Page 27 of Stunts and Sparks

Cole burst out laughing and turned back to the woman behind the counter. “No worries at all, ma’am. We’ve dealt with this many times before now. It’s becoming quite the tradition for us, isn’t it?”

Heather nodded next to him. “All I care about is getting in a room so we can stuff our faces with pizza. I’m so hungry.”

The woman behind the counter looked beyond relieved. Cole wondered whether she’d had a less-than-ideal day, too, although there was no chance her day was as exciting as theirs had been. He got a key from the woman, and locked arms with Heather to get her up to their room. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight for a second.

In the room, he set the pizza on the only table and let Heather have at it. “Are we going to finish this whole pie?” he asked. “Because I think we are.”

“Definitely.” Heather nodded, her mouth already stuffed with pizza.

Cole ripped the box in half and used the lid as a plate for himself. Then he sat across from her and enjoyed a slice. Before long, the burner phone he had bought for communication with the police rang. “Oh, this might be our ticket back home,” he said, smiling. To his surprise, Heather looked almost disappointed, and he had to wonder why. He hoped she knew he wasn’t going to be a stranger in her life by any stretch.

His conversation with the police did not go as expected. When he finally hung up his phone, he frowned across the table at Heather. “They say it could be a few more days, at least.”

“What? Why?”

“They say they’re pressing some members they already have in custody, but no one’s broken so far. It’s going to take some time, which is bad news for us.” He leaned across the table to ensure she knew he was sincere when he explained. “Bad news because we’re going to be short on cash, not because we get to spend more time together. The one good thing that’s come out of this disaster is that our first date has been extended to a multi-day affair.”

In a moment so spontaneous, even Cole was taken aback, Heather leaned across the table and kissed him. The kiss was agonizing, mainly because of the table that still sat between them. Cole wanted nothing more than to throw it aside and take her into his arms. After pulling back again, she said, “I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed your company, but I’m also not looking forward to spending a third day in the same clothes. The shower’s only going to get me so far before I start to smell way less appealing. Then you’ll really regret sharing a bed with me.” She laughed.

“We’ll stop to buy some clothes tomorrow. But this is probably going to be the nicest hotel we stay in for the rest of the trip.”

“Bummer,” was all she said. She was deep in thought while they polished off their pizza.

That night, they were both exhausted and Heather fell asleep in Cole’s arms. There was something comforting about being lost together, despite the horrible situation that had gotten them into this kind of trouble. Something about being away from everyone they knew, every complication, from their jobs to their friends to their family, was a simple kind of perfection. To Cole, it seemed the purest way to begin a relationship. And that thought led him to his next, which was a surprise to him, to say the least. He was, right now, beginning a new relationship with Heather.

Cole spent the first ten minutes of the next morning watching Heather sleep. It was paradise, just seeing her there beside him, her face half buried in her pillow, her blue-and-green hair spread out like a nautical floral arrangement around her head. She was beautiful, and that thought clouded his mind in the best possible way. He never wanted to think or look at anything else. He was falling for her, and though some resistant part of his brain fought him on that, he knew it was true. He had always struggled to be vulnerable to anyone. His ability to trust had been damaged long ago. But if anyone was going to bring it back, he thought it would probably be the girl sleeping next to him.

He woke her gently, and she sighed and stretched in the morning light. “Good morning,” she said. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Like the dead,” he answered. “I’m taking you shopping today.”

“Ooh, do I get a whole new wardrobe?”

“Two changes of clothes.” He gave her a meaningful look. “So we can wash some if we need to. But no more than that. We have to watch our wallet.” He smiled broadly at her. “Because apparently this date is going to last for days yet.”

By the look in her eyes, he had said exactly what she wanted to hear.

Cole took Heather to the nearest clothing outlet and let her pick a couple changes of clothes, which he offered to buy for her. “Oh, no, you don’t need to,” she said.

“I want to,” he replied. “This is a date, remember? And I told you that I’m old-fashioned. We’re not using your money until we run out of mine.”

She actually blushed at that, and he loved the way she looked when her cheeks turned red, especially when they turned red because of something he had done. He led her into a high-end department store because he wanted to see her blush some more.

“Why are we here?” Until now, they had only visited thrift stores.

“Because I want to get you something nice and take you out to dinner again.”

“Cole, no,” she said, a small smile hiding behind her stern look.

He turned her toward him and explained. “Look. This situation is terrifying. It’s awful, but we’re in it together. You and me. As worried as I am, I need a purpose to get myself through it. That’s how I deal with stress — I work. Right now, my job is making you happy. My purpose is turning this situation around so that when you look back on it, you remember a fantastic date that went on for days, even though it maybe had a nasty little kidnapping partway through it. I mean no date is perfect, right?”

She laughed and shook her head. “Okay. If this really is something you need to do, who am I to stop you?”

“Exactly,” he said. “So pick your favorite dress because I’m taking you out tonight.”

Heather tried on several tasteful outfits and finally settled on a yellow sundress that perfectly complemented the blues in her hair. She looked so gorgeous in it, he thought. “I’m going to have the prettiest date in the restaurant,” he said.

She told the clerk she wanted to wear the dress out, and the woman helped her remove the tags so she could. Cole paid for the dress and the shoes she got to match it with a huge smile on his face. They spent the next couple hours going between a laundromat and a car rental place to wash their clothes and swap their car out for another truck this time.

---