A Love Worth Having

Chapter 14 - Facing the Past

As soon as the car entered the highway, heading northwest, Saryah knew they were headed for Atlanta. She was content to ride along and just wait for Ben to reveal their destination. Fortunately, the drive wasn’t too long, but traffic would be horrendous once they were closer. She’d never driven this far with him, so she didn’t know his skill level, but she was glad to not be the one behind the wheel.

“Have you figured it out yet?” Ben asked, a sideways grin gracing his overly fantastic features, bringing her heart up a few miles per hour.

“Yeah, as far as the city, but after that, it’s still a complete puzzle. Much like you!” She laughed lightly.

“I do my best! I do need to ask if you want your own room.” Ben’s face suddenly became serious, causing Saryah’s stomach to turn, flip, butterfly, and threaten evacuation of anything she’d put in it during the day.

She didn’t respond for a long time. She turned introspective, wondering if she was ready for even the implications of sharing a bedroom with Ben. Sure, cost-wise, that was smarter, but she wasn’t sure.

Suddenly, another time and another place came to the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t get the thought to leave her. It was the main reason she’d left after she graduated. She didn’t want to have a run-in with the past, and all of the repercussions that would certainly come from having to explain. But she would take it in stride. Atlanta was, after all, a very large city, with millions of people passing through it yearly, the chances were slim. She resolved to explain to Ben if the situation presented itself.

“I guess sharing a room would be alright, as long as I get my own bed. Otherwise, you’re sleeping on the couch!”

Ben smirked, wondering what thoughts made her take more than five minutes to answer him.

“Fair enough. However, if you seduce me, all bets are off!”

“Okay, Whatever! Like I’m gonna twist your arm and make you do something you don’t wanna. HA! HA!” She bellowed a fake, sarcastic laugh.

“Saryah, your kiss is a seduction of its own. I doubt you’re even conscious of that fact.”

“Ben, other than breaking a foot, everything I do, I do on purpose and for a purpose.” She turned her head away from the traffic lights to see his face and her breath caught in her throat. He’d turned from the funny and joking to the serious in a flash.

“HMM! So, when we do make love, it won’t be a spur of the moment thing?”

“Are you seriously asking that now? When we’re on the way to a hotel together? IF, and I do mean if, we decide to cross that line, it will have been very well thought out first. I have my reasons for not being easy and for taking my time in every relationship.”

Ben, instead of answering, kept one hand on the wheel and picked her hand up with the other, kissing the top of it. “That’s what I love about you! You have control of your head, heart, and emotions. Me on the other hand? I fly by the seat of my pants, and usually wind up with a foot inserted in my mouth!”

She giggled for real this time. “But that’s what makes you so much fun. I guess opposites do attract, huh?”

“I’ll say. So, you know where we’re headed. Anything in particular you want to see or do while we’re there?”

“It’s hard to choose. I lived in Atlanta during college, so I am very familiar with the area. How about we decide once we settle in? There are so many places to go, and so many things to do.”

“Tonight, I’m taking you to a club! So, jeans, heels, whatever you wear to go ‘clubbing’ should be fine!”

“So now you’re telling me what to wear? What’s next?  How to apply makeup? Or whether I should wad or fold?”