Who could have blamed me for it, after taking one look at him? I couldn’t remember ever being so turned on by a stranger in my life, and it was all because of the way he looked. Though young, probably my age, he was so well-defined. Even his large hands were muscular.

  I swallowed the sexual thoughts and remained quiet for a bit, determined to not let him see my predicament.

  We’d stopped for lunch when we made it to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One would think it would be weird traveling with someone I didn’t know, but Noah was easy to be around. He didn’t ask a ton of questions, and he didn’t seem to mind all mine. I still hadn’t asked him anything really personal. We talked about music and things we both liked to do, but that was about it.

  After we drove around the town for a while, stopped by the Salvation Army, and a Walmart so I could buy some cheap clothes to wear, we got back on the road. Noah was determined to get as far North as he could before the day was over. Since this was his trip, and I was only tagging along, I couldn’t complain about his schedule, as long as I was as far away from my old life as possible.

  Though still worried about the repercussions of my actions from the night before, I felt safe for some reason. It was weird because I’d never been in a situation with a stranger, yet at the moment he was as close to a friend as I had.

  I sat up and stretched the best I could in the truck. “How long was I asleep?”

  “I don’t know. A few hours maybe.”

  “Really?” I’d never been able to sleep in a car, which only let me know how tired I must have been. “So where are we?”

  “Almost to New York City. I figured we could grab a bite to eat and find a place to stay tonight. Is that cool with you?”

  I’d explained to Noah that the only money I had was his tip from the night before. For some reason, and it better not have been because he thought it would get him access to my panties, he’d offered to pay for my room and food, until I could figure something out, or it was time for me to go home. I felt bad, especially since I knew he was probably limited with how much money he’d brought with him. He wasn’t exactly frugal the night before with his money, so I didn’t want him running out because of me. When I suggested that, he just laughed and told me not to worry about him. “Sounds good. Just remember that places in the city are more expensive. We might want to find something on the outskirts to save a couple dollars.”

  “And get bedbugs.” He laughed. “Shalan, I’m not risking the chance of bugs crawlin’ on me while I sleep.”

  Just thinking about it gave me the heebie-jeebies. “Okay. Since you put it that way.”

  A little later Noah parked in front of a hotel that only offered Valet. A man came and took the keys from him, while we grabbed our things and headed into the lobby.

  My parents never had money for us to go on trips or take vacations. The marble floors were extravagant and I felt out of place immediately, especially with a ball cap on my head.

  Noah walked right up to the front desk and got our rooms, so I thought. He came back over and handed me a card. “This is for you.”

  “What room number am I in?” I needed a shower so bad. When we’d stopped earlier I’d brushed my teeth with only my fingers. I’d bought a travel toothbrush at one of the gas stations that we’d stopped at, but knew Noah had probably been smelling my stank breath all day.

  “You’re in three fourteen.” He started walking towards the elevator with me.

  “Cool. What room are you in?”

  He smiled, giving me this look that almost seemed ornery. “Three fourteen.”

  It took a second for me to interpret that it was the same room number he’d given me. “But -.”

  “It has two beds, Shalan. I’m not tryin’ to take advantage of you, if that’s what you think.”

  I put my head down, feeling a little overwhelmed for getting myself into this situation. “It’s fine.” I had to keep reminding myself that he was doing me a huge favor. I couldn’t be picky about the accommodations. “What if you meet someone and need to be alone?”

  “I’ll make you hide in the bathroom until I’m done.”

  I turned my face so he couldn’t see my shocked reaction. There was no way I was going to stand in a bathroom listening to him get it on with a stranger. He was sick.

  He burst into a chuckle. “Seriously, woman, you’re so easy to mess with.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I took offense to his comment. He didn’t know me.

  “Don’t believe everythin’ you hear. I ain’t always serious.” He laughed more. “I ain’t plannin’ on bringin’ anyone back to our room, unless you’re into three-ways.”

  I shoved him, realizing he was definitely joking. “No! I’m definitely not the type of person that shares.”

  “Yeah, most girls feel that way.” He looked up at the moving numbers on the elevator. “It’s a damn shame.”

  I shook my head and prayed that the doors would open so I could get some distance between us. When they did open I hauled ass down the long hallway until I reached the number on the door that I’d been searching for. Noah was right behind me, but he’d stopped joking about threesomes.

  Thank God!

  Our room was immaculate.

  I walked right in and plopped down on the soft bed. Noah took the bed nearest to the window and kicked off his boots before sitting down and grabbing a folding brochure.

  “Do you want to order in, or go downstairs to the restaurant. It’s the same food either way.”

  “How do you know that? Does it say that on that paper?”

  He handed it to me. “Probably somewhere, but I’ve been here plenty of times with my grandmother.”

  “You’ve been in this same hotel before?” I needed a second confirmation on that.

  “Yes. My family always stays at this chain anyway, no matter where we travel to. We earn points for stayin’ with them.”

  “And you’re farmers?”

  He sat up and leaned forward so he was facing me. “Yeah, why?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I guess I thought farmers were poor.”

  Noah laughed and put his hands behind his head. “We do alright.” He was quiet for a second before he asked, “So, room service or restaurant?”

  “Can I shower first?”

  He motioned towards the bathroom and rested his head back on the pillow. “Go for it. Wake me up when you’re done and we can go.”

  The bathroom was even more gorgeous than the lobby. Marble was from floor to ceiling and the tub had actual jets in it. The shower had one of those waterfall heads and the pressure was intense compared to what I was used to. On the sink was little samples of different shampoos and lotions. I was beside myself with excitement over the whole ordeal. It was also difficult to decide whether I wanted a bath or a shower.

  I chose a shower since I knew that Noah was waiting for me. The hot water felt so good against my tender skin. I was sore from sleeping in the camper and then the truck. While washing my body, I thought about the man that was sitting right in the next room. I imagined what it would be like for him to slip into the shower with me. It was so wrong, but I couldn’t stop doing it. By the time I turned the water off, I’d gotten myself so flustered that I almost needed to take a cold shower.

  It wasn’t until I hopped out that I realized I didn’t have a brush, or my bag that had my underwear and toothbrush in it. I wrapped in one of the large white towels and opened the door to retrieve them. Noah sat up and smiled when he saw me standing there and I just froze.

  It wasn’t that I felt vulnerable or violated. His eyes were fixed on my body, and the skin that was exposed. I bit my lip and thought about what it would be like to drop the towel. I wondered what would happen, running different scenarios through my mind while standing there. “You need somethin’?” His question made me snap out of my trance.

  “Um, no, I can get it myself.” I grabbed the bag and hurried into the bathroom, completely embarrassed.

  I hadn’t tried on any of the clothes I bought, so trying everything on was making me nervous. It wasn’t like me to wear a skirt, or a dress, but I’d picked up one of each. I’d also managed to grab a couple pair of jeans that were from a fancy store I never could have afforded on my salary. The jeans were worn in certain spots, with custom rips down the front of each thigh. On the back pockets were just enough bling to make them snap and take away from my hips, that I felt were too wide.

  The shirt was a little tight and way too low. I considered putting on a plain t-shirt and calling it a night. Then I thought about Noah, and how he looked without a shirt on. I wasn’t expecting anything from him, but having someone that looked like him staring me down made me feel good about myself. I refused to allow myself another moment to consider changing.

  The blow dryer on the wall took forever to dry my hair, but it worked and that I could be thankful for. After applying makeup to my eyes and a light layer of gloss to my lips, I stood back and looked at myself.

  It was weird that I barely recognized the reflection in the mirror. It had been forever since I’d gotten dressed up and worn makeup. I wasn’t even sure why I kept it in my purse for so long.

  Since I knew I’d taken forever, I put my hand on the doorknob and slowly opened it. Noah was sleeping with the remote to the television in his hand. I walked over and leaned down to take it from him, to give him time to rest before we went out. My touch was enough to startle him awake. He grabbed my hand that had a hold of the remote and looked around the room, before stopping on me. I watched his eyes traveling from my legs then up to my breasts. It should have made me angry that he was being so blatantly obvious about it, but it didn’t. He let go of my hand and it fell to my side. I couldn’t move. I just stood there letting him take me in. My breathing increased as his focus finally made it to my face. When he started to sit up I moved backwards. He was a good ten inches taller than me, so once he was standing I had to look up to see his face. “You ready to eat?” He walked past me as if the past four minutes hadn’t happened.

  As much as I should have felt ashamed for wanting a rise out of him, I felt saddened that I hadn’t gotten the reaction I wanted. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

  Noah took ten minutes to shower and change, before we headed downstairs to eat. I sat on the bed waiting for him to walk out in only a towel, but he’d been smart and taken his clothes into the bathroom with him.

  The elevator ride was just as awkward as the ride to our room earlier. I could feel his eyes on me, but refused to turn around and call him out on it.

  For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why I was so worried about him being interested in me. I’d just caught my boyfriend cheating on me with my best friend, and ran off with a complete stranger to escape life. I had no right to flirt or even hang out with the guy. Everything about the last twenty-four hours of my life were insane and reckless.

  The restaurant was crowded and we were finally seated after having to wait several minutes. Our table was located against a wall. I took the back booth seat, while Noah sat in the chair across from me. While looking at the menu I noticed our waitress had come over and take in Noah. It gave me butterflies to watch him smile and speak respectfully to our server.

  I didn’t know her, but I hated her. Wasn’t that ridiculous?

  After we ordered, and got a round of beers, Noah took a swig and looked right at me. “You haven’t said much. What’s up with you? Havin’ second thoughts about taggin’ along?”

  I raised my brow. Was he trying to get rid of me so he could slip our waitress his room key? “Are you?”

  He seemed amused by my question. “Why would you ask me that? I haven’t complained.” I caught him looking at my cleavage for a split second before looking into my eyes again.

  “I saw the way that waitress checked you out. I guess I’m wondering if you regret telling me that you weren’t interested in bringing someone back to the room.”

  “Are all women jealous?”

  “Are all men pigs?”

  He took another sip of his beer and waved down the waitress. I sank down in my seat when I thought about how bad he could embarrass me. “Can I help you, hun?”

  He put his hand on her back as he spoke. “I’m goin’ to need some shots. Bring us two rounds of whiskey.”

  She backed up and smiled. “Coming right up!”

  He purposely watched her walk away before turning his attention back to me. “Is that what you meant about bein’ a pig?”

  “Pretty much.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked in another direction.

  He laughed and finished off his beer. “This could go a lot more easier if you’d relax.”

  “What could?”

  “This ploy to get my attention. You think I haven’t noticed, but darlin’, I’ve been around long enough to know how this turns out.”

  I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Then, out of complete panic, I laughed at him. “Are you kidding me? You think I’m trying to what…sleep with you? Is that what you think?”

  “Isn’t it?”

  Our shots were being sat down on the table. The waitress cut into our conversation. “Do you need anything else?” I hated how she directed her question to Noah and not me, as if I wasn’t even sitting at the table with him.

  Noah said something in her ear. She smiled and walked away gracefully.

  I stood up and got ready to leave. He stood up with me. “Where are you goin’?”

  “Back to the room. I lost my appetite.”

  He grabbed the back of my shirt as I tried to walk past him. “Hold up! Don’t get all mad.” I finally sighed and looked at him, annoyed and ready to punch my way free if I needed to. He leaned forward while peering directly into my eyes. As pissed as I was, I was taken back by the way he could make me pant for more. This guy was experienced. He knew what buttons to push and I hated him for it. He was dangerous and I knew I needed to get away from him.

  He picked up a shot glass and lifted it to my mouth, running the smooth glass over my lips. “You look thirsty.”

  I lifted my hand and took the glass away from him. “I am.” I downed the first shot and then the second, never taking my eyes off of him. “I didn’t come here to play games with you, Noah. I don’t sleep with strangers just because they look good. Is that going to be a problem?”

  He sat back down and motioned for me to do the same. “Not at all. You can’t blame me for testin’ out the waters, not when the person looks like you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You really want to know what I said to her?”

  Of course I did. I wanted to know why he thought he could pick on me and tease me by flirting with other women. What was his purpose of pissing me off so that I wanted to knee him in the balls?

  Before he could answer a loud announcement came over the speaker sitting near our table. “Welcome to Karaoke night at the Grasshopper. I see a lot of familiar faces out there tonight, but some new people as well. In fact, I’ve already gotten a volunteer to start things off for us tonight.”

  Noah started to smile as he finished off his final shot. He winked at me at the same time I heard the announcer’s next words.

  “Can Shalan come up to the stage?”

  I kicked him from underneath the table. “What did you do?”

  “I told the waitress that you’d just been signed in Nashville and was here visitin’.”

  I wanted to puke. “Why would you do that?”

  “Woman, we’re in a town where nobody knows us. We can do whatever we want. We can be crazy and nobody will ever hear about it. Get your ass up there and sing somethin’.” I appreciated that he thought I could sing, but I hadn’t done it publicly in a very long time.

  “I can’t.”

  He leaned over the table. “I promise not to mess with your head anymore if you get up there and sing one song. I’ll be a perfect gentlemen.”

  My eyes widened when I realized that this had been his plan all along. “You’re an asshole.”

  “Fuck this!” He stood up and walked away, leaving me at the table all alone.

  A few seconds later, after I’d assumed he’d gone back to the room, I heard something that shocked me.

  “This song goes out to my friend. She knows who she is.”

  He sang an old Johnny Cash song and I was utterly surprised by his voice. What shocked me even more was when he walked off the stage and came over to serenade me. He grabbed my hand and winked at me as he very gracefully belted out the lyrics. When the song ended there were a bunch of whistles. Noah returned to our table with a face full of smile. “That’s how it’s done, darlin’. Go on if you think you can top that.”

  He didn’t know me, yet he knew how to push me in ways that would make me do something I wouldn’t normally do. I stood up and pulled my shirt down so it covered my navel. “I can definitely do better than that.”

  It took me a second to find the song I wanted, but once I had it I knew I’d blow them all away. My mother used to sing it at the top of her lungs. It was one of her favorites.

  “Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin’ for the train…”

  The crowd started screaming when they heard me begin. Janis Joplin was the ultimate karaoke song if you could pull it off, and I certainly could.

  I sang with enthusiasm, and after the first verse the crowd disappeared to me. All but one person that is.

  His eyes were fixed on mine as I continued to show him up. The smile never left his lips either. If I wanted his attention, I’d finally figured out how to get it undivided. I swayed my body with the rhythm of the music, and exasperated myself when it got toward the end. I wanted the song to end with raw emotion, and I nailed it.

  The whole restaurant stood up and applauded. I could feel my body shaking, but only felt absolute satisfaction.

  Then I did something without thinking about the message it was sending. “I’d like to sing another song, if that’s okay?”

  The crowd got loud.

  “Take another little piece of my heart now baby…”

  By the time the song ended I felt high. I found my seat and noticed that our food had been brought out. Noah hadn’t started eating. He was too busy staring at me, shocked and in awe.