Ariel mumbled something from the backseat.
I turned slightly and regarded my roomie, who was all too excited to meet my family. She wasn’t that disappointed her flight had gotten canceled. Her parents were divorced, and the holidays were rather depressing for her. That year, she’d had plans to spend Christmas with her dad in Key West. I sure wouldn’t have minded lounging on a beach just then.
She flicked her fire-red hair off her shoulder. “What?”
“I thought you said something,” I said.
Maiken tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. He had a habit of doing just that when he was nervous or something was bothering him. I had a feeling he was still miffed at my sudden coldness when he’d brushed off a quickie in the janitor’s closet.
Her big green eyes popped wide. “I did. If you two don’t stick a pin in the tension, I’m going to do it for you. What the heck happened when you went down to get Maiken?”
I glanced at the boy with sandy-blond hair and the bluest eyes on the planet, the boy who made me squirm, giggle, and swoon with one look, one touch, and one kiss.
He gave me a wolfish grin, waiting to hear my answer.
At least he was smiling, which was a stark contrast from the frown he’d been sporting since we’d gotten in the truck.
“Did you not have the quickie you wanted?” she asked me seriously.
I barely lifted a shoulder.
“Oh my God, that’s it.” She pointed a red nail at Maiken. “He turned you down.” Her shocked expression fueled a host of emotions.
Anger rose hot and fast, mixing with a bruised ego to settle in my cheeks. I was angry that my boyfriend had pushed me away, which was a first. In the back of mind, I couldn’t help but think of the blonde who had been flirting with him at a party we’d gone to last month.
“I did not turn her down,” Maiken said, a tinge of disappointment embedded in his tone.
I arched a brow at him. “Then what would you call saying no to me, then?”
He gripped the steering wheel, setting his jaw. “You know why.” He kept his attention on the line of stopped cars in front of us.
I bounced my knee, debating whether to continue the conversation. Ariel didn’t need to be privy to our little spat. She didn’t mind—she loved to referee when Maiken and I exchanged words. However, we didn’t argue that much.
I glanced out as the tension multiplied in the tight space of the truck’s cab. The highway loomed ahead, and I couldn’t wait to see an open highway. Maybe then I could breathe better.
Silence ticked by for a beat before Maiken reached over and grabbed my thigh, batting his big blue eyes full of love and emotion.
I couldn’t be mad at him, and a large part of me wasn’t really. Hurt, yes. Mad, no.
I gave him a half-smile. I knew he was right to make a big thing out of the weather and the traffic. I also knew he didn’t like to rush when we had sex. Maiken was always attentive when we were in the throes of passionate lovemaking.
“I want to always take my time with you,” he’d told me the first week in college, when we’d been snuggled up in my dorm room. “I want you to feel every kiss, lick, and touch.”
Ariel let out a breath, seemingly becoming impatient with us. I couldn’t blame her. It was awkward to be in the middle of a spat between two other people. “Did you two fight about that girl at the party?”
Traffic began to move, but our truck didn’t. Maiken’s hand froze on my thigh.
I narrowed my gaze at Ariel, giving her one of my no-you-did-not-just-say-that looks. She had a knack for sticking her foot in her mouth.
A horn blew again, and that time, the driver didn’t let up until Maiken pressed on the gas. We inched forward a car length only to come to a complete stop once again.
I was beginning to believe our two-hour drive would take ten hours.
“Sorry,” she mouthed to me.
Maiken dragged a hand along his jaw. “Girl? What girl?”
I settled back, hoping the seat would swallow me up. “It’s nothing.” My jealous tone said otherwise.
His features hardened. “Oh, it’s something. And we probably have hours to discuss whatever or whoever is bothering you.”
I checked on Ariel.
She put her earbuds in. “Discuss away. I’ll be listening to music.”
Closing my eyes briefly, I shook my head. It would be impossible not to tell him. Maiken could be persistent as hell and very stubborn. Still, it wasn’t the time to express my jealousy or bring up something that would only lead to more arguing.
He prodded me with those soul-stealing blue orbs.
I picked at a nail. “Fine. At times, I can’t help but feel like any girl who falls all over you, that you’ll ditch me for her.”
His long fingers were wrapped around my wrist before I could bite the nail, though I really wanted to. “Quinn Thompson, I told you. You own my heart.”
I knew he loved me. I even believed that he and I would be together forever. But that jealous part of me was clouding my judgment.
“You seemed to eat up the attention that girl was giving you at the party last month.”
I couldn’t shake the image of the blonde throwing herself at Maiken, giggling, flipping her hair over her shoulder, and rubbing her hand up his arm. Or the way he smiled at her.
He brought our joined hands to his mouth and kissed my fingers. “I don’t remember a blonde. The only person I remember has butterscotch hair, amber eyes, and legs that go on for days.”
Blushing at his description of me, I said, “Wavy blond hair. Breasts that put mine to shame and those same breasts almost poking you in the chest. You did nothing to brush her off.”
Finally, traffic began moving. A cop up ahead was waving cars by.
“Oh no,” Ariel said. “That’s not good. I hope everyone is okay.”
Maiken let my hand go, grabbing hold of the steering wheel with both of his as he glanced at the three-car accident.
A lady who looked frazzled talked to a police officer while a paramedic helped another victim into an ambulance. I said a quick prayer for the victims then prayed we would get home safely.
The cab fell silent as Maiken drove slowly past the mangled cars and we gawked.
Two stoplights and five minutes later, we were finally coasting down the highway. A relived rush of air punched from my lungs. The plows had been out, and the highway was somewhat clear—at least we could see the pavement.
Sighing, Maiken gave me a sidelong glance. “Where were we?”
It took me a second to home in on his question. “Um… It’s nothing.”
He roughed a hand through his hair. “Quinn, don’t you trust me?”
“I do.” Those two words sounded weak at best, even though I did trust him. It was the girls falling over his feet I didn’t trust—or rather the gorgeous women who seemed to come out of the woodwork, trying to snag one of the stars of the college basketball team. Then again, my jealousy was getting the better of me. Or maybe I was regressing back to my old high-school self. I’d been shy and had low self-esteem.
He lifted his brow. “You don’t sound convincing.”
“Can we talk about this later?” I checked on Ariel. She had her earbuds in and seemed to be sleeping.
“Fine,” he said in a huff and gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.