Cara and Zac had been on the road for over an hour, and she still hadn't managed to find out what the secret was that he was hiding. Finally, when they stopped for a bathroom break at a gas station in Stroud, the halfway point on their journey, she cornered him in the men's bathroom.
"Cara! You're not supposed to be in here!" Zac exclaimed, quickly zipping his pants up.
"C'mon, Zac, tell me! What did you mean by what you said earlier?" she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Nothing, really! I promise!" he replied, wide-eyed.
"If you don't tell me right this minute, I'm gonna scream rape at the top of my lungs, and that nice old man who pumped our gas is gonna come running in here, and you're going to be so embarrassed!" she threatened him. She was smiling like a Cheshire Cat, but one look into her eyes, and Zac could see that she was completely serious.
"Alright, alright," Zac ceded, frustratedly. "Well . . . Mom, in her infinite wisdom, invited most of our out-of-town family to stay at our house. Now, including you and me, the total number of guests staying there comes to 20. There are 10 rooms in our house, three of which are already occupied by my immediate family. So, at this point, we are doubling up rooms, and sleeping on couches, cots, air mattresses, and sleeping bags. Luckily, I managed to claim one room just for us."
"Uh-huh . . . so what's the catch? Cause I know there's gotta be one. Otherwise, you wouldn't be making so big a deal out of all of this," Cara responded.
"For starters . . . we're in the attic room, which used to be Isaac's room before he moved out. So, it's all up, and it does have heat and AC," he replied.
"And?" Cara said, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping. "What's the rest? Spit it out, Zac."
"We have to share not only a room, but a bed as well," Zac said quickly. "We don't have a choice, though. I mean . . . we were lucky to even get the attic room, much less a room to ourselves." A wave of realization swept over Cara. She understood what he'd meant earlier. He obviously thought that if they shared a bed, that something more was going to happen.
"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Cara asked.
"I don't know. I mean, would it really have made that much of a difference?" he replied.
"Yes!" she exclaimed, her face growing red. "I would have brought my sleeping bag and slept on the floor!"
"Well, it's a little late now!" Zac shouted back, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry!"
"Well, sorry isn't going to cut it!" she retorted, angrily. "What do you think I am? Stupid?" She stomped out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Zac quickly followed her as she ran out to the car.
"Cara, stop! Please!" he yelled. He didn't understand why she was so mad about this, but he hated having her angry with him.
"Screw you!" she turned and yelled at him. If looks could kill, he would have been dead right then from the fire in her eyes.
"Cara, why are you so mad about this?" he asked.
"Why am I mad? That's a good question! Why do you think I'm mad, Zac?" she said haughtily.
"Is this about having to share a bed? Cause I'll sleep on the floor," Zac offered.
"It has nothing to do with having to share a god-damn bed with you! It has to do with what you obviously think is going to happen while we're sharing that bed!" Cara responded. "What do you think I am? A slut? ‘Cause you're dead wrong!"
"I never meant what I said earlier to be anything like that! I just meant . . . well, I meant that we'd have lots of time to be alone together," Zac said quietly, looking at his feet. "I'm not quite ready for sex. With anyone. Especially you. Atleast not yet. I mean, I haven't even really known you that long . . . and geez, Cara, you have a boyfriend."
"I know! Which is why . . . which is why . . . I have no idea why I'm mad about this at all," she said slowly. She slid down the side of the car until she was sitting on the concrete. She started to sob. Zac knelt down beside her.
"Cara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you all worked up over nothing," Zac said. "You can have the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor. It's really not that important that we share a bed."
"But it isn't nothing. I wouldn't have gotten all worked up about this if I hadn't actually wanted to," Cara said.
"Wanted to what?" Zac asked, confused. She looked up at him, red faced, with wet cheeks.
"Wanted to sleep with you," she mumbled.
"Wha - wait - whoa - you want to sleep with me?" he said. She nodded feebly.
"I've never slept with anyone before, Not even Damon. I've never actually thought about it before even. Until you," she responded. "You're different. You make me feel . . . " She fought for the words to describe it.
"I think I know what you mean," Zac said. "I feel the same way. That's why I got so upset when you forgave Damon, and that you're still with him. He doesn't deserve you." He touched her cheek, brushing away a tear.
"Oh, and you think you do deserve me?" she said sarcastically.
"No, but I think I could treat you better than he does. Actually, I know I could," Zac said. "Please give me the chance." Cara shifted uncomfortably, as her mind began to panic.
"Um . . . ," Cara stalled. This was a topic she really didn't want to talk about. She loved Damon and that was that. Zac wasn't going to change her mind, and she didn't want to hurt him. She looked down at her watch. "Oh, my gosh! It's almost four! We're going to be late!"
"What? Please tell me you're kidding!" Zac looked down at his watch. "Cara get in the car! We gotta get on the road again!" He got up and ran over to his side of the car, unlocking the doors. Cara breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe for now.
