Ring, Ring, Ring

He rolled over in the bed, not wanting to remove himself the warmth that was now enveloping him to answer what was surely the loudest sounding phone he had ever been around. He ran his hands across the night stand and finding the headset he unburied his head and put the phone to his ear.

"Yes?" he choked out taking in just how dry his throat sounded. The first order of business when the phone call was done was to definitely get a water out of the mini fridge. He was not dealing with this feeling all day.

"Mr. Morrison, this is your wake up call that you requested."

"Thank you." he said placing the phone back on the nightstand and taking a good look at the digital alarm as it flashed the time in deep red directly in front of him. For a second he wondered why it was that he needed the wake up call to begin with when it dawned on him as he sat up slowly in the bed.

Today was the day he was leaving to get back on the road. Back to his job.

Groaning and throwing himself backwards, staring straight at the ceiling he suddenly realized he had a good reason not to want this to be the day he had to leave. One very special reason.

Ted had arranged their wake up calls so they could make good time on the road instead of wasting the money to fly. Though Ted had not shortage of money he always seemed to care just how he went around wasting it. Having had the chance to spend the entire day yesterday with Melissa, he was thankful Ted had gotten their travel plans delayed until this morning. Though for once, John wished deep within himself that he didn't have to leave at all. Not when things felt so whole right where he was now.

Not even living out of a suitcase in a random hotel could change what had happened to his life over the last few days and closing his eyes again, he found it easy to remember every instance of the night before, both the close moments, and the moments where they had done nothing but talk. It was almost as if he was reliving it all again in his mind.

"What is all of this?" Melissa asked him as she entered his hotel room, not knowing what to expect when she arrived. She had gotten the text in the morning telling her to meet him here, and that's where it ended. Everything she was taking in now was a pleasant surprise.

"Well I knew we were both going to need to eat, and didn't really feel like dealing with driving anywhere in town. The perfect spot was right here the entire time so I ran with it. I hope its okay."

The smile playing on her lips told John he had done the right thing. He found himself wanting to go all out for this woman, to give her everything he knew that she deserved. It was small and intimate and mostly it was just the atmosphere he wanted to have with her before the time came for him to leave.

The phone rang them and motioning for Melissa to make herself comfortable, he slid his cell out of his pocket, seeing the number and debating whether or not to ignore it.

"What's going on Ted?"

"Change of plans buddy. I called Head Office and got the go ahead to take the rest of the night and head out in the morning. Flights been cancelled and we're driving out for the next one in the morning. Wanted to let you know."

Before John could even thank him for the heads up, Ted had hung up and he was left with the annoying dial tone ringing through his ears. Placing the phone down on the nightstand, not intending to answer it any more that afternoon and evening, he turned back to his guest.

"When did you plan all of this?" she asked him, the smile still lingering on her lips and then sweeping her hands over the table she now sat at, where trays of food were placed neatly in a circle in front of her.

"Well it wasn't easy but when you're me, people seem to want to bend over backwards to help." He knew he was completely talking out of his ass with that statement but as he watched her, he realized it had had the desired affect. She was genuinely laughing.

"I just bet they do. So what do we try first?"

Not knowing what kind of food Melissa was used to, ones that were her favourites, he had tried to gather one of each of the cuisines from the hotel menu. They had a showing of Italian, Greek, American and even had some all day breakfast food from Canada. He was certain that one of these ideas would appeal to her more then any other and he hadn't been wrong.

"Whatever one you like the best." he replied in answer to her question and when he caught her look again as he sat down to join her, he realized she was again laughing, and it was directed at him.

"What's so funny?" he asked innocently, a sly grin playing on his lips.

"if you wanted to know what my favourite food was, all you had to do was ask. There is enough food here to feed half the hotel John!"

Her laughter, as in every other instance he heard it was infectious and he found himself laughing right along with her. He really had gone all out with this display and was going to feel it in his pocketbook later.

"Humour me would you? Which of these meals sounds good to you?"

She pointed at the Italian dishes then and more specifically to the lasagne that was beautifully prepared in front of them. It was then he realized that the Italian food was the first thing he had chosen and if he had gone with his gut on this whole matter, the rest of the food wouldn't have needed ordering. But it was too late to kick himself now. He was just happy he had been right in his first assessment.

"For the record though, never order me pemeal bacon ever again. That stuff even being Canadian is gross."

John laughed and recorded the information away even though after today he really had no idea if he would be using it again. At least not in the near future.

They both started eating and normally the silence would have driven John crazy, but something had happened since last night on the boardwalk and the silences now were comfortable, fitting even.

"So when do you head back to Toronto?"

"Tomorrow morning, bright and early. Apparently my boss misses me entirely too much for his own good."

John laughed and realized that should be leaving either right before, or right after he did, considering he still had to iron out the details with Ted. "You looking forward to going back to work?"

"If I had your job, I would say yes, but heading back to deadlines and angry reporters? No, I cant say that I am."

"What have you had to report on lately?" he asked, finding him wanting to absorb as much information about this woman as he could before their jobs pulled them apart. She had mentioned being a writer when they had spoken the night before, but she hadn't gotten into too many details. Other then the people watching she loved to do.

"Human interest pieces. Like for instance, a hometown kid makes it big and comes back to put on a big concert. Well everyone is going to want to read about his rise to fame, especially his fans. Then at the other end of the spectrum, I write about actual things that affect people in either a positive or negative way. Those can get depressing after awhile though."

"I can imagine it would. Have you ever written an article on what Ted and I do for a living?"

The money question, the one question she couldn't remember if she had spoken up about before now. She knew she hadn't told her sister yet, but having spent enough time in the last two days with the men, she was sure it must have come up.

"I have, but not singular interviews, more event type writing. Why are you so interested John? Would you like me to interview you?"

He laughed then and she quickly joined in. As much as he was enjoying her company, the last thing in the world he wanted was for her to treat him like a subject and not a person and all writing he had ever seen other then fiction was exactly that way.

"Not in this lifetime. I just think its interesting that a few years back just as I was making somewhat of a name for myself, you were travelling around Toronto and writing about all kinds of wrestling events. Both major league and minor."

He had a point, it had been true. A few years back she had fallen into the romantic trap of the wrestling business and even though she hadn't done it in a long time, it was like second nature to her if she ever had to write it again.

Pushing her plate to the side, she folded her hands on the table, and watched as John carefully manipulated what was left of the food on his plate. If she didn't already know better, the way they were seated around the table and the ease with which the conversation flowed, she would assume they had been together forever instead of just a few short days.

Melissa watched him finish and follow suit to her, pushing his plate out of the way. Standing and moving over to where the small portable stereo was sitting, he flipped the switch and let the music he had chosen fill the room. The look of astonishment on her face was priceless to him as she seemed to come to terms with thinking about everything before inviting her over. She had no idea though what he was about to ask of her next.

Nobody wants to be lonely, Nobody wants to cry My body's longing to hold you,

So bad it hurts inside

The music filled the room, the meaning of the words that were flowing through the room not lost on either of the occupants. John held out his hand, and when he spoke again, Melissa was sure her heart fell deeper into her chest.

"Will you do me the honour of dancing with me?"