“Yeah, you did,” he looked at her warmly.
“I could be insulted that you’re so happy to have not had my company or my brain bothering you for the last few hours. But I’ll let you off the hook. This time.”
He smirked.
“What’s the plan?” She rested her head against his chest again and circled his chin cleft with her index finger.
“The plan is we grab a rental car and zig zag down towards Phoenix. Then, I tuck you away someplace safe while I meet with Adrian privately. Then we go from there.”-3-By the time they got through customs and got to the parking lot, a silver Mercedes E550 convertible Cabriolet was waiting for them. It had the top down and it sparkled in the sun, looking very inviting.
“This is a sexy car,” Kyla said as she caressed the door.
The rental company rep smiled at her and got into a car with his co-worker and drove away. Tristan smiled while closing the trunk with their bag in it.
“It is. Hop in.”
He reached into the glove box and pulled out a map. He examined it for a few minutes while she put on her seatbelt and got situated. She put her purse on the floor between her feet and reached over and turned the radio on.
A Def Leppard song, Love Bites, rang through the speakers. The singer sang about not wanting to touch her because making love to her would drive him crazy and then when the chorus started singing about how love bites and bleeds she flicked the volume off. A shudder worked its way up her spine.
Tristan let out a heavy sigh, “It's what I need.”
“What is?”
“That’s the next line of the song.”
“Oh. Oh ya.”
“Rather fitting, huh?”
“Mm hm.”
Oh God, I love him. Please let us figure this out.~~~They were soon on the road, the top down, and the sun was shining.
“How long to get there?” Kyla asked.
“A few days if I do all the driving and we stop at night,” Tristan answered, “I’m not taking the most direct route, in case anyone finds out we landed here. Four or five days. Maybe we’ll take six.”
“Okay, good, you’re doing it. I hate driving.”
“Hate?”
“Hate. I have my license and I can do it if I have to but I hate it. I get aggressive and have terrible road rage. People shit themselves when I’m driving.”
Tristan burst out laughing.
“And that’s funny because?”
“You think I’m going to shit my pants out of fear because of your driving?”
She giggled, “I wasn’t talking about you, Mr. Big Bad Scary Vampire. However, maybe we should put me in the driver’s seat next time the gray monster rears his head, huh?”
Tristan shook his head, “Bad joke.”
“I know, right? Maybe not,” Kyla mused, “But it might be a good sign if we can start to laugh about it.”
“Not ready to laugh about it,” he said, stone-faced.
“Yeah, I guess me either. Or at least I shouldn’t be. Then again, my emotions are a mystery to me these days.” She shrugged.
Kyla pushed the negativity that threatened to creep in away and stretched, soaking in the sunshine. It would be nice to be alone together for that amount of time.
But then she felt her heart sink again, thinking that a lot of that time would probably be spent obsessing about what’d happen when they got to Arizona. She didn’t want to obsess. She just wanted to enjoy a few days with him, try to make this road trip less than ominous. A few days alone with Tristan could be nice --- so nice.
She fiddled with the radio tuner and stopped at the Hinder song from her ringtone. She stopped and leaned back and smiled, eyes closed, listening. She reclined the seat a little bit. His right hand covered her left one and he squeezed.
“You know this song is actually about a guy thinking about cheating on his girlfriend with his ex, right?” she asked him.
“Have no fear of that. It was just that one line that really got me.”
She let out a hearty belly laugh.
“You have a great laugh, Kyla,” he said, “I want to hear more of it.”
He let go of her hand and caressed her cheek.
“Thanks,” she smiled at him, “There are other sounds I make that you seem to like, too.”
He chuckled and squeezed her thigh. Then his face changed and he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Kyla tried to ignore it, not wanting her own angst levels to multiply his.
Amicable silence followed for the next few hours as they listened to music and watched the scenery.
~~~They stopped at a motel once it started to get dark. They chose a motel with a neighbouring Cracker Barrel restaurant. Down the street was a Walmart so Kyla suggested they go for some extra supplies after eating.