Road Trip with a Nerd - Stephanie Street Page 0,2

memory to look back on when my parents disowned me for turning down scholarships to stay home and help them.

“Sure. You can ride with me.”

Fascinated, I watched as her expression brighten like I’d told her she won the lottery. Riding in the car with me couldn’t possibly compare to winning millions of dollars, but Mallory’s face said it just might.

Then she threw her arms around me, and I felt like I’d won a million dollars.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She jumped up and down. Our bodies rubbed together in a way that made me want to pull her closer. Thankfully, she pulled away before I could.

I had a feeling the next two days would be filled with me trying not to make a fool of myself.

“Let me call my sister,” she said, putting her cell to her ear.

Standing rooted to the tiled floor of the hotel lobby, I waited while Mallory paced a few feet away. Almost immediately, she began whispering furiously into the phone. I couldn’t hear everything, but a few choice words reached my ear, mostly because Mallory’s voice raised a bit when she said them.

“Get home…Matt.” Ugh, Matt Jensen, her jerk boyfriend. “Text…please …don’t tell Mom and Dad.”

I heard my name, followed by a surreptitious glance over her shoulder. Mallory gave me a small smile before focusing on her phone call with more whispering.

“Grant Baker…you know him.” And then the words I knew everyone used to describe me. Smart. Nerd.

Right.

Unwanted feelings of inadequacy flooded me. I should have just let her find her own way home. She was supposed to stay with her sister, which meant she already had a ticket for a later date. I should tell her no. This was a bad idea. Graduation was almost three weeks ago and I promised myself I’d never set foot in my high school again.

And I’d never, ever subject myself to the jerks I went to school with. For a fleeting moment I thought Mallory might be different. I guess I was wrong. Or maybe, I’d been right all along.

Finally, Mallory straightened. “I’ll text you. Yes.” She rolled her pretty eyes. “I promise. I have to go.” She disconnected the call and turned toward me again.

“Let’s get out of here.”

I was stuck.

Chapter Two

Mallory

“You drove here in that?” This was a mistake. A huge giant mistake. Not only did I barely know Grant Baker—contrary to what I’d told my sister—he’d driven to Salt Lake in…that!

Grant’s brow pulled low over his eyes as he scanned the vehicle. “What’s wrong with my truck?”

Placing my hand on my cocked hip, I shot him a look. “Is that what you’re calling this thing? A truck? Because ‘truck’ seems rather generous, don’t you think?”

Grant frowned as he walked to the bed of the rusted out farm truck and tossed his duffle bag in the back beside another larger bag and a red cooler.

“I didn’t bring a tarp. If it rains, your stuff is going to get wet. I wouldn’t leave any electronics in there.” He ignored the insults I’d slung at his truck as he walked back to where I stood and reached for the handle on my suitcase.

“I can do it,” I insisted, but he didn’t pay attention to that, either. Instead, he easily lifted my heavy suitcase and set it down beside his bag in the bed of the truck. I glanced into the cab. Definitely not enough room for us and our stuff. I had my phone in my pocket, but my tablet was in my backpack, which also wouldn’t fit in the cab. I dug my tablet out before slinging the bag into the bed of the truck beside my suitcase.

Without another word, Grant opened the driver’s side door with a loud screech. He paused just before lifting his leg onto the floorboard, his deep brown eyes meeting mine over the hood.

“You coming or not?” he asked.

The time had come to commit to this crazy idea of mine or back out. I could still change my mind, call Jenny, and deal with Matt and Livvy in two weeks.

The image of my boyfriend embracing my best friend screamed across my mind. How could they do that to me? It was the question I kept asking myself over and over. I’d sent texts to both of them, begging for answers, for them to tell me it was all a big mistake.

I hadn’t heard from either of them.

I had to get home.

Decision made, I marched to the passenger door of Grant’s