“I can’t believe I just did that,” she said in a nervous voice. Her beautiful blue eyes were wide when she held out her hands in front of her. They trembled. “We’re crazy.”

It made me nervous to see her like that. “Are you sure you want to do this? I can still take you back,” I reassured her. The holes in our plan were bigger than the potholes on Main Street, the ones that suck your entire car under. People were going to be pissed, and there was a good chance Fox was going to wring my neck. I was ready and willing to take that chance, but she didn’t have to. I needed her to know that.

“I’m sure.” She nodded her head. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

I took hold of her shaky hand, and laced our fingers together, offering her the security that she longed for, that she was used to getting. I could read her like a book. I knew the comforts that she needed to feel safe and secure. I would give her nothing less, maybe because I needed it to.

Raising her hand up to my lips, I kissed the back of it gently. “Let’s make a pact right now, that for the next two days we won’t mention a word about the mess that’ll be waiting for us back home. We won’t talk about your brother,” whose name I couldn’t even say. “We won’t talk about home or running away from it all. We should focus on us, and the adventure, because the two of us need a little fun in our lives. We throw all the serious shit out the window.”

“I love that idea,” she replied before resting her head back against the seat. Her hands weren’t shaking anymore, despite the nerves that were still showing on her face.

“Let’s start by turning off our cell phones,” I suggested, passing mine across the seat. “Here,” I gave her mine to shut down. “Did you leave a note or anything?”

She said yes. “I left one beside my bed, but I didn’t tell them where I was going or who I was with. I also texted my Mom and told her that I was spending the weekend with my cousin. They’re still in Japan or somewhere, and I have no clue when they’ll be home.”

Her parents? Geez. I was a complete douchebag.

I jerked the wheel hard to the right and pulled off to the side of the road. “We can’t do this. I’m sorry. I’d never run away from home and leave my parents worrying like that. They know exactly where I am. I should’ve never asked you to do that. I’m an idiot.”

“Wait, hey,” she shifted in her seat. “I’m supposed to be the one with all the doubts, not you. You’re supposed to be the calm one.”

“I’m know, and I’m sorry.” My hands tightened on the steering wheel. “But I wanted this to be perfect. I wanted us to get to know each other better, away from all the craziness. I didn’t stop to think about your parents. They’ll be worried sick when Fox tells them.” I frantically shook my head. “There’s no way anyone will ever let me see you again after this. They’ll hate me, and who knows what they’ll do to you when they find out you ran off with me. We can’t take that chance.”

“You’re forgetting one thing.” She leaned across the seat so that our faces were just inches apart.

My breathing nearly stopped. “What’s that?” I responded.

“I’m eighteen years old.”

“Yeah, but…”

“No buts,” she shook her head before placing a soft kiss against my lips. “I’ve been in trouble maybe twice in my entire life. I do everything that is asked of me, no matter how crappy it makes me feel. I’m supposed to be experiencing college life, and living it to the fullest. Yet, I barely leave the house. I know that this will probably upset my parents, and my brothers are going to be mad as hell, but I don’t care. I agreed to come with you because I wanted to, more than anything. For my sanity, I had to get the hell out of that house.” She kissed me once more. “Now, please stop worrying. I’ll leave my phone on and answer it only if my parents call. Everyone else doesn’t matter.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive,” she smiled.

It was probably a dick move on my part for suggesting this in the first place, but it was only two days. I’d bring her back in better shape than I took her.

“Okay.” I grabbed her and kissed her hard. “I’m sorry for my little meltdown. It won’t happen again.”

“Good.”

“And I want you to know that I don’t have expectations for this trip. We’ll get separate rooms if you want. My intentions were only to spend time with you. Real time, and not thirty minutes.” I told her. I didn’t want her thinking that I only wanted to get her away so that I could sleep with her.

She blushed, and dipped her head down. “I know that, and I don’t want separate rooms.”

Thank God.

I pulled back onto the road and headed for the highway. We were just a couple of hours outside of Little Rock, and I couldn’t wait for us to get there. We could have dinner, enjoy the city, and talk all night.

Suddenly, the nerves subsided, and I was finally ready to relax.

“What kind of music do you have?” She smiled. I guess her nerves had gone away too. I cranked up the stereo, and she smiled. “You were listening to country?” She looked surprised.

I chuckled. “Don’t knock my music, Woman.”

A loud beautiful sound came flowing out of her. She had the best laugh ever. “I just didn’t expect that. I love country.”

Guess we had a lot more in common than I thought. I couldn’t wait to find out more about her. All the times that I’d daydreamed about her didn’t compare to having her right by my side. She was a mystery in many ways, but so much about her was already engraved on my heart. The anticipation of knowing everything about her had taken over, and I wondered if she felt the same way.

“What’s your bedroom like?” I blurted out.

Really? Of all the questions blooming in my mind, I chose the oddest one to ask. I must’ve sounded like a total perv. You would’ve thought that I’d never had an adult conversation before.

She cleared her throat, and looked over at me. There was no retracting the question now. It was already out there.

She didn’t seem to mind. “It’s big.” She grinned. “I have an entire wall of bookshelves overflowing with books, and an old desk that I’ve had since I was like ten. My walls are painted in a light lavender shade, and I have like twenty pillows on my bed. I love pillows. And my window,” she paused. “It’s perfectly positioned for the morning sunrise. I painted this stained glass looking wind chime when I was in elementary school, and I have it hanging on my window. I took all the noisy chimes off of it, because it was loud and obnoxious. But you should see it in the morning. It makes these blue, green, and purple colors dance across my wall. It’s beautiful.”

I could see it in my mind like she painted me a picture, and it was beautiful.

If she ever saw my room, back at home, she’d think it was plain. Lee had fancied it up a bit over the years, practically taking it over, but it never felt personal.

“That sounds great.”

“It used to be, but I hate it now. After years of being cooped inside the house, I dread those four walls.” Her voice faded off.

I didn’t push or ask more questions, because I didn’t want her dwelling on it. It was my ultimate goal for us to have a good time this weekend. I didn’t want anything standing in our way.

“You ever been to Little Rock? We’re staying at The Anderson,” I told her.

“A long time ago,” she replied. “I’m excited to go back though.”

When her eyes met mine, I nearly swerved off the road. She was dangerously sexy, and could easily stop me in my tracks. Not smart when you’re driving seventy miles an hour on the expressway. I had to find a way to keep my eyes on the road, and off her body. She was wearing blue jeans that were filled with holes, and all I could focus on was the smooth pale skin that was showing through.

I cleared my throat.

“You okay?”

“Oh yeah. I’m good.”

“Tell me more about you,” she probed.

“What do you want to know?” I asked taking her hand once more. I rubbed soft circles along her finger with my thumb, and it just felt right. Like the two of us had been long time partners in life. Everything seemed easy with us, except when it came to the feelings of other people. We’d never satisfy other people’s opinions, but it was nice to have the comfort when it was just us.

“How about your family? Tell me more about them.”

We settled into a heartening conversation as I told her more about my family. The time flew by, and the city approached us before we knew it. The bright lights lit up the night sky. Little Rock wasn’t the biggest city I’d been to, but certainly one of the nicest.

We had been together for only a couple of hours, and I was already wishing that the weekend wouldn’t have to end. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was wondering if Fox had tried to call yet. If he knew that she wasn’t home. If he’d flipped out yet, knowing that he had zero control of the situation.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, snapping me away from my traveling thoughts.

And just like that, nothing else mattered.

Little Rock was going to give us some amazing memories. I could feel it.