Road Trip with a Nerd - Stephanie Street Page 0,11

cut me off.

“No, I mean it. We didn’t do anything wrong. I walked into a public place and was jumped by a homeless man. Maybe we could have been more careful and stuck together, but it was still him. He did it. And you saved me. I’m so, so glad you came in when you did.”

Reaching out, I covered her hand with mine, amazed by how easily I’d fallen into the habit of touching her in small ways. “I am, too. That scared me to death. I was freaking out that I wouldn’t be able to get you away from him.”

Mallory smiled. “You tackled him like a pro. You should have played football.”

I snorted as I released her hand to pick up the rest of my sandwich. “Yeah, right. Like I had time for football.”

She watched while I took a big bite, leaving just enough for another. “Did you want to play?”

I shrugged as I chewed. “I guess, maybe. It wasn’t really an option. Football season is the same as harvest season,” I answered once I swallowed.

She thought about that for a second. “Harvest season?”

I smirked. “You know when the tractors go into the fields and take out all the corn and beans.” We lived on the outskirts of Indianapolis. Mallory lived in a more suburban area, I couldn’t remember how I knew that, but I lived out in the county on my parent’s farm.

She gave me a look. “I know what harvest season is, smarty pants. I just don’t know what it has to do with you.”

It struck me that while I knew stuff about Mallory, she didn’t know much about me. It was kind of depressing to realize I was a stalker. “I live on a farm. I work six hours a day after school for most of September and October. Doesn’t leave much time for sports.”

Not that I would have played anyway. Until I hit a growth spurt over the last two years, I was too scrawny to play football. I would have gotten my butt kicked.

“Wow. I had no idea.”

I glanced up to find her studying me. “Why would you?”

That made her frown. “As you pointed out earlier, we’ve known each other since kindergarten.”

“Yeah, well, we hardly hang with the same crowds.”

Her frown deepened, but she didn’t reply. We finished our food in silence, then took our wrappers and containers to the garbage.

“You need anything before we get back on the road?” I asked before opening the door for her.

Mallory shook her head.

Back at the truck, I dug through the cooler for two water bottles. They were still cold from the ice from the machines at the hotel. Mallory got in on my side and slid over into the passenger seat, answering my question if she was feeling any better. I thought it was a good sign she wasn’t as attached to my hip as she had been.

Although, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I missed her pressed close to my side.

Chapter Five

Mallory

After the gas station, we got back on the road. Wyoming had a lot of brown mountains. After Rawlins, we passed Laramie and then Cheyenne. At around three or so, we crossed the state line into Nebraska.

It had been tempting to keep sitting in the seat right next to Grant, I missed his solid strength beside me, but then I remembered Matt, my supposed boyfriend, the whole reason I was even in this truck with Grant.

I still hadn’t heard anything from Matt or Livvy. Which was weird in and of itself. Livvy and I texted or talked constantly throughout the day, and I hadn’t heard anything from her for over thirty-six hours. Matt had texted me the night before I left the hotel. We hadn’t said much, just kind of touching base like we sometimes did, but that was it, the last time I’d heard from him.

And something had happened between Grant and me in the last few hours. We hadn’t talked much, but going through something traumatic together had forged some kind of connection, and that connection felt good. In fact, it felt amazing. And now—much as I’d begun this trip, my head filled with thoughts of Matt and Livvy—all I could think about was Grant.

“How far are we going to drive today?” I asked. It also occurred to me I had no idea what the plan was for the day. Where were we stopping? Were we going to get a hotel room? Did he plan to drive straight through? “I’d offer