Page 51 of Fight For Us
“You mean the bag full of scented lube? Wait, don’t tell me you’re going to spread that around as an air freshener.” I thought about it. “Actually that’s not a bad idea. Here, pass me some.”
“Seriously?” She shook her head and sifted through the bag, pulling out a small metal jar candle. “I thought I saw this when we peeked inside.” She dug around some more. “And they even thought of matches.”
“What’s the scent?” I asked. She checked, snorted and tossed it at me. I caught it and read the sticky label. “‘Cream pie scented massage oil candle.’ Wow… subtle.” I took a whiff. “Thankfully, it smells like the baked good… not the other kind.”
“Wes!” She grabbed a packet of lube and tossed it at me, laughing. God, I fucking loved her laugh. I’d make sure she laughed every single day.
“So what do you think, Tiger? Should we tempt fate and stay? I’d bet there’s a fifty-fifty chance we’ll contract a deadly disease and die… but hey, at least we’d have each other. Solidarity and all.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to die… especially not from a deadly disease. But it’s getting late and I really don’t feel like getting back in the car.” I followed her gaze to the queen-sized bed in the center of the room. “I just realized there’s only one bed. That should be…” She paused. “Interesting.”
“You don’t hog the blankets, do you?” I sat on the edge of the bed and smirked.
“No! I bet you do though.” I laughed as she huffed, coming around to feel the flat pillows. “I guess we should start getting used to sleeping together. Might as well start tonight.”
“Sleeping together? Getting straight to the point, aren’t you? I figured I’d at least wine and dine you first. Was it the cream pie candle that got you all hot and bothered?”
Lucky for me, the closest object in her vicinity was only a pillow. She tossed it at my head and said, “On second thought,the floor is looking pretty comfortable for you. Just ignore that questionable sticky spot over there.”
“Aw, Tiger, you wouldn’t make me sleep on the cold, hard floor on our wedding night. I promise, I’ll be good.”
She crossed her arms. “You better or I’ll find a creative way to utilize that candle wax.”
I smirked again. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.” She huffed a breath and grabbed her phone, typing on the screen. “What are you looking up?”
“The nearest place to get alcohol… That bottle over there won’t be enough.”
I looked over the bed again, knowing my body would take up more than half of the thing. Yup, alcohol was a great plan. Too bad there was no way I’d lower my inhibitions. Not this time.
Chapter 21
Olivia
Lucky for us therewas a bar on the other side of the truck stop. Head held high, I hauled ass across the crumbling gravel.
“Slow down, Tiger. You’re going to get run over by a semi. The bar isn’t going anywhere.”
It may not be going anywhere but the longer I was alone with Wes, thinking about that kiss, the more I itched to touch him. Which was entirely inappropriate considering he was my boss.My boss, my friend, and this was all fake. So very fake.Keep telling yourself that.
I paused when I reached my target, but it looked different from the Google listing. Wes caught up and stopped at my side.
“Is this The Cozy Inn and Suites' shameful cousin? Because judging from the outside, I’m pretty sure anything weconsume in there will give us hepatitis.” He looked at the entrance. “There’s no sign. Maybe the listing is old?”
“There’s a neon beer sign over there.” I pointed toward the only sign glowing in the window.
“You mean, EER?” he asked. “What if they mean ear—” He tugged my ear lobe. “—and are terrible at spelling. We could be walking straight into a house of horrors.”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just bring up cannibalism on our wedding night.” I hesitated, searching for the right words to describe the dilapidated structure in front of us. “Just because the place is in need of a facelift, doesn’t mean we won’t have fun. Don’t be a snob. I bet it’s fine.”
I took another glance at the neon sign and walked inside. Wes huffed behind me and grabbed the door to hold it open. I wouldn’t admit this to him, but I’d only ever been to a handful of bars in my lifetime. Drinking was a newly acquired… What should I call it? Hobby? One that I didn’t intend to pursue much further unless the situation called for my brain to go on autopilot.
Although I had few examples for comparison, this place seemed like your average dive bar. Scuffed dark floors that looked like they hadn’t seen the wet end of a mop in a decade. Dim lighting from a few dusty overhead fixtures. Behind the bar, a boxy TV played a NASCAR race with the volume turned all the way up. Which would have been fine, if the revving of engines wasn’t competing with a twangy country song coming from overhead speakers. Ten or so people, mostly men,sat at the bar with drinks and plates of food in front of them, while another group was midway through a game of pool. They looked harmless enough but the muscles in my chest decided to tense anyway.
Wes placed a palm on my lower back, clearly sensing my sudden unease. His lips grazed against my ear. “We can always grab a few beers from the gas station and hang out in the room?”
The heat of his warm palm burned through the thin material of my dress. His touch put me at ease and the way he drew slow circles with his fingertips had me taking in a strangled breath. “I’m fine.”
We took two empty stools at the corner of the bar, somewhat away from the other patrons. I’d been so busy internalizing my feelings that I hadn’t noticed how frazzled Wes seemed until we sat down with sticky plastic-covered menus in front of us.
