Chapter Three
As soon as the bus stopped, Seth was out of his seat and off the bus.
Someone must be hungry, thought Jessica. But when she went inside, Seth was sitting at a table with three other men and there wasn't a seat for her so she sat at a table on the other side of the room by herself. I suppose I'll have to apologize, she thought. She ate her solitary meal and went back to the bus. She spoke outside with the driver who confirmed with her that there were no vacancies for the duration of the trip. Jessica wondered if there was another motel nearby but he had checked and with the limited amount of spaces, there were no vacancies anywhere. She could check to see if there was a cancellation when she arrived though.
While she was speaking with the driver she saw Seth board. Not in any hurry to join him, she stayed outside until it was time to go.
Seth was sitting in the window seat so she settled on the aisle and reclined her seat. Putting her blanket over her she pulled out her pad and pencil and began jotting down notes. She wasn't going to start a new book, she was on vacation but it would be good to place ideas down while they popped into her mind. She heard Seth huff beside her but she ignored him. She began a letter to her niece, Courtney, before starting another to her sister-in-law.
The bus stopped at ten-thirty to let them off for the night. It was quiet as everyone was pretty tired.
Jessica tried to get her own room but gave up quickly, she was just exhausted. Seth took off toward their room while she handled her own luggage. She figured Seth was still upset with her since he was usually a gentleman and handled both pieces of luggage. Seth was unlocking the door when she reached him and he allowed her entry first.
She took two steps and stopped and stared. There was only one bed. Just great. She put her luggage down and started looking through her suitcase for her pajamas. Before she could enter the bathroom, Seth went in. With a sigh she changed into her pajamas and waited for Seth to come out. An hour later she was still waiting and now she was irritated. Again. She was starting to really dislike this trip. She gave up, turned off the lights, and went to bed. She covered her head so the light wouldn't disturb her and went to sleep.
Seth came out of the bathroom and looked toward the bed. Jess was sleeping and he was feeling badly. He quietly got into bed, turning away from her. He had been hurt that she yelled at him but after thinking about it he realized he wasn't letting her sleep. He was known to be cranky for far less of a reason. He also felt badly for ditching her during dinner. She ate by herself too. He would apologize in the morning.
Only he woke up with a jerk. The ten minute blast from the bus' horn caused him to jump. He scrambled off the bed, Jessica wasn't there! He hurriedly dressed, splashed water on his face, brushed his teeth, and threw everything into his suitcase. With two minutes to spare he hurried out to the bus. Now he looked like all the other last-minute sleepers. Why hadn't Jessica woken him up?
Jessica had crawled out of bed early and took a long leisurely shower. She didn't make unnecessary noises or turned on the lights to disturb Seth. She ate her breakfast, it wasn't as good as yesterday's. At least she was able to sleep last night.
She settled at the window seat so she had the first opportunity to nap if she wished. Her eyes were closed when she felt Seth enter the row. She was trying to figure out her feelings. It hurt when Seth didn't sit with her at dinner. How passive aggressive was he? She didn't wake him this morning. He should be capable of waking himself but she knew he probably missed breakfast. She took a peek at him. He looked a bit unkempt since he hadn't shaved this morning. She felt like canceling the trip. Again. She certainly wasn't having any fun.
Seth stared at Jessica after she didn't stir when he arrived. He didn't think she was asleep, just ignoring him. She probably didn't want to be bothered, at least by him.
The first stop was a long one. It was the final destination for a number of people and the start of a trip for others. They had an hour wait at the terminal. Jessica had gotten up to go into the terminal to use the facilities and Seth went because he had missed breakfast and was hungry.
Jessica took a walk inside the terminal to stretch her legs. She saw Seth leaving the small cafe inside the terminal with a container and a bag while carrying a large cup of coffee more than likely. She didn't want to drink anything since their lunch stop was nearly three hours away but a cup of tea would have been lovely. She stopped at the gift shop and picked up two puzzle books for Seth as a peace offering.
She boarded when the PA announced the ten minute warning. Seth was by the window now, munching on his breakfast. Neither spoke as the bus left and it was a tense silence. Jessica took out her book and pretended to read while Seth finished eating. After he passed by her to toss his trash in the waste receptacle she pulled out the puzzle books to give him.
She wordlessly handed them over. He looked at them for a moment.
"So you're telling me to work on the books and not bother you?" he asked gruffly.
"No, you left yours behind and I thought you'd enjoy having another one." she calmly replied.
Seth hung his head. The trip wasn't going well. Lack of sleep made her cranky and he shouldn't try to force her to spend time with him just because he was rested.
"I'm sorry, Jess. I should have let you sleep. I was just excited." He spoke softly.
"I'm sorry I was short tempered with you. Lack of sleep does that to me." she admitted. She looked over at him and looked away. "I don't think not talking to each other was an effective way to handle things."
Seth watched her out of the corner of his eye while pretending to stare ahead. "I'm sorry I didn't join you for dinner."
"It hurt," she said simply.
He picked up her hand and kissed it before squeezing it gently. "I am sorry, Jess." He couldn't look her in the eye. He didn't want to see any pain in those blue eyes of hers that he had caused.
"I booked this trip on the bus because I thought we could take the time to relax and enjoy ourselves without me having to tire myself out driving. I just wanted to spend uninterrupted time with you." Seth reclined his seat.
"Let's start over then." She smiled. "We'll check in at our four star accommodations tonight where the sounds from next door will be crickets and not headboards on the wall."
Seth started chuckling. "They must have been long distance runners. Didn't that last a long time?"
Jessica turned red. "Seth! Don't remind me. They were either really good at it or very horrible." She giggled softly but Seth started chortling.
"I should have called out pointers," he guffawed.
They settled down but occasionally one would catch the other's eye and they'd smile again.
"I am so sorry I yelled at you." she told him softly. She leaned her head towards his and whispered in his ear. "I wouldn't have minded the lack of sleep if we..I mean if the cause was different but listening to them was embarrassing."
Seth turned his head to speak and noticed how close they were to each other. Her lips were only inches from his own. They looked so soft too. "I looked around yesterday wondering who it was but I couldn't figure it out," he admitted.
"It was the couple, the man in the orange t-shirt with the blue jeans and the woman was wearing a purple shirt." she clued him in.
"Really? How did you guess?"
She turned redder and he thought she looked delightful. Moving closer so her lips were almost touching his ear, she said, "When they were, you know, he kept saying, "Come on, baby," and when they were ahead of me boarding he kept saying, "Come on, baby," in the exact same manner."
"You could hear what they were saying?" he asked in shock.
"I think they were on the bed behind mine and I could hear clearly." She could smell a very faint whiff of his cologne.
"What did they say?" he asked eagerly.
"Seth!" If it were possible she colored even more.
"Come on, baby, you know you want to tell me." he grinned largely and she burst out laughing. It felt so good to laugh again. She quickly kissed his cheek and settled back in her seat.
The rest of the ride that evening was pleasant. After sunset the night air became cooler and the stars were out and they reclined in their seats looking through the skylights in the roof of the bus. Her hand slipped into his and they sat there, close, enjoying each other's company.