Audrey's Road Trip

by Susan Bella Ikin

  Audrey

  We journeyed to Yosemite Valley, and I was entranced by the scenery. The road to the valley had been a bit scary, as it had to climb the mountains, and I was sitting on the side facing the drop, but thankfully James was driving, and he had so far shown himself to be very competent, so I just chatted to take my mind off the drop, and enjoyed the view. I was amazed by the rock formations within the valley, both by the views of Half Dome, and - as my parents were Star Trek fans - I was enthralled by El Capitan, imagining Captain Kirk climbing it 'for real'. We stayed in the Valley for a couple of days, finding cheap cabin and camping accommodation, which was lucky given that it was summer, and then after some amazing walks, headed off to Lake Tahoe.

  Here we indulged in some swimming, as the lake was enormous and from where we were staying looked like a beach, although without the huge waves, and again shared accommodations between the four of us. Kerry and Andrew were a bit more discreet, I think the three nights in San Francisco had been a good break for everyone. James and I fell into our old easy friendship, for which I was thankful. Things had been getting a bit tense between us, it was a bit uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed when we weren't actually sleeping together, and it had put a bit of a strain on our friendship. I was happy that we had returned to our old relationship, as I really valued James' company. He was unfailingly polite and considerate, as well as being funny and witty. He was just fun to be with, and the fact that he was so easy to look at wasn't a bad thing either.

  Although sometimes I indulged in fantasies about us becoming lovers, for the most part I was happy with him as a friend. When I was alone and did spend a bit of time with those fantasies, James somehow seemed to become a vague figure, as I really didn't know what to expect so couldn't imagine in great detail exactly what would happen apart from the sexual act itself. Perhaps I should have asked more questions of Emily. My sister had never been shy around men, and had lost her virginity well before she got to my current age, which was twenty two. I had often asked her questions about what ‘it’ was like, often giggling as I did, but Emily had been a bit vague sometimes so I hadn't pursued any details. When I had developed my crush on James when I was barely eighteen, I had asked Emily lots of questions, trying to make sense out of what I was seeing – James and Maddy seemed to be inseparable. Emily had asked me why, and I had told her that there was someone at Uni that I liked, but who didn’t know I existed, and I was trying to work out what the girl he was seeing had, that I didn’t have. Emily sat me down and said:

  “She hasn’t got anything you don’t have sweetie, she just knows how to use it to get her man’s attention. You don’t have to do that just to get a man to look at you, if he’s worth your time, he’ll see you. I know you haven’t had sex yet, so don’t think you have to jump in the sack with just anybody, just to get him to like you. If he really likes you, of course he will want to have sex with you, but he will wait for you to be ready.”

  So, as I had my laptop with me and Emily had been 'liking' and commenting on many of my posts about my travels - letting me know that she was still in touch and had internet access - I thought I might reach out to her via private messages. I wanted some help from Emily to see if she could give me some ideas about how to work out if James liked me or not, because I really couldn’t tell. Sometimes I thought he might, sometimes I thought he was just a good friend. I wished that Emily was nearby, so that we could talk like we used to, but talking over the internet would have to do.

  I knew that Emily had found herself a remote cottage by the sea to stay in to recover from her recent injury and get over the embarrassment of finding out that her boyfriend had dumped her because he was cheating on her with a co-worker. One day when we were in Seattle and I had access to wi-fi I sent her a message asking how she was settling in at the cottage, making a comment that Mum had been worried about the remoteness of the place, and worrying that if Emily got into difficulty she would be alone. I knew that the response would be delayed due to the time difference, and resolved to check my messages later that night.

  When I did, I was very surprised. Emily told me that she was no longer living at the cottage, but that she was back in Melbourne. She went on to tell me that she had met a man and was living with him, and that Mum had met him and approved of him. Well, that was a surprise! I had only seen her a few weeks before, and I didn’t even know there was a man on the horizon, had she met him since then? I resolved that I would have to talk to her in person about that! Her message went on. She was coming to America as her boyfriend, Richard, worked there, and her friend Sarah was getting married to the man she had met on the cruise, where she also had met James’ brother Tom and his wife, Judy.

  I looked up from the computer, I knew that James had met Sarah so I thought I would have to give him this news. I looked down again and kept reading. Emily went on to say that she was going to the wedding, but that she wanted to catch up with me while I was in America, so she would keep messaging me when she knew her plans a bit better.

  This started a chain of messaging between us, all the way from Seattle through to Bryce Canyon, via such amazing stops as Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Zion Canyon and Salt Lake City, just to name a few places. In short, I wanted Emily to tell me all about Richard, and Emily kept telling me that there was too much to say in a message, and that she would give me all the juicy details when we met in person.

  We were planning to spend a few days in Las Vegas, which was only a few hours’ drive from Los Angeles, and then the last few days of our holiday would be spent in or near Los Angeles. So I decided to keep my questions for when I could see Emily in person, hoping that I could meet with her when we were in the same city. Maybe she could give some pointers then, and I certainly wanted to meet this Richard that she was so keen on that she had moved so far from home on such short notice!

  James

  I was sure that I was going mad. I hadn’t wanted to spend any more time sleeping in the same bed as Audrey, as I knew that eventually she would work out that I was having difficulty keeping my hands off her, and yet when we weren’t in the same bed I was unhappy. When we had stayed at Yosemite, Kerry had turned her nose up at the tents we had purchased, convincing Andrew to pay extra for a cabin. This meant that Audrey and I had the tents to ourselves, so instead of having two people to a tent, we each had twice the space. We put our valuables in the cabin with Kerry and Andrew, but pitched the tents so they faced each other and we could talk. It was really enjoyable sitting and talking to Audrey late at night before we turned in to sleep, but I laid there each night wishing that I had gotten any signals from her that I would be welcome if I crawled into her tent.

  We had managed to get family style accommodation in most of the other tourist spots, so again found ourselves sharing rooms with Andrew and Kerry, and despite the fact that they were trying to be quieter, there were nights when I could hear muffled grunts and groans coming from their room. This would inevitably leave me lying on my single bed, or sometimes my sofa bed, with a hard on for Audrey, as I was imagining that it was her and I in that room, instead of lying almost within touching distance of her, yet we may as well have been miles apart.

  We spent a lot of time on the road, covering miles and miles across states, as we discovered new places to explore. The more time I spent with Audrey, the more difficulty I was having in pretending that I wasn’t attracted to her. I had noticed Andrew looking at me speculatively a few times, so whenever I noticed this, I kept things cool with Audrey for a while until he stopped watching me. I liked Andrew, but I knew he could also be a bit crass sometimes, and I didn’t want him teasing Audrey, not only because I didn’t think she would appreciate it, but also it would tip her off that I was attracted to her. Once, Andrew even approached me to ask what was going on between myself and Audrey, and I had told him that of course I was attracted to her, I wasn’t blind, but she was a friend of a friend and so I wouldn’t be making any moves on her. He seemed to accept this, a
nd I thought it would explain those times when perhaps my eyes lingered too long on her.

  On the day we left Yellowstone National Park, after yet more time spent camping next to each other, I was amused by Audrey’s sense of humour. She had taken a turn at driving, and had run into a traffic jam as we tried to leave the park. I was sitting in the passenger seat, checking the map to work out how far until the next town, and trying to ignore the giggles coming from the back seat as Kerry and Andrew carried on like teenagers. I was still amazed that after several years together, they were still behaving like that. I think it was because they had each remained living at home throughout their university years, and even now they were both still living with their parents. They were trying to save for a house, but it also meant that they didn’t have the comfort of sleeping together when they wanted, which was probably why they were insufferable about it now.

  Suddenly Audrey began to laugh. I asked her what was so funny, I couldn’t see anything to laugh at, and she said:

  “You will soon,” as she slowly edged the car forward.

  Then I saw what it was. We had assumed the traffic jam was because there had been an accident, or everyone was trying to leave the park at the same time, but it turned out there was a different explanation. The large herds of bison that we had been told could be viewed in these meadows, apparently wanted to cross the road to eat the grass on the other side of the road from where they had started.

  Now, anyone who has ever seen an adult bison will know that it is the size of a small car, and it has horns. That was why there was a traffic jam, motorists were too afraid to move when the bison decided to cross in front of them, so would just wait until the bison passed. Unfortunately, some of the bison seemed to get part way across the road, then change their mind, so were just standing in the middle of the road, meaning that the traffic was stopped either side. Audrey grabbed her phone, as she had the best view, and filmed the scene, saying that her sister was going to love it when she put the clip on Facebook.

  I asked “Have you been talking to Emily while we’ve been travelling?”

  “Yes, I started chatting with her in Seattle. She’s been keeping up with our trip by following my posts, but when I get wi-fi I message her. Look at that, is he huge or what?” – she asked, indicating a large bull as we inched past – “I have been meaning to tell you the news too, but kept forgetting. Did you know that Sarah is marrying Adam, you know the guy she met when she met your brother and his wife?”

  No, I hadn’t known that, and I was surprised, the impression I got from Tom was that Sarah had fallen for some guy who had broken her heart and didn’t deserve her, but I guess she was old enough to make her own choices. I pointed out the road to turn down to exit the park, and Audrey continued.

  “So Emily is going to their wedding of course, she is going to be the Bridesmaid, and they are getting married in Bermuda. Emily said she is staying in the States for a while, so I was thinking I might catch up with her if she’s in LA at the same time we are. Or maybe she might even come over to Vegas when we are there. We’ll sort it out as we go, it’s a bit far in the future to get the dates sorted at the moment”.

  I didn’t know how to take this. I had met Emily of course, she had seemed quite nice, although not a patch on her little sister, in my opinion. I had met Sarah too, but had not met the man she was apparently going to marry. Now I was worried because if Emily was staying in LA, Audrey might stay with her when we got there, and that would mean I wouldn’t get to see her every day. That put me in a bit of a bad mood, and I sat in silence for most of the drive. That was until I realized how much Audrey was struggling.

  We had been up early, and had been walking around all day, and although I was a little tired, I hadn’t realized how tired Audrey was until I looked over at her and saw her yawning. We had initially planned to leave earlier, but had gone on a walk that took longer than we thought, and although we had originally planned to push on to Buffalo that night, I knew now that it was unreasonable. If Audrey was tired, chances were we were all too tired to be driving. I checked my phone to see what towns were next, and if there was any accommodation to be had, but I didn’t have any coverage. I knew we had got the wrong phone plans! The network display was telling me what networks were available, and ours wasn’t one of them! I suggested we pull over to stretch our legs, and Audrey agreed eagerly. We got out of the car, and noticed that there was a beautiful sunset behind us, so we leaned against the back of the car and watched it for a while. Kerry and Andrew, true to form, stayed in the back seat.

  When we decided we had seen enough sunset and wanted to press on, I offered to drive, but Audrey told me she was fine now, and that I had done a lot more driving than her, so I should relax and let her continue. After about a half hour more, we saw that we were entering the outskirts of a small town, and very soon we saw a motel on the side of the road. It looked very pretty, with hanging baskets full of flowers, and we all trooped inside. The owner told us that all the rooms were full, but they owned a small house in town, it was only one bedroom but had a sofa bed, and she described how to find it, as well as telling us where in town we could still get some food. We stopped and had a quick bite, and then headed off following the directions we had been given.

  We drove up to the house, and it turned out to be a renovated cottage. As we were unloading the cases from the car, Kerry ran into the bedroom yelling “Dibs”. Now, even though they were my friends, their behaviour was beginning to annoy even me, and a glance at Audrey told me that her temper was simmering again. Andrew and Kerry always assumed that as they were a couple and we weren’t, that they got preference for the better room, leaving us to have whatever else was available. The three of us ended up carrying in the bags as Kerry was conveniently absent, either in the bedroom or the bathroom. I tried to take Audrey’s bags, but one look at her face made me decide that it would be a braver man than I who would speak to her right now.

  Andrew and Kerry were quick to shower and go to bed, leaving Audrey and myself to amuse ourselves. I suggested to Audrey that she take the first shower, and while she was gone, I worked out how the sofa bed opened. When Audrey came out, freshly showered and looking delectable, she leaned over the sofa bed to push down on the mattress, testing it for thickness and comfort, I assumed. I was having trouble thinking anyway, as from my seat at the table, all I could see was Audrey’s cute little backside, clad in tiny little sleep shorts, jiggling up and down as she bent over the sofa bed, pushing on the mattress. I clenched my hands to stop me from reaching out to her. I shifted my position on the chair to hide my burgeoning erection, and Audrey straightened up and turned to face me.

  “So, same deal as last time then? Do you still want to be next to the door?”

  I nodded yes and then shuffled off to the shower like a coward. Maybe I should work out how to broach the subject of my growing attraction to her? Would I just make her uncomfortable, or would she actually be receptive to the idea? I had a very cold shower, changed into my shorts and t-shirt, and headed back out to the room, turning out all the lights except for the lamp next to the bed. Emily was sitting cross legged on the sofa bed, typing on her laptop. This room had wi-fi, so she was obviously taking advantage of it. I laid down and switched on the TV with the remote, flicking around the channels until I found a nice, safe sit-com to watch. We stayed like this for a while until Audrey spoke.

  “You know, you and I pay the same for the room as those two do, and they always get the good room with the comfortable bed, and we are stuck with whatever is left. How about next time we switch things around a bit, just so they realize how unfair they are being?”

  I looked at her with a start. What Emily was suggesting was that if we found a room like tonight, we would be in the master room, again sharing a bed, but with Andrew and Kerry stuck either on the sofa bed, or in single beds. I smiled slowly.

  “I like it. You have a wicked mind Audrey, and I like that too”.

  As I said this,
something sparked in Audrey’s eyes, but no sooner did I see it, than the shutters came down and she nodded at me.

  “Ok, it’s a deal then. Let’s see how well they cope with having to fold out their bed of a night!” and she shut down her computer and laid down with her back to me. I turned off the TV and the bedside light and turned with my back to Audrey. It promised to be another long night.

  I was wrong about that though. I don’t know if it was just because I was tired, or if it was because I enjoyed sleeping next to Audrey, but the next thing I knew, Andrew was standing over us telling us loudly that it was time to get up.

  When we left there, we drove around to a few places of interest. We had originally planned to go straight to Mount Rushmore, but instead we discovered that our route would take us close to Devil’s Tower, which was a rock formation made famous in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, so we went, and it was amazing to see it close up and for real. Part of me had thought it might be a movie prop, but there it was, and it was huge. Mount Rushmore promised to be great, but the best thing was the look on Andrew and Kerry’s faces when we checked into our motel at Keystone, nearby. After we parked the car, I deliberately got in Andrew and Kerry’s way so that Audrey could get to the room first.

  By the time we got there, Audrey was laying on the master bed, stretched out and yawning loudly.

  “Wow, now I know why you guys always hog the best bed, this is really comfortable”, she said with feigned wide eyed innocence.

  What could they say after that? With very poor grace, Andrew and Kerry folded out the sofa bed, and I took my standard position (closest to the door) next to Audrey. Although I was turned away from her, I felt the bed move as she turned over, and then felt her little finger digging into my back.

  “Roll over and talk to me”, she whispered.

  As I did so, I heard the sofa bed squeak, then Kerry’s curse as the folding bar dug into her back. Beside me I could hear Audrey quietly giggling, and had to put my hand over my mouth so that no-one could hear me chuckling at the ridiculousness of the situation.