Refuse her.

"Sorry, Candice. I know you want to go along, but I'm going on a trip of..." You think for a moment, " Self Discovery." Part of you wants her to go along, but you're absolutely sure that if she finds out about your objective that she would probably try to stop you or talk you out. At worst, she could try to sabotage you in some way. You just can't really risk it.

She frowns, a look of disappointment crosses her face. "Yeah, I guess I get it."

You drive her home in relative silence and only make a little bit of small talk. Once there, she gives you a hug. Her warm body presses against yours. "I guess I'll see you when you get home then."

"Uh-huh. We're still besties though." you give her a teasing smack on the ass to lighten the mood a little.

Candice giggles before climbing out of your Jeep "See ya." she says before going into her home. With a sigh, you relax back into the driver's seat and make your way home.

Once home, you start gathering up the things that you needed. Your parents are gone for the week, so you don't have to worry about them getting suspicious as you run around gathering things up. Two weeks' worth of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, a black mini-dress in case there was any partying to be done, a spare phone, and a wallet with your dad's credit card and about five-hundred dollars in loose cash just in case. While snooping through your dad's room looking for your dad's card, you see a large box of condoms on the nightstand. You think about taking a few for yourself but decide against it. Where you're going, you don't need condoms...and if you do, then you can just buy them at a convenience store. You load your bags into the Jeep before going back inside to have a quick bath and then it's off to bed.

The next morning, it's quite chilly out. You climb out of bed earlier than you have in a long time and pull on a pair of tight jeans and a blue turtleneck before driving off toward the highway.