by Ivy Smoak
She stopped chewing mid-bite. "That's a really personal question."
"It can be your pass."
She shook her head and set down her fork. "Um." She scrunched her lips to the side as she thought. "Does hand stuff count?"
I laughed. "No."
"Right. Well, three then."
I nodded. "Okay, your turn."
She leaned forward slightly. She did that a lot. It seemed like a habit from working at a bar. But I wasn't complaining. It allowed me to see down her shirt without being too obvious.
"How many girlfriends have you had total?" Hailey asked.
"With the same rules about labels and the talk?"
"Yeah."
"Four. Why did you break up with your only boyfriend?" I asked.
She didn't look excited by the question. "He cheated on me."
"Sounds like a quality guy."
"Absolutely. He cheated on me with my best friend at the time. And now they're married and expecting their first child."
Damn. "Ouch."
"It doesn't bother me anymore," she said with a shrug. "Honestly it's like you said...we weren't really compatible. How many girls have you slept with?"
I thought about it for a second. "Nine."
"You have triple my experience then." Her eyes stayed locked on mine. She was basically a professional flirter. But her gaze still affected me.
"I guess so," I said.
She looked back down at her half-eaten omelet.
"Why didn't you just ask to share a room with me last night?" I asked.
"Because I don't know you."
"That didn't stop you from climbing in my car."
"That's different. I was awake. Who knows what you'd do to me if I was sleeping with you. I mean, in the same room. Not having sex with you. Obviously." She laughed and her cheeks got slightly rosy.
I wanted to do all sorts of things to her. But not when she was sleeping. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she was exactly what I needed to move on. It was pretty obvious that she wanted me. The way she was making fun of the waitress who was clearly flirting with me. But she also didn't seem to realize that I didn't give a shit about the waitress because I only wanted to look at the girl across from me. Didn't she know how pretty she was?
"My turn, right?" Hailey asked.
I nodded and pushed aside my empty coffee glass.
"How many men have you slept with?" she said with a smile.
I laughed. "I'm not gay."
"If you say so." She pulled out a 20 dollar bill and set it on the table. "Come on, we need to put a few states behind us today."
"I got this," I said and pulled out my wallet.
"Despite what you think, I don't actually need your help, Tyler."
And just like a switch, it seemed like she hated me again. "I wasn't trying to..."
"You can pay next time." She slid out of the booth. "We'll take turns."
I stood up and stretched. "Okay. If that's what you want."
"Like I said, I'm not going to inconvenience you at all. I'm just going to encourage you to get to California as fast as humanly possible so that I can get back home." She walked out of the restaurant without waiting for me.
I had been wallowing for a whole week. I was sick of my own thoughts. The toxicity that seemed to pour off of Hailey was somehow just what I needed. And I wanted to know more about her. I slid out of the booth and quickly followed her outside. That had always been part of my problem. I liked the chase. I liked when girls made me work for it. Apparently I was a glutton for punishment.
"So, how many girls have you slept with?" I asked as I unlocked the car.
She laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
I'm sure I had a shocked look on my face.
She laughed again. "I'm just kidding. You wish." She got in the car.
When I sat down she was holding my phone in her hand. I tried to reach for it, but she held it out at arm's length.
"Can we please use the GPS now?" she said. "We need to figure out the best way to get there."
"Just use your phone then."
"It doesn't connect to your car charger and I didn't bring an adapter." She swiped her finger across my screen. "Do you know you have 23 missed calls?"
God this girl was infuriating. "Yes. Can I please have my phone back?"
"Who's trying to get a hold of you?"
"No one important." I snatched it out of her hand.
"Are you in some sort of trouble?"
"Are you?"
She bit her lower lip. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?"
I slid my phone into my pocket. "Yeah. I guess." That didn't really answer my question, but in a way it did. Something bad had happened to her and she was trying to fix it. I could relate to that. I started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. If she googled that number, she'd find out who was calling me. She'd jump to conclusions about why I had left New York. It wasn't something I wanted to talk to her about. I wanted to go back to the light, flirtatious banter.
Chapter 9
Hailey
Saturday
If I had a photographic memory, I would have been able to memorize the number. As it was, I only got the first three digits. 212. I'd look it up later. It was most likely a NYC area code, which really meant nothing. But it was odd that all the calls were from the same number, which showed up as unknown on his phone. So it wasn't someone who he knew. Maybe it was his ex girlfriend, though. He could have deleted her number. 23 missed calls was a lot. Maybe she was a stalker.
I stole a glance at him. He was switching lanes on the interstate, going into the passing lane as he started to accelerate.
"It's my question, right?" I asked.
"Yeah." Tyler seemed distracted. Maybe he was just concentrating on the road.
"Why did you break up with your girlfriend?"
He thought about it for a minute. "Because I wasn't in love with her," he finally said.
"How are you so sure? Love is rather complicated. Maybe you just didn't give it enough time."
"No, I'm sure."
"How?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Because I was in love with someone else." He hit his turn signal again and sped by someone who was probably already going over the speed limit.
"Is that who you're driving toward? Does the girl you actually love live in California?" Suddenly it felt like I had just been transported into a romantic comedy. I was part of an epic love chase.
He laughed. Its sounded strangled. "No."
"Why aren't you going to her? This could be your chance at true love."
"It's complicated."
"But..."
"As far as I'm concerned, true love doesn't exist. Look, I really don't want to talk about this. And haven't you asked like five questions in a row?"
"Okay, then ask me one."
He shook his head. "What's your favorite color?" He clearly wanted to go back to simple questions.
"Actually, it's quite the coincidence. Mine's green too. So, where does the girl you do love live?"
"Pass."
"But maybe that's where you should be driving, Tyler."
"Trust me, it's not."
"Why?"
"Please stop pushing this."
"You have to tell her how you feel. You don't want to go through your whole life regretting this missed opportunity."
"I did tell her, okay?! Happy?" He pulled back into the passing lane again.
His tone sent goose bumps up my arms. I bit my lip. So, maybe it wasn't a romantic comedy. Maybe it was more like a Shakespearean tragedy. "I'm sorry."
"Great. Thanks for your pity."
"I didn't say I pitied you."
"Can you please just stop talking for five seconds?" He hit the button to turn the radio on with his fist. Rap music blared through the car.
Whatever he was going through, I knew he'd feel better if he got it off his chest. But I wasn't going to force it. He'd tell me when he was ready.
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Besides, the rap music fit my current mood. I had never been good at hiding my emotions. I wore them on my sleeve. Apparently Tyler did too. Maybe that's why we were butting heads so much. Or maybe it was the fact that we were stuck in a car together and barely knew each other. And clearly we were both going through some stuff.
Hell, maybe I'd feel better if I got my problems off my chest too. But not right now. Right now I just wanted to listen to angry rap music and curse the world.
***
"Seriously, I don't mind sleeping on the cot," I said for what felt like the hundredth time.
"I already left you to sleep in the car one night. Would you please just get in the bed?"
I put my hands on my hips. "Tyler, you're paying for the room. You wouldn't even let me split it with you. So I'm taking the cot." I sat down on it. The thin mattress felt like a brick.
The hotel only had king beds left, or else we could have just gotten two queens. As it was, there was one huge king sized bed in the room and a cot made out of stones. He scratched the back of his neck.
Why do I find that so sexy? "Or we could just share the bed," I said. "It's huge. We could just stay on opposite sides."
I thought he would continue to protest, but instead he shrugged his shoulders.
"Fine. We're both exhausted. Let's just call it a night." He grabbed his shirt by the nape of its collar and pulled it off over his head.
I tried not to stare, but it was hard to move my eyes away from him. I knew that he was in shape from the muscles in his arms. But I hadn't been expecting the perfectly sculpted six pack that was currently staring back at me. I made myself turn away as he started to unbutton his shorts. I fidgeted with the hem of my baggy t-shirt. Suddenly I wished that I owned sexy lingerie. I had noticed how his eyes had lingered on my legs, but he had quickly looked away when I caught him staring. I had been completely off base before. There was no way that Tyler Stevens the business reporter from New York City was gay. He was just heartbroken. He was in pain. And I felt like I could understand that. I knew what it felt like to live in pain. I knew what it felt like to want something so badly that I couldn't have. At the moment, I kind of wanted him. I rolled my eyes at myself.
The bed squeaked and I turned around. He had pulled the covers up to his neck and the light next to his side had already been switched off. I awkwardly climbed into my side, trying hard not to reveal my underwear. Not that he was looking. I switched the light off on my side and the room was bathed in darkness. My body hugged the edge of the bed like it was my anchor.
"Do you prefer Hailey or Hails?" Tyler said into the darkness.
"You can call me Hails," I whispered back.
"Okay. Goodnight, Hails."
"Goodnight, Tyler." For some reason I wanted to cry. It had been over four years since a boy I was attracted to had called me by my nickname. It made my whole body feel weirdly warm. I pushed the blankets off of me. Maybe I was still pissed about my ex cheating on me. If I didn't start letting go of some of this anger, I was worried I'd start to feel like I was drowning in it.
***
I woke up to the smell of freshly cut grass and mint. I took a deep breath. It smelled heavenly. For the second morning in a row, I had completely forgotten where I was. But unlike last night, where I had fallen asleep shivering, this morning I had woken up because I was overheated. I slowly opened my eyes to Tyler's face just inches from my own.
I immediately held my breath, worried I had been caught in a compromising situation. But we were almost exactly in the center of the bed. It's like we had both gravitated toward each other in the middle of the night. Neither one of us could be blamed more than the other.
His arm was slung protectively around me and I could feel his fingers pressed against my skin right above my underwear. Which meant his hand had pushed up the baggy t-shirt I was sleeping in. But it wasn't any worse than what I was doing to him. My leg was resting across his thighs and my hand was pressed against his abs. God, his abs. I exhaled slowly, trying hard not to disturb him. I felt completely frozen. Part of me wanted to roll away from him before he realized that I was snuggled up against him, but the other part of me wanted to kiss his beautiful face. I wanted to be able to forget about my worries and fears. I wanted to be able to run away from my problems like he was running away from his. But his arms weren't the ones I needed to run into. He was in love with someone else.
I ducked out from under his arm as slowly as possible and climbed out of bed. For some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off him though. During the day I was always captivated by his bright blue eyes. Right now, it was something completely different. There was something so peaceful about the way he slept. And his strong shoulders and chest were all I could seem to focus on. I should have relished how his skin had felt against mine instead of immediately climbing out of bed.
He was as angry at life as I was. Life had chewed us both up and spit us back out. And for some reason we had run into each other. Maybe I was over thinking things. Maybe he was exactly what I needed. Besides, I wasn't looking for something that lasted forever. Nothing lasted forever anyway.
He groaned in his sleep and placed his hand where I had been lying. It was like he could feel my absence. I knew he wanted me too. I knew that his heart was broken. Maybe I could help mend it. Maybe I could show him that there was more to life than whatever girl he had just left behind.
He groaned again.
No one should look sexy while they slept, but somehow Tyler did. I needed to stop staring at him before he caught me. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear as I rummaged through my purse for my cell. I had two missed calls from my dad and a voicemail. I glanced once more at Tyler and made my way into the hall. I closed the door as quietly as possible behind me and dialed my voicemail.
"Hails." My dad's breathing sounded slightly labored. "I know you're trying to help. But this isn't helping anyone. Especially not me. Come back. Honey, please come home." He coughed and then the message beeped, signaling that it was over.
I held the phone to my chest and blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall. I'd call him back later. He'd be sleeping right now. He needed his rest. And despite what he thought, what I was doing was going to help. It had to.
Chapter 10
Tyler
Sunday
The sound of a shower running made me slowly open my eyes. Fuck. I was hard. I had dreamt of Hailey again. More vivid than the night before. Maybe it was because I had seen her in barely anything last night before bed. I was tempted to whack one off real quick, but I didn't want her to walk out of the bathroom and see me doing that. Shit. I ran my hands down my face as I tried to think of something else. Anything else. But when I closed my eyes I just saw her long legs stretching out beneath her baggy t-shirt. All I could think about was them straddling me.
When I opened my eyes she was standing in front of me in nothing but a towel. I blinked, thinking it was just my imagination. But no, she was really there. Beads of water rolled down her chest and disappeared beneath the knot in her towel. This was not helping my boner situation.
A smile spread across her face. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."
I laughed. "How did you sleep?"
Her cheeks looked flushed. Probably from the shower. "Really well, actually. How about you?" She leaned over to grab something from her duffel and nearly exposed her ass to me.
I forced myself to look away. "Good."
"Thanks again for letting me stay in the room with you. And for letting me share the bed."
"Yeah, of course."
She nodded. "Okay. I'm going to go change." She disappeared back into the bathroom.
I quickly got out of bed and pulled on a pair of shorts to hide the evidence of how badly I wanted her. I was just pulling on a shirt when she walked back into the room.
"So, I mapped out the best route to Pasadena," she said.
"Pasadena?"
"Yeah. Well, I know I said Californ
ia, which was rather vague since it's such a huge state. And really you can just drop me off anywhere. Pasadena is where I eventually need to end up though. But if you..."
"I can take you to Pasadena." It was only a few hours away from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. Thinking about it gave me a pit in my stomach. I knew I was doing the right thing. But it didn't mean I wasn't terrified.
She looked relieved. "Great. I got this map from downstairs." She opened it up and spread it across the bed. "I really wouldn't mind seeing the Grand Canyon. I know I was just joking around about hitchhiking when we first met. But here I am. I'm officially a hitchhiker. I might as well see the Grand Canyon while I'm at it. It's kind of on the way." She pointed at a dot on the map.
"Yeah, sure."
"And if we start going south now, kind of cut through Missouri and then head west, I think that's probably the fastest route. We basically just follow Route 66, so we don't even need a GPS, because I know you hate those."
I picked up the map. "Ever been to Vegas?"
She laughed. "No. I've actually never even left Indiana before."
"Seriously?"
She shrugged.
"You do realize that we're in Illinois right now? You've officially left your home state."
"I know." She smiled. "It's pretty exhilarating. Is Vegas on the way too?"
"Kind of. Just like the Grand Canyon is kind of on the way."
"I guess we'll see if we're sick of each other by then."
I knew she was in a rush to get to Pasadena for some reason. I looked back down at the map. I had more than half a country to figure out why. "Mhm."
"Are you hungry?" she asked. "It's your turn to buy breakfast."
"Yeah, just let me go brush my teeth." I quickly freshened up. When I walked back out, the TV was on. Hails was watching a news reporter outside of a hospital. An image flashed across the screen with the caption "Mr. and Mrs. Hunter moments before the shooting." She was in a wedding dress and he was in a tux. They looked so happy. I swallowed down the lump in my throat.
