Test Drive: Road Tripping Series

by Samantha Chase

  They had only gotten halfway through their thirty-six questions yesterday–mainly because they were both easily distracted by the things they were seeing while driving. After saying goodbye to Natalie, Jeff, and the girls–and belting out a lively rendition of “Never Had a Friend Like Me”–they got on the road. They had hit some minor traffic and instantly held hands and it was something she was enjoying more and more.

  But not as much as the kissing.

  Oh, good Lord, the kissing.

  In all her wildest fantasies about what it would be like to be with Levi, nothing prepared her for the reality. His kiss was all-consuming and positively panty-melting.

  And if they hadn’t been in his sister’s living room in the middle of the night, she would have totally jumped him.

  Repeatedly.

  Okay, think of something different before you embarrass yourself in the middle of his other sister’s front yard.

  Once they had gotten back on I-95, she had asked him to sing with her, but he declined, so she decided they’d go back to their falling in love list of questions.

  They had settled in and Willow found out if Levi could talk to anyone in heaven, it would be his maternal grandfather. They used to hang out together all the time, and he had passed away two years ago.

  His celebrity BFF would be The Rock; something she didn’t see coming at all. Ryan Reynolds was his second choice.

  And one she could completely get on board with.

  The most childish thing he still loved to do was watch Bugs Bunny cartoons. Or any of the old Saturday morning cartoons. She had to agree with him that they were all awesome and she wouldn’t mind a good cartoon marathon sometime.

  As for her, she’d love to talk to her Nana Ruth. She died when Willow was fifteen, but they used to have so much fun together. She was very artsy and was always painting pictures and redecorating her house. It was always a surprise going over there and seeing what was going to be different.

  It was the reason she had redecorated her childhood bedroom a dozen times before moving out when she was eighteen.

  Her celebrity BFF was the same one she would have lunch with–Anna Kendrick. Levi didn’t even ask her to expand upon that.

  As for the most childish thing…well…it was watching all the Christmas specials every year during the holidays. Not the new ones. The old ones. The classics. The cartoon Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, Charlie Brown, and all the Claymation specials. It just wasn’t Christmas without them.

  “You could have called, Kate,” she heard Levi saying. “Yeah, I realize it couldn’t be helped, but we would have made other arrangements.” He paused. “I didn’t say I thought I was king or that I expected you to wait on me!” More pausing. “None of this matters and I’m not trying to pick a fight with you. Willow and I will just go to a hotel. It’s fine.”

  Okay, so we aren’t staying here tonight.

  “What’s the code?”

  And…yes, we are.

  Willow watched as Levi punched the code in on the door panel and then opened it.

  Who needs to leave their spare key in a fake-looking rock when you have technology?

  “Thanks, Katie,” he was saying as she stepped in behind him. “I appreciate it.” He paused. “Of course, I promise!” Another pause. “One time! One time I left a wet towel on the floor when I stayed here. Let it go!” He groaned. “And you wonder why I don’t visit more often.” Then he laughed. “Love you too. Tell Aaron I hope his mom feels better.”

  When he hung up and slid his phone into his pocket, she could tell he was more than a little twitchy.

  “Everything okay?”

  Raking a hand through his hair, Levi sighed loudly. “Yeah. They had to leave town unexpectedly.”

  “So…family emergency?”

  He raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Aaron’s mom fell. She lives in Atlanta, which is almost four hours away, so they’re staying there tonight.”

  All she could do was nod.

  “She left food for us in the refrigerator, and there’s always takeout, so…”

  It was early yet, and she was tempted to say they should just get back in the car and keep driving, but…

  She remembered her conversation with him from late last night.

  They still had a whole lot of practicing being…close to one another to master. And hopefully that included a whole lot of getting close and kissing. And touching. And…wherever else that may lead.

  There are worse ways to spend an evening…

  Of course, there was no way for her to blurt out, “Oh, hey…since we’re alone in the house, want to make out?”

  And boy oh boy, did she want to make out with Levi.

  Oh, God. Do people even say make out anymore?

  Besides him being an incredibly nice guy who loved his family, he was funny, a great conversationalist, and he had amazing hands.

  “You okay, Willow? You look a little flushed.” Levi looked around. “It is a little warm in here. Let me check the thermostat and see what’s going on.” And he walked away before she could comment.

  Alone with her thoughts again, she had to wonder how to broach the subject of…making out.

  Should she just politely ask him to kiss her? Go up and kiss him on the cheek to thank him for getting them through another day of driving?

  Or you can just grab his face and kiss him.

  Just like you did last night.

  Yeah. That one would require a level of boldness she just didn’t have.

  Mainly because it was still broad daylight out.

  Last night she felt bold because she couldn’t really see him and he couldn’t see her. If he was shocked or repulsed by her actions, she couldn’t see his face to know. There was something empowering about the whole cover of darkness thing. But in the light of day, she was way more uncertain of herself and wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to do.

  “I’ll go put your bags in the guest room,” he said with a smile as he walked by.

  Maybe I could be a little bold…

  Staring at his denim-clad butt had her sighing with appreciation because Levi had a fine butt. Something she hadn’t noticed until a few weeks ago. Most of the time they were around each other, they were in the pub, and he was usually behind the bar. Once he had offered to be her fake boyfriend, and they started spending time together, Willow found she was noticing all kinds of things about him.

  Like his butt.

  It was amazing what some good lighting could do.

  Oh, that reminds me…

  “Hey, Levi?” she called out, following him down the hall where he went.

  “Yeah?”

  “So, I was thinking about the pub.”

  “McGee’s?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What about it?”

  “The lighting.”

  He put her bags down next to a bed that was so high she was going to need a step stool to get in it. Her eyes went wide before the sound of Levi clearing his throat distracted her.

  “Right, the lighting. I think if the pub took on a more rustic chic vibe, using the mason jar lights could really make a great impact. You do a trio of them over each table with soft light bulbs, and I think it would be amazing!”

  With a low chuckle, Levi shook his head and walked out of the room. “You seem to have an obsession with the lighting at McGee’s, Willow. Why is that?”

  She trailed after him and had to think about it. He had a point; she did seem to spend a ridiculous amount of time thinking about the interior of the place. That was…new, but somehow very comfortable.

  “I think it’s because of Nana Ruth,” she said and then plowed into his back when he stopped in his tracks.

  “Nana Ruth? Your grandmother who died when you were fifteen?”

  She nodded. “Remember when I told you how she was artsy and always redecorating?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Maybe I take after her? Maybe I just never had a muse before.”

/>   “The pub is your muse?”

  Shrugging, she said, “I guess. I don’t know how that all works. Are there rules as to what can be a person’s muse?”

  He took her by the hand and led her into the living room. This house was much different from Natalie’s. Where Natalie’s was cozy and very well lived in, this house was a little more like something out of a decorating magazine.

  A boring one, but…she supposed it could be considered a classic décor.

  “Why are you making that face?” he asked, and she groaned.

  “Sorry. I was looking around and thinking about how different this is than your other sister’s house.”

  “Yeah, Katie is a bit of a Type A personality and likes everything to be crisp and clean and…”

  “White?”

  He laughed. “Exactly.”

  The kitchen was white, the living room furniture was white, the walls were white…it was a little blinding.

  “She must go crazy when she goes to Nat’s place?”

  “Believe it or not, they don’t do that very often. We do family trips and meet at either a central location or everyone goes to my parents’ place.” He shrugged. “More often than not, it’s at mom and dad’s. They’ve got the biggest house with enough bedrooms for everyone. Well, almost everyone. Since I live close by, I just go home at night and either Brandon or the girls sleep in my old room.”

  “Does it bother you? Not being able to be there when everyone’s visiting?”

  His bark of laughter had her jumping. “Are you kidding? I get to escape at the end of the day! I usually look forward to going home. Although…”

  “Although…?”

  “I work so much that the reason I’m usually leaving is that I have to get to the pub. Sometimes I feel like I’m missing out, but most of the time I’m exhausted from chasing the kids around all day.”

  She frowned. “Why are you chasing them?”

  “Because I’m fun Uncle Levi,” he stated like it was obvious. “They want me to run around with them or play ball or just…play. My mom tells me she loves when I show up because I’ll be guaranteed to exhaust them and they sleep better.”

  “Aww…that’s kind of sweet.”

  “Well…I do what I can.” He winked at her and she got a little swoony.

  Slowly, she reached out and placed her hand on his knee. He didn’t seem to mind, and she figured this was a start. “So, you’re good with your nieces and nephews. Does that mean you want kids of your own someday?”

  His eyes went a little wide, and she was quick to explain herself.

  “You know…the questions. Well, not exactly the questions we’ve been using, but…it’s just another fact I thought a girlfriend would know. You don’t have to answer. Really. It’s okay.” She let out a huff of breath. “Some people don’t mind other people’s children but don’t want any for themselves. It’s not a big deal. I always babysat when I was younger and it was fun, but I didn’t start getting the…you know, the feeling that I wanted them until recently. I mean, I’m not getting any younger, and I guess my biological clock is starting. Maybe I’m a little young for that and maybe that’s not it at all. Hmm…maybe I should consider working for a preschool or a daycare or doing that nanny thing full time. Or…get a dog of my own. Maybe that would pacify my maternal instinct. Oh my goodness! I said pacify! Like a baby pacifier!” Her hands immediately flew up to cover her face, and she groaned. “Don’t mind me. I think I’m just tired and rambling.”

  Floor? Please open up and swallow me now!

  Maybe if I sit here long enough covering my face, he’ll just walk away…

  Willow was really freaking adorable when she was all rambling and embarrassed.

  Not that Levi was going to mention that. He had a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate the observation at all. But still, it was something about her that he was finding endearing.

  It took a solid two minutes for her to peek at him through her fingers and all he could do was wave and smile.

  And that broke the tension.

  “In answer to your question,” he replied as if she had never yammered on about biological clocks and pacifiers and dogs, “I definitely want kids of my own someday. That’s always been part of the plan.”

  “Plan? You have a plan?” she asked and then groaned. “Of course you have a plan. You just said that.” She mumbled something that sounded a lot like “Stupid Willow” and that he couldn’t stand for.

  “Hey,” he began, placing his hand on her knee. “What’s going on? You seem very nervous today. Did I do something wrong?”

  “Kiss me.”

  “Um…wha…?” But he never got to finish because Willow had cupped his face in her hands and cut off his words with a kiss.

  Words could wait, right?”

  They were all alone and even though this was his sister’s house, no one was going to interrupt them. Clasping Willow’s hips, he hauled her into his lap until she was straddling him and then took control of the kiss.

  This was what he wanted to do last night.

  Hell, this was what he wanted to do all damn day, but they had a schedule to keep so they could get to her grandmother’s.

  But now that they were alone and there was no one around to distract them, he was more than willing to get to know her a little better.

  Okay, a lot better.

  Her hands raked up into his hair as she leaned forward and pressed her breasts against him. It was good to know that he wasn’t the only one with fooling around on the brain.

  They were both a little crazed and needy. Last night had been about slowly exploring–at least for the first minute–but this was…well, there was nothing slow about it. Hands roamed and groped, and their kisses turned a little wet and messy, but it was still freaking awesome.

  Levi broke the kiss because he wanted to explore more of her. He gently bit her earlobe before letting his mouth travel down the slender column of her throat. She smelled like sunshine and felt so damn soft and warm that he couldn’t decide where he wanted his hands or mouth to settle. She was a feast that was wrapped around him and he wanted all of her.

  “Levi?” she said breathlessly.

  “Yeah?” he said between light kisses along her collarbone.

  “I…I don’t think we’ll have to be this…demonstrative in front of Gammy, but…oh, that’s good.” Her head fell back slightly. “I think…we’re doing…just fine and…ooh, bite that spot again…totally believable.”

  And it was like a bucket of cold water being thrown on them.

  This wasn’t real.

  At least…not to her. To Willow, they were just practicing–playing a part so they could fool her family and give them one less thing to criticize her for.

  And to not worry her grandmother.

  Well…shit.

  His hands gently rested on her waist and he gave a little push to put some distance between them.

  “Levi?”

  He saw the confusion on her face and didn’t want to come off as sounding all butt-hurt because he lost sight of what they were doing.

  Or rather, what they were supposed to be doing.

  She reluctantly climbed off his lap even as she continued to stare at him. “Are you okay?”

  “What? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. You were right, I don’t think we’ll have any problem convincing your grandmother about our relationship. We’ll be fine.” Standing, he turned his back to her and quickly adjusted the growing erection in his jeans until he hoped it wasn’t too noticeable. “So what should we do for the rest of the day? Since Katie isn’t here, I’m not sure whether we should eat the food she prepared or maybe go out someplace?”

  She blinked up at him several times as if not quite understanding what he was saying.

  “Or we can get back in the car and keep driving,” he suggested. “I still don’t think we should knock on your grandmother’s door at ten tonight, but we can get even closer if you’re interested.”

  “You don�
�t want to stay here tonight?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You…you want to keep driving?”

  “I just thought…”

  Scrambling off the couch, Willow walked into the kitchen and started pacing, and Levi had no choice but to follow her.

  “I’m just giving us some options.”

  “Really? Because it sounds a lot like you don’t want to be alone with me.”

  “Seriously? And you think my solution to that would be to get us back in the confines of the car with only inches between us?”

  Again, she just blinked at him for several long moments. “So I don’t express myself well! Gah! What do you expect? You kiss me until I’m stupid, and then you expect me to be able to form a coherent thought or even full sentences?” She let out a cute little growl as she continued to pace. “Maybe other girls you’ve gone out with are more mature or more…more…I don’t know…maybe they don’t get all stupid and floopy over a kiss, but I do! At least, I do now! I never did before, there? Are you happy? God, why are you badgering me?” Then she took off down the hall to the guest room.

  And again, he followed.

  He found her in the room talking to herself and he leaned against the doorjamb until there was a break in her one-woman conversation.

  It took almost five minutes.

  “I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding here–or, at the very least, some confusion.”

  Clumsily, she climbed up on the bed and stared at him.

  Cautiously, Levi stepped into the room. “I was under the impression that you just wanted us to practice…you know…kissing so that if we had to do it in front of your family that we’d be comfortable with each other and believable,” he began carefully. “But that wasn’t why I was kissing you, Willow, and once you reminded me of why we were doing what we were doing, I…I took the hint and backed off. I really hope I didn’t offend you or freak you out. And if I did, I’m sorry, and I promise to keep to just hand holding once we get to your grandmother’s place.”

  “Wait…you wanted to kiss me?”

  He nodded.

  “And not just for practice?”

  Now he shook his head.

  She nibbled on her bottom lip as she seemed to consider his words.