinda old to still be in school” she pointed out. Parker finally looked straight at her, something she noticed he rarely did. He'd taken his sunglasses off and for the first time since she'd gotten in the car, she got a good look at his eyes. They looked very green.
“Remember that whole ‘tell me to back off’ speech?” was his reply. She stared at him for a second.
“You pulled that card out pretty quick,” she finally replied, but she kept her voice light, trying to make it a joke. He finally looked back at the road, shrugging.
“Sounds like you’re trying to get personal, missy,” he responded with a chuckle. Paige sat up straighter, feeling a blush creep up her neck. Personal?
“No. I mean, only a little, I guess, but not really ... I mean, what else are we gonna talk about? I don’t know you,” she stated, picking at her thumb nail. Without looking at her, he reached his hand over and placed it on top of hers, stilling them.
“Oh, if you wanna get personal, we can get personal, but I have a very distinct feeling that you have no intention of revealing any of your secrets, and I’m not giving mine away for free,” he told her with a smile, letting her hands go. She folded her arms and turned to glare out the window. “Oh, what, now you’re gonna pout?”
Paige gasped.
