|
|
I woke up early the next morning, after a restless night.
I couldn’t
get my mind off of AJ ... any time I managed to fall asleep, I was
plagued
by erotic dreams, ones where we were naked, sliding against each other,
joined at every part of the body humanly possible. He was driving
me
insane ... I was driving myself insane.
A cold shower helped, but not much. As I dried my hair,
I turned on
the radio in the room. It was tuned to a hard rock station --
yuck. I fiddled
with the dial until I found a country station, which I left on.
When I turned off my hair drier, I immediately heard a LeAnn
Rimes song beginning. My first reaction was to dive for the radio
--
normally, that girl annoys the hell out of me. But, when I recognized
the
song, something in my head told me to keep it on. I flopped on
my bed,
brushing my hair, and listened to the lyrics.
“Standing on the border
looking out into the great unknown
I can feel my heart beating faster
As I step out on my own
There’s a new horizon,
and the promise of a favorable wind
I’m heading out tonight, trying to live it right
I’m going to start all over again
And buy a one way ticket on a westbound train
to see how far I can go
Gonna go out dancing in the pouring rain
And talk to someone I don’t know
And I will face the world around me
Knowing that I’m strong enough to let you go
And I will fall in love again
Because I can.”
Absently, almost automatically, I began to sing along with the
next
verse.
“Gonna climb a mountain
and look the eagle in the eye
I won’t let fear clip my wings
And tell me how high I can fly
How could I ever believe
that love had to be so blind
when freedom was awaiting
down at the station
All I had to do was make up my mind ...”
Okay, so it’s probably a cliché, but the song hit me square
in the gut.
It was my song -- I was going to make it my song. I’d left.
I’d actually left,
and done something on my own. I’d traveled farther away from
home in
two days than I had my entire life. I’d dared to talk to a stranger,
and made
a new friend. And, I’d kissed that same gorgeous stranger, and
found out
once and for all that Steve sucked in the romance department.
I wasn’t
doing too badly for someone who thought her life was over just forty-eight
hours ago.
By the time the song bridge came around, I was singing at the
top of
my lungs.
“I have walked through the fire
and crawled on my knees
through the valley of the shadow of doubt
Then the truth came shining like a light on me
And now I can see my way out
I’m gonna buy a one way ticket on a westbound train
to see how far I can go ...”
I sang heartily for the rest of the song, bouncing on my bed for
good
measure. As the last notes faded, I heard a knock on the door.
I opened it to find AJ, grinning widely. “How long have
you been
there?” I demanded.
“Long enough to hear your concert,” he said, chuckling.
I tapped him on the head with my brush. “Bite your tongue
-- I
heard you singing in the shower last night. Of course, you sing
better than
me, being that you’re a professional and all.”
“I don’t know, you sounded pretty good to me.” I looked
at his face,
where there was an unspoken question. To mention the night before,
or not
to mention it?
I chose the latter. What happened, happened ... we’d sort
it out
later. For now, I thought, it’s a beautiful day, and we should
be out on the
road. “Are you hungry?” I asked instead. “Because I think
I saw the
restaurant down the road advertising some kind of famous waffles when
we
drove past.”
“Waffles? I’m there ...” He offered his arm gallantly. “Milady?”
I accepted, giggling, and we were off. She may be a cocky
little
punk teenager, but for one morning, at least, I loved LeAnn Rimes.
(Chapter disclaimer: the song "One Way Ticket" is used lovingly,
but without permission. Please don't send the lawyer-types after
me -- all I've got is this stupid machine and more CDs than a sane person
should own.)
