We piled into three different vehicles. Jase turned the key in his older-model Jeep. As soon as the engine started, I hit the stereo dial and turned it to my favorite country station. He grimaced. “Are you seriously going to make me listen to that when I already know I’m going to be tortured tonight?”
“Hey, I’m partial to Tim McGraw. You know, I lost my virginity to a song by him.”
The light in Jase’s dark eyes danced. “You don’t say.”
“I do.” I leaned over, my lips grazing the shell of his ear. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you reenact it later.”
“I’m pretty sure you don’t want that. I think I lasted all of three minutes.”
“It was sweet.”
Jase pulled out of the lot and onto the gravel road. “It was mortifying.”
“You know what they say…practice makes perfect.”
“Now that’s a plan I can get behind.”
Jase turned onto the two-lane highway that led into Wolf Gap. The headlights from Scott’s truck and Isaac’s sedan swung across our back window as they followed. I bent down, pulling my cell phone out of my bag. I typed out a quick text.
Me: I’m going to spend the night at Marisa’s. I’ll see you in the morning.
My mom didn’t respond—not that I had expected her to. She was all about being busy. Because if she was busy, then she never had to deal with the fact that my dad had cheated and bailed. She numbed herself with activities and a full social calendar.
My older brother was the same. He’d looked out for me at first after Dad bailed, but then he simply had better things to do. Once he left for college, he only returned for the holidays and was home for forty-eight hours tops.
Lights flashed across the windshield, and I squinted at the road. “Geez.”
“Someone needs to learn how to turn off their brights.”
The headlights wove back and forth in front of us.
I leaned forward, trying to see better. It looked as if the driver wasn’t following the line of the road. “Are they drunk?”
Jase flipped the visor on his Jeep down. “I hope not.”
The truck veered off the side of the road and then back on. My stomach dropped. “I’m calling the sheriff’s department.”
“Don’t do that, Laik. They might just be tired.”
I hit the non-emergency number stored in my phone. “They could hurt someone.”
“I guess you’re right.” Jase flashed his lights at the oncoming vehicle.
Instead of slowing down and pulling over, the truck picked up speed, its engine revving.
“Carson County Sheriff’s Department, how can I help you?”
“This is Laiken Montgomery. We’re heading into town on twenty-two. I think the driver of a red pickup is intoxicated.”
“Are you safe?”
Jase pulled to the side of the road as the truck weaved again.
“My boyfriend just pulled over. I think we’re fine.”
“Okay, I’ve got deputies heading that way now.”
“Thank you.” I hung up as Jase idled.