“Is there another one?”
“Yes, but I don’t know where. Maybe the bus driver found it.”
They drove another half-hour, and could feel tornado weather approaching. Tim looked up at the dark sky. “We had better find somewhere to stay until this blows over. We can’t even make it back home in this weather.”
“I just wish I hadn’t gone back home.”
“This is not your fault, Brandi. We missed the bus by minutes at the most. I doubt if they even made it up there.” He tried calling Monica and a few of the students, but the reception was lousy.
“What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know. Let’s back out of here and hit another main road. Hopefully, it won’t be flooded. Maybe we can find a restaurant. You hungry?”
“Not really. You?”
“I’m okay—for now.”
He slowly backed up and made it to the road. They drove on looking for lodging as the storm grew worse. Finally, they saw a motel sign. Tim smiled. “We can get something to eat in there, hopefully.”
Tim pulled into the motel. Moments later, he was back, soaked to the bone. “There’s no restaurant, just snack machines. They do have a room that we can stay in until the storm passes.”
A motel room was the last place she had wanted to be with him. “Do they have two rooms?”
“I already asked, and they only have one room left. Other travelers booked the rest at the last minute due to the storm. Should we take it or stay in here?”
“You’ll catch pneumonia if you stay in those clothes.”
“My pants aren’t too wet because I ran, but this shirt.…”
“Come on, let’s get the room.” That was not her preferred choice, but there wasn’t another one available. Her only salvation would be to sit on the bed, eat whatever candy they could get, and play her music. Ignoring him would be hard, but she had to do it. Looking at Tim without a shirt on in a room with a bed in it could drive her completely crazy.
They went over to the desk clerk, and Tim put his credit card on the counter. “We’ll take the room.”
The woman blurted out: “It’s taken.”
Tim could see her eyes shifting from Brandi, then back to him; he knew what the deal was immediately. “How can it be taken? I was just in here, and you said there was one room available. I want the room, now where’s the key?”
“Sir, the room is taken. A couple came in after you.”
“No one walked into this place after me. The driveway is empty except for my car. What did they do, walk here in the rain? Where’s the key?”
Brandi tugged on his wet sleeve. “Tim, we can stay in the car and let the shirt dry.”
“I’m not staying in any car when I know a room is available. This is ridiculous! I want a manager out here immediately or I cause trouble. Will that be necessary?”
The woman glared at him then reached under the desk. “We only have the honeymoon suite available, and housekeeping hasn’t gotten to it yet.”
“I don’t care at this point.” He slid the card over to her and waited for his receipt. Once he signed it he shoved the receipt into his pocket, stared at the clerk with contempt then took Brandi’s wet arm. “Come on.”
It was disturbing seeing Tim that mad, but he had good reason. She hated when people looked at her that way.
They walked up the second-level steps, and Tim opened the door to the luxury suite. He checked the place before letting her enter, just incase something shady was going on. “It’s clean already. I knew she was lying just to get us out of here. Backwards bit…”
“Tim, don’t say it. She’s not worth it.”
“I have to get this off my chest somehow.”
“Not like that.”
“Whatever. Go on and get settled.”
“Don’t let her upset you like that, Tim. It’s over now, so let’s just deal with what we have. It is not over. We’re trapped in this place and can do nothing about it.”
She wasn’t exactly crazy about sharing a room with him either, knowing how they would have to fight to stay away from each other. She walked into the honeymoon suite with pink-and-plum accents.
The large bed was in the middle of the sunken room. “Pretty.”
“Should be for what it cost, and the bull we had to take at the counter.” The look on her face made him regret getting so mad. “I’m sorry, Brandi. It’s just that…”
“I know. Things haven’t worked out the way you wanted them to. I feel bad about that.”
“Don’t. It’s not your fault, and I’m sorry if I made it seem that way.”
“I know your heart, and you’d never do that. Go on, get out of those wet clothes. ”
“Thanks for understanding.” He went into the bathroom to hang his wet shirt over the shower railing and wash up.
Brandi lay across the bed listening to her music, trying to ignore this other side of him, though it was rather sexy. She pulled the covers over her head, not wanting to think about being in a honeymoon suite with him. She could still hear him splashing about in the bathroom, probably nude by now. Turning her CD player up and drowning in his Drifters CD did not calm her. Nothing worked. Her mind was in over-drive from want of him.
Tim walked out tying a terrycloth robe around his waist. He threw a matching one on the bed. “They left us these.”
Thank God. She tossed him a candy bar and returned to her music. “That’s your lunch. Enjoy.”
Unable to reach anyone by cell phone, he assumed they had made it to the conference. He started riffling through the material in his briefcase.
By evening, they were tired of watching television and touring the small pool area and vending machines, so Brandi returned to the room and decided to call home to tell everyone she was safe. She neglected to tell her parents she was in a motel room with Timothy Polaris. Hearing their mouth about that would be the last straw; she was in no mood to explain herself.
The rain was still heavy and the tornado, though still a distance away, was expected to hit neighboring communities. New York City was already a washout, as were the surrounding areas. She and Tim stared through the picture window in the front of the building and saw nothing but darkness and sheets of rain.
Brandi ate the last of her chips and yawned. “Why am I so tired? It’s only 8 o’clock.”
“It’s been a long day, Brandi. I’m tired myself. Why don’t you get some sleep?”
“I have never gone to bed this early; not to sleep, anyway.”
Hearing that comment wasn’t helping him, though he knew she hadn’t meant to frustrate him that way. He ate his last chip and tossed the empty bag away. “I might grab a beer at the bar.”
“I’ll call home again to see if everyone’s okay. Hopefully I can get through this time.”
“Don’t count on it. You were lucky before. You didn’t tell them I…”
“Of course not. I told them I drove up with Joan.”
“Good. All I need is Dr. Moore about this.”
“Why are you so scared of him?”
“I’m not scared of him; we’re friends. The problem, we’re such close friends that he knows without my having said anything that I have the hots for you.”
“You still like me that way after all the trouble I’ve put you through?”
“How can I not? Look at you, gorgeous beyond reason, a good head on your shoulders, and you’re sincere. I see why Eric is so crazy about you. Brains and beauty are a lethal combination. I’m hating this motel more and more because you’re here and I can’t do a thing. I can barely look at that bed without thinking of you.”
“I know the feeling, believe me. As far as Eric is concerned, my brain was the last thing he considered. He didn’t think I would catch on to him and my best friend getting it on.”
“He’s a twit. Forget about him. We have to forget about each other, too, so long as we’re in this room together.”
“What do we do?”
“What can we do? Nothing! Not a darn thing!”
* * *
Tim was alone in the meager motel bar, nursing a scotch and soda. He spent the entire evening looking down into some drink, and pretending the woman upstairs really wasn’t there. But she was there, and that’s what he was truly afraid of. How could he sleep in the same room with her and not touch her? Then he thought about what had received several days ago—a letter from Columbia welcoming him to the staff. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait to get away from Madison. Madison had been his favorite place to be—then Brandi Miles stepped into the picture. The farther he was from her by day, the better he thought he would be. The thought made him smile. As quickly as it had come, the smile disappeared. The idea of another relationship still scared him. He had decided that he didn’t know how to hold one together, but he wanted to try with Brandi.
The letter from Columbia stayed on his mind, but he had yet to tell Brandi about it. He knew he had to tell her sooner or later, but not that night. No, his agenda for the rest of the evening was getting to the bottom of his drink, and then watching Brandi sleep, dying to be sleeping with her.
Tim returned to the room and found Brandi asleep on one end of the bed. The first and last thing he had wanted to do was to get on that bed with her. They would end up accidentally touching one another, then it would cease to be by accident. Before long they would be out of control and making love. As she slept with just the terry cloth robe on, he could hear her even breathing. A slight moan escaped her lips.