Drive Me Crazy: Road Tripping Series

by Samantha Chase

  “Wow!”

  “You want to go down to the lobby and hit one of the bathrooms and test the acoustics? Stick with me.”

  “I like where this is going.”

  “And…I’m not making any promises, but…there is a mall less than a mile away. We can go there, and we can do it in any bathroom or dressing room you want. What do you say?”

  Oh, God, she thought. This man was everything!

  When she didn’t respond, he lowered his head until they were cheek to cheek, and he whispered in her ear, “Or we can stay right here where I can lay you down on the bed, sprawl out on top of you, and give you more orgasms than you can handle. All. Night. Long.”

  Her knees buckled as his words rumbled against her skin, and he caught her, hauled her back up, and kissed her with more passion and need than Grace thought possible. It was a kiss that said a million little things and hers responded in kind. Every time Finn kissed her, it got better and better, and if this is how they spent the rest of their night, she’d be a very happy woman.

  One minute his lips were devouring her, and the next she felt herself being lifted off her feet. “Finn!” she cried, clutching his shoulders. “What are you doing?”

  “We have some time before the food gets here,” he explained as he carried her across the room. “And I thought we’d try out the acoustics in our bathroom first.” They were already in there and he placed her down on the vanity counter and whipped her shirt up and over her head. “What do you think, Grace? You wanna try it out?”

  She mimicked his move by pulling his shirt off as well. “Definitely.”

  “Your shirt’s been driving me crazy all day,” he said huskily.

  “Really? Why?”

  “I loved the way the words ‘Girl Power’ stretched perfectly over your breasts. Very sexy.”

  That made her smile. “You’re sexy.”

  When she leaned in to kiss him, he held her off. “I just want you to know something.”

  “What?”

  “I know this wasn’t the adventurous romp we talked about, but…”

  And at that moment, she noticed the uncertainty, the vulnerability, and if she wasn’t already falling for him, this would totally seal the deal. Placing a finger over his lips, she said, “I talk a good game about wanting to be a little wilder and more uninhibited, but the truth is, I don’t care where we make love. As long as it’s with you, it’s the greatest adventure ever.”

  And this time, when she leaned in to kiss him, he totally let her.

  The room was dark, and Grace was sleeping beside him. Finn glanced over at the clock and saw it was after two. In a perfect world, he would have taken her out for a romantic dinner in a five-star restaurant after bringing her flowers. After dinner, they would have walked around at an art gallery or maybe through a park, or maybe they would have gone dancing. Instead, what did he have to offer? Room service in a boutique hotel in Birmingham after five days on the road.

  The circumstances couldn’t be helped, but that didn’t mean he didn’t wish things were different.

  How could I find you and lose you all in the span of a week?

  Her words from earlier came back to him, and her honesty humbled him. She was far braver than he ever was or ever could be. All week he’d struggled with how he felt about her because who fell that hard that fast? It wasn’t natural, was it? Did people really do that? And if they did, did it last?

  And that was his biggest fear.

  It was all fine and well to think you were falling for someone at first sight, but where were you a month later? Six months later? A year later?

  A lifetime later?

  Yeah, he went there. How could he not? Over the last five days, he and Grace had spent more time together–more hours sitting and talking and getting to know each other–than most couples did in their first month or two of dating. When Finn said he wanted to cram as much as possible into their time together, he believed they really did. From her crazy interview questions to listening and watching her reactions to all the places they visited and explored, he knew in his heart that he knew this woman better than he’d ever known any other woman in his life.

  Morning would be here before they knew it, and the drive to Atlanta was relatively short. They could realistically be at his shop by lunchtime. Grace could be back in Raleigh by dinner.

  With her family.

  Without him.

  How was it possible that even just thinking about not sharing a meal with her filled him with despair?

  He needed to get a grip. Tomorrow they would say goodbye, but it wasn’t going to be forever. It couldn’t be. Yes, she had to go back home and back to her job and so did he. This was the longest he’d ever been away from the shop and he was already fairly certain he was going to be putting in long hours for the next week. As for Grace, he had no idea what her work schedule was going to be like, but considering she was coming home after a canceled wedding, he was pretty sure her time was going to be filled with visits from family and friends who wanted to comfort her.

  I want to comfort her.

  And the thing was, Finn knew he had. If anything, he had tried to be a friend to her this week and listened when she needed to talk and held her when she needed to cry. He’d like to think he helped, but he wasn’t completely clueless. He knew there was nothing like the comfort of your family when things were wrong. He only hoped she didn’t feel bad for long.

  Then his mind wandered to his own crappy situation. His time with Grace had been an amazing distraction, and it certainly helped him lose some of his rage, but…it couldn’t be ignored forever. No amount of time surrounded by his friends and family was going to change the fact that his brother had done something unforgivable.

  However…if it hadn’t been for Dave stealing his car, he never would have met Grace.

  Now he was torn. How mad could he really be? If he let it go and just grabbed his keys from his brother and said no harm done, it was no different from all the other times Dave had screwed up and everyone fixed it for him. And if he did that, where would it end? What would stop his brother from pulling a stupid stunt like this again? Where was the justice? Where was the lesson?

  Why is it up to me to teach him one?

  There were no answers–not right now, at least.

  Right now, he needed to sleep. Grace had worn him out again and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was going to make love to her at least one more time before they left the hotel in the morning. So yeah, he needed at least a couple of hours of sleep before he could do that.

  Hugging her close, he kissed the top of her head and relaxed. The smell of her strawberry shampoo surrounded him–soothed him. As soon as his eyes closed, he was out like a light.

  The next time he opened them, the room was still dark, but Grace wasn’t beside him. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, he saw her and his heart squeezed a little hard in his chest. She was sitting up, hugging her knees. Gently, he placed a hand on her back. “Hey,” he said sleepily. “You okay?”

  She shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep.”

  Slowly, he sat up. It would be foolish to ask why. He had no doubt that her mind was probably racing with a ton of different thoughts and scenarios of how the day was going to unfold. Glancing over at the bedside clock, Finn saw it was a little after five. His hand skimmed up her spine and then he carefully guided her back against the pillows. “Wanna talk?”

  “I don’t think it will do any good,” she said quietly. “All the talking in the world isn’t going to change anything.” She curled up next to him as she always did, her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest. “And the thing is, I know it’s going to be okay. I’m not against going home. Any of the things I have to deal with because of the wedding won’t be a problem–they may be a little awkward, and I’m sure I’m going to get tired of talking about it real fast–but none of it is causing me stress or anxiety.”

  “Okay.”
>
  “And the reality is that I would be getting back from my honeymoon in another two days and I’ll have to go back to work, so…that’s not going to be a problem either.”

  Silently, he nodded.

  “Why am I overreacting like this? I mean…it’s been five days! Five! Why can’t I look at this like a fun time and just leave it at that?”

  It was a question Finn had asked himself too, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the answer either.

  Grace lifted her head, and as his eyes continued to adjust to the darkness, he could see the small pout on her face. “Damn you, Finn Kavanagh,” she said, but there wasn’t any heat behind her words. “Why did you have to make this such a great week?”

  The last thing either of them needed was for him to get all philosophical and serious. He could talk for an hour about all the reasons why they both needed the week as an escape from their lives–how they had possibly used each other as a crutch for not dealing with their different crises. Hell, if given a few minutes, he could probably find some sort of statistics on how people use sex as an emotional release and how it doesn’t have to mean anything beyond the physical act.

  But he wasn’t going to do that.

  He couldn’t do that.

  Mainly because he didn’t believe it for a minute. They had a connection that went beyond just two people being thrown together at possibly the lowest moments in their lives. Okay, maybe he wasn’t particularly at his lowest, but he was in a pretty low place. And dammit, he was done thinking about it–focusing on it. Right now, at this moment, it was about the two of them, and he pushed his old ways aside and tossed all the need to lecture out the window. If anything, someone had to lighten the mood. Normally, that was Grace’s thing. But right now, he knew he needed to be the one to do it.

  “Because that’s my superpower,” he said lightly. “Didn’t you know? I’m like a little ray of sunshine swooping down to rescue damsels in distress.”

  She laughed softly and lay back down. “You’re a jerk.”

  “Says you and my brother.”

  “Ugh…I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “You’re really going to have to deal with him later on today, aren’t you?”

  “Yup.”

  “That’s why I’m sorry. Here I am worrying about me and you’ve got some pretty serious stuff to deal with yourself. Any idea what you’re going to do or say?”

  “Not a clue. I keep waffling between strangling him and hugging him.”

  And she was leaning up again. “Hugging him? Why?” She paused and then said, “Oh…I get it. Is that the option if your car has been returned without a scratch on it?”

  Finn shook his head. “No. That option is because if it hadn’t been for him pulling that jackass stunt, we wouldn’t be here right now.” Reaching out, he raked a hand up into her hair. “And even though right now all we keep seeing is the negative, I wouldn’t trade this week with you for anything, Grace. I want you to know that.”

  “I feel the same way.” She rested her forehead against his and sighed.

  “We’re going to be fine. You’re going to be relieved to not be in that old truck anymore and have the freedom to dance like a Rockette if you want without listening to me complain about you nearly poking my eye out with an elbow.”

  “You haven’t been that bad.”

  “But…you really did come close to blinding me a time or two.”

  “And I apologized.”

  “Still, you may want to use a little less…enthusiasm when there’s someone else in the front seat. I’m just saying.”

  “You’re really not helping here, Finn.”

  “Okay, okay. You’re right.” He paused and thought for a minute. “I’m sure you’ll be more than happy to have all your own clothes back when you get home.”

  “Maybe.”

  “And,” he went on, “you’re going to be very happy to sleep in your own bed. I don’t know about you, but in that one respect, there really is no place like home. I never sleep as well in a strange bed as I do in my own.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I’m the same. This one isn’t so bad, though. And the one in Vegas was pretty good too.”

  He was about to say that any bed he shared with her was amazing, but what good would that do? He was trying to make her feel better, not worse. And reminding her of things like that could only make her sad.

  So he stayed quiet.

  “And I’m sure you’re going to enjoy not listening to any more of my crazy playlists,” she said with a hint of humor.

  “I’ll miss the High School Musical soundtrack the most,” he teased, and they both laughed.

  “Just so you know, you did really great learning the choreography to ‘We’re All in This Together.’ You should be proud.”

  He chuckled again. “I can’t wait to show all the guys in the shop.”

  “Ugh…” she groaned, flopping back down beside him. “You’re going to go back to work, tell everyone what a dork I am and how awful it was to get stuck with me and then forget all about me. I know it. And really, I don’t blame you. I dragged you to some ridiculous places, made you arrive home two days late, and, overall, was a hot mess. I bet you’re already thinking, ‘Good riddance,’ right?”

  To the average person, Grace was just talking out loud and saying things to make herself feel better. But Finn had learned a lot over the last week and he heard the vulnerability in her voice. Turning onto his side, he smiled down at her. “Watching the beer-drinking goats was kind of interesting and not something I even knew existed.”

  “Don’t forget the flea circus,” she reminded him.

  “How could I forget?” He scratched himself dramatically for effect.

  “Oh, stop!” But he noticed she scratched a little herself.

  “Grace Mackie, I want you to know something.”

  “What?”

  “You didn’t drag me anywhere,” he explained softly but firmly. “If I didn’t want to stop or didn’t want to go someplace, I would have not only said something, but I wouldn’t have gone. All the things you talked me into doing helped me.”

  “They did?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, they did. I tend to take myself a little too seriously–something my brother and pretty much anyone who knows me will tell you. But you helped me break away from that pattern this week, and to that, I say thank you.”

  “Oh, Finn…

  “It’s true. And I’m sure I’ll go right back into workaholic, control-freak mode once I’m back at the shop, but that doesn’t mean I regret any of the things we did or that I will ever forget you. Because I won’t.”

  She was quiet for so long Finn thought she had fallen asleep, but he heard her soft sniffle and knew she hadn’t.

  “Finn?”

  “Hmm?”

  “We need to make this a clean break, right?”

  It pained him to agree because his heart told him it wasn’t what he wanted, but the logical side of him knew it was for the best. “A clean break.”

  As if of one mind, they rolled toward each other and embraced. Kissing the top of her head, he said, “Let’s try to get some sleep, okay?”

  Grace was one step ahead of him, yawning broadly. “Okay.”

  Maybe their little conversation gave her some peace, maybe it didn’t. All Finn knew was that all the words in the world weren’t going to stop the passage of time. They were going to get up in a few hours and drive the last leg of their trip. Grace was going to go her way and he was going to go his. Was it going to be sad? Yes. Did he wish it could be different? Yes. Was there anything he could do to change it?

  He yawned and hugged her close.

  No.

  It was a gray and dreary day.

  The drive was uneventful.

  All morning she had done her best to present an image of being totally calm and cool and collected. Even her t-shirt said, “Stay Cool,” and had a picture of Snoopy wearing sunglasses. And all morning she had to work
at channeling her inner Snoopy to keep her emotions in check.

  So far, so good.

  Then again, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

  Pulling up to Finn’s garage was almost anticlimactic.

  They had talked and decided that Grace would leave for the airport after dropping him off. They weren’t going to have lunch together, and they weren’t going to have a long goodbye. He wanted her to simply let him out and head to the airport.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  She looked over at him and saw him angrily climbing from the truck, slamming the door behind him. It didn’t take long for her to see what had grabbed his attention and why.

  His car was here.

  At least…she thought it was his car. It was a new Mustang, but…it didn’t look good.

  Hesitantly, she got out and followed him. The last time she had seen him this angry, they were in Vegas confronting his brother.

  Finn was circling the car while muttering curses. He raked his hands through his hair and pulled. She could see the veins in his neck bulging as his face got redder and redder. As much as she hated to admit it, it was kind of a good thing Dave wasn’t here. Otherwise…

  “Well, well, well, look who finally decided to come back!”

  Oh, Dave, she thought. You stupid, stupid man.

  And it looked like there was about to be a big confrontation.

  Turning, Grace spotted Dave walking across the parking lot, and he didn’t look the least bit remorseful. If anything, he had a bit of a swagger to him–a cockiness that he really shouldn’t own. She studied him and realized he looked a lot like Finn. Not as tall or as handsome, but there were enough similarities that you knew they were brothers. Looking at him, she almost felt sorry for him. It must be hard to the be the younger, less attractive, and clearly less talented brother to someone like Finn. But still, it didn’t give him a free pass to be a jackass all the time.

  “I’m talking to you, big brother!” Dave taunted. “That car of yours is a piece of crap!”

  Groaning, she hung her head and shook it. This isn’t going to end well.

  “What the hell did you do, Dave?” Finn yelled, motioning to the car. “How could you do this?”