She awoke the next morning feeling woozy and slightly disoriented. She was aware after a moment of the sound of the running water in the bathroom and then smiled to herself and stretched lazily.
Ah, yes. That.
Woody came from the bathroom then and looked over at her warily. She sat up and pulled the sheet around her.
"Morning," she said, her voice still thick with sleep, and she brushed a tangle of hair from her face.
He stood with his hands on his hips. "Don't beat around the bush, Jordan. Just give it to me straight."
She squinted up at him. "What are you talking about?"
"It never should have happened. We were drunk. Last night was a mistake."
The corners of her mouth turned down. "Is that what you think? Last night was a mistake?" She looked up at him wide-eyed.
"What? Me? No. No!" he said in a rush. "You mean, you don't think it was a mistake?"
She thought for a moment and then grinned. "...No." He grinned back at her and perched with relief on the end of the bed. "We've been running in circles so long. I don't know...maybe it's time to stop."
He got up on his knees and crawled across the bed toward her. "I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it this morning."
"Let's just say that when I make up my mind, I really make up my mind." She ran a finger up his arm and to his lips. "Besides, I had to keep you interested."
"Oh, I'm interested. So...what does this mean? Are we a...couple?"
She turned the word over in her head. "Yeah. I guess we are."
"Wow. A couple." He smiled at her and brushed her hair from her shoulder. "So, what do we do now?"
She kissed him on that spot on his neck that made him quiver. "Oh, we'll think of something."
XXXXX
He went to get some breakfast from the diner across the street while she showered. She opened the curtain after she dressed and looked out onto Milton in the daylight. The morning sun was shining brightly, and the snow had already begun to melt.
Woody was standing in the parking lot talking to a burly man in a pick-up truck. He waved to the man and hurried back to the room.
"Hey, good news," he said, handing her a muffin and a cup of coffee. "I'm going to go get some gas, and then Big Earl out there is going to give me a lift back to the car. I'll be back to pick you up in a few minutes, and then we'll hit the road."
"Okay, let's get this straight. You didn't want to stay in this motel last night, but you're perfectly willing to get in a pick-up truck with a guy named 'Big Earl?'"
"Come on, Jordan! Where's your spirit of adventure?" he teased and stole a bite of her muffin. "Be back soon." He gave her a quick kiss and jumped in the truck with Big Earl.
She headed down to the office to checkout. Woody returned twenty minutes later, and she ran out to the car and slid in the passenger seat.
He pulled out to the edge of the parking lot. "So...which way?"
She pointed authoritatively to the right. "That way."
"You seem pretty sure of yourself."
"Sometimes you've just got to pick a plan and go with it."
He shook his head. "All right..."
"Hey, I was the one who told you to take the back road, and that turned out okay, didn't it?"
He grinned. "Right it is, then."
He pulled the car out onto the road and made a right.
"Okay, if we're going to be a couple, we're going to have to lay some ground rules," she said firmly.
"Such as?"
"No matching clothing. If we go to Disneyland..."
"We're going to Disneyland?" he asked giddily.
She ignored him and continued. "If we go to Disneyland, we're not getting matching leather jackets with Mickey Mouse on the back and our names embroidered on the front."
"Note to self: cancel Jordan's Christmas present."
"And no cutesy nicknames. I don't want to be honeybuns, or schmoopy or snugglebear, okay?"
"Fine, but that puts the kibosh on my plan to refer to you only as 'sweetcheeks' from here on out."
"Ha Ha."
"All right. No nicknames for Jordan. But you can refer to me as 'Big Woody' anytime you like." She rolled her eyes playfully. "Anything else?"
She grinned and slipped her hand into his. "Let's just see where the road takes us."
And they drove on.
THE END
