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“Sounds about right,” Olivia said, rolling down her window and letting the breeze play with her hair. “God, it’s stifling.”
Paige stuck the SatNav to the front windshield and prayed it stayed in place. The adhesiveness on these things were tenuous at best. “It’s going to climb up to 30 in the cities. Luckily, it should be cooler on the coast.”
Traffic was starting to pick up as they headed out of the city and joined the queue of idling cars, the air hazy with smog. “Looks like everyone else had the same idea as us,” Olivia observed dryly. “As soon as we get out of the city, it should be smooth sailing.” She laughed at her own joke. “Get it? Because we’re going to the beach.”
Paige rolled her eyes. “You really do have a terrible sense of humour.”
Olivia lifted a hand from the steering wheel to flip her hair over her shoulder. “I know. But you love it.”
The sun was high and full now, beating through the windshield and warming Paige’s face. Olivia had rolled her window back up once she’d realised she was letting in more exhaust fumes than fresh air, and the humidity inside the car had already doubled.
“Mind if I turn the air con up?”
“Go ahead. I’ll turn it off on my side, since it makes my eyes sore,” Olivia said, turning the fan away from her. Cool air blasted from the grills, sending the air freshener spinning from the rearview and chasing away the heat.
“Remind me why I’m going on holiday with you when I hate the sun,” Paige remarked, fanning herself with her hand. Her neck felt damp with perspiration, and the leather seats were sticking uncomfortably to her bare legs.
“It’s not as though we’re going anywhere exotic. It’s the British seaside. It’ll probably rain half the time we’re there.”
Paige arched a lazy brow. “I can’t say I’d complain if that is the case.”
Olivia tutted. “Don’t say that,” she whined.
“I know, I’m kidding,” Paige said.
They inched forward after the traffic, and bright sunlight dappled through the windows. Paige threw up a hand to shield her eyes, cupping the top of her brow.
Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, Olivia dug into the driver’s side compartment and withdrew a pair of brown sunglasses. “Here,” she said, offering them across the console, her eyes fixed on the road. “I don’t like wearing them when I’m driving anyway.”
“Are you sure?” Paige said, accepting them hesitantly. Her fingertips brushed against Olivia’s, warmth flooding through her skin.
“Mhm. I’ll just put my visor down,” she said, fumbling to pull down the screen, casting the top half of her head in shadow.
“Thanks,” Paige said, slipping the glasses onto her nose. The world immediately went darker, appearing in a spectrum of brownish-red through the tinted lenses. “I’ve never really suited glasses.”
Olivia shot a glance across the seat. “Are you kidding? You look great in those!”
Paige rolled her eyes. “You’re just being nice.”
“I’m not. Take a look.” She gestured to the visor above Paige’s head, and she pulled it down, glancing in the mirror. Most of her hair had fallen out of her bobble, tousled from the wind and curling around her chin. Even she had to admit that Olivia’s rectangular glasses seemed to fit her face well.
“See? You look great,” Olivia said with sincerity, a soft smile on her lips.
“Hm,” Paige murmured, flipping the visor back up and watching the landscape pass by the window in shades of tinted brown and orange.
“Paige, you’re gorgeous. Don’t ever think you aren’t.”
Paige felt warmth flood her cheeks at the compliment. Gorgeous wasn’t the word she’d associate with her freckled face and short hair and almost boyish features. From anyone else, she would have brushed it off. But when Olivia said it, it seemed to go right to her heart. “Thank you.”
Grinning to herself, Olivia reached forward and turned the radio up again, humming under her breath.
Paige rested her hands in her lap and pressed her ankles together, leaning back against the headrest. Silence threaded between them, and in those moments of quiet, Paige wondered if she ought to bring up what had been on her mind lately: the fact that they had been spending less time together.
With Olivia at her side, Paige had never felt like she needed to branch out socially. But if Olivia decided her new friends were more interesting, where did that leave Paige?
“Are you asleep over there?” Olivia’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and Paige sat up, blinking out of her daze.
“Not anymore,” she said, pulling the sunglasses off her nose and squinting against the sudden glare of light.
