Page 94 of Stay With Me

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay?” I ask when the lights return and notice how red his eyes are.

“I’m good. Just made me think of Billy and how I wish I had the chance to say goodbye.”

“I wish you did, too.”

“But it was nice not having an anxiety attack like I normally would at thinking about him. I think you being next to me helped.”

“Really?” I squeeze his hand. “Guess that means we can’t ever be apart.”

He smiles wide. “Patrick’s character and I do have one thing in common, though. When he talked at the beginning of the movie about whenever something good in his life happens, he’s afraid he’s gonna lose it. That’s exactly what it feels like being this happy. Like I don’t deserve it and it’s gonna get ripped away from me.”

His words slice through me and shatter my heart all over again from what I just experienced. His raw honesty makes my gut somersault at the thought of Tripp getting hurt and me being the cause of it.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I promise, cupping his face and pulling him in for a kiss. “No one’s gonna stop us from being together and happy.”

Noah will be over the moon once I tell her the news and their parents already love me, so it’s only a matter of keeping Travis away from us for good.

“Am I taking you home or do you wanna stay at my place tonight?” he asks as we walk hand in hand through the parking lot.

“Sleepover? Uh, yes, please!” I beam at the thought of curling up to Tripp all night. Though I should be nervous since we’ve never done that before, but I’m excited to spend more time with him.

He chuckles and when we get to his truck, he smacks my hand away when it touches the handle. When he opens my door for me, I burst out laughing at his aggressiveness in not allowing me to open it for myself.

“Surprised you let me walk,” I tease when he hops in on his side.

“I figured hauling you over my shoulder again would be frowned upon.”

“Well, just for future reference, the only circumstance it’s accepted is when I’m naked and you’re throwing me around like a rag doll. Then by all means, throw me over your shoulder.”

A deep growl escapes his throat as he grips the steering wheel with both hands. “You know it’s a forty-minute drive to my house, right? Must you make me drive with a hard-on every time we’re in my truck?”

I shrug with a smug grin. “Oops.”

But I know better than to mess with him now that it’s pitch-black out. The country backroads can be dangerous if deer jump out or when other drivers aren’t paying attention and suddenly swerve.

As we drive back to Sugarland Creek, my stomach starts to turn, and nausea hits me as we go down a winding road.

“You alright?” Tripp asks when I press my cheek against the cool window.

“Just feelin’ a little queasy. I think I ate too much sugar.”

“Oh shit, do you need me to pull over?”

I shake my head. “No, I should be fine once we’re not driving.”

“I’ll slow down. These roads can be twisty and give you motion sickness.”

Part of me wants to tell him to speed up so we get home faster, but as soon as he lets off the gas, it settles.

“Better?” he asks when I sit up.

“Yeah, that was weird. I think it passed.”

He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “I have meds at home that should help.”

Finally, we arrive at the ranch and once he parks, I wait for him this time to grab my door.