Chapter 8
Sonny slid into the driver’s seat of the big white pickup. He buckled his seatbelt. “You ready?”
Cloe nodded.
“Do you want to stop by your place and get any of your clothes or anything?” He scanned her up and down. “Don’t you want to bring anything at all?”
“Just my laptop,” she replied. “I’ll need that.”
He swung the truck into the street, and the fifth-wheel glided behind them. He drove to her apartment and kept the motor running while she dashed inside. She snatched her laptop from her desk. She started to turn to the door, but she cast one last look around.
She used to think this apartment was so nice. She never wanted to live anywhere else. Now it looked dingy and depressing. It represented that frigid part of her life she never wanted to think about, much less keep living. Everything in this place dragged her down. It made her into something she no longer wanted to be.
She patted her pockets. She had her phone, her wallet, and her computer. She could build a life anywhere with those three things. She scribbled a hasty note to her landlord and dropped it, along with her keys, into his mailbox downstairs. Then she hurried out to the truck.
Sonny smiled when she got in. He eased into the street and headed down the highway. About a mile out of town, he cast a sidelong glance her way.
“What?” she asked.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sure glad you’re coming with me. I really didn’t want to go alone.” He took her hand and squeezed it across the seat. “How did you know I needed someone like you?”
“The same way you knew I needed someone like you. You saved me from myself.”
“Damn, baby. I didn’t do anything. I’m just a man. Any man with two balls would want to nail your cherry ass.”
She blushed. “I never would have thought that was a compliment. You taught me the error of my ways.”
He bit back a smile. “You better stop talking like that, or I’ll be pulling over to take you out back.”
She shot him a wicked grin. “Anytime you say, boss. We don’t have anywhere to go.”
“At least wait until we get to the trailer park. We might be stuck there for a while.”
Cloe laughed, and he put his hand back on the steering wheel. “So where do you want to go first?”
She fished the atlas out of the glove box. “I should be asking you that. Do you have any particular spots on your bucket list?”
“I don’t have a bucket list. I never really even wanted to live before I met you.”
She whapped his shoulder. “Cut it out.”
“It’s true. I never wanted to see anything. I just wanted to go to bed and never wake up.”
“Well, you’re not doing that on my watch. We’re going to see the sights, and starting today, you’re gonna make a bucket list.”
He laughed. His smile brightened up his whole face.
She never saw him like this before. The shadow haunting him lifted off his shoulders. He could face the world and be happy about it. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“What about New Orleans? I always wanted to go to New Orleans. Have you ever been there?”
“You wanna hear something crazy?” he asked. “I’ve been there three times, and I’ve never seen any of the town. I’ve never seen one jazz band play. I’ve never had seafood gumbo or jambalaya. I’ve never seen any of it.”
Cloe gasped. “Why?”
“I came into town on the red-eye, did my fight, and left that same night. I did that three times. I can safely say I’ve never been to New Orleans.”
She closed the atlas and put it away. “Well, then, that’s where we’re going. You haven’t lived, Mister.”
He beamed at her. “You’re right.”
She unclipped her seat belt. She slid across the seat and cuddled next to him. “We’re gonna see everything. We’re gonna go dancing and make love in a fancy hotel. We’ll see the French Quarter and go for a boat ride on the bayou.” She threaded her fingers over his thigh while he drove. He leaned into her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “We’re gonna have the time of our lives.”
He rubbed his cheek against her hair. “Thanks, babe.”
“Hush,” she told him. “You’re giving me as much as I’m giving you.”
He pressed his foot on the accelerator, and they rumbled down the highway into the sunset.
**THE END**
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