Test Drive

by Samantha Chase

  The car started to move, and Willow took a few more steps back to give him room. When he turned the wheel and started to drive away, she was convinced he was leaving her there. Tears stung her eyes, and within seconds, she was full-on bawling. She was in the middle of the parking lot and managed to stumble out of the way of other cars and found a place to sit.

  Beneath the giant roosters.

  Glancing to her left, she saw a man walking his dog, and before she knew it, the dog was peeing on one of the roosters.

  This is it. I’ve hit an all-time low. Surely there is nothing worse than leaning against a filthy peed on rooster in the middle of a roadside tourist attraction 600 miles from home…

  Leaning down, her hands covering her face, she bawled some more. How was she supposed to get home? She didn’t have her purse, her luggage, no money, nothing. Now she was going to have to call someone…Jen? Donna? Or, God forbid, her parents.

  Oh, Lord…anything but that…

  She could only imagine how that conversation would go. Any progress they had made thanks to Levi’s conversation with her father would be completely undone, and then she’d have to move to Seattle. It was the only way to get out of this.

  “I don’t want to move to Seattle,” she cried into her hands.

  “Why are you moving to Seattle?”

  Gasping, she looked up and saw Levi staring down at her.

  “You’re still here.”

  Frowning, he asked, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Slowly, Willow came to her feet, afraid she was seeing a mirage or that maybe she hit her head during the death-spin in the car and was hallucinating. “You left,” she blurted out. “I watched you drive away!”

  Gently, Levi grasped her shoulder and turned her a little to the right. “I parked the car.”

  She threw herself at him and wrapped herself around him and started crying all over again. “I’m so sorry! I am so, so sorry, Levi! You have to know that! And I swear I’ll pay for all the damages! It may take a while since neither of my part-time jobs pays much, but I’ll walk a hundred dogs if it helps! Or…or…I’ll do dishes at the pub! Or mop! Or anything!” She hugged him even harder. “Just please tell me you forgive me and that we’re still friends. Please! I would hate to think of us not being friends anymore!”

  Levi returned her hug, and then carefully put some distance between them. Then, taking her by the hand, he began to lead her back to the car. “There’s something you need to see.”

  “Oh, no…” she groaned. “It’s bad, isn’t it? I don’t need to see it. I’ll take your word for it. There’s no need to…”

  He stopped, and she walked right into him, because she was staring at the ground instead of where they were going.

  “Willow…”

  She scrunched her eyes shut and shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t look at it.”

  “Willow…” he said with a little more heat.

  “I’m the worst. I get it! I’ll sit in the back seat for the entire rest of the trip and I won’t say a word. You won’t even know I’m there! And I promise not to touch anything! Ever!”

  “Willow!” he snapped.

  And that tone had her stopping and opening her eyes.

  He was smiling and motioning toward the car.

  “What the…?” Slowly, she stepped around him and toward the car, unable to believe what she was seeing.

  “There’s…I mean…how…?”

  “There are no scratches,” he explained. “And no dents. No damage.”

  “How is that possible? I was a one-woman stunt show back there.”

  Leaning in close, he said, “And a good stunt person knows how to pull off a stunt without causing any damage.”

  Willow examined the car more closely, running her hand along the entire passenger side. “I don’t get it. Those roosters are eight feet of solid concrete. How could they not scratch up the car?”

  “Wait, are you actually upset that you didn’t damage the car?”

  The car felt perfectly smooth–the only marks were the smudges from her fingerprints. “No, that’s not it. I’m just confused. I thought for sure…between jumping the curb and flying through the air and then…you know…the roosters…”

  He chuckled softly. “Somehow you managed to miss the roosters. You got close, but…never touched them. Seriously, you were only a hair’s width away, but it was enough to not even touch.”

  “Holy crap! This is great!” She threw herself at him again, but this time while laughing and feeling better than she had…possibly ever! “Seriously, this is amazing!” Her legs were around his waist, and he was laughing with her. Placing a loud, smacking kiss on his cheek, she repeated, “Isn’t it amazing?”

  Levi spun her around one more time before putting her back on his feet. “I’d say more like a miracle.”

  Her heart was racing, and she knew her laughter was verging on hysterics, but she couldn’t believe her luck. “You have no idea how relieved I am! I was certain I had totaled your car – or at the very least done some serious damage!” She let out a long, shaky breath and tried to calm down. “And I am so glad you weren’t hurt! How embarrassing would that be to explain–that you were hurt by a pair of giant concrete roosters!”

  He cleared his throat and tried to look like he wasn’t amused, but she knew he was. “Um, yeah. I’m glad I don’t have to explain that to anyone. Ever.”

  Turning her back to the car, Willow leaned against it until she caught her breath. When she did, she looked over at Levi. “So I think we can agree that letting me drive is a bad idea.”

  Surprisingly, he shook his head as he moved in close. “No. Letting you park is a bad idea. Your driving is just fine. Smooth. So smooth that I fell asleep. I think that speaks volumes right there.”

  “Well, sadly, there’s no way to allow me to drive without eventually having to park, so…”

  “You’ve got a point.”

  “Anyhow…now that we’ve had our excitement for the day, let’s go inside and do a little shopping.”

  “Seriously? You can think about shopping right now?”

  “Levi, I’m going to need some time before I can get back in the car without suffering from PTSD or something. I say we do a little shopping, maybe grab a taco or two…”

  “It’s almost dinnertime. And I was hoping for something more than tacos.”

  “Consider it a pre-appetizer or just a snack,” she reasoned. “Either way, I know it’s too early for dinner, but I really do need some time before we get back in the car. Plus, you promised we’d stop here. What’s the point in stopping if I don’t get to explore?”

  Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose, and she knew he was trying to stop himself from rushing her–or telling her she was crazy. Either way, she appreciated it. After a few moments, he said, “You’re right. It would be silly to stop and not go in and look around. Although it really just looks like a gas station, some gift shops, and a restaurant. I don’t see what…”

  “There’s miniature golf too, but don’t worry, I really just want to look around and see what all the fuss is about. This place has been here since forever! There are billboards advertising it hundreds of miles away! Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?”

  She reached for his hand and began tugging him toward one of the buildings.

  “Willow, I really don’t consider a gift shop off an exit ramp to be an adventure?”

  “Not even after the dramatic entrance we made to it?” she asked, feigning offense.

  But he was on to her. With a dramatic sigh, he said, “You know what? You’re right. Anyplace that warrants that kind of entrance is bound to be amazing. We should ask about them putting your picture up on the wall–like a parking lot hall of fame or something.”

  “Oh, my God! Do you think they’d do that? How cool would that be? I’d be famous!”

  “Willow…”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I’m just teasing.”

  They walked
through the doors of the gift shop and she didn’t know where to look first. It was all so bright and tacky and colorful, and she wanted one of everything! Releasing Levi’s hand, she ran over to a display of sombreros and put one on her head.

  “What do you think? Am I a hat person?” And with a laugh, she picked another one and walked over and put it on his head. “Yes! We totally rock these sombreros! Wait! Where’s my phone? We totally need a picture!”

  “It’s probably still in the car–which is locked, so relax,” he assured her. “But I’ve got mine right here.”

  Then, pulling her in close, Levi held up the phone to get a selfie of the two of them, and Willow knew it was going to be her favorite memory of the entire trip.

  You’re such a good friend.

  Willow must have said that at least a dozen times over dinner and another dozen more while they drove to their hotel and booked a room.

  With two beds.

  Okay, fine, she was hitting him over the head with the fact that their fake relationship was over and so was the not-so-fake sexual part of it. He got it. He understood.

  But that didn’t mean he liked it.

  How the hell was he supposed to go back to just being friends–and sleeping in the same room as her–after everything that had transpired over the weekend? Sure, he’d dated plenty of women who he went on to be just friends with, but he never had to spend the night in a hotel with them afterward either.

  “Maybe I should have gotten us separate rooms,” he muttered.

  “Did you say something?” Willow asked as she came out of the bathroom, drying her hair.

  Hoping he didn’t look too guilty, he forced himself to smile. “Just commenting on how this is a nice room.”

  “It really is,” she said as she walked across the room. She sat down on her bed and looked at him. “I hate that you are the one paying, though.”

  “Willow, we’ve been over this…”

  “I know, I know. But after everything that happened today…”

  He held up a hand to stop her. “Staying at a hotel here in North Carolina made way more sense than trying to drive all the way to Richmond and going to Natalie’s again. I don’t care if I did nap earlier, I would have been cross-eyed by the time we got there.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “It’s really not that big of a deal,” he countered, hoping she’d just let this go. “I wanted to do this.”

  “But I was supposed to be the one paying for the trip. This was all for me and…”

  “You bought me a sombrero and a taco,” he said lightly. “We’re good, Willow. Trust me.”

  The way she was frowning at him told Levi she wasn’t buying it.

  And then her loud huff pretty much confirmed it.

  “What? What do you want me to say? I’m not going to apologize for this. I paid for the hotel. It’s not a big deal. You can pay for gas the rest of the way home and all the meals if that makes you feel better.”

  He knew he’d never allow it, but she didn’t need to know that.

  “You’re mad at me,” she said after an uncomfortable minute.

  “Um…what?”

  She nodded. “You’re mad at me. Admit it.”

  “Why would I be mad at you? I told you, we’re good.”

  “Yeah, it’s not so much what you say but the way you’re saying it. You have a tone.”

  “A tone?”

  She nodded again. “Yup. A tone.”

  Leaning back on his elbows on his own bed, Levi did his best to appear bored. “Okay, I’ll bite, what kind of tone do I have?”

  Willow tossed her towel down as she stood and tried to look intimidating.

  It was sexy as hell.

  Wet hair, hot pink flannel sleep shorts and a white t-shirt that was a little clingy, yeah, sexy.

  And her nipples were hard so…that was also a little distracting.

  “You’re barely looking at me, Levi, and ever since we got to the room, you’ve been kind of short with me. Annoyed. If you wanted me to get my own room, you should have said so.” With another huff, she turned and reached for the phone.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m calling the front desk to see if they have any other rooms available.”

  Groaning, Levi jumped up and put his hand over hers, preventing her from picking up the phone.

  “Levi!”

  “Willow!” he mimicked. “You don’t need to get your own room. We’re totally fine sharing one. We’ve been doing it for almost a week.”

  That and a whole lot more…

  Yanking her hand out from under his, she took a few steps back–as if even been close to him was a bad thing.

  And if that wasn’t a message she was sending–loud and clear, no less–then he didn’t know what was.

  “I…I just don’t want this to be awkward.” She paused. “We only have to get through tonight and then everything will go back to normal.” Then she looked away. “No big deal.”

  Only…it was.

  “Is that really how you feel?” he asked.

  A shrug was her only response, and rather than push her and make things even more uncomfortable than they already were, Levi raked a hand through his hair and stormed off to the bathroom.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” he murmured, slamming the door shut behind him. It was childish, and it wasn’t really going to solve anything. It wasn’t as if he was going to spend the night in there or sleep in the bathtub. All he was accomplishing was putting a little distance between them to give them each a little time to calm down. With any luck, Willow would decide to go to sleep early and then they won’t have to talk to one another again until morning.

  He turned on the hot water and then turned to look at himself in the mirror and grimaced. He was pissed, there was no denying it. After the whole incident with the car, he thought they were fine. They had joked around for almost an hour in the gift shop. He had stood back and watched as Willow breezed around the entire space and touched everything in there. She tried on hats, sunglasses, jewelry…she was literally like a kid in a candy shop. They had laughed and taken silly pictures, and after she had purchased about a dozen things, they had gone and grabbed a few tacos–they weren’t his favorite, but they were still pretty good.

  After that, they had walked out and taken a few pictures with the giant roosters before going to put gas in the car and heading to dinner. Willow had Googled local hotels, and they found one with a good rating that was only fifteen minutes from where they were. And the entire time, they had been happy and carefree and…two completely different people from the ones who were just snapping at one another.

  What the hell changed?

  The bathroom was steamy, and standing and staring at himself in the mirror wasn’t getting him anywhere, so he stripped and stepped under the hot spray. It took several minutes for him to relax and a few more minutes for him to reach for the soap and shampoo. He cursed as he used the hotel brand that was stocked in the bathroom because he hadn’t taken the time to go through his luggage.

  Which reminded him…

  He hadn’t stopped to get himself a change of clothes either.

  It wouldn’t be the worst thing to throw his jeans back on for just a few minutes so he could get his suitcase. No big deal.

  By the time he stepped out of the shower, he felt much better, and if Willow was still awake, he figured he’d be the one to go to sleep early. It wouldn’t kill him to get a good night’s sleep. Lord knew it had been quite a few nights since that had happened. Between Nat’s floor, Katie’s couch, and then sharing a bed with Willow, it was shocking he wasn’t dead on his feet by now.

  He toweled off and sighed as he picked his jeans up off the floor and slid them on. It was pointless to button them, so he scooped the rest of his clothes up and walked back out into the room. Willow was sitting on her bed…

  Shit.

  She was crying.

  Well, she did warn you on the firs
t day that she cried easily. Who knew she’d wait to prove that until now?

  Walking over to his suitcase and fighting the urge to go to her, he asked, “You okay?”

  With a sniffle, she looked up at him and her eyes went a little wide. “Um…yeah.” But then she shook her head. “No. No, I’m not okay.”

  Levi pulled a pair of shorts out of his bag but didn’t make a move toward her. “What’s going on?”

  It took her a minute to get herself together, and then she stood and faced him. “I hate this,” she finally said. “I thought it was going to be okay, that I could handle it, but…I can’t.”

  His heart started to race, and he began to sweat. Did he really want to hear the whole “Let’s be friends” speech followed by the “It’s not you, it’s me” one?

  Hell no.

  “Willow…”

  But she wasn’t listening. Instead, she walked over to him and didn’t stop until they were practically toe to toe.

  She was killing him.

  Before he knew it, one of her hands was on his chest. She wouldn’t meet his gaze and he had to grit his teeth to keep from asking her what she was doing.

  “I don’t want our last night to be spent like this. Fighting,” she clarified, studying his chest. “Ever since we met, you’ve always been so sweet and gentle and kind to me. I really thought I had blown it earlier with the car, but…even then…you were incredibly gracious.”

  Just say we’re going to be friends and put me out of my misery!

  Then those big, beautiful eyes slowly looked up at him and Levi knew he’d never be able to think of Willow as just a friend ever again. It wasn’t possible. Hell, he had no idea how they were going to move forward from this, but…he’d put on a brave face and do the honorable thing and get her home without putting any pressure on her. And then…well, then he had no idea what he was going to do. Probably bury himself back in his work like he had for the last two years.

  If nothing else, she gave him an incredible break from the monotonous existence he’d been living for so long. He should be thankful for that.

  Her hand smoothed down to his stomach and he couldn’t help the low moan that escaped his lips. “Willow…”