"Singularity" Chapter 20: "Sweet Sixteen" [20/49]

[luminations]

Title: "Singularity" Chapter 20: "Sweet Sixteen" [20/49]
Fandom: The Last of Us (first game only)
Characters: Ellie, Joel, Tommy, Maria, OCs
Pairings: Joel/Ellie
Warnings: Underage
Word Count for this chapter: 10,587
Rating (for fic as a whole): R


Ellie had nearly forgotten how much she hated snow. It came back to her, though -- when it got cold enough for even Joel to shiver on occasion. When 'nature breaks' entailed freezing her ass off (pretty much literally). And, worst of all, when the jeep skidded on a slick patch of road, signifying that her driving days were over until they'd cleared the mountains. Even though Joel had only a tiny bit more experience with driving on icy roads or in snow. And he had a fucked-up ankle!

Yeah... and she wasn't the one who got them so completely stuck in a ditch that they needed to use the winch:

"GodDAMNit!"

"..."

"...What, ain't you gonna say it?"

"Say what?"

"That you told me so."

"Um... I didn't really tell you, though? I didn't see this coming."

"You were sittin' there just WAITIN' for somethin' like this to happen."

"Was not!"

"Waitin' for me to screw up."

"But I wasn't! I swear! Why would I want us to get stuck?!"

"We ain't stuck. I can winch us out."

"Oh cool -- you can show me how to use that thing!"

"I'll tell you what I know about it... which ain't much. I've never had to do it before."

"You can do it, Joel! There's nothing you can't--"

"Knock off the cheerleader bullshit."

"It's not--"

"When I screw this up, too, I'll see if I can shovel enough on this end to--"

"You're not gonna screw it up! And no way are you shoveling anything on that foot."

"My foot is fine. Anyhow, the normal method is to shovel with your hands, not your feet."

"Smartass. Whatever -- you're gonna winch us out like a BOSS, so it doesn't matter."

And he did. They did; after Joel rigged it up, he actually asked her to do the driving. He said it was a two-person job, with one person driving and the other giving direction. Ellie couldn't fathom what kind of direction would possibly be needed when basically all she had to do was hit the gas, but she understood a little more once they started... because she couldn't really see what was going on out there, whereas Joel saw the whole picture -- he told her which way to turn the steering wheel, and when to do it. It was pretty fucking cool how the tires were just spinning uselessly before, but once that cord was hooked on a tree, they actually propelled her forward. Joel had already checked out the winch apparatus -- like, the second day of the trip? -- and deemed it usable, but he still seemed plenty nervous that something would go wrong with it. He put extra dampeners on the line "just in case" -- because if the thing snapped, that added weight would keep the end with the hook from zipping around wildly, speedy as a bullet.

Despite Joel's dire predictions, nothing went wrong. Ellie withheld the 'cheerleader bullshit' -- God forbid she sincerely praise him for anything.

The snow wasn't all bad, though. It... looks really pretty on the mountains? And when the snowflakes fluttered lazily through the air, the stuff on the ground fresh and new and soft, pure and dazzlingly white in the sunlight (the sun came out a lot more than she expected!)... it was so beautiful that even grumpy-ass Joel had to agree. They had definitely been through worse. Like, actual blizzards and shit. With way less provisions than they had now. The heater in the jeep kept them toasty when they were moving, and for short periods when they were stopped; Joel said they couldn't afford the gas to keep it running all night, and he was a bit worried they might run out of gas before escaping the mountains. They weren't seeing many dead cars and trucks -- and most that they did see had no gas left in their tanks! Ellie had teased Joel before about going overboard with the siphoning, and for picking up additional gas cans... now she understood his concern. Besides, the heater really only worked in the front. They still had cold air assaulting them from both sides, thanks to having no doors (she'd suggested that maybe they keep the poncho doors up during the daytime, but Joel said it wouldn't work -- without even trying -- and that he didn't like the reduced visibility).

They'd been needing to go hunting anyway, but Ellie resented being forced to do it for a whole day while they waited for the sun to melt the snow down to Joel's liking. However, thanks to the cold weather, they could cook their kills and keep some extra for a few days, rather than having to eat it all within a day or so. That was nice! Squirrels and rabbits only, so far. They'd also killed a black bear who had gotten too close for comfort, but Joel had declared it wasn't good to eat bear -- on their last trip. They had debated the matter and she'd worn him down, but one taste of the meat had made her inclined to agree with him. Someone in Monterey had claimed that bear meat was perfectly edible as long as you skinned the hide off quickly and cooked the shit out of it. Joel had argued that he'd cooked the meat up real good -- to the point of burning it, the last time -- and it still didn't pass as edible. "Because you BURNED it, that's all!" Ellie had teased him. Personally, she thought he was perhaps a bit too finicky. This was never put to the test, as no one had encountered any bears during their stay there, and Joel said one person's opinion wasn't enough to change his mind on the matter. She was pretty sure if they were starving, the meat would taste as good as cow steak -- but they weren't starving.

Ellie couldn't help worrying about Joel's ankle -- and the rest of his body, on which she continued to find bruises. Particularly the nasty ones slashed across his side and part of his chest. He said he hadn't broken any ribs, but Ellie wasn't sure she believed him. He would admit to them being bruised -- because no shit! -- but how could he say for sure they weren't broken? She was convinced that when he wanted to, he could hide pain as well as any wounded animal that has to do it for survival, even when the injury was debilitating... so it had scared her a little when she could tell he was hurting. She tried to chalk it up to them being closer... to him not having that instinct to hide it for her sake, since she wasn't a little kid anymore... there was also the fact that she could read him better now.

At any rate, his method of dealing with the pain was obvious: he was channeling it into anger. That was understandable; Ellie knew she did it herself (perhaps with emotional pain more than physical). She tried not to lose patience with him. Whenever she neared that breaking point, she reminded herself of how she wished she could have heard him grumbling and snapping at her when he was so sick in Colorado. She was so fucking lucky this time!

Once the swelling went down, Joel had become much easier to live with. The 'pity fuck' comment still rankled her, though. He hadn't bothered to express any regret over saying it. Not even with placating bullshit "I didn't mean it, baby girl" type remarks, let alone true remorse. Only the all-encompassing apology for 'being a jerk.' And while he didn't seem insincere when he apologized for this, that one was just... so generic, or something... it was easy for him now. He had agreed that sex was making love, not fucking, but only because she'd framed the question such that it was obviously the right answer. Knowing she was upset, he wasn't going to give her brutal honesty.

If she was honest with herself... she hadn't been after an honest answer at the time. She'd wanted to wrap herself up in the soothing lies. The truth was that part of him believed that she had only tried to interest him in sex that night because she'd felt sorry for him, and thus, it could only be classified as fucking. Maybe her passionate cries of "fuck me, Joel!" had made him start thinking of it that way, too. ...But he LIKES that! I KNOW he does! Maybe... that was just to be expected, now that they'd been together so long? I miss the good old days... like our first time, when he actually CRIED because it was just so fucking beautiful...

And the way he'd said it... PITY fucking?... Ellie concluded that it was a thing. Or it used to be, at least. People would have sex even if they weren't into it, because they felt sorry for the other person or something? ...But why would he think that about ME?

She became a little gun-shy after that... and she certainly wasn't going to keep pestering him for sex when he didn't seem all that interested in it. He would kiss back when she kissed him, but the only kisses he initiated himself were either quick pecks, or soft'n'sweet rather than hot'n'heavy. He was operating in Outside mode, which she knew played a part in him not wanting to mess around as much, but it didn't feel like it was just that. She had figured that by using the jeep, they would conserve a lot of energy compared to when they'd had to ride and walk -- especially with Ellie taking shifts driving. But she wasn't, now, so... maybe operating the clutch was causing Joel more pain than he let on, or driving in general was still enough to sap his strength over the course of the day. Maybe sleeping in the jeep night after night wasn't fully restoring his vigor; she'd gotten used to it pretty quickly, but Joel was old. (...Older.) And, according to Joel, older people's bodies didn't adapt to things the same way younger ones did.

One night, they'd found an empty U-Haul on the side of the road, and opted to sleep in that. That was awesome -- they could both stretch out as much as they wanted, and they were somewhat insulated from the cold night air. Not totally, as they left the back door/gate thingie up partway; Ellie still couldn't abide pitch-black darkness, and Joel didn't like being completely closed off from the jeep and the horse. The hard floor wasn't ideal, but Joel didn't seem to mind it -- even without a blanket to cushion it slightly. He sacrificed his half to wrap Ellie up in it, in what he called 'burrito style,' claiming to be content with just the thicker blanket they both shared. With Joel wrapped around her as well, she stayed pretty warm. She almost suggested again that they get naked under the blankets together. And surely it would've been easier to manage sex in the U-Haul than the jeep. But... she suggested neither, not willing to risk trading snuggliness for surliness. Not bringing it up means not feeling shitty and/or awkward. Easy as that.

Ellie figured he might be amenable to having sex on her birthday, though... he had agreed to that, hadn't he? With the handcuffs, even? What other present can he give me out here? ...Right?! How else can we celebrate? She just had to make sure he didn't forget. She didn't even care about the handcuffs -- she just wanted him. But he hadn't brought up her birthday at all, in like... ages. She started making a bigger production out of crossing off the date on her calendar page every morning. Or she at least made sure to do it while he was nearby and paying attention to what she was doing. Then she could casually mention "only four more days!" /"three more days!" etcetera... and when this failed to elicit much of a response, she would ask him a direct question incorporating her birthday -- like, if he thought they'd be out of the mountains by then. He had assured her, several days ago, that they'd definitely be out of the worst of it, but he hadn't counted on the one storm that was bad enough to cause them to lose an entire day. Now, all he could say was "I don't know." He said an actual blizzard could set them back for days. And he also pointed out that they would still be in a cooler climate, as their elevation remained much higher than it was on the coast. They were in Nevada now, after all. Only one state between here and home!

With only one day to go and no snow for the past twenty-four hours, Ellie asked if they could push a little harder, because on the map, it looked like they were so close to being out! Joel agreed that they should take advantage of the nice weather when they could -- and besides, they hadn't seen shit as far as other people. Not since the infected ones in Yosemite. Joel said no one was crazy enough to brave the elements regularly -- like, settling there in the mountains permanently -- without having houses or any kind of buildings for shelter. It was possible that there were houses set well in off the road, completely out of sight... but, still, they hadn't seen anyone.

When the ghost towns started to appear, Ellie felt more hopeful that their mountain days were numbered -- as in, possibly numbered down to one: her birthday! Joel, ever the pessimist, told her they were just old mining towns, abandoned prior to the world going to hell, and thus, not an indicator of better things to come. Ellie didn't see what difference that made. Especially if they could use the lone gas station or whatever as a shelter!

Her birthday, however, dawned the same as most of the other days this week: with her and Joel cramped in the back of the jeep together. He was already awake when she woke up. "Mornin', birthday girl," he murmured into her hair.

"Oh! It's my birthday -- I forgot!"

"No you didn't."

"I didn't remember for a second cuz I was sleeping, that's all." She stretched all of her limbs and let out a big yawn.

Joel rolled her into a hug, mid-stretch. "Happy birthday, baby girl... happy sweet sixteen."

She smiled. "So I'm sweet now? I wasn't before?"

"Guess not," he chuckled.

She settled into the crook of his arm. "Where does that even come from?" She'd heard the expression before.

"I think it's actually the name of the party you're s'posed to have."

"...So the party is sweet?"

"I don' know why it's called that. It's like... celebratin' a young girl becomin' a woman."

"An old girl, you mean." She always had to correct him on that! Young girls were like... five or six. "But... what does being sweet have to do with that? What if the girl's not sweet?"

"Well, you are, so--"

"And what do you mean becoming a woman? If that's a sixteen thing, then why do you care so much about eighteen?!"

"I don't anymore, you may have noticed," he said mildly.

"Thank God," she smirked. "But seriously -- if sixteen is when you turn into an adult--"

"Eighteen is -- or was -- the legal age of adulthood. But a sixteen-year-old could get a driver's license... get a job..."

"I already drive, and I've had jobs!"

"Yep, you're way ahead of things." He kissed her temple. "It was also the age of consent in some states."

"Consent for what? You mean like... for sex stuff?"

"Mmhmm."

"I've been consenting to that for a year already!"

"A year? More like... four months."

"That's how long you've been consenting," she pointed out. "I consented way before that."

"Not a whole year, though," he laughed.

"Well, half! More than half! So... what do you mean by 'age of'? I'm... allowed to consent now? I was breaking the rules before?"

"It's the... legal age. When the law says you're old enough to decide."

She sat straight up and fixed her glare on him. "That's eighteen! Isn't it? That's what you told me!"

"Look at you, gettin' all mad." He seemed amused by her outrage. He stretched and sat up more himself, leaning against the side of the jeep.

"Well, fuck -- this whole time you made it sound like -- oh my God, Joel -- this is awesome! We don't have to hide anymore! In Jackson! We can--"

"Whoa whoa whoa -- don't get ahead of yourself, now. I said in some states."

"Okay, so what about Wyoming?!"

"I don' know."

"Uhhhh... you didn't think maybe that would be worth finding out?!"

He just... smirked at her, basically. Without even bothering to reply, he fished his canteen out from between the seat and a duffel bag and offered it to her. "You want some?"

"No! Fucking answer me!"

He took a swig -- an unnecessarily absurdly-long swig -- and stuffed the thing back where it had come from, making a little "ahhh" noise (and still not answering her).

"Joel," she said warningly.

"How would I find out?" he chuckled. "Just go around askin'? Ask Tommy?"

"Well, he'd probably know, right?"

"Oh sure. That wouldn't look suspicious at all."

"You could... make it sound innocent. Somehow. Make up some story. Some other reason."

He just gave her a Look.

"Okay, so, it might still make him suspicious, but I'm sure you could lie your way through it -- or -- no, wait, you could look it up in the library! There's law books in there! Fuck, I would've looked it up myself if I'd known!"

"...And if someone noticed me tryin' to look for this?"

"How would they notice? It would be in one of those ginormous books that has all kinds of boring stuff in it." She had flipped through one before, thinking it would be interesting to learn about ancient laws, but it was too hard to wade through all the dry words and statute numbers and crap to decipher anything before losing interest. I would've been a lot more interested if I'd known to look THIS up, though! "You could be looking to see if... if murder is illegal or something."

That made him laugh. "Murder was illegal everywhere."

"You know what I'm saying! You could make up something. It's not like you'd be looking at some book with a huge LEGAL AGE OF CONSENT title on it. Fuck -- you could just tell people to quit being nosy and mind their own fucking business! Or, like I said, I would've looked for it -- you didn't think maybe you could've mentioned it -- knowing I'm in the library practically every fucking day?! And -- Jesus, Joel, remember when Lupe was talking about her quincin-- quinsee-- what was it? Quincinora?"

"Quinceañera."

"Yes! That!" Poor Lupe had been looking forward to her party for months, and then the pandemic fucked the whole thing up and she never got to have it. "Remember how we talked about it later? How I was already a woman cuz I'd already turned fifteen -- and you just laughed and again said it's eighteen in our culture--"

"Of course I remember. You wanted to switch cultures. Easy as puttin' on a different shirt, the way you--"

"Yes! All of that! And you never once thought to mention that the real age might actually be sixteen?!"

He was still laughing! "Will you c'mere before you freeze to death?"

"I'm not cold! I'm-- I'm too pissed to be cold!"

"I'll explain if you sit with me. C'mon."

She wasn't really pissed so much as perplexed. Joel scooted and shifted around so he could lean against the back of the seat, his legs stretching over their bags into the front, and Ellie planted herself semi-in his lap (legs across it, more like, with her butt on the seat). He tried to tuck her against him, but she wanted to see his face, so she resisted. Crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm waiting."

"Hang on, you messed up the blanket here..."

Ellie suspected he was taking extra long to get settled on purpose. To torment her. Man... I know he hasn't been all that interested in sex LATELY, but this whole time... did he make up the eighteen rule to try to put off having sex with me for two and a half years? Why else would he not care to know if the true legal age is sixteen?! The whole time we've been together... fuck, why did he even kiss me in the first place if he didn't feel any attraction? It makes no sense. ...Okay, that REALLY makes no sense -- don't be silly, Ellie. I can TELL he loves me... like, LOVES ME-loves me. There's no way he's been faking it this whole time. Why WOULD he? And... I'm pretty sure I've heard other people mention eighteen... somewhere...

"Hey." He kissed her gently. "Smile. It's your birthday."

She didn't kiss back. "Yeah. It's been fucking fantastic so far."

He was smiling, though. "I was tryin' to get up, earlier... get outta the jeep... but I reckoned I couldn't do it without wakin' you up."

"Um... okay? Great -- so you wanted me to wake up alone."

"No, sourpuss," he chuckled... and tweaked her nose. "I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed."

"...Without the bed?"

"Oh, I would've loved to have the bed part. But... best I could do. I'd still like to, if you wanna catch a few more winks..."

"What I want is for you to explain why you've been lying to me for months," she said coolly.

"What?" he laughed. "It ain't like that."

"Then what's it like?!"

"All right. I don' know if you'll understand..."

"Try me."

He took a few moments -- long moments -- to answer (and Ellie couldn't tell if he was just stalling some more to torture her, or if he was truly working through what to say). "Eighteen... is when you become an adult in the eyes of the law. As I've said before... it ain't like you just magically change overnight on account of havin' a birthday. They just have to draw the line somewhere. Or... they did. None of that really matters anymore, from a law perspective. Even where there's martial law, it ain't the same... as how it used to be. But to me -- to anyone who was of age, before -- eighteen is... it's what's ingrained in us. That's when adulthood starts. Me, bein' as old as I am... anyone under thirty seems like a kid. Seems like adulthood should start at... twenty. Or twenty-one, really."

"Twenty-one? You're going the wrong way," she chided him.

"Legal drinkin' age."

"Still!" She thought twenty-one seemed like such a random number for that anyway. If you become an adult at eighteen, shouldn't that mean you're fucking old enough to decide what you can drink? The laws were just totally stupid!

"As for... the age of consent thing. There's... gray areas, an' whatnot... I believe the federal age was eighteen, for certain things. I ain't sure how each state got to set its own age. I guess I... never really had a reason to know. Before."

"Okay, but now that you do..."

"It don't matter anymore, Ellie. If it's sixteen in this state... seventeen in that state... eighteen elsewhere... it's all the same."

"But it's not. One of your big things about us hiding was that it was considered illegal -- but what if it's really not?"

"You know that was never my biggest thing."

"Yes it was!" ...and still is?!

"No. It wasn't. It's... the reasons behind havin' a law like that. Because you are too young. Whether there's an actual law or not... an old man havin' a sexual relationship with a young girl is--"

"Middle-aged man, and old girl!"

"A thirty-plus year age gap," he amended. "That better?"

Ellie did like that he'd taken to saying 'thirty-plus' instead of 'thirty-five.' Because apparently he'd gotten tired of her constantly correcting that to 'thirty-four-and-a-half.' ...And apparently 'thirty-four-and-a-half' is either too hard to say or too hard to remember, so... 'thirty-plus' works? "But Joel -- you don't think I'm too young. Not anymore. You wondered why the fuck we waited so long. You told me that."

"That's... either me forgettin' about your age sometimes, or me bein' selfish. But--" --he cut off her protests-- "--it's also me thinkin' that... there are worse things in this world. For you. Worse than... bein' with a man who... a man like me," he finished vaguely.

"Way worse things," she agreed. "Cuz the truth is the exact opposite of that! You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know." She leaned in to hug his neck (and hide her red face... because that was super sappy).

"See? You are sweet. Sayin' things like that even when you're mad at me." He brought his other hand around to scritch at the back of her head.

"I'm not mad. Just confused!" She nuzzled at the stubbly little hairs under his chin that were getting long enough to feel almost soft. "If it's been sixteen all along..."

"It may not even be. Christ, I should've kept my mouth shut," he chuckled. "Point is... no one in Jackson is gonna think... that this is okay, just because you ain't fifteen no more."

"Why not? That sounds like exactly what they should think. No one in Golden Sands gave a fuck."

"Some of 'em did."

"You know what I mean -- and I think you imagined the ones who... supposedly gave some fucks."

"Folks were different there, sure. In Jackson, they're more... I don't wanna say uptight..."

"Yes -- uptight! Fucking prudes. All of them!"

"But it ain't a bad thing, to be... concerned about a young girl with an old man. To worry that he's takin' advantage of her. At the resort... I think some of 'em wondered that, at first. Maybe they ultimately decided it was none of their business."

"Or that they were wrong."

"It is what I'm doin'. Even if you don't--"

"Joel!" She pulled back to thump him on the chest. "Why do you still have to say shit like that when you know it isn't true?"

"Let's not argue today, hmm?" he deflected.

"Yes. Let's not. Tell me you're wrong!"

"I'm wrong," he replied immediately.

"Fucking prick," she muttered... but this time, when he kissed her, she kissed him back.

"Listen. Instead of breakfast in bed... what do you say we backtrack a lil' bit an' find the--"

"Backtrack?" She couldn't help balking at the idea, especially when it seemed like they were so close to getting out of the snow!

"Only to go huntin'. Where we saw the two turkeys. Bet it's less than a mile back. If we can get one of those, I can make you a nice birthday dinner."

Joel had had to borrow the binoculars to identify them, and they weren't like... right by the road. It could be a bit of a trek to reach them... plus we have chipmunk meat we need to use up for dinner... Ellie hadn't had turkey in so long she barely remembered what it tasted like, other than the fact that she'd loved it. "That would be awesome. And fitting -- being your spirit animal and all." Because they were smart, and hard to catch due to their excellent hearing and quickness to react to threats! (Yes, Joel knew a lot about turkeys, for some reason.)

Joel snorted. "Thought we decided that ain't true since they're also real social."

"You're social with me! Anyways -- we can't just get one, you know."

"You see how big they were? Not huge, but I reckon one would feed us for two or three days, easy. Can't keep 'em much longer than that."

"It's not that," she replied. "It's just... there were two. Together. I mean, clearly they're mates... family... friends... whatever -- they were together. They must have a bond, right? It would be mean to leave the other one all alone in the world. Meaner than killing it. That's like... torture."

He looked at her... and she couldn't decipher his expression. Ellie braced herself to be teased for being a sap... or being a girl... but she needn't have bothered, because he just said, "You're right."

* * * * * *

It ended up being quite a pleasant day, all the way around. The air was cold and crisp, the sky overcast, but it didn't rain or snow. They managed to shoot one of the turkeys. Well, Joel did, because he said that would make it feel more like a gift he was giving for her for her birthday. Ha! The other one must have escaped. They'd only seen the one, at first... after they killed it, they heard the other one, but by the time they'd traversed the hills to collect their kill, it was gone. The terrain wasn't the easiest to navigate, and since Ellie was still a bit worried about Joel's ankle (he could walk, but he heavily favored the other leg, and she was confident he was minimizing how much it hurt), she agreed not to pursue it. He had told her turkeys tend to move in large flocks, so the one that got away was likely to have joined up with the other birds living on that particular mountain peak.

...Yeah... he was probably bullshitting me... but since Ellie couldn't tell if he was or not, and he wasn't inclined to confess if he was, she decided to believe him.

The man had been a total sweetheart all day. For the most part, he'd let her call the shots. Including stopping early. However, when she'd wanted to stop for the day super early, at a ghost town named Millers -- because how perfect was that? -- Joel had put his foot down, saying they weren't going to celebrate her birthday in that shithole. There was a sign there that told the history of the town; no one had lived there since 1947! When Joel complained that it wasn't even his last name, being plural and all, Ellie had been able to point to the sign and show him that it had been named after a guy named Miller. "Maybe he's your great great grandpa or something! This SHITHOLE could be your birthright!" Also, there was a sign at the rest area -- the only thing left of the town, basically -- that called it Miller's. Possessive, not plural. As a reward for amusing him, Joel relented and said they could eat there, at least.

That gave her the brilliant idea to eat their dinner for lunch. Joel even said that it made sense -- that in way olden times, before he was born, people did tend to eat their biggest meal of the day early. If food is the fuel you need to get you through your day, why not eat it early enough to use it all up before you go to sleep? Ellie agreed that it made sense... but she liked to think of dinner as something to look forward to at the end of the day, when your work or whatever is done. Anyway, today she wanted to do it because she was still kind of hoping that Joel would want to have sex. He hadn't mentioned it, and had made a big thing about the turkey being her present, but she was still hopeful. If they got dinner out of the way now, they could get an early start on ~tonight~ and he'd be less likely to be too tired or something. I haven't brought up the subject, either. If what I say goes today, then...

Except she also didn't want him to feel obligated. Nor did she want to ruin a perfectly good day by having things not go the way she hoped. She didn't have to have sex just because it was her birthday; she already felt closer to him now than she had in ages, and that was more important. Preserving his good mood was more important!

It must have been at least several hours before their usual quitting time when Ellie saw something up ahead that made her squeal with delight. "Joel! Oh my God -- do you see that?!"

"See what?"

She passed the binoculars to him. "Look! It's a fucking motel. Right?! I mean, it says it is! On the sign!"

"...You're right... but... what the..."

"It's weird-looking, right? It must be for kids. But I don't care! There's gotta be beds in there! Real fucking beds!" A luxury they hadn't had in a whole week! Ever since they'd entered the Sierra Nevada mountains.

"Says it's world famous," Joel noted.

"That means everyone in the world has heard of it, right? Or... did, back then?"

"I sure haven't. Damn... I don't think we've gone much more than ten miles today, what with the backtrackin', an' the huntin', an' the--"

"Joel! MOTEL!" she practically screamed at him.

He handed the binoculars back to her and smiled. "Relax. I was gonna say... we can't pass this up. No way. Freaky motel out in the middle of bumfucknowhere, and we get there on your birthday? That's... some kind of divine intervention, that is."

She giggled and took another 'enhanced' look. "I don't think it's supposed to be freaky... you mean freak? Like... freak accident? Freak of nature?"

"I mean freaky as hell," he clarified, making her giggle more.

"Perfect place for us, then!"

She watched the motel get bigger and bigger as they approached it. When they slowly turned into the parking lot, Ellie couldn't sit still another moment. She pressed Fox's lead rope into Joel's unsuspecting hand. "Meet you there!" she chirped, hopping out without waiting for him to stop the jeep (it was moving slowly, after all -- too slow for her!).

"Ellie, wait--"

"I won't go inside yet! I just wanna look!" she called back to him before breaking into a run.

She'd almost reached the office when the jeep zipped by her -- although Joel gave her such a wide berth, perhaps 'by' wasn't the right word. He pulled into a parking spot in front of the building she'd been heading for -- like, he parked in between the lines and everything -- and slid out of his seat.

"What about Fox?" she chided him. When she turned around, she saw the horse was trotting toward them of his own volition.

"I turned him loose a lil' early," Joel replied... an unnecessary answer to her unnecessary question. He limped over to her. "You couldn't've waited another minute?"

"Nope, guess not!" She ran over to him. "Are these things fucking creepy or what?!"

Joel took a closer look at the strange decorations that adorned the motel. "You think this place is for kids? I think these would scare the livin' daylights out of most kids."

"Well, clowns are supposed to be for kids, right?"

"I reckon it prob'ly started out that way... but now there's enough horror movies an' such about 'em..."

The motel was actually named The Clown Motel (add World Famous, to be exact), and, as would be expected of an establishment so named, there were clowns everywhere. Cartoon cut-outs of clowns gracing every sign, every door. The paint was faded, the wood chipped... "Back in olden times, though, it prob'ly looked super happy, and... I dunno... bright? Fun?" Ellie speculated.

"Bright? Sure. Don' know about happy'n'fun. Did you see what's right over there?" Joel gestured off to the right of the motel.

"Is that a..."

"A cemetery. Yep."

"Huh. Well... good, Fox can eat over there."

Joel chuckled. "He's doin' just fine where he's at." Because there was grass poking up through cracks in the pavement, like... everywhere.

"Why the fuck would anyone build a motel right next to a cemetery?" Ellie mused.

"Good question. Maybe... it's real convenient when the clowns come to life at night an' kill people? The housekeeper could just--"

"Joel!" Ellie swatted him. "You're gonna give me nightmares! New ones, I mean."

"You ain't afraid of clowns, are ya?"

"No -- except maybe for ones that come to life and kill people!"

"Betcha this place is haunted. All those dead bodies right over there..."

Ellie's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Great. Fucking great. The last run-in we had with ghosts, we ended up time-traveling backwards!"

Joel wrapped his arms around her; he had that you're-so-cute look on his face. "Only when we were drivin'. They left us alone when we were sleepin', remember?"

"Well -- maybe these ones won't! Maybe they're not as friendly!"

He kissed her nose. "Nah. They're happy we're here. Must get awfully lonely, bein' the only place for miles around."

"We haven't seen the other side yet," she pointed out. What they could see... was yet another bunch of nothing.

"Nothin' in eyeshot, anyhow. They'll be glad to have our company."

Ellie snorted. "Because... live humans are so fascinating?"

"If the live humans are you'n'me? Absolutely."

"Hmm... in that case, maybe we could like... give them something to look at?" She grinned and waggled her eyebrows at him, forgetting for a moment that she was apprehensive about this subject.

The you're-so-cute look morphed into more of a you're-so-naughty look. "Yeah? What did you have in mind, little girl?"

YES -- I KNEW it was okay! She'd had a feeling... he seemed to be in a more playful mood now, and the 'little girl' sealed it. As long as she didn't do something stupid to fuck it up, like call him 'Daddy.' "Ohhhhh... I dunno... maybe, um... something involving, say... handcuffs?"

He treated her to a wicked smile. "Mmm. I did promise you somethin' involvin' those, didn't I. ...If we've still got 'em, anyway."

Ellie blinked. "Uh... we better!"

"I haven't seen 'em around."

"Because we haven't used them since that one time, but we wouldn't have just... tossed them!"

"I'm sure they'll turn up."

"Well, now I'm kinda worried..."

He kissed her sweetly before letting go. "Let's check the place out first. No need to get careless now."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "You don't have your people feeling... you don't even have your ghost feeling... right? I don't."

"Still. You never--"

"--know," she finished with him. "Yeah yeah. Okay, well, I was going to check in the office first." It was easier than deciding what room to try to get into.

"We will check the office. Together."

"Whatever -- let's go see it!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him after her, rather quickly at first before remembering his ankle. "Oh, shit -- sorry!"

"It's fine. I told you--"

"That you're not a pansy ass -- I know. But your ankle is fucked up, and I don't wanna fuck it up more. Or hurt you."

Joel shook his head. "I'd rather you hurt me than treat me like a cripple."

Ellie groaned. That is SUCH a Joel thing to say! And it's so dumb! "I'm not treating you like a cripple if I'm... mindful of an injury. Fuck." She let go of his hand and slung her arm around his waist instead. "Let's just... walk like a lovey-dovey couple!" she said brightly.

Joel tried to give her a Look, but she refused to accept it. "You think I can't walk right now?" he asked accusingly.

"No... it's just... holding hands isn't together enough for me!"

He muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Christ," but Ellie could tell he was amused.

The door to the office (which was what fancier places called the lobby? but this one said 'office') was unlocked... and ajar, which was a little creepy, but not all that unusual for an unoccupied building. Joel actually didn't push her away when they entered; he just pulled a gun from his non-Ellie-clinging side. Yeah... he knows there's no one here! No one except-- "Holy shit there's a lot of clowns in here!" Ellie exclaimed.

She let go of Joel so she could examine the... fuck, there must be over a hundred clowns on the shelves along one wall! -And a hundred more on the adjacent one! With gaps, like there had once been even more figurines... fragments of which were now littering the ugly purple paisley carpet.

"Don't touch those," Joel advised. "You'll cut yourself."

...Like she didn't know better than to fuck around with broken glass?! Ellie just ignored him, fascinated by all the figurines... the paintings of clowns on the wood-paneled walls... there was a nearly-life-size clown lying face-down on the floor, limbs sprawled every-which-way, like a cartoon corpse. It looked to Ellie like he was meant to sit in the red leather-like chair in the nearby corner, so she picked him up (the clown was almost as tall as her, but it was like lifting a pillow) to return him to his rightful seat, swatting the dust off the arms and back to make the red brighter.

"What did I just tell you?" Joel scolded her.

"Chill -- he's not glass! He's all soft... his clothes are like satin-y..."

"There's glass on the floor, though."

"I didn't cut myself. Okay, his face is creepy, but-- oh, look, I think he was holding this little stuffed one in his lap!"

Satisfied that no one was hiding in the office, Joel wandered over to her corner where she was arranging the clowns -- three of them now -- into more attractive poses. "You're bringin' clowns to life already?"

"This one, too... see? All the other ones on the shelves are porcelain or something. It's just these three that are floppy." She mussed their frizzy wigs, each one a different rainbow color, releasing more dust into the air. Their faces were white with red noses, and rainbow-colored shapes around their eyes... their cheeks... the smiles were what made them look creepy, she decided. But that's not their fault, is it? They can't help it! "Aww, he looks so happy that I sat him up and gave him his little friends back! He's prob'ly been face down on the floor for years and years. ...Do you think kids used to sit on his lap like that?"

Joel grimaced. "That would be pretty damn creepy."

Ellie grinned at him. "So is this place like ones you've stayed at before?"

"Uh... hell no?"

"I mean... you know. Not fancy."

He chuckled. "This place... is the opposite of fancy, yes. Kitschy, is the word I'd use."

"Kitschy? What's that?"

Joel gestured all around them. "This."

Ellie didn't get it. "So... clowns."

"Yes. In this case."

Tempted though she was to examine all the interesting figurines more closely, she remembered what the end game was here, so she left that area to check out the rest of the office. Joel had already 'cleared' it, but sometimes he overlooked things that were of little interest to him but of great interest to her. And sometimes he just plain missed stuff. Like-- "Joel! Didn't you see this door over here?"

"I did. See the padlock?"

"Duh -- but let's open it! There's prob'ly some cool shit in there!" They'd found some amazing stuff behind locked doors before.

"Cool shit in a place like this? I doubt it. But if you're really curious..."

She waved him off and drew her gun. "I got it."

"Whoa whoa whoa -- you're gonna shoot it?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"Too dangerous. And it won't even work. It's movie horseshit."

"Not a movie -- a video game."

Joel snorted. "That's even worse. Since when do you like games with shootin'?"

"I don't -- I just like the parts where you explore and climb and stuff." She happily left the violent parts to Clicker (and she refused to even watch him play those).

"It's still horseshit. With that nine millimeter of yours, anyway. Lemme just pick it for you."

She groaned and reluctantly backed away. "Fine, be my guest."

It would have been much faster to just shoot the fucking lock (had Joel ever even tried it before deciding it wouldn't work?), but he did manage to shiv it open without too much difficulty. He let her go in first.

It was a small closet with shelves full of boxes, which were kind of hard to see without a flashlight. Ellie peered into an open one on the floor near the door, where the lighting was better. "Oh! There's clothes in here! They look brand new!" She started plucking out T-shirts of various colors, examining them quickly and then tossing them back to Joel.

"Just what I always wanted... a creepy clown T-shirt," he drawled.

"Shut up -- they're new! And -- look at this one. Come on, admit it -- it's kind of awesome. The clown face isn't that big, it's mostly just words -- and it's such a pretty blue!" She passed it to him. "This one's yours. I'm gonna--"

"No way in hell am I wearin' that."

"--check this box -- look, it's open, too -- there's tank tops in here!" She dragged the box into the light. "If you don't want a T-shirt, you have to take a tank top. Come on -- you can just wear it under your regular shirt!"

Joel chuckled. "I wear undershirts under my regular shirts."

"Same difference! What color do you want?"

He tossed the blue shirt back at her and leaned against the door frame -- on the side where he wouldn't be blocking her light. "How 'bout you just pick out one for yourself, birthday girl? Since you like 'em so much."

"Okay. But I'm picking out one for you, too. How the fuck am I going to decide? I've never seen so many shirts in my life! Why do they have so many?" All different colors... sizes... prints...

"They must've been sellin' 'em. That area right in front of all your little clowns did have kind of a gift shop feel to it."

"A gift shop? That's perfect. I'm picking out a gift for my birthday. Even though I already got one!"

"What, the turkey?"

"Yeah -- but, Joel, I just got a great idea -- why don't we take a bunch home? I think a lot of people would like having something new. They're so... bright. And there's no holes... no stains... no frayed edges..." They smelled... like they'd been sitting in a closet for decades? but they weren't dirty.

"That is a great idea. But remember we ain't takin' the jeep all the way home, so we can't take all that many."

"That's okay. Then there will be a lot left here for whoever comes by next." She didn't want to be too greedy.

"Sounds good. You wanna stay here an' look through more boxes while I check out the rooms?"

"...Do you really want me to?" Ellie was surprised this place wasn't giving him the creeps at all. Or at least not to the point where he didn't want to let her out of his sight?

He shrugged. "No, not really... but I'm ninety-nine point nine percent positive there's no one here. No one livin', anyway."

"I'll come with you," Ellie decided. She nudged the boxes out of the way and joined him in the doorway. "The doors are in twos, right? We can go faster if we each check one -- me on one side, you on the other." She waited for him to protest.

"All right."

...Okay, he really IS confident there's no one here!

Except they weren't actually able to get inside the rooms, as the doors were all locked! And not the pick-y kind of locked, either -- the hotel kind, where you had to have a card to swipe -- along with power -- for it to work. After listening outside for a few moments to make sure no one was inside, Joel tried to force one open. A red one, with a blue-haired clown hung on it that swayed like a pendulum while the door rattled. Ellie mimicked him with the 'door next door' -- a yellow one with a sad-looking red-haired clown on it. That would be so funny if I could open the door and Joel couldn't! -Only it wouldn't be, really, if he got all down on himself because of it. Ellie decided not to try very hard.

As it turned out, neither of them had any luck with the ramming method. On these doors, or on the next two sets...

Joel sighed. "Let's just look at 'em from the outside... look in the windows an' see if we can pick out a nice one to stay in, all right?"

"But if we can't get in...?"

"We can. But the door's gonna be too much effort -- I'll bust one of these windows instead. I just don't see the point of breakin' in to all of 'em. Pretty sure no one's here."

The windows looked pretty solid to Ellie, but Joel sounded confident. And she knew he'd rather risk sleeping in a room where only the window was compromised, rather than the door. (She didn't think it made all that much difference, but Joel had his little quirks like that.) "Okay."

There was something like thirty rooms, so it took a little while, but not forever. Joel told her she could pick out a room since she was the birthday girl. It was impossible to see inside the ones that had the drapes drawn all the way, naturally. She noticed that a few had the windows broken already. Ellie suggested that they stay in one of those, but Joel said she could pick out whichever one she liked best, regardless of the window status, and he'd get them in there.

She felt like she should choose one with a broken window to spare him some effort. Then again... it kind of seemed like he wanted to break one for her. Like it was something else he could 'give' her? She figured she'd just do exactly what he said -- pick a favorite. And she did like the idea of staying in a room no one else had apparently been inside for ages...

She knew Joel liked rooms on the second floor -- he felt safer, being above their enemies -- but he had a hard enough time on the stairs that she didn't want to make him climb up and down, over and over (because no way would stubborn Joel let her bring in all their shit by herself, nor would he be cool with just leaving it all in the jeep). Luckily, the ground floor had a room she liked -- enough that she might as well claim it as her favorite. She directed him to it.

Joel studied the window. Like... for probably thirty whole seconds. How long does it take to figure out what to use to bash it in? Ellie wondered. But he didn't bash it -- he started rattling it. Pressed both palms to it and jiggled the thing, over and over.

"Uhhhh... Joel? What are you doing? It's... locked. I tried it already."

"I know that, thank you." He kept on with the jiggling. ...And on... and on...

A couple very long minutes went by. Ellie was about to speak again when she heard a sudden pop -- and either the sound or the sudden sliding of the window made her jump. "Fuck! ...Whoa... how did you..."

"I just jimmied it," Joel replied... as if that answered her question. "Now we can keep the cold air out of here tonight."

"Hey, yeah -- good job! Wait wait wait -- let me climb through there. You--"

"I can do it," Joel insisted, shrugging her hand off his shoulder. "I'm happy to do it... for my baby girl on her sixteenth birthday."

She rolled her eyes, but... how sweet is that?!

He opened the door for her and waved her in all dramatic-like... as if he was a doorman from a movie or something. "If there's anythin' else we can do to make your stay more comfortable..."

Ellie smirked as she walked by him. "I can think of a couple things."

Joel followed her... and grabbed her from behind, hugging her against him, making her giggle in delight. "What would those be, hmm?" He trailed his lips down her neck, and she shivered pleasantly.

"Oh... oh my," she replied in her best snobbish voice, swallowing the giggles as best she could. "Do you always... manhandle your guests like this, sir?"

"Only the pretty ones." The way he started groping her... like, pawing at her, basically... was so over the top that it was way more funny than sexy!

She stifled a laugh. "And they... uh... don't mind?" she asked lamely, ditching the stupid accent.

"Not that I'm aware of." The smirk was still on his face when he spun her around and kissed her, a gropey hand immersing itself in her hair.

Her urge to laugh faded as she melted into the kiss. This is more like it! She opened her mouth to his. Wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her body against his...

But five seconds later, Joel pulled back and smiled -- a fake, polite smile. "Hope you enjoy your stay, miss." Then he abruptly released her.

He'd stepped out of her embrace, but she grabbed at his shirt. "Wait! Wait, you can't just--"

"That was our... complimentary welcome kiss." He made no move to put his arms back around her, but he didn't push her away, either. "You want more than that, you'll have to pay extra."

"I'll pay!" she giggled, trying to hug his neck again.

"Cash up front. Ten bucks." He calmly pushed her arms down.

"I have to pay with, like... actual money? But we don't have--"

"Sorry. If you can't pay, we can't just... hand out services for free."

"Why the fuck not?!" Act pissed, Ellie, DON'T LAUGH--

"My apologies, ma'am. Got payin' customers to serve."

"Uh... like who?! I'm the only one here!"

"...Big bus full of people just pulled up."

"Oh really? Hmm... how come I don't hear anything?"

He ignored the question. "Yep. I can prob'ly make at least a hundred off them."

"Guys, too?" she snickered.

"Sure. We don't discriminate here."

How the fuck can he not LAUGH?! "But-- you said you only do the pretty ones!" she sputtered (she was kind of failing at not laughing herself).

"I... touched you for free, 'cause you're pretty. Yes. But after the complimentary kiss, your... uh... your welcome package is done." He was backing up towards the open door.

"Oh yeah? What about your package?" She followed him to the doorway, smirking.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, miss," he said innocently.

"Ma'am," she corrected him, continuing to advance as he backed away. "You said it right before. You're supposed to call me ma'am. You know, like 'yes ma'am'? " Maybe she liked 'ma'am' because it made her sound older? But "yes miss" just didn't sound as good!

"Yes ma'am. Stay here, now. I need to go get the valet to come an' park your vehicle."

"What? It's already parked. See?" They were back outside now.

"We have a special parkin' lot for--"

"It's parked already. Nice and close. Why would I want it parked far away?"

"All right, well... I've still gotta bring in your bags... secure your horse..."

"My horse is right there. He's good. And fuck my bags!" She lunged at him, flinging her arms around him again before he could stop her.

He stood there woodenly... and somehow, even managed to look uncomfortable! "Ma'am, there's no need for such language. If you could just... calm down, please..."

"Calm down? Fuck that! I know you liked kissing me. Sir." She tried to pull him in for another kiss, but he resisted.

"I... didn't dislike it," he admitted. "But that's got nothin' to do with--"

"And where's that bus full of rich people?" She made a big show of looking all around them. "It's still just me here!"

"Well, shoot... coulda sworn I heard 'em pull up. I'm sure they'll be along any minute now. I need to go get ready." He tried to dislodge her arms, but she was holding him too tight for him to do so casually.

"Orrrrrr... you can keep kissing me -- at least until they get here," she cooed as she continued her attempts to kiss him -- and he kept fucking dodging her!

"That ain't... that ain't a good idea, ma'am." Joel looked around nervously. "I could lose my job."

Ellie laughed loudly at that one. He's toooooooo fucking funny!

"It ain't funny," he grumbled. "My boss is real particular about the... amenities. You know how hard it is to get a job 'round these parts?"

"Haha! I can imagine. Look -- if you get in trouble, I'll talk to your boss. I'll tell them... it was all my fault. That I like... forced myself on you." She settled for kissing his neck.

Joel chuckled. "He won't buy that."

Her lips climbed up his neck... brushed over his earlobe... "Why not? I'm kinda pushy, you know." She could feel him relaxing out of his wooden stance...

...but still he resisted her! "No -- no, I'm sorry. I have to take care of--" He finally managed to extricate himself from her embrace. "I'd feel horrible if your horse ran off, or your shit-- pardon me... your belongings -- got stolen. Not to mention you'll prob'ly sue us. I'll get fired for sure."

Ellie didn't fully understand the outdated concept of sueing, but she knew it involved making people pay you after they fucked up somehow. "What if I promise I won't? I'll even put it in writing!"

He was heading toward Fox. "I'll still get fired. I can't afford that. I've got a mortgage-- a house payment. Car payment. The works."

She fell in step beside him. "Well... then you can live with me. I'll take care of you!"

He snorted. "I'm sure your boyfriend would love that."

That remark threw her a little. "My boyfriend?"

"You've got one, don'tcha? Pretty girl like you... don't tell me you're single."

Uhh... is he supposed to be my boyfriend AND this hotel worker dude? No, he can't be both. Is he testing me or something? See if I'll pretend to cheat on him with some stranger? I thought I was SUPPOSED to cheat, cuz it's actually HIM!

"What's wrong, ma'am? Did I hit a nerve?"

Ellie wanted to just fucking ask him, but she was afraid if she gave up the act, he wouldn't start it back up again, and she was enjoying it so much! "Well... the thing is... he sort of, um... we're not really... -I don't know where he went!" she blurted with sudden inspiration.

Joel stopped in his tracks. "What? He left you out here in the middle of nowhere... all by yourself?"

"Yeah." She shrugged. "I guess he doesn't love me anymore or something."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "That's... that's just plain wrong."

Again, she was finding it difficult to suppress her amusement. "Why do you say that? You think he still does?"

"Don't know the dude so I can't speak to that. I mean it's wrong for him to ditch you out here." He started walking again.

"Oh." She hurried back to his side.

"I'll tell you this: he's either an idiot or a real jerk. Sounds like both. You're better off without him."

"Ummmmm... yeah, maybe? I guess? It gets lonely, though. Especially at night."

"Mm," Joel replied distractedly... or mock-distractedly? He patted Fox's silvery mane. "What would you like to do with your horse, ma'am? I recommend hitchin' him to that clown over there for the time bein'. Closer to your room."

"Whatever. I can take--"

"No no no," he shooed her away. "I've got this. You can go on, now... go relax in your room. I'll bring everythin' inside."

She groaned. "Joel, I'm not gonna just--"

"Who?"

...Oops! "Oh -- ha! Um... sorry. You remind me of him. My boyfriend. Or... ex-boyfriend, I guess, now."

Joel cringed. "Well that ain't good."

"Not in the bad ways!" she assured him. "Just... you know. You're both handsome and stuff."

He ducked his head. "Aww, shucks. You're gonna make me blush." He actually said that!

HOW FUCKING CUTE IS THAT! "I am? I wanna see!"

He kept his face turned away from her while securing Fox to a ginormous creepy clown cut-out staked in the ground. "No you don't..." No matter what spot she moved to, he managed to hide from her.

"I do! You shouldn't be so shy, you know. You're fucking hot." ...Come on, Joel, say AWW SHUCKS again...

"Stop," he chuckled.

"Doesn't your girlfriend ever tell you?" she smirked. "And don't tell me you're single!"

"I am, though. My last girlfriend... she didn't understand-- didn't appreciate the nature of my job. Got real jealous."

Ellie giggled. "What, she didn't like you groping and kissing all the-- welcoming, I mean -- welcoming all the guests?"

He nodded. "See? You get it. Don't know why it was so hard for her."

"Gee. Can't imagine."

Joel did let her help bring in the bags; she always helped him when he was himself, so it wasn't too hard to make his hotel dude persona allow it. She had just dumped a couple of them on the little round table just beyond the bed when she heard the thump of something falling to the carpet.

"You dropped somethin', ma'am," Joel told her.

"No I didn't, I was already--" When she saw what it was, she gasped. "You found them!"

"Hm?" Joel innocently picked up the handcuffs he'd totally just dropped there behind her. "No, you dropped these. Are you a sheriff or somethin'?"

She giggled and snatched them out of his hands. "Noooo -- but oh my God! I just got the best idea!"

"Did you now?"

"I did!" She grinned wickedly. "You said your boss would never believe that I forced you to... do stuff with me. I bet he would if he found you cuffed to the bed in the morning! Naked!"

Joel looked so surprised that Ellie wondered if that suggestion had truly caught him off-guard. "Ma'am, I... I don't think that's..."

"It would totally work!" she gushed. "I promise I'd let you go as soon as it was safe! Like, after he found you and got proof that you were being held against your will!"

"Mm. Proof. That... would be irrefutable evidence, I s'pose. Bein' at the mercy of a beautiful... smart... sexy young lady... who might wanna use me for my body... no way in hell would I go along with that willingly."

"Of course you wouldn't!" she laughed. "It's perfect!"

Joel took her in his arms at last, and favored her with the sexiest smile he owned -- one she hadn't seen all week. "You know... I think it just might work. It's awfully naughty of you, ma'am, but it just might work."

~Continue to Chapter 21~