by A. M Burke
“I haven’t been outside yet,” he told her, “I’m hoping it’s just a drift blown against the window.”
“You don’t sound hopeful,” Nora observed.
“The hot water is running again,” Elliot said instead. “If you want to freshen up we can go get breakfast.”
“First you say looking ruffled is a compliment then you tell me to freshen up,” Nora grumbled as she smiled. “Make up your mind Marine.”
“I’d rather you stay in bed all day, me with you, but I’ve got a feeling you won’t like that.”
Nora didn’t answer as she slipped into the bathroom and pulled the door shut behind her. Once again the truth was not something she wanted to face at the moment.
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The lobby they had to cut through was packed with disgruntled guests milling about the glassed in desk when Elliot and Nora made to cut through to the diner next door. Apparently Nora and Elliot weren’t the only ones whose heater and hot water had been finicky throughout the night. The young woman at the desk was making noises of apologizes and looking completely overwhelmed. Nora felt sorry for her until she noticed the woman take notice of Elliot and started making eyes at him. She shouldn’t be jealous, had absolutely no reason or right to be but she was still perversely happy when Elliot took her hand to pull her through the fray and outside.
“Not so bad,” Nora said pulling her jacket tighter around her. She had warmer clothes packed in the car but they’d been in such a hurry last night she hadn’t wanted to dig through her big suitcase in the dark. “Looks like the roads are getting cleared at least even if it is freaking freezing.”
Elliot wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his side and she immediately felt warmer. “You’re a light weight Dr. Nora,” he informed her as they crunched across the salted parking lot.
“My mom told me I’m thin blooded,” she sighed. “I don’t really like the cold, never really adapted to it.”
“So you’re in New York why?” Elliot asked opening the door for her and Nora slipped into the crowded restaurant.
“Good question,” Nora admitted. “I’m thinking of requesting a transfer to Hawaii or maybe Fiji.” Elliot laughed and took her hand, leading them to the counter and flagging down a waitress to get a table. After securing a booth, two cups of coffee, and placing their order Elliot pulled out his phone and began scanning some of the news websites. “How’s it looking? Are we going to be stuck here like some bad horror movie? Like Children of the Snow or something?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that movie actually exists,” Elliot said not looking up.
Nora took a sip of her coffee and studied him across the table. He hadn’t taken the time to shave and looked good with a little scruff. His hair looked good grown out. When she’d first met him he’d still been sporting the jarhead haircut, not that it hadn’t looked good on him but she liked that there was bit of a curl to the dark blonde hair now. He’d pulled on a long sleeved pale yellow thermal shirt and had put on a soft brown leather jacket over it. He looked comfortable and confident and Nora wanted to slide into the seat next to him but resisted the urge. They’d slept together for one night; there was no guarantee of it happening ever again or anything happening beyond returning to the most basic levels of civility.
Elliot glanced up and caught her staring at him. Nora blushed but didn’t look away and Elliot smiled at her. “You keep looking up at me like that and people are going to know all the wicked things you did to me last night.”
Nora’s blush deepened. “There was nothing wicked involved,” Nora mumbled.
“You don’t call that thing with your tongue wicked?” Elliot asked taking a sip of his coffee and enjoying watching Nora turn an unhealthy shade of red. “Naughty girl.”
“Hmm, you must have been pure or at least very uneducated before last night,” Nora said still a bit pink but trying to reclaim her calm demeanor. She picked up her coffee and blew on it to cool it, aware Elliot was watching her. She kept her eyes low when she said, “oh the things I could teach you.”
“Is that a challenge or a promise?” Elliot asked gruffly and Nora raised her eyes briefly before lowering them back to her coffee, letting him decide. They sat in silence, Nora looking anywhere but at him and Elliot boring a hole into her with his stare. The waitress arrived, leaving their plates quickly to get away from the tense atmosphere brewing between them. Nora glanced out the window at the sunny skies.
“Do you think we’ll be able to get back on the road?” Nora asked not looking at him.
“Yeah, but I’m driving,” Elliot told her picking up a slice of toast. “We’ve got to make up time if we want to keep on schedule.”
“I’m on a schedule,” Nora told him turning her attention back to him. “But what about you? Claire told me you’d been thinking about this road trip for a while, but we haven’t made any stops. No sightseeing or anything. Isn’t that the point of a road trip?”
“The point of a road trip is supposed to get to point A to point B,” Elliot corrected her.
“Yikes, you are buzz kill in the morning.” Nora set down her coffee and picked up her fork, pushing around her eggs and keeping her eyes trained on her plate.
“I wanted to take this trip for a while,” Elliot finally admitted. “I’ve got a friend to meet in California, he’s started up a construction business and I have an engineering degree. I promised I’d help him out for a while. I’ll do the tourist thing on the way back.”
“So you are going back to Boston?” Nora asked.
“For a while at least,” Elliot shrugged and Nora watched the movement with interest. “I’m not sure where I’ll end up permanently.”
“I’m sure Claire would like you nearby,” Nora guessed and scooped up a forkful of eggs.
“I’m sure she would,” Elliot agreed and they lapsed into silence again. Nora didn’t ask about the bit of resentment in his voice when he’d made his last comment and Elliot didn’t ask her anymore questions about her doubts over being a doctor. They finished their meal in silence, Nora paying since Elliot had picked up dinner the night before and then they were back in the cold and Elliot’s arm was around her again but the action made Nora feel even more dejected for some reason. Maybe because she guessed it was his automatic response, a hollow gesture and she hated herself for caring about it at all. She shouldn’t want or expect anything from Elliot. She shouldn’t have slept with him because she’d never been able to separate the physical and emotional. She still wasn’t entirely convinced Elliot liked her beyond tolerating her and that stung a bit.
Elliot didn’t know what exactly was going through her head but he could tell she was back to doubting herself, be it as a doctor or because they had slept together. Elliot had no regrets about the latter; in fact he was pretty damn pleased about it and was eager about a repeat performance when they stopped again that night. He knew he’d have to tread carefully though. Despite her tough exterior he guessed that Nora was vulnerable inside. He didn’t know where they’d be at the end of this trip, if she’d ask him to call or tell him to hit the road and not look back. Elliot wasn’t sure which option he would want. He’d seen a lot of terrible things when he was overseas and while he was smart enough to realize some things needed to be sorted out with professional help Elliot had his own demons to contend with and wasn’t ready to burden anyone with those. He glanced at Nora as she zipped her suitcase.
He wanted her, no doubt about it and if last night was any indication she wanted him too, at least in the physical sense. There were plenty of relationships that started out this way. Both of them seemed to be at a crossroads. He supposed only time would tell if they went the same direction.
Chapter Eight
The roads were slick but manageable and Elliot handled them like a pro. Nora was grateful he was driving. She was sitting on her hands again to keep from gripping the panic bar mounted above the door.
“So trucks,
gunshot wounds, and icy roads,” Elliot listed off. “Anything else you dislike that I should avoid?”
“Just the usual,” Nora replied taking a deep breath to calm herself. “Being buried alive, fires, black widow spiders, and banana cream pies. You know, normal everyday paranoias.”
“I’m not sure that’s a word,” Elliot pointed out.
“I’m positive banana cream pie is a word,” Nora teased back.
“Paranoias is not a word,” Elliot clarified.
“I’d offer to look it up but I’m pretty sure you’re correct,” Nora said managing a weak smile. They lapsed into silence again, the first comfortable one since Elliot had kissed her before they left the hotel room to check out.
“What was that for?” Nora had asked.
“Why not?” Elliot had replied and then had led the way out of the room leaving a dumbfounded Nora to follow after him. Kissing him was becoming too easy; she’d have to be careful about it.
Once they’d settled in the car, Elliot of course driving and keeping small talk to a minimum and the usual heavy silence set in. To make up on time they hit a drive-thru and ate lunch in the car rather than stopping like they’d done the previous two days. Nora was slightly grateful for that, she wasn’t in the mood for forcing small talk. Instead she put on her headphones and got to work on the write up for the medical journal she’d promised. She actually liked the monotony of it, no life or death choices or pressures riding on her shoulders. She’d always enjoyed academia and often wondered if she’d like to get into a field more closely linked to research, or maybe get into teaching.
Elliot was silent, seemingly lost in his own thoughts as he drove quickly to make up their lost miles. Whenever he got the chance to do so he glanced over at Nora and fought a smile each time. Whether she was actually invested in her work or just putting up a good front she was an interesting sight to see while working. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she read and made notes, her fingers curled around a mechanical pencil that would tap out the beat of whatever song she was listening to. Her hair kept falling across her face, leaving her to habitually tuck it back behind her ear every few minutes. If he didn’t like watching the action Elliot might have suggested she tie her hair back but at the moment at least he found it endearing and not annoying.
He wondered if anyone had ever told her that when she was reading she mouthed many of the words or that her handwriting was the most legible he’d ever seen of a doctor’s. They’d agreed to keep driving to the next scheduled hotel which meant that there was a long drive ahead of them but Elliot was determined to make it in decent time. He thought after the night before they both could use a good sleep in a nice hotel. He wanted to take her to dinner as well; a nice dinner, with some good food and good drink and then maybe a nice hot shower, a shared hot shower.
The noise and vibration of the rumble strips woke Elliot from his musing. Pulling the car from where it drifted onto the shoulder Elliot glanced at Nora who was pulling her ear buds from her ears and grinning at him.
“You ok there Marine?” she asked. “Want me to take over?”
“You go back to your homework there youngin,” Elliot said in an exaggerated Southern drawl.
“I’m not that much younger than you old man,” Nora reminded him. She looked at her books in her lap, deciding she was bored with them and shut them with a snap. “You falling asleep Gramps?” she teased. “Want a nap? Or a cup of coffee?” She made an exaggerated motion of looking at her wrist watch. “It might be a little early even for the early bird special but I’m sure we can find a place that’s open now.”
“It’s two-thirty,” Elliot said dryly.
“Early-early bird?” Nora suggested and Elliot gave her a weak smile.
“We need to work on your comedy routine,” he told her and signaled to get off at the upcoming exit. “Coffee does sound good though,” he agreed pulling into the first gas station he came across.
“I’ll top us off,” Nora told him unbuckling her seatbelt and rushing out to stretch her legs.
“Coffee?” Elliot asked slipping out of the car as well.
“Sounds good,” Nora agreed and watched Elliot’s long gait carry him into the convenience store. A young mother with a van full of what appeared to be an entire dance class of girls stopped to watch him go by and Nora felt what was becoming a familiar sense of jealousy she wasn’t entitled to. When they’d checked out of the motel earlier the girl behind the counter had been making her admiration of Elliot well known Nora’s stomach had clenched uncomfortably. She had no right or reason to be jealous. To keep her mind from wandering into dangerous territory Nora set about filling up the gas tank. She’d just finished twisting the cap back in place when Elliot rejoined her.
“Put in two creams for you,” he said opening the door and putting the steaming cups into the holders.
“Thanks,” Nora said closing the cover wondering when he’d taken time to notice how she liked her coffee. She tried to recall his and decided she’d never seen him add more than a splash of milk to cool the cup down to drinking temperature. She turned to ask him if he wanted her to drive and was surprised when Elliot put his hands on her hips and pulled her to him, kissing her quickly but thoroughly. Nora put her hands on his shoulder to push him away but her hands ended up curling into the material of his shirt instead.
Elliot pulled away and smiled at her. “I’m driving,” he told her and then kissed her again quickly before releasing her and turning back into the driver’s seat.
“Care to join me Dr. Nora?” Elliot called from in the car and Nora sighed with a shake of her head. It was going to be a long trip.
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The rest of the afternoon rolled by quickly. Nora started a list of the different license plates they saw and tried to start a game of punch-bug but Elliot’s glare quickly ended that. Still searching for entertainment Nora plugged her iPod into the stereo and started in on one of her original endeavors.
“How about this one?” Nora asked selecting a song by Dropkick Murphys.
“You have to have the most random taste in music I’ve ever heard,” Elliot said adAlexg the volume up a notch. He liked this song.
“I like to call it eclectic,” Nora corrected him. Since this was the first song he’d remotely shown a positive reaction to she pulled up a playlist of songs made up of similar artists. Her last serious boyfriend a few years back had gotten her into a few of the bands and she’d been collecting their music since. A few songs later Elliot commented that he liked the song and Nora mentally patted herself on the back.
“I saw these guys play a few months back,” Elliot commented, “They’re good live.”
“You’re right, I saw them a while back too,” Nora smiled at the memory. “They did this cover of a Britney Spear’s song. I’ve been trying to find a copy of it since but I haven’t had any luck. I’m guessing it must have been one of those one time things.”
“You went with Claire?” Elliot sounded surprised. “That’s not normally her sort of music.”
“No,” Nora laughed. “Claire’s more of a Top 40 kind of girl, not that there’s anything wrong with that of course. I’ve tried to broaden her musical horizons and she’s taken to a few of my suggestions but not everything sticks.”
Elliot slanted a look at her. “So who’d you go with?” he asked. “Your boyfriend?”
“Sort of ex-boyfriend,” Nora clarified not looking up at him but saw his hands tense and then relax on the steering wheel. “We tried dating a while back but it didn’t work out. He had an extra ticket to the show though and knew I liked the band so he invited me.”
“Hmmm,” was all Elliot said and Nora slid him a look but his expression was neutral, eyes trained on the road.
“Hmmm,” Nora agreed and turned to look out the window but noticed the slight quirk of Elliot’s lips into a smile.
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T
raffic and construction slowed them down as the afternoon blended into the evening. The sunset they were driving towards was beautiful but Nora would have enjoyed it more from the comfort of her pajamas in a nice hotel room after a long shower. Their conversations were easier as the afternoon wore on. Nora talked more about her childhood, amusing Elliot with stories of teachers who’d given her too much freedom and parents who’d not known how to deal with a gifted child and not realizing until she was about seventeen that the best way to deal with her was to treat her like a normal human being instead of something that needed to be coddled and tiptoed around.
“Sometimes I think they were afraid of me,” Nora mused as they cut through the increasing darkness.
“How so?” Elliot asked intrigued. His mother and father were hardly aware of him. He’d seen Claire’s mother and step-father dote on her. Elliot was curious about the different ways parents interacted with their kids. He’d yet to hear two stories remotely the same.
“I guess ‘afraid’ isn’t the correct word,” Nora admitted. “More like unprepared. They were supportive and kind and all that good stuff but I got away with murder. I could say I was doing an astronomy project and spend the entire night out alone and they’d never second guess me. Not that I did anything but I could have.”
“Oh, bad girl,” Elliot mocked.
“Oh yeah,” Nora agreed knowing he was joking. “My boyfriend lived down the street; I could have gotten into all sorts of naughty endeavors.”
“So we’re back to your expertise in naughtiness,” Elliot grinned at her and then he seemed to process her words. “Boyfriend?” he asked.
“Oh yeah,” Nora told him. “He went to the local school, played soccer, baseball and was on the swim team. Total hottie. Everyone was jealous.”
“Yeah, your parents should have kept a better eye on you, what with the inherent naughtiness and all,” Elliot joked but Nora could see his grip on the steering wheel tighten.