Page 42 of One Wrong Step
Seriously? “Noted, Vivian. Thanks.”
Something smacks me in the face. I sit up and stare at the extra pillow now on my bed.
He crosses his arms and juts out his hip. A smile tugs at his lips.
I slip the pillow behind me and lean back on the bed. “Thanks.”
His eyes widen and then narrow. “That’s my pillow.”
I should be worried by that look. But instead, I’m fully energized. “Yeah? Come get it.”
He sucks in a breath and his eyes darken. Fuck. What am I doing? But then he’s by my bed and he grabs the pillow. My hand shoots out, circling his wrist. His pulse is racing, his breathing fast as our eyes meet. “Drop the pillow, Vivian.”
His hand opens, releasing the pillow. I’m so fucking hard already. But the sound he makes—almost a whimper—has me forgetting why this is a terrible idea.
Do do do, do do do.
I grab my phone from the nightstand, not bothering to check who’s calling. What the fuck am I doing? I’m not sure if I’m more disappointed or relieved. “Hello?”
“Is everything okay?” Dad asks, his voice hesitant as if he’s afraid to even ask.
I rub my forehead. “Everything’s fine, Dad. What’s up?”
“We don’t feel like going out, so we’re ordering pizza. Are you guys good with that?”
“Sounds good to me. Not sure about Vivian. I’ll put you on speaker.” I press the button. “Go ahead.”
Dad repeats himself, and Vivian agrees. After giving our preferences, Dad hangs up, and we’re once again alone.
“I’m freshening up,” Vivian announces. I thought he already did that. But I don’t say a word as he grabs his bag and retreats to the bathroom.
I fall back on my bed with a groan. Talking to Dad helped me calm down. I can stay that way as long as I don’t think about the look in Vivian’s eyes. Or the way he responded to me. Or the fact that he might be naked in the shower—stop it, Jonah.
Jumping up, I pace the room instead. I need to shower. I can smell myself, and it’s not good. But will I have time before the food arrives? Dad wants me to get the pizza from the lobby, so probably not.
And for some reason, Vivian is taking forever. When it’s finally my turn, I wash my face and my pits. And put on more deodorant. Then I stare at myself in the mirror.
Get a grip, Jonah. On your sanity, not your stepbrother.
I laugh at that. This entire trip has been insane.
“You don’t have to fix everything.”
Vivian had sounded concerned, but that couldn’t be right. My brain is obviously exhausted and hearing things that aren’t there.
When the food arrives, we gather in Dad and Carolynda’s room to eat. Maisy is playing with Bell and has to be cajoled into eating. Not me. I’m starving.
As I tear into my food, I catch Vivian watching me. He shakes his head. “Caveman.”
“Princess,” I reply with a mouthful of pizza.
“God, you’re disgusting.”
“So,” Carolynda says over our arguing, “we’re a little off schedule, but not by much. Colorado Springs tomorrow. There’s a Pride parade at ten. Do we want to try and do Pike’s Peak after or skip it?”
“It’ll take us five and a half hours to get to Durango.” The thought of getting off schedule makes my skin itch. “It might be better to skip it.”
“You were really excited about Pike’s Peak, sweetheart. We should go.” Dad gives her a mushy smile.
She kisses his cheek. “It’s a big mountain, George. I’ll still get to see it.”
We don’t really decide on anything, which bothers me more than I care to admit. I had a plan. And that plan went to hell on the first day.
After we eat, Vivian and I head for the door.
“I told you they could do it,” Carolynda says in amusement. “It’s been an entire day, and they haven’t killed each other.”
“Yet.” Dad laughs. “They haven’t killed each other yet.”
