Arizona ✦ Johnson

✧ Eight

She was curled up in her seat peacefully sleeping with her head resting on her knees. As I drove down the empty highway I couldn't help but take glances over at her - she was so tired, and she ran herself straight into exhaustion trying to keep me awake. The stud in her nose glistened every time we passed a light on the highway, and her eyes stayed tightly shut. A slight humming noise escaped her partially parted lips every time she exhaled and it was rather soothing. She still had the large scratch on her arm from where she fell before getting back in the car after we went zip-lining. She had tripped over a rock, and hit a small patch of gravel that was mixed in with the dirt. She bled out for awhile, and eventually the flower decorated bandage that she put on it soaked up all of the blood, and had since fell off. I felt a sudden wave of exhaustion rush over me and I let out a loud yawn, almost forgetting that she was sleeping next to me. I bit my lip and sighed when I realized that I had failed to wake her. The sign on the highway overhead read "SPOKANE EXIT 2 MILES AHEAD" I nodded and looked behind me - safe habit - even though I knew there wasn't a single person behind me. I turned up the music a little to keep my eyes peeled open, but not loud enough to disturb her.

The two miles seemed to last like forever on the last stretch of highway that I had left. When I finally made it to the exit ramp I nearly threw my hands up in glee, but to keep us from crashing into the barricades I kept the sturdy on the flimsy wheel. I parked in a gas station parking lot while I searched the internet for a place that had last minute lodging. I really needed a nice, warm shower since we had been locked up in the car all day. After about thirty minutes of sitting in the parking lot, the sun was slowly rising in the sky, making the sky looking like a giant orange canvas. When I had finally found what seemed like the perfect place, I headed back to the now filling roads. "Bingo," I mumbled to myself as my eye caught the giant motel sign. I pulled up to an empty parking space, and kept the vehicle running while I checked in. I hated to disturb her, but I knew she would be much more comfortable in a bed, than a worn down car seat. "Ari," I spoke softly. "Ari wake up."

"No, mom I don't want any pancakes," she said swatting her hand nearly hitting me. She was still deeply involved in her slumber so I let out a sigh knowing I only had one option. I walked around to her side of the car and opened her door causing her to nearly roll out. I caught her at last moment, and even when she almost fell to the pavement her eyelids didn't flutter - not even once. I slipped one arm under her legs, the next behind her back and picked her up bridal style. The door was already open since I had a hunch this was going to happen. I walked her into the room and for a minute I was distracted by how much nicer it was than the previous one. The bed actually looked trust worthy, and the sheets looked like they had just been washed. The room smelt like roses, and there was a giant TV on a nice wooden dresser. I laid her down on one side of the king sized bed, and she let out a groan before rolling over to face the opposite direction. I chuckled lightly to myself and walked out to the car to see a man digging around in one of the bags.

"Hey, what the hell?" I yelled. He looked up immediately, and his wild eyes met mine and his scraggly beard flopped in the wind. I started running at him, but he grabbed a bottle of the Vodka and ran off. I frowned and looked in the bus to see if he had taken anything else but that was it. "Jesus," I mumbled to myself slamming the door shut. I picked up our bags and walked back into the room and closed the door. The first thing I did was take a shower, and amazingly there was actually warm water. It had been a few days since I had a hot shower, and there was something about the feeling of the hot water cascading down my skin that was impeccable. I rinsed off and wrapped one of the white towels around my waist and walked back into the room. I nearly tripped making my way over to my bag causing my towel to fall off of my right side. I heard a light giggle and looked up to see Arizona grinning. I felt heat rise on my face and quickly scrambled to cover myself.

"You're so cute when you're flustered," she said sweetly. She laid back down and I quickly slipped on a pair of boxer shorts and followed by a pair of basketball shorts. I towel dried my hair and walked over to the other side of the bed. Arizona was eyeing me completely and I wondered if there was something wrong with me. "Where are we?"

"Spokane, Washington," I told her. "A few hours outside of Seattle, but I got really tired."

"Okay," she smiled. "I like sleeping with you," she said pulling me closer to her.

"Oh yeah?" I raised my eyebrow and the corners of my mouth rotated upwards. She nodded and traced small circles on my abdomen. "Why's that?" I shivered from her touch and licked my bottom lip. She knew she had a spell on me, but I didn't mind - I enjoyed every bit of it.

"You're warm, and cuddly," she said causing our eyes to meet. "Kind of like a teddy bear."

"Did you just compare me to a stuffed animal," I smirked causing her to laugh aloud a little.

"Like, a really hot teddy bear," she nodded. I smiled and she pulled me head down and pressed her lips to mine. "I never want this road trip to end," she mumbled during the kiss. I couldn't help but agree.

_________________

"Rise and shine, buttercup! We're off to Seattle!" She shouted jumping on the bed. I groaned and opened my eyes to reveal her dancing happily on the large mattress. "Come on we're wasting day light!"

"God, what time is it?" I whined stuffing my face into a pillow.

"It's one in the afternoon," she giggled. "Come on we have stuff to do today, and Seattle is still a four hour drive!"

"Okay, okay," I mumbled. I sat up and she jumped off of the bed and it was then that I realized that she was only wearing a towel that was wrapped around her dripping wet body. I tried not to eye her up and down, but I couldn't resist it. I bit my lower lip and she looked over at her shoulders and grinned at me.

Once we left Spokane we were on our way to Seattle, stuffing our faces with greasy fast food and sugary drinks. "Hmm, I wonder what crazy things we can get ourselves into today," she said tapping her chin. I smirked over at her and focused my eyes back on the road. "What is your opinion on tattoos?"

"Why do you ask?" I raised my eyebrow and looked back over at her.

"I want one," she said looking at pictures on her phone. She showed me a photograph of what looked like a decorative circle with mutliple designs in it. "I want this one."

"What is that?" I asked completely out of the loop. She looked at me as if I had just told her that I murdered her mother. She looked shocked and horrified. "...What?"

"It's a mandala," she said shaking her head.

"A man-what?" I asked raising my eyebrow still confused.

"It's a spiritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhists. It represents the universe. Some say that it is a symbol to represent a dreamers journey to find self-completeness and unity within oneself," she explained causing me to feel stupid in a way - but then again how was I supposed to know that?

"Oh," I nodded. "Well let's get you that mandolin then," I grinned over at her. She let out a loud, and hysteric laugh causing me to grow worried. "What?"

"It's a mandala," she laughed again causing me to blush.