Chapter 52
Liz felt like she was outside of her body, watching herself, unable to believe she was actually doing this, that she was kissing Lucky. She could see herself tighten her arms around him as she leaned into the kiss, returning it was as much fervor as he was.
Lucky brought his hands up and ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her head closer, if that was even possible. Finally, they pulled apart, breathless.
“Um....” Lucky mumbled, running a nervous hand through his hair as he slowly realized what they had just done.
“Yeah,” Liz answered, looking away. She reached up and smoothed the back of her hair, remembering how just a moment ago, Lucky’s hand had been there.
“Well...” he stammered, looking over at the car. “I guess we should...”
“We should...?” she prompted, not sure what he was going to say.
He turned and met her gaze for the first time since their kiss and swallowed. “Um, we should get going. Home.....right?”
She nodded quickly, relieved that was all he meant. “Right, home. Okay.” She started to walk to the car.
“Elizabeth!” he called out, hurrying after her. She stopped and turned around, and he tossed the keys to her. She caught them, and looked up at him, surprised. “You still want to drive, don’t you?”
“Yeah, thanks.” She walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in, then waited for him to get in before starting the car. They drove in silence for a few minutes, neither sure what to say, avoiding the subject of the kiss like the proverbial elephant in the middle of the room.
Unable to take the quiet any longer, Lucky reached out and turned on the radio. He hit ‘scan’ to find a station, skipping through the ones with commercials until it stopped on something with music. He smiled as he recognized the tune and sat back.
“Sounds like Billy Joel, “ he muttered, waiting for the vocals to start.
Listen boy
I'm sure that you think you got it all under control
You don't want somebody telling you
The way to stay in someone's soul
You're a big boy now
You'll never let her go
But that's just the kind of thing
She ought to know
Tell her about it
Tell her everything you feel
Give her every reason to accept
That you're for real
“Um, actually, I’m kind of sick of him,” he said, quickly changing it. He skipped through a few more stations until he found something that sounded safe. He caught one at the end of a commercial, and heard it announced as a rock station. Figuring that would be good, he took his hand away from the radio.
I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly Madly Deeply Do
Once again, he quickly changed it. After another group of commercials, he found a pop station, something he normally didn’t like, but it was an upbeat song, so he left it on.
Every time you look at me
My heart is jumpin, it's easy to see
Lovin you means so much more
More than anything I ever felt before
You drive me crazy
I just can’t sleep
I’m so excited, I'm in too deep
Ohh...crazy, but it feels alright
Baby, thinkin of you keeps me up all night
This time, Liz was the one to reach out and change the station. She turned and smiled sheepishly at him. “I hate Britney Spears, sorry.”
“It’s okay, I’m not a big fan, either.”
The next station sounded like easy listening, but she left it on for a moment, waiting to see what the song was.
Tell him
Tell him that the sun and moon
Rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper
Tender words so soft and sweet
Hold him close to feel his heart beat
Love will be the gift you give yourself
She hit ‘scan’ again, frowning. Wasn’t there anything on the radio any more that wasn’t a love song?
“Not a Celine Dion fan, either?” he asked with a chuckle. He couldn’t help feeling comforted that she was just as weirded out abou the whole thing as he was. She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road, then stopped on another pop station and brought her hand back to the steering wheel.
....beneath the milky twilight
Lead me
out on the moonlight floor
Lift up your open hand
And strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moons are sparkling
So kiss me
Lucky’s hand flew out and jabbed at the radio, switching it to another station. “I’m sick of that song,” he mumbled, looking out the window so she wouldn’t see him blushing.
“Me too,” she said quietly.
They passed a billboard for a classic rock station, so he quickly searched for it. Classic rock was good, not many love songs there.
Your kiss, your kiss is on my list
Your kiss, your kiss I can’t resist....
“Damn,” he whispered, changing it again. After surfing through more static and commercials, he landed on a country station.
It's the way you love me
It's a feeling like this--
It's centrifical motion
It's pertpetual bliss.
It's that pivotal moment
It's impossible
This kiss, this kiss
Unstoppable
This kiss, this kiss
This time they both reached for it, their hands colliding as they raced to switch the song. Liz pulled her hand away, chcukling, while Lucky turned the radio off.
“Forget about music,” he muttered, fidgeting in his seat to get more comfortable. “I think I’m going to take a nap.”
“Okay,” she said, hoping he would fall asleep soon so she could stop feeling so awkward. Lucky shifted positions, leaning his head against the window, trying to push the memory of kissing Elizabeth out of his mind long enough to sleep.
~*~
A few hours later, Liz pulled into a gas station to fill up the tank. While she was standing at the pump, Lucky woke up and got out of the car, heading for the restroom. She watched him go, unable to tear her eyes away. The pump stopped, startling her, so she looked down and put the nozzle back, then screwed on the gas cap. She was shutting the door to the tank when Lucky returned.
“Do you want me to drive for a while?” he asked.
“Yeah, could you? I could use one of those naps,” she answered, tossing him the keys. She climbed into the passenger side and fastened her seat belt. Lucky started the car, but left the radio off this time. Liz fell asleep almost right away, so he drove in silence, with nothing but his thoughts as company. He tried to think about writing new songs, or that show Charisma wanted him to do when he got back, or even about how he would get revenge on his father for this whole trip, but nothing worked. His thoughts always returned to Liz, who was sleeping peacefully next to him, like an angel.
About an hour later, it started to rain. He switched on the wipers, but the rain only worsened as he drove, until he almost couldn’t see the road. A loud clap of thunder shook the car, waking Liz. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Everything was dark, and by the sound of it, it was pouring outside. She glanced over at Lucky, who was leaning forward, staring intently out the windshield, trying to make out the road.
“Hey, are you sure we should be driving in this?” she asked, startling him.
“You’re up,” he said, quickly glancing at her, then back at the road. “No, we probably shouldn’t, but what else can we do?”
“Stop somewhere until it lets up.”
He shook his head. “If we stop, we’ll have to stay the night. I’m too tired, if I don’t just keep going, I won’t be able to drive later.”
Liz thought for a minute, chewing on her lip. Staying the night somewhere was probably the last thing they should do, but it was also the safest thing. Driving in such bad weather wasn’t a good idea, and Lucky was right, they were both tired, and driving later would be out of the question. “I think we should stop anyway.”
“Are you sure about that? I mean, after.....” he trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud.
She nodded. “Yeah. We’re in a pretty big town this time, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a hotel with two beds, so what’s the harm?”
She had a point. “Okay, then, I’ll stop at the next big hotel.” They didn’t have to drive much longer, because the next group of buildings they passed had a Hilton. He pulled in and they ran through the rain into the lobby. There were still plenty of rooms left, so he checked them in. They got on the elevator and hurried to the room so they could dry off, hoping they did the right thing by stopping.
Liz smiled as he opened the door. Two beds. So far, so good. She walked into the room and dropped her purse on one of the beds. Lucky went into the bathroom to get some towels, while she checked out the rest of the room. When he came out, she was kneeling on the floor next to the television set.
“What are you doing?” he asked, tossing one of the towels to her.
She grinned and held up some bottles. “I found the mini bar.”
“Mini bar? Since when do you drink?” he asked, amused.
“I don’t usually, but after the day I’ve had, I need it!”
[Song credits: "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel, "Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Savage Garden, "(You Drive Me) Crazy" by Britney Spears, "Tell Him" by Celine Dion & Barbra Streisand, "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer, "Kiss Is On My List" by ?, "This Kiss" by Faith Hill.]
