Page 30 of Dear Roomie (Classic City Romance #1)

Morgan

J ames drives as though the speed limit is merely a suggestion. My knuckles are white from gripping the overhead handle as we barrel down the highway in her truck.

I’m pretty sure she’s trying to kill us.

In one quick jerking motion, she flings us into the next lane without signaling. My stomach flips with unease, and I clench my eyes closed. I’d rather not see this death coming.

Chaotic, heavy music blares from the speakers, so loud that it rattles the windows with its bassy thumping.

She dances along with the beat, wiggling around in her seat while she screams out the lyrics, completely oblivious to my discomfort.

It would be adorable if I wasn’t sure it was going to get us killed.

“Hey, James…” I try to get her attention, but my words meld into the chaos.

With a sigh, I turn the knob to lower the volume. She shoots a glare in my direction, and the car starts to veer into another lane before she jerks the wheel back to center the car.

“What the hell, it was about to hit the breakdown.”

“Sorry.” I slump back in my seat with a huff. “I just wanted to ask where we are going.”

“Be patient, we are only ten minutes out.” The annoyed press of her lips loosens into a gentle smile.

“Can you at least give me a hint,” I plead .

A mischievous smile plays on her lips as she shakes her head, and she drops one of her hands from the steering wheel onto my thigh. That small touch has my pants tightening.

“Don’t you trust me?” Her lithe fingers squeeze my thigh once before she pulls her hand away.

“Y-yes,” I stutter, swallowing back the growing moisture in my mouth. “I trust you.”

“Good. You are going to love it,” she tells me as she maneuvers the car toward the exit ramp.

The conversation lapses, but she doesn’t turn the music back up. After a few more turns, we pull into a practically abandoned parking lot.

“You brought us to a mall?” I ask, but she doesn’t give me a response as she keeps her face forward.

There’s no hiding the grin that lights up her face or how her eyes are glowing with excitement, though.

That look brings my shriveled heart back to life with an erratic thump.

Her smile would have been enough to make my birthday better.

The rest of this, though…this has to be a joke.

I can’t think of any good reason she would bring me here.

It’s not just any mall—it’s one of those malls that is practically empty, even on a Saturday.

I half expect to see a tumbleweed roll across the parking lot.

She parks the truck in front of what has to be the largest fishing store I’ve ever seen. It’s built to look like a giant log cabin that’s been picked up and glued to the side of the otherwise uniform building.

“Seriously, what are we doing here?”

“You’ll see,” she says, getting out of the cab.

I shake my head but follow her into the store. She moves with a purpose, clearly having been here before, but I slow my steps, trying to take in what must be the redneck Mecca.

“Come on, we are going to be late.” She laces her fingers through mine, dragging me into the heart of the mall, and I have to quicken my pace to keep at her side .

For one brief moment, everything feels right.

James is holding my hand.

The feeling of warmth is frozen solid as the thought chills me to my core.

James most definitely shouldn’t be holding my hand, and I most definitely shouldn’t be letting her.

I start to pull my hand away, but she comes to a halt.

“Happy birthday, Morgan.” Whipping around, she beams up at me with a smile so bright, it rivals the sun. “Wait here. I’m going to go pick up our tickets.”

I look around to see where she’s brought us. In the middle of the line of storefronts, a large castle gate stands out, and while it’s clearly what we’re here for, I don’t know what it is.

“Are you ready?” James asks as she joins me again, now with tickets in hand.

“What is this place?” My voice echoes my inner awestruck wonder as she leads me through the entrance. A woman dressed like she should be at a Renaissance fair takes our tickets and gives us blue paper crowns.

“Medieval Times,” James says as though that answers all my questions.

Past the entrance, the building is transformed into a castle courtyard. I have to stop for a moment to take it all in, the child in me overwhelmed and ecstatic. It’s hard to believe that just a few seconds ago, I was in a rundown mall.

“Do you like it?” There is a slight quaver in her voice. It’s the only indication she’s given all day that she might be nervous too.

“I don’t actually know what it is, but yes.” I’m already moving toward a display of swords and other weaponry.

A small laugh tinkles past her lips, but she follows me as I roam around, taking it all in. There’s never anything but joy and a smile on her face as she watches me nerd out.

My roaming is interrupted by a man in a squire outfit announcing the start of the show.

They usher in the crowd based on the color of their crowns, eventually getting to blue.

As we pass through the large doors, my attention is immediately drawn to the enormous throne that sits on a balcony overlooking a sand-filled arena.

The rest of the room is divided into a wheel of colors that correspond to our crowns.

The lights dim, the show starts, and I’m enthralled.

I barely register the servers coming to deliver food and drinks to go along with the performance, too focused on the display in front of me.

Six knights battle for glory in a tournament of skill.

They start with a series of games that display their physical abilities and precision before moving into a joust, which transitions into one-on-one combat.

It’s as if all of my favorite shows have come to life in front of my eyes.

I find myself cheering along with the rest of the crowd, even when our knight is defeated by green’s.

At least ours wasn’t the one who betrayed the queen.

The show comes to an end, and my cheeks ache from how much I’ve been smiling. James doesn’t rush us out the door, letting me scour the gift shop even though we both know I can’t afford to purchase anything.

She watches me with an expression I can’t quite place, her emerald eyes shining and her lips curving into a smirk as I look at the swords and dragon statues in the glass cases.

Her smile grows when I catch her gaze, causing my heart to flip over in my chest. Mine matches, a toothy grin I couldn’t restrain if I wanted to.

Together, we walk back through the desolate mall toward her truck. The sky is dark, the sun having slipped past the horizon while we were inside. James doesn’t turn her music back on as we start the drive back toward Athens, leaving us to sit in a peaceful silence.

I stare out the window, watching the world blur by with a full feeling in my chest. Today was something I never could have hoped for. Through sheer force of will, James managed to make today okay—no, she made today great.

We pass the exit for Athens, and I sit up a little straighter in my seat.

“Where are we going?”

“You didn’t really think that’s all I had planned, did you?” she says with a smirk .

“I don’t need anything else. Today was perfect. I have no idea how you managed to organize that on such short notice.”

“You might not need anything else, but you are going to get it.” The corner of her lip twitches upward, but she doesn’t give me any more details.

With a resigned sigh, I settle back into my seat and pay more attention to where we are going. The truck bounces as we turn down a long gravel road and stop next to a large field. She jumps down from the cab and then roots around in the back seat, looking for something.

“Are you coming?” she asks, grabbing whatever it is she was looking for and taking it to the bed of the truck.

I unbuckle my seat belt and scramble to get out of the cab to follow her. Crisp fall air bites at my nose and cheeks. I definitely didn’t dress to be out in this weather.

She doesn’t look my way as I approach, too busy arranging a pile of blankets into a nest in the bed.

She gives a satisfied huff and nestles into the pile, wrapping herself in them to fight the cold.

I stand there, frozen and unsure. This feels like a bad idea, like a repetition of past mistakes, only this time, we don’t have the excuse of alcohol to blame.

She must feel my hesitation because she sits up with a raised eyebrow and pats the space next to her, inviting me in.

I hesitate for another second but climb into the truck and lie down, leaving as much room as possible between the two of us.

“Did you enjoy the show?”

“It was great. How did you know I would like it?”

She lets out a full-bellied laugh, shaking her head as if my question is the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard.

“Morgan, I think one of the first things you ever told me about yourself was how much you love this stuff. Literally every show we watch together has to do with knights and damsels in distress. It’s pretty obvious. This summer, I’ll take you to the Renaissance Festival. You will love it too. ”

My stomach gives a small twist at her words; she’s still planning on seeing me this summer. Even after this whole roommate thing ends, she wants me around. The chill of the night vanishes from the warmth that builds in my chest.

“You’re right, that was a dumb question.” I run my hand through my hair as my cheeks warm. “So, what’s the plan now? Where are we?”

“This is Habersham Farms. Grandma Anne is friends with the owner, and he lets me come by whenever I want, as long as I give him a little heads-up. It’s one of the darkest places in the Athens area, and there’s almost no light pollution here.

I thought stargazing could be fun, although if you hate it, we can leave.

” She bites her lip and looks down at her hand when she finishes rambling.