Page 9 of October

I think everyone who’s been halted for the evening by the flood has had the exact same idea as us because the line to get a room at the only motel in the area is thirty guests deep, at least, and this is not a very large or particularly nice motel.

But it’s dry and will get the job done… and apparently nearly sold out completely. We will be taking what we can get at this point.

Watching Ash in his element, which is taking control and problem-solving, is hot as hell. Not to mention he’s kind of wet from running from the truck to the lobby in the rain. I could be crazy, but I swear I’ve caught him staring at me and my wet T-shirt too.

“Thank you,” he tells the very stressed woman behind the check-in desk, that is desperately in need of a fresh coat of paint, when she passes our key cards to him. “We are all set,” he says to me. “Room twenty-four.”

“My age. That’s fitting.”

He chuckles a little under his breath like I’ve just touched on some inside joke he has with himself.

The room is on the outer corner of the motel, at the end of the walkway, so we don’t have neighbors on our left side, but we do on our right.

“I think this is us,” he says, motioning toward the red, metal door with the number twenty-four in golden digits in the center. He slides the card through to unlock it then steps in ahead of me. Normally, he’s always a ladies first kind of man. This feels like a protective move. I appreciate it.

It’s dark, so I feel around for some kind of light switch, and when I find it, the room illuminates in a hazy glow to reveal a basic motel room with all the necessary items.

A television, a small table with an ice bucket in the middle, a couple of lamps, a mirror… and one singular full-sized bed in the center of the room.

Chapter 5

Ash

One bed. One fuckingbed. This has to be a sick, cosmic joke. The universe is testing my self-control.

“We can keep driving,” I tell her. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable or pressured into even sharing a room with me. “I’m sure there are more motels with rooms available.”

She plops down on the bed and drops her bag on the floor next to her feet. “It’s a nightmare out there, Ash. It’s too dangerous to keep driving. We are adults. We aren’t strangers. We trust each other. We can share a room for a night, right?”

I stare at her in her tiny black shorts and tight, purple T-shirt with her long, tone legs crossed and angled toward me and nearly laugh. I’m going to be white knuckling it all night long.

But she’s right. We are adults and we do trust each other.

Which means, I won’t make a move. I won’t make her feel uncomfortable.

“Right.” I nod. “I can ask for more blankets and pillows. I’ll make a little bed on the floor so you can have that one all to yourself.”

She wrinkles her nose in response. “No, I’m not going to let you sleep on the floor. I’m perfectly fine sharing a bed, Ash. It’s a big one. Plenty of room.”

“Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t. I promise.”

“Okay then.” I close the door behind me and take a look around the very sparse, average motel room. It’s nothing fancy, not even close, but it appears to be clean and safe. That’s really all you can ask for in our situation.

That situation being me… alone in a motel… with the most incredible, sexiest woman I’ve ever met in my life… with one goddamned bed.

Yep. It’s confirmed. This is God playing a trick on me.

“All right, thanks anyway.” I end the call on my cell and toss it to the nightstand. “We may have to be creative. No restaurants are delivering in the storm. Not even with the offer of a generous tip.”

Wren steps out of the bathroom, now with her hair pulled into a high ponytail, showing off her long, slender neck and her jewelry decorated ears. She has multiple piercings up the shell that glimmer in the light. It suits her well. Fuck, she’s perfect.

“There was a vending machine in the lobby, right? I’m okay if we have a little junk food picnic for dinner. As long as I have something salty with a little bit of chocolate to end things, I’m golden.”

I smile and my chest tightens. There’s just something about her that is so easy and so right. “Oh, and I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go for it.”

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