Ready To Go (5 page)

“Well, that’s true,” Nicole said, but she rolled her eyes. “This isn’t fate or anything, okay? We’re total strangers. The most we know about each other is names. Thanks for the ride, Daniel; don’t try to learn my life story.”

“Sorry,” he said. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, kept his eyes on the road.

She sighed. “Okay, I know I’m coming off like a bitch here. You are a nice guy, and I really do appreciate this. But there’s no point in flirting, or really getting to know each other. You’re staying here and I’m going to California. I don’t
want
to get to know you. After today, we’ll never talk, so what’s the point?” She was still a bit worried that he might demand she sleep with him. It’s not that she was a virgin, or had an aversion to one-night stands, but she didn’t
owe
him that. She didn’t want to owe
that
.

“I’ll stop the flirting,” Daniel said. “But if we don’t talk and I’m driving for eight hours or so, this is going to get really boring.”

“Fine, you’ve got a point there,” she said. “But I can’t think of anything to talk about.”

Daniel tried to come up with a topic, but for some reason the only things springing to mind were about driving. So he just shrugged and said, “I can’t either. At least the music’s good.”

Another song came on the radio then, a Rihanna song that had been on the charts for weeks. Nicole nodded her head along with the opening beat and when the lyrics started, she sang along. She kept her voice quiet, but she was still singing.

When she made eye contact with Daniel, though, she clamped her mouth shut. “You can keep singing,” he said.

“Will you watch the road instead of me?” she asked a little nervously.

“We’re not going to crash and die just because I looked over at you for two seconds,” Daniel said. “I’d say something about you being pretty, but that would be flirting.”

Nicole actually laughed at that. Daniel grinned, feeling a little victorious.

He looked back at the road. They were still in heavy traffic. He kept his foot on the brake, only able to edge the car forward a few feet at a time. Finally, he made it to the highway, and was able to slam down on the gas and feel the car roar beneath him. It was a small rush, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. Once going faster, he rolled down his window to feel the breeze. He noticed Nicole did the same, even though it made her hair blow all around her head.

And then Nicole started singing again. He could barely hear her over the wind rushing by, but he figured she might be self-conscious again anyway. So he sang along. He noticed she gave him an odd look, but he just grinned and shrugged at her. She could think that he just genuinely enjoyed the song.

Then the song ended, and Daniel reached over to turn down the radio just a bit. “You know, I’m not really a Rihanna fan, but I’ve heard that song so many times now.”

“It’s everywhere, isn’t it?” Nicole agreed.

He nodded. “Is that the kind of music you like? Pop?”

“Kind of,” she said. “I’m really more of an alt rock kind of girl, but they don’t play it on the radio as much. I learn to love what I can get. And pop’s not bad, just not my favorite.”

“Makes sense,” he said. “I don’t really listen to music that much, but I know I’m not a big fan of pop. Some songs are good, others are kind of grating.”

“Especially when they’re catchy and bad,” Nicole said. “Like that stupid Friday song? I
still
have the whole thing memorized!”

“Well, it
is
Friday,” Daniel pointed out. “So, gotta-“

“No,” she cut him off. “That song was bad enough when it was popular. We are not reliving it. I will jump out of this car.”

“We’re going 80,” he said.

“Worth it to get away from the song.” She smiled at him with that.

Daniel laughed, but then again didn’t know what to say. Nicole started singing again, and he was fine now just to let her hum the words to a silly pop song.

The thought crossed his mind that he really should have gone to class. This was a fucking terrible idea. The girl could steal his car when he dropped her off. No, that was stupid. She couldn’t be more than five feet tall, and she was skinny. Unless she had a gun hidden in that suitcase of hers, there’s no way she could overpower him.

Still, why was he doing this? He at least had to call in to work and let them know he wouldn’t be there. Unless he dropped off the girl in time to get to work, which he knew was unlikely. He glanced at the clock in the car. It was just a little after nine. The museum was just opening. He’d call later.

For the next hour, Daniel kept glancing at the clock, watching the time tick forward. Nicole didn’t sing again, though the music kept going. He wanted her to sing or speak, do
something
to break the silence, but it looked like the silence wasn’t so awkward from her end. She seemed to be fine silently enjoying the music.

Finally, Nicole did speak. “Would you mind pulling off at the next rest stop? I need the bathroom.” It wasn’t great conversation, but he was somewhat glad to hear her voice.

“Yeah, no problem,” he replied. “I think I saw a sign for one a mile ahead.”

“Yeah, you did,” she said. “I saw the same sign. That’s what made me think of it.”

He nodded, and changed lanes so he was closer to the upcoming exit. He pulled the car off, drove to a parking space by the small rest stop building.

“Thanks,” Nicole said, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car. She must have really had to go, based on the way she ran into the building. She wasn’t running away. Daniel noticed she’d left her suitcase that presumably carried all her possessions in the world in the car.

After a moment, he figured he might as well use the facilities too. He got out of the car, locked it behind him, and stashed the keys in his pocket before heading into the building. It was as dark and dirty as most public restrooms, but it didn’t really bother him. He did his business, washed his hands, and headed back out.

Nicole was resting against his car, her arms crossed over her chest. He couldn’t understand why girls ever had their arms like that. Their arms pushed up their breasts and guys couldn’t help but stare, but then girls would get upset with the guys for staring. It was the same bizarre girl logic behind low-cut shirts. Why show off cleavage if you didn’t want anyone to look? He didn’t think, and didn’t realize, that it was crazy hot out and Nicole only had a limited number of shirts with her.

He realized he was thinking too much, when he needed to be unlocking the door. He fished his keys from his pocket and pressed the unlock key. He noticed Nicole jump as she heard the door click open. “It’s just me,” he called to her, raising his hand and waving.

She turned and got into the car, buckling her seatbelt and staring straight ahead. She looked incredibly bored, and Daniel couldn’t blame her. They’d spent the last hour in silence, only talking about her need to pee. But what could he do? She didn’t want to talk.

She turned to watch him still walking over, and raised an eyebrow at him. Daniel realized that maybe
he
was just the one who was bored.

He reached the car and got in. He turned the key in the ignition, and the radio blared to life again, filling the car with music. The song was a rock song, one that he was surprised to hear on mainstream radio since it came from an indie band. He had been a fan at one time, but now he knew he’d have to avoid their fans. People would be claiming they sold out and only fans who liked them before this were
true
fans. Then again, he wasn’t sure how national this station was, and the band was local to the area.

“So what do you think of this song?” he asked Nicole, an innocent question to start conversation.

She shrugged. “It’s good. Haven’t heard of this band before.”

“They’re local to Pittsburgh,” Daniel said. “Kind of big with the hipster crowd here. I’m surprised they’re on the radio, though.”

“That explains why I haven’t heard them,” she said.

“Not from around here, or not a hipster?” he asked.

“Both,” she replied. “You knew I’m not from Pittsburgh, right?”

“Not exactly,” he said. “I mean, you mentioned Philly, but did you live there?”

“A suburb near it,” she replied.

“Where?” he asked. “I might have heard of it.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “You do remember we’re basically strangers, right? Telling you my hometown is just going a little too far, okay?” If she did end up going back, unlikely as that was, she didn’t want this guy to be stalking her. She realized that was probably a very paranoid thought, but she didn’t go back on what she’d said.

He nodded. “So, do you really want to sit in silence just listening to radio for the rest of the day? We could talk about music or movies you like or whatever.”

“Could talk about you,” she suggested. “You get to talk; I get to zone out and pretend to listen. Maybe I’ll even fall asleep, I kind of need it.”

He laughed. It wasn’t actually very genuine, more that he wanted to laugh at her joke and get on her good side. “If you really want to know about me, sure.”

“I am
really
tired, and this whole day has been really crazy,” she said. “I don’t mind talking, but you’re making me
think
. Just talk.”

“Well, I was born in a log cabin in Illinois,” he joked.

“Seriously?”

“No. Hospital in New York, near Niagara Falls. My parents had planned the trip a year in advance, they weren’t going to cancel it just because of me.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, and leaned back in her seat. “Why did your parents plan a trip to Niagara that far in advance?” she asked. “It’s just Niagara Falls. Famous, but you don’t need to plan for it.”

“You don’t know my parents,” Daniel said with a laugh. “They plan everything. I was the only thing in their life
not
planned.” Lucky him. Nicole had definitely been a planned child, and she wasn’t sure why. She never thought about her parents’ reasons, and she didn’t really want to bother thinking about it.

“I’m sure they love you anyway,” Nicole replied, her voice overly sweet in sarcasm. He couldn’t help but grimace at that, annoyed at her comment. Of course his parents loved him, they were his parents. What did this girl know about them? She glanced at him and added, “Sorry. Bad joke.”

“Anyway, as soon as I was born, they had my college picked out,” he said, letting her ‘joke’ go. “Close to home with a good medical school. I was going to be a doctor as soon as they realized how much they had to pay the hospital for delivering me.”

“You don’t want to be a doctor?” she asked.

“No, I do,” he said. “I’ve really never wanted anything else. It’s just always been part of my life.”

“I don’t think I could handle my parents deciding that much of my life for me,” Nicole said.

“I’m just used to it,” Daniel said with a shrug. “I know my parents are just trying to care for me, and hey, I haven’t had to make a real decision all my life. I don’t mind not having the responsibility.”

“Well, when you look at it like that,” Nicole said. “I kind of get it. I mean, it’s your life, of course you’re going to find the positive in it.”

“Yeah,” he said. His life was his life. Why bother thinking about any bad part of it?

“So, you’ve always lived in Pittsburgh?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Well, just south of here, actually. But close enough to call it Pittsburgh.”

“Ever been out of the state?”

“A few times,” he replied. “One vacation to Disneyworld, visited family in Alabama a couple times. Other than that, not really.”

“Poor you,” Nicole said in that sarcastic sweet voice again. And again, Daniel gave her that look that wasn’t quite a glare but expressed annoyance well enough. “So, do you still live with your parents?” she asked, quickly dropping the sarcasm.

He laughed. “I’m twenty-four. Of course not. I’ve got an apartment.”

“Twenty-four wouldn’t be weird to live with your parents,” she pointed out. “Thirty-four would. But okay, you’ve got an apartment. Roommates?”

“A cop who works nights,” he said. “So I’m basically alone most of the time. I kind of prefer it that way.”

“Really?” she asked. “You seem like such a people person.”

“I am, when I’m out and I choose to be around people,” he replied. “When I’m home, I like my space. I can’t be around people all the time.”

“Makes sense,” Nicole said. “I don’t really know what else to ask you.”

“No interest in my hobbies or anything?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, I don’t need to know absolutely everything about you. And really, that would require that whole
thinking
thing I said I didn’t want to do.”

“You’re really stubborn, you know that?”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

They went on in silence for some time, the sound of the radio being the only thing filling the car. The station changed DJs at one point, but the music played was still basically the same.

“We heard this song earlier,” Nicole commented.

Daniel nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think they expect people to listen to their station for hours on end.”

“Well, they should,” she said. “Lots of people take road trips and are stuck in their cars for a long time.”

“Those people have CDs or books on tape and are planning their trips, not spur of the moment driving some girl they met in the library,” he pointed out.

“Museum,” she said. “We technically met there.”

“I barely talked to you.” He’d talked to her a bit more than he talked to other museum patrons, but it still wasn’t a real conversation. He should have talked more.

“Seemed like you were talking a lot.”

“I’m a tour guide, my job is to talk,” he said. He glanced at the clock. “Which reminds me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, scrolling through the list of numbers.

“Isn’t texting while driving illegal here?” Nicole asked.

“Don’t know, not texting,” Daniel replied, finding the number he needed to call. He briefly took his other hand off the steering wheel so he could put his finger on his lips, shushing the girl. “Hey! It’s Daniel, just calling to say I can’t come in today.”