The subtle waft of cologne in the air smelled good. All it did was piss her off. Here she was crammed between two muscled-up bikers who smelled like soap and cologne while she no doubt smelled like a pile of dirty clothes.
She nearly cried at the sight of the motel.
Pulling the truck to a stop just outside her room, Hayden barely had time to get out of the truck before she was scrambling out of it. With her room key in her hand, Sapphire had the door to her room unlocked within seconds.
She wasn't sure what she was expecting when Joel's big hand reached out and stopped the door from closing. Giving her an unapologetic grin, he stepped inside the room, followed by Hayden.
"I can't believe you actually stayed here." Joel looked around the room as if he was standing in the middle of a garbage dump site.
Self-consciously, Sapphire began to gather a few strewn items scattered on the round table by the window.
"It wasn't that bad," she murmured. "Not like I expected."
"And what did you expect?" Hayden asked, picking up a pink bottle of lotion next to the TV and examining it closely.
The feminine object looked foreign in his big rough hands, especially since it was hers. Stepping purposely over to him, Sapphire plucked the bottle from his hands.
"I don't know, there weren't many pictures online, but the ones I did see did not make it look that great."
"I can't believe there’s a website for this place." Joel looked shocked.
Turning to look at him, she let out a little sound of frustration to see that he was holding her rumpled nightgown by the strap and staring at it as if it was a live snake.
Reaching across the bed, she snatched the blue gown from his hand and tossed it into her open suitcase.
"There isn't," she huffed. She was doing her best to gather all of her things but every time she turned to look at one of them, they were finding more and more personal things to mess with. Taking a deep breath, she tried to compose herself. "But it is listed in some sort of roadside motel listing site I found. Like I said, it wasn't actually that bad…until last night," she added quietly, not daring to look back at them.
She stepped into the bathroom and began to gather her toiletries into the bag she had hanging off the door. She couldn't help but look at the shower with longing. Glancing back out into the room, she spotted Joel making himself comfy on the bed while Hayden looked as if he was looking at something of hers in his hand. Was that her driver's license? Giving up on trying to police them, she dashed back out of the bathroom and grabbed a handful of things from her bag before dashing back to the bathroom.
Her quick movements caught both of the men's attention.
With a triumphant smirk, she held her clothes close to her chest before announcing. "I just can't get back into the truck with you two while I'm smelling like yesterday, and you two smell amazing. I have to take a quick shower. I promise it will be quick."
Not giving them a chance to argue, she shut the door and locked it.
She heard Joel's muffled voice from where he sat on the bed. "I didn't think she smelled."
"Me neither," Hayden replied.
Something small and warm twisted in her chest at that, but Sapphire staunchly ignored it.
She emerged from the steamy bathroom ten minutes later, showered and wearing clean clothes. She could feel their stares on her, but Sapphire ignored them. She felt much better, and she wouldn't feel bad for the small diversion in their plans. Zipping up her suitcase and grabbing her duffel bag off the bed, she began to strip the bed, forcing Joel to stand up.
"I thought this was Herman's or Blanche's job," Joel said, even as he grabbed the pillows and began peeling back the pillowcase.
Rolling the comforter up, Sapphire stuffed it into the laundry basket in the corner. "It normally would be, but as a part of my low rate for staying here, I agreed to wash my bed linen myself."
Neither man said anything as they helped her strip off the rest of the sheets and pile them into the basket.
Stepping back, she looked around the sad little motel room. It honestly hadn't been that bad of a stay until last night. But she couldn't lie to herself and say that the idea of saving money and being under the protection of both men didn't have its perks. She only hoped that if things didn't work out with these two, Herman would let her renew her cheap rate.
"You ready?" Joel asked.
She nodded, grabbing her suitcase's handle, and reached for her duffel bag on the floor. "Yeah, I think-"
Reaching down, Hayden grabbed her duffel bag. Stepping around her, Joel grabbed her suitcase's handle from her grip. Without a word, the two men opened the room's door and walked out into the sunlight with her things. It left her feeling a little disconcerted. Frowning, she grabbed the laundry basket and stepped out of the room, and walked next door to the office.
Herman was standing at the counter glaring at her with his arms crossed as if he had been waiting for her to come in and turn in her key all night. "Good, I'm glad you're leaving."
