Don't You Trust Me?

Chapter 16- Nobody is "Yours"

~Jax's POV~

"Maybe we should get gas. We only have a half a tank."

Silence.

"Was that a pop? We should stop and check the tires. I think I have an air tire pressure gauge."

Wind whipping outside the car windows, howling and screeching by.

"Okay- how can you not hear that engine? We have got to stop at an auto body shop. I'm afraid there's something seriously wrong. We should get a whole diagnostic done!"

I slid my eyes off the road, locking on Nathaniel's shrinking form. When he had fully formed a sheepish puddle in the passenger's seat, I focused back on the road.

Some silence followed as the miles flew by under our tires. Then, "Can we at least stop to get some food? I'm starving."

My continued silence must have tipped him off, because Nathaniel slyly checked himself out in the side mirror and wiped the still sticky barbecue sauce off of his face. We were only 2 hours from home now, and closing fast.

Nathaniel and I spent the night up in the mountains camping, then all morning fishing. After losing three hooks to large fish that were way smarter than me and feeling like I was failing at cheating, I flung my fishing pole to the grass and trudged into the knee deep area of the river where Nathaniel was hanging out. I shimmied behind the rock to avoid the sweeping current and began my humiliating couple of hours of entertaining the fish that were probably swimming around and around my feet as I flailed my net in the icy, churning waters.

Feeling ridiculous with my nose and lip piercings and numerous tattoos in a red flannel shirt and Nathaniel's old thigh high rubber fishing boots- and finally admitting to myself I wouldn't know what to do with a fish if I ever caught one- I ducked and not very gracefully spread eagled as I carefully slid my feet across the river bed and tossed the net onto the banks when I got close enough. I pulled my black leather jacket- the only thing that even resembles my normal clothing- tighter around me as I braced against the chilly air and made my way slowly back to the big rock of safety. If I get swept off my feet and fly away to some far off land, or get mauled and munched by some gigantic, hungry, and sexually frustrated bear before I get to tell Josette I won't live another day without tackling and smacking a huge, wet kiss on her perfect little face every day for the rest of my life, I'm gonna kill you...

I perched on the rock in the center of the river and glared at Nathaniel. As stupid as he is for fooling around with some girl when he has a real, genuine, drop dead gorgeous girl like Zoe actually committed to him, I couldn't bring myself to chastise him any more. He already felt terrible enough all by himself- and as much as I didn't want to admit it as I quietly seethed about how his awesome blonde man bun and manly tan looked semi decent (alright, majestic) in the woods with some fishing gear, everybody makes mistakes. Some more unforgivable than others, but that's life.

My already mangled self esteem and limping manhood could only take so much of Nathaniel's macho fishing skills before I ended up yanking him out of the river and shoving him in the car with our two tents and fishing gear. Other than to try and convince me to extend our stay away from his reckoning day, he hasn't spoken one word to me this whole trip. I checked my phone for service and held back my smirk when bars of signal finally began to flirt their way back into my phone. Don't want to talk Nathaniel? Well, my friend, sorry but that's about to change.

"Actually... I think I did just hear something..." I threw a glance at him and bit back a chuckle at his hopeful expression. "Let me just pull over..."

With no cars behind us, or anywhere in sight, I slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road with my hazard lights on. Nathaniel and I got out and I popped the trunk. As Nathaniel walked around to meet me, me half sucked into the pulsating cluster of gear and equipment and avoiding areas where I thought I heard angry squirrel growls and chirps, I finally closed my hand around what I was looking for.