Sweet Distraction ✔︎

[20] 𝑭𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

Evan rubbed his chest, his gaze on the road in front of them. The late-afternoon sun shone in the pale, hazy sky, and a thin ribbon of clouds spread across the horizon. Desert towns stretched out on either side of the interstate, the faint smell of soil and vegetation drifting into the van. Cars and eighteen-wheelers rumbled along the road like a modern-day caravan.

"Your biggest pet peeve?" Isabelle asked.

"Tardiness."

She slanted him a glance. "Really?"

"Yeah. If people say they're going to be somewhere at a certain time or do something by a specific deadline, they should be there and do it. Extenuating circumstances excepted, of course. What about you?"

"People who talk on their cell phones loudly in public. No one wants to hear their conversation. Your turn."

"If you were sent to live on a space station for three months and only allowed to bring three personal items with you, what would they be?"

"Camera, computer, and my packed suitcase."

"Cheating."

"That's how I travel. I take those three things everywhere."

"Ever had something stolen?"

"My wallet and camera, but that was years ago. I know how to be more careful now. So what would you take to a space station?"

"A loaded e-book reader and a girlfriend."

Isabelle laughed. "Three months with a girlfriend in space, and you think you'd even open an e-reader?"

"Not if the girlfriend is the insatiable Lockhart." He shot her a grin.

"If I'm insatiable, it's because of you."

"I know. I get you going."

"I mean you're kind of dirty."

"Kind of? Sahnehäubchen, you wound me."

"In case you hadn't noticed, 'kind of dirty' gets me going. So does your sexy use of untranslatable words."

"I've noticed." He gave her a knowing glance. "Komorebi. Mokita. Sillage."

"Oh, baby, don't stop," Isabelle murmured.

They exchanged smiles. He liked her sitting beside him, her hair loose around her shoulders, her bare arm resting on the console as they headed off on the road together. It was good. A moment of hygge.

"I have to stop now or we'll be stranded." Evan eyed the fuel gauge before he pulled off the highway on to a narrow two-lane road leading to a gas station.

As he refilled the tank, Isabelle went into the convenience store to stock up on water and snacks.

Evan caught a whiff of grilled burgers. His stomach rumbled. He glanced at a ramshackle bar on the other side of the street.

Their trip into the desert had taken longer than expected since Isabelle had wanted to stop and see a bunny museum, giant dinosaur sculptures, and the Sriracha Hot Sauce factory. He'd have gladly taken her to a thousand other roadside attractions, except that he was getting hungry. He replaced the gas pump and took out his phone to check the map.