Page 31 of On the Way to You

“Is that a Gemini thing, too?”

I tried to fight it, biting my lip so hard I left an indent, but in the end I gave into a loud laugh, one that rolled through me in a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. “Jerk.”

Emery laughed, too, before tapping my chin gently with his knuckle. “Hey, you say you’re an Aquarius, I believe you. No judgement. To each their own.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“I’m serious,” he said, and his eyes were more sincere then. “And for the record, you’re not stupid for having dreams and taking crazy risks just to see if you can make them happen.” He swallowed. “You’re brave. And you’re living. That’s more than most people can say.”

There was an honesty so real it hurt under that last sentence, his amber eyes searching mine, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. I wanted to ask him if he was living, if he had dreams, too.

But I didn’t get the chance.

Suddenly, Emery’s eyes narrowed, like something felt off, and as soon as he looked back to the road, there was a loud pop. I screamed like I’d just been set on fire. Kalo jumped from her spot, ducking behind Emery’s seat, and my heart raced in my ears as the car thumped along with the smell of burnt rubber assaulting my nose.

“Shit,” Emery mumbled, pulling off onto the shoulder. I was still trying to calm down when we finally stopped and he jumped out, jogging over to my side of the car and cursing again. “We blew a tire.”

Cars and trucks were still whizzing by us, each one rocking the car with force. I grabbed Kalo’s leash and we both got out, too, surveying the damage. The rubber on the back passenger tire was completely shredded, the car resting most of its weight on the bum leg. I sighed, peering up at Emery, who was already typing out a number on his phone from a card he held in his hand.

“Who are you calling?” I asked.

“Roadside assistance.”

I nodded, Kalo plopping down in the long, overgrown grass next to me. “What are we going to do now?”

Emery went to answer me but then paused, his call being connected to a human being. Once he was finished telling the person where we were located, he tucked his phone back in his pocket.

“They’ll be here in about thirty minutes or so, closest shop is right off that next exit, so we shouldn’t be too far behind.”

“And then what?”

Emery looked at me like the answer was obvious, shrugging his shoulders. “We grab dinner at a weird diner while they fix the tire.”

“But we have to pay them,” I pointed out.

“That’s usually how that works.”

“Okay, so…” I waited for him to connect the dots, but he didn’t. “We have to earn some money. We’ve got to do something crazy and weird to get back on the road, like how the girls inCrossroadsdid the karaoke contest.”

Emery watched me with a blank stare, blinking twice before he threw his head back in a laugh.

“I’m serious!” I defended, smacking his arm.

“I have my parents’ credit card, Little Penny. We’re fine.”

I scoffed. “But we can’t justchargeit. That’s no fun, it goes against all the road trip rules.”

“Rules?”

“Yes, rules!” I started counting on the fingers on my right hand, tapping each one with my left. “Survive on potato chips and beef jerky, never pick up hitchhikers, and if you break down, figure out some crazy way to make the cash and get back on the road.”

“None of those are real.”

“They’re unwritten.”

Emery laughed, crossing one arm over his chest and balancing his elbow on it, hand finding his smooth chin. “It’s just a tire. It’ll take maybe two hours to fix, and that’s only if they have to go somewhere to pick up a part. And it’ll be like three-hundred dollars max.”

“Your point?”