Thorny Rose Ch. 02

Finally, we agreed to go out to dinner at a nice restaurant in a couple of towns away, but because I was still underage, we couldn't go to any bars, which was fine with me. They all sounded too expensive, and dumb. I heard about a few local parties, being thrown by the kids at school, and Rose and I decided to go to the one at Erika's. I knew pretty much who would be at which party, and what would happen, so I was less than excited about the prospects. Rose's mother was going to return from her trip on New Year's Eve day, and was going to be home, and my parents, like every New Year's, were planning to cook dinner and watch movies until they fell asleep on the couch with a half-full bottle of cheap champagne.

I got dressed up, drove over to Rose's house, picked her up and we drove over to Raoul's. She looked incredible, of course. She was wearing a dress that flattered her—it was classy and sexy at the same time, and she was wearing the rose pendant that I gave her, and it was sitting just inside her ample cleavage. She gave me a great kiss and hug, and it truly felt amazing to be enveloped in her arms, pressing against that body.

"Where's your mom?" I asked, figuring I should be polite and wish her a Happy New Year.

Rose gave me a smile. "She called me this morning and said that she had decided to stay in Atlanta. She was actually having fun, and had been invited to a big party. I told her not to worry." She smiled and licked her lips, and I almost melted. "So, after the parties, we can come back here, and you know, hang out."

This definitely sounded promising. Of course, I couldn't predict how Rose would react, but I heard something in her voice that made me think that tonight might be the night that I finally lost my virginity. Or, I could end up frustrated yet again. This was what I had signed up for, and I had every hope that it was going to be worth it.

It was sad when Rose put on her winter coat, because I couldn't see her body any more, but the car was dark anyway, and I could still see it in my imagination, and that, along with the car heater, helped keep me warm. We made small talk as we drove, and I was happy that she took my hand and held it as I navigated the roads between Farston and Millersville.

Raoul's was a former speakeasy that had, for many years, been the rare French restaurant in our part of the world. My parents had taken me there a couple of times, and to my taste, it was damn good, although I knew that I didn't really have any kind of frame of reference. My dad was nice enough to slip me a few bucks before I left—I had enough to pay for it, but it was a nice thing for him to do. And yet, as good as the meal was, I really don't remember the details all that much, because Rose was so beautiful that I focused more on her than on what we ate. She seemed even happy as we chattered about this and that, and I felt like maybe she was comfortable.

After I paid the bill—and refused Rose's offer to pay for half—we got back into the car and drove back to Farston. We held hands again, and soon we were at the fairly large house of Erika Fletcher's family. Of course, we knew everyone, and it was like pretty much every high school party, except people were dressed better. It was funny how dressing up, and the fact that it was New Year's made everyone behave differently, like we were pretending to be grownups, but really didn't know what to do. There was food, and music, and some booze, but this crowd tried hard to keep it together. And at midnight, we popped open some sparkling something, and Rose clung to me while we kissed, along with a bunch of other couples.

It was time to head back to Rose's house, and I was nervous but excited, and definitely hopeful. She had been incredibly affectionate all night, and we had a couple of pretty intense makeout sessions beyond the midnight kiss. I tried to hold it together, even though I was close to vibrating with nerves, as we drove to her house. I was nervous that it might happen, and nervous that it wouldn't. And if it did, whether I would do well enough. Rose's past was more than a little intimidating, but I tried to block it out. She was gripping my hand tightly when we started, and I moved it to her firm, smooth thigh about halfway to her house. But just after we turned on to her street, she slammed her hand down on my somewhat straying hand and yelled, "Fuck—Dale—stop the car now."

I was startled, and jammed on the brakes. All I could think of was that I had done something with my hand to set her off, and started to get resigned to another night of virginity. "Sorry," I said, and put my right hand back on the wheel.

"No, Dale. Look, don't stop at my house. Just drive past and keep going."

I had no clue what the hell was going on, but I did what she said, and was shocked when she undid her seatbelt and scrunched down in her seat. Now, I'm not going to lie and say that the idea of Rose going down on me in my car never occurred to me, but I do know that the look of fear on her face was never part of my fantasy. I drove, at a normal pace, past her house, and said, "Where to now? My house?"

"No, it's not safe. Just get to the highway and drive," she said, in an flat, empty voice.

I may not be a genius, but I knew enough to follow her directions without question. I drove the car through the quiet streets until I got to Route 52, and took that to the interstate. It was only after I merged into traffic, that Rose got up, adjusted herself under her coat, and fastened her seatbelt.

"Um, Rose, what's going on?"

Her eyes were wild. "They're here. They fucking found me. How the fuck..." her voice trailed off, and she began to cry, her body wracked with sobs. In the highway lights, I could see her mascara begin to run down her beautiful face, her hair beginning to become undone.

"How—"

"I saw one of the assholes sitting in the car, watching the house. As your headlights lit up the car, I saw his face. Plain as day."

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly.

"Of course, I'm fucking sure," she snapped, "I could never forget that face. Ever."

"We need to call my parents and call the police."

Rose nodded. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone and dialed home. My father answered, a bit groggily.

"Dad, it's me."

"Hey, is everything alright?"

"No. We're O.K., but when I was taking Rose home," he didn't need to know every detail, "she thinks she saw one of the guys, you know, from before, um, staking out her house. So we are driving away."

"Shit," he said, more alertly. "Where are you?"

I looked at the road signs and told him.

"O.K., Dale, get off the highway at Brownlee and go to the Quality Inn right off the highway and get a room. Register in your name. Do you have money?"

"Uh, I think so."

"Use the emergency credit card. I think this qualifies."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Dale, is she sure, or just being paranoid?"

I was glad that the phone wasn't on speaker. I looked at Rose's red, puffy, scared face. "Yeah, Dad, she's sure."

"Dale, give the phone to Rose." I handed her the phone, and could hear only her side of the conversation.

"Yes, Mr. Bennett. Sure, Carl. Yes, I'm sure. His name is Jake Young. Dark hair, goatee. About 6 feet tall, maybe 220, muscles. Tattoo of a snarling dog on his right buttock."

I didn't really want to know how she knew that. I kept driving as Rose spoke to my Dad.

"Yes. Yes. She stayed in Atlanta. No. Sure. Thank you, Mr. Benn-Carl. Yeah, you too."

She handed me the phone. Dad's voice crackled in my ear, "Dale—you get settled in, and I'll call the police."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm sorry to get you involved."

"Don't worry. Just get off the road."

"I will."

"Dale?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Happy New Year. And we love you."

I felt like I was about to cry. "Happy New Year to you and Mom. And I love you, too."

I ended the call and put the phone back in my pocket. The exit for Brownlee was coming up, and I could see the lit up sign for the Quality Inn just past the exit.

Rose was quiet. She had taken out a compact and was touching up her makeup. When she was done, she took my hand as I signaled and exited the highway. As we drove toward the entrance, Rose took her phone and made a call. I could hear the phone ring, and go to voice mail. When it beeped, she said, "Mom, it's me. Call me right away." She stared at the phone before ending the call and stuck the phone back into her purse.

By that time, we had pulled into the parking lot. I was a little nervous, I mean, I had never checked into a hotel by myself, much less with a woman, and definitely had never found myself hiding from dangerous thugs, who, for all I know, were following me. On the other hand, I kind of felt good about taking control of the situation, and so I pretended to be confident as we got out of the car. It was cold, and the wind was swirling in the parking lot. A few snow flurries wheeled around in the harsh lights. Rose pulled her coat tightly around her body and she looked at me, I think for reassurance.

"Everything will be fine," I said, although I had no basis for that confident statement. "Let's get inside and out of the cold."

She nodded and took my offered hand as we walked into the lobby. As we walked, I tried out a few opening lines to the desk clerk to see what made sense, but when we got there, the guy behind the counter, who looked only a couple of years older than me, just said, in a bored tone of voice, "Do you need a room?"

"Uh, yeah, one night, please."

He looked at Rose, then at me, and I could see a look of respect, "King bed, no smoking?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"It'll be $129, plus tax. ID and credit card, please."

I handed him my driver's license and Dad's credit card. I waited for there to be a problem, but he swiped the card, and typed my information into his computer.

"Two room cards?"

"Sure, thanks."

He swiped two cards, and passed me back a little folder with them, along with my license and the credit card. "You're in room 187, just down that hall," he pointed to his left. "Have a good evening," he said, with a bit of a lascivious smile, "and Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year," I replied.

We walked down the hallway toward the room. I put one of the cards into the slot, and after the little light turned green, I pushed the door in and turned on the light. The room was pretty much what you'd expect from a roadside Quality Inn in the middle of nowhere. Big bed, TV, dresser, a chair. It was warm in the room, and when Rose took off her coat, I got even warmer.

I took off my coat, and tossed it on the chair.

Rose came running over to me, and enveloped me in a hug.

"Thank you, Dale."

"I haven't done anything, really."

"You've been there for me from the start. And tonight, you've been so smart and strong."

I had immediately reacted as could be expected when she hugged me, and I felt my hard cock pressing against Rose's leg. She kissed me, and for a while, I kind of forgot where I was. After a bit, she pulled away. "I have to go to the bathroom." She kicked off her heels and walked in the bathroom. I didn't know what to do with myself. I walked around the small room. I turned on the TV. I read the little signs that they put in the room. I turned off the TV. The toilet flushed, and Rose came out. She had washed much of the makeup off her face, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, like when I first met her. She looked great, of course, and she smiled at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You look so uncomfortable," she said, smiling. Rose walked toward the bed and sat on the end. "Take off your shoes and sit." She patted the bed next to her.

Of course, I did what she asked, and she leaned her head on my shoulder. We sat there quietly. We both jumped when my phone rang. I leaped up and grabbed it and saw that my Dad was calling.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Dale, it's me. You O.K.?"

"Yeah. We checked in and are here."

"Good. Look, the cops arrested four pretty badass guys who were staking out Rose's house. I think you guys are safe now." I repeated that to Rose, and I could almost see the tension and fear drain from her face and body.

"That's amazing. Thanks, Dad." I looked over and Rose was smiling.

"You guys can come home."

I turned to Rose and said, "Dad says we can come home." I was surprised when she shook her head.

"I'd rather stay here tonight, if that's O.K. with you."

It was. "Dad, we're beat, and I think we just want to crash."

"Uh, sure, Dale. See you tomorrow, then." I thought I sensed a bit of a chuckle in his voice. "The police will want to speak with both of you tomorrow," he added.

"O.K. Dad. I'll call you in the morning. Happy New Year to you and Mom."

"And to you and Rose." He hung up.