Letting Go (5 page)

“He’s worried about you?” he asked when she looked up.

“I guess.”

“Because of me?”

“I guess. Answering my phone was a dick move.”

To her astonishment, he didn’t say anything more. He nodded and kept driving.
Isabelle was still angry and she was pleased that she didn’t have to talk to him.

Almost half an hour of resentful silence later,
they passed a sign for a gas station half a mile ahead. Harper turned to her. “I have to stop to fill up the tank. I didn’t check it earlier, sorry.”

“Of course, you were too busy messing with my phone.”

She thought she saw a hint of embarrassment when he grinned.

“Do you want something to eat?”

“I’m fine. You can eat if you want,” she added,
afraid that he would go hungry because of her.

“When did you last eat?”

“I ate.” Apart from the milkshake at the airport, she’d last eaten on the plane over six hours ago but she didn’t want him to think she was hungry because then he’d force her to go eat and she was broke. She wouldn’t want to owe him any more money than necessary.

“Sure?”

She nodded.

“We’ll reach
Perry in about half an hour. We’ll get a motel room and continue in the morning.”

He looked at her for agreement.
She wished they could drive straight home. But the weather was horrendous. The road was swimming in front of them and it was pouring again. The white sheets of rain had turned to grey and then black as darkness fell. She couldn’t demand that Harper drive in these conditions in the dark. It was bad enough during daylight.

“That would be fine.
But we’ll get
two
motel rooms, not
a
motel room.”

He c
huckled as he pulled up at the gas station.

Isabelle
jumped out to stretch her legs. While Harper filled up the tank, she walked in circles under the tiny piece of roofing over the station.

“You look like a wild cat in a cage,”
Harper called out to her and chuckled.

“It’s not funny. I spent ten hours on the plane this morn
ing. I have cramps from all the sitting,” Isabelle complained.

“
The really great thing about Paris is that everything worth seeing is within walking distance,” she added then.

“True. Did you go see the Moulin Rouge?”

“You mean a cabaret show?”

Harper
nodded as he headed for the entrance.

Isabelle
had to catch up to him to answer, “Sorry, half-naked women are not my thing.”

Harper
laughed. “That’s not the point of cabaret. It’s about music and dancing.”

“Of
half-naked women,” Isabelle finished.

“You’re such a prude.”

Isabelle stopped short when she noticed the guy behind the counter. She blushed, thinking that he probably heard the last part of their conversation. Out of context, it could easily be misunderstood.

“Sure you don’t want anything?”
Harper asked with a smirk when he saw her reaction.

She nodded and decided to wait for him by the
entrance.

Harper
stepped up to the man to pay for the power bar he grabbed from the shelf by the door.

“Would that be all? Nothing for your girlfriend?” The man craned his neck to look over
Harper’s shoulder at her. He smiled what he must’ve thought was a charming smile. Isabelle was creeped out. She tried smiling back and shaking her head no, but all she managed was a grimace. She could hear Harper chuckling but she refused to look at him. No doubt the girlfriend comment amused him to no end. She was sure he wouldn’t let her forget it.

The second they were
back outside, she retorted, not having forgotten his previous accusation, “I’m not a prude.”

“Prove it,” he countered without a pause.

He beat her to the car and opened the door for her. For a second, she stared at the open door.

“Thanks,” she said and sat in.

She could see the amused smile on his face as he rounded the hood.

A
s she was about to speak, he interrupted her, “Do something
unprudish
and I’ll believe you.” He grinned, a challenge in his eyes. He started the car and they were back on the interstate.

The only reason she was still willing to talk about her
supposed prudishness was because that way she kept him busy, hoping he’d forget about the girlfriend thing. Although she was beginning to suspect that she might have gotten off more easily with that.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, think of something. Talk dirty, tell me your favorite porn movie, get drunk and dance on the reception desk at the motel tonight, something.”

He watched her with glee as her face crossed a series of horrified expressions, until she mumbled, “You’re insane.”

He turned on the radio, searching for a good station, all the while chuckling.

“No one in their right mind would do any of those things,” she said
, disgusted.

“Oh, I don’t know. I know a few girls that just might.”

“God, I’m happy I don’t know them.” She wrinkled her nose and shuddered.

All of a sudden, she turned to
Harper and asked, “Do you really think that’s attractive?” She couldn’t believe anyone would find that alluring. Not even Harper, although he was a bit … wild. From what she’d heard, not that she had any first-hand experience.

Smiling, he said, “I was teasing you,
Isabelle.”

“Oh.”

“Just so you know, I think your wholesomeness is charming,” he added.

She blushed
, his smooth voice caressing every nerve ending in her body. “Wholesomeness?”

“I don’t think innocence fits. You’re not
that
innocent, are you?” She knew what he was talking about and her cheeks turned a brighter shade of red. She hated how he managed to make her blush every five minutes.

“Are you?” he asked surprised when she didn’t respond.

“No.”

When she dared a glance at him, he was smiling. It wasn’t a smile tha
t was supposed to embarrass her, but she couldn’t interpret it.

“
Jamie?”

“None of your business, is it?”
She couldn’t believe she was discussing her virginity with her boyfriend’s brother. It was beyond insane and wrong. It was one of the most embarrassing experiences of her life, right up there with Dad’s attempt at giving her the birds and the bees speech when she was fourteen. That, she and Chloe had laughed about for an entire week. This, she wasn’t sure she could tell anyone about, not even Chloe. She was mortified.

“Thought so
,” he said, obviously taking her answer as a confirmation. “Out of the two of us, he was always luckier,” Harper said. This time his eyes lingered on her for longer. She felt her body tense under his scrutiny.

****

It was still raining when they stopped in Perry. The parking lot in front of the motel was barely lit; two of the street lamps were burned out. Isabelle ran from the parking lot to the motel entrance, covering her head with her jacket. In her flats, she stepped into several puddles and she could feel the wet seeping through. “Just great.”

She waited for Harper in the lobby. Five minutes passed before he showed up
. His hair was dripping and he wiped a raindrop off his eyelashes.

“Where were you?”
she asked.

“Had to get some stuff from the trunk
.” He showed her a duffle bag.

“Listen,”
Isabelle started, but he interrupted her and waved his credit card in the air.

“Don’t worry, I
’ve got it covered.”

“I’ll pay you back,” she said, wringing her hands. She didn’t fe
el comfortable having someone else pay for her.

“Sure, whatever.”

An old man appeared at the counter. Harper stepped up to him, the bag on his shoulder.

“Hey there.”

“Evening.” The man’s voice was a rich tenor that sounded too refined to go with his round belly and gleaming bald head.

The lobby was small, a bit shabby, but decent enough,
Isabelle thought. At least it looked clean. The motel was situated close to the highway and the area was quiet at this hour. She imagined it would be far livelier in the morning.

“We need two rooms for the night,”
Harper said, looking at Isabelle.

Was he expecting her to suggest one room,
Isabelle wondered? In fact, it surprised her that he didn’t simply ask for it, just to irritate her.

The receptionist looked at her too and then browsed the cubby-holes behind him, picking two room keys.

“Next to each other, that okay?” He eyed them both and they nodded in response.

“Thirty-two
has a working TV, the other one doesn’t,” he clarified. “Work it out yourselves.”

Before she could even process his words,
Harper’s long fingers grabbed the thirty-two key. She frowned but didn’t want to argue in front of the receptionist.

“
Go out through the entrance and turn left, all the way to the end and then up the stairs.”

Despite the brusque
instructions, he smiled and wished them a good night.

Outside, Isabelle had to hurry to match Harper’s long strides.

“Can I get the TV, please?” she asked, trying to be nice. “I’m jet lagged and I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep. I could use some entertainment.”

Harper
raised his eyebrows at her and smirked.

“I meant
the TV program.”

“Like there’s ever anything worth watching on.”

“Why do you need it then?” She grinned triumphantly at him.

“Why do you?”

“You’ll be sleeping anyway, that was the whole point of this stop, wasn’t it? For you to rest so you could drive us home tomorrow? ”

“I’m used to falling asleep watching TV. So you can either let me have this room or you’ll have a zombie driving you home tomorrow.”

They stopped in front of their rooms. Isabelle wished she could find a bus station and take a bus home. But she was penniless and tired.

“Fine.
Whatever. Have your TV.”

She
unlocked the door to the TV-less room, walked in and closed the door behind her without saying good night to Harper.

In the dimly lit room
, she exhaled slowly to calm down. Darkness and quiet felt soothing to her exhausted brain. But then sounds of Harper unlocking his door and his heavy boots walking around the adjacent room disturbed her peace and she sighed.

W
hen she turned the lights on, almost reluctantly letting go of the dark, it turned out the space was pleasantly furnished. For a motel. Dark brown carpeting, cream wallpapers with tiny white stripes, chocolate brown curtains, a lamp by the bed, a chair and a side table, stacked with local take-out menus. She eyed them hungrily, then forced her eyes away.

She walked to the door opposite from the entrance, turning on the lights in the bathroom.
There was a large mirror above the sink that created the illusion of the space being larger than it was. If she had had any curves at all, she doubted she could squeeze herself in the infinitesimal shower. She wondered how Harper would manage to take a shower. Then she reminded herself that that was not something that should concern her.

A
long, warm shower was just what she needed although she bumped her elbow on the tiles several times. By the end of the shower, it throbbed with pain. The towel was scratchy and she refused to think about how many people had used it before her, but she had to wash the long day from her body. She regretted not having a change of clothes, but at least the soap, although not even close to her favorite kind, smelled fresh and clean on her skin.

Reclining on the bed, she used her phone to check her email and then tried calling Dad again. Still no answer
. She was beginning to suspect he’d lost his phone again. It had happened four times in the last two years, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d lost it again.

At least
Chloe answered on the first ring.

“You okay?” she asked breathless.

“What? Why? Of course I am.”

“Oh, okay. I thought ...”

“What?”

“Nothing. That maybe something happened with
Harper and that you needed my help.”

“Like what? I’m not calling for
help; I want to talk to you because I’m bored because he wanted the room with the TV.”

“
Room? Where are you?” Chloe sounded apprehensive.