Chapter 14
Lucy
We’ve beenon the road almost two hours, and we’re cycling back through Caleb’s parents’ playlist. I have to admit, some of the songs are really good. And they’re better, of course, when Caleb sings along.
I keep checking the weather on my phone, though I don’t know why. The forecast isn’t getting any better. If anything, it’s getting worse. Big, fat white flakes are falling to the ground and clinging to the windshield. The roads aren’t bad now, but it seems like we’re driving right into the path of the storm, so we’ll be lucky if we get another half hour in.
Some tune by Motley Crue or Poison ends—I can never tell those bands apart—and another song starts up. This is one I’ve heard before, though I’ve never really listened to the lyrics. But now that I am… “Wait. Hold up. Is he really saying….you know?”
“Caleb just laughs. “No, Lucy. My virgin ears and I have no clue. Just what is he singing about?”
My cheeks turn scarlet. “Oh my God. The sugar...that’s… um… And he wants it all over his, um…”
“It would seem so.”
“Oh my God.”
“Lucy,” he fake gasps, clutching imaginary pearls. “I never took you for a prude.”
“I’m not a prude. It’s just...isn’t it a little weird? You know? Knowing that your dad played these songs for your mom? And they’re...you know…”
“About sex?” he says, bluntly.
“Well, yeah,” I stammer.
He just shrugs. “No, it’s not weird. I mean, obviously they had sex, or else I wouldn’t be here. But the thing is, I never really knew him. I was, like, two when he died. So, he’s not a person, exactly, if that makes sense? He’s more like a celebrity or a guy on TV. I never really knew him as my dad, so it’s not like I’m weirdly picturing my parents going at it, you know?”
I shift in my seat. None of this should be sexy. It shouldn’t. But I’m squirming anyway because the sound of Caleb’s voice combined with the lyrics plus the number of times he’s said the word sex? Yeah, all that adds up to one thing: a very horny Lucy.
Caleb smirks—yes, he knows exactly what the lyrics and his looks are doing to me right now. We drive for a few more miles, and it’s clear the roads are getting slicker and icier as we drive along. Soon, Caleb puts the flashers on and glances over at me. “We should probably start looking for a place, Lucy. I wanted to get as far as possible, maybe even the Illinois line, but it doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen.”
My eyes scan the road, and I see two stranded vehicles. Caleb’s right. No matter how badly I need to make it back to Wisconsin tonight, it’s just not happening. I start scrolling through my phone to find a place to stay, but there won’t be a chain hotel for at least another twenty-five miles. I break the news to Caleb, but he doesn’t seem too distressed. His body isn’t a ball of tension like mine would be if I were behind the wheel.
“I have a feeling we’re not gonna make it that far, Lucy. Looks like there might be an interchange up ahead, though. I’ll gas up and see if I can get any tips on a place to stay.”
We pull into the Stop n’ Go, and Caleb tops off the tank. I’m not especially keen on the idea of taking accommodation recommendations from a roadside stop, but we have no choice. He slides back into the driver’s seat, shivering and buckling up before he hands me a bag filled with snacks.
“Did they have any suggestions?”
“Yeah, the guy working the counter, Jake,said there’s a little place down the road about two miles.”
“That’s great!” I say, truly relieved.
“I know, and he called ahead to see if they had space. The owner said they’d be able to squeeze us in, so that’s kind of a post-Christmas miracle. The thing is, Luce, I’m not sure this is your kinda place…”
* * *
Whit
“The VD Lounge?!Tell me that is not the name of this place!” Lucy screeches, just like I knew she would.
When Jake at the Stop n’ Go told me about the little bed and breakfast, I was thrilled. But the name alone is scaring Lucy off. The place itself isn’t so bad. It's a white clapboard building and thank God for the black shutters and the Christmas lights or this bed and breakfast would blend in a little too well with the snowstorm that’s raging across the Midwest.
“Yeah, I know, but it’s actually the owners’ initials. Their names are Vicki and Dan.” Jake back at the gas station said they’re some of the best people he knows. A little unconventional, he called them, but that doesn’t bother me one bit. They’re probably my kind of people.
Lucy looks unconvinced, but it really doesn’t matter. And after three hours of driving in blinding snow and only making about forty miles worth of progress, I’m a little done.
“Look, you’ve got two choices, Luce. You can bunk at the VD Lounge with me, or you can freeze to death in my car. I really hope you pick the former because for some strange reason I love your company. And also, I don’t relish the idea of chucking your frozen popsicle body into the woods back there in a couple days.” I’m about to joke and say,besides, what would I tell your dad,but I hold back. We’ve successfully avoided any mention of her father since yesterday, and that’s a good thing. Lucy’s tense enough right now, and the reminder that we’re stuck in the frozen Midwest because she missed her flight, and the idea of explaining that to dear old dad had her apoplectic, isn’t going to help matters. And it might be foolish of me, but I’m really hoping our sex-cation can last a few days longer. “So, Lucy Beth, what’s it gonna be? A night at the VD Lounge or a slow, icy demise?”
