TEN.
"God, there's not enough room in here to swing a cat!"
"You're taking a leak, Jules – how much room do you need?" Caitlin laughed, from where she was standing in front of the gas station's bathroom mirror to fix her hair. "And hurry up, I'm starting to feel queasy – I think it's the smell of this place."
"The joys of a roadtrip, huh? It's great though – all of us getting to spend more time together. We haven't had a proper catch-up in ages. Seems like things have been going well with you and Fulton – you two seem closer than ever."
"Yeah, I guess we are." Caitlin smiled, "Moving in together was definitely the right decision. I mean, we have our little problems like any couple but, ninety-nine percent of the time, it's perfect."
"How long is it since you got together now?"
"Over two years – nearly six months since we got our own place."
"I have no problem telling you, I'm so jealous – I'd love to have what you two have." Julie sighed.
"No reason you couldn't – Dean would move you into his place in a heartbeat." Caitlin teased, trying to hide her smirk as she heard the flush and Julie walked out of the tiny cubicle with an 'I-am-not-amused' look on her face.
"Oh no you don't, missy – we're discussing you and Fulton, not me and anyone else. So as I was saying, you and Fult, how do you guys find time for each other – between his hockey and training and you doing the hotshot journalist thing, it must be draining?"
"Mmm, it can be hard – especially when our responsibilities clash. I want to go to his games, you know, be there to cheer him on … but it's just not always possible. I haven't missed a big one yet though, but it takes a hell of a lot of juggling. Plus, it sometimes feels impossible to sync schedules."
"How d'ya mean?"
"Well, it can seems like the timing's always against us – usually when I get some time off, he's got a game coming up so he's busy training twice as hard. Or I'm working on a big story when he's taking it easy. Or we both have time off and something else crops up, like my parents visiting or something. Last time I had a weekend off, I wasn't planning on getting out of bed for anything less than an earthquake and what happens? My mom calls and that's the plans scuppered!"
"Poor frustrated baby!" Julie teased, "At least you've got a man!"
"True – but I do have to share him with the team."
"Kinky." Julie smirked, "I knew those guys were close …"
"Funny girl. No, I mean Coach O'Reilly imposed a … um … sex ban before big games, so it's hands off any time the fixture list demands it. I swear, that man is convinced I want to bring ruin on his beloved team! That time Fulton injured his knee and it took longer than expected to heal? He gave me these really accusing looks all the time – like I was forcing poor innocent little Fult into some kind of acrobatics in the bedroom!"
"When really you were just playing doctors and nurses?" her friend winked.
"Last time I try to help." Caitlin pouted, playing along with the joke with a wicked grin. But the grin quickly faded as a funny look came over her face. "God, this place is awful – it's really making my stomach turn!"
"Come on then." Julie said, finishing drying her hands under the antiquated dryer and turning around, only to find no sign of her friend. "Cait?"
"I'll just be a second …" her voice came weakly from the tiny cubicle.
"Hey, what's wrong?" the blonde asked in concern, tapping lightly on the door. "Cait, you okay? Cait? Shit, did you just throw up?"
"Yeah, but it's okay – I feel better already. I think it's just a combination of the car ride, the heat and that god-awful smell in here – I used to get car-sick when I was little …" she called, "I'll be fine, honest."
"Should I go tell the boys or …?"
"God no! Don't let Fulton know, he'll go into mother hen mode and it's so not necessary." Caitlin said, opening the door and hurrying to rinse out her mouth, splashing a little cold water on her face. "Okay, I admit I love it sometimes … But seriously, Julie, I feel fine now – to be honest, I kinda knew it was getting to me. Probably better I threw up now and got it over with, I'll be fine – even when I was little, I was only ever sick once during a journey."
"As long as you're sure … Want some gum?"
"Oh yeah, cheers, hon. Now, come on, lets get out into the fresh air."
The redhead led the way, thanking the store clerk on the way past and making her way outside to where the guys were sitting patiently.
"Hey," Portman grinned, "We were starting to think one of you must have fallen in! Everything okay?"
"Of course, Mr Impatient." Caitlin smiled, "Can't we have a little girl-talk?"
"Ah, the sacred girly bathroom ritual – what is it about you lot and peeing in packs?"
"Mystery of the sisterhood – you'll never know." Julie teased, "Now, are we gonna get going or what?"
"Sure, lets go." Portman said, climbing to his feet and holding out a hand to pull his buddy up too. "I'll drive for a bit longer, dude, then you can take over."
"Hey, Fulton?" Julie said as she strolled across the gas station forecourt beside him, "If you're not driving yet, can we trade places for a bit?"
"Course we can." Fulton said, exchanging a knowing look with Portman as it occurred to him that Julie must want to be able to sit up front for a reason. Little did he know it had less to do with her wanting to be close to Portman and more to do with wanting to let Caitlin sit with her boyfriend.
"Can't keep away from him, huh, Jules?" Caitlin whispered jokingly in the young woman's ear, also misreading the signs.
"I'm doing this for you, smarty-pants." she whispered back, "You still look a little bit pale – cuddle up to Fult in the back and try to get some sleep …"
"I'm fine …" she insisted, but she did have to admit that sounded pretty good.
"You okay, babe?" Fulton asked gently, when they were back on the road and Caitlin was beside him, her eyes closed and her head resting on his shoulder. All he got in response was a little nod, making him smile. "Looks like all that working too hard's still catching up with someone …" he said softly, pressing a little kiss to her forehead as he slid his arm around his half-asleep girlfriend.
"You two just better remember no one but me gets lucky in the back of this car …" Portman warned, grinning at them in the rear-view mirror.
"You wishing you hadn't moved now, Jules?"
"Shut up, Reed."
"Nice comeback."
"Connie, you do know this is just a holiday? We will be coming back …"
"Of course, silly!" Connie Moreau told her long-term boyfriend, Guy Germaine, as he hauled suitcases out the front door and onto the steps, puzzled by what he meant.
"Then you know you don't have to bring all your worldly possessions?"
"I haven't!" she protested, with a toss of her long brown hair. "Just the essentials."
"Yeah, but there's the essentials for a mini-break with your friends in Nevada and the essentials for a polar expedition – which did you decide on?" he teased.
"Such a funny boy." she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Would you rather I packed the bare minimum and spent the whole trip looking like a skank?"
Fortunately for Guy, he was well versed in such trick questions. "You couldn't look skanky if you tried, beautiful." he smiled, appeasing her just in time as they heard the blast of a car horn from outside. "That's our ride, babe, lets go – thank God Luis swapped that dinky little sports car of his for a Jeep or we'd have had to rent a trailer!"
to be continued ...