Road Trip (Jenna Ortega X Emma Myers)

Chapter 12 | Jenna - Oklahoma city

I knew things would be different now, but it still caught me by surprise when Emma tugged insistently at her bag. I had it swung over my shoulder as we made our way towards the hotel lobby, but she eventually succeeded in pulling it down my arm. It dropped onto the asphalt with a thump.

"Emma, what are you doing?" I asked.

"You're not carrying my bags for me anymore," she said with a little frown.

"God, was it always this heavy?" The bag slipped off her shoulder and she struggled to keep her balance.

I laughed. "Yes, it hasn't changed. Just let me..." I reached for the bag again, but she hastily shifted it to her other shoulder, wobbling as she adjusted for the other bag in her hands.

"No!" she insisted.

"From now on, your job ends the second you park the moving truck in the parking lot of whatever hotel we're staying at that night. You're only my driver, not some sort of creepy full service assistant. If we're going to do the friends with benefits thing, I need a clear boundary between your work duties and your...friend duties."

I grinned. "Sure, friend duties."

She laughed too, and I took the opportunity to reach for the other bag she held, the opaque plastic one from the adult boutique we stopped at. She had ordered and paid online and refused to tell me what it was.

"Fine," she said.

"You can carry that one, but only because it's not my luggage. It's for you, too." I opened the top to peer inside. I only saw the top of a black box before I felt a slap on my arm.

"Hey!"

"What? If it's for me, I should get to see it!"

Emma rolled her eyes.

"I promise you'll see it later, just not until after we've had dinner." A light pink had appeared across her collarbones, and my eyes got stuck there for a moment. She shifted awkwardly under the weight of her suitcase again, and I managed to dislodge my gaze. I reached for the bag again, but she sidestepped me and raised an eyebrow.

"Driver only, remember?"

"Hang on, what about being your bodyguard?"

She scoffed. "That was a self-administered title."

"Uh...uh." I shook my head.

"I signed something saying I was responsible for you. You can't back out of that now."

"Jenna, you're not responsible for me." Her face was a mixture of strained patience and baffled charm. Ah yes, my sweet spot.

"You never were. That's not the driver's job. I just wanted to make sure I was legally covered in case you were reckless and crashed. And now that I've seen you drive, I know that's not going to happen."

I stuck my chin out, determined not to lose this one.

"Well, too bad. I'm choosing to keep taking responsibility for you. I kinda like knowing it's my job to keep you safe."

There was definitely amusement in her expression now. A smile tugged at her lips, but she beat it back. Emma brushed past me and the door I held open for her, strolling into the lobby with her eyes determinedly forward.

"Fine," she said.

"Then I'll continue to hold you responsible for my life."

I grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

It felt silly to be shy with each other now. We'd already done... things ...and this shouldn't have been any different. But somehow, copying Emma and accepting a shot of something green just inside the entrance to the bar, I felt another jolt of nerves. I trailed after Emma as she fought her way through the crowd and to a table.