Hair up, sunglasses on, windows open, and a guy looking like a whole ass snack sitting in the passenger's seat. After the relaxing couple of days, there wasn't much that could ruin my mood, and even letting my mind wander to how attractive Alex was didn't freak me out as much as it had been. It did help that a large portion of my brain was focusing on driving, so I didn't have to worry about getting too enthusiastic about how Alex looked at the moment.

And he really did look good. Something told me that the mini vacation had been good for him. His hair, which had grown longer since I had first met him, had waves in it, and his skin was slightly pink from the sun. His t-shirt stretched perfectly across his chest and tightened around his arms. And he wore just a hint of a smile on his face. It looked nice.

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. Okay, I was still paying attention to the road, but maybe I still needed to keep my thoughts in check. I really didn't want to be horny for the entire drive back.

"How often do you go up there?" Alex broke the silence.

I shrugged. "Not often," I said. "Usually Emilia's parents are there, and I don't want to intrude. But occasionally when they're gone or if they invite me up for something. Emilia and I went a lot more when they first moved up there, during the summer when I would be home from school."

"It's nice." He paused. "It's relaxing."

"You look relaxed." I gave him a side glance, and when he didn't react to my comment, I pressed. "I think you've been tense the entire time I've known you."

"Well, you've been making me work until the middle of the night the entire time I've known you," Alex pointed out. "And you look more relaxed than I've ever seen you, too."

That was a fair point. I never relaxed, not completely. "Well, I'm glad you could come," I said honestly. "It was fun hanging out not in Delphine."

"Well, I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted to play third wheel all of yesterday."

I laughed. "No," I conceded. "But I also doubt she would have invited John if you hadn't come. Which is why I assume she didn't tell me he would be there, she was waiting to see if you would actually show up. Which means, I guess, you inadvertently helped me play matchmaker with her. So thanks for that."

"Anytime, I guess," Alex laughed. "She doesn't date much?"

"Never. I'm definitely the ho of the relationship."

I laughed at Alex's expression. He had no idea how to respond to that. "Relax," I told him. "I'm not that much of a ho. Not anymore, at least."

He just shook his head. "You're very..." he trailed off.

"Yes?"

"Unapologetic," he finally settled. "And bold."

"Unapologetic and bold," I repeated. "I like that." And I did. I just didn't know how I felt about him being able to describe my personality so easily.

We drove in silence for a little while longer, but I liked it. It preserved some of the peace I had gained over the past few days. But it also shocked me, in a way. Emilia and I could spend time together in comfortable silence thanks to the years we had been friends. Alex and I had only known each other for a few weeks, and yet I felt completely at ease with him even when we weren't talking.

"Hey, get off at the next exit."

We were about halfway back to Delphine when Alex spoke again. I glanced over at him, and he was sitting up in his seat and looking out the window.

"What, you hungry or something?"

He looked at me, a glint in his eye. "Or something."

I considered it for a minute. And then I hit my blinker and got over in the right lane. "You're lucky we have plenty of time before we have to be at Coral Brews."

Alex just grinned at me.

A small town, more like a rest area, lay just off the highway, and as I turned onto the main street, I gave Alex a side glance. "Where am I going, exactly?" I had no idea what he was thinking.

"I saw a sign on the highway," he said, pointing for me to pull into a small parking lot.

I followed his instructions, pulled into a parking space, and laughed. "You want to get a tattoo?" I asked, staring at the small tattoo parlor in front of us. "Now? Here? At this random, sketch tattoo parlor in the middle of nowhere that is almost definitely here for stupid tourists?"

Another grin and Alex was out of the car.

Shaking my head, I followed. He was insane.

The open sign blinked neon orange and Alex pushed open the door. A bored-looking man who was, no surprise, covered in tattoos, sat at the front desk, flipping through a magazine. He looked up as we came in, and I swear a look of slight amusement crossed his face.

"Hey, do you accept walk-ins?" Alex asked him.

I had to suppress a snort of laughter. The place was completely empty.

The man at the desk looked vaguely annoyed, and I'm guessing he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "You know what you want?"

Alex nodded.

"It would be helpful if you told me what that is."

Another snort of laughter I had to fight down. But then I raised an eyebrow as Alex turned to me, looking expectant. "What?" I asked. "I'm not choosing for you."

"No, but it's a surprise."

"A surprise?" I repeated. "Alex, if you walk out of here with my name tattooed on your butt..."

The man at the desk didn't bother to stop his laughter.

"I mean, I thought about it," Alex said. "But I think I'll pass. But wait for me outside."

He was serious. I threw up my hands and shook my head. "Alright," I said. "I'll get some food. But if you take too long, I'm leaving you here."

"No you won't," he called after me. "You'd be short a man at work."

I hated that he was right. And I hated that I was enjoying this so much. I mean, I would never get a spontaneous tattoo at a random tattoo parlor. All of my tattoos had taken me months to decide if I really wanted to get, and then another month or so researching tattoo parlors, making sure I was going to a place with good reviews.

Whatever. I spotted a diner across the street. I wanted French fries.

I got food for the both of us and then sat in my car eating fries and slurping a shake, waiting for Alex to come back out. I kept my eye on the time, but we had plenty of it before we would have to get back on the road. And with any luck, Alex's spontaneous tattoo wouldn't be particularly large, so he would be done soon.

Sure enough, about half an hour after I had left him in the tattoo parlor, the door opened and he came out. I was stuffing the last of my burger in my mouth as he got in the car. I eyed the bandage that was taped on the inside of his arm, just above his elbow.

"Thanks," he said, grabbing the food I handed to him.

But I didn't get us moving. "So, how bad of a decision did you make?" I asked, nodding toward his arm.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It was a great decision," he countered. Gingerly, he lifted the bandage and turned his arm toward me so I could see.

I stared. I didn't really know what to think. On a small, clear space of skin, he had inked a piece of coral. It could signify a number of things—our beach weekend, Coral Brews...me? But whatever reasoning he had, I felt touched.

"It's nice," I said, forcing my voice not to waver.

"So not a bad decision?" he asked smugly.

I shook my head and started the car. "Could have been worse," I bit back. "I still don't think could have made a snap decision like that."

"Well." He flexed his arm making his tattooed muscles ripple.

Jesus, was he trying to kill me?"

"I've had a lot more practice than you have," Alex pointed out.

"Practice in making bad decisions? I assume so, yes."

Alex just laughed and took a bite out of his burger as I got us back on the highway. Great, just another thing for Emilia to freak out over.