“Then I involve county tonight, and neither of us sleeps.”
She studied me, her eyes pale and unreadable in the dash light. “You really are tired.”
“I’m alert enough.”
“That’s what men say right before they make terrible choices.”
“I already caught you. My terrible-choice quota is full.”
Her mouth twitched. “You sure about that?”
No.
I got out before honesty ruined me.
The night air hit cooler than the truck cab. Crickets sawed in the grass behind the motel, and somewhere down the row, a television laughed through a thin wall. I opened Crystal’s door and held out one hand.
She looked at it. “I can step down by myself.”
“I remember how well that worked last time.”
“That was a strategic exit.”
“That was eight steps and a truck dent.”
“Nine steps if you’re generous.”
“I’m not feeling generous.”
She put her hands under the charcoal overshirt, then accepted my help like it offended her. Her fingers were warm against my palm. Long enough for my body to notice. Not long enough for any sane man to make meaning out of it.
I let go first.
The office smelled like dust, lemon cleaner, and the burnt remains of old coffee. A box fan rattled behind the counter. The clerk looked about nineteen, with a red mark from a pillow still creased on one cheek and a paperback folded open beside the register.
He blinked at us. “You need a room?”
“One room,” I said.
Crystal leaned against my side just enough to look casual and just enough to make my entire right arm aware of her. “Preferably one without visible crime stains.”
The clerk stared.
“She’s tired,” I said.
“I’m also discerning,” she added.
He looked at the computer. “I’ve got one queen left. No smoking, no pets, no refunds after fifteen minutes.”
Crystal sighed. “The romance continues.”
I slid my card across the counter. “We’ll take it.”
The clerk ran the card, handed over an actual key on a plastic pine-tree keychain, and pointed through the wall. “Room twelve. Ice machine’s dead. Vending works if you kick the bottom left corner.”
“Good to know,” Crystal said. “I respect local knowledge.”
I guided her out before she befriended him or robbed him.
