Page 16 of Road Trip
“All right, bossypants! Jeez, I’m blind anyway. Can you close the drapes? Never mind, the damage is done.” I heard him leave the room briefly, giving me a few moments to steady my breathing. He re-entered a few minutes later, chuckling to himself.
I tried to be good and keep my eyes closed. I heard him messing around with something and moving things on a table.
“Just one more second,” he drawled out.
“Then I can go back to sleep?” I felt his weight on the mattress next to me just before he pulled the blankets down. His expression was so excited that I couldn’t be grumpy anymore. Nor could I continue to spiral.
“Okay, Boy Scout. What did you…”
Oh. Wow. He went all out to make a perfect morning for me. He was holding two trays loaded with several breakfast choices including fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, a Belgian waffle with syrup, country potatoes, bacon, a muffin, some yogurt with granola on the side, orange juice, apple juice…
“I had to tell them it was for four people. I hope you’re hungry.”
But the part that moved me the most was that he had picked some wildflowers and decorated the trays with them.
“I can’t believe you did all this! Thank you,” I said, knowing I should shut up before I totally embarrassed myself. I was incredibly touched by his thoughtful gesture. It didn’t go along with the tough girl side of me. “Where’s yours?” I asked, picking up a piece of bacon.
His eyes bugged out. “I figured I’d eat whatever you left behind. Are you telling me I need to go back? Because I might have to wear a disguise. I don’t think they’d let me take any more without backup.”
I leaned forward and kissed him. “You are so damn adorable. You kinda make mornings bearable. Kinda.” I gave him a pouty smile, and he grinned.
“I take it you aren’t a morning person. That’s fine. I can be a morning person for both of us.” He set the trays down on the table and came back to the bed looking predatory.
I pulled the covers back over my head and then squealed as he yanked them off.
Kelly
When I saw her face upon entering the room, I knew I needed to act fast before she had a chance to get upset and all I could think of was my initial reaction to seeing her in her panties and how much I wanted to taste her.
She rolled onto her stomach with another shriek, and I couldn’t resist touching her skin. I traced the outline of her tattoo, and before I knew it, I’d leaned forward and kissed her between her shoulder blades. She stiffened. I kissed her once more, a little lower, and this time she relaxed.
“Kelly,” she moaned.
I ran a hand down her side, my fingers brushing the side of her breast, and she squirmed.
“I’m busy, my dear,” I replied calmly, not giving away the fact that I was in big trouble. I didn’t realize what the sight of her before me would do to my sanity. I’d been gun-shy last night, but for some reason I felt brave this morning. Perhaps it was the fact that she seemed to be the hesitant one today giving me courage. Regardless, I just wanted to…
“Kelly? I, um, forgot to tell you before we fell asleep that there was a call from the Hayward Police Department. A Lieutenant Reynolds?”
She turned her face to peek at me, probably to see my reaction. I sat back and ran a hand back over my hair. Reality. And the mood was gone.
“Right.” I stood from the bed and walked over to the window.
“I should have told you,” she said meekly.
I turned to find her sitting up, her knees clutched to her chest and covered with the sheet. She presented a much more vulnerable woman this morning. The change was a bit unnerving, but then I knew what to do with vulnerable women. I’d had lots of practice in the job, and even with my little sister. She frequently needed rescuing. I didn’t think Abra needed rescuing, but perhaps some reassurance would go a long way. Too bad I was caught up in my own mood.
“It’s fine. I know Sergeant Cavanaugh sent his report to my department. I’ll call her later. I just want you to enjoy your breakfast.”
She blinked, smiled up at me, and took a bite of her bacon. Crisis averted?
I’d gone for a long jog to clear my head. Despite my injuries, which consisted of the two small cuts, stitches on my butt, bruising on my lower back, arms, and jaw, I pushed myself and probably got in a measly two miles before the pain was too much. I came across a Target, so I picked up some toiletries, underwear, socks, undershirts, tank tops and some black cargo shorts. I wanted to have enough clothes for a couple of days at least. I had no idea how long she intended to be out on the road, or when she needed to be back, or who else she might be meeting up with. I knew this road trip was a temporary escape. I’d have to deal with everything eventually. But hopefully not today.
“So what time do we need to be out of here?” I asked her through the door to the bathroom as we were both getting dressed. During my jog I’d been able to clear my mind of everything but her. I had questions. I had concerns. But the woman I’d returned to find was not the woman I’d met last night. How did I proceed?
“Gates open at noon and we need to be checked out of here at eleven, which is in a half an hour,” she called out.
I heard her finish brushing her teeth with a cute little gargle and then she came out. And took my speech function away. She was dressed in a jersey-type T-shirt that only mostly covered her midsection, short denim shorts that hugged her curves just right, knee-high tube socks like kids wore in the ’80s, and low-top red Converse. Her hair was in two French braids with barrettes on the bottom that had little skulls on them. The shirt had a skull on it with bat wings and the name of one of the rock bands she’d mentioned. She was adorable. She was drop-dead sexy. She had me all confused and crazy and I couldn’t get enough of her.
