"I'll go check out the food," he mumbled to her. Laurel diligently licked what was left of their kiss off her lips and glanced his direction.
"Great. Yeah."
Wes quickly exited the car as she let out a shaky breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her hands found their way into her dark locks which she gripped at its roots.
"Oh my God. Oh, my God."
Her voice seemed so loud and unsure in the quiet of the night. What the hell was wrong with her? What was happening? Ever since Frank spilled his guts about Lila everything spun out of control. Plus, she wasn't even sure she believed him. Nonetheless, she left his apartment without a word, tears blazing a trail down her delicate cheeks. Now here she was (how many hours later?) since having unexpectedly shown up at Wes's apartment because she kind of felt safe with him and needed a place to go. Then, finding out he was looking over case files involving his deceased mother and convinced him to hop a flight with her to Ohio to investigate. Admittedly, it was more for her benefit than his at the time. Laurel couldn't stand being anywhere near Frank, or Annalise for that matter, until she had her head back on straight. But since having arrived here and seeing how much it means to Wes, she set aside her deep seeded anger and confusion for another day and focused on the task at hand. They spent an entire day at the library meticulously combing through folders, files, articles, basically anything they could get their hands on. The distraction helped her relax a little although she could sense Wes sneaking concerned glances at her every so often. Not until now, alone in the car together, did she tell him what was really on her mind with the exception of Lila. "You're not a bad person", he soothed after she broke down in sobs over her mental battle of whether or not she was turning into someone like her father. "You've been watching out for me when you didn't have to. So thank you, is all I'm saying." His words stuck to her heart in such a way that she could have never expected. She couldn't recall the last time anyone genuinely thanked her or looked her in the eyes as deeply as he did. Then, the air between them shifted into something neither of them could comprehend, and time suddenly stood still- and when their lips met every sensation was in slow motion. The second she felt his tongue gently glide past the entrance of her mouth, rationalization quickly diminished. Her hands found their way to his face, caressing his ears. Then her fingers, on their own accord, laced themselves into his hair and tugged him impossibly closer. What surprised her the most was how careful he was being with her, soft and sweet as opposed to rough and heated. At one point he cupped her hair, and when she tilted her head at another angle his arms dropped to embrace her sides, his warm hands pressing against her lower back. They were unraveling fast, the both of them, and if they hadn't come to their senses and pulled away from each other Laurel swore she was five seconds from moaning into his mouth and after that…Wes certainly wouldn't be out of the car getting goddamn sandwiches at this particular moment.
"There is something so incredibly wrong with you," she stated aloud after replaying the entire scenario. She slumped further down in her seat. "You have Frank who you're supposedto be crazy about, and not only are you running off to Ohio with Wes, you just had to make out with him too!"
Laurel closed her eyes. "Yes, you know Frank likely killed Lila for Annalise and you needed a diversion before dealing with that fact- but kissing Wes?" her voice trailed off then, slightly defeated. Her tongue traveled over her mouth once more, this time faintly tasting the flavor of barbeque. She sighed, biting her lip. She bought those same exact chips for him out of a vending machine late that evening.
A brisk knock brought her out of her reverie as she jolted forward in her seat. Eyes wide, she looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wes on the other side of the car window holding up a plastic bag. Laurel exhaled in relief, unlocking the door for him. Wes dipped into the vehicle, shutting the door behind him as he placed the bag of food on his lap. He sent her one of his concerned glances again before reaching in to retrieve her sandwich.
"You look a little shaken up. Everything okay?" he asked, handing her the turkey club as she requested. Laurel nodded, slowly taking the wrapping paper off her meal.
"I'm okay. Stop with the looks, will ya?"
Wes gave her a hard stare until he diverted his attention to unwrapping his rueben. He shrugged, taking a hefty bite out of the sandwich.
She grumbled at the thought of giving an explanation. "It's just weird being alone in a rental car in the middle of the night in a city I'm unfamiliar with, is all. I felt uneasy."
Wes finished chewing his mouthful of food and washed it down with a Coke he got at the library earlier in the day. His tentative chocolate eyes searched her face.
"Your uneasiness has nothing to do with Frank then?"
Laurel stuffed the turkey club into her mouth and chewed, her eyes darting away.
"Nope," was her muffled reply.
Wes finally let the conversation go as they finished their meal in silence. A few minutes later, he gathered their trash and briefly left the car to dispose of it. When he returned, the silence continued until Laurel cleared her throat.
"So. We booked a hotel reservation on the plane ride here and I pretty much studied the directions well enough to get us there without using a GPS. Ready to go?"
Wes nodded with a small smile. "Sure. What name did you book us under?"
Laurel couldn't stop herself from emitting a nervous laugh. "Um, I used my father's card to book it, obviously. But I put the name down as Mr. and Mrs. Gibbins because we're staying in the same room since everything else is full. We kind of scheduled last minute. It was just easier that way, is that alright?"
"Yeah, it's okay! Anyway, I worked pretty well as your husband before didn't I?"
"You did," she grinned. "We're a good team."
The pair exchanged a wordless regard between themselves that made Laurels insides turn to mush as she quickly broke eye contact and put the key into the ignition. That night, after checking into their suite, Wes offered to take the couch so she could have the bedroom to herself. She accepted without hesitation and they parted ways to get some rest before tomorrow's research continued. Laurel paced in the bathroom for probably half an hour until she decided to take off her only change of clothes and slip into a bathrobe. She brushed her teeth with a cheap brush and paste they acquired in the hotel's store and washed her weary face, focusing on massaging her temples. Meanwhile, in the living room, Wes lay wide awake on the couch staring at the ceiling with a million thoughts racing through his mind. Laurel later crawled into the cold sheets of the king size bed and tossed and turned. With a deafening silence engulfing the rooms, tension hung thick in the air.
"What have we done?"
…
The next morning a bit of the awkwardness had subsided as they shared a light breakfast of muffins and fruit as they gathered their belongings and made their way to the hotels elevator. Wes secured his messenger bag across his chest as he popped the rest of a grape into his mouth and hit the 'down' arrow on the wall. They amicably stood next to each other, distracting themselves with light conversation over the weather. After a while, the elevator door slid open, and they strode their way in. Laurel pushed the 'lobby' button and nudged Wes a little with her elbow.
"I forgot to thank you for the sandwiches yesterday. Even though it took twenty minutes they were definitely worth the wait."
Wes shook his head with a laugh. "Seriously? You literally paid for our plane tickets, our car, our room, and practically everything else and you're thanking me for buying us sandwiches?"
"Yes I'm thanking you. I guess I feel bad for dragging you all the way down here."
"Don't," he insisted. "I have a feeling we'll find what we came looking for."
Laurel let a smile escape as she repositioned her purse over her shoulder and led the way out of the elevator when they arrived at the lobby. She casually waited on the sidewalk near the hotels entrance for Wes to bring the car around. After pulling up to the curb, Wes exited the vehicle and strolled to the passenger's side so Laurel could take her position at the wheel. Once they were comfortable, she reached for the gear shift and stopped suddenly when she felt his familiar hand lay over her own. She gave him a puzzling look.
"Before we take off, I just want to apologize for last night," he explained, voice low. "I was completely out of line-"
"Wes, please. Don't worry about it," she interrupted. "Emotions were high, I was crying like an idiot. Like I said, we were just tired…right?"
Their eyes connected again, for about the thousandth time this trip, and for a split second she caught his unfaltering gaze fall to her lips before he corrected himself and turned his head away, removing his hand from hers. Laurel felt her mouth go dry as her heart began to dance a crazy rhythm.
"Right. We were just tired."