Road Tripping (20 page)

“For me too.” He
stroked the small of her back. “I think we’re going to be really good at this.”

“I think I’m
going to like having sex with you even more than I like fighting with you,” she
replied, kissing his chest, since it was the only part of his body in reach of
her lips.

She could feel
him chuckling. “Of course, we’ll probably always do both at once, just like we
did this time.”

“Which is just
as it should be. It’s the only appropriate strategy when one of us is so smug
and infuriating.”

He kissed the
top of her head and held her even tighter.

They were
silent for a long time. Ashley was relaxed, sated, content, happy. But she felt
something inexplicably heavy growing in the pit of her belly. She didn’t quite
know what it was. It wasn’t fear or anxiety or grief or anything.

It was just...heavy.

She raised her
head up so she could look into his face. “Do you think we did this too soon?”
she asked softly. “Do you think we should have waited a little longer?”

Ethan didn’t
say anything immediately, but she felt his body respond to her words.

So she hurried
to add, “Don’t get all stoic and tense on me. I’m not having regrets or second
thoughts. I was just asking an honest question.”

His body
released the automatic tension, and he reached over to stroke her cheek. “I don’t
know. Do you think it was too soon?”

“It felt right.
Obviously, we love each other and all that. But things are different now.”

He nodded
silently, slid his fingers back to comb through her messy hair.

“Everything
feels like it’s changed between us,” she murmured, trying to sort out what she
was feeling. “Like I more completely belong to you. And you more completely
belong to me.”

He lifted the
hand she was using to stroke his chest and brought it up to his lips. “Does
that scare you?”

“Not really. I
don’t know. It just feels...new.” She sighed and lowered her head back to his
chest. He continued to kiss her fingers. “And it makes me a little bit worried.
Because now, if you should...die or something, I’m not sure how I’ll manage.”
She clung to him, as if she were trying to protect him from all that might
threaten him.

“We’ll make
sure that doesn’t happen. You don’t really think that I’ll let myself get
killed—or let you get killed—now that I finally have everything I’ve ever
wanted.”

Some of the
heaviness dissipated with the thrill from his words. She scooted up so that she
could kiss him.

After a few
lovely minutes, she finally asked, “Do we need to get going again? We can still
make it to Sioux Falls by this evening if we leave now.”

Ethan
hesitated. Then answered, “No. Let’s not. Part of our argument was delay and
confusion. We might as well wait until tomorrow morning. We can still get there
before lunch.”

Ashley sighed
in relief. “So we have the rest of the day.” She snuggled up against him.

He drew her in
even closer. “And we can do whatever we want.” His hand moved from her back to
her butt.

“Honestly, Ethan,”
Ashley began, looking at him reluctantly. “I’m not sure that I’ll be able to do
anything else today. I’m already kind of sore.”

He smiled.
“Well, we need some sleep anyway, so we can catch up on that. And there are
also other things we can do. Things that won’t make you sore.”

“Oh, yeah? What
kind of things?”

So he told her.

And it didn’t
matter that they were in the Ho-Hum Motel or that they’d paid only twenty-eight
dollars for the room.

The eighth day
didn’t end until morning.

Denison,
Iowa

When Ashley woke up, she was
very sore in unfamiliar places, her right hand was asleep, and her face was
uncomfortably hot and smushed.

Attempting to
rouse herself, she groggily lifted her face from the nook it was burrowed into,
and she tried to move her prickling hand. Soon, she realized why it had fallen
asleep,

It was trapped
under something warm and heavy. Ethan’s body.

Once again, she
was snuggled up against him, and this time her hand had gotten trapped
underneath his back. Her face had been pressed tightly into his armpit.

She pulled
hard, freeing her hand and making Ethan grunt in his sleep. Then he opened one
eye and used it to glare at her malevolently.

“You were lying
on my hand,” she explained, shaking her hand rapidly to restore circulation.

Ethan managed
to form a very effective sneer, even though he was half asleep. “That’s because
you insist on hugging me in your sleep.”

“It’s not just
me. Are you going to try to say that you’re not just as cuddly as me?”

He opened the
other eye and raised both of his eyebrows. “I only cuddle as a necessary
response to your cuddling. For the last five nights, I’ve woken up with numb
limbs, damp skin, and other, less benign effects of having you clinging to me all
night—and sometimes actually sleeping on top of me.  I can either put my arms
around you or sleep with my arms in the air. You are the instigator of the
cuddling, I promise.” Leave it to Ethan to be fully articulate, even when
barely awake.

Ashley dropped
her head back down on the pillow. “I’m sorry. I hope you haven’t gotten too
annoyed with me. I know guys like their space.”

He reached over
to pull her back into his embrace, and Ashley didn’t resist. She fit herself
next to his side. “I wasn’t complaining. I’ve stayed awake for at least three
different nights this week, holding you in my arms. Believe me, I know a number
of strategies for dislodging unwanted snugglers. If I hadn’t wanted you next to
me, I could easily have rolled you back to your side of the bed. The way I did
with every woman before you.”

“I love you,” Ashley
murmured, stretching up to kiss him—completely forgetting about the horrifying
possibility of morning breath. She wasn’t feeling sexy or erotic: just cozy and
a little bit mushy. So the kiss was more tender than arousing.

Ethan returned
the kiss willingly, not pushing it too far toward the hot or provocative. “That
must be why you’re so cuddly,” he murmured when she pulled away at last.

“Let’s not
forget that you’ve engaged in your fair share of cuddling during this last
week—so the same thing applies to you too.”

“I admit it,”
he replied resignedly, leaning his head back against the pillow. “Love has
turned me into a cuddling fiend. It’s humiliating, really. And if you ever mention
it to anyone, I’ll be forced into some elaborate method of vengeance.”

She giggled,
and Ethan moved over and kissed her. Neither came up for air for several
minutes.

Finally, Ethan
gasped, “I think we better stop, unless you are ready for the real thing
again.”

Ashley had been
enjoying herself quite a bit, but she was also aware of the raw ache between
her legs. “I’m still kind of sore. I’d rather wait, if you don’t mind.”

Ethan sighed.
“Why would I mind?”

At his glum
expression, she tried to hide a smile. “I’m sorry. I’ll be ready to go again
soon, I’m sure. Is it too bad?”

He shook his
head, meeting her eyes so she’d know he was serious. “I’m fine. What’s another
frustrating erection? I can just use my hand again. It’s been my constant
companion for the last week. Damn, I’m pathetic.”

“Soon we can
give your hand a break. Sorry I’m such a wet blanket. And I know yesterday
wasn’t really hot and wild.”

Ethan’s jaw
dropped open.

“Well, of
course, it was good,” she hurried to continue when she saw his expression. “It
was great. For me, anyway. But you didn’t get to just throw me down and have
wild, animal sex. There was a lot of arguing and waiting around and awkwardness
mixed up with the good stuff. And now, this morning, we can’t even have another
go right away.”

“What’s your
point?” Ethan asked, scowling at her.

“I just don’t
want it to have been a disappointment to you. I’m sure it didn’t match up to
your fantasies, not just because we’re in this stupid motel, but because I
wasn’t all wild and sexy and...and insatiable.” Ashley studied Ethan’s grumpy
face carefully, trying to gauge his reactions.

“Of course, you
were sexy. Where are you getting these ridiculous ideas? The real thing was
better than any fantasy I’ve ever had. So you can just stop being silly.”

If he had been
acting sweet or seductive or tender, Ashley might have doubted his sincerity.
But he was clearly both impatient and ill-tempered about the whole subject, so
she had to believe he was telling her the truth. She got a warm, fuzzy feeling
in her middle, despite his irritated expression.

“Okay. Just
wanted to make sure.”

Ethan face
changed, and he kissed her again. “Besides,” he added, his voice growing low
and compelling. “We’ll have time for plenty of wild, animal sex later.”

She pressed herself
against his firm body, feeling cozy and content once more. “Sounds good to me.”

“Now, if you’re
too sore to follow through with all of that wiggling around on top of me, I’m
going to go take a shower.”

Reluctantly, Ashley
rolled off of him. “All right. I guess we should get going soon, anyway. I
suppose we’ll actually make it to Sioux Falls today.” The thought didn’t really
make her happy.

Ethan was out
of the bed by now, and, because he was naked, Ashley had an excellent view of
his very fine body and his very obvious erection.

“Oh,” she said,
staring at his lower body. “Sorry about that.”

He smiled at
her. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got to try to get out of Iowa today, anyway.”
Then he disappeared into the bathroom.

***

When she came out of the shower
wearing a towel wrapped around her wet hair and her bra and panties, she saw Ethan
fully dressed in T-shirt and khakis and standing stiffly with his back to her,
staring at the door to the motel room.

“What’s the
matter?” she asked a little nervously.

He didn’t turn
around. “I just went to get the trash out of the truck.”

“And?” Ashley
prompted.

“It wasn’t
there.”

“What wasn’t
there? The trash?”

“The truck.” Ethan’s
voice was tense and unusually clipped.

“The truck
wasn’t there?” She felt her heart start to drop in her chest. She should have
known things were going too well for them.

“Our stolen
truck has been stolen,” he said bleakly, finally turning around to look at her.

She dropped
onto the edge of the mattress. “Shit. What are we going to do?”

Ethan’s face
looked strained, and he seemed to be having some trouble looking at her face.
“Can you please cover up?” he asked finally.

Ashley glanced
down at her naked body. It seemed a remarkable shift in attitude that she
wasn’t even self-conscious about going around in her underwear. “Can we try to
focus on essentials?”

“I’d like to,” Ethan
said, very slowly and edgily. “But I can’t do that unless you put something
on.”

Ashley pulled
the sheet up over her. “We don’t have a vehicle, we don’t have any money, and
we’re stuck in the middle of Iowa. And you’re standing there thinking about
sex.”

Ethan snarled
and walked back to the door. “I’ll be back in a while.”

“Where are you
going?” Ashley said, jumping up and hurrying to the door after him.

“I’m going to
get us a car.”

“Ethan?” She
started to follow him out but realized she wasn’t wearing any clothes.

By the time she
dressed, towel-dried her hair, and made an attempt at styling it, she was shaking
with frustration and something else.

Something like
fear.

After about
thirty minutes, Ethan finally returned. As soon as he came back in, she went
over to him and grabbed his shirt. “Don’t you ever leave like that again
without telling me what’s going on.”

Ethan looked
vaguely startled by her urgency. “I told you I’d be back.”

“That’s not the
point. The point is the bulldozing. You can’t leave me out of the loop like I’m
a little kid or a passenger just along for the ride. Our relationship can’t
work that way.”

“Sorry,” he
said, surprise, then annoyance, then thoughtfulness flickering over his face in
succession. “I was just going to try to get us a car.”

“I know what
you were doing, but you can’t do it that way. Not to me.”

“Okay. I’m
sorry.”

He did look
sorry—that she was upset—but she didn’t know if he really understood or not.

There were too
many other issues to deal with now, though, so that conversation would have to
wait until later.

“And did you
manage to make a car materialize out of the air?”

“As a matter of
fact, I did.”

“You got us a
car?”

“I did.” The
smugness was back in full force.

“How?” Ashley
breathed, her worry completely forgotten. She gazed at Ethan as if maybe he
really was a miracle worker.

Ethan smiled
broadly. “I won it in a bet with the assistant manager here.”

“You made a bet
with that sleazy kid at the front desk? What kind of moron would wager his car
in a bet with a stranger? What was the bet?”

“I don’t think
I’ll tell you.”

“You have to
tell me. It better not have had anything to do with me.”

“Of course, it
had nothing to do with you.” He looked briefly outraged. “Now, hurry up. We
should go as soon as possible.”

Ashley
considered pressing him for details, but she knew Ethan pretty well by now. She
was well acquainted with the implacable expression on his face, which meant he
wasn’t going to cave on this.

At least not yet.
She’d ask him again later.

A few minutes
later, they left the room—taking with them all the towels, the box of tissues,
both rolls of toilet paper, and the blanket off the bed—but Ashley froze as she
looked at the beat-up old station wagon in front of them in the parking lot.
“This is it?”

“I should have
known you’d complain. Even after I miraculously provide us with a car that's
not even stolen.”

“It’s not much
of a car.” She peered in the side window. The back seat was folded down, so the
whole back was one long flat surface. She remembered the unpleasant teenager
who had been behind the desk in the lobby, and she knew immediately why the
seat was folded down. “This is a sex-mobile,” she said, in an appalled voice.
“I don’t even want to think about how many times that guy had sex in the back
of this car.” She inspected the interior some more. “Although, based on his
appearance, maybe it was more wishful thinking on his part. But still...gross.”

Ethan scowled.
“If you can come up with a better car, I’d be more than happy to leave this one
behind.”

She obviously
had no way to come up with a car.

“That’s what I
thought. So we’ll just have to make do with the sex-mobile until we find
something better.” After a moment, he added dryly, “I did try to clean it up
some. You could show a little appreciation.”

“Please, don’t
even tell me what you had to throw away. Just assure me that you didn’t use
your bare hands to pick anything up.”

“You can rest
assured I made no direct contact with anything taken from this vehicle. Can we
please get going?” He sounded grouchy again.

Ashley sighed
and opened the passenger door. “All right. Let’s go. Sex-mobile it is. Sioux
Falls, here we come. Maybe we can make it there without stopping, since
stopping never works out well for us. We only have a few hours left.”

“No chance of
that,” Ethan said glumly, starting the engine the old-fashioned way for a
change—with a key. “We’ll need to stop for gas in about an hour.”

“Why aren’t I
surprised? We’ll be doing well if we can make it that far without a tragedy.” Ashley
buckled her seatbelt and sniffed fastidiously. But fortunately the car didn’t
really stink. It was just old and dingy, and Ethan seemed to have done a good
job about cleaning it out.

“Have I
mentioned today how much I love you?” she asked, feeling a sudden flash of warm
feeling at the thought of Ethan cleaning out the car by himself before she had
to get in it.

“Only once,” he
replied, looking less grouchy. “But I’ll be happy to hear it again, if you’d
like to tell me.”

So she told
him, and then they left the Ho-Hum Motel and started toward South Dakota.

As they pulled
back out onto the highway, the reality came to Ashley that they could now
legitimately have sex. Whenever they wanted to. Wherever they wanted to.

All she had to
do was ask.

For the first
time that day, she felt a sharp pang of arousal.

She crossed her
legs and tried to convince herself that they had more important things to focus
on than a sex break.

***

Ashley and Ethan were heading
toward I-29, since they’d decided there was no longer as much need to avoid the
interstates. They only had three hours left to go, and by this time the bad
guys would almost certainly be waiting for them in Sioux Falls.

So they had
been driving west for almost forty-five minutes and were finally nearing the
place it intersected with the interstate.

Ashley had not
been having a good drive. She was growing more and more aroused with each
passing mile, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to suggest that they stop so
soon, with no reason other than the fact that she was suddenly horny.