Free Dissolve by L.V. Hunter

get outta here, shall we?”
    “It’s okay,” I manage. “I can get home myself -”
    “C’mon, gimme a break, here. It’ll save us both gas if you just come back with me. I can drop you off wherever.”
    “Are you kids heading out?” The cashier lady asks. Kai nods.
    “Yeah. Have a nice night.”
    “Ah, one second.” She jogs around the counter and up to us, holding up her phone. “The I-6 is closed. Apparently there’s been a landslide. Seven people killed. They’ve closed it down to try and rescue any survivors.”
    “Jesus,” Kai sucks in a breath.
    “We could take the back roads,” I say.
    “The ones that go through the forest? No thanks, lioness. I’m not in the mood to star in a horror movie. Besides, it’d take hours that way.”
    “So what do we do? We can’t sleep here,” I snap. He laughs.
    “I dunno, that deep fryer looks pretty comfy.”
    “There’s a motel up the road,” The cashier offers. “My boyfriend works there. I could phone ahead and get you two a discount, if you want.”
    I’m about to refuse, when Kai grins a brilliant grin.
    “That’d be fantastic.”
    The woman flushes a deep red, and I wonder for a split second if that’s what I look like when I talk to him. Shit. I don’t want him to know he affects me like that. That would only feed his overblown ego. The woman makes the call, and Kai hands me the spare helmet.
    “Ready for round two?” He asks.
    “We can’t -” I follow him out of the McDonald’s as he waves goodbye to the woman. “We’re getting separate rooms.”
    “Oh, definitely. I’d never ask a lady with your delicate sensibilities to spend the night in a room with a man.”
    His laugh is drowned by the rumbling of the motorcycle engine. Rage heats me from my head to my toes, and I snap my helmet on and plop myself on the seat behind him.
    “I don’t have delicate sensibilities!”
    “Coulda fooled me,” He shouts as he pulls away from the parking lot. “You practically walked out of a Jane Austen novel or something. Witty, brunette, quiet -”
    “Holy shit!” I yelp as he drives too-close to the edge of the road, and the thirty-foot drop down the hill.
    “I take the quiet part back!”
    “Screw you!” I smack him in the kidney as accurately as I can while hanging on for dear life.
    “Please don’t,” He smirks. “That would do nothing but ruin our blossoming friendship.”

SIX
     
    My flush is from the cold wind, definitely not his words. I watch the fir trees flash by, the city twinkling far and away from us. Soon the isolated suburbs become more urban, the neon lights of a tiny gas station welcoming us to a rest stop in the middle of nowhere. The motel is right next to it, huge eighteen-wheeler trucks parked outside. We park in front of the office.
    “Must be where the truckers crash,” Kai says as we get off the bike. “Good sign. That’s how you know it’s clean and cheap.”
    “You know a lot about truckers?”
    “My dad’s one.”
    He doesn’t say anything more, his face growing a little dark. I drop the subject, and follow him into the office. The man at the desk is a balding, middle-aged guy with a tired smile.
    “Evening, folks. You’re the couple Miranda called me about then? I’ve got the perfect room for you - B7.”
    “We’re not a couple,” I say quickly. “And is there any chance we can get two rooms?”
    The man’s eyes flicker between us. “I’d love to, kiddo, but we’re chock full right now. The only other room I have is undergoing renovations - it flooded last week with all that rain. There’s really only that room left.”
    “We’ll take it,” Kai says, slapping down a wad of cash.
    “What?” I hiss at him. “I’m not going to -”
    “Alright then, here’s the key.” He passes it to Kai. “I’m here all night if you need anything - just dial 1 on the phone.”
    “Thank you,” I smile hastily at him before running out of the office after Kai. It feels like all I’m doing is