Test Drive: Road Tripping Series

by Samantha Chase

No doubt Willow was going to be surprised.

  Willow.

  She was turning him upside down and inside out, and if he didn’t get her alone soon, he swore he was going to spontaneously combust. There were only so many cold showers he could take.

  Sleeping beside her was…okay, it wasn’t all sexy time and touching.

  It turns out that when in a bed, Willow tends to sleep diagonally. He woke up that morning holding onto the edge of the bed for dear life. And she hummed in her sleep. Some of it was just tuneless hums, others were more…erotic sounding.

  And he seriously hoped those were because she was dreaming of him.

  Mainly because whenever he did manage to sleep last night, Levi sure as hell had dreamt about her.

  “Willow and Irene are very close,” Donald said, changing the subject. “I swear, Irene talks about her all the time, and it means the world to her that the two of you are going to be here for her party tonight.”

  “It meant a lot to Willow too,” he said, smiling.

  “We’re glad you came with her,” Tom, another one of the Romeos, chimed in. “We all adore Irene, and we think the world of Willow…”

  “But…?” Levi prompted.

  “But her folks are hard to be around,” Johnny replied. “They’re nice enough, but they don’t seem to know how to relax, and both Willow and Irene tense up around them. Hopefully that won’t happen tonight since it’s a party.”

  “And you’ll be there to protect Willow,” Donald said.

  “Protect?” he repeated. “Is it really that bad?”

  Vinny, who looked like he could have been in the movie Goodfellas, spoke up. “Every time I see the two of them when they come to visit Irene, I want to take them for a nice walk and tell them how things are supposed to be.” The man not only looked like a Goodfella, but he sounded like one too.

  Levi swallowed hard.

  Note to self: Don’t piss off Vinny.

  “How has Willow described them to you?” Barry, the last of the Romeos, asked.

  “I think she’s been very careful in how she talks about them. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that they stress her out and that I was going to have to be a buffer for her. I hate it for her.” Shaking his head, he went on. “Believe it or not, I felt guilty talking about the relationship I have with my parents because I didn’t want her to feel bad.”

  “You’re close with your folks?” Tom asked.

  “Yeah. Really close. And we stopped at two of my sisters’ places on the way down here, and I could tell it took her a little while to relax and understand our relationship. The one between each of my sisters and me. We laugh and joke around one minute and then we’ll fight the next. I think she found it weird.”

  “Poor kid,” Donald said. “Irene worries about her. Tell me, has she found a job yet?”

  “Not really. She’s babysitting and doing the dog walking business, but…that’s just filling the void temporarily.” He paused. “I don’t get it. She’s really good with kids. Why would her parents push her into getting a degree in something she didn’t want?”

  “Once you meet them, you’ll understand,” Johnny said with a hint of disgust. “The first time I met them and Irene mentioned what I did for a living, they both looked at me like I smelled of something offensive. Now I just like to taunt them with it.”

  Oh, God…

  “So…I should be worried,” Levi said nervously, looking around the table.

  “That depends,” Vinny said, giving him a level stare. “Are you ashamed of what you do?”

  “Hell no,” he replied firmly. “I love what I do and I’m good at it.”

  “Okay then,” Vinny said with a nod of approval.

  “But just to play it safe, maybe I should avoid talking about my job and maybe just…praise Willow, right?”

  “It can’t hurt,” Barry replied. “But they won’t let you get away with that for long. They like to analyze people. They’ll observe your body language, the way you speak, and want to ask you questions about things that really aren’t any of their business.”

  “Well, in their defense,” Tom interjected. “He’s dating their daughter. They’re going to want to put him under the microscope based on that alone.”

  There was a murmured agreement amongst the Romeos, and for the first time since he offered to help Willow, he was beginning to regret it.

  What if he made things worse for her with her parents? What if they pissed him off and he told them off? Or worse, what if he blurted out the truth about…everything to them and hurt Willow?

  He groaned.

  “Yeah, we feel ya, buddy,” Johnny said, clapping him on the back. “The only silver lining here is that you only have to deal with them tonight, right? You and Willow are leaving in the morning?”

  “We hadn’t set a time to get on the road. We were sort of playing it by ear.”

  “Trust me,” Donald said. “Don’t let them talk you into meeting them for brunch or anything. Irene will completely understand if the two of you need to cut out early. Tell them you need to get back to work or convince Willow to tell them she has a job interview. It will be best for everyone.”

  “But…what about Irene?” And yeah, it felt weird to be calling her that after twenty-four hours’ worth of calling her Gammy. “Is it fair to leave her to deal with them?”

  “Oh, she can handle herself,” Tom said with a hearty laugh. “Right, Don?”

  Levi was shocked to see the old guy blushing, but he gave Levi a reassuring grin. “Her son is a bit of a pompous ass, but he certainly doesn’t disrespect his mother. And I’ll let her know what we talked about, so if the two of you suddenly have a reason for heading out early in the morning, she’ll play along. That’s one of the best things about Irene, she’s always got your back.”

  And Levi didn’t doubt that for a minute.

  “So now we’ll all play the over-protective grandfather,” Tom began seriously. “Are things serious with you and Willow?”

  “Oh, um…this is all still kind of new. We’ve only been together for a few months.”

  “And how’d you meet?” Barry asked.

  Now it was Levi’s turn to blush. “It was a Wednesday afternoon, and I was at the pub. I was cleaning the front window and I see this cute brunette walk by. She was smiling and looking up at the sky, and then she tripped and fell on the sidewalk.”

  There was a bit of laughter from all of them.

  “Sounds like Willow,” Johnny said.

  “Yeah, well, I ran outside and helped her. She was all scraped up, and I carried her into the bar and sat her down before running back outside and getting the things she’d dropped. After I came back in and got her cleaned up with the first-aid kit, we started talking, and…that was it. I was hooked. She started coming to the pub on Friday nights with her girlfriends and we just…progressed from there.”

  None of it was a lie, so he didn’t have to feel bad.

  “She’s a good girl,” Vinny said, now more menacing than before. “You make sure you treat her with respect.”

  “Oh, for the love of it,” Tom huffed. “Want to tone it down, Godfather wannabe! Geez! Why are you trying to scare this kid?”

  “I’m not!” Vinny argued. “Just making sure he does the right thing!”

  “Right,” Donald said with an obvious eye roll. “Like you’re the guy who knows about doing the right thing. Pfft.”

  “What are you saying, Donny? You got a problem with me?”

  Uh-oh…

  “I’m just saying, Vin, that you are known for causing trouble and not doing the right thing. Leave the kid alone!”

  It took Levi a minute to realize he was the kid.

  “Guys, really, it’s…”

  “I’ve never been convicted of anything!”

  “Not for lack of trying…”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Vinny shouted, coming to his feet. He turned his attention back to Levi. “You just make su
re you treat her right. Understand?”

  All he could do was nod and felt himself sag in his seat a little as Vinny walked away.

  “That guy,” Donald murmured. “He can be a real hothead. Sorry, Levi.”

  Still unable to find any words, Levi just nodded.

  “We all share his sentiment.” This came from Johnny. “We’ve just all got manners.”

  “Yeah. I hope this little scene didn’t ruin lunch for you,” Barry said with a sympathetic grin. “Vinny goes off at least once a month like that. It’s nothing personal.”

  “Oh…uh…okay.”

  The remainder of the meal was spent talking about the party and all the things the Romeos had bought for Gammy…er, Irene. They were a great bunch of guys–very different personalities–but honestly, it felt like he had gone to lunch with all his favorite uncles.

  Well…Vinny was still a little too scary for his taste, but up until the end there, he had been okay to hang out with as well.

  When the check came, they all fought over who was paying, and eventually, Johnny won. He winked at Levi. “I always win.”

  And there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it was true.

  Out in the parking lot, everyone was saying goodbye, but Johnny hung back and walked with Levi to his car.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Shrugging, Levi said, “Sure.”

  “You own that pub or are you just working there?”

  It was the last thing he expected anyone to ask. Keeping his focus straight ahead as they walked, he said, “Why do you ask?”

  Johnny stopped, and Levi had no choice but to do the same. “Levi, come on. Unless you come from a wealthy family, there’s no way a bartender from Long Island is making enough money to drive a car like this.”

  Something in his expression must have given him away because Johnny placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

  “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Can I ask why you’re not telling anyone? You afraid Willow’s only with you for the money?”

  “What?” he cried. “No! Hell no!”

  “Then what? I never owned my own place, but if I did, I’d be bragging about it to anyone with ears!”

  “Yeah, well…normally I do. But with Willow…I don’t know…I think one of the reasons she even gave me a chance was because she felt like she could relate to me. If I mentioned I owned the pub, she might have felt…”

  “Different.”

  “Exactly. But not like she would have dated me for the money…”

  “No, no, no…I get ya. Willow really is a sweet kid, but she’s a little insecure,” Johnny said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I fully blame her parents.”

  So do I…

  “Anyway, it didn’t seem like a big deal not to bring it up when we first started hanging out. But now it’s…” He let out a long breath. “I don’t know how she’ll handle it.”

  “Can I give you some advice?”

  “Sure.”

  “Tell her before somebody else does. It will make thing much harder for you if she finds out for herself that you’ve been lying to her.”

  “It’s not really lying…”

  “It is. By omission. Just sayin’.” Then he clapped Levi on the back. “Okay, time to go home and nap so I can stay awake long enough to enjoy Irene’s party. I’ll see you there!”

  “Thanks, Johnny. And thanks for lunch.”

  The old guy smiled. “Any time, kid. Anytime. You take care of yourself and Willow.”

  Levi stood rooted to the spot while Johnny walked away, and he could only hope that this party went as smoothly as lunch did.

  9

  “Are you sure this looks okay?”

  “You look beautiful.”

  Smoothing her hair down, Willow swallowed hard and looked around the room to try to spot her parents. Luckily, they were running late, and it gave her a few minutes to get settled before she had to face them.

  She startled when Levi reached out to hold her hand. It wasn’t like it should have, they’d been holding hands for almost a week already, but in the moment, she wasn’t expecting it.

  “You’re going to have to relax. All our hard work at making things look natural will go out the window,” he murmured softly against her ear. His warm breath gave her chills, and she wanted to drag him to the nearest dark corner and kiss him senseless. Actually, she wanted a few minutes alone with him all afternoon to do just that, but it had been non-stop chaos.

  After their pedicures, Gammy decided she needed a manicure too and treated Willow to one. After that, they went out for lunch at one of Willow’s favorite restaurants–a 1950s themed diner before going to get their hair done.

  Well, Gammy got hers done. When the stylist suggested that Willow should shorten her hair, she had immediately backed out and said she preferred to do her own. It had earned her so many judgy looks, but she held her ground and only had to sit in the salon for ninety minutes while everyone glared at her.

  Super fun.

  Back at the house, they found Levi on the phone. It sounded like he was talking to someone at the pub and she thought it was rude for them to be calling him while he was on vacation. Wasn’t he allowed to take any time off for himself? Why couldn’t the boss handle things without him?

  Although…that was probably a good thing for Levi. It meant job security and all that.

  Willow had gone and taken her shower first before doing her hair and makeup. Then Gammy needed her help getting ready while Levi went and took his shower. It just seemed like they didn’t have more than two minutes to themselves and most of it was spent with him telling her about his lunch with the Romeos.

  Which, thankfully, went better than her sex-talk filled pedicures with Gammy.

  Something she was definitely going to share with him tonight once they were alone in their bedroom.

  Their bedroom.

  She really liked the sound of that.

  And she’d like it a whole lot more if they could actually do more than just making out like horny teenagers.

  “Willow, sweetheart. There you are!”

  She jumped at the sound of her mother’s voice and spilled white wine down the front of her.

  Levi was quick to get her a handful of napkins to help her clean up, and all it really accomplished was giving her a few extra minutes before greeting her parents properly. Once she was somewhat dry, she looked up at her parents and smiled.

  And noticed their focus was fully on Levi.

  “Hey, Mom. Hi, Dad,” she said, kissing them each on their cheek. “How are you?”

  “We’re fine, dear. Just fine,” her mother said, her eyes still trained on Levi. Finally, she held out her hand. “And you are…?”

  “Oh, um…”

  “Levi Sullivan,” he said, reaching out and firmly shaking first her mother’s hand and then her father’s. “It’s nice to finally meet both of you. Willow’s told me all about you.”

  It was a miracle how he said that like he meant it.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Levi. I’m Marilyn Andrews, and this is my husband, Paul.” Then she turned her attention back to Willow with a small frown. “At least it wasn’t red wine.”

  “Do you want me to take you back to the house so you can change?” Levi asked, and she had never been more thankful for anyone in her entire life.

  “That would be amazing. Thank you.”

  “Is that really necessary, Willow?” her father said in his usual disapproving tone. “We all know you’re prone to spills, and it’s not going to be an obvious stain. You don’t want to ruin your grandmother’s party by leaving.”

  “We won’t be gone long,” she murmured. “Gammy’s house is less than ten minutes away. I’ll be back before the salad is served.”

  “It’s nonsense,” her father stated firmly before taking a sip of his own wine. “So tell me, Levi, how long have you been dating my daughter.
”

  Willow groaned and hoped Levi would stick to the script and…

  “We’ve been together for three months, Mr. Andrews. Your daughter is an amazing woman. But if you’ll excuse us, I know she’d feel much better if she could change into something dry.” He squeezed her hand. “We’ll see you both at dinner.”

  She was speechless and offered her parents a small smile before they walked away.

  “We should let Gammy know where we’re going so she doesn’t worry,” he said to her with a confident smile.

  And at that moment, he absolutely solidified himself as her knight in shining armor.

  They walked across the room and gave Gammy a quick update and were out in the parking lot before she knew it. It wasn’t until they were in the car that she spoke. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Levi, you…you…you totally got me out of an awkward situation without letting my father intimidate you. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Most people just kowtow to him.”

  “One thing you should know about me, I don’t kowtow to anyone.” He grinned. “Okay, my Nana is probably the only one I would, but…she’s barely five feet tall and intimidating as hell. I tend to do whatever she asks.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s kind of adorable.”

  “Glad you think so.” They pulled out of the parking lot and began heading back to the house. “Do you even have another outfit to change into or are we just going to drive around to kill some time and let your father stew a bit?”

  And that just made her laugh harder. “Oh, my goodness! I never would have even thought to do that!” Playfully swatting at his arm, she admitted, “I actually brought three different outfits with me.”

  “Three? Seriously?”

  “Mm-hmm. I wasn’t sure what kind of mood I’d be in and I wanted to have options.”

  “Okay then. New outfit it is!” They drove in silence for several minutes. “Are you doing okay?”

  “What? Sure. I appreciate you helping me like this!”

  “No, I meant…about before. Your parents. You doing okay with all that?”

  “Pfft…that was nothing. The real challenge will be while we’re sitting at dinner. No doubt we’ll end up sitting right by them. Did you see how long that table was? Around twenty people are coming and I can guarantee that we’ll still be right beside them.”