Rest Stop

Chapter 2

How in the hell had she got to this place, Morgan Steele thought to herself as she aimlessly peeled the corner of the label on her beer. She knew that her mother wouldn’t be appreciative of the vulgar language she was using in her head, but she was pretty sure her mother wouldn’t like where she was sitting either. Not that she would tell the ever-perfect Catherine this story, as her mother would point out that it was her own fault for being in the situation, since she had insisted on driving to, of all things, a football game in another state.

All she had wanted to do was go to Alabama, watch the Razorbacks beat the home team and excise a few demons while she did so. The demons were relating to the ex-boyfriend for whom she had originally bought the tickets. The surprise birthday present had been ordered exactly two weeks before she caught him cheating with his next-door neighbor. The resulting breakup had been painful and had left her slightly depressed and definitely angry. She was just now getting over it and as an act of finality, she had decided to go the football game anyway. Her best friend Kelsey had agreed to road trip with her and they had been on their way back home, trying to out run the forecasted storm.

Morgan had really wanted to make it to Memphis before stopping again, but Kelsey had insisted that they would only be in Big Bill’s Restaurant and Emporium for five minutes. She hadn’t wanted to believe the bartender’s warning, but when the hail had started, she had given up any idea of driving for a while. So, thanks to Kelsey’s small bladder and habit of mainlining Dr Pepper, they were stuck for the time being.

Morgan hadn’t been so wrapped up in her own concerns that she failed to notice the two younger guys in the bar. She had been thinking, while waiting on Kelsey to reappear from the bathroom, that they looked as out of place as she felt. Then she had really noticed the one playing darts. She had tried to not be obvious in her staring, darting her eyes around the room, only landing on him for a few seconds at a time. With each visit, she had catalogued a couple more facts.

First off, he was in shape, which was evident by how his t-shirt clung to his upper body. He was tall, although not as tall as the giant that was apparently his friend. Thick, curling eyelashes that most girls would kill for surrounded beautifully colored hazel eyes. She wondered if he had the types of eyes that changed colors with his mood. Not that she would find out, but it would be a nice addition to the fantasy she planned on creating in her mind on the drive back. So focused was she on taking inventory of the stranger’s features that the first clap of thunder took her completely by surprise. She jumped, more out of disturbance from her reverie than actual fear. She had immediately felt idiotic for looking scared when, in actuality, she loved storms. Just not driving in them.

And then he smiled at her.

Morgan prided herself on being fairly well spoken. She could be verbose and her speech flowery when necessary. But when this guy smiled, her vocabulary was reduced to zilch. If someone had offered her $1,000 to speak at that moment, she wasn’t sure she could have. He had a gorgeous mouth that had offered up the most tantalizing, wickedly charming grin she had ever seen. And before she could stop herself, she smiled back. She had no idea what kind of an expression she had given him; it could have been lopsided, goofy or downright scary, but she had no choice but to smile back.

Because of that, she had willed herself to avoid paying undue attention in his direction. She had a highly unladylike tendency to make a fool out of herself in front of good-looking men, and she did not want to add to her already impressive body of work. Instead she focused on Kelsey mostly, casting the occasional glance towards the corner.

“So,” Kelsey’s voiced brought her out of deep thought, “how long do you want to stick it out here?”

Morgan shrugged in response. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine the rain’s going to keep up this hard for much longer. You know how it is at home, it’ll pour down for 10 minutes and then be done.”

Kelsey nodded. “I think you’re right. Surely this will blow over soon.” She paused for a minute. “You okay?” she asked.

Morgan stopped her label peeling and smiled at her friend. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about the whole quietness. I’m just ready to get back out on the road.”

Kelsey grinned. “S’okay. You can keep being quiet, I’ll just enjoy the scenery.” At this, Morgan laughed a little. When they had been about to leave, Morgan had seen the look Kelsey had given the taller guy. Kels did have a thing for tall, dark and handsome. She had also seen the smile TD and H had given her friend as she had ordered their drinks. The attraction seemed to be mutual.

Kelsey’s next comment was little more than a whisper; enough that Morgan had to lean closer to catch it. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed the sparks between you and the hustler over there.”

Morgan frowned in disbelief. “Whatever. You’re imagining things.” She looked over Kels’s shoulder for a brief moment, surprised that she did appear to have the guy’s attention. “And it doesn’t matter anyway, we’re leaving in ten minutes or so.”

Kelsey huffed a little, sitting back in her chair. “Spoil sport.”

She was still forming her cutting reply when the bartender walked to their table. He placed two more bottles in front of them. When he saw both girls’ expressions of confusion, he explained. “They’re on the house. We don’t get many nice Southern young ladies in here.” With a quick nod, he walked back to his post.

Morgan was surprised by the bartender’s generosity, as was Kelsey. “Man,” the brunette said as she finished her first beer. “Maybe we should move here.”

“Maybe we slipped into the twilight zone,” Morgan responded sarcastically.

“We’re going to have to get you into a more glass half-full frame of mind,” Kelsey answered. She then smiled mischievously. “And I think I have the perfect idea to do just that.” She grabbed her purse and rose from her chair. “I’m going back to the restroom. And then I’m probably going to play a game of pool.”

Morgan frowned again. For one thing, Kelsey had just been to the bathroom, and even her bladder wasn’t that small. And she wasn’t exactly a pool player. Before she had even opened her mouth to protest, Kelsey leaned over and whispered to her, “McHottie over there has been giving you looks hot enough to melt the polar icecaps. And whether you know it or not, you’ve been doing your whole ‘come and get me’ routine to him since we sat down. So I’m going to politely excuse myself and hope that he recognizes an opening to chat you up when he sees one. And hopefully his friend over there will do the same for me. Divide and conquer and all that.” With another grin, Kelsey walked to the back of the bar again.

For a full minute, Morgan tried to figure out what Kelsey meant by the ‘come and get me routine’ crack. She hadn’t been doing any such thing, if anything she was avoiding eye contact. She could bat her eyelashes with the best of them when she wanted to, but she hadn’t been. She had convinced herself that her first beer had gone straight to Kelsey’s head when the chair across from her was pulled out and occupied. Glancing up, Morgan tried and failed to contain the groan that she felt. Unfortunately, Kelsey’s plan had worked, just not on the intended target. Morgan was now face-to-face with the guy McHottie had beaten in darts. This was not her day.

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Kelsey Michaels examined her reflection in the miniscule mirror. She wasn’t a bad-looking girl, she thought. Granted there wasn’t anything glamorous about her features, but nothing too shabby either. So how in the world was she going to get that guy’s attention? It really wasn’t fair, she told herself, all Morgan had to do was sit at a table and she had Hot Guy #2 drooling all over her. Not that Morgan would notice of course, but it was a fact. There were times she was felt like she could stand on her head, naked, and guys wouldn’t pay any attention.

Now that sounded a lot like jealousy, a voice that resembled her mother’s echoed in her mind. Kelsey sighed and agreed with it. If anyone deserved to be ogled, it was Morgan. She probably needed it after the hell her son-of-a-bitch ex-boyfriend had put her through. Her once out-going and lively friend had been more affected by the break-up than anyone knew. She was just now beginning to get back to her old self, laughing more than she had in three months. Kelsey had been so proud when her friend had decided to use the football tickets for herself and had even agreed to accompany her. And she didn’t even care too much for football. It was and had been a cathartic experience for Morgan and that was what was important.

And speaking of cathartic experiences, she remembered the other reason for being in the restroom. Hot Guy #1. She had been too preoccupied with the pressure on her bladder to pay close attention as she had blown by him on her way to the back. Her first impression had been tall, a good six inches taller than her, and dark hair. When she had reemerged from the restroom, she had again not completely noticed him, as she knew Morgan would be itchin’ to get back on the road. It wasn’t until she had stood next to him while ordering their drinks that his full effect had hit her.

She should have hated him on principle alone. No one should be blessed with looks like that. He had shaggy brown hair, brushed back from his warm, brown eyes. She had briefly wondered if he shouldn’t consider having his shirts specially made, since his shoulders almost didn’t fit in the one he was wearing. She had watched out of the corner of her eye as he had lifted his drink to his mouth and bit her lip to keep from whimpering. Every single inch of his upper body seem to shift with that simple movement, a testament to the muscles that were hidden under the gray t-shirt. When she had turned to face him, she had given him what she hoped was her best smile. His answering one was sweet and caused dimples to appear in his cheeks. She was hooked.

She had kept an eye on him as she drank her first beer. He had been sitting at an angle from her, so she had been able to keep him in her peripheral vision. She had glanced over enough that she was afraid he would think she had a nervous tick. And while he wasn’t sending her the scorching looks that Hot Guy #2 had been giving Morgan, he didn’t look uninterested either. More of a happy medium.

So it was a good thing that they had stopped here. She nodded in the mirror as this thought came to her. Morgan had needed a break from driving and Kelsey had needed a restroom. The only reason she had drank as much caffeine as she did was to stay awake and make sure Morgan did the same. It was getting late in the evening and she didn’t want her falling asleep behind the wheel. They had killed two birds with one stone at Big Bill’s; they had rested and they had run into the hottest men this side of the Mississippi. Or possibly any side of the Mississippi. And now she was going to get a chance to flex her flirting muscles. Satisfied with her reflection, she left the strangely clean restroom.

And almost collided with Hot Guy #1. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he had been waiting on her, since she couldn’t come up with any other reason for him to be hanging around the ladies’ room. That would be too good to be true, she thought to herself. Now that she was confronted with him, her mind went blank of any ideas of conversation. “Sorry,” she finally apologized as she started to step around him, immediately ashamed of herself for not saying anything better.

She only made it a half a step away from him before he placed a hand on her arm, stopping her retreat. She wasn’t at all sure what to make of this development, or the fact that his hand covered half of her forearm, so she pointedly looked down at his hand, then up at him. He looked slightly nervous. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

“Um, hi,” he said in an almost whisper. “Listen, I know you don’t know me from Adam, but I need you to stay back here for a minute or two.” Kelsey noticed that even though he made eye contact while speaking to her, his attention stayed focused on the main room and whatever was taking place out there. His large frame was completely blocking her view, so she couldn’t see anything. For some reason, she had a feeling he wasn’t kidding around.

“Why, what’s going on?” she asked, just as quietly as he did.

“Your friend may have inadvertently started a fight,” he answered. He then put both hands on her shoulders, as she started to charge around him. “No, you’re staying back here out of the way. She’s fine, nothing’s going to happen to her.”

“Whatever, you’re not keeping me back here if Morgan’s in any kind of trouble. I’ve got to help her,” Kelsey was beginning to get a little scared. This was so not part of her plan, especially since they were stopped in the middle of nowhere Mississippi. She struggled against the guy’s hold, but he didn’t budge an inch.

“There’s nothing to worry about. My brother’s got everything under control. But if you run out there in the middle of it, that could cause a problem. That’s the reason I’m keeping you back here.” He gently pushed her back and turned her towards the room with the pool table in it. “We’re just going to stay here until Dean gives the all clear sign.”

“Your brother?” Kelsey repeated. “The dart player?”

The man nodded. “That’s him. Trust me, your friend is in good hands.”

She stared at him for a minute. “And I should trust you why?” she asked.

He paused a moment, considering her question. Then he smiled, bringing those killer dimples back out. Kelsey held back a sigh of appreciation. “I guess you don’t have any reason to trust me.”

Kelsey studied the Hot Guy #1. She knew that she shouldn’t believe him, just because he was incredibly good-looking. But, she had come back here with the express purpose of spending time alone with him. Although this hadn’t been her plan at all, the result was the same. She was worried about Morgan, but from what she had seen of Hot Guy #2, he seemed like the macho, I-can-kick-anyone’s-ass type, and she certainly wouldn’t be any help in that regard. “Okay, I’ll stay back here for a few minutes, but that’s all,” she emphasized. “If anything happens to Morgan…” she trailed off, not sure how to finish that thought.

“Don’t worry. Dean can handle himself in just about any situation. Nothing’s going to happen to your friend,” he reassured her. “Oh,” he said, as if he had only just thought of something. “I’m Sam, by the way.” He extended his hand towards her.

“Kelsey,” she answered. She placed her hand in his. She had approximately two seconds to take in his warm, strong grip when the lights in the bar went out.