18 Hours To Us

by Krista Noorman

  “Flat tire,” Colton replied. “We’re just finishing up.”

  Natalie wondered if he was as nervous as she was, but he kept his cool and went about taking care of the jack and wrench. She tried not to show her nerves, but she was sweating and the sound of the approaching storm was getting to her as well. A sudden boom of thunder caused her to jump and let out a yelp.

  “Are you all right, miss?” The officer moved closer to her.

  “Oh, I’m fine.” She rested her hand over her heart. “I just don’t like storms, that’s all. The thunder freaks me out.”

  “It should blow through in the next fifteen minutes or so. If you keep heading south, you should drive out of it in no time.”

  “Oh, thank you.” She let out a sigh.

  “Where you headed?” the officer asked.

  “Virginia Beach,” Natalie answered.

  “Just the two of you?” He glanced over at Colton.

  “For a school trip,” she answered, afraid to give away too much information.

  “Where’s the rest of your class?” he asked.

  “On the bus. We had to drive separately because of a … scheduling conflict.”

  The officer nodded. “Well, safe travels to you.”

  “Thanks for checking on us.” Colton closed the trunk and nodded at the man.

  Natalie tried to act casual as she climbed back into the passenger side of the car.

  Colton waited by the rear of the car for a few vehicles to pass before walking to the driver’s side and taking his place behind the wheel. His hands were visibly shaking, as were Natalie’s as she held the keys out to him. “I thought you were going to drive.”

  “I forgot.” She was too flustered to care.

  He took the keys from her and fired up the engine, cautiously driving onto the highway and keeping his speed just under the limit.

  Natalie stared in the side mirror at the trooper driving behind them. “Do you think he’s checking your plates or something?”

  “I don’t know.” He gripped the steering wheel tightly.

  “What if he pulls us over? He’s going to ask for licenses.”

  “Relax, Natalie. You’re starting to freak me out.” Colton activated the wipers as the rain began to fall.

  A couple miles down the road, the officer was still tailing them. Colton kept his speed in check, his eyes constantly bouncing between the road and the rearview mirror.

  “Don’t you think if he was going to stop us, he would’ve done it by now?” Natalie asked.

  The lights on top of the police car suddenly began flashing as if in answer to her question.

  “Oh, no!” Natalie eyes shot to Colton’s, her heart in her throat.

  “Are you kidding me?” He slowed down and began to pull off the road.

  “We’re so busted.” Tears burned Natalie’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, Colton. This is all my fault. I don’t want you to go to jail.”

  The police car suddenly went speeding past them, sirens blaring.

  Colton let out a deep breath as he pulled back onto the road and drove on. “Must’ve had something more urgent.”

  Natalie inhaled deeply through her nose as her head fell back against the seat. “Oh my gosh!” She exhaled the words.

  “Man, I’m gonna be glad when we get there,” he said.

  She nodded in agreement.

  Colton shook his head as he looked over at her. “‘Oh, Colton, I don’t want you to go to jail.’” He mocked her earlier freak-out.

  “Hey, I was really worried.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  He busted up laughing, and she couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

  “Did you want to drive?” he asked.

  Natalie motioned toward the dark clouds ahead. “No, thanks.”

  And it was as if the clouds sensed her fear, because they burst open at that moment and began dumping rain down on them. Colton slowed the car to a crawl when it became nearly impossible to see the road ahead.

  Natalie distracted herself by thinking about last night’s storm and how Colton had helped her through it. Her stomach flipped as she remembered the way he held her and sang with that smooth voice of his. No matter what happened when they reached Virginia Beach, even if they never spoke again, she would always have those memories.

  The rain grew heavier.

  “I have to pull off. I can’t see the road at all.” He steered slowly to the side behind other cars that were stopped and activated his hazard lights.

  Natalie was shaking. “This is horrible.”

  And it only grew worse as little hail stones began pelting the vehicles and bouncing off.

  “Oh, that better not leave marks,” Colton warned as if the clouds would hear him and stop.

  Lightning flashed and thunder boomed almost simultaneously, making it known that they were sitting directly in the center of the storm.

  Tears burned Natalie’s eyes. “Colton,” she whimpered.

  “Hey.” He took her hand in his.

  “Why are there so many storms on this trip?” She gripped his forearm with her other hand.

  “We’ll get through them, Natalie. We’ll get through them all.”

  She was trembling then as a bolt of lightning struck close by and thunder clapped. A scream escaped her, and she squeezed her eyes closed to shut it all out. She suddenly felt a hand smooth across her cheek, gently turning her head, then warm breath against her face just before soft lips met hers for a single perfect kiss.

  Her eyes flew open to Colton’s face hovering close to hers, those green eyes fixed on her lips. He leaned in again and brushed his full lower lip against her upper one, and she responded, kissing him softly once, twice, three times. He took her face in both hands as they kissed again. She lost count of how many times after that as the kisses grew longer and they became more wrapped up in each other. She gripped his forearms, and shivers, which were in no way related to the storm outside, traveled her entire body. Natalie knew she would never think of lightning and thunder the same way again.

  Colton pressed one final soft kiss to her lips before resting his forehead against hers. “Feel better?”

  She couldn’t find the words, so she simply nodded and let go of his arms as his hands slipped from her face.

  “Good.” He sat back in his seat.

  “That …” She swallowed through the nerves and the still very active butterflies in her stomach. “That was just to distract me, right?”

  He gave her a goofy grin. “Of course.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “And because I’ve wanted to kiss you since you hid under my sweatshirt at the gas station.”

  Her lips curved to one side. “Not my best moment.”

  “You were cute. And nobody’s ever said that to me before.”

  “Said what?”

  “That they couldn’t be seen with me. People usually want to be seen with me.”

  She formed an O with her lips. “Well, aren’t you hot stuff?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “People seem to think so.”

  “I just didn’t want to get into trouble with my parents for going on this trip with you,” she explained. “That’s why I said it.”

  “I know.”

  “I like being with you because of who you are, Colton. Not because I want to be seen with you.”

  “You like me.” He tilted his head, and his lips turned up in a sweet smile.

  “I mean, you’re tolerable.” She turned away nervously.

  “Uh-huh.” He laughed. “Those kisses were a dead giveaway.”

  “How do you know I wasn’t thinking about someone else the whole time?” she asked.

  “Were you?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

  She angled her head and smiled.

  “Well, maybe we should try again.” He leaned toward her, his gaze fixed on her mouth. “I can make you think about me and only me.”

  She pressed her hand against his chest to stop h
is advance.

  “No?” His eyebrows raised in question.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  Colton turned away and fiddled with the air conditioner controls. “Is it hot in here?”

  She giggled.

  He glanced over at her, then leaned back in his seat. “An enigma, I tell ya.”

  “An enigma?”

  “You’re hard to figure out.”

  “I didn’t know you knew the word enigma.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’m not the dumb jock everyone thinks I am.”

  “I didn’t say you were dumb.”

  “I’m tired of being judged because I like sports and drive a nice car.”

  “Hey, I’m not judging you.” A little laugh escaped her. “I was teasing. Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.”

  He sat quiet for a minute. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. It’s getting more and more annoying to deal with that kind of stuff lately. Most times, people are serious. I wouldn’t have been accepted to MSU with bad grades, but people don’t get that. They think daddy bought my way in. But I earned this, whether or not our name got me in there.”

  “You know you’re always going to deal with judge-y people, right? Everyone has to deal with them at some point in their life. But as long as you know the truth, that’s all that really matters.”

  He nodded.

  “And I’m not completely innocent,” she admitted. “I’ve watched you and listened to what other people said about you and made assumptions and judgments without all the facts, without really knowing you, and I’m sorry for that.”

  “But you know me now. You know the truth about me.”

  She smiled. “I think I do.”

  “Then that’s all that matters.”

  18

  Life’s Path

  If Natalie never heard another rap song in her life it would be too soon. But if listening to rap meant staying in the Camaro with Colton, she would gladly endure it.

  “I’m not sure I want to go to MSU,” he blurted twenty minutes after the end of their last conversation.

  Natalie was taken aback. “But you said you worked so hard to get in there.”

  “It’s a great school, and I know what a big deal a football scholarship is.”

  “But?” She anxiously awaited what he would say next.

  “Sometimes I feel like I’m meant to do something else,” he admitted.

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Never mind.”

  “Don’t do that.” She feared a repeat of their earlier conversation at the campground. “You’ve obviously been sitting here thinking about all of this, and you wouldn’t have said something if you didn’t want to talk about it, so spill.”

  “I’ve been thinking about going on a mission trip after graduation.”

  “A mission trip? Like with a church?” This was not what she expected him to say.

  Colton nodded.

  “What church?”

  “Neil’s.”

  “I thought you didn’t go to church,” she said.

  “I don’t.”

  “O-kay.” Natalie was confused.

  “I used to go with Neil sometimes when I was younger, but not after Chris.”

  “Oh.” That was understandable.

  “I went with them in November for the first time in three years, and Neil invited me to go on the mission trip this summer with him and Heather to build homes in Guatemala.”

  “That sounds like a great experience.”

  “That’s what I was thinking. Ever since he asked me, it’s been hanging out in my brain, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Helping people who don’t have homes just feels right. Like, I think I really want to go.” There was a fire in his eyes that revealed his longing to do something important and meaningful.

  “You can do that and still go to college in the fall, so why are you really unsure about MSU?”

  “I just … I’m feeling a little lost right now, I guess. I’m confused about a lot of things in my life.”

  “Huh.” She shook her head.

  “Huh, what?”

  “I never would’ve known you were questioning your future plans.”

  “Don’t you ever do that?” he asked.

  “Sometimes, but I always thought you were set for life. Football scholarship, beautiful girlfriend, perfect future all mapped out for you.”

  “That’s the thing, though. I don’t want it all mapped out for me.” Colton sat up straighter in his seat as he spoke more passionately. “I want to figure it out on my own. I want to know that the path I’m on is one that I chose. Maybe I’ll fail, but how will I know unless I try something, something not planned out by my father, ya know?”

  She suddenly had a strange thought. “You’re a little like Davey.”

  Colton’s brow furrowed. “The ventriloquist dummy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Gee, thanks.” He made a silly face at her.

  She giggled. “People speaking for you, I mean. It’s like you're speaking for yourself, but there's actually somebody else there behind you, making you do what they want you to do."

  “Nice analogy.”

  “Thanks.” She winked.

  “Are you one-hundred percent sure about Arizona State?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She had no hesitations whatsoever.

  “Why?”

  “It’s been a dream of mine to compete gymnastics in college. They have a great gymnastics team and a great school. Olivia and I have always talked about going to the same college and rooming together, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

  “Did she get a scholarship too?”

  “Not a gymnastics one, but she got a couple academic ones and an art scholarship.”

  “What are you majoring in?” he asked.

  “I’m going to study kinesiology so one day I can coach gymnastics.”

  “Kinesi-what?”

  Natalie laughed. “Kinesiology. It’s the study of the movement of the body.”

  “See, you know what you want, and you’re headed in the right direction. I don’t even know what I want to study. My dad says Business Management so I can follow in his footsteps.”

  “And you aren’t interested in anything else?”

  “Sports Medicine has crossed my mind before. Especially after all the concussions I’ve had playing football.”

  “It sounds like you really have a heart for helping people.”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  It seemed so obvious to her—Guatemala and now this—even if he wasn’t so sure yet. “It’s worth doing a little research to see if it’s something you might want to do.”

  “My dad believes in making a plan and sticking to it. He’d go nuts if I told him I was starting school with an undeclared major.”

  Her heart went out to him. “Can’t you just be honest and tell him what you want to do?”

  “You don’t understand.”

  She laid her hand on his. “Then make me understand.”

  He turned his hand over and gripped hers. “My dad has been drilling these plans into me since I was a little boy. Get a scholarship to MSU. Take over the family business. It’s what he did. It’s what his father did. What his grandfather did. It’s the family legacy. Not so easy to turn my back on that.”

  “It’s your life, Colton. Your scholarship. You don’t have to depend on him to pay for school. You can decide what you study. Not him.” She squeezed his hand before letting go.

  “I don’t know. Other than sports, my dad and I have nothing in common. And we don’t talk, not like you do with your dad. He would never understand.”

  It saddened her that he had no relationship with his dad. She couldn’t imagine that, and it made her heart ache with regret for having been dishonest with hers.

  “I’m sorry. I wish I could help,” she said.

  “You already have.” He smiled over at her. “I never have anyone to ta
lk to about this stuff.”

  “Well, you can talk to me anytime you need to. I’m here for you.”

  “I like you, Natalie Rhodes.”

  “I know.” She grinned.

  “I wish we’d stayed friends since that day on the playground.”

  “Me too.”

  19

  To Us

  They were within an hour of their destination when Colton pointed to a sign ahead for a restaurant. “Would you mind if I took you out to lunch?”

  “We can wait until we get there, Colton. You’ve bought me so many meals already.”

  “I know, but this’ll be our last road trip meal together.” A flicker of sadness crossed his face.

  She smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

  A grin took the place of his sad expression. “Good.”

  He took her to a little seafood place, where the waitress seated them in a booth in a quiet corner.

  “I’m really glad you came with me,” Colton said after they placed their order.

  “So am I. I didn’t know what to expect, and I was honestly kind of nervous.”

  “Because of my bad driving?”

  “Because you’re Colton Daynes.”

  He rolled his eyes. “What, you were intimidated by me or something?”

  “Of course. Who wouldn’t be?”

  Disbelief crossed his face. “You didn’t seem to care about who I was at all when we started this trip.”

  “I didn’t want you to think I was nervous. I tried to pretend I was cool and chill about the whole thing.”

  Colton laughed. “Well, I bought it. You’re a good actress.”

  “But now I know I was wrong about you,” she said. “There’s more to you than just your reputation.”

  His eyes sparkled when he smiled at her. “And now I know you’re more than just the gymnast.”

  She had nearly forgotten. “Yeah, why did you say that before?”

  “Say what?”

  “When I told you I liked gymnastics, you said, ‘Oh right, you’re the gymnast’. What did you mean by that?”

  “I don’t think I should say.” He picked up the napkin-wrapped silverware from the table and ripped apart the paper band that held it all together. His knife dropped with a clank to the table.

  “Why not?” she asked, clearly puzzled.