I nod for him to leave the room with the hopes that I can convince her more on my own.
He takes the hint.
“Five minutes, downstairs, in Crosby’s truck.”
My hands fly up from the fact that he volunteered me to drive.
Once he’s out of the room, I change seats to the edge of the bed, closing in on her.
“You need the stress relief,” I say.
She shakes her head. “Don’t bait me.”
“How about, you’re too chicken to jump off a cliff?”
“Yep, I am. You’re not going to win this one.”
“What if I kidnap you for the day?”
“I’d like to see you try.” She continues to fold each piece of clothing Jen obviously threw carelessly into her suitcase.
She’s too busy to see me come behind her and scoop her up into my arms. Her fists sting my skin, but I swing her over my shoulder, digging in her suitcase for a swimsuit. Thankfully, Jen is flighty and thought she’d actually need one because I get lucky when I search a pouch and pull out a nice purple bikini.
“This is wrong!” she screams.
“You need to have a little bit of fun,” I say to her. I dodge her kicking feet to make sure they don’t hit my goods.
“I have fun.”
I let her slide down the length of my body, my hands gliding over her legs and hips until her feet land on the ground.
“No, you don’t.” I shake my head. “Please.” I go with the puppy-dog act.
Her body relaxes. “Fine. For one hour.” She holds up her finger in front of my face. “Now, get out, so I can change.”
“Okay. One hour,” I lie. Once I get her out of this house, we won’t be coming back for a while. “I’m calling Spence.”
I grab my swimsuit and leave the room to wait for her to join us downstairs.
Twenty minutes later, her thigh is pressed against mine in the cab of my truck. We pull up to the dorm, and Spencer and Ariel hop in the truck bed.
Ella hits Jen in the shoulder next to her. “You go in the bed. My sister can’t.”
I’ve never witnessed her being this bossy. Jen must have pissed her off with this move into the baseball house.
“I don’t want my hair to get all messy,” Jen complains, touching her neatly secured bun.
“What does it matter if it’s the wind or Saucey’s hand?” Ella asks.
Jen draws back, taking offense.
“Listen, my truck, my rules. Ariel needs to be up front.” I lean forward so Jen sees me.
Jen huffs. “You’re only doing that because you want to get in her pants.”
I shrug. I could argue, but in a roundabout way, it’s the truth. Not to mention, it’s my damn truck.
She opens the door and goes around back, and when Ariel refuses to come into the cab, Ella gets up onto her knees, sticks her face through the window, and demands she does it. My eyes eat up her short shorts, leaving my imagination going wild with thoughts of my hands on that ass. Unable to behave myself, I slap it.
“Ouch!” she screeches. She whips around her arm, smacking me in the shoulder.
“Sorry.” I hold up my hands in defense.
“Why did you do that?” she asks.
“Old times’ sake,” I say.
She rolls her eyes, watching Ariel come to the front.
Ariel climbs in with a clear scowl directed at her sister. “This is lame.” She turns to Ella. “Why do you have to act like my mother? Hasn’t anyone told you to relax and have fun?”
She used to be fun before the accident.
“I can’t have anything happen to you. What would Mom say?”
“She’d say that I’m eighteen, and I make my own decisions.”
“Right. If you had heard them last night. They were ready to lock you in a closet,” Ella says.
Ariel’s lips droop.
“I’m sorry,” she says, cowering down to her sister.
Ella grabs ahold of her leg and squeezes. “Don’t be.”
Their code of a conversation confuses me, but it’s obviously a sister moment.
Ariel wraps her arm over Ella’s shoulders, pulling her to herself. Ella rests her head on her shoulder, and Ariel kisses the top of Ella’s head before murmuring something in her ear. Trying to pay attention to the road and eavesdrop on the conversation occurring literally right next to me, I chastise myself for being distracted while driving.
If Ella didn’t look miserable, I could focus, but I swear, I was put on this earth to ensure her happiness, meaning every time she’s down, I need