eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak. Conley put a finger to her lips. “For the night.”
He took the key from the clerk and led Jo outside. The hotel was one story and laid out in an L shape. A white railing separated the rooms from the parking lot. The wind picked up, blasting them with heat and dust. They passed a cracked and drained swimming pool which sported mildew stains in its plaster.
Their room, number seven, lay at the end of the corridor. “A good number,” Conley said.
Jo snorted and folded her arms across her chest. Once the door opened, she pushed past Conley and halted so quickly inside the room that he ran into her.
“Ow!” Jo grabbed her foot and hopped. “You stepped on my heel.”
Reaching behind him, he closed the door. “Sorry. You shouldn’t stop like that. Why did you?”
“The shock of the room, I guess.”
He looked at the orange and purple paisley bedspread, the green shag carpet, and cheap reproduction art prints of desert scenes on the wall. “I don’t remember it looking this bad.”
“Came here a lot did you? By the hour?” Jo perched on the edge of the bed.
Conley tossed their bags on the bed and walked toward the bathroom. “Never brought anyone here.” He knocked the door open. It banged against the wall with a thud. “I was never with the same person long enough to take them anywhere.” He peeked around the corner. “Shower?”
Jo waved him off. “You can go first.”
He waited what seemed eons before the water from the shower grew hot. He left his clothes in a huddle on the floor and stepped behind the vinyl curtain.
Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as the hot water washed over his face and down his shoulders. Although it was in name only, the thought of getting married scared him. His heart raced like an out of control thoroughbred. What if they couldn’t get an annulment? Maybe he didn’t understand the law. What if Jo, classy Jocelyn, were stuck with him?
He rested his forehead against the fiberglass wall and allowed the water to flow over his shoulders and cascade down the sore muscles of his back. Thoughts zipped through his brain, one after another, gathering speed as fast as a tornado. He banged his head softly against the shower wall.
Jo’s face rose to the forefront of his mind. The dark auburn curls, shot through with threads of gold. The chocolate brown eyes with flecks as bright as the stars in the sky threatened to drown him in their sorrow. The mouth with a bottom lip fuller than the top. This line of thought would get him nowhere and accomplish nothing but fill him with frustration.
He turned off the water and stepped from the shower. He wrapped the largest of the threadbare bath towels around his waist. He stepped over the pile of his discarded clothing and opened the door.
###
Jo sat on the edge of the queen-size bed and stared at the carpet between her feet. An interesting stain spread across the cheap fibers. Its shape reminded her of the state of Texas. She giggled and took a deep breath, willing her racing heart to slow.
She sat and listened to the water run in the shower. I should just get up and leave. Find my own way to Prestige. Rescue Alex and disappear again. She sighed. But I’m tired of fighting this on my own, and Conley seems so capable.
Rising from the bed, she took two steps toward the hotel room door. She had no money-- no mode of transportation. She walked back to the bed and flopped belly first across it. She was stuck marrying a man she didn’t
He took the key from the clerk and led Jo outside. The hotel was one story and laid out in an L shape. A white railing separated the rooms from the parking lot. The wind picked up, blasting them with heat and dust. They passed a cracked and drained swimming pool which sported mildew stains in its plaster.
Their room, number seven, lay at the end of the corridor. “A good number,” Conley said.
Jo snorted and folded her arms across her chest. Once the door opened, she pushed past Conley and halted so quickly inside the room that he ran into her.
“Ow!” Jo grabbed her foot and hopped. “You stepped on my heel.”
Reaching behind him, he closed the door. “Sorry. You shouldn’t stop like that. Why did you?”
“The shock of the room, I guess.”
He looked at the orange and purple paisley bedspread, the green shag carpet, and cheap reproduction art prints of desert scenes on the wall. “I don’t remember it looking this bad.”
“Came here a lot did you? By the hour?” Jo perched on the edge of the bed.
Conley tossed their bags on the bed and walked toward the bathroom. “Never brought anyone here.” He knocked the door open. It banged against the wall with a thud. “I was never with the same person long enough to take them anywhere.” He peeked around the corner. “Shower?”
Jo waved him off. “You can go first.”
He waited what seemed eons before the water from the shower grew hot. He left his clothes in a huddle on the floor and stepped behind the vinyl curtain.
Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as the hot water washed over his face and down his shoulders. Although it was in name only, the thought of getting married scared him. His heart raced like an out of control thoroughbred. What if they couldn’t get an annulment? Maybe he didn’t understand the law. What if Jo, classy Jocelyn, were stuck with him?
He rested his forehead against the fiberglass wall and allowed the water to flow over his shoulders and cascade down the sore muscles of his back. Thoughts zipped through his brain, one after another, gathering speed as fast as a tornado. He banged his head softly against the shower wall.
Jo’s face rose to the forefront of his mind. The dark auburn curls, shot through with threads of gold. The chocolate brown eyes with flecks as bright as the stars in the sky threatened to drown him in their sorrow. The mouth with a bottom lip fuller than the top. This line of thought would get him nowhere and accomplish nothing but fill him with frustration.
He turned off the water and stepped from the shower. He wrapped the largest of the threadbare bath towels around his waist. He stepped over the pile of his discarded clothing and opened the door.
###
Jo sat on the edge of the queen-size bed and stared at the carpet between her feet. An interesting stain spread across the cheap fibers. Its shape reminded her of the state of Texas. She giggled and took a deep breath, willing her racing heart to slow.
She sat and listened to the water run in the shower. I should just get up and leave. Find my own way to Prestige. Rescue Alex and disappear again. She sighed. But I’m tired of fighting this on my own, and Conley seems so capable.
Rising from the bed, she took two steps toward the hotel room door. She had no money-- no mode of transportation. She walked back to the bed and flopped belly first across it. She was stuck marrying a man she didn’t
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