Chapter Forty-Nine
Josephine
I had my face squashed up against the window as I concentrated on not throwing up. Every twist and turn we took in the truck made my stomach’s contents jostle in the worst way possible. I was about two seconds from throwing up all over my dad’s upholstery.
“Do you have to drive like a wild woman?” I moaned, clutching my stomach.
Lily glared over at me. “I’m literally going ten miles an hour, your highness.”
I stared back out the window, wishing I was back home, in my bed, sleeping off the beers I’d just downed like there was no tomorrow. It was the day after my father’s birthday and I’d needed some space from my family. I’d picked Lily up, grabbed a six-pack from a gas station in town, and together we’d driven out to the middle of nowhere so I could down them all.
“If you’re going to throw up, at least hand me your phone first,” she said.
I was still clutching it against my stomach. I hadn’t let it out of my sight since arriving in Texas in the hopes that it’d pick up a signal. The thing hadn’t buzzed in days.
“Fine. Take it. I have zero service in this godforsaken wasteland anyway.”
I huffed and tossed the phone in the center cup holder.
“I just want to call Julian! I haven’t spoken to him in two days. TWO DAYS!”
We passed the “Welcome” sign and continued on toward Main Street. Lily turned to the right and we drove down the side street, right past McAllister’s bar. There were two or three cars out front, not many. Near the door, under a street lamp, I noticed two guys talking. One was Louis Calhoun, the manager of the bar, and the other one was tall and dressed in black slacks and a button-up. He had to be from out of town. I squinted as Lily drove by, trying to make out his profile, and then suddenly, I recognized him.
“Julian!” I shouted so loud that even my own ears started to ring. “That’s Julian!”
Lily slammed on the brakes. “What? Where?”
“At McAllister’s! Turn around!”
She shook her head.
“If you think Julian is at McAllister’s then you really are trashed. I’m taking you home.”
“But if Julian is here, that means…where is New York?” I asked, turning back to the window and starting to roll it down, cranking it lower with both hands. “I’ll ask him.”
“JULIAN!” I screamed, practically throwing the top half of my body out of the truck. “JULIAN! Lily won’t turn around!”
Lily put the truck in park on the side of the road and yanked me away from the window.
“Dude, shut up. People are sleeping and you’re yelling like a madwoman.”
I didn’t care. I unlocked the passenger door and hopped out, ready to run. Instead of the smooth ground meeting me at the base of the truck, I kept falling until my feet landed in a muddy ditch. I tried to pick up my feet, but they were stuck under a foot of muddy water. I’d somehow wedged myself in so far that I couldn’t get out.
“Lily! Help! I’m stuck!”
I tried to pick up my feet and kick off the mud, but there was no use. It was like quicksand and I needed Lily to help me if I was going to get out without getting even dirtier.
“Jesus Christ. I cannot believe you just did that,” she said, hopping out of the truck and slamming the door behind her. “I should just leave you in there after how you’ve acted tonight.”
I swatted at the gnats swarming my face and I swore two or three of them actually made it into my mouth. I tried to spit them out, but there were too many to keep track of.
“No! Please, you have to save me,” I begged, feeling tears building in the corner of my eyes.
I was so close to seeing Julian. He was at McAllister’s and I was going to die in a ditch before I got to him.
“Julian!” I yelled again.
A dog started barking and then porch lights flipped on behind me. I twisted around to see who it was as Lily slid down the ditch, careful not to get caught in the mud herself.
“If you don’t shut up, I’m going to leave you in here. You just woke up the Jensens and I really don’t feel like explaining this situation to Randy right now. That man is mean.”
On cue, Randy poked his head out of the front door with an angry scowl marring his features.
“Hurry! Hurry!” I said, reaching for her hands so she could help pull me out.
“Josephine? What the—is that you?”
I glanced up toward the deep voice and my heart dropped.
Julian was standing up on the street, right behind the bumper of my dad’s truck. Light from a distant streetlight encased him from above. His hair was disheveled and his shirt was half-untucked. He looked a little worse for wear, but he was there, standing less than five feet away from me.
“Julian?” I asked, holding my hand over my eyes to get a better view of him. “What are you doing here?”
Lily glared back and forth between us. “Wait. Are you kidding me? Julian was actually at McAllister’s? You’re Julian?”
He nodded, not taking his eyes off me.
“I’m stuck in a ditch,” I said.
The side of his mouth hitched up in an adorable smile. “I can see that.”
“Get off my lawn right now!” Randy Jensen yelled from his front door. “You hear me?! Imma go get my shotgun!”
Lily and I both screamed and Julian slid down the side of the ditch to grab my hand. Between him and Lily, it only took me a second to crawl my way back up to the street. We scrambled up to the truck, flinging mud behind us as we went. Lily flew around to the driver’s side door and Julian and I climbed in on the passenger side. I held my breath the whole time, waiting for the sound of a birdshot blast.
“Go, go, go!” I yelled, pounding the dashboard.
Lily stepped on the gas and the truck tires squealed against the concrete as we made our getaway.
“Did he really have a shotgun?” Julian asked, turning to look back.
I started to laugh, and then I couldn’t stop. Lily flew down the street, putting as much distance between us and Randy’s house as possible. I sat on the center of the bench seat with Lily on one side and Julian on the other, lost in a fit of laughter. The last twenty minutes had been too funny to be real. Randy Jensen had almost shot me. What a way to go.
“Can you believe that just happened?” I asked, trying to catch my breath.
“Your stupid ass almost got us killed,” Lily said, shaking her head.
“Me?!”
She shot me the evil eye. “Yes, you!”
Laughter gave way to a shit-eating grin as I stared out the front window. The night sky was expansive, surrounding us from every angle. Lights flashed by us like shooting stars, one after the other, granting my wishes one by one. I fell back against the seat and turned to find Julian watching me with his steady gaze. I found his hand on the seat and laced my fingers through his.
Not ten minutes earlier, I’d been daydreaming about him, wishing I could somehow talk to him, and suddenly there he was. He was sitting beside me, studying me with a bemused smile. Before I’d finished my thought, I was leaning closer, inhaling his cologne and pressing my lips to his. We fell into each other like a person falls into bed after a long day: with a heavy, happy sigh. I grasped the front of his t-shirt and pulled him toward me. He inhaled sharply. The kiss was soft and sweet. He tilted his head and gripped the back of my neck, holding me steady.
I wanted to climb onto his lap and wind my fingers through his hair. How else could I get closer? I wanted to touch him from every angle, put all the pieces together, and prove to myself that he was really sitting there beside me, that he’d come to Texas for me.
He gripped my shoulders and pulled back, breaking the kiss and staring down at me. I could feel my heartbeat in my stomach. I couldn’t ignore the kick drum feeling of excitement at having him right there in front of me.
I stared up into his hazel eyes and whispered, “You’re my knight in shining armor. I love you.”
And then I promptly clutched my stomach, leaned forward, and threw up all over his lap.