'Im at motel 6, and ready to go to the place across the street, or go to somewhere we can chat and have a drink and figure something out'
I read the text in a matter of milliseconds, but it took me several minutes to process. He was here, in the city. He also had a hotel room. A shitty one, yes, but a room with a (hopefully) locking door and a bed. That's all that was really required anyway, right? I checked the time. It was already getting late, but now was as good of time as any.
'I guess I could always head that way. Remember, I will turn into a pumpkin at a certain hour so my time might have some constraints... :P'
"Alright, Mom," I said as I stood up from the couch in my parents' living room. "I can't stand any more of this movie. The dude's gonna kill her husband and probably go to jail so there won't be a happily ever after. Sorry to break it to you!"
"Ugh, you suck! Don't say that. True love will prevail!" she chirped as she raised her hand in the air like a gallant knight.
"Goodbye, mother." I said as I kissed her on the head and made my way outside. It was so cold, the kind of cold that stings. It was making the metal of my piercings ache, mostly in my nipples, although that ache could possibly be contributed to where I was headed. I sent another text as I walked.
'Am I supposed to just inform you when I arrive or what!?'
His reply was instant.
'Haha you have to climb through the window, got a ladder? No I'm gonna go to the gas station right here ill meet you outside'
Once I was in the the car I seemed to be on autopilot. I couldn't hear what was on the radio. The words the artist was singing didn't seem to make sense. I had brains enough to blast the heat, which hit me in the face and fogged my glasses. I kept driving, passing landmarks I had seen a thousand times, but I still felt like I was lost. In reality I was heading the wrong direction. My house was the total opposite way. It wouldn't have been hard to take the last exit to head home, but I never was one to make life easy on myself.
I saw the sign of the motel almost too late and whipped into the parking lot. There were several cars, but the place looked dead. "Good," I thought. "Less chance of running into anyone." I got out my phone to text him again. I could have called, but I didn't have the courage to hit the green call button. This was ridiculous. I was ridiculous.
To diffuse my inner tension, I tried to be amusing in my text.
'You're not driving an old beat up red mini van are you!?'
I stared at my phone, waiting for a response. My anxiety was through the roof. I was half tempted to put my car in reverse and peal out of the parking lot. Really that was probably the best idea, anyway. I found myself reaching for the gearshift when suddenly there was a loud tap on my window. I jumped. I was a bundle of emotions. I was anxious, with good reason. I was nervous, also with good reason. I was angry at myself for letting me come here in the first place and I was angry at him, too, for scaring the shit out of me. I turned the engine off and opened the door to get out. I couldn't even bring myself to look at him.
"Really!? Was that totally necess-"
But before I could finish my sentence he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me into him. One arm stayed firmly around my waist as his other arm held my back. I felt his fingertips brush my hair that was hanging down between my shoulder blades. I felt his breath on my neck and he sighed a very quiet almost inaudible, "Missed you." I closed my eyes tightly, trying not to cry and scream at the same time.
We broke apart. He was grinning stupidly at me. I wrinkled my nose, trying not to grin back. He was not winning this easily. Not by a long shot. I shivered, mostly because I was cold. Mostly.
"Can we please decide what we're doing? I'm FREEZING."
He nodded.
"The more I thought about it, the more I thought you might just want to chill here. I've got a six pack."
This time I nodded.
"Oh, how very gentlemanly of you," I said maybe a little bit too snotty.
He laughed and started walking towards the entrance. I obediently followed. There was a family entering the same time as we were. I held my breath and did not let myself look at them. He politely held the door for them as I turned my head away. They proceeded inside and so did he. We walked up a few flights of stairs. This place was more of a dump on the inside than the outside. The walls were all different colors. Several of the doors didn't have handles. One section of the hallway reeked of weed. "Is this really happening?" I asked myself. So many times I had let myself have fantasies about a situation like this with him, but of course the hotel wasn't out of American Horror Story!
"Here we are!" he said as he unlocked the door. I followed him inside and breathed a slight sigh of relief. It wasn't nearly as bad in the room as the hallway. That was a slight plus. I did a scan around the room and walked over to the couch. It was a deep red. Hopefully no blood stains from someone being murdered.
He walked over to the dresser and grabbed two beers. He opened one and handed it to me. I'm not normally a beer drinker, but between the anxiety of being in his presence and now this motel was enough to make me take a huge gulp without even wincing. With his beer in hand he sat down on the couch with me. He wasn't quite on the opposite side, but to me it felt like miles. I wanted him closer. He took a drink.
"So tell me about your life now."
I hesitated. So many parts of my life were the same, what he had already known. But on the same hand much of it was different, partially thanks to him, whether he knew it or not. The conversation came easily. We shared so much of ourselves to each other. We talked about everything: work, school, politics, football. There was never a lull in the dialogue. I had forgotten what it was like to talk to a man and actually have a stimulating conversation, actually be challenged and exhilarated by nothing but words.
Maybe that's why it caught me off guard when he placed his hand on my thigh. The conversation continued, but so did the movement of his hand. It moved back and forth along my thigh. Just this simple touch was enough to make my abdomen start to feel like it was on fire. He could tell his actions were started to have an effect on me, and he place his free hand on my waist. I don't know why, but I panicked. I tried to pull away from him. He squeezed my hip.
