Road Trip

Chapter 14

We lay in bed later, the day's exertions catching up with us. I was getting used to having Blake in my bed, though it has been platonic, and I was going to miss this. I was laying on my back and replaying the day in my head, it had been so much fun I didn't want to forget anything, when a sudden thought popped into my head. "Blake, can I ask a question?"

"Of course." She answered, rolling towards me in the bed.

"When we were talking this morning after the face time with you mom, you said something about accidentally hurting me being all sexy. What did you mean by that?" I asked, a little confused by the statement.

The question seemed to paralyze her, and I could see her neck turn red as the color slowly worked its way up till her entire head seemed to be a tomato. She couldn't stop staring at me in fear. "You all right?" I asked, concerned.

"Can we pretend I didn't blurt that out?" she said, looking down at her feet.

I rolled towards her and looked at her. "Blake, if it makes you uncomfortable, I'll drop it. I was just wondering," I assured her.

She looked back up at me and smiled. "Thanks for today."

"Thank you too. This wouldn't have been nearly as great a day with someone else," I stated.

"You really think so?"

"Blake, on every one of my previous road trips, I was dumped before I ever got to my destination, not even close to it in most cases. But we've already driven almost across the country together and we're getting along great. I don't want to have to drop you off, but your mom would probably hunt me down!" I told her.

"This morning was stupid," she said, pushing the covers down off our bodies. "You were on your side, like you are now, and I tried to do this." She moved close and threw her right leg over my hips and leaned into me, forcing me onto my back while she pivoted upward till she was straddling me. I was very aware of the pressure she was exerting on me, and where, and I was praying I wouldn't make this situation worse by getting too excited. She looked down at me and smiled an evil grin. "But the damned sheets caught tangled as I was moving my legs and I ended up too low and caught you square. But this is how I had wanted to wake you up." She rolled her hips a little, teasing me.

Holy shit this would have been a much better way to be woken up. I stared up at her, unsure of how to take this. I raised my hands up and let them run down her sides to her hips. "Can I just say that the thought was wonderful, and if you ever want to try that again, I'll start wearing a cup to bed?" I said with a grin, mentally kicking myself for resorting to humor again. Why couldn't I just tell her that I want her?

"Ethan, my mother was right. I have been talking about you since we met you a year and a half ago. The entire time I was sitting in the back seat of that car I was watching you while we drove. I was terrified, I was shaking every time the wind blew or the snow got stronger and you just kept calm and got me home safe. Maybe I was infatuated with an ideal that even you can't measure up to, or maybe growing up with just my mom gave me daddy issues, I have no idea. But that night I couldn't sleep, I went out to the couch, I just wanted to kiss you and thank you. I might have stayed there for an hour just watching you sleep. Every guy I've even tried to date since then never measured up to what I thought I needed, someone who I would feel safe with. Someone who never asked for anything, but just went out of their way to make sure me and my mom got home safe, even at the expense of their own relationship. So, yeah, maybe I put you on a pedestal, but this entire trip that pedestal has only grown higher. You've been a gentleman and never took advantage of me when I clearly would have let you. So, I will just say this once, and you can think about it. I know this is scary, I know you're trying to work on yourself to make progress on your own healing, and I'm sure me being here throws a wrench into that. But I am here, yours for the taking, whenever you want. I really, really, like you. I like everything about you, and I can't want to spend the rest of this trip with you, regardless of where it takes us," she said with a soft smile, before rolling off me and back onto her side of the bed.

I lay still, stunned at her words. She was right, I was trying to heal myself, but she didn't realize how much of a help she had been as a part of that. I rolled back onto my side, and scooched over to her, pressing my body up against her until I was spooning her. I pulled the blankets back up and wrapped my arms around her. "I'm not good with words Blake, I find it extremely hard to talk to people about my feelings. But I like you a lot too. I don't want this road trip to end, I don't want to stop being around you. I have been thinking about doing things to you that you've probably written about, but I'm terrified of fucking things up. I do want you, not just your body but all of you. You've given me more smiles in the last few days then I've had in the last two years, and I want more. I want more dinners in tubs, I want to see you stand up naked and do a twirl again, and I want to keep spending nights like this in bed with you. I don't want to rush anything and mess it up. You joked about being a part of my cure, and I really do think you are. But I don't want you to think that you're only part of the cure, I think you're a lot more than that. Never doubt my feelings towards you, okay? I don't want this to just be a single trip and then it's over."

"Does that mean I can keep teasing you and getting you embarrassed?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder, and smiling slyly.

"Blake, we both know that regardless of my answer you're going to keep doing it," I replied, and I knew that was true too.

"You're right about that, but I was just checking."

"I like the teasing, don't stop," I admitted.

She wiggled her hips, thrusting them back into me and I instantly responded with a moan.

"I thought that might work," she said, a note of satisfaction in her voice. "Get some sleep Ethan."

"Good night Blake," I said and pulled her tight, a happy smile on my face.