Page 12 of Rough Trip

"Okay… So we're going down to Florida together?" she asked.

“Yes, we are,” he replied. The trip down was going to be torture. He knew they'd have to make a few stops along the way and he could only imagine what would happen if he let his guard down.

Don’t let your guard down then, he said to himself.

If only it were that easy. He didn’t know how much longer he could go on denying her.

He dropped Mia off and headed home to pack a small bag for himself. Soon enough he was packed and on his way to Mia.

"I'm outside," he sent her a text message.

"Coming," she replied.

Once bags their bags were placed securely in the panniers on his bike, Sage and Mia headed out of town.

It had just gone noon when they left so Sage knew they'd only get a few hours of the ride in before they'd have to stop off somewhere for the night. He tried not to think about it.

As he drove he tried to focus on their surroundings, noting the signs they drove past and the things he would see along the way. The scenery was mostly just road and glass but the sky was a beautiful color above them. He tried not to focus on Mia’s body pressing up against his and her hands around his waist. Not long now, he thought.

He continued to focus on the road. He started counting the bikes that could pass him just to try to keep his mind busy.

One… two… three… four… five… he thought. He was just about ready to lose his mind.

Just as the dark started to come down on them, Sage pulled up to a hotel just off the road.

It was a small hotel that only consisted of three stories. It had a parking lot just off the front near the reception and continued to go into a bit of a circle as the beige buildings began. Sage couldn’t complain though. It may not be much but it would get them off the road and Mia would have to let go of Sage. He’d be truly grateful for that.

"We will rest here for the night and continue tomorrow,” he said while hopping off the bike. Mia followed suit and grabbed the bags from the panniers on the back of the bike.

“I’ll go ahead and get us some rooms, just wait here for me, I shouldn’t be long,” he said. Mia nodded and stayed where she was and he headed inside.

Sage headed to the reception to get rooms for them, deciding it would be better if they got separate rooms. He knew that it would be a really big mistake if they were to share a room.

"Good evening," he said as he greeted the young man behind the reception desk, "I'd like two rooms for the night, please."

“Hello, sir. Unfortunately, we only have one room available. We could organize separate beds if that would help?" the young man asked.

"I guess that will do,” Sage said as the young man handed him the room key.

"It will just take about 5 minutes, sir, but in the meantime let me get someone to take your bags up and you can go check out our restaurant,” the young man said. Sage handed over his bag and pointed Mia out to the young man so he knew her bag needed to be taken too.

Sage headed back to Mia and explained to her that they'd have to wait a bit for the room.

"That's alright," she said. "I'm getting rather hungry come to think of it, so let's go check the restaurant out like he suggested,” she said as she already started heading in its direction.

Once in the restaurant, they both ordered something to eat and a drink each. It had been a long trip and they both needed something to calm their minds. Sage wasn’t the only getting ideas about them being alone together. They ate their dinner in silence and slowly finished their drinks, the trip taking its toll on both of them. Once they had both finally finished their drinks, Sage got the bill, paid and they both headed up to their room.

They walked into an entrance hall that had a staircase hugging the wall on the left. They continued to walk up two flights of stairs, down a corridor, passing a few other rooms, and finally, they arrived at their room, number 19. The tension between the two of them during the walk had escalated. For the first time since they had met, they would be alone and the thought was rather scary for both of them.

Sage was extremely grateful when he saw the separate beds. Although they might be stuck in the same room together, at least he wouldn’t have to go through the torture of sharing a bed with her. He didn’t think he would be strong enough to keep his hands to himself like he had the last time they shared his bed. It had been by luck that she had fallen asleep then. He doubted if either of them would sleep this time. Sage wasn’t sure if Mia had been thinking the same thing though, was she disappointed when she saw the separate beds? He didn’t know, she didn’t give anything away.

"I'm going to have a quick shower to get the trip off of me,” Mia said as she grabbed her things and headed to the bathroom. Sage couldn't stop himself from picturing her naked in the shower, with water dripping down her body and steam radiating off of her.

Get control of yourself, you have to keep your distance and thinking like this won't help, he thought to himself.

Mia reentered the room in fresh clothes. He could smell her sickeningly sweet body wash coming off of her skin. It reminded him of vanilla and caramel. If her body was covered in the literal thing he would’ve started licking it off by now.

Stop it, Sage, you’re getting ahead of yourself, he thought.