The Trip to Love

  Book One in The Road Trip of a Lifetime Series

  Mandy Adler

  Amanda Adler

  Copyright © 2017 Amanda Adler

  All rights reserved.

  Other Books by Mandy Adler

  White Lilies Series

  White Lilies - The Beginning

  White Lilies - From the Other Side

  The Road trip of a Lifetime

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Preview of Book Two in the Road Trip of a Lifetime Series.

  The Road trip of a Lifetime Series

  Chapter One

  “Where is he?!” A deep voice demanded, my dorm room door groaned from the harsh treatment. I turned around to see Gavin Grey behind me, looking very angry. He and my brother had been friends off and on for years, fighting then making up. They were like high school girls.

  “Who?” I asked the stupid question, but I knew. Who else could he of meant but my idiot brother Ethan? What had he gotten himself into now?

  “You know who, Emma. Don’t try and screw with me!” He slammed his fist on my door. I shoved him away, he will not try to intimidate me! “He and Carrie ran off together!”

  I winced as he growled. Yea, that was bad even for Ethan. Carrie was Gavin’s off and on girlfriend for about two years. They had one of those sick relationships where they screw each other over all the time. I don’t know why, there is no way in hell I would do that to myself.

  “I’ll call him.” I said calmly. He nodded and took two steps back, giving me my space.

  I quickly pulled out my phone and called my brother, dreading what I would hear. There’s no telling what he would come up with. It rang several times before he finally picked up.

  “Little sister!” He said cheerfully.

  “Where are you Ethan?” I ask, eyeing a very pissed off Gavin— who was currently glaring daggers at my phone. Jeeze, chill out, my phone didn’t run off with your tramp of a girlfriend..

  “Just went on a little road trip.” He laughed, I could hear Carrie in the background saying something to him. I’m sure it was something eye-roll worthy.

  “Where? Ethan what are you doing? Have you lost your freaking mind? Gavin his going to kill you!” I hissed through the phone. It wasn’t likely Gavin would actually kill him, but he would beat him bloody, I’m sure.

  Ethan just laughed again. “Just having some fun, Carrie needed a getaway and so did I, we are heading to Texas for a little fun. Be back soon! Love ya sis!” He hung up. The little brat really hung up on me!

  “Ethan!” I shrieked to the phone. I glared down at the phone in my hand. I looked to Gavin. Man I did not want to deal with Mr. Hothead. “They are heading to Texas.” I tell him, hoping my brother wasn’t heading there for the reason I was thinking. Forget Gavin, I’ll kill him myself.

  He took a deep breath before speaking, seeming to calm himself. “Any idea where?”

  I nodded. “Dad moved down there recently. Though I have no clue why he would want to see him.”

  Gavin nodded. “I’m going after them, Ethan and I need to have a little chat about boundaries. And I need to tell Carrie once and for all I’m done with this shit.” He turned and headed down the hall before turning back to me. “Sorry about that Emma. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, but your brother drives me crazy.” I nod to him, I can understand that. He turned to stomp back down the hall.

  “Wait!” I called after him. I really must be crazy. “Let me go with you.” Yep, certifiable.

  He looked back at me perplexed. “Why?”

  “He’s my brother, and he’s going to get himself into trouble. And I’m not going to let you kill him. He may be a stupid idiot, but he’s still my big brother.” I cross my arms and dared him to tell me no. Gavin may be a tough guy, but I’ve lived with Ethan most of my life.

  He studied me for a moment, seeming to mull it over. “Fine, be ready in half an hour.” He says before heading back down the hall.

  I rush in my room and start throwing whatever I could think of into my backpack. Thanking to the fates that summer vacation just started.

  My roommate walked in as I was zipping it up. She looked down at my bag. “Where are you going Em?” She sat down on my bed beside my backpack.

  “Ethan ran off with Gavin Grey’s girl, and he’s heading after him. I’m going to bring my brother back and hopefully prevent him from being killed by his best friend.” Not sure how I was doing that yet, but I would figure it out when I find him.

  “You’re going to have to quit saving him one of these days.” She sighed, Ethan was well known for his antics.

  “I know. But he has always been there for me, and he’s the only brother I have. I got to go.” I grabbed my bag and bolted out the door. I wouldn’t put it past Gavin to leave me behind.

  “Be safe!” She calls after me. “And text me!”

  I throw her a quick wave and head to the parking lot. Gavin is there waiting beside his truck. It was an old blue pickup that he’s had since high school, his pride and joy. Gavin and Ethan are both two years older than me, and we are all in the same college. Ethan looks a lot like me with strawberry hair and green eyes, but has a lot of height on my five-two frame. Gavin on the other hand, has very dark shaggy hair and almost black eyes, and is even taller than Ethan.

  He throws my bag in the small space behind the bucket seats and climbs in the driver’s side. I climbed in the other side and wondered what I had gotten myself into. A long road trip like this with Gavin was sure to kill us both. We were in New York, so this was going to be a very long drive.

  Chapter Two

  The first few hours were quiet, with neither of us really speaking. Around three in the afternoon he asked if I was hungry. I was, so he pulled into a little road-side diner.

  He was seated across from me, as I watched him look over the menu. I hadn’t spoken much to him since he and Ethan started college two years before me. He and I had never really talked too much before that either. I had always been just Ethan’s baby sister. I on the other hand, had always had a small, very small, crush on him. Really, it was a barely-there crush. He was always one of those, cool-bad-boy types that never lets anything get to him. He sure as hell didn’t look twice at Ethan’s bookworm sister.

  He was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt that showed off the tattoos on his arms, also displaying that he had gained a lot of muscle over last the few years. He looked up at me suddenly and I blushed, quickly looking down at my menu. Jeeze, I was such a spaz! I always blushed, always. And over every little thing to. My cheeks are like permanently flushed ninety percent of the time.

  “You’ve grown up a lot.” I look up to see him smiling at me. “Your different, but the same. Always Ethan’s opposite.”

  “We’re more alike than you’d think.” I tell him softly, thinking of the night Ethan had to save me. All because I had been an idiot, thinking I could handle things on my own. The reason I’ll always be there to save him.

  He shook his head, making his hair fall into his eyes. “Your more put together than he is. Always have been.”

  I laughed. “You don’t really know me Gavin, not at all.”

  He looked confused for a minute then smirked. “Your right, but we have a long way to go. So why don’t we get to know each other for a bit, then at least we can get along on this trip.”

  “Okay.” I tell him. “Twenty questions, you go first.” This should be interesting.

  He nodded, then began thinking about the question. No telling what he would come up with. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

  Yeah, right. “No. My turn.” Hmm, what to ask him. Okay I got it. “Why do you put up with my brother? You guys are always fighting about something, but have been friends for years.” It’s something I have always wondered.

  He ran his hand through his hair, sighing. “Ethan’s an idiot, yes. But he’s a good guy, deep down. He’s always be there if I needed him. That’s why I just don’t get why he did this. This isn’t like him, even he has boundaries.” He frowned a moment, clearly in thought. Then after a minute he grinned at me. “Okay, my turn. Question two. Why do you keep saving him? I know you bailed him out of jail a few weeks back after he got drunk and hit that cop. Why keep coming to his rescue?”

  “Ethan’s my brother.” I said simply. Let it drop Gavin, please let it drop.

  “Nope. Try again. This time try the truth.” I always hated his no bullshit attitude. Gavin always gave it like it was, and expected the same in return from everyone else.

  “I don’t like this game anymore.” I said.

  “To bad. Rules are rules, answer the question Em.” Since when did he call me Em?

  “Fine.” I huffed out. Jerk-face. “Why do you stay with Carrie even though she’s runs around on you all the time?”

  “Nice try, but you have to answer mine first.” He growled, eyes darkening.

  Fine, tough guy! “I owe Ethan, more than I can ever pay him back for. That’s all I’m saying right now Grey.” I said, angry now. Leave it to Gavin to make me talk, even when I really don’t want to. He doesn’t know when to quit.

  He nodded once. “Good enough... for now.” He took a breath and let it out slowly. “We all have our Demons Sage.” He glanced at me after calling me by my last name. “I stay with Carrie because we fit. We’re both so damn messed up, neither of us can seem to love another person. She’s safe. She’ll never ask for marriage, or to move in, or expect me to be a better person, and I won’t expect it of her. I can get with other girls and it won’t bother her. Just like it never bothers me when she gets with another guy, what we have isn’t real. But Ethan was off limits, it doesn’t matter how messed up we are. I wouldn’t mess with her friends and she doesn’t mess with mine, that makes it too chaotic.”

  “That’s kind of sad.” I reply softly. “Being with someone when no feelings are involved. Don’t you ever want to be in love Gavin?” I wanted one of those all-consuming loves one day. I won’t settle for less, I refuse to.

  “No, love is messy and people always get hurt in the end. This way we both know what to expect from the other, absolutely nothing.” He shrugged indifferently.

  “I’m willing to bet she has more feelings for you than she leads you to believe." No girl is that unfeeling. “There’s no way a girl would stay around that long if she didn’t."

  He ignores my last comment and we sit the rest of the time in silence. Good, maybe I actually made him think. I almost snort, yeah right.

  When we got back in the truck I tried calling my brother again with no luck. He was either avoiding me, or his phone had died. I was betting on the foremost.

  “Alright third question.” Gavin said around seven that night, seeming to let our last topic slide. “First time you ever got drunk?”

  I laughed. “Seventh grade, at a party you guys threw.” I had spent the night hovered over the toilet, it wasn’t enjoyable.

  He laughed with me. “We were a bad influence on you.”

  “My turn.” I sang. “First girl you slept with.” He grimaced and mumbled something I couldn’t hear.

  “What was that?” I asked laughing. Was he shy? I could laugh at loud again at that thought.

  “Laura Simons.” He grumbled a little louder.

  I giggled and patted him on the shoulder playfully. “Laura?! Miss prom queen? How did that happen?” Laura and Gavin weren’t exactly in the same crowd. This was just too good.

  He shrugged. “I was drunk, she was drunk, end of story. Not one of my better days.” He ran a hand through his hair and grinned at me. “Okay my turn, same question.”

  “None.” I answered quietly.

  “Huh?” He asked, brows coming together in confusion.

  “No one! I have never slept with anyone!” I said. So, what? I never found anyone I wanted to be with. I had secretly always wanted to wait until I was truly in love. Fairy tale, sure. But until I believed otherwise, I was sticking to it. I wanted real love. Not that I would ever tell him that.

  He looked at me funny before facing the road again. “I think it’s great that your waiting Em.” I snorted and looked out my window. Yeah right. “Seriously, I do. I wish I would have waited.”

  “Really?” I asked, glancing over at him. He was smiling at me gently. He nodded.

  “First crush?” He asked. Thankfully changing the subject, unfortunately not to anything better.

  “No, no way. It’s my turn.” I said.

  “But you couldn’t answer the last question.”

  “I did answer, just because the answer was no one, it was still an answer.” I alleged.

  “Fine.” He pouted. I laughed. I have never seen Gavin so laid back and easy to be around. I like this side of him.

  I thought about my question. “Favorite food?”

  “Easy.” He laughed. “Burgers. Now my turn, first crush?” Dang, he was persistent!

  I crossed my arms and looked out the window. “Pass.”

  “You can’t pass, that’s against the rules.” He said. “I won’t laugh just tell me.”

  “You will laugh. It’s silly and a long time ago.” I say. No way am I telling him my crush. How humiliating would it be to have to tell him he was my first crush? Nope, nuh uh, no way. So not happening.

  “If you tell me yours, I’ll answer that one for my next question. But you’ll have to tell me why, when the first moment was you crushed on them, and the reason. I will do the same.” He raised a brow in challenge.

  I thought about it. What can it hurt? It was a long time ago and I was just a stupid kid right? Arg, how does he always change my mind about talking when I didn’t want to? He made me feel like he wouldn’t judge me for what I said.

  “You!” I sprouted. He looked at me with a stunned expression. “You were my first crush, I was fourteen and you were sixteen.” I was rambling so fast I wasn’t sure he could keep up. “Some guy was giving me a hard time at the basketball court and you stood up for me. You probably don’t even remember it.” I played with my hands on my lap. I was crazy for telling him this! Absolutely crazy!

  “Luke Summers. He was telling you all freshman were easy and you should just give it up now. I slammed his head into a locker.” Gavin says to me, shocking me completely. He remembered? My heart was pounding in my chest. His voice was low. “My first crush was when I was eighteen. I was with Ethan at his house playing some stupid video game. You were getting ready for your first date with that douche, Mark. You walked out in that little black skirt and red tank top on. I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, but you were also my best friend’s kid sister. I had liked you before that, but you were so untouchable, so pure. But that night I really knew, you were more than just Ethan’s kid sister. You were the kind of girl I wanted someday when I wasn’t so screwed up.”

  I was his first crush? How is that even possible? He went out with tons of girls, all the time. He never showed any interest in me. This must be a joke. I looked at him with suspicion and he laughed.

  “Truth.” He laughed, holding up a hand. “Promise, I don’t lie Em, you know that.” I did know that. That means he liked me! Sure, he might not now, but he did back then! I grinned at him and he smiled back.

  He headed off the road, saying we needed to turn in for the night and get some rest. We checked into a motel and decided to just get one room to save on the little cash we had. It had two beds, so it wasn’t really a problem. He went to the vending machine and brought back handfuls of candy, chips, and pop. I laughed, what a dinner. I headed into the shower, to clear my head and relax.

  Gavin had a crush on me! I mean I know it was a long time ago and he had probably had moved on, but still! Gavin Grey! I don’t know if I want to kill my brother now for running off and putting me through the worry, or hug him for running off and throwing me into this trip with Gavin alone.

  When I came out of the shower Gavin was dressed in pajama pants, nothing else. It froze me for a second before I could go on acting like he didn’t faze me. I looked at my bed against the wall. Do not think about his chest, or the tattoos covering his chest, or the fact he looked really hot! Okay Emma, relax, breath. Two plus two is four. Four plus four is eight. Eight plus eight is sixteen.

 

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