Page 1 of Naughty & Nice
1
NOELLE
“Are you nearly ready?” Hendrix bellows up the stairs.
We agreed to leave ten minutes ago, but I’m still rushing around my room, throwing things into my small suitcase.
I stayed up late last night reading, something that I’m now regretting.
“Yeah, I’m right there,” I lie, stuffing a handful of panties into my bag.
A deep chuckle comes from downstairs.
I’ve no doubt that he predicted this. My best friend knows me better than to expect me to be organized and ready on time.
I scan my closet, trying to decide what I should take. It’s easy, really. We’re staying in a log cabin for five days to celebrate the holiday away from all the stresses of real life. All I need is sweatpants, hoodies, my most comfortable underwear, and a whole heap of books.
Heaven.
It’s another ten minutes before I’m zipping up my suitcase and hauling it from the bed. It thumps against the floor and not a second later, Hendrix races up the stairs.
“Done?” he asks, poking his head into my room.
“Yes, we can go now,” I laugh as he grabs my luggage and turns his back on me.
“Knew we should have booked for seven days,” he mutters flashing a grin over his shoulder.
“Dude, we’re like ten minutes behind schedule. We’ll make it up on the drive.”
Oh man, and is it going to be a drive.
Thirteen hours on the road with my best friend. Honestly, I’m almost as excited about the road trip up to Canada as I am the cabin itself.
The snow… I can’t wait for the snow.
“Not with your driving,” he quips.
“Good thing you’re taking the first leg, isn’t it?” I tease, already feeling the stresses of college slipping away.
This break is exactly what we need.
We started at Trinity Royal College three months ago after a childhood of not believing it would be possible for either of us.
Sure, we may have had to swallow a little bit of our pride and accept some help—the biggest of which being the house we currently live in. But Hendrix’s big sister Lorelei and her husband wouldn’t have it any other way.
We couldn’t have achieved any of this without their help. I owe them everything.
A cool breeze whips around me as I step out of the house, but I shake it off. It’s got nothing on the place we’re heading.
I drop into the passenger seat of Hendrix’s Audi, something else that’s courtesy of Lorelei, and wait for him to join me.
“How confident are you that you’ve got everything you need?” he asks the second he drops into the driver’s seat.
“Uh…”
“We’re leaving,” he says with a laugh, starting the engine, ready to floor the gas and speed away.
“Rude,” I mutter.