13. Ella
13
ELLA
W e made it.
That’s the only thing running through my mind as we ease into the parking lot and I kill the ignition. Bodhi’s been silent, but I didn’t tease him about it.
I couldn’t.
Especially not after that kiss.
“We’re here,” I whisper, not wanting to startle him, his eyelids blinking open as his head lolls to the side to look at me.
“Thank you.”
“Of course,” I manage, my throat like sandpaper as I try to force the words out, those chestnut orbs watching me with an intensity that steals what’s left of my breath.
“Why don’t you wait in the car and I’ll grab us a couple of rooms,” he says softly.
“Are you sure? But your migraine?—”
“I’ll be fine for the few minutes it takes to walk across the parking lot and back.” Pausing, his lips twitch the slightest bit as he adds, “I’ve survived worse.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, I’ll be right back, all right?” I nod but honestly, he could have asked me if I wanted to coparent a herd of feral cats and I would have agreed.
What is it about him that makes me lose all my senses?
“Sure.” I nod again as he unfolds himself from the truck, stretching one arm across his chest and then the other, his jeans molded to his backside and good Lord above.
Wow.
That is spectacular.
And I’m staring.
Shit.
Pulling my phone from my purse in the back, I tap out a text to Rhea.
ELLA: We hit bad weather and Bodhi has a migraine so we’re going to sleep here tonight
RHEA: Are you both okay? Where’s here?
ELLA: A town outside Hill Valley
RHEA: Sorren wants to know if his truck is okay
ELLA: I avoided an accident
RHEA: He wants me to give you a raise
I snort as Bodhi walks back across the parking lot, his movements easy and graceful, but there’s a new kind of tension in the set of his shoulders that has my heart beating faster.
ELLA: You already give me more raises than most people’s bosses do
RHEA: You work hard and your success has made the Poppy Seed a success
Pride swells in my chest at the compliment.
The recognition.
At knowing that she’d taken a chance on me when I was a teenager, and with her patience and guidance, I’d blossomed—finding a job that I love more than I could have ever imagined.
RHEA: Send me your location
ELLA: Yes, mom
RHEA: Brat
ELLA: (send location)
RHEA: You’re really okay?
ELLA: Yes, there’s a little diner across the road and we’ll just get settled tonight and see what the weather does.
RHEA: Keep me posted and thank you again for doing this. I know it’s a lot—for both of you.
ELLA: You know I’m happy to do it but I think Bodhi might be here under duress
RHEA: I can neither confirm nor deny that statement
ELLA: Figured. I’ll text you later.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Bodhi says as he shakes off the sleet and climbs back into the truck.
“Um, good?”
“We have a room.”
“Bad news?”
“It’s only one. Apparently everyone else wanted to hide out and let the weather pass too.”
I shrug. “We can manage.”
His eyebrows practically fly into his hairline. “Can we?”
“Honestly, this is the least surprising thing to happen since this trip started.”
“I can sleep on the couch or the floor so you can have the bed and?—”
“Can we just get inside before you decide it’s better to just sleep in the truck and I have to drag you back to the room?”
His eyes widen and his lips part for only a second before his tongue peeks out to wet them.
“Sure.”
“Great.”
What is the matter with me? I’m either yelling at him or climbing into his lap. Is there no middle ground?
Stomping around the truck, I pull my jacket tighter around me as I grab my purse from the back, my overnight bag already slung over Bodhi’s shoulders.
“I can carry that, you know,” I huff as I hustle to catch up to him.
“Remember that little speech about dragging me back inside?”
“Yeah…”
“This is the same thing,” he says pointedly as he pushes the key into the lock of room 218, the light-blue door bright and cheery for the unexpected Tennessee weather.
My brows furrow as I follow him inside, the door slamming behind us with the wind, making me jump and Bodhi tense.
“Sorry,” I mumble, unzipping my coat and pushing it from my shoulders. “Are you hungry?”
The words are more of a nervous ask as I look around the room, a queen bed taking up the majority of the space with a small table and two chairs off to the side. The walls are painted an off-white color, and the bedding is blue and white.
Bold choice for a motel if you ask me, but it’s clean and it will do for the night.
“Uh, no. I’ll”—he swallows hard and it’s audible in the quiet room—“be fine. For now, I just need sleep. Might need something when I wake up though.”
Warmth pools between my legs at the thought of something before I shake some sense into my psyche.
Food.
He’s talking about food.
Obviously.
But that doesn’t stop my stomach from dipping with the anticipation that it might be something…else .
And God do I want that else.
But that’s not what he needs right now, as he seems frozen in place, holding our bags and staring at the bed.
“Hey,” I hum, taking my bag from him and setting it onto the floor. “What’s easier? Do you want me to stay? Or I can go and grab food and give you a chance to relax and then bring you a sandwich for later?”
“Ella?”
“Yeah?”
“I need you to stay.”