The Forever of Ella and Micha

over the seat to pinch Ethan’s arm. “Pull the damn truck over now,” I threaten. “If not for me, for her.”
    “Ow, you’re always so evil,” Ethan complains and then taps the brakes hard, sending me flying over the seat. “But I’m much eviler.”
    I summersault over and my legs hit the dash as the shifter stabs me in the back. Sitting up straight, I smooth my hair into place and extend my hand toward him to do something equally as sinister, but Micha snags my elbow and pulls me onto his lap.
    “Easy, you two,” he says, hugging me close and conforming his lap against my backside. “We have a long drive ahead of us still.”
    Shooting me a dirty look, Ethan swerves the truck off the nearest off-ramp that leads directly to a truck stop. Semis line the chain-linked fence that borders the building and there’s a flashing marque promising everyone ten cents off each gallon when paying with cash.
    He pulls up to an empty gas pump and silences the engine as he zips his plaid hooded jacket up. “But just so you know, this is for Lila, not you.”
    I glare at him as Lila hops out of the truck and dashes toward the entrance of the building. She’s wearing a white dress and pearls around her neck, looking completely out of place at the truck stop. When I asked her why she was overdressing for a road trip, she shrugged and said she was used to having to dress up for days related to holidays.
    Micha gets out of the car and offers his hand to help me out. The cool air hits my bare legs as I stretch my arms above my head.
    Micha eyes me with amusement as he ruffles his blond hair into place so wisps are dangling across his forehead. “You know you give Lila crap for overdressing, but you kind of undressed.” He gestures at my jean shorts and purple T-shirt. “What were you thinking when you put that on?”
    “Hey, it was hot when we left,” I argue, adjusting the bottom of my shirt back over my stomach. “And I wanted to be comfortable.”
    He unzips his black hoodie, and his T-shirt rides up a little, showing a glimpse of his abs. “Put this on before you freeze to death.”
    “I’ll be okay,” I assure him, enclosing my arms around myself.
    He urges the jacket at me with persistency. “Take it, because I’m not putting it back on.”
    I take the jacket and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before sticking my arms through the sleeves and zipping it up. It smells like his cologne mixed with a scent that belongs only to him and I inhale deeply, relishing it.
    “Did you just smell my jacket?” he inquiries with a cock of his eyebrow. “Is that like some kind of weird ritual or something?”
    “It smells like you,” I explain and pull the front of the jacket over my nose to shield it from the cold. “And I like the smell of you.”
    He seems pleased with my odd response and tugs the hood over my head. “Smell away.”
    Smiling, I turn for the gas station as a red Mustang, the same years as Blake’s, inches up to the pump two rows down. I shrug it off as coincidental, until Blake gets out of the car. He’s has on a gray beanie and a hoodie over a blue shirt. His jeans don’t have paint smudges on them and he has gloves on his hands. Micha and Ethan are distracted by a blonde who has her butt sticking out as she attempts to fill up the oil in her car. Ethan is saying something vulgar about her ass while Micha encourages him to go help her “fill up her tank.”
    Rolling my eyes, I mosey over to Blake as he slides his credit card into the slot.
    “So this is a freakishly weird coincidence,” I say, startling him and he drops his card onto the ground.
    “Shit, you scared me.” He squats down to retrieve the card and then stands up straight. “What are you doing here?”
    My gaze flicks to Micha laughing at Ethan attempting to hit on the blonde, who rolls her eyes and slams the hood down, uninterested.
    “I’m headed home for the holidays.” I redirect my attention to Blake. “What about you? What are you doing all the way out here? Don’t you know California’s the other way?ߥ
    The corners of his mouth quirk at my lame joke. “My mom lives in Cali, but my dad lives over in Colorado.”
    “Oh, so you’re about to break to the east,” I say. “I see.”
    After punching some buttons on the credit card machine, he removes the nozzle, puts it into car, and the gas gurgles.
    He leans back against the car and folds his arms. “So you’re on the road with your boyfriend,” he says