Missing Pieces - Chapter 14
Tyler
Monday
"Really? They didn't have a single room with two queen beds? There are barely any cars here." I looked around the almost empty parking lot.
She shrugged her shoulders. "That's what the guy at the front desk said. Maybe all the rooms with queens are being renovated or something." She quickly looked away from me.
I smiled as I pulled her duffel bag over my shoulder. "Maybe." But it kind of just seemed like she wanted to sleep in the same bed as me again.
Today had been the easiest day between us.
I had finally gotten her to open up. She was trying to save her father's business, which was admirable.
I didn't really understand why she couldn't try to get a loan from a bank in Indiana, but I wasn't going to push the subject.
I was grateful that she had told me what little she did.
And honestly, it felt good to get some stuff off my chest too. Hailey was understanding. She had made me feel a little better about everything. Unlike last night when she had told me to grow a pair.
I didn't avoid staring at her ass as I followed her up the stairs to our room. She had kissed me the other night. She had definitely just requested a room with one bed. If she tried to kiss me again, this time I would kiss her back.
But nothing happened when we got into the room. We both got ready for bed and a silence fell over us again. Maybe I was wrong about the sleeping situation. Maybe they really were renovating all the rooms with queen beds. I climbed into the other side of the bed and turned off the light.
I hated going to sleep without saying anything.
Really what I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her.
I wanted her to know that she wasn't alone, despite what she thought.
And maybe I needed to be reminded that I wasn't alone either.
I stared at the ceiling, waiting for her to fall asleep, but her breathing never seemed to slow.
I rolled toward her. "Everything has a way of working out, you know."
For a second I thought she was asleep, but then she said, "Yeah? I'm not so sure."
"It does."
"How is the love of your life marrying someone else working out for you?"
I swallowed down the lump in my throat.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know why I said that."
"Actually, it's working out okay. I got to meet you, didn't I?"
She didn't say anything for a long time. "Goodnight, Tyler." She rolled away from me.
***
I breathed in the sweetest smell. Roses and cinnamon maybe.
I took another deep breath and my eyes flew open.
My face was nuzzled in Hailey's hair. I stayed completely still.
My arm was wrapped around her and my palm was flat against her stomach.
I had pushed up her t-shirt and my skin was flush against hers.
But her hand was on top of mine, holding me in place.
I slowly exhaled. We were in the middle of the bed. It's like we had both gravitated toward each other in the night. My knee was pressed between her thighs. And I was so fucking hard.
Shit. I couldn't let her wake up with me holding her like this with a hard on. She'd think I was perverted. But a small part of me didn't want to let go. I wanted to slide my knee higher up her thighs and see if she wanted me like I wanted her. I wanted her to be as wet as I was hard.
What the fuck am I doing? I very slowly slipped my hand out from underneath of hers, skating it down her firm stomach.
I stopped right above her underwear line.
I wanted to slip my fingers into her panties.
I wanted to wake her up the way she deserved to be woken up every day.
I could imagine how tight she would be. I swallowed hard.
What the hell is wrong with me? I removed my hand from her stomach and slowly rolled off the bed. The smell of roses and cinnamon seemed to completely surround me. She smelled amazing. I didn't want to leave the room. I didn't want that smell to fade.
At the rate we were going, we'd be in Pasadena in just a few days.
I didn't want our time to end without exploring what could have been.
In just a few days, I'd be in basic training.
Then I'd be in the Marine Corps for three years of service.
Another three years living in regret seemed like the worst possible thing.
And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't thinking about what could have been.
I was thinking about the girl sleeping in front of me. And how much I wanted her.
A run wasn't going to help me this morning. I needed a long, cold shower.
***
When I came back out of the bathroom, Hailey was lying on the bed with her head perched up on her hand as she stared at the TV.
I had purposefully left my change of clothes in the room so that I could come out in a towel just like she had done to me the other day. The room still smelled like her.
"You know, they're saying it was her ex boyfriend and best friend. Can you believe that? What assholes."
I glanced at the TV. She was watching the news about the shooting again. A caption was scrolling across the screen that said, "Suspects coming to light in the Hunter shooting." I looked away from the screen. "No, I can't actually. That doesn't even make any sense. Why would they do that?"
"Maybe her ex was jealous or something? And I'm sure her friend was too. James Hunter was the richest bachelor in the country before she won him over." She turned toward me and her eyes seemed to bulge slightly.
I tried to hide my smile.
"Either way, she's totally your type, right? Long red hair, blue eyes, and she looks short. She's absolutely gorgeous."
"I don't have a type."
"No?"
"No."
She immediately looked away from me and picked up the map that was next to her on the bed.
"I was thinking maybe the Grand Canyon is too far out of the way.
It'll add a few hours to the trip. We should probably just skip it, right?
" She ran her fingers through her hair as she stared down at the map.
I sat down next to her on the bed, way too close for a normal conversation, but I didn't care.
I swore I heard her gulp. Right now, I wasn't in any rush to make our trip together end any earlier.
I was going to spend the day teasing her.
And tonight? Well, tonight I was pretty sure she'd be begging me to take it further.
"Where's the Grand Canyon?"
"Here," she said and pointed to the map.
It was barely out of the way. "You know what, I was actually thinking it might be cool to stop here too," I said and pointed to where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico all met. "How cool would it be to stand in four states at once?"
"That would be pretty awesome. But that's even farther out of the way. I need to get to Pasadena as soon as possible." She bit her lip as she looked back down at the map.
I wanted to bite her lip for her. "You know, I've heard that lots of people try to have sex in that spot."
She laughed. "And I bet they all get arrested."
I shrugged. "It would be pretty fun to try though, wouldn't it?"
She looked up at me. "Have you never seen the movie Vacation? I was serious about everyone getting arrested who try it. Besides, there's other fun places to have sex that don't necessarily break the law."
"Give me one example."
"Well, with a new partner, isn't anywhere pretty memorable? Even in a random hotel in the middle of Oklahoma?"
Now I needed another cold shower.
She smiled at me and climbed off the bed. "Can I drive some today?" She pulled out a tank top from her suitcase.
"Sure."
She froze, staring at me. A smile spread across her face. "Really?"
It would be way easier to flirt with her if I didn't have to pay attention to the road.
And this stretch of road was basically deserted.
Not many people were traveling to some of the hottest places in the country in the middle of summer.
Even if she was a terrible driver, she'd probably be fine.
"Yeah, it's about time you pulled your weight. You do have a license, right?"
"Of course I do. I'm not some slick from NYC who takes the subway and taxis all the time."
"Very funny."
"Keys please." She held out her hand.
"Well, let me get dressed first."
"Oh, I didn't even notice that you weren't."
I was pretty sure she was better at playing this game than I was.