Road Tripping Read Online Free PDF Page A

coffee
myself.”
    Ashley swung
open the door and nearly attacked him to get the large cup of coffee he’d
apparently bought from the fast food restaurant across the street. “I love
you,” she groaned huskily, as she lifted the cup to her lips and took her first
swallow.
    Ethan chuckled.
“Well, that’s a shocking shift in attitude. I thought you couldn’t stand me.”
    She glared at
him malevolently over her fragrant, steaming cup. “I was talking to the
coffee.”
    Then she
ignored him and concentrated on drinking. It wasn’t the best brew she’d ever
tasted, but it felt a lot like heaven this morning. As she sipped, she made
some involuntary moans and sighs of sensual pleasure.
    When she
glanced over at Ethan, she caught a peculiar expression on his face as he
watched her. She wasn’t sure how to interpret it, but it made her feel kind of
hot and unsettled. “What?” she demanded, to hide her confused reaction.
    “Nothing,” Ethan
replied crisply, the strange expression immediately replaced by his no-nonsense
one. “We need to get going. You can make love to your coffee on the way to get
transportation.”
    She ignored his
last snide comment and focused on essentials. “How are we going to get a car?
Will we try to buy one with some of your thousand dollars?”
    Ethan shook his
head, pulling her by the arm out of her room. “That would take too long, and we
wouldn’t be likely to get a car in good enough condition to make the trip. I’ve
got a better plan.”
    They’d made
their way over to the lobby, and Ashley waited as he went to check out of the
rooms. When he rejoined her, she prompted, “Well? What’s your plan?”
    “I’ll explain
later.” Seeing that Ashley was about to vent some more frustration, he hurried
on. “What we need is a large parking lot where cars are parked for most of the
day—so not a restaurant or store or anything.”
    Ashley wasn’t
sure she liked the sound of that, but she was desperate enough to accept
anything at the moment. Forgetting her resentment at Ethan’s high-handed ways,
she put her mind to the problem. “There’s nothing around here but fast-foods
and gas stations. But there was some kind of college further up the road. I saw
a sign for it.”
    Ethan put a
hand on her back and propelled her forward, toward the main street. “That will
have to do. It’s already almost eight—we need to get going. I hope you don’t
mind a walk. I don’t think we should waste any money trying to call a taxi or
something.”
    “Of course I
don’t mind walking,” Ashley said, although she had a sinking feeling that her strappy
sandals weren’t up to the task.
    She was right.
Her sandals were definitely not made for walking. By the time they reached the
entrance to the community college, she had about eight throbbing blisters on
her feet.
    Each step was
painful, but she would sooner walk twenty more miles than admit it to Ethan.
    “Now, what
exactly is your plan?” Ashley asked, as they approached the half-empty parking
lot. It was still early in the morning and during the summer-school session, so
there weren’t as many cars as there otherwise would have been.
    “Help me find a
car with a staff sticker, not a student sticker,” Ethan instructed.
    Ashley peered
around dutifully and shortly said, “Here’s one. I’ve always liked this pretty blue
color.”
    Ethan shook his
head. “Your pretty blue car is too new. We need an older model.
    She rolled her
eyes and gestured toward a much older four-door Ford with an impressive cowboy
hat under the back windshield. “What about this one? Please don’t tell me we’re
doing what I think we’re doing.”
    Ethan walked
around the car, eyeing it in a professional manner. He tried the door handle.
It was unlocked. “We’re requisitioning this vehicle.”
    Ashley groaned,
thinking that if they got arrested she would blame it all on Ethan, say he
bullied her or something, so she wouldn’t have it on her very clean