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“We’re on the road to…” And he pauses, thinking of the right word.
But I finish it for him.
“On the road to freedom,” I say with conviction.
And Quinn nods. Stepping on the gas, he speeds toward our emancipation.
I wake to “Sweet Home Alabama” blasting beside my unfortunate eardrums, which have just split into two.But it’s not the tune over the radio that has awoken me in a fright. It’s Quinn, who happily butchers the chorus, his hands slapping the steering wheel in time with the beat.
I’ve fallen asleep with my head twisted at an awful angle into Quinn’s shoulder, and after a moment of clearing the sleep from my foggy brain, I open my heavy eyes, taking a moment to adjust to where we are.Lush greenery and tall, willowy trees are before me, and I wonder how far we’ve driven since I crashed.
“Mornin’,” Quinn happily says while I stifle a yawn behind my palm.
“How long have I been asleep?” I ask, lifting my head and running a hand through my hair.
Quinn shrugs, eyes still glued to the highway while toying with the barbell in his mouth.I can’t help myself as I watch with interest in the way he twirls the end of his tongue, the silver piercing catching off the radiant sunbeams.
“A while.” He yawns, interrupting my ogling, and I stretch my arms above my head.
“You should have woken me up,” I say, feeling terrible for falling asleep on him.
“No way. I’d miss out on you telling me how much you love my piercings,” he says seriously, indicating to make a right-hand turn.
“What?” I ask, turning around so quickly, I whip myself in the face with my loose ponytail.
Quinn laughs deeply and meets my eyes, sucking on his lip ring.
“Oh yeah, you went into great detail. You’re one dirty girl, Red,” he teases while giving me a quick wink before returning his gaze to the road.
Feeling my cheeks blush a beet red, I cover my face with both hands, mortified, as I turn away from him.
“Red, I’m kidding. Although, now I wish I wasn’t.”
I quickly reach out and slap him on the arm, his biceps feeling like muscled heaven under my hand. “You jerk!” I cry but can’t contain my laughter as it feels nice to laugh after three days of sadness.
Quinn chuckles and indicates to park in a lone strip of parking spaces. “I’m starving,” he says, cutting the engine. “I was thinking, instead of calling Abi’s house, how about we call the diner? What do you think?”
“That’s a great idea. But it’s Sunday today, and I’m pretty sure she’s not scheduled, but she is tomorrow.”
Quinn nods. “Well, there isn’t much we can do today other than have fun.”
I raise my eyebrow suspiciously. “Why am I afraid of your idea of fun?”
Quinn chuckles. “Go on, Red. Live a little.”
This isn’t the first time he’s said this to me.
“Fine,” I reply smugly, crossing my arms over my chest. “Bring on the fun.”
After Quinn and I devoured our burgers, we both decided we’re in desperate need of some new clothes and supplies.
Thankfully, a small town in Alabama has a department store big enough to cater for all we need.We stock our cart with personal hygiene items because the complimentary motel shampoos are quickly turning my hair into straw.
Quinn tosses a razor and a can of shaving cream into the cart, as he has quite a heavy growth, but I like it. It gives him a harder edge, and with his long hair, which he is almost able to tie back, he looks like a total badass.
He sees me eyeballing his items.“You like the caveman look, do you?”
“Makes no difference to me,” I reply, attempting to appear nonchalant as I grab us a couple of toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste.
