Marit awoke the next morning, feeling as if she could sleep a thousand more hours and still not be rested. Glancing at her clock, she groaned at the early hour, and snuggled her face in her pillow. But as the alarm went off for the second time, she reluctantly pulled herself up and out of bed and headed for the bathroom to shower.
Several hours later, she was packed and ready to go, and she gave the room the once-over before heading out the door and down the hall. As she made her way to the elevators, she unconsciously stopped in front of AJ's room and stared at the door for a few seconds. Shaking her head, she turned to go, but at that moment, the door opened. AJ stepped out of the room, yawning, then looked in surprise at the figure standing before his door. He had just been thinking of her, was about to go look for her, and here she was.
"Hi," he said, then noted the bags. "You're leaving already?" She looked down then back up at his face.
"Yeah, I wanted to get an early start, maybe beat the traffic," she replied. "Thank you for dinner and the conversation last night. It was nice."
"No, thank you. You have no idea how refreshing it is to have a normal conversation with a normal person," he said, a small smile twisting her lips. "But you can't leave just yet, I'm sure you haven't had breakfast yet." She hesitated for a minute, but was won over by the sincerity in his eyes.
"Okay," she said, "but on one condition. You have to comb your hair." She pointed to his head and the hair sticking out in wild spikes. He laughed.
"What are you talking about? I DID comb it," he answered, as he grabbed one of her bags and headed toward the elevator. She smiled and followed in amusement.
"So, where was it you were heading again? I can't remember what you told me," AJ said, as he sipped a cup of coffee.
"That's because I didn't tell you," Marit replied, buttering her toast.
"Oh, yeah that's what it was," he answered back. "So?"
"So what?" she said, looking up at him.
"Where are you heading?" he pressed. She looked at him, exasperated.
"You don't give up, do you?"
"Nope." He grinned cheekily at her. She sighed.
"Miami, I'm heading to Miami. Happy?" He chuckled.
"Yes, but I'd be happier if you stopped at, say, Orlando. Or even Tampa. Instead of going all the way down to Miami." She looked at him quizzically.
"Why does it matter?"
"Because," he replied, "I live in Orlando."
"Oh," she replied, not sure of what else to say. The two were silent for a few minutes, before AJ finally broke it.
"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm just messing around." Instinctively, he reached out his fingers to touch her face and instinctively, she pulled away. He dropped his hand and sighed.
"Okay, the real reason is, I know some people in the advertising and PR business. I thought maybe I could help you out," he said.
"What makes you think I need helping?" she retorted, angry with herself for mistaking his intentions and with him for making her feel this way. He paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and just looked her.
"What is with you? Geez, you know, I'm just offering to help and you jump at me!"
"I'm just sick of people thinking I'm some helpless little girl that needs to be watched over. I'm old enough to take care of myself, dammit," she cried out, not caring that her voice had risen in volume.
"I never said I thought that," he yelled back. "I just figured it would be useful for you to have some connections." The two glared at each other for a minute, before Marit finally broke eye contact.
"You know what," he said, "just forget I ever said anything, okay?" He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"Fine," she responded. "I think I'm done, thank you for breakfast, but I should be going now."
"Fine," he said, not moving from his spot. She stood up and left the restaurant, picked up her bags from the front desk and headed out into the parking lot.
AJ sat there, fuming, toying with his food, torn between going after her and staying right where he was. As pieces of napkin fluttered into his lap, he contemplated the decision. Finally, he sighed and got up and headed out to the parking lot, doing what he knew he'd made up his mind to do from the first.
Marit reached her car and, pulling out her keys, opened the trunk. Shoving her bags in with the rest of the items back there, she slammed the top down and headed to the driver side of the car. Slipping into her seat, she put the key in the ignition and started the car, waiting for the engine to turn over. She was greeted by silence.
"What the hell?" she spoke aloud, as she tried a few more times. "No," she whispered, "no, no no!" Popping the hood, she got out of the car and pried it open. Trying desperately to remember the little she knew about cars, she searched in vain for some clue that would indicate to her why it wouldn't start. The battery must be dead, she thought to herself. No big deal, I'll just go in and get someone to jumpstart it. But as she went to close the hood, a flash of copper caught her eye. Leaning closer, she noticed a wire that had burned through the rubber outer coating and was held together only by a thin fiber. Closing her eyes, she remembered the last time the car wouldn't start. It was that same damn wire, and she'd had to search all over Atlanta for a replacement. "Dammit," she yelled aloud, as she slammed down the hood. "Dammit, dammit!" She kicked the tire with her foot then brought her palm down hard on the car body. The pain resonated through her hand and up her arm, matched only by her growing temper. She had made it this far, only to be stopped by a little wire. There was nothing else to do but to call him and have him come get her. And admit defeat. Collapsing to the ground, she buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
AJ walked into view just in time to see her smack her hand down on the car. He cringed as a grimace of pain swept across her face, and then watched her struggle with her emotions before finally breaking down. As the sobs wracked her body, all thoughts of scolding her fled his mind and he hurried to her and knelt down, drawing her into the warm security of his arms.
Marit felt a warm body press close and strong arms go around her as the pent-up emotion of the past several days came flooding out. Not caring who it was that held her and whispered soothing words in her ear, she released the tension in a wave of tears that threatened to never end.
"Shhh, baby, it's okay," he reassured, his hands rubbing her back. "It'll be all right." She stopped her sniffling to look up into AJ's face.
"How do you know it'll be all right? You don't even know what 'it' is," she responded bitterly.
"No, I don't. But whatever it is, it can be fixed," he said determinedly. She laughed, a short, harsh hollow sound.
"Whatever." He pulled away slightly, and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look him in the eye.
"It can be fixed. It will be fixed. Because if you can't, then I will," he affirmed, his gaze never wavering. She held his stare, confused and touched, mulling his words in her mind.
"I don't... What do you mean?"
"I mean, I want to help you," he said, silencing her protest with a finger to her lips. "Yeah, I know, you don't need help. But really, right now, I think you do." She opened her mouth to respond, then shut it again. He had a point. He let go of her face and slid his hands down her arms, circling her waist once again, and pulling her close. Her hands went up of their own volition to clasp his neck and she leaned into him, burying her head in his chest, drawing from his warmth and stability as she tried to re-order the jumbled mess her mind had become.
"Please," he murmured against her hair. "Let me help you." Against her better judgements, she surrendered. Anything was better than going back to him.
Links to other sites on the Web
© 1997 crunkgrl62382@yahoo.com
Get your own Free Home Page