The Thousand Mile Love Story

by Natalie Vivien

  The Thousand Mile Love Story

  The Complete Saga, Books 1-3

  by Natalie Vivien

  © Natalie Vivien 2013 - All Rights Reserved

  Copyright 2013 Natalie Vivien

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved

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  Synopsis:

  Would you take a thousand-mile road trip with your best friends…and the ex-girlfriend who broke your heart?

  Meet Andee Shaw. A decade ago, her heart was broken by a devastatingly beautiful woman--the woman she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. Now, ten years later, two of her oldest friends, Elizabeth and Heather, are getting married in Vermont. And they have a request: They want the old gang to take that infamous road trip they always talked about in college but never set into motion.

  The brides' not-so-secret goal: to enable Andee and her ex, Robin Barnes, to finally patch things up.

  So, four college friends hop in a green convertible and begin a thousand-mile road trip that Andee isn’t quite sure she’ll survive. They visit the strangest places and encounter some wild adventures, and throughout it all, Andee struggles to come to terms with her conflicting feelings for Robin.

  Because, despite her misgivings, Andee is falling in love with Robin all over again.

  Dedication:

  For my darling.

  And for M., who’s taken about a billion and one road trips with me, who I’m always honored to ride shotgun with. This one’s for you.

  Contents:

  Road Trip Reunion

  Roadside Attractions

  Destination: Love

  --- Road Trip Reunion ---

  Andrea Shaw knew it was going to be a bad day when her first client of the morning bit her. It wasn’t Mrs. Snuggles’ fault: after all, it was hard to be old and crotchety and forced to endure a sudsy bath and tedious grooming. Still, when the elderly dog’s teeth sunk into the flesh of her hand, Andee sighed for a long moment before disentangling the pug’s mouth from her aching limb. Thankfully, there were only red marks; the teeth hadn’t broken through the skin.

  But the day went downhill from there.

  Andee figured that it was because of how much she was dreading tomorrow that everything kept going wrong. Call it superstition, but she felt that if tomorrow wasn’t happening, for example, the front door of her dog grooming business, the Puppy Parlor, wouldn’t have gotten stuck open. And it had only gotten stuck open because Sam, her delivery guy, bumped into it extra hard as he staggered through the door with a case of the wrong shampoo (for horses, not dogs). If tomorrow wasn’t happening, she wouldn’t have been bitten by two dogs before the noon lunch break, and she certainly would have been able to start her car to go pick up the sorely needed Chinese take-out and the ten pounds of chocolate she felt would be barely adequate to soothe her jangled nerves and get her through the rest of the day. Since her car needed to be towed, she ate a stale granola bar for lunch and no chocolate at all.

  When her best friend Tiffany walked through the door at five o’clock, closing time, Tiff found Andee morosely sitting at the stool behind the counter, still in her grooming smock, almost in tears. That she was almost but not quite crying was a point of pride for Andee.

  “I can’t go with you guys tomorrow,” was what she told Tiff then, who stood with her tangled red hair cascading over her shoulders and her hands on her hips, looking as fierce as a Valkyrie—because Tiff had likely been expecting Andee would say something just like this. “I can’t,” she reiterated, pushing off from the counter and standing. “I’ve thought about it. I’ll just book the flight instead and…”

  Tiffany didn’t respond right away. She worked her jaw, sighed out and picked up the fresh case of dog biscuits she’d set on the floor and plunked it on the counter, instead, making slow, deliberate movements as Andee trailed off into silence.

  “I’ll just…just tidy in back,” said Andee’s assistant, Danielle, backing up and letting herself into the backroom to avoid what she probably assumed was about to become World War III.

  But it wasn’t. Tiffany simply placed her hands on her hips again, sighed and tossed a bit of her unruly red mane over her shoulder. Then she said, “Andee, you promised.”

  “Oh, my God. I know I promised,” said Andee miserably, putting her forehead down on the counter and groaning. “I know I did, but in my defense, I was about to get really drunk when I promised, and you can’t hold me to an I-was-about-to-get-really-drunk promise—”

  “But it’s all set. The road trip of a lifetime, the trip that everyone’s been looking forward to for over ten years,” said Tiff, drawing out the words and leaning on the counter until the two women were eye to eye. “You promised,” she said again quietly. The words hung between them.

  Andee opened and shut her mouth, tugging on her long brunette ponytail with a dirty hand. She’d just gotten done grooming one of her regulars, Frannie, an extremely lovable and far-too-cute-for-her-own-good Afghan. As grooming Afghans tends to go, the session had taken three hours, and Andee hadn’t had time to wash up yet.

  “It’s going to be the most awkward nine days of my life,” began Andee—a new tactic. “And it could only be the most awkward one-and-a-half days of my life. Really, which would you choose?”

  Tiffany sighed and pushed off the counter, leaving a little puff of flour hanging in the air. Andee noticed, then, that the baker had flour in her hair, flour on her arms, and she was still wearing her apron. Tiff had been so excited about the trip that she’d forgotten to take off her apron before leaving her bakery with the delivery of dog biscuits, which she made only because Andee sold them out of her shop.

  Guilt is a powerful thing, and Andee was extremely allergic to it.

  “Look,” they both said at the same time. Tiffany’s soft mouth curved up into a smile, but Andee’s remained downturned in a frown, her hands crumpled into fists at her sides.

  “Look,” she tried again as Tiff went silent, folding her arms in front of her, waiting to hear what Andee had to say. “What happened back then…” She swallowed. She had been so proud of herself that she hadn’t shed a single tear today, but all of the hurt and pain from that time, ten years ago, now threatened to overwhelm her. “What happened then…I’ve never been able to forget it. And now, this week—these nine days—I’m going to have to face it. Face…her. And I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

  Tiff stepped forward, held out her arms, and the two women embraced tightly. “I know how much she hurt you,” said Tiff, voice soft as she squeezed Andee’s shoulders and leaned back, searching the brunette’s face. “I was there with you, remember? We all were. It affected every one of us…” She cleared her throat, tapped her red fingernails on the top of the dog biscuit case. “Look, Andee,” she said quietly. “It’s been a decade. I know it was very hard for you, but…” She left the words hanging in the air between them: ten years had come and gone. It was all long over, far in the past.

  “I know. I know,” said Andee, wiping at her cheeks and nose with the back of her sleeve. “Hey,” she said then, brightening with false cheerfulness as she changed the subject. “I know Emily’s probably really sad that you’re going to be heading out for seven days without her… She’s probably wai
ting for you with something super romantic planned. You know Emily!” Emily, Tiffany’s girlfriend, would likely be building a small shrine to Tiffany in the closet right now. Andee shooed Tiff out of her grooming salon, and the two women stood together awkwardly for a long moment in the doorway, waiting for the other to say something first, the sun sinking lower along the horizon, turning the village street gauzy with bright oranges and pinks. It was beautiful, if you were in the mood to notice beauty. Andee was not.

  “I’m going to pick you up at nine tomorrow morning, right?” asked Tiff, peeling her apron off and holding out her arms for another hug from Andee.

  “Right,” whispered Andee, embracing her best friend and crossing her fingers. Tiff backed away, searching her face, but shook her head then, brightened and put the apron on her shoulder, her hands in her pockets, and began walking down the sidewalk in the late afternoon sunshine, whistling something cheerful.

  Andee walked back into the shop and turned the hand-painted sign on the door from “Open!” to “Sorry, we’re closed!” She breathed out for a long moment, fiddling with the lock.

  “Sorry to bother you, Andee,” said Danielle quietly behind her. Andee turned and took in her assistant, feeling her stomach flip and flop again. Danielle was more gorgeous than any one person had a right to be, and about ten years Andee’s junior to boot—not that it mattered to Andee’s inner attraction meter. The stunningly beautiful assistant was taking her straight, black hair out of its ponytail and fluffing it up with long, graceful fingers as she watched Andee, her mouth opening and closing twice before she said, “You seemed pretty upset today. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Andee sniffed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes, shaking her head ruefully. How could Danielle help? Tiffany was right. Ten years was a long time to hold onto something that should never have been held onto in the first place. Ten years was forever, when it was affecting her life and happiness now.

  For example, Andee was almost one hundred percent certain that Danielle was a lesbian. And that she was not currently in a relationship with anyone. Andee and Danielle worked closely most days, and Andee had worked even more closely with her today, to make certain she was up to speed on everything she’d need to know during those dreaded nine days that Andee would not be here. But despite all of this, despite a thousand opportunities to ask her assistant out…Andee had done no such thing.

  “I’m fine,” Andee lied brightly. Danielle watched her for a moment, shook her head and sighed.

  “I’ll take care of Puppy Parlor. Don’t worry about it while you’re gone.” She smiled her winning smile at Andee, and Andee tried to grin back, but it turned into more of a grimace.

  Andee’s house was only a few blocks away. She walked home in a haze, kicking her already-packed luggage positioned just inside the door twice, for good measure.

  And then she ordered far too much Chinese food and had it delivered.

  ---

  Andee had had the dream at least once a month, every month, for ten years. She knew exactly how it began, watched it like an outside observer as the events unfolded, exactly as they had a decade ago.

  And though she’d just had the dream last week, she dreamed it again tonight.

  She was twenty-three. A little lighter, a little more slender, her brunette hair cut wickedly short (now she grew it long). She was dressed from head to toe in plaid, and she was sitting in her dorm room. It was the last year of college, the final throes of the Masters programs that she and her close friends had chosen to brave. They were nearing graduation. One more month to go.

  In the dream, Andee’s heart began to beat strangely, because there was the Andee from the past, laughing with Tiffany, Jill, Kimberly, Elizabeth, Heather, and there, sitting beside Andee, her arm draped around her as if she’d never let go, kissing her cheek, smiling down at her as if she was the only girl in the world…

  Robin Barnes.

  Andee’s stomach clenched, and she wished she could look away, but that’s the funny thing about dreams: they keep playing on whether you want them to or not.

  Even in the dream, even ten years removed, Andee’s heart raced when she looked at Robin. She was a full head taller than Andee, lanky but graceful, her short brown hair always streaked with different colors. At that time, it had been dyed with highlights of orange. Robin always looked like she was up to something, her brow arched, her eyes flashing with mischief, and her full mouth twisted into a wry, clever grin that made her appear capable of getting away with anything. But when she looked at Andee, that impishness faded away into the background, and this surge of passion, of something almost indescribable, replaced it.

  They were falling head over heels in love.

  The younger Andee, the dream Andee, turned and kissed Robin full on the mouth. Tiffany and the others laughed and threw popcorn at them, and when they broke apart, Robin was smiling at her and squeezing her shoulder, and Andee gulped down air.

  Had Robin really been that beautiful? Could any one woman be that beautiful?

  “Hey, lovebirds, cut the crap,” snorted Tiffany, half-choking on a piece of popcorn and drowning her coughs in a swig of beer from a room-temperature can. “And we call the official first meeting of the official Adventure Lezzies to order!” she said, rapping her high heel shoe (there was a lot of beer being consumed that night) on the coffee table that was littered with pizza boxes, empty beer cans and spilled popcorn.

  Elizabeth groaned and put her plump wrist over her eyes in mock dramatics, her long black hair curled up into a too-large bun on her head. “Are we really going to call ourselves that? I thought it was just Robin joking around…”

  “I was joking around,” Robin snickered, “but I also think we should call ourselves that.”

  “’Adventure Lezzies,’ really?” chuckled Andee, tickling Robin’s stomach. Robin gasped as she giggled, held Andee’s wrists, and kissed her on the mouth again.

  “We happen to be lesbians,” she said breathlessly when they broke apart, to the hoots of the other women, “and we go on adventures. It sums us up nicely!”

  “Hell, yes!” said Jill, holding her beer can aloft. Jill’s short brunette hair, even at this age, was already going prematurely gray, lending a severity to her hawkish nose that seemed directly opposed to her warm brown eyes. It was strange how Andee’s dream always showed her how the women looked then…not now.

  Elizabeth and Heather, already an item (they got together in college; true love, they said. And they personified true love every day of their lives—even now), were tangled together on the corner of the bed, Heather’s arms wrapped around Elizabeth’s neck as she kissed the woman there slowly. Elizabeth giggled, blushing.

  Andee’s heart caught. They’d always looked so in love. She’d never envied them that. She still didn’t. Or…she tried not to.

  “You know what we should do?” asked Robin then, straightening, threading Andee’s fingers through her own. “We’re going to be graduating soon… I know we tossed this around before, but what if we did that big road trip we always talk about? I mean, seriously this time—not just talking about it!”

  “Oh, my God, yes, yes, yes!” yelled Kimberly at the top of her lungs, throwing back her head and bouncing on the seat until it creaked dangerously beneath her. She tossed her head forward, her heavily made-up eyes flashing in her tiny elfish face. “We’re so totally going to do this, ladies,” she said, grin so wide that it was in danger of splitting her face.

  “A thousand-mile road trip,” continued Robin, her infectious smile spreading to the other women. “When we graduate. All of us together.”

  “How will we fit in a car?” protested Elizabeth, casting about. “I mean, seriously, Rob, there’s seven of us! No one has a car that big!”

  “Adventure Lezzies don’t think about schematics!” said Robin, waving her hand dismissively as she grinned at everyone. “Hell, we could all fit in the Jeep if there were some courageous women willing to brave the back.�
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  “You’re joking!” squealed Heather, laughing, but Robin looked deadly serious. Laughing, but serious.

  “I mean, when else can we do this? Think about it,” she said, her voice rich with emotion. “We’re never going to all be together again, not like this. I think we owe it to ourselves.”

  There was silence; heavy quiet descended over the women as they realized that this time was, even now, passing from them. They were graduating in a month. They all knew their lives would change forever.

  Of course, some of them didn’t know how much.

  “Let’s do it,” said Andee impulsively, leaning forward and putting her hand in the center of the group. Robin leaned next to her, brushing her lips over Andee’s cheek, and placed her palm on top of Andee’s hand.

  And then Tiffany added hers. And Kimberly. And Jill. And Elizabeth.

  Heather groaned, mumbled, “I’m so going to regret this,” and added her hand at last.

  Everyone threw their hands up into the air with a roar that shook the walls, Robin kissing Andee so fiercely that Andee’s toes curled in pleasure.

  They were invincible. The world beckoned them, inviting them to conquer it…

  And then the scene shifted, as it always did, to the night before The Night It Happened.

  They were making love on the tiny twin bed in Robin’s dorm room. Kimberly—Robin’s roommate—had been mercifully kind and agreed to take her girlfriend out to dinner. Robin and Andee twisted together on the bed and beneath the sheets, occasional bursts of laughter coming from beneath the brightly colored patchwork blankets. Afterward, they lay together, one hand clasped between them, their chests rising and falling as Robin rose on her elbow, looked down at Andee, and tenderly cupped the young woman’s chin in her hand.