Chapter Six
Jet
Shuffling through my drawers, I was determining what to pack for my trip to Natalie's parents’ house. They had snow, and the temperature was supposed to be well below zero. I needed to make sure to pack clothing that would keep me warm.
I packed some jogging pants, hoodies, and suitable attire for Christmas dinner. I was nervous as hell to meet her parents. In truth, I had never been serious enough with a girl to deem meeting her parents. I wasn't really sure what to expect, or what kind of people they would be. From the sound of things, they were pretty laid back, and that was probably a lot more comforting than Natalie having to meet my parents. I think I could handle laid-back, as long as her dad didn't have a shotgun perched somewhere.
Kyle popped his head into my room as I packed. “Meeting the parents, right? Wow, big change for Jet.”
I laughed. “Shut up, man.”
“Are you nervous?”
I paused. “No, I'm a grown man, for God’s sake.”
“I'll take that as a yes.”
I chuckled. “Whatever.”
“Long drive.”
“Yeah, it's a hike. We will have to stop somewhere and sleep if we don't make good time.”
“Ah, a nice little road trip doesn't hurt.”
“What are you doing for Christmas?”
“Oh, I'm hitting up family. I have a dinner at my parents’ and then another at my grandmother's house, so I should be pretty fat by the time the holidays are over.”
“I hear ya. I'll be hitting up the gym hardcore when I return.”
“No doubt.”
“Why don't you ask Katie out on a date, man? She's great, and well, I think you guys would do well.”
“She's totally out of my league, man. I don't like admitting such things, but she is.”
I looked up from my suitcase. “Just don't treat her like a piece of meat, and you'll do just fine. Men are idiots, you know that. We behave like we own the world. Treat a girl right and you can have any girl you want.”
“Thanks, man. Have a safe trip, and I'll see ya when you return.”
I waved him off. I finished packing and headed out the door to go get Natalie.
She was waiting outside on the steps of her apartment, looking casually beautiful. I got out of the car and met her, giving her a kiss on the mouth.
“Hey, beautiful. Ready to go?”
“I sure am. Are you? Or are you having regrets about going with me?”
I laughed. “Maybe, but I'll deal with it.”
“Good. I like brave men.”
“Oh, do you? Are you sure you don't want to have a quickie before we leave?”
She giggled, and it was just about the sexiest thing I’d ever heard. “Not if we have any prayer of getting there by tomorrow.”
We got on the road shortly after lunch. It had been really hard not to take her to bed with me, but she was right, we had a destination to get to. However, I planned on ravishing her at the hotel that night. She wouldn't be able to get away from me then. It was about a 10-hour drive to her parents’ house, and it seemed as if we kissed for five hours straight. I would have thought being closed up in a vehicle with Natalie for that long would cause us to grow irritated with one another, but the total opposite happened. We talked the entire way there, and seemed to solidify our bond even more. She was nothing like any girl I had ever dated before, and I couldn't believe how lucky I had been to win her over. There were a few times I had to pull the car over, especially once Natalie straddled me and started kissing my neck. I would have killed us both for sure, because the moment she did it, I could hardly remember my own name. She was insatiable, really, she couldn’t get enough of me, and I certainly wasn't complaining. Everything she did drove me a little crazy, and it took everything I muster not to take her right there in the car. But I had to settle with some quick make out sessions before we headed back on the road. Due to these make out sessions, we were making terrible time. But it was our Christmas vacation, and if we got there a few hours later, so what? It was a beautiful drive, and the winding roads were breathtaking. There wasn’t enough room on either side of the road to stop, so Natalie had to take pictures from the moving car. It was amazing to be driving along the sides of cliffs, and the view was incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better trip. The sights were great, the company was even better, and I had a few days off from school and training.
We reached North Carolina at around 1:00 in the morning. We still had a few hours to drive to get to our destination, so we decided to stop at a hotel for the night. It turned out that Natalie had assumed I had booked us a room for the evening, but I hadn't. In fact, aside from thinking of seducing her in a hotel, I hadn't thought much about it at all. So our only other option at that point was to drive around and stop at one. The problem with that, however, was that there were no vacancies anywhere. All the chain hotels were booked up for the night due to Christmas, and so we were left with the motels in the area, and even then, we continued to drive by them, seeing all the “vacancy” lights turned off. I was starting to panic as I saw Natalie's irritation level rising quickly.
“I just don't understand why you didn't do it. What did you think was going to happen when we arrived in the city during Christmastime?”
“You're right, Natalie, I'm totally to blame. I do remember you asking me to. But with the fight and everything else, it just slipped my mind. And yes, I did think that I could just drive up to one, and that it would be okay.”
“It's okay, I'm just starting to wonder what we are going to do. I don't exactly want to spend the night in your car.”
“We won't; I will find us something.”
Well, the problem with that little promise was that there was nothing out there. As we kept driving, I finally saw a vacancy sign in the distance.
“There's one,” she practically shouted at me.
I pulled into the only motel we could find in the area, and to be honest, it reminded me of the Bates Motel. I parked, feeling a little uneasy, and I smiled at her before I got out of the car. “See, we found one.”
She looked a little unsure of my confidence as she took a good look at the long line of rooms before us. I couldn't blame her; it definitely looked like I had pulled into the scene of the next horror movie. Being stabbed to death in her sleep wasn't exactly her idea of a Christmas vacation, I was sure of that much. I left the car and went into the office to get a room. I was relieved at least when the motel manager didn't resemble Norman Bates.
“Hey there, I need a room for the night.”
The manager slid the guest book in from of me like we were still in the 1950s, and I scrawled my name in it. I paid cash for the room and took the key from his hand. I ran back out to the car, drove to Room 21, and parked in front of it. Natalie was looking out the windshield at the room and turned to me.
“How much did it cost?”
“It's not important. Let's go.” We both got out of the car and headed to the door.
“Jet, how much did the room cost?” She wasn't letting it go, and I really didn't want to tell her.
“Jet?”
I put the key in the lock, and laughed, as I said, “Fifty bucks.”
“Fifty! Oh, this is going to be good! Just great, I don't think I've ever heard of a room for rent for that low.”
“Well, it was a first for me too, but I'm sure it's delightful.”
She looked at me and shook her head, looking vaguely unimpressed.
I pushed open the door and it swung open to reveal a dark, musty room. The oldest furniture known to man littered the room, and some of it looked to be falling apart. The walls were yellow from smoke, and the bedding looked like it had never been washed. It was covered with stains. It was one of the most terrifying scenes I had ever seen, and I'm a fighter. Natalie burst out laughing and left the room. I looked after her and wondered if she was planning on coming back. I eyeballed the room, and figured she probably wasn't planning on it. I followed her outside and found her leaning against the hood of the car.
“I am not sleeping in that room!”
“Natalie.”
“Jet, no. Seriously. Go get your money back, we’re leaving!”
“Baby, where are we going to go? We have been driving around for a half hour, and there's just nothing out there. I'm sorry, we are going to have to tough it out for the night.”
“Have you lost your mind? Do you want to take another look in there?” She walked back over to the room and pushed the door open again. “That is a roach motel in there!”
I laughed. “Baby, we have nowhere else to go, you know that. You didn't want to sleep in the car, and really, that would be our only other option at this point.”
“Jet ... ugh, I'm not doing this!”
“Baby, are you yelling at me?” I laughed.
She shook her head laughing. “Find someplace else, and find it now. I don't like acting like a princess, but in this case it's happening right now.”
“Sweetie, I know you deserve the Ritz, and if I could find one, I would take you there in an instant, but I can’t; this is it. I fucked up, I know, but this is what we have for tonight.”
“Jet, I don’t need the Ritz, but did you see the sheets? I’m sure if you did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
I grinned. “Wow, how is it that when you’re mad you turn me on, and all I want to do is fix it?”
She laughed. “Don’t even think about getting lucky on those sheets.”
“Baby, you make me crazy.”
“Jet, I’d rather sleep in the car.”
“Don’t be silly. It’ll be okay, it’s just one night.”
I took her hand and pulled her in the room, closing the door behind us.
“Jet, you know this place has cockroaches, it’s inevitable. You also know the moment one touches me your life is over. True story.”
I growled. “Baby … man, what I wouldn’t do for clean sheets.”
Natalie burst out laughing.
“Mmm … there’s my girl. I’ll protect you, baby.”
“We are so sleeping with the lights on. What a nightmare.”
I kissed her. “Don’t be mad, sweetie. Let’s make the best of it, okay? It's going to be great, trust me.”
She gave me a small smile. “Alright, we'll stay.”
I hugged her to me tightly. “Now, let’s go look at the shower.”
She groaned.