Road Trip with a Nerd - Stephanie Street Page 0,17

parents. I had a feeling they wouldn’t be okay with me sleeping in the bed of Grant’s truck tonight. With him. Something I’d been trying not to think about too hard myself.

My feelings about Grant had been wonky since the rest area. As much I didn’t want to, I couldn’t help feeling attracted to him. Like I’d been wearing blinders, and they’d been lifted, allowing me to see the real Grant. I liked the real Grant…a lot. He was cute. Hot. Looking at him made me feel things. Fluttery things. Warm things.

What about Matt?

Matt kissed my best friend!

But he was familiar, and everything was changing. Wasn’t that why I’d stayed with him in the first place?

Grant

We drove for another three hours until we reached the little town with the campground where I’d stayed on the way out to Utah. I’d done my research and tried to find a family-friendly campground that had bathrooms and showers. After twelve hours without air conditioning, a shower sounded like heaven. Mallory probably thought so, too.

I pulled up in front of the little cabin where the camp host stayed and reached for my wallet. “I’ll be right back,” I told Mallory, but then stopped. “Unless you want to come in?”

She shook her head. “I’m good. I can wait here.” She could see me through the sliding glass doors leading into the cabin. I knew I’d be able to see her as well.

“Okay. It should only take a second.” I jogged up the steps and opened the glass door. The lady behind the counter wasn’t the same one who’d checked me in last week.

“Can I get a tent site for the night, please?” I asked as I dug through my wallet for a ten-dollar bill.

The lady typed something on her computer. “That’ll be ten dollars.” She held out her hand for the money. In exchange, she gave me a little slip of paper to clip to a pole at the tent site. “You’ll be at number six. Here’s a map.” She circled the cabin in red ink, then drew a line to site number six toward the backside of the campground. The sites were organized in a big oval. In the center were a playground and a building with bathrooms and showers. She turned the paper over. “These are camp rules. Just clean up after yourself and keep quiet after ten, and we won’t have any problems.”

“You got it. Thanks a lot.” Drawing attention to myself was the last thing I wanted. After this morning, I figured flying under the radar was the best bet for keeping Mallory safe until I could get her home. The thought of anything else happening to her made my stomach twist into knots.

Catching sight of Mallory through the windshield as I left the cabin, I wanted to throw myself at her feet and confess my feelings, feelings I’d had for a long time. For most of the day, she’d stayed close to me, held my hand, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t getting to me. The superficial attraction I’d felt for years had turned into something more. I’d longed to be the guy who held Mallory’s attention for as long as I could remember, but now? The desire was almost painful. I had no idea how I would get over these hours with her. Part of me realized I wouldn’t. I’d probably always wonder what might have been.

“Did you get it?” she asked as I slid back behind the wheel.

“Yep.” I held up an index card with my last name and the number of the site.

Mallory swiped her hands down her legs nervously. Maybe I should have sprung for a hotel room, but that would have been even more awkward. Sleeping outside, I could try to pretend we were kids camping out in my backyard.

I snorted to myself.

Yeah, right.

“What?” Mallory asked, hearing the noise.

“Nothing. Just— nothing.” Talking about it would only add to the awkwardness. Instead, I drove around to the tent site and backed my truck into the spot.

Now what?

“Do you want to—” I started to say.

“I’m dying for a shower,” she said at the same time.

“Oh, sure,” I agreed.

“Do I want to what?” she asked. We talked over each other again, making me grin.

“You go first,” Mallory said with a laugh.

I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. Let’s go shower.” My cheeks burned. Crap! What did I just say?

Mallory’s eyes widened comically, but I couldn’t even appreciate how funny she looked because what did I just