She nods, then steals a glance at Aftyn who shifts in his chair, then goes back to snoring quietly.
“He could sleep through a goddamn nuclear war,” she says with a chuckle.
I lean my head against the window again and go back to watching the blurry shadows of the landscape and occasional headlights of random cars breezing by us.
“Can I ask you something?” Willa finally says after a few moments of silence.
“Sure.”
“How the hell did you get into the back of the car without me seeing you?”
I steal a glance at her eyes, smile nervously and wonder if I should tell her the truth. But when Aftyn shifts in his chair again, then sits up, I know the conversation is over.
“Where are we?” he asks in a groggy tone. I can hear the sound of him smacking his lips and it makes me smile. I don’t want to fuck Aftyn—at least I don’t think I do, but I wouldn’t mind touching his mouth. To me, it’s his best feature and deserves a little bit of praise.
“New Jersey.”
“I guess that’s better than nothing,” he remarks as he sits up and leans forward. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of his bones popping as he stretches, then do my best not to open them again when I feel his eyes on me.
“He still asleep?” Aftyn asks Willa curiously.
“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure he’s okay,” she replies.
“Oh, I don’t care about that,” he tells her with a laugh. “I just wanna know if I’m paying for that power wash is all.”
“Will there ever be a day where you care about anything other than yourself?” she barks at him.
“Hm.”
I don’t feel his eyes on me anymore, so I know he’s turned around in his seat again, allowing me to crack an eye open without him knowing it.
“I don’t see it happening if you want me to be honest, Wills. Someone has to give a shit about me, and we both know that no one will love me more than I do.”
She chuckles despite the mood he’s putting her in. I don’t spend a lot of time with the two of them together, but for the most part, they seem to just snap at each other. This is different; he’s trying to bait her, but she’s refusing.
“Know what I was thinking about while you were asleep?” she asks thoughtfully.
“My dick?”
Willa lets out a loud sigh and Aftyn grins at her. “Never mind. You’re clearly not in the mood to be an adult right now, and the sun will be up in a couple more hours. Go back to sleep so you can be ready to drive by then.”
Aftyn turns his head quickly toward me and I’m praying that I closed my eyes in time for him not to notice I’ve been awake this entire time.
“I still can’t believe he’s here,” he says.
“Why’s that?”
“Because he doesn’t belong on this trip, Wills. This was supposed to be ours to do alone and he weaseled his way in.”
“No. He didn’t. I invited him.”
“What?” he barks at her.
I crack an eye open again and glance at Willa. I can see the smile on her lips in the rear-view and the mischief gleaming in her eyes. She’s trying to save me from Aftyn unloading whatever seems to be bothering him, and she’s willing to throw herself into his line of fire to make sure he doesn’t do me harm.
But what’s the worst that can happen?
I’ve seen Aftyn angry. His rage is unmatched by anything else I’ve ever seen, though I don’t know him to be violent.