Page 22 of Spur of the Moment
She rubbed the top of his head as he tried to lick her, failing to reach her face. I closed the door to the truck and we headed inside, Rouge pulling on the leash in an attempt to get Lettie to walk faster.
As we approached the hotel lobby, I quickened my pace to get ahead of her and shoved the door open with my shoulder. She walked past me, Rouge right ahead of her. I guess the dog didn’t understandladies first.
Following after them, I came up beside Lettie at the front desk. The woman sitting behind the computer looked up, a bright smile on her face. “Do you two have a reservation?”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Under the last name Cooper.”
She typed on her keyboard briefly before turning to the printer right as a piece of paper slid out. She grabbed it and leaned forward in her chair to set it in front of me, placing a penon top. “I just need you to sign and provide me with a credit card. It won’t be charged until you check out.”
I shifted the luggage to one hand and grabbed the pen, signing on the bottom line, then slid the pen and paper back to her. Pulling my wallet out of my back pocket, I handed her my card and ID. She typed the information into the computer and handed it back, then set a room key on the counter in front of me. “Room eighteen, up the stairs and to the left.”
“Thank you.”
Lettie grabbed the room key before I had the chance and brushed past me. I followed after her, failing miserably to keep my eyes off her ass as we climbed the stairs. I willed myself to think of anything but her ass. It was extremely difficult when it was so damn perfect-looking in her light wash boot cut jeans. I imagined leaning over her in bed, her on all fours with her ass on display before burying myself inside her.
I cleared my throat as we got to our floor, casting my eyes to the ceiling to rid myself of any dirty thoughts about Lettie. I was a goner for her and she didn’t even know it.
Lettie inserted the key, the handle making a soft click before she turned it. The door swung open and she let go of Rouge’s leash as he bolted inside, immediately jumping onto one of the beds.
I closed the door behind me, setting our bags on the small desk against the wall. The smell of lemon disinfectant and Windex filled my nose as I turned the AC down. Two queen-sized beds took up a majority of the space, a small TVsitting atop an oak dresser in front of them. Lettie pulled open the curtain, gazing out at the hills in the distance.
I ruffled the fur on Rouge’s head where he was perched on the bed. “You can take a nap if you’d like. You seem tired.”
She stayed silent for a minute before turning to face me, coming to sit on the edge of the bed next to Rouge. He rolled over, exposing his belly to her. She ran her hand along his chest as his tongue hung out the side of his mouth.
“I’m okay, I napped in the car.”
I pulled out the chair that was tucked under the desk, taking a seat a few feet from her.
“You want to go to the restaurant next door for dinner in a bit?”
She turned to check the digital clock on the nightstand, then faced me. “At two in the afternoon?”
I frowned. “In a few hours, then.”
“Sure.” She reached over to grab the remote and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels, each one progressively louder than the last. After a commercial blasted through the speakers, she muted it as she searched for something to watch. I stayed seated in the chair, watching as she settled on a History Channel show about ancient aliens.
I kept my focus on the TV, but every so often, I felt her eyes drift to me. Rouge slept on the bed next to her as we both pretended to be immersed in the show.
The only thing I was engrossed with was thoughts of her.
Questions.
Fantasies.
Why did she leave Bell Buckle? She went to college, sure, but that couldn’t have been the only reason. Unless it was, and I was overthinking it. I had a hard time believing Lettie was so involved in her studies that she couldn’t even send a text. There was something else she ran from, and I hoped that something wasn’t me.
12
Bailey
Ipaid the dinner bill despite Lettie’s protests to split it. She came back from the restroom to find her cash still sitting on the table.
“I’ll just leave it as a tip then,” she snarked as she grabbed her cowhide wallet.
I smiled, rolling my eyes. We made our way through the restaurant, the space cramped with the amount of people dining here tonight. A kid ran out in front of Lettie and she stumbled back to miss colliding with him. I shot my arm out, my hand instinctively going to her waist to steady her. She leaned back into me slightly and I didn’t miss when she briefly squeezed her eyes shut.
“Lettie?”
