Red: Burning Desire (Spectrum Series Book 7)

by Allison White

  I let the questions rumbling around in my head go unspoken for forty-five minutes. Despite the fact that I have no idea where we are going, I am not a spontaneous being. Like, at all. I like plans, organization. Call me a nerd, but there is nothing more satisfying than a day going exactly according to plan. Even when I was traveling, I planned everything: my hotel bookings, flights, where and what I was going to eat, etcetera.

  Hanging around Red has put a major halt in everything related to routine. She makes days exciting, spontaneous. Freaking exciting. I should be fretting over how much she’s changed me in the little time I’ve known her, but all I can seem to do is smile at her like the creep I’m slowly but surely becoming.

  “Where have you been?” The question slips out before I can stop it.

  Her eyes stay on the road. “I had to take care of some things. My sister, uh, she got into trouble. You understand, right?”

  “Not really. I was an only child.”

  “Must’ve sucked.”

  “Oh, it did. But luckily, I had my army of butlers to keep me company,” I joke and sneak a peek at her. She’s stifling a smile, but it’s enough to make me grin and look back onto the road.

  It’s silent for the next few minutes. All spent with me throwing long gazes at her. Watching the way she grips the leather steering wheel with one hand, using the other to mindlessly play with a gold curl of her hair. Her nails are slathered with dark blue paint, and there are holes in her jeans, showing off her creamy skin.

  “Am I gonna have to pull over and ditch your creepy ass, or are you gonna stop staring at me like my uncle Amos?” she says, shooting me a sideward glance. “He gets handsy and redneck-ish after his third glass of red wine at Thanksgiving dinner. Me and Harley slipped him a roofie last year.” She chuckles behind her knuckles, shaking her head. “Good times. How about you? Slipped any of your relatives date rape drugs?” She’s looking at me freely now since we’re driving down an isolated road, trees on either side.

  “No.” I chuckle and end up laughing, straightening up. “I have not, unfortunately.” I lay my head slack against the seat, facing her with a barely there smile. “What’d you guys do to him while he was unconscious?” She opens her mouth, but I hold up a finger and add, “Though you can keep it between you and your sister if it’s illegal.”

  Her lips puff into a disappointed pout. “Oh, damn. Then nothing. I guess…” She sighs so dramatically, I would have believed she did something totally illegal if she hadn’t. Her teeth glisten like shined pearls as she turns to me and says, “We took off all his clothes and had Chad, Harley’s gay friend who came cause his family’s a homophobic piece of shit, pose on his lap. Dude was wearing full-on makeup. When he woke up, the photoshoot was passed to each gen of the family.” The radiant grin on her face should unnerve me, but it just pulls out a similar one out of me.

  “Wait, why, though? I thought you’d, like, cut his hand off or something? Why strip him then have a guy pose on him?”

  “Because he’s a homophobic piece of trash too,” she spits venomously, clutching the wheel. Her eyes return to the desolate road. “It was either that or tie him up and leave him in the park stream.”

  “Well, just for the record, I’m not staring at you because I’m your homophobic, asshole uncle,” I say, and my eyes rove her side profile.

  “Then why are you staring? Thinking of killing me out here?” she jokes.

  “Hey. You’re the one driving,” I defend and pause. “I’m staring because you’re beautiful.”

  Her lips fall apart, and I watch her swallow gently. Fingers dancing lightly on the wheel, she forces a smirk and looks at me. “Are you always this cheesy?” she asks.

  “Only for you.”

  She chuckles to herself and says, “It’s going to take more than pretty words and sticking around me for you to get anywhere near my pants.”

  I frown and shake my head. She thinks the only reason I’m calling her beautiful and hanging around her is to get into her pants? If so, she is sorely mistaken. I really like her company and I like her, yes, but not for the sole reason of having sex with her.

  “I’m not trying to have sex with you, Red,” I say, gauging her furrowed brows and parted lips. I wait for her to say something, but when she doesn’t comment, I lower my voice and confess, “I genuinely like hanging with you. Or whatever we’re doing…you just intrigue me.”

  “Intrigue you?” she questions, flickering her eyes at me. “What? Am I some sort of art exhibit to you?” I sense the rise of anger and hostility in her voice. That and she’s glaring at me like I’ve lost my mind.

  “No. I know you’re a person,” I say with a playful eye roll. “You’re just you. And I like it. You, I mean,” I stammer, and she smiles at my inability to speak. “You are horrible. I take back what I said.”

  “Oh, no.” She frowns and pokes my stomach, making me laugh and swat her hand away. “Don’t stop confessing your love for me.” Her crooked smirk is insatiable yet inviting.

  “I’ll stop whenever I very well feel like it.” I reach over and twist up the volume. A rock song that’s all drums and strong bass blasts through the speakers. Clearly she was rocking out to it before I got in here. “Nirvana, really?”

  “Only the greatest band to bless this planet. RIP, Kurt.” She does a salute.

  “I think you mean Coldplay.” I change the station, and she smacks my hand away, then turns fully to glare at me like I told her Nickelback was the greatest band to ever exist. Even that’s a bit of a stretch, and I didn’t even say it.

  “Get out,” she commands.

  “Great movie,” I say sarcastically.

  Her eyes laugh, but her mouth doesn’t move from the straight line it’s set in. “You know what I mean.”

  “I know.” I smile a shit-eating grin. “I just like messing with you.”

  “I can see that.” She turns the volume up, singing at the top of her lungs along to the grunge music. She looks so carefree and in her element, with her golden hair flying in the air. The car eats the road faster and faster, the music seemingly louder. “Sing along. I know you want to.” Her eyes peer into mine, and my heart skips several beats. Like a pebble thrown across a great lake.

  “Not until I hear Chris Martin.”

  Scoffing loudly, she reaches over and taps her nails along my knee. Her hand is warm and small, and I imagine them reaching up, but it stays put and she smirks at me. “Stop being a weirdo and sing along to an actual good band.”

  “Fine,” I mutter, and when the chorus comes up, we both sing. Very, very loudly.

  “Woo! There you go, prep. I knew you had it in you.” She squeezes my thigh before running her hand through her hair. Her smile is contagious as she bobs her head as the next song comes on that I find myself grinning and staring more than before. Soaking in every curve, her eyes, and her tongue playing with her lip ring.

  I have no idea how we ended up here or where we’re even going, but I sit back and let her humming and drumming fingers unfold in front of me. In my mind, I am painting a mosaic of this moment.

  Before my mind can catch up, I’m brushing my fingers along her wrist of the hand that’s wrapped tightly around the joystick. Her words stutter, but she doesn’t look over. Keeps her eyes on the road. I take this as invitation and run my fingers along her arm, her leather jacket rippling under my touch. Her tongue tugs at her lip ring harder, then caresses her upper lip, eyes darting over to me in her peripheral vision.

  “What are you doing, prep?” she asks, voice quivering.

  “Shhh.” My fingertip brushes her unruly hair behind her ear. Her teeth sink onto her bottom lip and her eyes flutter for a brief second as I let my thumb linger over her warm cheek. I want so badly to just reach over and kiss her lips. To feel her skin against mine. But before I can do anything, the car jostles, and I reluctantly wrench myself back.

  “Fuck,” she curses sharply and pulls the car to the side of the road.

  “Wha
t happened?” I ask.

  “Let’s see.” She pops the door open after opening the hood.

  I sit and think about what would have happened if I had done what I desired, if the car hadn’t broken down. None of my thoughts are innocent. I get out and join her at the front of the car when she curses loudly. Smoke is spilling out of a part of the engine. I have no idea what’s wrong with the car because I’m not a car guy in anyway, but she seems to know and groans, reaching in with a wrench I have no idea where she got from.

  “Do you know what’s wrong?”

  “Yeah,” she says shortly, putting her hands on her hips.

  “And?”

  “And I have to go to a body shop to fix it, can’t do it here. Don’t have the equipment.” She leans over and her body jerks as she begins bashing the iron wrench in frustration. I keep my eyes focused on the smoke spilling out and not her ass in those black jeans that fit her too well. “Fuck it!” She pulls back quickly, slamming the hood close, then murmurs an apology. I smile at her affection toward the car she clearly loves but hates at the moment.

  “Can we drive it to an auto shop? Maybe one’s nearby?” I pull out my phone to Google any nearby shops.

  “There aren’t.” She sighs and leans against the hood, biting her thumb. A few moments pass with her face scrunched up in thought. “Maybe I can fix it. Catch the nearest bus to a shop owned by a buddy of mine. But for now, we’re staying at a motel,” she says then rounds the car without another word.

  “Motel?” I question in a fluster, slipping inside the car beside her.

  “Yup.” She presses on the key in the ignition. It sputters and groans, and she mutters, “Come on, baby. Come on,” and the car roars to life. “Fuck, yes.” Switching the gear to drive, she slams on the gas pedal and leaves a dust cloud behind us as she peels onto the long stretch of road.

  “Motel?” I ask again. Something short of anticipation snakes across my lips, and I lick them quickly.

  She sighs, lip ring taut between her teeth. “Yes, motel.” She glances over at me, eyes roving around my confused expression. “Don’t get any ideas. It’s just to hold us over until I get my baby fixed. And I’m sure as hell not sleeping on the side of the road in this car.”

  “Where were we headed anyway?” I have to ask.

  “A bar I was going to tend tonight in Penn. I’m good friends with the manager, and he pays me well. And I thought you could keep me company.” She pauses and grasps for words, clearing her throat. “Plus I had a few ideas for the story.” She looks at me hesitantly, brows caved in. “Sorry if I put you out of your way. Missing any exams?” I’m kind of surprised by her caring when she just whisked me away, but it’s not like I was hesitant in jumping in the car behind her.

  “No,” I answer, and she exhales, looking back onto the road. “But even if there were any exams, I’d still rather be here with you.” A risky thing to say, but I have to. Have to let her know how much she’s getting under my skin. Thunder cracks in the sky, and she looks over at me, mouth hung slightly ajar. I hear the whisper of words she wants to say, basically feel it swim down my spine. But as lightning paints the gloomy sky, she faces the road, letting the thunder and purr of the jittering engine fill the silence.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Twenty minutes later, we pull up to a motel with their ‘VACANCY’ sign glitching. There are a few cars scattered across the small parking lot. I wonder if these people got washed up here because of the sudden rain turned into a storm. The car simmers down to a croak as it shuts off. The sound makes Red close her eyes and sigh as if it pains her just to listen to it. Before I can say or do anything to soothe her, she murmurs, “Let’s go,” before swinging out of the car.

  A bell above the creaky entrance door rings as we enter. A large man in plaid walks off, and we take his spot in front of the clerk. An old lady with snow white hair and crooked glasses looks at us.

  “How may I help you tonight?” she asks, adjusting her falling glasses. But she ends up tucking them in her floral blouse, then smiles at us softly.

  “What’dya got?” Red asks around a tired sigh.

  “Hold on one moment, dear.” The lady whose name is Ruby, based on the name tag on her blouse, turns to an aging computer and taps a few keys. “Hmmm…how do ya feel about a king?”

  King. One bed.

  Red lifts an eyebrow but doesn’t comment.

  “Do you have a double?” I ask on her behalf, my cheeks heating under her gaze.

  “No.” Ruby shakes her head solemnly, squints at us. “But that shouldn’t be a problem for you lovely couple.”

  My cheeks double in heat. “We’re not a couple—”

  “We’ll take it,” Red cuts me off and nudges me. “Don’t be so modest. You’ll take the floor. I hear it’s comfier than the beds in this place,” she murmurs as she pulls out a few bills from her back pocket. “I’m basically doing you a favor.”

  “How will you be paying?” Ruby asks, clearly ignorant to Red’s insult.

  “Card.” I slide out my MasterCard and hand it to her trembling, frail hand before Red can speak. She side eyes me so hard, I shiver but maintain a grin as Ruby processes it.

  “Room 108,” she informs, dropping a single key in my palm. “Enjoy.”

  On the way to the room, Red throws her elbow into my side.

  “Ow! What the heck was that for?” I rub my aching ribs.

  “I could have paid,” she seethes, moving to stomp on my foot. I move out of the way, nearly bumping into a girl wearing a short dress being escorted into a room by a man in a suit. Guess not everyone is washed up here by accident…

  “I didn’t want you to. You already have the car to worry about getting fixed tomorrow,” I explain, but she doesn’t look less pissed. Which, by the way, I plan on helping with, even if it’s just half of whatever the cost comes out to be. It’d just be rude if I didn’t at least chip in.

  Room 108 is relatively small in size. The king looks as Red guessed, unpleasant, and creaks as I test it out by sitting on the edge. But it will do. I slip off my shoes and set them by the door. By the time I turn around, Red’s disappeared. I frown and take a step forward when I hear the groaning sound and water hitting tiles. Then I notice the bathroom door is cracked, golden light stretching across the stained carpet.

  “Okay then.” Blushing, I tug at my t-shirt. I pull off my jean jacket and place it on the hook on the back of the door. I look around, not knowing what to do. I end up checking my phone. I don’t know what I’m searching for, but I have to keep my mind busy. I kept thinking about Red and me sharing the bed, even if she relegated me to the floor. The thought of us sleeping in the same room is still unnerving, even if we’re five feet apart.

  I have a few worried messages from Mike and Ty, even more and a few missed calls from Rachel, and one single call from my mother. She left a voicemail, but I don’t plan on listening to it. She probably just called to make sure I haven’t gotten dragged into a fighting ring. I return the messages from my friends, have a relieved conversation with Rachel, and text my mother that I’m headed to bed and to not look out for a call from me anytime soon.

  By the time I’ve calmed Rachel, I feel a presence in the room. I stiffen, send the message, and click off my phone. I turn to find Red staring at me. My breath stutters. She has a small towel wrapped around her slim body.

  “You wanna go next?”

  “Um…” I look down at my soaked clothes. Even though we parked kind of close to the entrance, we got struck by the rain. Heavily. And I’ll smell if I don’t change or get sick if I don’t at least shower. I stand and nod. “Yeah. I’ll see about some candles.” I gesture to the flickering fluorescent lights above. “You know, before we’re in complete darkness.”

  She doesn’t say anything for a while. “Okay.” She nods.

  “Yup.” I nod back.

  We don’t say anything before she raises a brow. “Well? Aren’t you going to shower?” She holds up a palm in questi
on.

  “Right. Sorry.” Blushing like a stupid school girl, I walk over to her. She steps to the side, but I brush past her, getting my arm wet. I hold in my groan and close the door behind me. I can practically feel her teasing smirk as I lean against the door.

  This night should go by easy-peasy, I think sarcastically.

  Twisting the stuttering faucet to the hottest level, I peel off my wet t-shirt and jeans. Don’t even get me started on my socks. I grimace as I throw them on the wet pile of clothes. There is nothing worse than wearing soaking wet socks. I pause before entering the shower. Red left her shirt in here. I make a mental note to bring it out when I’m leaving.

  I step into the shower and, as I massage my scalp with the cheap scented shampoo, I think of Red.

  I reminisce on our moment in the car before it broke down. How gorgeously rock and roll she looked singing to that Nirvana song and how at peace I felt by her side, watching her. Laughing with her. Singing with her. In the short time I’ve known her, I haven’t seen her glow as bright and beautiful. I want her to remain as glowing and breathtaking because she looked happy. And as weird as it sounds, she made me happy just being near her, seeing her content.

  She isn’t what she appears to others. To me, with me, she seems different. Like herself. Not rough or hardcore. She is both, but when I’m near her, she smiles a little more. Glances at me some more. Especially when I touched her arm. I saw the flutter of her eyes. Her pulling on that lip ring of hers. I ignite something in her, and I want to do it again and again.

  I climb out of the shower ten minutes later with a smile. I swipe my hand against the fogged-up mirror. Plush forest green eyes stare back at me above blushed cheeks and a smile. All because of her. I laugh to myself before splashing water on my face and curling hair. I run a small towel over my face and hair before turning to get dressed.

  But the sight of my seeping clothes makes me grimace and pull on my boxers. That’s it. The room will be dark anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about. I hang up the clothes on the clothes rack, hoping they’ll dry by morning, then swipe up Red’s jacket and leave the room. The bedroom is pitch black, and I have no idea where to step without accidentally bumping into her.