to keep doing whatever it takes to keep your heart filled with this kind of joy.”
“Lars…” she begins, but a yawn escapes her.
Chuckling, I say, “Sleep, my love. Get some rest. We’ll talk more about all of this good stuff later.”
Shit, I’m dead tired too.
So we fall asleep then, contented and in love.
I wake up first.
A few hours have passed, and since we have to check out soon, I shower and dress.
Afterward, I figure I should head out and grab some breakfast for us. My woman can’t live on love alone, and the snacks and candy have pretty much run out.
Since Becca is still asleep, I write her a quick note on a Post-it pad I find on the table by the door.
Be right back, Becs.
Off to find us some food, something more than candy and snacks.
Love you.
Lars
Okay, I need to brush up on my romantic-note-writing skills, but it’s the thought that counts.
Once I’m outside, I quickly discover there’s more that needs brushing—like literally. My SUV is covered in a mountain of snow.
“Good thing I keep a snow brush in the back,” I mutter out loud into the crisp cold and silence.
After grabbing the brush, I get to work.
A good while later—hey, there was a massive amount of that white crap that needed to be cleared—I’m traveling down the road in search of a fast food restaurant.
“Ah,” I murmur when I catch sight of the golden arches. “I knew there’d be one of those.”
I go through the drive-thru, returning to the motel with two different hot breakfast sandwiches, hash browns, and two orange juices.
Once I’m back, I find Becca is up and about. She’s already showered and dressed too.
“Someone’s ready to roll,” I say.
She shrugs. “I know we have to leave soon.”
She’s seated on the bed, brushing out her damp honey-blonde hair, looking kind of sad.
“Yeah,” I sigh resignedly as I set the drink holder with the two juices down on the table. ”We probably should check out and get going. But first, let’s eat.” I hold up the bag. “My quest was successful, and though it’s not the most nutritious food in the land, it is nice and warm.”
Becca smiles as she stands.
I hand her the bag of fast food.
As she rummages through it, she says, “I actually am freaking starving.”
“Guess we worked up an appetite, huh?”
She stops her digging long enough to smile over at me. “We sure did.”
I start taking off my coat. “Choose whichever sandwich you like. I’ll eat either one. I got hash browns too.”
“Mmm, sounds good.”
Becca opts for a sausage muffin sandwich and a hash brown.
“This looks so good,” she says.
My stomach starts growling when I smell the food, reminding me that I am beyond famished.
Motioning to the bag, I say, “Hey, pass that bag over here.”
“You got it.”
Once I have my sandwich and hash brown, Becca and I set up an eating space on the table by the door.
When I fully open the curtains, her eyes widen. “Holy crap! That’s a lot of snow.”
“I told you there was a ton.” I jerk my chin to the window, where my SUV is parked just outside. “You should’ve seen how long it took me to dig out the Nav.”
Becca laughs between bites of her sandwich. “I bet it took a while. Good thing you had a snow brush. I noticed it in the back yesterday but never dreamed we’d need it.”
“Right?” I take a sip of my juice. “Still, it barely did the job. I was about to go ask the motel lady if she had a broom.”
Becca smiles. “That would’ve been a sight.”
I just shake my head.
We finish our breakfast, straighten up the room a little, and then hit the road.
Becca was right—things do feel different now.
But I was right too—they’re different in a really good way.
I can’t believe how much has changed in such a short amount of time. Becca and I are no longer “just friends.” We’re lovers and officially a couple.
Who would have ever dreamed this trip could change so much?
I had no clue.
I’m glad it turned out this way. I was tiring of keeping my true feelings bottled up. I’ve wanted to date Becca from the beginning. She intrigued me from the moment she walked back to that last row in the theatre and sat down a few seats away.
I’ve been enthralled ever since.
When she catches me smiling, she asks, “What are you thinking about, Lars?”
Glancing over at her, I say, “I’m thinking about you… me… us.”
Reaching over the console,