10. Quentin

10

QUENTIN

W e make good time, and it’s just past 6 p.m. when we pull into the small town on the outskirts of Phoenix that’s hosting the beer festival. Hazel booked a hotel, and it’s a cute old style county inn with a pub and restaurant and some rooms up top.

I grab the clear folder with the itinerary and booking details and head into reception.

Charlie follows me out of the truck, stretching and yawning and blinking in the evening light.

The woman at the reception counter is middle-aged and greets us with a warm smile.

“I’m Sharon,” she says. “Welcome to the Red Goose Inn.”

I check the itinerary for the booking number and rattle it off.

“You here for the beer festival?” she asks.

I tell her about our stall at the festival, and we exchange pleasantries. It’s a family run inn, and her husband Vinny turns up as she hands over the keys.

“Come down for dinner when you’re ready,” Sharon says. “We’ve got live music tonight. My daughter Dina’s singing.” She says it proudly, and I smile and promise to stop by to hear her daughter.

She hands over an old-fashioned brass key.

“Room twelve. Straight up the stairs and to the left.”

I stare at the key, waiting for her to give us another one, but she smiles as if that’s it.

“We should have two rooms.”

The moment I say it, I realize my mistake. Hazel booked the accommodation for her and Marcus. Of course she would have booked only one room.

The woman taps her computer and frowns. “I’ve only got a booking for one double room.”

Charlie leans on the counter next to me, and I can tell without even looking at her that she’s laughing. Darn woman finds everything funny. But this is serious. I cannot share a room with Charlie.

“Is there another room available?”

The woman shakes her head. “I’m afraid not. We’re all booked for the festival. The entire town will be.”

She looks generally concerned, and I don’t want to make her feel bad, but this is bad. I run a hand through my hair and turn to Charlie.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me, sergeant.”

Thoughts of sleeping in the same bed as Charlie flood my brain. Her body entwined with mine, her hot breath on my skin…

“Is there a twin room we can swap with?”

At least separate beds would be something.

The woman shakes her head, and her look of sympathy makes me feel like an ass for making such a fuss. “I’m afraid not. The only twin is taken by a pair of elderly sisters, and I’m reluctant to move them.”

“Of course.”

Charlie snatches the key out of my hand. “Come on, sergeant. I promise not to steal your virtue in the night.”

But the twinkle in her eye tells me she finds this amusing.

Charlie grabs her bag and heads up the stairs. I watch her go, and my eyes are drawn to her incredibly tight pants and perfect round ass.

My dick stirs to attention, and I swallow hard.

“Will it be a problem?” the woman asks, concerned at our predicament.

Yeah, it will be a big problem. A big hard-on sized problem. But the woman’s been nothing but kind, and I don’t want to make her feel bad. Besides, what other choice is there?

“No, it’s fine. Thank you, we’ll come down soon for dinner.”

She looks relieved, and I give her a curt nod before following Charlie up the stairs to our room.

I don’t know how I’m going to survive two nights in the same room with Charlie without doing something we’ll both regret.