Secrets in A Small Town

14

Friday rolls around fast enough. Cade is starting to get nervous.

Brooke drives them to the airport in Aniston. They had decided not to tell anyone about their rendezvous, thus avoiding having to make up some bullshit excuse as to why they're going to Arizona of all places.

They each carry on a small backpack. Cade doesn't really understand why, never been flying before, the big pain in the ass of checking bags. Besides, it's only for three days, and its not like they need that much.

They board the plane and it's pushing 7. They sit and wait for a while, as you usually have to for everything to get assessed for take off.

Cade starts to shift in his seat. Not enough to draw attention. It's a small jet, only double wide seats, thus avoiding anyone sitting next to them. Cade is grateful for that.

Brooke squeezes his hand. It has been over an hour since he used the bathroom, before going through security.

The flight is all of 90 minutes, but he still doesn't want to use his underwear this soon. So he crosses his legs and sits tight.

Just then the plane starts to trolley. It catches Cade a little off guard. He removes his hand from his crotch, where it had landed sometime in the last few minutes. He clutches the arm rests. The plane shake. Cade looks over to Brooke.

"It's okay. It's s small plane, sometimes they rattle a little." She smiles.

He tries to smile, but it fades. Then the plane starts to accelerate down the runway. Cade clutches the arm rests even tighter, then sporadically moves one hand back to his pants.

"It's okay. It's taking off." She rests her hand on his arm.

"I was a little scared my first time too." She whispers in his ear, then kisses his cheek.

They sit quietly for the next few minutes, until the announcement comes over the intercom:

"We are now at cruising altitude, were lookin' at partly cloudy skies, may be hitting a little wind upon landing. We've got a short flight today, we are scheduled to be arriving in Phoenix on time, at 12:27 am. You may now unbuckle your seatbelts and drinks will be coming around shortly. Relax and enjoy your flight and thank you for choosing Alaskan Airlines."

Cade is so busy looking out the window he had almost forgotten about his situation. He starts shifting, absentmindedly. Finally she pokes him in the arm.

"You need to go to the bathroom?"

Cade looks down at his crotch.

"I did a little."

"All the way?"

Cade shakes his head. He still has to go.

"It's in the front, those double doors there." She points.

Cade looks at her with a c****d eyebrow.

"Come on." She smiles, taking his hand and pulling him into the walkway. They probably look a little strange, taking a 20 something man to the bathroom like a child. Everyone has their faces burried in thier devices by this point, so no one really notices anyway.

She pushes him in and waits. She waits for another few minutes there, until a flight attendant touches her arm.

"Ma'am, were experiencing some turbulence, were going to have to ask you to take your seat."

Brooke starts to argue, but nods and heads back. It's not like she actually needs to babysit Cade.

She sits back down in her seat and the plane starts rocking. She has been on enough airplanes to know it's nothing to be worried about.

She closes her eyes and starts to nod off. She isn't sure how long she is out before she wakes up to Cade shuffling back into the row, flustered.

"You okay?" She asks.

Cade is breathing hard, like he just ran a mile.

He doesn't respond. He is clearly rattled.

"It's just turbulence. It happens with little planes like this. Nothing to worry about."

Cade just nods. It has become somewhat of a habit to check his crotch for buldge. It is pretty easy to see with the grey sweatpants he has on. It doesn't hide as easily as jeans.

It is already pretty puffy. She doesn't say anything. They doze off for the rest of the flight, along with most of the other passengers.

Landing goes smoothly enough. They exit in an orderly fashion and call for an Uber, something they could never even dream about doing in Harlingston.

"We're can I take you?" A man asks from the front of a Kia Soul.

Brooke pulls out her phone, looking at the email from Gina.

"The Lucky Seitès Hotel." She reads out loud.

Cade is asleep before he even shifts the car into drive. He leans his head onto Brooke's shoulder.

The drive isn't far, but long. Brooke had forgotten about city traffic, and it appears they're driving right through the heart of Arizona.

The lights are blinding, even at this time of night.

Once they pull up, Brooke hands the guy a $20 and nudges Cade. He groggily wakes up, rubbing his eyes.

They walk into the hotel. It's brightly lit, like something out of a Vegas movie. The enterance leads you straight into a casino, which is packed, unsurprisingly, for a Friday night.

It's only when Brooke stops to rummage through her bag for the passes Gina had emailed them, she looks up in horror. The back of Cade's pants is completely soaked. He is sleepwalking straight through the packed casino.

"Shit." She says outloud. She jumps up to her feet. She quickly throws off her back pack, digging for the one hoodie she packed. Despite being 2:00 am, it's still 75° outside.

She runs up to Cade quickly throwing it around his waste.

"What are you---" he says, caught off guard.

"Cade, your pants are soaked." She says, like a desperate mother.

Cade looks down and gets a genuine surprised expression on his face.

"Yeah---that---happens." He says swaying side to side. He is deliriously tired.

Brooke takes his hand, walking up to the desk.

"We have a room." She hands the lady the folded piece of paper, along with her ID.

She takes it and smiles.

"You have a suite." She says.

Cade and Brooke swap confused looks.

"Take the elevator to the fourth floor, down the hall, on the left." She hands her two key cards.

"Great, thanks."

They shuffle through the crowd to the elevators.

When they get to the door, Brooke is nearly falling asleep too. She swipes it quickly and pushes it open.

She is suddenly greeted by a burst of light.

"Whoa..." she says outloud, getting a glimpse of the room.

It's astonishing.

A bathtub in the corner, lined with white flower pedals, a big bay window, overlooking the city, and a big king size bed in the middle, placed parallel to the biggest TV she has ever seen.

"Holy..." Cade says, just as awestruck, behind her.

"This is incredible."

They don't stare at the room for too long before walking in. Cade immediately goes into the private bathroom. Brooke throws her stuff down on the night stand.

She walks to the window, looking out at all the lights. Then she sits down on the bed. She is half tempted to go to sleep right then and there, but she is going on 20 hours in the same sweaty clothes, so instead she strips and greets Cade in the bathroom.

He is half way through stripping himself when she walks in. He has to stop himself from staring, so he shakes his head.

She walks over, holding a hand out, taking the wet pants. His underwear are soaked.

"When did you..." She says, really hoping he hadn't walked through the airport like that.

"In the car I think. I had to go when we got off the plane but I just wanted to get here."

"Honey, you should know by now you can't hold it." She runs her hand through his thick hair, pulling at it just a little.

He shrugs his shoulders.

"I guess I was kinda sleeping at the time."

Like she hadn't already figured that much out. She tosses the pants on the floor and turns on the shower.

"I forgot my shampoo." She says, hurrying back out the door.

Cade takes the time to open the toilet and relieve himself. It wasn't much, but it was enough to bother him.

He is just flushing when Brooke walks back in. He isn't sure why he is embarrassed. He just wet himself in public. He has no reason to be embarrassed about using the toilet in front of his girlfriend. Yet, somehow, he is.

She kisses him on the cheek and gets in the shower. He follows behind her.

The water flows down like a waterfall from the faucet, onto the hard rock walls and flooring.

She lets it run through her long, blonde hair. They take their time, despite being absolutely exhausted.

They dont even bother putting on anything aside from underwear. They set the alarm clock for 10:00 am.

They are both asleep within seconds. For the first time in a long time, they sleep all the way through the night. The alarm goes off and the room is as bright as outside.

Cade leans over, shutting it off. Brooke stands up, stretching. She leans back over and kisses him on the forehead, then on the mouth.

She takes off toward the bathroom and comes back in with a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

Cade is still lounging in the bed, propped up against a stack of pillows.

Brooke grabs her bag, walking back into the bathroom. Cade lays his hand over his crotch. It's a little damp, but only enough to wet the area between his legs. It's cold, meaning it probably happened pretty early into thier slumber.

After playing with himself for a second he realizes he has to pee, no, really has to pee. He stands up and waddles to the bathroom. He would normally ask Brooke to leave, but he wastes no time, pulling down his pants. To his surprise, he actually has control when to release the stream.

Usually when he goes, it is already dribbling out by the time he pulls his pants down. He drains himself and then takes a deep breath.

Brooke couldn't helo but notice how much he long he had gone for. The pull ups aren't meant to hold a as much as a full bladder, and there is no way it could have held all of that.

She can't help but think that's the first time she has ever seen him pee that much. She decides not to comment on it.

Cade leaves the bathroom, putting his own clothes on and plopping back onto the bed. He pulls out his phone. Zero calls or texts. It's not really surprising, he doesn't talk to anyone to speak of. So he turns on Candy Crush.

An hour flies by before Brooke finally emerges from the bathroom, in a white sundress with red cherries on it.

Cade looks up casually and then his mouth falls open. Suddenly a million memories flood back to him.

Suddenly he is in highschool again. Sitting alone in the bleachers. It's freshman orientation. It's been a long summer, in three different foster homes.

They are waiting for the last group of kids to show up before starting the meeting. Finally a group walks in. Six beefy guys in football jerseys, surrounding one small blonde girl in a white dress with cherries on it.

They had gone to school together forever, her and Cade. He resents her. She is so perfect. Smart and beautiful. She has money and a family. She is the girl everyone wanted to be.

She walks by him.

"Hey, Caden." She says, waving. Her waterfall curls tied back behind a knotted bandana, flowing behind her.

Cade snaps back into reality.

"That was the first time you talked to me." He says outloud.

"What?" Brooke asks, totally lost.

"That dress..." is all he can spit out.

She smiles like she remembers too.

"Your hair was longer then." He says, looking at the ringlet curls flowing down her back. This time tied back by a red ribbon.

She walks over, perching on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You were wearing black jeans and a Ninja Turtles Tee shirt." She says softly.

"What?"

"First grade. You came right in the middle of class." Her smile fades.

"I thought it was weird you were wearing a T shirt when it was snowing out..."

She looks down. She hasn't thought about that moment in years.

"I didn't have very many clothes." He says, almost in a whisper.

She hugs him, her heart suddenly hurting.

"You know for everything you went though you turned out to be a pretty amazing guy..." She has to wipe a tear off her cheek.

"I vowed to myself a long time ago, if I ever got a friend I would give them everything I never had."

Brooke's heart starts pounding and she has to stop herself from breaking into a crying mess.

"Cade..." She chokes.

"I just never thought I would end up with someone as beautiful as you."

She pulls his head against her body, tears streaming down her face. He wraps his arms around her waist, squeezing her tight. She has to pull away before she does turn into a sobbing mess.

"Are you ready?" She asks, wiping her cheek.

"Been ready all my life." He says.