She closes her eyes briefly, before she smiles at me again, it’s one that reaches all the way up to those chocolate coated eyes of hers.
The setting sun hits her freckles perfectly as she speaks, “Oh, so you were paying attention?”
“To you? Always.”
“Should we stop soon?” My eyes are feeling heavy; I can only imagine Nate’s must be burning at this point after so much driving.
“I’m looking for a familiar hotel name. We aren’t staying at the Budget Inn.”
Nate’s hands flex on the steering wheel. The headlights from surrounding cars cast a shadow across his face as we drive. Nate’s profile is so sharp, and confident. His square jaw is just slightly tense as he continues to drive. From the outside, you’d never know he’s struggling. I guess that’s why for so long he was able to hide it from everyone.
Since Nate first shared he’s been struggling with his mental health, I’ve spent every night researching. Even if it was just ways I could help him as a friend. I know he doesn’t expect that from me. He’d probably tell me I don’t have to do anything, but I can’t just sit back, knowing he’s hurting, and not try to help.Even if the only kind of help I can provide is simply a listening ear, I want to be that for him.
“Here we go. Franklin Hotels.” Nate flips the blinker on after he sees the interstate sign with a familiar hotel name.
“Franklin is always so expensive, Nate. We’re just sleeping here.”
I know he hears me, but he doesn’t reply. We pull off the interstate and into the parking lot of a gorgeous hotel not even five minutes later. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the Ritz, but Franklin Hotels are pretty nice compared to most you’d find off the interstate.
“Come on,” he says, grabbing both of our overnight bags from the backseat.
When we walk into the lobby, the smell of popcorn hits me immediately. I don’t actually see a popcorn machine though, only raising my suspicions.
“Hi there, welcome to Franklin Hotels,” a receptionist greets us as we walk towards the desk. I watch her eyes do a full journey from Nate’s feet literally up to the hair on his head. Even after a twelve-hour day of driving, he still turns heads.
The conversation with Summer and Abby sparks in my mind, and before Nate can say anything past hello, I’m butting in.
“Hi, we just need a room with two queen beds please.”
Nate doesn’t move his body to look at me, but I see his eyes shift in my direction.
“Yeah, one room, two beds please.” He hands her his credit card and as I’m reaching in my purse to grab mine, Nate’s hand pulls my wrist down to my side, holding it in place. His fingers are firm on my skin. Warm to the touch, slightly rough and calloused, but still so gentle.
Nate and I touch all the time, neither of us are shy in that regard. But his hand holding mine down right now feels somewhat possessive. Just the authority in which he’s grippingit. Not too hard, but not loose enough for me to slide out of it. Not that I even want to.
“Wait right here,” Nate says once we get into the hotel room. I’m standing by the door, arms crossed over my chest as he places both bags down and walks through the hotel room. He opens the bathroom door and peeks in there, slides the closet door open and does the same. He flips on every light in the room, causing me to bring my arm up to my eyes at the intensity of the lights. He pulls back the comforters on both of the beds, even tries to move the one piece of wall art but that’s attached.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Just doing a check… I need to make sure this place is safe for you to sleep here, undress here, you know…” He shrugs as he gets on all fours and looks under the beds. I press my lips together to suppress a smile at that because it’s something I didn’t expect.
“No monsters?” I tease as I take a couple of steps forward.
“No monsters,” he confirms as he rises to a standing position again.
“Thank you,” I say quietly as I pass him on my way to the bathroom to take a shower and change for the night. I know my abrupt interruption in the lobby caught him off guard. But he doesn’t seem fazed by it now as I watch him throw himself on the bed near the window.
By the time I walk out of the bathroom, Nate’s already passed out on the bed. Still fully clothed. Poor guy, he’s probably beat from driving all day long. I shut off the nightstand light and the lights in the bathroom before climbing into the other bed. When I turn on my side, I’m facing him and something just pulls in my chest. He’s not under the covers, his shoes are off, but he’s still laying on top of the comforter and I can’t help myself as I get up and pull the comforter off my bed and drape it over his body. Ituck the edges in around his body, kind of like my mom used to do for me when I was a little girl.
“G’night, Nate,” I whisper before getting back into the other bed and pulling the sheet over myself.
“Morning.” He smiles down at me and I pull the sheet over my face.
“Hi,” I groan out.
“Want to grab coffee and something to eat before we get back on the road?” Nate’s freshly shaved face and bright blue eyes bring me out of the sleepy haze I was in with the thought of coffee and food.
As we walk out of the hotel room, the air here feels crisp. Fall is definitely approaching and it brings a smile to my face. Nate is walking just a few strides in front of me and I notice his hand flex at his side before he reaches for my overnight bag and hauls it into the backseat of the truck.
