Chapter Five – Nebraska
June 2004
It started snowing a little as Faith drove along the almost deserted highway. When did it snow in June? Only where she was headed, which was nowhere. But it was only a light dusting, not even enough to make the roads slick. She had been traveling for a few days now, trying to put all of the badness out of her mind. The bad in the world would never end. For her it had. She had been pushed to her limit. Not even the coma, not even the breakout from prison and fighting Angelus, not even taking on the First had pushed her to the limit. This had.
Pulling over at a diner, she slowly walked in, hoping that they still served breakfast. She hadn't had time that morning after checking out of the last motel she had stayed. Her stomach could only handle eggs right then. And maybe a side of toast.
"What'll you have, deary?" the waitress asked.
The woman was a lot older than Faith. She looked like she had seen a lot, just like Faith. But her smile was friendly and welcoming. Faith felt a little at ease already.
"Could I have some eggs? Would that be possible?"
The woman smiled at her. "Of course. No problem. How about scrambled? With some toast too."
She knew exactly what Faith needed. "No butter. Just plain."
"Coming right up? What do you want to drink?"
"Milk, and maybe some tea. It's chilly out there."
"Yeah. Every once and a while we get weather like this. Hasn't happened for a couple of years. By tomorrow, it will be sunny and seventy. I'll bring you that tea right away. Just relax."
Faith had relaxed, if just a little. Her muscles were stiff from sitting in a car for days on end. Maybe it would be good to take a short break, stay in one place for a few days. And this place looked pretty much out of the way. She'd sleep and then she'd plan, since she had all the time in the world on her hands now.
November 2003—somewhere in Nebraska
Faith awoke with a jolt, realizing that Wesley had slowed down considerably. When she looked outside, she could see the snow falling down in big, fat flakes. And by the looks at the side of the road, it was starting to stick.
"Snow. Figures," she moaned to herself.
"It'll slow us down. It may take us a few more days to reach California."
"Just as long as we make it there by the end of next week." Which meant they had seven days and counting.
"It might be better if we both took an airplane back."
"You wanna spend the money?"
"Not especially."
"Not up to taking the evil empire's dough?"
"You could say that."
So Wesley really did have some scruples. The only thing he had that looked like it cost something was the car, which was probably just a loaner or something anyway. It didn't have that lived in look that cars did when people owned them.
"We should find a place to crash before long."
And she so wanted a shower and change since the clothes she had on were from the day before. They had slayed not once, but twice in the clothes they wore and her hair felt matted from not washing it.
"Yes, I do agree. I would really love to get out of these clothes."
Faith snickered at that. She was wondering what was underneath those clothes too. Since he looked much different than he had in Sunnydale, she was curious if he had actually developed some muscle. He'd been all skin and bones when she tortured him. He didn't look to be that now. He would have to have some muscle to do the maneuvers he had done against the demons he had fought.
"OK, first place we see, then we stop. Agreed?" she asked.
"Since it is almost five in the evening, it makes no difference."
"What? Don't want to stay at the Four Seasons?"
"A bed and a hot shower are all I need, Faith."
Amen to that, she concluded. They drove for another ten or fifteen minutes before Faith spotted a motel sign off in the distance. It didn't look to be great, but it looked decent. Pulling up to the office, Wesley reached over to take his jacket from around Faith. His warm hand brushed up against her neck as he gently tugged it away from her.
"Are you still cold?"
"Nah. I'll live," she told him, not wanting him to know how warm his touch had gotten her.
The parking lot looked to be somewhat full, which surprised her. Must be the snowstorm, she thought as they made their way to the office. The snow started falling faster in the last few minutes, making her shake her hair out as they entered. An elderly man waved hello, looking up from his television.
"Can I help you folks?"
"We would like a room, if you have one?"
"You're in luck. We have one left. Storm has people running for cover. It wasn't supposed to be this bad."
The man held up the one key for the two of them. She just hoped that there were two beds. Just her luck there probably wasn't. Wesley signed the guest book with an alias and paid cash up front.
"Let's go, darling," he said to her in front of the old man.
As they made their way back to the car to retrieve their belongings, Faith was amused by his use of endearment. She knew it was just a cover, but she liked the way he said it nonetheless.
"Get in. I'll park closer to the door."
Wesley pulled into the last spot at the end of the row of rooms. They must have the last room on the left, which meant they only had one neighbor. That was a plus in her book. Only one neighbor to disturb them when she was trying to sleep.
Wesley grabbed his bags as Faith dug hers out of the back of the car. He had his briefcase, along with a suitcase. Faith just had her duffel. She could fit more in that thing than most women could with two large ones. You just needed to know what to bring and how to pack. She had learned that a long time ago. Travel fast and travel light. It made leaving much easier and quicker.
Wesley wrestled with the door, trying to not put his stuff down in the wetness by the door. He finally managed to get it, swinging the door open hard. And it was just as she thought. One bed, a double if she was right. She wondered if he hogged blankets.
"Damn it," she could hear him mumble under his breath.
He hadn't asked the guy at the registration desk either, probably because he didn't want Faith to know how much he truly didn't want to share a room with her. Closing the door behind her, he walked over to turn the heat up full blast. The room was downright frigid, almost colder than the outside. Maybe it wasn't so great being in the last unit. No insulation from the other ones. She could feel a slight breeze coming in from under the door too.
"It's fucking cold in here," she finally spoke out.
"Very much so," he agreed. "If you don't mind, I'm going to shower. I'll save you some hot water, don't worry. I just hope there is some."
Wesley grabbed his suitcase and took it into the bathroom with him. Faith had no other choice than to climb into the bed to keep warm. She piled it with as many blankets as she could find. By the time he was finished cleaning up, she was nice and toasty, only her face showing from under the covers.
"So, I see it's warmed up at least five degrees since I showered," he joked.
His hair was spiky from being clean. She wondered what he would look like if he actually let it grow. It looked like it had some curl to it, but she had never seen it too much longer than it was now. At least he didn't fiddle with it like he did back in Sunnydale. And he still hadn't shaved since they left on the trip. His teeth shown a bright white as he smiled her way.
"It's too cold to get up," she whined.
Toweling off his hair, he climbed in beside her, shivering just a little as he did. "I'll keep it warm. And besides, we'll have to go out and get some food. Go, you'll feel more human if you get it over with."
Faith slowly stood up, grabbed her bag and raced to the bathroom. Wesley had closed the door to not let all the steam out. It made it much warmer in there. Turning on the shower, she quickly stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the warm water. It really was hot, just like she liked it. He hadn't used that much of it either. He must have remembered how hot she had to have it. But she still hurried, shampooing her hair in record time. By the time she was done, it hadn't taken her much time at all. Now the only problem she had now was drying her hair. Taking out the blow dryer, she just turned her head upside down to dry it the fastest. No use in trying to make it straight tonight. Her stomach growled too loudly for that. When she was done with the drying, she could barely get a brush through it. At least all of it would keep her head warm.
She pulled out a turtleneck and jeans, hoping they would keep her warm. Her only sweater wouldn't provide her with much warmth since it was thin and short. Her leather jacket would have to work against the cold.
"I'm starving," she declared as she exited the bathroom.
Wesley had his phone to his ear. "Kill him," he said into it, which made Faith stop short.
Wesley waved her over, pulling the covers up so she could climb in. Who in the world would he want to kill?
"The thing eats babies. That's the only recourse. Chop its head off. I will call soon." Wesley turned to her. "Sorry. I had to leave a message for Angel. He was having some trouble. I thought I could help."
"For a second there, I thought you were calling out a hit on someone."
"Just of the demon variety. I'm not that evil, Faith."
"Didn't say you were. And it's still freakin' cold in here."
"It will warm up eventually."
"What? When we check out?"
"We should go and get food before the weather gets worse. Then we can figure out how to seal all the cracks. It might help."
Faith climbed out from underneath the covers and put her jacket on to keep warm.
"That's it?" he asked her.
She had no idea what he was asking, so she just shrugged.
"Here," he said as he dug out a sweater from his bag.
"What are you going to wear then?"
"I think that what I have on is much warmer than that shirt you have. I'll be fine with the other sweater and my jacket."
Wesley pulled a v-neck sweater over his turtleneck. She couldn't believe it. Both were black.
"You raid Angel's closet before you left?"
"I do own other colors, you know."
"Prove it," she goaded him.
He pulled out a brown shirt and pants.
"Big deal. Brown."
Then he pulled out a dark red shirt, which caught Faith's eye. "OK, so I'll shut up."
She thought he would look better in blue, but didn't want to skew his fashion sense. Then he pulled out a blue one, hanging it up to get the wrinkles out. She almost groaned. The man had finally learned how to dress.
"Quit fussing with your wardrobe, Princess Watcher. I'm hungry."
He didn't respond to her taunt, but pulled on his jacket to follow her through the door. They found an open place not too far from the motel, but it wasn't as good as the diner they had found that morning. Eating quickly, they made their way back to the motel, until Faith spotted a bar across the street.
"Let's go," she said as she started to drag him across the snow-filled street. "Something to keep us warm."
He readily agreed, which either made her feel good or bothered her that he was that interested in the alcohol. From what she remembered of his apartment, he had a huge supply of empties in the kitchen. She just hoped that she wasn't contributing to the delinquency of an alcoholic by leading him into the bar.
Striding up to the bar, Faith ordered a beer, while Wes ordered a vodka tonic. Faith spied a pool table in the back room, so she wandered over to see if the room was unoccupied at the moment. And she really didn't want to go back to the cold motel room just yet. A game of pool might get the blood moving. She just wondered if Wes could actually play. Maybe she should feign ignorance just to see what he would do.
"Pool?" she asked as he took a sip of his drink.
"Anything than go back to that frigid room?"
"You got that straight. You know how to play?"
"Some. You?"
"Not so much. Maybe you can teach me."
Wesley rolled his eyes at her comment, but made his way to the back room. Grabbing a poolstick, he racked the balls just so and then took off the triangle, placing the white ball in front of them. Faith could never remember what each piece was called. She just knew she had to get her balls into the holes, simple as that. He handed her a stick also.
"I'll break?"
"Sure. Whatever," she said as she took another swig of beer.
He broke the balls, shooting them this way and that. He made quite a few in the holes, which surprised her.
"You're solids. Just don't hit in the eight ball."
"Got it."
Faith tried to line up a solid ball, but missed by a mile. Of course, it was on purpose just to see what he would do, but hey it would pay down the road to see his strengths and weaknesses.
"Don't tell me you've never played before," he asked.
"Doesn't mean I was ever any good," she chuckled.
Now she regretted wearing the turtleneck. Now she couldn't distract him with the cleavage ploy. It had worked so many times with other men. And it definitely would work with him.
"OK, how do I line up this shot?" she asked of him.
He put the stick down and made his way over to her. Standing behind her, he showed her how to line up her shot. Easing back ever so slightly, she accidentally brushed up against him. She got the rewarding hiss from him that she had wanted. He backed away as she took the shot, but she missed again. She could feel his eyes on her as she straightened up to let him take his shot.
"You missed," he told her with a certain amount of disdain in his voice.
"Next time, help me more," she said as she strode around the table with him to watch his shot.
He bent over the table to line up his shot, but she leaned against the table close to him. She could see the muscles in his jaw clench tightly as he tried to pay attention to the shot and not her.
"It won't work," he said as he took his shot, making it with a resounding smack.
"What won't work, Wes?" she said innocently.
"Trying to distract me."
"Make you a bet. Next shot, I bet I can distract you."
Wes looked at her in challenge. "You can't touch me in any way."
"You're on. You buy the next round if you miss."
Wes shook his head yes. "More help?"
"Yeah. I'm not getting it just yet."
Moving around the table, he again came behind her, but this time he leaned into her completely, which sure as hell distracted her. He took her hands in his, gliding them to the perfect position. Since he was so much taller than she was, she could feel his hot breath in her hair. It tickled just slightly.
"See. Right there," he told her, voice going deep and husky.
The two shot together as one, sinking the ball quickly.
"Very nice. Now my turn," he stated, wandering around the table to look at a shot.
Faith moved over to a chair that was blocked from being seen in the next room. No one could see what she was going to do. And it would sure shock the hell out of the cocky bastard in front of her. Besides, she was getting thirsty because she just had finished the beer.
Wesley finally lined up his shot, but hadn't taken it, waiting for Faith to do something to distract him. So she whipped her top off just as he was ready to shoot. Which made him miss by a mile since he looked at the last minute.
"That was not fair," he growled at her as she swung the top around her arm.
"Hey, you said no touching. You didn't say no looking or no stripping."
"Put it back on before someone comes in here."
"Make me."
She had put the challenge down. Would he follow through? She certainly hoped that he did. There was more than one way to get warm on a cold, snowy night. He slowly made his way around the table, not taking his eyes off of her as he did. As he made his way over to stand in front of her, his blue eyes twinkled in the light. He'd either kill her for embarrassing him or he'd spank her. She'd like to see which he would try.
"Put it on now," he told her in an even voice.
She just grinned up at him. He bent over to come face-to-face with her.
"No more games, Faith," he whispered to her, obviously trying to hold in his temper.
If she just pushed a little more, she might really get him angry. It might be fun to watch him lose it.
"No," she told him.
Then she quickly swept his legs out from underneath him to crash him to the floor. She was on top of him, pinning him to the ground before he could even blink. Her bra-clad chest brushed up against him, making her even warmer. Now what should she do? She could see that he was beyond angry. While she was contemplating what her next taunt would be, he surprised her by flipping her over and slamming her into the ground, pinning her arms above her head.
"Yes," he answered her back.
"You know I can buck you off and across the room."
"Probably you could. Would you like to try?"
Oh, would she like to try right then. He had gotten the better of her, distracting her long enough to flip her over and pin her to the ground. Where had he learned that move?
"I kinda like it right here, Wes."
He smiled down at her. Instead of what she wanted him to do, he buried his head in her hair. Now what was that?
"You smell incredible," he practically purred in her ear just as his tongue started to trace the outside of it.
A bolt of pure lust shot through her as she lay underneath him. And it was over before they could start anything because someone entered the room. Wesley quickly arose from the floor and blocked the view of her with his body. She pulled the shirt over herself although she couldn't so much as breathe.
"You done playin'?" the voice rang out in front of her.
"I believe we are," Wesley told the man as he grabbed his coat and drink, heading off into the other room.
Faith wrenched her stuff off the chair, following in his wake. He jerked his coat on and was out the door before she could say two words to him. It was still snowing as they made their way silently over to the motel. Unlocking the door, Wesley dragged his coat off and threw it into the side chair. Running a hand through his hair, he sat down on the end of the bed. Faith slowly closed the door and locked it. She could see the emotions play across his face now. She never thought that she could push him too far.
"I care for someone," he finally spoke.
Faith's heart lurched in her chest. So that was why he resisted her advances. Now it made perfect sense to her.
"She doesn't think of me in that way. I'm just a friend to her. She has someone else."
That statement made Faith feel a little better. Wes was pining over some girl. Would wonders never cease?
"So why didn't you made a move on her?"
She so didn't want to help him out. But she felt a little sorry for him.
"I did. She wanted to remain friends. At least, I think that's what she wanted."
"Sorry. I was just playin' at the bar. I pushed. I shouldn't have."
"I should have been honest with you."
"Now you have been. No problem. Really."
No problem that she couldn't solve, she thought.
"Let's get some sleep. We have a long drive ahead of us."
Faith still couldn't get out of her head that he had touched her, had responded to her. Was his almost girlfriend just an excuse or was something else going on? She sure as hell knew that his body didn't lie as they lay on that floor together. She'd have to figure out a different strategy. If he wanted her, then he'd go for it, hook, line and sinker. If not, then no skin off her. She'd have him begging before very long though.
TBC
Next: A fight. Wow, we haven't had one of those in a while. Faith does have her work cut out for her if she thinks that she'll seduce Wes. Will she succeed?
Author notes: I hope everyone is liking this. I haven't written a true romance kind of fic, if you could call this fic that. But we'll see.
Thanks go out to Tariq, shahid, Illyria639, and everyone else. Hey, drop a line if you like or even if you don't, because I know not everyone likes this pairing. No problem on that.
Answers to questions
Tariq—I'm not telling, yet.
Shahid—I'm not telling, just yet.
Illyria639—Don't worry about the spoilerage; no big deal and all. I may not tell you though if you're right. I just hope I use enough clues so everyone shakes their heads and go, OK, now I see when this thing is over. This is my mystery/romance kind of practice in this fic. Keep on guessing away. I just hope I don't blow it and reveal too much too soon.