Salty

Twenty-Six | Two Coffees and a Stolen Worcestershire

Twenty-Six | Ollie

Relief. Finally, we'd made it off the farm and were headed back to Chicago. I had watched my mother's heart shatter all over again as I backed my way down the drive. I'd forced myself to promise her I'd be back soon, knowing it was a promise only meant for breaking. This trip had been salvageable for one reason, and one reason only... Sloan. She was sitting beside me, flipping through a catalog of old CDs, attempting to pick the music for our drive home. She picked Shania Twain; I picked Garth Brooks. We settled on Jason Aldean. "You Make it Easy" had me singing along, with fingertips tapping the steering wheel as I drove. Meanwhile, Sloan shook her head with the cutest smile—one I hoped would last longer than just this trip.

"What?" I asked, unable to hold back my grin.

Sloan giggled. "That country boy look just got so much hotter." She tucked one foot beneath an outstretched leg, making herself more comfortable. "I see it now. The plaid, the food you cook when you're not trying to be trendy, the country music..."

"I'm a total farm boy. I tried telling you I was."

"I like it."

And I liked that she liked it. There were so many things I liked about her I wouldn't even know where to start. Her wit, her intelligence, her character—they were all things I thought I'd never enjoy in a woman again. Sloan was sexy without trying, and it wasn't just her body that made her that way. Although her body didn't hurt. Even the way she was currently yawning, curling herself up in the passenger seat, was something that I liked about Sloan. I did not like the way her yawning made me do the same, though. My exhaustion was catching up with me.

"I don't know how you're still awake," Sloan said, observing my own yawn. "How much sleep do you get per night?"

Even my sigh was tired. Not much. Less than usual as of late; that was for sure. Between the sex after the movie, and waking up ridiculously early to overthink my surroundings and to start breakfast, I figured about two hours. That number may have been typical, but usually I found time for a nap between classes and working at the restaurant. With it being Christmas and having to drive back tonight, there really wasn't time for it. The only time I could have used was taken by a shower that I still had on my mind. It was worth the lack of rest.

"Are you okay with driving?"

"I'm fine." I immediately followed my words with another drawn-out yawn. I shared a glance with Sloan, seeing her brows raised high on her head, calling the bluff. "There's a McDonalds on the way out of town. We'll get coffee."

She seemed to like that plan.

>><<

"Two large coffees, black." As we sat in the drive-through, I had a horrible feeling this would not be the only stop for coffee on the way home.

Sloan cleared the trash we'd accumulated from our last trip from the cupholders while I progressed through the line of cars. At one point, her slim body was half-way between the two front seats, rummaging through her bags in the back with her sexy ass up in the air. It took everything in me not to smack it, but I thought better of it with the person at the drive-through window looking in on us. I smiled, thinking about it.

After Sloan had settled back into the seat, I was handed two steaming hot coffees by the drive-through attendant. When I went to set the first coffee into the open cupholder, the bottom of the cup bumped something I wasn't expecting. Lifting the arm that was obstructing my view, I saw a brown bottle was sitting in the cup's spot.

Sloan took the coffee from my hand, putting it up to her lips that could not control the smile she was trying to hide. There was no holding back her laughter that followed.