Page 55 of Fireworks

“It was everything I ever dreamed of and it’ll...”

Wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie, she trailed off.

“It’ll what Katie?”

Looking back at her, I felt so helpless. I should have known better than to let things escalate like that.

“Nothing. Never mind. Just drive.”

She recoiled, completely shutting down again. The walls she had up against me building back up.

“No. I’m not driving you anywhere until you talk to me.”

I could see the wheels turning in her brain as she tried to figure out what she was going to do.

“It’ll never happen again. Things won’t ever be the same now. After this trip, things are just going to go back to what they were. You’ve said it a dozen times Asher would kill you. He’s too important to you, so this isn’t going anywhere. Can we just drive now?”

Her voice cracked as she looked back out the window.

Responding to her was difficult. She had a good point. It couldn’t ever happen again and things weren’t ever going to just go back to what they were.

Sex changes everything.

That sex though. It was earth-shattering. Nothing could compare to the satisfaction of her being wrapped around me. It doomed my sex life after the pleasure she brought me.

Thinking about it, I didn’t want it to go back. I wanted her again. I could feel myself getting hard and hoped she didn’t notice it as I shifted in my seat. This conversation wasn’t one to elicit this body response. Thinking about how sexy she was as I pulled her lace panties down, my mind couldn’t help but salivate at the mere idea of taking her again.

“What about...”

I trailed off. It was a stupid idea, and I was an asshole for even thinking about it.

“No, never mind.”

She turned ever so slightly to face me. A slimmer of hope streaking her face now.

“What was it? You sounded like you had an idea.”

“It was stupid and selfish. Just forget it. Did your mom ever text that they landed?”

Trying to change the subject, I knew she wasn’t going to just let it go, but maybe I could distract her for a while. She looked down at her phone.

“Yes. A while ago. She was glad we pulled over last night. She had been keeping track of the storms. Apparently, there’s more we’re going to be going through. She said to be safe and don’t worry if we get there late.”

Having to stop last night and getting such a late start today had put us behind. We were supposed to be crossing into Texas already, but we were barely through Oklahoma. The idea of driving through the night crossed my mind just so we could get there to put some space between us. I knew she probably wanted to sleep in a warm bed and get a shower before we showed up. This time, I’d get two rooms when we stopped.

“Well, let’s just see what we come into. I’d rather get there sooner rather than later.”

Reaching over, I turned the music up, hoping she’d get the hint I was done talking for now.

*****

Katie

Opening my eyes, I looked over at the clock. I must have fallen asleep. Two hours had passed, and the rain had picked up again. The sun was setting, slowly dipping into the horizon as we continued driving. Nate looked exhausted as he brushed his hand through his hair. We had gotten very little sleep last night. By the time we finally settled, it was well past one in the morning.

“We can stop if you’re tired. Or you could just let me drive so you can nap.”

His hands pulled at the steering wheel, his bicep flexing.