Chapter 130
Despite her nerves, Katelina eventually drifted into a fitful sleep, complete with nightmares. Sarah glared at her accusingly, and reminded her that she'd never get to bring a new guy home. It could so easily have been the other way around.
The next evening, Katelina climbed from bed in the heavy pre-twilight, her eyes puffy and sore. She caught up her clothes and toiletries, and headed to the bathroom to take her delayed shower. The door wouldn't open all the way because Jorick still blocked it, so she had to slide through. Once inside, there was barely room for her because he was sprawled over most of the available floor, not that there was very much of it. She could stand against the door and reach all the bathroom fixtures at once.
She prodded his cold, rigid form with a toe. He didn't move. He normally woke just as the sun was disappearing, though he could wake at any time. After a second prod, when she was sure he was really asleep, she slipped out of her clothes, then dodged neatly into the tiny shower. Though they were living together, they hadn't made it to the shower-buddy stage yet, so she tried to be quiet. The shampoo fell over, she dropped the conditioner twice, and her razor tried to commit suicide. It was as though the harder she tried, the noisier everything was.
Despite the racket, when she finished her shower, Jorick still lay on the floor. She opened the door and made a grab for the towels, splashing a trail of water across him.
"Hey!" He jerked into a sitting position. "Would you mind not drowning me?"
Katelina let out a gasp and clutched the towels against herself. Her face turned deep red and her eyes narrowed. "I thought you were asleep!"
"Asleep?" He wiped his face with his shirt. "How could anyone sleep through all the noise? Not even the undead have a chance!" He grinned as his eyes roamed up and down her shimmering, wet body. "I thought it better not to disturb you."
"You pervert!" She pressed the towel tighter. "What were you doing? Laying there watching me?"
"Old habits die hard," he quipped unrepentantly as he climbed to his feet. She frowned and he shrugged. "You were thinking it, so I might as well say it."
"You make it sound... I don't know, wrong." Patrick, her ex-boyfriend, had asked Jorick to keep an eye on her for her own protection. It was no one's fault that, after three months, he'd come to enjoy it. Though she probably shouldn't, she'd forgiven him. "Get out so I can get dressed."
He snickered and bowed low. "As you command." He dodged neatly out the door, leaving only his laughter.
She dressed quickly, fighting the butterflies in her stomach. Though they'd get into town that night, they couldn't very well show up at her mother's house at one a.m. Her mother was going to be fierce enough without being dragged out of bed, so they'd agreed to wait until tomorrow evening. She wasn't sure the delay would make anything better.
***
When she emerged from the bathroom, Jorick had changed into another black shirt and was still in an unusually good mood. She took advantage of his cheer and talked him into eating at a truck stop. He played with a cup of coffee while she ate her ham steak and fries. She should have enjoyed being in a restaurant, surrounded by normal people. Instead, she was all nerves. She kept waiting for someone to recognize them. She even feared that someone would know Jorick for what he was, and there'd be a mass panic.
Of course, no one did, though Jorick did draw a good deal of attention. They were probably the best served customers in the establishment. Every waitress stopped by more than once to make sure they didn't need anything. Though they spoke to Katelina too, their eyes never left Jorick, and he gave them all tightlipped smiles for their efforts, which only annoyed her further.
When they left, Jorick dropped a five dollar tip on the table. As Katelina climbed in the car, she muttered something about encouraging slutty waitresses to throw themselves at him, but didn't broach the subject conversationally. Still, he seemed to notice.
"Yes?" he asked as he started the car. "Something on your mind, precious?"
"Precious? That's a new one."
He deftly backed the car from the stall and feigned hurt. "You don't like it?"
She snorted loudly, but refused to answer. Jorick parked next to the gas pumps. After he'd filled the car and returned, she was still aggravated. They pulled back onto the road and he sighed. "All right, I give up. I thought you wanted to go out to eat?"
She glowered at him. "You know what I'm mad about. Was that really necessary?"
"I think they earned the five dollars." When she didn't look amused he rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Katelina, you can't be jealous? I will never see those women again, let alone abandon you for one of them. You're just worried about the visit and taking it out on me. I refuse to be drawn into an argument simply to relieve your tension. If this is upsetting you so badly then perhaps we should have stayed home."
"Perhaps we should have." She turned on the radio to end his infuriatingly calm comments. Why couldn't he just be normal and get angry?
***
The closer they drew to their destination, the more worried she got. It was midnight when they pulled into Dunwick, a small town only twenty minutes from her old home. Jorick slowed the car and asked casually, "Would you like to stay here or should we get a room closer to your mom? If we do, we could use it as an excuse when she invites us to stay with her. Though from what you've said, I doubt even a prepaid motel room will discourage her. On the other hand, I thought it might be," he paused, "fun to stay here."
"Fun?"
His offence wasn't feigned, though it faded quickly from his eyes. "You don't remember, do you?" When she shook her head he made a noise of disgust. "I thought that women remembered everything important."
She looked at him skeptically. "What's important about Dunwick?"
He pulled into the parking lot of a pink ranch style motel and parked the car, then he stared at her accusingly. She stared back and desperately wracked her brain for what she was supposed to remember. Dunwick. They had a high school that caught fire a few years ago and the year before last the police had discovered thirty or forty stolen lawn flamingoes chained to trees in the city park. Other than that, nothing of any interest had ever happened there. In fact, the last time she'd seen the place she'd been in no hurry to ever return, considering there had been two dead vampires in the trunk and the room they left behind was full of blood and broken glass.
"We got attacked? Oren had to come get us and I was really freaked out."
He cleared his throat. "It was the first place we spent the night together."
"Oh, well, yes," she hedged. "Of course. I thought you meant something more monumental than your sleeping in a bathtub." She offered him a smile that was meant as an apology.
He studied her and then said, "I might be willing to forget your lapse of memory, provided I'm done hearing about the waitresses."
"You did that on purpose! That's not fair!"
"No, I didn't." His eyes danced with unvoiced laughter. "I'll go check in while you think it over."
She called him a cheat, but he was already long gone, so she turned her attention to the motel. It looked the same as it had two months ago. The realization of how little time had passed staggered her. It hadn't even been a full two months, and yet so much had changed. She didn't even feel like the same person. Back then she'd been someone weak and cringing and terrified of feeling anything for anyone, someone haunted by dark shadows and dreams of a blonde ghost. Of course, she still had her ghosts, but they were new ones, and she liked to think that after all she'd endured she was stronger.
Jorick returned and they headed for their room. The salted pavement crunched beneath their feet, and the low hum of the outdoor lights created a heavy atmosphere. With much less ceremony than she expected, Jorick opened the door to reveal the ugly orange d¨¦cor that she remembered. She'd never forget the hideous bedspread if she lived to be a hundred.
She threw the suitcase on one of the chairs and eyed the room speculatively. "Sleeping in the bathtub again?"
"I thought I might try the bed this time." He grinned. "Unless you object? I suppose you might want to relive the last time we were here. Though, since you've forgotten, it might be more of a new experience than a repeat."
"I get it, I get it. Fine, no more remarks about the waitresses, all right?"
"Deal." He turned suddenly, caught her with one arm and pulled her to him roughly. His lips nuzzled her neck and he murmured against her skin, "Since it's early how about some sightseeing?"
She jerked away and stared at him as if he'd gone insane. "Sightseeing around here? You must be joking."
"Not at all." He offered her a mysterious smile. "There are a few places I'd like to check out. Besides, I'm hungry." He released her and walked towards the door, pulling his long black coat closed. "Come, bundle up. It's cold outside and I know how delicate you are."
"I haven't gotten unbundled yet."
He opened the door wide and gave her a satisfied smile. "So much the better."
