Chapter 11
Amelia
Islept in the passenger seat while Oliver spent the day driving, just like he promised.
Sleeping helped the hangover pass, plus I didn't really get much rest the night before. Even though I was out like a light, it wasn’t a restful sleep.
I was exhausted, but at least I felt a little better after getting some food in my system.
Not only did sleeping give me a break from feeling hungover, but it also saved me from some embarrassment.
I didn’t know what to think about the whole Oliver thing. It was hard to remember the night before. It only came in bits and pieces, but I thought back on the dance we shared and remembered how intimate it felt.
I could remember his hands on my hips and how his body moved perfectly in sync with mine.
I thought about the butterflies in my stomach and how my heart pounded wildly against my chest. I remembered thinking that he and I were going to be all over each other, and then he threw me over his shoulder and carried me out of there, only confirming my thoughts.
It felt like he couldn’t wait another second to have me alone.
Of course, I had to go and ruin the moment by throwing up in the parking lot.
I wasn’t embarrassed about the night before. I was embarrassed about that morning when I leaned in, hoping to get a redo on that kiss, only for him to pull away.
I hated being rejected, and what made it worse was that I didn’t really know why he rejected me.
I knew the answer he gave me, but I couldn’t help but feel like maybe he’d had a change of heart, like maybe he only wanted me because we’d been drinking.
But then again, did I really want to start messing around with a guy I barely knew when I’d just left such a long relationship on bad terms?
There was no denying how good-looking Oliver was.
Any red-blooded woman could’ve looked at him and gotten weak in the knees.
And I did every time our eyes locked. There was just something about those green eyes that had a chokehold on me.
They were so expressive. Since meeting him only a few days before, I’d seen them go from bright green and playful to dark and serious.
His lips were thick, and his bone structure was that of a Greek God with his high cheekbones and an angular jaw.
He was tall, with the kind of body every guy wanted.
I loved how tiny I felt when he picked me up, how protected I felt with him around.
And I was beginning to think that there wasn’t anything that man couldn’t get me to do.
I’d already stolen a car with him and even broken into a house.
Even when I woke up on the ride, I pretended to be asleep until I actually fell back asleep. I didn’t wake up for good until later that evening when Oliver pulled off for the night.
“Where are we?” I asked, leaning my seat back up into its rightful position.
He killed the engine and stretched with a groan. “Somewhere in Idaho. Figured we’d have some dinner and turn in for the night. How are you feeling now that you’ve gotten some sleep?”
“I feel better. Not one-hundred percent, but better.” I shrugged.
“Maybe some dinner will help. Come on.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. I followed him into the diner, and we sat at the first open booth we came to.
The diner was like all the others we’d come across on our little journey. It wasn’t packed, but it wasn’t dead either. It looked like it was mostly locals, everyone knowing everyone, except for when random people that just happened to be passing through stopped in.
We didn’t have to wait long before the waitress came over and took our order. I went with my usual chicken strips and fries, while Oliver ordered some sort of meatloaf-and-mashed-potato combo.
The last thing I wanted to talk about was the night before, our kiss, or how he backed away when I tried to kiss him earlier in the day.
What I really wanted was to just forget that any of it had happened.
I sure wasn’t going to bring it up, and I wanted to try and make sure that he wasn’t going to bring it up either.
I didn’t want to be rejected a third time.
I figured the only way I’d be able to ensure he didn’t was by keeping him talking about other things, so any time there was a lull in conversation, I was filling it with whatever popped into my head, making me look like I had some serious ADHD.
“You know how we were always told in health class that we breathe in oxygen but that we exhale carbon dioxide?”
He frowned, but nodded, clearly wondering where I was going.
“Well, then, how does mouth-to-mouth work?”
His face was slack. “What?”
“If we breathe out carbon dioxide, how are we giving the person who isn’t breathing oxygen? Wouldn’t we just be giving them carbon dioxide?”
His face pinched for a moment. I didn’t know whether he was trying to figure out an answer or was still just confused about why I was asking in the first place. Either way, he shook his head as if to clear it.
“Why the hell are you asking me this?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know… Just something I’ve always wondered.”
“You’ve had the internet your entire life. Why didn’t you just Google it?”
I shrugged. “I guess it was never really that important.”
“It probably would be if you ever needed to give someone CPR.”
There was a guy sitting a couple of booths away from us, and he turned around.
“Not to butt into your conversation, but I couldn’t help but overhear your question.
I work on an ambulance and am regularly trained on CPR.
So, to answer your question: there is carbon dioxide when we exhale, but there is still oxygen, too.
The actual amount of oxygen drops by only a few percent between inhalation and exhalation. It’s roughly seventeen percent oxygen.”
“Good to know,” I said, pursing my lips and nodding. “Thank you.”
He offered a nod and turned around.
“You’re so fucking weird,” Oliver mumbled as he lightly shook his head.
I shrugged. “I’m just a very curious person.”
I took a sip of my water, still feeling like I couldn’t get enough even though I chugged a bottle every time I woke up throughout the day. “So, what do you plan on doing with this new life of yours? You have a career you’ve always wanted or something?”
He looked at me like I was stupid, but then he shrugged. “Not really. I just want to be free. Maybe own a mechanic shop.”
I frowned. “Aren’t you free now?”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he just looked at me, almost like he wasn’t sure how to answer.
“I mean, you said you were running from your family, and that’s how you got to where you are, but that was a long time ago, right? Who’s keeping a leash on you now?”
His jaw flexed, and he sighed. “So, why’d you stay with that loser boyfriend of yours for so long?”
The question felt like a slap to the face. My mouth fell open. I wasn’t prepared for that question.
“I… I told you. My dad passed away, and he was all I had.”
“How’d your dad die?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I leaned back, straightening my back as I turned my head to look out the window.
I crossed my arms over my chest, a feeble attempt at holding myself together.
I wasn’t sure how we got to where we were.
I was trying to lighten the moment by asking silly questions, but he was clearly trying to shut me up by asking stuff he knew would upset me.
The rest of our dinner was silent. He didn’t speak to me, and I didn’t speak to him.
We just sat across from one another, eating like the strangers we were.
It was easy to forget that you didn’t know a person after you’d spent a few days with them.
We got comfortable being together, but we still didn’t know one another.
Suddenly, I was glad that I ended up puking on his shoes the night before.
Who knows where the night would’ve taken us if I hadn’t?
I had a feeling where we were heading, and we probably would have crossed a line that couldn’t have been uncrossed.
It still bothered me, though, because I couldn’t shake these damn feelings bubbling up inside of me.
Once we finished our food, I left some cash on the table, and we headed for the car. We both climbed in, but he didn’t start it.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked over at him, unsure if I even heard him correctly.
“I just didn’t want to do much talking in there after a complete stranger turned around and butted into our conversation.”
“You mean the guy who answered my CPR question?” I pointed toward the diner that we were parked in front of.
His jaw flexed. “I know it was just a stupid question, but he answered it because he was listening to everything we said. If he was going to listen to a stupid ass question like that, he would’ve heard everything we said, and I never know what’s going to come out of your mouth.
I pissed you off on purpose so you’d stop talking.
I just didn’t want you talking about the last couple of days because it could’ve brought the police to our door.
” After his explanation, he looked over at me, but I was still mad, and I wasn’t ready to let it go yet.
I couldn’t look into his eyes and hold onto that anger either, so when he looked in my direction, I turned away from him.
After a moment of silence, he started the car and backed out of our parking spot.
We flew down the road, and I watched the passing scenery from my window. There was nothing but trees and road signs as the sky became darker and darker. It was nine at night before we stopped at the next motel.
We got a room for the night, and I was thankful when we finally managed to secure one with two beds. I didn’t even bother to put my stuff down. I just walked through the room and directly to the bathroom, where I stripped down for a shower.
The water was good and hot, and it helped ease some of the stress I was under.
Sleeping in the car all day left my body feeling sore and weak, but I felt the knots leaving my shoulders as I let the water beat down on me.
Despite sleeping all day, I was still tired, so I finished my shower and got out.
I pulled on some pajamas before walking back into the room.
The room was dark when I stepped out of the bathroom, with only the TV on.
The volume was turned down low, like how you’d leave it when planning on going to sleep.
I looked over at the beds, expecting to find Oliver already lying down, but both were empty.
That’s when movement from the darkened corner grabbed my attention.
He stood from the chair and walked toward me.
I felt the air grow warm and thicken between us.
In the back of my head, I knew I should just move, step out of his way since he was probably going for the shower once I was done, but I was frozen.
In the darkness of the room, I couldn’t see his eyes.
Even though I couldn’t see the intensity they held, I could feel it.
Something was coming, but I didn’t know what.
Not until he came to a stop before me. That’s when I looked up at him and saw his emerald rings pinched in an emotion I couldn’t place.
He was so close that I could feel the heat leaving his body.
I could feel his warm breath blowing across my lips.
He had me trapped between his chest and the closed bathroom door.
There was no escaping, even though, deep down, I didn’t want to.
I watched as he wet his lips, and when I didn’t even attempt to put space between us, he dipped his head forward, capturing my mouth with his.
His lips were soft and slow at first.
After testing the waters and realizing that I wasn’t about to smack him, they gained strength and speed. His hand moved up to cup my jaw as his tongue dipped inside my mouth, meeting my own.
Our tongues danced and explored. I savored every second, memorizing the taste of his lips and the strength of his tongue.
Letting his touch burn its way into my memory: the way his large hand felt cupping my jaw, how his heart was racing next to my own, how I absorbed his heat and craved even more.
And then, as quickly as my world spiraled out of control, the ride came to an end.
He slowed the kiss and broke away completely.
“That should have been our first kiss,” he said against my lips. He stepped away as he reached behind me and opened the bathroom door.
Dizziness swept over me, and I stepped to the side, giving him room to escape. I didn’t snap out of my daze until he closed the bathroom door between us.
And then, I breathed out, wondering what the hell just happened.