Nick kept his eyes on the road, unable to wipe the smile off his face whilst Jess continued to gaze out of the passenger window with the same smirk on her face. The traffic light turned red and they gradually came to a stop. They both slowly looked over at one another, unsure what to say. Jess was the first to break the silence letting out a shaky breath that she wasn't aware she was holding in. She looked into Nick's dark brown eyes, unable to read what was currently going on inside his head, a questioning look appearing on her pale features. Nick automatically began to internally panic. "Oh crap, she's beginning to question this!" Looking for reassurance, he placed his hand over hers and began to rub circles over her knuckles. They both let out a nervous laugh. The light then changed to amber, then to green and Nick's focus returned to the road ahead, yet not letting go of his grip of her hand. A wide smile began to appear on Jess' face, making her eyes crease slightly at the corners as flashes of the previous 48 hours come back to her. Nick looked over at her and seen she was deep in thought.
"Hey, what you thinking about?" Nick said, hoping that conversation would begin to flow more easily.
"Nothing, just how crazy these past few days have been" Jess replied.
Nick could sense she was holding something back but decided not to push; they are both exhausted and now is not the time for a serious discussion.
"I know babe, it has certainly been tiring." Suddenly Jess went quiet, then it registered with him.
"Uh...I mean...Er..." Damn it Nick, too soon! He thought to himself.
Before he had a chance to backtrack she cut him off. Her smile widened and she tightened her grip on his hand. "A girl could get used to this Miller; if I didn't know any better I'd say you're trying to sweet talk me." she said, her tone teasing. She added in an exaggerated wink for good measure and he mirrored her smile.
Shortly after, tiredness began to set in and Jess rested her head on Nick's shoulder. He responded by wrapping his free arm around her tiny waist.
"So where are we going?" Jess finally asked, both of them staring out of the front windshield of the car. It was now pitch black outside apart from the dimply lit street lights. Jess could see the ocean with the moonlight dancing upon the gentle waves.
"You'll see", Nick replied coyly, smile most definitely plastered to his face. Smiling so much was beginning to hurt; how does Jess constantly smile all the time? He pondered.
They had been driving for just over one hour and Jess was still resting on Nick, drifting in and out of sleep. Nick seen the illuminated sign that he had been searching for and pulled off the highway and up a rather steep dirt road. The jolting movement of the car and the bright lights made Jess begin to stir. Nick parked and turned off the car engine. He looked down to the sleeping beauty that lay before him and gently propped her upright and whispered into her ear.
"Hey Jess, we're here" He said; slightly shaking her shoulder in an attempt to rouse her.
"Mmmmm" was her only response.
Nick undid his seatbelt, got out of the car and went around to the passenger door and opened it. Still no movement from Jess.
"Come on, there's a nice cosy bed waiting for you. All you have to do is walk inside."
Jess pouted and outstretched her arms to him. Nick quickly caught on and rolled his eyes.
"Fine! But just this once." He said trying to sound irritated but he secretly loved this kind of thing. Anything really that gave him an excuse to hold her close.
She smiled knowing that she won this round. Nick shook his head; he could never say no when it came to her - he was doomed.
He lifted her up bridal style and she hooked both her arms around his neck. Feelings began to quickly rush back as they both remembered the last time they were in this exact position.
"Take me to bed, Miller." That oh so teasing grin returned to her face.
Nick walked to reception carrying Jess in his arms. Carefully he set her down and asked the woman at reception for a room for the night. She handed him over a set of room keys, raising an eyebrow at the same time. "Newlyweds?" Her gaze moving from Nick to Jess and then back to Nick. Nick panicked, they didn't really have a label for what this is as of yet. It was a reasonable assumption considering they were both still in their wedding attire. Jess calmly put her arm around his waist and smiled at the woman. The woman raised her finger, "Hang on a sec..." She disappeared and returned with a new set of keys and handed them to Nick.
"Thank you" Jess replied cheerfully.
"Your room in is on the third floor" said the receptionist.
Nick placed his arm tightly around Jess' waist and they headed to their room.