Don't Go There (Awkward Love 5)

“Maybe we should fly back?” Darcy suggests. She frowns at me when I laugh. “We can’t cover everything but flying at least gets us back there the fastest.”

“What if you fly back and wait at the hotel, while Adam and I drive?” Katie says. Her eyes meet mine briefly, then she turns back to Darcy. “It makes sense we cover the road too, just in case she’s hitchhiking. She might end up stranded.”

Or worse.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Darcy nods. “Well, I’m okay with that if you’re okay with it.”

I stare at Katie. I can’t believe she did that. She could’ve made fun of me, but instead, she helped me hide the fact that I’m a pussy from Darcy.

“Then I guess you better book a flight,” Katie says to Darcy as we get back in the car.We drive to the airport, arriving fifteen minutes before the flight Darcy booked for herself is due to leave. Never mind the fact that the airline requires passengers to be there at least forty minutes before take-off.

“It’ll be fine.” Darcy rolls her eyes when I point that out. “Do you even know me? I could talk anyone into anything.” She turns to Katie. “You sure you’re good with this?”

She glances at me and raises her eyebrows. I chuckle, because I’m going to miss her subtlety. Katie rolls her eyes and nods.

“Go or you’ll miss your flight and I don’t like your chances of talking the pilot into turning around and coming back for you.”

“You’d be surprised at how persuasive I can be.” She grins.

“Text me that they’ve let you on the plane,” Katie calls out, ignoring her comment.

As soon as Darcy disappears into the terminal, Katie stares at her phone, until a thumbs-up comes through a few minutes later. She glances at me.

“Tell me this is all going to be fine. Please?”

I look at her, the vulnerability in her voice catching me off guard.

“If she hasn’t gone far and we can get back before she does something silly, then it will be fine.”

“And if not?”

I want to assure her that everything’s going to be okay, but honestly? She probably should be worried, even if neither Julian or Alberto knows she’s there. A hungover and heartbroken Lily and Lola’s fucked-up family are a very bad combination.

I start the car.

“We should get going.”I rub the back of my neck and sigh, the lack of caffeine in my system really starting to mess with me. I glance at Katie. She’s asleep, which sucks, because I was hoping for some conversation to spark some energy back into me.

My eyes travel down over her bare legs and I swallow. I shift my position in my seat, forcing myself to look back at the road before we crash. I rub the back of my head and stifle a yawn, then I purposely fly over every bump and hole in the road I can find, trying to wake her up. The last hole is deeper than I expect, sending her head smashing against the doorframe.

Shit. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

Her eyes fling open and she clutches hold of her head.

“Fuck,” she howls.

“Are you okay?”

My heart pounds. Before she can reply, I start laughing, even though I don’t find it funny in the slightest. I think I’m in shock or something. She glowers at me, which only makes me laugh harder. Okay, now I’m finding it a little funny.

“I’m sorry.” I gasp the words out. “I’m not laughing at your pain …”

Only I can’t explain why I’m laughing without admitting it wasn’t an accident.

“Are you sure about that?” She scowls at me. “Because that’s exactly how it looks.”

She looks away, continuing to gently rub the side of her head. I spy the sign for the roadhouse up ahead and glance at her.

“Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” I even get a smile.

I fill the car up with gas first, then pull up outside the restaurant. Just being able to stretch my arms out and walk is doing wonders for me. We head inside. They don’t have much to offer. We settle for coffee and a muffin to satisfy us until we find something else. We take it to go, then walk back out to the car. I slide in and smile at Katie, still feeling terrible.

“How’s the head?”

“Tender,” she grumbles. “But okay. You look more awake,” she adds.

I nod. “It’s either the coffee or delirium is setting in. I’ll let you know if I start seeing pink Christina Aguilera monsters running out in front of the car.”

“Yes, I’d appreciate that,” she says with a laugh.

I pull out onto the highway again, the sign for Las Vegas reminding me how far we still have to go. I think about all that wasted driving yesterday and feel frustrated. But I guess it’s a good thing we only went as far as we did. Besides, it wasn’t a complete waste. I got to listen to the best solo act I think I’ve ever heard. I shift positions as my pants begin to constrict. Maybe I’ll save thinking about that until later.