Page 41 of Never Let Me Go

“Oh.” I release his hand and pull my phone out of my pocket before turning it on. It comes to life and as soon as it’s ready, I pull up the internet where I was searching for a hotel at a gas station along the way. It looks… not the nicest but I only have a limited amount of money if I want to keep where I am a secret for now so it’ll have to do. Grabbing his phone off the stand, I enter the address into the GPS and set it back down. He studies the map for a second before turning as instructed by the automated voice.

“I don’t want to be too forward,” he says as we drive down quiet streets. “But given our last conversation, I’m just going to go for it. I’d really like to see you again… like, as soon as possible.”

I smile, feeling giddy as I nod. “Yeah, I’d really like that, too.”

“Get over here,” he commands, grabbing my hand again and yanking me across the bench seat until I’m tucked into his side. My heart pounds and my belly flips as he throws his arm over my shoulder and I cuddle into his side. God, this feels so damn right. We cuddle together in a comfortable silence as we drive to the hotel and the closer we get to the ETA on the GPS, the more my chest aches. It sounds crazy but I don’t want to leave him.

“Um…” he mutters as the GPS declares that we’ve reached our destination. The motel stretches out in front of us and I do my best not to recoil. The photos online didn’t look great but I thought I could make it work. Now, I’m not so sure. Small groups of people hang around outside, smoking, drinking, and talking as music pumps through an open door. A breeze blows trash across the parking lot and up on the second floor, two people are going at it pressed up against the window while a group of guys whoop and holler from below. “No.”

“No, what?” I ask, peeking up at him and he flashes me a stern look.

“There’s no way in hell I’m leaving you here.”

I glance back up at the hotel and suck in a breath, dread weighing me down. Staying here isn’t exactly an idea that I’m fond of but with only nine hundred dollars left, the forty-five dollar a night price tag is enticing.

“I’ll be okay,” I assure him, sounding a whole lot more confident than I feel. He shakes his head and pulls me tighter into his side.

“Over my dead fucking body.”

“Sawyer,” I prompt, laying my hand on his leg. “I can take care of myself.”

He shakes his head, glancing down at me like I’m crazy. “There’s no damn scenario where I leave you here alone. Absolutely not. You can come stay at my house.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” he growls as he surveys the parking lot. I swear, the more I look at it, the worse it gets and my stomach rolls. Why can’t I go stay with him? Well, there’s the fact that I just met him… and I haven’t been completely honest with him… “I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

“Sawyer,” I breathe.

“Come stay with me,” he urges, his voice softer this time. “I need to know you’re safe and we already decided we want to spend more time together.”

I sigh and squeeze my eyes shut.

God… am I really going to do this?

“I’m not sleeping in the same bed as you.”

“I have a spare bedroom,” he replies, relief in his voice as he flips the truck around and starts driving away from the hotel.

“I didn’t say yes, yet!”

He scoffs, his gaze meeting mine for a second before he turns back to the road. “I told you I wasn’t taking no for an answer. I wasn’t playin’ around.”

“Oh, no, sir! I am a grown ass woman, you don’t make decisions for me,” I snap and he blinks in surprise before nodding.

“Okay. I’m sorry.” He pulls the truck over to the side of the road and turns to me as he cups my cheek in his hand. “Will you please come stay with me?”

My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I search his eyes for a second before nodding. “Yes.”

“See? Wasn’t that so much easier?” With a grin on his face, he turns back to the wheel and tucks me into his side before pulling back onto the road.

“Wait, before we get to your place, is it a bachelor pad? Am I going to find something disgusting when I walk in?”

He laughs. “No. My house is perfectly clean.”

“Hmm,” I hum. “I think I’ll be the judge of that.”

“I always keep it clean in case I need to take one of the girls we help there to lay low. It’s also why I have a spare bedroom with a nice bed in it.”