Thursday July 15th 4:40am
Parked on the side of Interstate 5
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
I tried to hold back my laugh as I watched Sean repeatedly kick the back tire of his car, which was now flat. We made it about twenty minutes past the border, heading to San Diego when we got the flat. Now, we were stranded on the side of the I-5. At four in the morning.
We made the decision to leave since both of us were dealing with some insomnia. We felt we had enough of Tijuana and wanted to start for San Diego. Since it was only an hour away, we thought it wasn't a problem. Not so much.
"Sean, it's just a flat. You have a spare right?"
He sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. I got worried when he didn't answer me.
"Sean...You have a spare-right?"
"I did have a spare."
Okay, now I was the one starting to freak out. "What do you mean, you did? What happened to it?"
He started pacing as he explained, "When we were in New Orleans, one of the trackers they found was inside the spare tire. I was so pissed, I just threw it out and was going to get another. Well, I...forgot."
I tried to keep my frustration in check. "Your forgot? You never forget stuff like that."
"I know, Lydia. I'm sorry. I had a lot on my mind in New Orleans with PSYCHO Amy."
A defeated breath escaped me. "So, what do we do now?"
"We need a tow. They can take us to a tire shop in the morning."
"Wait," I said with a small laugh, "it sounded like you said in the morning. As in, not now."
"Yeah, they don't open until at least nine."
I looked around the empty interstate. There was nothing around. Anywhere. "So, we're stuck here for five hours?"
Sean walked up to me with an exhausted, sorrowful look. "I'm sorry, Lydia. Really."
I couldn't stay mad at him. For God's sake, he had a psycho ex after him back in NOLA. "It's okay, Sean. I know a lot happened in New Orleans. We'll crash in the car until we can get a tow."
Sean looked like he was deep in thought. "We can try to call the tow company now."
"You said they can't tow us until the tire place opens."
"The tow service run 24 hours. So they can at least tow us to a tire shop, then when the tire shop opens, the car will be there."
"Oh, okay. Cool." I've never dealt with a tow my life so I had no idea how this works... Or how long it would take.
2 Hours Later
"Lydia. Lydia, wake up!"
It felt like I was yanked from the dream state I was in. While we were waiting for the tow truck, exhaustion started getting the best of me and I had laid down in the backseat of Sean's car.
I groaned as I rubbed my face, trying to wake myself up as much as I could. When I opened my eyes, I saw him leaning in the passenger window.
"Hi," I said.
"Hey," he said with a smile that told me he was clearly amused. "Tow truck is here."
I frowned in momentary confusion before remembering that we where indeed, stuck on the side of the road. I shot up, suddenly alert.
"Tow truck. It's here?"
"Yep. He's going to give us a ride to the hotel next to the tire shop."
It took me a minute to let that process. I was still in sleep mode and was in desperate need of coffee. "Okay, yeah. That sounds good."
Sean gave me a smile before adding, "Once we get there, we can get some food. And coffee."
I've been spending so much time together it was almost like he knew what I was thinking sometimes. It was a nice change of pace compared to me being on my own most of my life.
He opened the car door for me and I returned his smile as I got out of the car. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, milady."
We waited while the driver got the car hooked up before climbing into his big tow truck. With the three of us in the front, it was a tight squeeze. I had to lean on Sean, and if we were any closer, I would be sitting on his lap.
He must have felt my body tense, because a second later I heard his voice whispering in my ear.
"Are you okay?"
I kept my eyes straight ahead as I answered. "Yes, I'm fine." Shit, was my voice shaking?
It must have been shakier than I thought, because a second later I felt his hand stroking my arm lazily. Almost absently. Against my will, it seemed to soothe me and I found myself relaxing against him.
4:57pm San Diego, CA
Marriot Marquis San Diego Marina Hotel
"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey." That deep baritone came through my hotel room door, pulling me out if my sleep like a magnet.
I dragged myself out of bed and slowly made my way to the door. After the tow truck driver dropped us off at the hotel, we both passed out in our rooms. Once I actually crawled into bed, it was like the past 24 hours finally took its toll on me.
I had no idea what time it was as I unlocked and opened my door, giving him a look that made him laugh at me.
"What's so funny?" I asked with grumpy annoyance.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." He held up his set of car keys with a smile. "Car's ready. What say you to a night on the town?"
I let out a big yawn as I stretched. "Yeah, sure. Let me get dressed."
He snickered and tried to hide his smile. "Absolutely. Take your time. I'll be in my room.
I glared at him as he walked away, laughing to his room. I went straight to the bathroom to take a look at myself in the mirror.
"Ugh," I said to my reflection.
My hair looks like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket, the little bit of makeup I had on was smeared on my face, and not to mention my clothes or completely disheveled. I looked like a homeless clown that got electrocuted.
The word homeless made me wince, technically, I was homeless. Too tired to dwell on that right now, I stripped out of my clothes and got in the shower.
I felt refreshed and awake after. It's amazing what a little hot water will do.
San Diego was his idea, so I was curious what he had planned tonight. Tomorrow we were going to head to San Francisco and I couldn't wait to try some of that sourdough bread.
I opened my duffle and looked at my clothes with a frown. I had no idea what he wanted to do tonight.
Grabbing the phone next to the bed, I dialed his room number.
"Hello," he answered in a sing-song voice. He was way too chipper today.
"Hey, I'm trying to decide what to wear. What are we doing tonight?"
The last time I "guessed" where we were going, I ended up wearing heels to go hiking. I was not doing that again.
"Well, dress nice, but wear comfortable shoes."
That didn't help me at all. "Maybe a little more specific?"
He laughed through the phone and I got that same butterfly feeling. What is wrong with me? I thought.
"Don't think about it too much. Anything you're comfortable wearing is fine."
I let out a long sigh before I answered. "Fine. I'll be ready in twenty minutes."
I decided to wear my black pants with a red tank top and a new black leather jacket. I slipped on my Converse and left my hair down and curly.
Like clockwork, I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it this time, there was no laughter. Sean's eyes widened slightly before his eyes glanced over my outfit.
"Is this...okay?"
He met my stare and gave me a sly smile. "The question is, do you feel comfortable in that outfit?"
Nostalgia took over me at his question. He asked me the exact same thing when we were in Atlantic City. Wow, I thought. So much has changed since then. I almost felt like a different person. Sure, I still had issues I was dealing with, but during this trip, it felt like I'm starting to find the real me. More importantly, it's starting to feel like being the real me is okay.
"Yes," was my reply, just like in Atlantic City.
"Then it's perfect."
I followed him out of the hotel and we made our way to his car.
"So," I asked as we slid inside the classic, "where's the first stop?"
Sean shifted the car into drive as he kept his eyes straight ahead when he said, "It's a surprise."
The first place Sean took me, was the National Comedy theater. After getting our tickets, we took our seats and for one hour we watched multiple stand-up comedians come on stage and tell jokes. It's the first time I ever watched stand up, and I couldn't believe I actually found myself crying from laughing so hard.
There were a few instances where, as I was laughing, I turned to Sean and he was watching me with the smile.
"I love it when you laugh," he had said.
I didn't know what to say to that, so after holding his gaze for a few moments, I looked back to the stage and continue to watch the comedians.
After we left the comedy show, he took me to dinner at Saksa's Steak & Seafood restaurant. He mentioned earlier that tonight was about getting out of our comfort zones and trying new things.
Which is why, I was now looking at my dinner plate with a disgusted look.
"But they're...slimy."
"Yes, but if eaten correctly, they are slimy and delicious."
I scowled at him. "What do you mean?"
Sean cleaned his hands before grabbing an oyster from my plate. "Trust me?" He asked.
"Yes," I answered nervously.
"Tilt your head back a little. There you go. Now, open your mouth."
Once I did as instructed, he put one hand on the side of my neck, and with the other he put the oyster to my lips and let it slide over my tongue and down my throat.
I felt his thumb slowly stroke my neck as I swallowed. It actually wasn't too bad. I thought I was going to gag when I ate it.
When I lowered my head, he smiled as he leaned back in his chair, removing his hand from my neck.
"Well?" He asked.
It took me a minute to find my voice. The odd sensations from his touch combined with the unusual texture and flavor of the oyster, had me a little out of sorts.
"Delicious," I managed to stay a little breathlessly and he held my gaze.
Just as he was about to say something, his cell phone went off. He let out a long breath as he retrieved his phone from his pocket. I was nervous when he frowned at the caller ID.
"It's Anne," he said before rising from his chair. "I have to go take this. I'm going to step outside."
"Okay," I replied. Looking down at the remaining oysters on my plate, I tried to eat one by myself. I grimaced when I had trouble swallowing the slimy food this time. It was different when Sean did it, I thought.
A few minutes passed by before Sean returned to the table. I could tell from the slight difference in his expression and the tenseness in his shoulders, that it wasn't a pleasant conversation. "Everything okay?"
He simply looked at me for a moment before the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile. "Yeah, it's fine."
I knew he was holding something back, but now, in this restaurant, I wasn't going to push him.
Just as I was about to take another bite of my food, he said, "Can we--Can we go somewhere? There's a place I want to show you."
I saw mixed emotions in his eyes, and in that moment, I couldn't deny him anything.
"Yeah, let's go."