Author's Note: No sex in this part either. Kate, after all, is still a very proper lady and she is not 'easy.'. The plot at this point is still about seduction. As the saying goes, "patience is a virtue." And "all things come to he who waits" for the rest of the story.
Day 2 A Drive Through the Mountains
I went to sleep with a boner and woke up with a woody, and the enticing smell of fresh coffee, and the sweet sound of sizzling bacon. After performing my morning rituals and getting dressed, I joined Kate in the kitchen. She seemed more relaxed and happier now than she was the night before. I think she was looking forward to the road trip as a way to distract herself from her marital problems and to get her life at least partially back on track.
"We should leave soon after breakfast," she informed me.
"Uh, what?" I grunted. The cobwebs of sleep were still clouding my brains. I usually don't 'wake up' until after I have had a big mug of hot coffee.
"The road trip," she reminded me.
That was music to me ears. It answered my previous night's question. I would not have to book a flight home.
"Thanks for being honest with me," she added.
I knew she was referring to our talk yesterday although I was not sure if she was referring to my observations about her and Hal, or to my feelings for her, probably both.
Before we left, Kate made sure that her home was secure, and checked on all the arrangements she had made with friends and neighbours to keep an eye on her home while she was away. By the time we were ready to go, it was already late morning. We decided to have an early lunch before beginning the first leg of our road trip.
When we stepped out of the house, I noticed that it was not the same car as the one she had used when she had picked me up.
Kate saw my questioning look. "I'm not taking my own car this time. I was going to, but when Hal left, I decided to get a rental car instead," she explained. "I don't want to drive alone all the way back again. I plan to fly back to Seattle. I'll buy a ticket as soon as get to Boston," she explained. "Because it's not part of our deal, I'm paying for it."
"How much is it going to cost?" I asked. Being somewhat old-fashioned about money, I preferred to avoid using my credit card when I travelled. I brought what I thought was more than enough cash, and would use the credit card only if I ran out of cash.
When Kate told me, I gave half of the amount she cited. "Take it," I told her. "It's true we made a deal but Hal basically wrecked that deal. So, the terms have to change. Instead of me paying one-third, I now pay half, up to Philadelphia, that is."
Kate got really teary-eyed on me. "You are so nice and so generous." Then she embraced me to show me her thankfulness.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm just being fair," while I held onto her.
After a few seconds, I reluctantly let her go,
Kate and I decided ahead of time to make La Grande, Oregon, our first overnight stop. Only 300 miles from Seattle, we wanted to take a leisurely drive through the mountains to enjoy the beautiful scenery between the two cities.
I offered to take turns at the wheel, but she insisted on doing most of the driving. It was her call. It was also an example of her assertive nature. To be fair, she clearly loved to drive too. It seemed to help her relax. And that was a good thing.
While she was driving, I did not always pay attention to the scenery outside the car. I had my eyes on her, watching her, wanting her. I tried not to be obvious. I did not want to make her feel uncomfortable. I did not want to come across as a creepy, dirty old man, at least the creepy part. We made a few stops to look around and take pictures.
As we approached La Grande in the late afternoon, Kate declared, "That's enough driving. Let's keep an eye out for a decent place to spend the night."
We had agreed in advance to check out only economy motels and hotels to keep our costs down. About a half-hour later, we saw what looked like an owner-operated motel. Conveniently, there was a decent-looking restaurant across the street where we could have a proper meal.
Had we gone as two couples, as we did in our first road trip, each couple would have chosen their own room and covered their won costs. If we had gone as three persons, Kate, Hal and me, splitting the cost by three, which was what I had envisaged when I arrived in Seattle without knowing that Hal had just deserted her, we would have had to pay for a room that had at least two beds. Ironically, it was an arrangement that would have had Kate and Hal share the same bed, although, because of their strained relationship, sex was highly unlikely, even if they were alone.
But Hal was gone. We had to adjust our calculations. Kate and I decided on a one-room plan, in the interests of economy of course.
We asked the proprietor to show us a couple of rooms. They were simple but clean and comfortable. One room had two beds while the second one had a single bed and sofa. The first room was 20 dollars more than the second. Internet was an extra cost but we decided not to bother. We could go without Internet once in a while. I took note of the fact that the bathroom was quite small, a toilet, a shower and not much else.
The owner's cell phone buzzed.
"Excuse me for a sec," he said. He walked out leaving us alone.
"In the interests of saving money," I suggested, let's take this room. I'll sleep on the sofa. You can take the bed."
"Are you sure you're okay with that?" Kate asked.
"Yes," I replied, "I am."
Since she was the one who had asked the question, it was safe for me to assume that she also accepted the arrangement.
Knowing that I would be alone with her caused my libido to kick into gear. I had noticed that the bathroom had only one hook on the door on the inside. Almost immediately, I formulated an idea in my mind of how I might effectuate my plan to seduce her.
Kate and I decided to eat first and then take a short walk to stretch our cramped legs. We came across a grocery store where we bought two bottles of red wine. When we returned to the motel, we pulled out the bags that contained fresh clothes, and entered our room for the night.
While I checked out the TV to see what channels were available, Kate found two glasses in the bathroom.
"Wine? she asked.
"Sure," I said and took a glass from her.
I told Kate what was available on the TV.
"Nothing interesting," she said. "I'm not much for TV."
I was in no mood for TV either. There was no internet either. They would have been distractions.
We finished out first glass. We decided to have another. We chatted for a while.
Since it was early May and night had already fallen, it was becoming quite cool.