BAYOU

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"Hey," Angel nudged Sugarplum before she could rest her head and close her eyes. "Hey, hey. Don't get too comfortable. Cuz you can only take a nap if you want me to take a nap too." It had probably been an hour since he peeled out of the parking lot, leaving Sugarplum's sisters in complete disarray. He had to turn her phone off and put it in his pocket, (where he knew she'd never reach.) "So if you want this vehicle to go into true automatic, then by all means, get your rest."

"Isn't that its thing? To drive itself?"

"What, you do research?"

"Please," she held a hand up to signal her annoyance and above all, boundary. She wasn't about to do this with him, he assumed. Not on this long road trip.

"I love it when you beg." He smiled wide, eyes on her just to see her nose crinkle. "Truth be told, I missed you. Even though you keep disappointing me."

"And are you supposed to be my dad? To feel this so-called disappointment?"

"I could be that."

"You could never."

"You think about me at all?"

"Not once."

"Even after you almost murdered me."

"Nope."

"Damn, mi cielo, that's cold."

"It's like that sometimes."

"We kissed."

She was quiet then, suddenly concerned with the cars passing by.

"I'm talking big, wet kisses that usually lead to nasty, sloppy sex."

"A lapse of judgement for me." She shrugged. "It's been a while, that's all."

"So you might just accidentally fuck me in Atlanta? Is that what you're saying."

"Someone, perhaps. Just not you."

He mashed the brakes in the middle of the interstate, garnering a few upset drivers to honk their horns and speed by at the disruption. His tires were too expensive to screech.

She braced herself against the passenger seat, the seatbelt the only thing saving her from jerking forward. One hand was over her chest to regulate her heart rate.

He shook his head. "You think about blinking in another man's direction and I will snipe him."

"No, you won't."

"I will. You're my girlfriend."

"That's the thing, I'm playing a role, Angel. I'm acting. Acting like I'd ever date you just so you can prove your crush wrong when she's right. The same crush who is also your best friend's lover, I might add. The situation is fucked as it is."

"Says the girl who turned her ex into sushi."

"You know what,"

"It's true." He placed his hand in her lap, which she moved and he set back. Firmly, he spoke."Don't embarrass me."

"Your little demands make me want to do the exact opposite, I hope you know."

"And I hope you know, you'll act right even if I have to put my whole hand inside you like a sock puppet."

"A sock puppet, wow, that is...Has porn rotted your brain to this degree? Or is it something else sinister?"

"Does it look like I watch porn?"

She gave him a brief once-over.

"No, seriously. Look at who you're talking to and ask yourself if I've ever needed to watch porn a day in my life."