Page 33 of Only One Bed: Anthology Vol. 1
Shazza stared at Anvita’s back as she strode back inside the reception of the hotel. Hotel—huh, it was really overstating the quality of the typical small-town motor-inn to call itself a hotel. Who’d have thought a shitty little town hotel like this would be booked out. It was odd to see Anvita so dishevelled, like she’d been running her hands through her usually perfect hair. Shazza had only met Anvita once, when she interviewed for this tv show, and couldn’t help but be impressed at the contained focused elegance. She wore strong colours, bold and sassy, and there could be zero doubt that Anvita knew exactly what she wanted. That’s why this was so weird. Okay, offering the back of her ute as a solution was probably not going to dispel any idea about Shazza being a poor tradie. But shit—she was a poor tradie. None of that fancy fucking shit for her.
Plus, Anvita was missing the best part. With the ute, they didn’t have to stay here in shitsville hotel carpark. They could park anywhere. Find somewhere with a cracking view, cook some snags over the little gas bbq she kept in the back of her ute. Yeah, that might be weird. She only ever used that to boil water for coffee, and occasionally to toast marshmallows with her kids. It was much safer than a real fire, and fuck, half the time, the place was under fire bans anyway, so she was hardly going to make a proper campfire.
Anvita turned around, her face resigned, although her brown eyes sparkled. “Fine. The crew can have the room. It’s twin share plus a couch, so it fits them all. We’ll take the…” Anvita shuddered. “Ute.”
Shazza couldn’t contain the grin. “Sweet. This is going to be such fun.”
Anvita blinked once and stared at her as if she’d lost the plot. “Yes, right. Fun?”
“We just need some supplies. How about I sort that out, while you do whatever you need to do with your crew?” Shazza had no idea how television worked, but if crew were like staff, they couldn’t just be left to fend for themselves with no instructions. Only yesterday, she’d spent the day apologising to a client because one of her apprentices borrowed a ladder from the client, and then thoughtlessly loaded it onto his ute and drove off. She’d returned the ladder with flowers, and an apology, but it was going to fuck with her online reviews.
Anvita closed her eyes for a long moment. “I’ll be ready in an hour.”
* * *
Right on the hour,Shazza tried not to cringe as Anvita sauntered out of the reception room. She’d gone a little overboard at the shops, buying a couple of blankets, some yoga mats, and way too much food for the two of them. A bottle of wine, some cheese, marshmallows, salad, fancy bread, and lamb cutlets for her little bbq. Shit. She should’ve asked Anvita if there was anything she couldn’t eat. She’d probably fucked-up by buying something she was allergic to or couldn’t eat for religious reasons. Not that she was assuming Anvita’s religion or anything, but she should’ve asked. Better to ask than assume, especially when it came to allergies. When she was nervous she tended to bluster through a situation, and now she was convinced she was going to hurt Anvita.
“Hey there. Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?” Fuck, Shazza, tone it down a bit. She was used to making things more exciting for her kids. Nah, that was an excuse too. She blew out a long unsteady breath.
“Of a lifetime? Sure.” Anvita’s tone backed up Shazza’s cringe-worthy thoughts and she knew she’d overstepped.
She lifted her chin and breathed in. “May as well make the best of a bad situation.” That’s what life had taught her, and she was done trying to fit in with other people’s expectations.
“I like that philosophy.”
“Wait, what?”
“It’s a good idea. This isn’t ideal, obviously, but the crew are happy to stay in the same room.”
Shazza nodded. “Good. Jump in.” She hauled herself up into the driver’s seat and waited for Anvita to sit in the passenger seat. Her ute was usually a shambolic mess, and she’d spent some time cleaning out all the kid’s rubbish before she’d done her shopping.
It still smelled like cookie crumbs and rotten apple cores, overlaid with sweat and sawdust.
“Where are we going?” Anvita clicked her seatbelt in and glanced over at her.
This was the closest Shazza had been to her, and she could see the lighter brown flecks in her dark brown eyes. A fresh perfume of light florals and mint filled the air, a welcome scent against her ute. Suddenly, a rush of warmth in her torso came with understanding. She didn’t just admire Anvita for her elegance and presence of mind, she desired her. She hummed under her breath. That’d be why she’d nervously spent way too much money on making tonight comfortable. It wasn’t just about trying to impress the television producer with her practical knowledge.
“You okay?”
Shazza cleared her throat. “Yeah. You?”
“Let’s go adventuring. I’ve never slept under the stars before.”
“Really?” Shazza turned the key and the growly diesel engine kicked into gear. “Not in your backyard as a kid? Or camping?”
“No.” Anvita’s tone didn’t invite further discussion. Shazza twisted to look over her shoulder as she reversed out of her carpark and tried to ignore the heat from Anvita. It’d been years since she’d felt this desire for a woman.
No, that wasn’t quite true.
It’d been years since she’d let herself feel this. Being married to her childhood best friend, Shane, had been great, really great, but it had essentially erased this part of her. Or buried it for convenience sake. She straightened up, turned the wheel, and drove out of the hotel carpark towards her destination. They sat in content silence for a few minutes.
“Hey, do you mind if I put the radio on?” Anvita asked.
“Sure. That’s cool. It’s probably on some kid’s thing.”
“How old are your kids?” Anvita tone turned formal. Polite, not curious.
“Tess is seven and Joe is five. They are staying with my mother in law while I’m here.”
