“Mads…”

My eyes jumped to meet Milo’s. He flashed a crooked smile. “Sorry. Maybe I took things too far.”

“You didn’t.”

He reached over and twirled a lock of my hair around his pointer finger and gave it a tug. “Come on, let’s go get some sugary snacks and hit the bathrooms.”

I nodded.

I walked the aisles of the gas station convenience store lost in a fog. The thought of admitting to Milo that I’d masturbated really didn’t bother me. I wasn’t a prude. Lord knows my days of following rock bands for employment had made me immune to being shy about anything sexual. I’d seen and heard it all over the years. The thing that freaked me out was that I’d done it while thinking about him. And if I were being honest, I could shut my eyes and do it again right now. I was that attracted to him. And that wasn’t the only thing that freaked me out.

It was that I was starting to want more than just his body.

Milo walked up the aisle carrying a giant package of Twizzlers and a big box of M&M’s. He held them up. “I got chewy and chocolate. What’s your pleasure for salty?”

I stared at the packages of candy for a solid thirty seconds, then looked up at Milo. Blinking a few times, I blurted out, “I used the showerhead to masturbate after you left. I came so damn hard that I was literally dizzy. And it still didn’t satisfy me. It took me two hours to fall asleep after that, and then this morning, you called my room to ask if I was ready for breakfast. You thought you woke me because I sounded so hoarse. But I was awake. Definitely awake. My fingers were inside of me when the room phone rang, and it scared the crap out of me. I hadn’t yet found my voice. And, since we’re being totally honest, I’d use the damn gear shifter that’s sitting between us in the car if I wouldn’t get arrested for indecent exposure in the parking lot.” I took a deep breath and my voice rose. “Because I’m still that damn horny!”

Milo’s jaw fell open, and the Twizzlers and M&M’s dropped to the floor with a loud clank.

The sound snapped me out my head. I’d been so caught up in my answer that I hadn’t stopped to look at my surroundings. Which I now became painfully aware of. A mother stared at me in disgust, holding her hands over her daughter’s ears. She rushed the little girl out of the store. And a man who was probably in his seventies leaned over from the aisle next to ours. He thumbed toward the parking lot.

“I got a five speed with a fat wooden gear shifter. I can park it around back if you want.”• • •The next morning, I was the first one down at the free hotel breakfast. I scooped some eggs onto my plate and added a sausage patty before making some toast. Since it was only six thirty, I had the small dining room all to myself. I sat staring at the TV mounted on the wall and pushed my eggs around mindlessly with my fork, lost in thought.

Things between Milo and me had gotten weird after my gas station confession. He’d laughed off my outburst before we drove another two-and-a-half hours and checked into the hotel, but the awkwardness that had set in had never been there before, not even the first day we met.

At almost seven, I went to get a second cup of coffee, and when I turned around to walk back to the dining room, Milo was sitting at my table.

“How did you get in here without me seeing you?”

He sipped a cup of coffee. “A herd of elephants could’ve come through, and you wouldn’t have noticed them. You were staring at the TV like you were waiting for it to give you the answer to all of life’s important questions.”

I sighed and sat down across from him. “Yeah. I guess I was lost in my head.”

He drank more coffee and looked at me over the rim of the cup. “You want to talk about it?”

“What?”

“Whatever is on your mind?”

I frowned. “No…not really.”

Milo’s eyes roamed my face. “Okay. How about if I talk about a problem that’s been on my mind instead?”

I shrugged. “Sure. Of course. What’s up?”

“Well, I met this beautiful woman.”

I felt a pang of jealousy in my chest. He met a woman? When? Last night?

Milo smiled and looked down at my coffee on the table. “You can loosen your grip on that cup. It’s not what you’re thinking.”

My brows furrowed. “I’m confused. Who did you meet?”

“I met an amazing woman. She’s adventurous and gorgeous. And has a spitfire personality that matches her fiery red hair.”