Stand And Be Strong

Dan and I drove for a long time. We didn't stop anywhere, we just drove until we got hungry and needed food. Honestly, I had no clue where we were going and I don't think he did either. Occasionally, he would ask my opinion on whether he should turn left or right or keep going. It felt nice, we didn't have anywhere to be or anything to do. It was just me and him, wherever we wanted. We were mostly driving on backroads instead of highways. It was prettier that way. 

Around 4 o'clock, we stopped for lunch from a fast food drive thru. And when it got dark we stopped for pizza for dinner. I don't know where we were, but it was a nice, quiet little town. There were people everywhere, spending time with their families and it seemed like there was so much to see. 

He took my hand in his as we walked into the restaurant. There was an elderly couple in the corner and a mother with 2 kids a few tables away but other than that, the place was empty.  

"hi, my name is Jess and I'll be your server tonight. Can I take your order?" the waitress asked. She was short, with dark hair and bright blue eyes. She kept smiling while Dan was ordering and didn't even look at me. I guess she was a fan. After we ordered she proved that true by saying, "I'm sorry for asking, but are you Dan Flint? From-" 

"no, sorry. You must have me confused with someone else" he cut her off. She stood there staring at him for a little while before apologizing and leaving. 

"I didn't know you knew people up here" I smirked. He still hadn't told me his secret. 

"I don't." 

"she knew your name though" I said. 

"I know. Maybe we should just go somewhere else to eat". He suggested but I shook my head. I like the quietness of this place. I glanced up and there was a group of waitresses whispering and looking over in our direction. I smiled at them and they all went back to work like they had just been caught doing something awful. 

The rest of our dinner was quiet. Dan seemed a little pissed off at the waitress, though I wasn't sure why. It's not like she would know he was hiding it. I shoved all those thoughts out of my mind. I wanted my getaway with the Dan I thought I knew. I just wanted to have a little more time with him before the truth came out. 

"so do you want to get a hotel room for the night and then tomorrow we can figure out what we're doing?" 

"yeah. But I'm paying for half" I said. His eyes narrowed. 

"and if I say no?" 

"then I sleep in your car" I said with a smile. I half expected him to just say okay and the two of us would end up in his car over night, but the other half was hoping he'd give in. 

"you are not staying in a car in this neighborhood overnight." he said. 

"why are you so against letting me pay for anything?" I asked. Instead of answering my question, he threw a few bills on the table and we walked out to his car. 

We drove to a hotel a few blocks over. It was one of the only ones in town, but it was nice. Dan got us a room with two beds and the bellhop took our two bags up to it. 

The room was kind of small, but otherwise nice. We had a cable tv and hot water in the shower. We were both exhausted so we went to bed pretty early. 

The next morning, I was up before Dan. I took a shower and got dressed so the bathroom would be free for him to shower when he got up. When I was finished, he was just starting to wake up. 

"hey sleepy head" I smiled, rubbing the towel through my hair. he smiled back and got up. While he showered, I dried my hair and started in my makeup. 

"what are you doing all that for?" he asked, leaking down to kiss my cheek. 

"I always do" I shrugged. 

"you don't need to wear any of that. You're beautiful. " he said. Thankfully he walked back into the bathroom because I couldn't stop the blush from growing on my cheeks. 

When I was finished and Dan was all ready, we left the hotel. We drove for a few minutes and then he pulled over on the side of the road. There were woods next to us with a small path leading into them. I was hesitant to be out of the car. I don't like woods. They remind me of horror movies. 

When Dan saw the look on my face, he came around the car and opened my door. "scared?" he laughed. 

"very much so" I admitted. "are you planning on killing me?" 

He laughed and took my hand in his and gently pulled me out of the car. "no. I promise I'll keep you safe, just trust me"