Crawl Read Free Page A

you didn’t say if . You said when. That counts for something. It means you can still see us together.”
    “Maybe. Maybe not. Just drive.”
    Colton turned on his blinker and drifted over into the slow lane. The Mercury did the same. Juliet sat up straighter in her seat and peered through the windshield at the teardrop-shaped coupe. The Subaru’s headlights bounced off tinted windows, making Juliet squint. Though the Mercury’s brake lights never came on, they were gaining on the dark car. She could now see the bumper sticker that had been placed an inch to the right of the vanity plate.
    I DO NOT
    The entire thing, plate and all, read: JXSAVES … I DO NOT
    A chill molested her guts. Colton cursed under his breath and swerved into the fast lane once more. He gunned the V6 under the hood. They shot forward, leaving the Merc in their rearview.
    “Did you catch his plate?” Juliet asked.
    “Yep. I saw that sticker, too. Typical Bible Belt bullshit is all. He’ll be in our dust in no time.”
    And Colton was right. Juliet watched as the Merc’s headlights dwindled, going from blazing orbs to subtle balls of medium-tone light, then down to pinpricks—like cat’s eyes seen in the darkness under a porch. The ice in her stomach subsided and her mind drifted away from JXSAVES … I DO NOT
    Five minutes elapsed before Juliet glanced over at the speedometer. The Subaru was pushing a hundred.
    She said, “You might want to calm it down before we get pulled over.”
    “I’m keeping up with the flow of traffic.”
    She surveyed the dark, empty highway rushing by outside her window.
    “Colt, you are the flow of traffic.”
    “Stop worrying so much. Everyone goes this fast out here. This isn’t my first radio.”
    “ Rodeo .”
    “Huh?”
    “Never mind. Just slow down. Please.”
    Colton loosed an exaggerated sigh and the car rocked forward as he decelerated.
    “Better?”
    She read the speed on the dash: seventy-five. “Fine.”
    “You remember,” Colton said, “how I used to drive out here every weekend to pick you up. Phenix City to Warner Robins, every Friday like clockwork, and I never once complained.”
    “How chivalrous of you.”
    “I’d just graduated, and I was going to be some big shot architect. You were still living with your mother, and working part-time at Target.”
    “Don’t remind me.”
    “For six months, I never once let you down. I even came that time I had strep. You were mad because you insisted I was going to get you sick. You wouldn’t kiss me. I’d come all that way, and you wouldn’t even hug me.”
    “Do you blame me?” She decided to settle into the memories. It was a welcome reprieve from the dark times behind them.
    “Naw,” he chuckled, “I don’t blame you one bit. I remember what you wore that night, too. A yellow turtleneck and a pair of acid wash jeans. I didn’t think they even made acid wash anything anymore. But there you were, a closet full of eighties relics. I’m surprised you didn’t have your bangs swooshed up, and held in place with a gallon of Aqua Net.”
    “I was going to, but you were sick. You wouldn’t have been able to handle my full-on epicosity.”
    “Epicosity? Is that a word?”
    “It is now. Phone Merriam-Webster and tell ’em I have a last minute addition.”
    “We went to see a movie that night. You remember what it was?”
    “Do you?”
    “Yep. Dawn of the Dead , the first remake in, like, forever, that didn’t suck monkey balls.”
    Juliet allowed a smile to grace her lips. “You didn’t want to go because you loved the original so much. Kept on saying they were only going to ruin Romero’s classic. I told you no one could ever ruin the original because it would always be what it was. It’s frozen in time, golden… untouchable.”
    Colton laughed. “I really didn’t want to see that movie.”
    “But you went anyway. Sick and all. Even when I wouldn’t kiss you, you went.”
    “I did it because I loved you.” His tone