That night, after gathering a few things, Ben and I left in my new Porsche.
We drove all night, and made it all the way to Montana. The sun started to rise just as we arrived in Helena, Montana.
"We need to stop, Reagan" Ben said from the passenger's seat.
I looked at him, but he kept his eyes on the road. I turned back to the road.
"Why?" I asked, trying not to sound whiny.
"I understand you're in a hurry, but for one, we need gas, and two, we can't be seen in the sun."
I frowned and sighed.
"I guess you're right. Where are we going to stop?"
"Hotel" He answered.
"What? But there're humans there!" I protested.
"Reagan, you won't hurt them, I know you won't. Besides, we don't have a choice, the sun shines through windows. Don't you think it might be a bit conspicuous if we were sparkling as we passed another car?" He asked, finally turning towards me. His face was serious, but his eyes were sparkling with humor.
A small smile played on my lips as I imagined what Ben had described.
"All right, but if I kill someone again, it's on you." I said.
He grinned, "I can live with that."
Yeah but I can't I thought as I rolled my eyes.
I turned into a gas station and pulled up to a tower. Ben got out and filled up the car, and then paid. Once he got back in I pulled back onto the road and went in search of a hotel.
We found a Holiday Inn Express and agreed that it was fine.
I parked the car and turned off the engine. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I let it out and reopened my eyes.
"Ready?" Ben asked.
I nodded and put on some sun glasses. It wouldn't do well to scare innocent humans by my unnatural crimson eyes.
We grabbed our bags, got out and walked up to the automatic sliding door entrance. Once they slide open the over-whelming scent of human blood hit me in a gush of air. My throat felt like it was on fire, but I forced myself not to think about it. Ben slipped his hand in mine and gave it a comforting squeeze. I smiled at him, thanking him silently.
We walked into the building together. I caught my breath as we walked up to the front desk.
Ben flashed the receptionist a dazzling smile. She had red hair and green eyes. She smiled back, all too eagerly.
"How can I help you?" She asked seductively. I had the distinct impression she was referring to something much more than giving him a hotel room. I had to stop myself from growling at her.
"My girlfriend and I need a room, please" He said, his voice velvety smooth as ever.
She glared at me for a millisecond before typing something into her computer.
"All right, I have room 103 available. Is that okay?" She asked.
Ben nodded, "That's fine, thank you."
"I'll need your information." She told him.
"Of course" He said, pulling out his wallet.
I saw the license he pulled out was from Florida, and said Jeremy Perry on it. He handed it to her.
"Thank you, Mr. Perry" She said.
Ben nodded, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
"Phone number?"
Ben rattled off some number I didn't recognize.
"All right, Mr. Perry, here's your key." She said, handing him two plastic key-cards.
"I hope you get some sleep, you look like you need it." She said, referring to the dark purple circles under his deep gold eyes.
Ben smiled, I saw him glance at her name tag, but she probably didn't.
"Thank you, Natalia."
The receptionist blushed and nodded. Ben led me down the hallway towards our room.
"Girlfriend?" I asked.
He shrugged, "She's was bugging me."
I laughed, "Sure, that's why you were encouraging her."
"I was not!" He pouted.
I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."
I wouldn't admit it out loud, but I actually liked him calling me girlfriend.
We found our room and Ben unlocked the door. On the left was the bathroom; we walked into the room and saw a television and a desk against one wall. Opposite that was a queen-sized bed and an armchair with a matching foot-rest. The window next to the chair was wide open to a view of the mountains. The sun shone into the room. The diamonds on my skin appeared as soon as I stepped into it.
"Nice view" I commented.
Ben came up behind me and closed the curtains.
"Yes, but we can't risk it."
After closing the curtains he crossed the room and locked the door. He then lay down on the bed and flicked the TV on.
He looked at me, "You just gonna stand there?"
I shrugged, "I guess not"
I sat down in the armchair, focusing all my attention on the TV, so I wouldn't think too much about the burning ache in my throat.
About an hour into our stay, there was a knock on the door.
I frowned and glanced at Ben. He shrugged and stood up and went to the door and looked through the peak hole. He sighed exasperatedly and opened the door.
I sucked in a painful breath as Natalia's all too mouthwatering sent diffused into the room. I bit down hard on my lip as I resisted the urge to drink her blood.
"Yes?" Ben asked. Only I could tell that there was a slight edge to his tone.
"Oh nothing really, I was just wondering if you needed anything to eat. You must be hungry" She said, flipping her red hair.
I couldn't help but notice she was talking about Ben only, she said nothing about me. An odd feeling stirred in my chest. It took me a while to figure out it was jealousy.
"No" He snapped, shutting the door in her face and re-locking the door.
She must really be bothering him if he snapped at her. Ben's always been a very cheerful, go-with-the-flow kind of guy (Or should I say vampire?).
He sat back down on the bed, scowling at the television set. After a few minutes he turned to me, his expression soft again.
"You don't have to sit over there by yourself you know. I won't bit." He said.
"Yeah, I know"
He rolled his eyes at me; I grinned and stood up, joining him on the bed.
"You just don't want to be by yourself." I teased.
He smiled, "I know, but is that such a crime?"
"It's hard for me too you know. It may be hard to believe but I still have difficultly on occasion, especially when they throw themselves at me so willingly." He said, scowling again.
"I'm sorry" I said, "I forget you're not as perfect as you seem sometimes."
"Believe me Reagan, I'm far from perfect. No one, least of all a vampire, is perfect." He said.
"Could have fooled me" I said, snuggling closer to him. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his chest.
We stayed until the sun went down. It felt weird, not even staying a night, but I was eager to get to New Mexico and gladly left the human-infested hotel. Ben even generously paid for a full night.