too many.”
Cody shook his head. “I can’t imagine why they
don’t see what I do, but then again, I’m sort of glad
they didn’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting across
from me right now.” He reached out and lightly
touched her hand. He left it in place. He liked the
way her skin felt under his.
Darla glanced down at their hands. Just like some
teenager she slipped her foot out of her flip-flop and
stretched her foot out and slowly ran her foot up and
down his calf. She watched as his eyes widened and
a small sexy smile formed on his mouth.
He repositioned himself in his chair and cleared
his throat. He squeezed her fingers, letting her know
that what she was doing pleased him.
“Maybe we should finish our meal before we
have dessert?” she said, searching his face for
approval.
He finally found his voice. He’d never been at a
loss for words before. She really had him all
confused.
“This is crazy. We hardly know each other, yet I
feel I’ve known you for a lifetime.”
Darla nodded. “Me too.”
Just then the server walked by, and Darla reached
out and gently tagged her as she passed. “Can we
have our bill, please?”
Cody noticed her smile. He read it like it was a
long novel. He knew exactly what was on her mind.
It was on his as well.
As they waited for the server to return with their
bill, they held hands, and while Cody ran his fingers
up and down her hand and wrist, she ran her foot up
and down his calf and even up a little higher. He
tossed his head back for a second, dreaming of what
it was going to be like. He hoped he wouldn’t be
disappointed.
Chapter Eight
They could hardly keep their hands off one
another. Cody was concentrating on driving, and
Darla was concentrating on distracting him. When
they finally pulled into the hotel, Cody had to sit a
moment and get his composure before going in and
getting the key.
“Girl, you got me all heated up,” he said,
reaching over and kissing her.
She pulled him back to her and kissed him
passionately. “Hurry up and get those keys,” she said
through clenched teeth.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The two were in a lip-lock that even a pry bar
couldn’t separate. Darla’s back was up against the
door, and she held on to Cody’s neck and he began to
feel her long nails lightly dig into his skin. Cody
opened one eye and tried to put the key in the
keyhole without breaking the kiss. She pulled him
tightly, making him miss his mark. Finally, he was
able to place the key into the keyhole and with a
couple of jiggles, the door opened. He pushed the
door open wider with his boot. He walked her inside
backward and took his boot and slammed the door
shut. He kept walking her backward; lips locked and
gently laid her down on the bed. She scooted to the
middle and held out her arms for him. He lowered
himself on top of her and began caressing her and
kissing her neck. Things were getting hot, and her
heavy breathing and moaning were turning him on
badly. Just as he was about to make the next move,
loud bells began going off in the room. Bells as in a
fire alarm!
Cody looked up at the mechanism that was
making all the noise. “I think that is a fire alarm, and
we need to exit the room.” He pushed himself off of
her and stood straight up. “Yep, that’s exactly what
that is.” He reached for her hand and pulled her up
off the bed. “Let’s go, grab your purse.”
The two headed out the door where they saw
others gathering across the parking lot. They walked
toward the large group. Just as they settled amongst
the other guests, Cody got a whiff of smoke.
“I think it’s a real fire!”
Soon fire trucks blazing their sirens and lights
watched on as one of the rooms was doused with
water.
He pulled Darla close to him and hugged her. “I
sort of feel like a fire that just got put out, too.” He
glanced over at her.
She frowned. “I wonder if the stars are telling us
to wait?”
“The stars? Are you joking? You don’t really
believe in that crap, do you?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I believe in the
stars, fate, and all of that gibberish,” she said walking
off.
“Now, don’t get yourself all worked up about me
not believing in all that hippy stuff. I get it. I do. You
are one of those types that believe things happen for
a reason. I just happen to believe that stuff just
happens.”
Darla pulled herself from his embrace. “One of
those ‘types’? Dude, you better take that back, or it’s
gonna be a long drive to D.C.”
Cody laughed. “You know what I mean. Don’t be
so darn serious about stuff.”
Darla lowered her head. She counted the pebbles
that were near her feet, and then when she was done
with that she counted how many different colors of
pebbles. She didn’t want to face Cody.
Cody reached over and lifted her chin. “You’re
not mad at me, are you?”
Darla nodded. “A little.”
Cody looked away. He watched as a fireman
rolled up the large hose. It was really fascinating. He
looked back at Darla.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m very methodical, and
I don’t believe in a lot of that spiritual stuff. I do
believe in God, though.”
“Well, if you’re going to be with me, you’ll have
to learn to be a bit more accepting of my ways. I burn
incense, have a Buddha I pray to, and I chant.”
Cody’s eyes widened. “You chant?”
Darla nodded.
“Do you put spells on people, too?” he laughed
out loud.
“That’s it. You’re making fun of me again. I will
not tolerate your verbal or mental abuse,” she
snapped.
“Verbal or mental abuse? Please. This cowboy is
just trying to wrap his head around all this new
stuff.”
“You mean this narrow-minded cowboy, don’t
you?” she spewed.
“Now wait a minute! Now who’s being hateful?”
“I can see that we don’t have anything in
common except maybe some heavy breathing. Don’t
worry. I won’t indulge you anymore in my lifestyle.”
Darla walked off. She didn’t know where she was
going, but she wanted to be as far away from Cody
as she could possibly get. About five minutes into
walking she realized her suitcase was in his truck.
She turned around to walk back and there Cody was,
just a few feet away.
“Were
you following me?” she asked.
“Not really. I was trying to see how long it would
take for you to figure out that walking was a dumb
idea.”
Darla put her face in her hands and sobbed.
“Why are you so mean? What happened to my
friendly, loving Cody?”
Cody walked up to her and put his arms around
her. She put her arms down to her side and became
stiff like a board.
“I just want things to go back to where they
were,” she said between tears.
Cody kissed the top of her head. “Yeah. I’m
sorry. I guess I went too far with my logical take on
things. I really didn’t mean any harm. I just thought
it was fair to let you know where I stand with all of
that. It doesn’t mean I want to change you. You can
pray to Buddha, and I’ll pray to God.”
Darla pushed herself back from his embrace and
stared at him for a long time. “We might be too
different to make things work as anything but
friends. Let’s just take things slow. We’ll go see
Bryan, and maybe I’ll stay in D.C. for a while.”
Cody was taken aback by her new revelation. “So
just like that? When things don’t go your way, you
pull away?”
“I just don’t like the karma,” she said looking
back at him.
Cody shook his head.
“Can’t we just be friends?” she asked.
“Sure. Not a problem,” he said looking back at
the fire trucks. “Looks like they’re about finished.
Let me go find out what the situation is. Most likely
we’ll have to go to another hotel.”
Darla watched as Cody headed toward the office.
He wasn’t gone long. Just long enough for her to
meet some cool folks that were headed to Disney
World. She was chatting with them when Cody
walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.
Darla turned around and smiled. “Well?”
“Just like I thought. We have to find another
place. The manager gave me a list of hotels nearby.
I’ll go to the truck and call a couple. Come when
you’re done with your conversation.” Cody nodded
to the group and walked away.
* * *
The truck cab had not experienced this much
silence since they started their trip. No music, no
talking, and definitely no display of affection
between Cody and Darla.
Cody couldn’t wait to just take a shower and fall
into bed. Too much had happened and it was
mentally draining. He helped Darla get her suitcase
out of the truck and wheeled it to the door. He
popped open the door and motioned for her to go in.
Darla whirled around and saw Cody as he was
closing the door.
“Wait! What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’ll see you in the morning. I’m staying in the
room next door.”
Her jaw dropped slightly and then she closed her
mouth. She backed up a few steps and then she
reached out and took the door and slammed it shut.
Darla couldn’t see Cody on the other side, but he
was smiling.
“Our first spat,” he mused.
Cody plopped down on the bed and bounced a
few times. He nodded. It would be a comfortable
sleep. No turmoil of having Darla nearby and the
draining details of the day would have him in a deep
slumber in no time. He clicked on the remote to the
television and listened to some local news. Soon his
eyes were closed, and he was snoring lightly. He was
dreaming of Tracker chasing a rabbit, and he was just
about to call him off of the scared little thing when
the phone on the bedside table rang abruptly, waking
him.
Groggily he reached for the phone and tried to
utter an audible hello.
“Cody? It’s me. I can’t sleep,” she said.
Cody bolted straight up in bed. “Darla? Is that
you?”
Cody pressed the receiver tight against his ear.
He was trying to clear his head so he could
understand everything that was being said. He ran his
hand through his hair and then turned to glance at the
clock radio that was sitting near the bed. He squinted
trying to make out the time.
“It’s midnight,” he said.
“I know. I can’t sleep. I don’t want to fight with
you. Please come over.”
Cody let out a long sigh. “I don’t think that’s a
good idea, right now, Darla. It’s midnight, and I
think it’s better if we have some space between us.”
“Why does it feel like there will be no returning
from this?”
Cody breathed through his nose and Darla heard
it. It was better than him slamming the phone down
so she’d take it as a sign that he was at least thinking
about it.
“I didn’t say we can’t recover from what
happened today, but clearly, we are on different
paths.”
“I don’t think our paths are so different. We may
come to the conclusion a different way, but I think
we have some common interests,” she whispered.
“Listen, Darla. It’s late. I don’t really want to
rehash things tonight. Let’s try to just sleep on it and
we can talk about it in the morning.”
“Does this mean you’re not coming over?”
Cody let out a weak laugh. “Yes. That is exactly
what it means. Sweet dreams.”
Cody gently set the receiver down into the cradle.
A small smirk formed in the corner of his mouth. He
shook his head thinking of the conversation he’d just
had with Darla. He scooted down the bed resting his
head back on the pillow and soon he was sound
asleep dreaming of dogs and rabbits.
Chapter Nine
Over coffee, the two discussed their travel plans.
The way Cody calculated it, they’d arrive in D.C. the
following day. He knew it would be awkward now
that they had their first falling out. He wasn’t sure if
they would recover from it, or if he even wanted to.
He had feelings for her but wasn’t sure if they were
real enough to fix things between them. Oh sure, she
was pretty, and youthful, witty, and he loved her
quirkiness. But was that enough?
“What are you thinking?” she blurted.
“Just wondering how Tracker is doing. I had a
dream about him and a young jackrabbit,” Cody said.
He took a sip of his coffee and set the cup down.
Her eyes widened. “He didn’t catch it did he?”
“He sure did,” Cody said.
Darla shook her head and made a face.
“He didn’t kill it if that’s what you’re worried
about. Remember it was just a dream,” Cody said,
trying not to laugh.
Darla stabbed a piece of cantaloupe with her fork
and put it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, and a
little juice from the melon dripped down her chin.
Darla quickly dabbed the moisture with her napkin.
Cody could tell she was thinking of something to
say to him. He decided he would beat her to the
punch. “About yesterday,” he started.
Darla focused her attention on him. All eyes were
on him, and he could feel it.
“Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the hours
of traveling. Who really knows? But things were
said, and now we are here.”
Darla nodded. “Yep.”
“So let’s walk it back—if we can, and let’s start
today anew.”
“I’d like that, Cody. I’m sorry if I jumped to
conclusions about you.”
Cody reached out and touched her hand. “Okay.
From this moment on we’re starting fresh. But so
that we won’t be blindsided about stuff, maybe we
should do a little more talking and less smooching.”
Darla smiled. “Sounds good. There’s a lot about
me you don’t know and vice versa.”
“I think we got the physical attraction part
down,” he grinned.
She squeezed his hand. “Deal. Let’s talk and get
to know one another.”
“We have another long day ahead of us. Let’s
finish up and hit the road,” Cody said.
He started to withdraw his hand, and she quickly
clenched it, holding him steady.
“Cody, I just wanted to say that you are special to
me in so many ways. I know you don’t believe in
fate or karma, but I do, and I believe with all of my
heart that we were drawn to each other for a reason.
A reason we may never be able to explain, but
nevertheless a reason.”
Cody squeezed her hand. “I do believe in fate,
but it hasn’t always been positive for me. I hope you
understand. I’m a very complex individual. I’ve seen
and done a lot of crazy shit. I don’t know if you’re
designed to handle me.”
“Well, see that’s just it. I am. I know I am. I’m
the one that fits perfectly with you—just like a glove.
It will be my soft approach on life that will help you
see that it doesn’t always have to be so black and
white, cut and dry. Know what I mean?”