Road Trip (Jenna Ortega X Emma Myers)

Chapter 11 | Jenna - On the road

We didn't talk about it the next day, not at first.

But on the other hand, at least we didn't pretend it never happened. That was an improvement over the last few...incidents. I knew I was pushing the boundaries of the safe zone a little, but I couldn't help trying. Emma slept late as usual, so I grabbed breakfast in the lobby coffee shop by myself. Once I was done, I picked up her coffee and breakfast pastry, a Danish today, and brought them back to the room. She was up by the time I got back, already showered and dressed.

"Hey! How are you feeling? Relaxed?" I bounced my eyebrows, desperate for her to go along with the joke. Her face paled for just a moment, but she apparently decided that what happened last night was one step too far to just ignore.

She smiled faintly. "Spoiled, even." An enormous grin split my face, and she reached out a hand for her breakfast.

"Especially when you fetch my coffee."

I handed it over along with the Danish.

"Muffin," I said. She just rolled her eyes, but I supposed I could take that. I knew very well that I stumbled too far on the goofy side of the goofy-sexy balance I was trying to walk. The stupid muffin joke wasn't helping, but I couldn't stop myself. At least Emma was willing to put up with me for this whole drive.

Emma was in a particularly good mood, it seemed. She offered to start the drive, something that hadn't happened before. Usually, she would take one or two shifts in the middle of the day to give me a break. But she seemed to like driving as a way to let her mind wander without working, so I didn't argue.

Aliyah texted me a couple of hours into the drive.

Aliyah: how did you like your surprise?

Me: Uhhh what?

Aliyah: did it work?

Me: Ok, um... I don't know what you're talking about? and you're being weird

Incoming Call: Aliyah

I shot Emma a glance. She was lost in her podcast.

"Hey, my sister's calling. Do you mind if I take it?"

"Go for it," she said. She tried to pause the podcast, but when I answered the phone, the car's bluetooth took over and patched the call through the stereo.

"Jenna! You have got to answer your phone more. We haven't talked since... two days ago?" Aliyah's voice came through clear and cheerful. It was true, we hadn't talked since the break-in and that was unusual for us. I had texted her a bunch yesterday, sure, but we hadn't talked.

"Sorry!" I whispered to Emma.

"I'll switch it." I tried to find the control to take it off Bluetooth and back to my headphones, but Emma waved me off.

"It's fine," she said at a normal volume. Aliyah gasped through the phone, and Emma chuckled.

"Hello, sister..I've..heard..so..much..about," she said patiently.

"Hello iconic-lesbian-tech-star-I-admire," Aliyah quickly shot back. Emma laughed again, a real laugh that made me smile. I was right: they would get along great. But then Aliyah continued, and my dreams of friendship between the two of them were destroyed.

"I was trying to ask Jenna, did you two like your surprise?"

I jumped in.

"Aliyah, I don't know what you're talking about. Did you somehow orchestrate the break...in? Because no, we didn't like it."

Aliyah snorted.

"No, dummy. The honeymoon suite!"

My heart dropped to my stomach. I glanced over at Emma and saw she had plastered on a stony blankness, eyes fixed on the road.