The Boy I Hate(40)
They were both quite a good while, before he glanced down at her iPod that lay in the middle of the bed. He hesitated for only a moment before picking it up and turning toward her. “What are you listening to?”
It was the first time he’d shown any interest in her books, and she pulled in a deep sigh before answering. “Nothing you’d be interested in.”
“Try me.”
She plucked the iPod from his hand and placed it on the nightstand. “The Princess Bride.”
A grin teased at his lips. “A fairy tale.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, I like fairy tales.”
She grinned. “Oh yeah, what’s your favorite?”
He leaned back on his elbows and looked up the the ceiling. “Hmmm…I would have to say, Beauty and the Beast.”
“Really?” She bit her lower lip and wrinkled her nose with disbelief.
“Yeah, it’s relatable.”
“Why, because you’re the beauty?”
He frowned, shaking his head as he rose to his feet. He handed her the empty glass. “The opposite actually.”
She tilted her head, but remained quiet.
He turned toward the door, before she could recover enough to respond, but glanced back over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought. “Thank you for the Motrin. I feel much better.”
She stood up, realizing she didn’t really want him to go. But she followed him to the door, where he quickly exited, but turned one last time around.
“See you in the morning, Samantha.”
She nodded, leaning her head against the doorframe. “See ya.”
It was past four in the afternoon when they stopped for gas in Chippewa, Nebraska. The weather was cold and foggy, but a small cafe was just across the road, promising the best split pea soup in town. Samantha climbed out of the Mustang, trying to shake the tingles from her legs where they’d fallen asleep, but it wasn’t quite working. She found herself holding onto the side of the car to catch her balance.
Even though she still had enough snacks to keep a small football team satisfied for a weekend, she was excited for the excuse to get out of the car for a while. To warm her body from the inside out with a hot cup of soup.
Tristan got out of the car and stretched his arms above his head—which lifted his hoodie just enough to make his stomach visible. “I’ll fill up,” he yawned. “Why don’t you go get us a table?”
Samantha raised her eyes, hoping he hadn’t caught her staring. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” She grabbed hold of her bag from the front seat, then proceeded to limp-walk on pins and needles across the street.
They’d been on the road for over six hours. Six hours of talking about nothing—and about all the things that had been going on in their lives over the past few years. She never thought she’d have five words to say to Tristan after their night together, yet talking to him now came remarkably easy. He listened, which surprised her. Really listened, in a way that reminded her of Renee. She liked that. Liked how he made what she was saying important enough to pay attention to.
She pushed open the door to the cafe, where a large chalkboard told her to seat herself. A glance around the restaurant revealed a bar with classic red and chrome bar stools, and booths that had mini jukeboxes in the middle of each one.
Opting for a booth, she settled herself into the closest one that had a nice view of the street. A server pushed through the double doors a moment later and came over to say hello. Her hair was red, done up in a style that reminded Samantha of I Love Lucy, and her pink pinafore only added to the ensemble. She was young and pretty though, and had a sweetness about her that made Samantha smile.
“Howdy,” the girl said, as she leaned against the booth. “Welcome to Peggy’s Cafe. Best split pea soup in Chippewa.”
Samantha smiled, knowing this was the only restaurant in Chippewa, but she kept that bit of info to herself. “Thank you. It’s nice to be off the road and stretching my legs for a bit.”
The server grinned, set two menus on the table and tilted her head. “I’m guessing you folks aren’t from ’round here.”
Samantha opened her menu, perplexed by the fact the server knew she wasn’t alone and glanced over all the full color images of sandwiches, soups and salads. “California,” she answered.
“Ooooh… I’ve been there once. To Malibu. I’d give my right tit just to go back for a weekend and get out of this cold.” She sighed and took her tablet from the pocket. “Where y’all headed? You and that hot piece of somethin’ you have ’cross the street.”