Sweet Little Memories (Sweet #3)(42)

She yawned and stretched which caught my attention again. I shifted my eyes to watch her briefly before looking back at the road in front of me. It wasn’t that she was beautiful. I’d been with many beautiful women. It was more that her beauty. Something deeper and pure that couldn’t be faked. It was there drawing you in. Making you want to be worthy of her.

“Where are we?” she asked with a raspy voice.

“An hour from Macon,” I replied.

“Georgia!” she asked sitting up quickly.

“Yes, I did say we were going north,” I reminded her. North of Tallahassee was Georgia.

“But I need to get out of the state. At least. It’s why I went south. Florida was close but it was still a distance from Savannah.” She sounded panicked. I wanted to know why she needed to leave Savannah. What was it that was making her do this? I knew Stone wasn’t a threat. There had to be something else.

“I was thinking Tennessee, but if that’s too far we can go east and head into South Carolina. Not far but a different state,” I told her.

She groaned. “This is using too much gas. I am on a budget. We can’t keep driving all over the Southeast. I need to make a decision and go there.”

I glanced at the gas tank. I’d filled it up an hour ago. “I’m paying for the gas while I’m with you,” I told her. “Don’t argue with me. I made the road trip longer than you intended for it to be. The gas is on me.”

She lifted the side of her mouth in a smirk but she didn’t argue. She was worried about money. Again, why would she leave a job she seemed to love and the security of Stone’s apartment? What was it that would send her running? I started to ask and stopped myself. She wasn’t going to tell me, it was pointless to pry.

“Hungry?” I asked. It was four hours since her breakfast and that hadn’t been much. I’d expected her to pull out a chicken biscuit. That was what that place was famous for. But she’d had grilled nuggets and apples. Not exactly filling.

She nodded. “Yes.”

I started looking for an exit with good food. Or at least decent food. There wasn’t going to be that many options on this stretch of interstate. Not until we got closer to a large city. “What are you in the mood for?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Anything. I’m not picky.”

I already knew that, but I hated to be the one to choose.

“Mexican?” I asked.

She didn’t say anything and I glanced at her and she was biting her bottom lip. I thought she liked Mexican but the strange nervous expression she was making made me think she’d changed her mind.

“Maybe not Mexican then. How about Italian? Pasta sound good?” I asked glancing back at her again to see her reaction.

She looked relieved and let go of the lip she was chewing on. “That sounds nice,” she replied. I didn’t ask what about Mexican set her off but it was going to bug me.

“I think there’s an Italian place up ahead. I saw the sign for it a few miles back. They’ve got good breadsticks. Haven’t been there in years though. Since my early college days.”

She didn’t say anything. I had texted Stone while I was getting gas and let him know I had found her and we were headed north from Tallahassee. I wasn’t ready to be his buddy again. I had to work through my own shit and accept this. What I was doing and why. Then I could face him and apologize. Try to save a friendship I never thought I would be without.

He had simply texted. “Thank you.” Nothing more. No questions. Honestly, his nonchalance had pissed me off. Did he not want to know how she was? If she was upset? Sad? Hurt? Anything? Fuck, he was a good man. I knew that. But when he shut you out he did it completely. Was he planning on doing that to her? Could he? And if he did would I be able to choose between the two?

I glanced at her side profile. She was alone in this world. I didn’t know details but I knew she wasn’t leaving Savannah easily. Heidi was too important to her. There had to be a very good reason. And I didn’t believe it was her fault. Stone was the one who I knew could be so damn dark that it was hard to be around him. He could shut off and withdraw. It was easier to believe he had made a mistake. He had made her believe she wasn’t wanted. Than to think she had done anything to cause this.

His friendship was something I needed in this life. I knew that now better than I had before. Being without it hadn’t been easy. But loving Beulah was the same. Being without her wasn’t easy. If I eventually had to pick one it would be the hardest choice of my life.

“Jasper,” she said almost too quietly.

“Yes?”

“I need you to pull over. Now.” There was panic in her voice. I put on a blinker and slowed down to ease off the road. It wasn’t safe to be on the side of the interstate, but I didn’t question her. The moment I got the car stopped she threw open her door, jumped out and immediately bent at the waist and began to vomit. Over and over.

I watched her a second before it sank in. It began to make sense. Reaching for the door handle I got out of the car and walked around to her. The circumstances for her running, the sadness, the easy acceptance of my presence. It was all because of this.

When she was done, she put her hands on her knees and lifted her head to look at me. She was pale. Her eyes seemed larger than normal and they were now watery. “Thanks,” she said then stood up. She didn’t say more only turned went back to the car, got a napkin out of the bag from earlier, cleaned her face, put the napkin back in the bag and turned to place it on the ground outside. When she did she glanced back at me again. “I know it’s littering but I can’t . . . I need it out of the car.”