Jack woke up as they neared Knoxville. Gently, he kissed her awake.
"I could get use to that," she whispered sleepily.
'Not only could I get used to it,' he thought smiling, 'I want to.'
She snuggled against his chest, slipping back to dreamland.
"Sorry, sleeping beauty, but it's wakey time." He disentangled her from him. "Next time, I will keep you with me all night."
She stirred, reluctantly opening her eyes, having missed his comments. He reached for their damp clothes. Both gasped as they put them on.
"Jack, next time you take me for a midnight swim, please, make it in a warm lake, and let me take my clothes off first," she sighed.
"Promise...I will even help you with your clothes." He winked at her and she blushed profusely as she realised what she just said. "I will go talk to the bus driver. Wait here," he instructed, deciding to retreat while he was ahead.
The driver let them out a few blocks from the bus station. Three hotels were within walking distance. Jack chose the closest one. Only rooms with king size beds were left. Jack took one. There was no way he was letting Sue out of his sight, and he couldn't afford two rooms anyway. He checked in under a false name and paid cash for the night. He didn't chance using his credit card. He now had less than a hundred dollars, his cell phone was only good at tracing him, Sue's purse and blackberry were at the bottom of the lake and they had no extra clothes. All that went through his mind as he signed 'Peter Logan'.
"Have a nice stay with us Mr and Mrs Logan," wished the clerk, giving them their key cards. "Tenth floor. The elevator is over there."
"Thank you," Jack said before leading Sue through the empty lobby. As soon as the elevator door closed on them, he pulled her in his arms.
"Jack, what is going on?" she asked, looking at him puzzled.
"I will explain everything," he promised, realising she had been following him on blind faith since sunset.
"Will you start with why you sent another very good car to the bottom of a lake...Sparky," she mischievously whispered.
He shook his head. "You won't get away with that one, my love." He grinned at her, while walking her to the wall, effectively trapping her with his body. "It will cost you," and he took possession of her lips.
Her arms circled his neck, and she held on as her legs threatened to buckle underneath her. None of them heard the door open, or saw the elderly couple enter.
"Must be their honeymoon," whispered the older woman, startling Jack who pulled away. "You make a cute couple," continued the woman, seemingly oblivious to Sue's blushing, and her husband's reproving glance. "Have fun," she added, winking at Jack and Sue as they exited the elevator.
In the hallway, Jack lifted her head. "That shade of red looks great on you," he teased her, succeeding in making it darker. It was a welcoming change from the ghostly white of a few hours ago.
The first thing they both noticed was the king size bed. It was taking most of the room. A dresser with a TV were in front of it, a small table with two chairs were in the corner near the window, and a night table was beside it with a clock on it that said 1:30am. They had gained an hour.
Jack turned Sue toward him. "We will figure something out," he told her. "In the meantime, go take a hot shower while I phone Howie."
"Howie?" she repeated.
"I will explain, but first you need to get out of those wet clothes." He walked to the closet and found two robes that he hung in the bathroom where she followed him. He reached for her neck, pushing her hair back before undoing the first button of her shirt.
