“So, why did you decide to come with me?”

They were stretched out on Alex’s bed, the credits to the action movie scrolling up the screen on the TV and empty Chinese take-out cartons scattered on the nearby table. Aspen was on her stomach with pillows propped under her for support. Her long hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and she was dressed in some blue plaid lounge pants and a plain blue tee she’d picked up at Wal-mart.

Next to her, Alex was in his own Wal-mart pajamas which consisted of some black lounge pants and a gray tee. He had shifted to his back and was staring up at the ceiling with his hands tucked behind his head. At her question, he rolled his coffee colored eyes her way. “You mean, why did I bring you here?”

Aspen chuckled and pressed her cheek to the pillow, meeting his gaze. “Okay, sure. Why did you bring me here?”

“To have my way with you of course.” At that, he shifted to his side and sent her a smirk.

“Uh…excuse me?”

He laughed and fell to his back again. “I joke. The look on your face though was great. Your eyes got about this big,” he held his hands up with his fingers making large circles, “I thought they were gonna roll right out of their sockets.”

Aspen laughed low and nudged his arm. “Hardy har, very funny. I was trying to be serious.”

“Right, my bad.” He couldn’t keep the amusement from his eyes, but he did sober up. “Well, like I said in the car, I feel like I could use a break too.”

She watched him. “We don’t even know each other, don’t you think this whole thing is a little weird.”

“Maybe a little bit.” His gaze drifted to the ceiling again.

Aspen studied him, hugging the pillow to her chest and letting her cheek rest against it. “So, I’m sure you know my story, but what’s yours?”

“I don’t know your entire story.”

She met his eyes and pressed her lips together for a moment. “Would you like to?”

“I’m always up for a good story.” And he turned his body toward her again, pulling his own pillow up to rest his head on.

“Meh, alright, I guess I owe you that much considering what you’ve done for me today.”

Alex chuckled at that. “You really don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I’m not gonna force it from you.”

“No, it’s alright,” she shook her head and adjusted her pillow some until she was more comfortable, “I don’t mind telling you. For some reason,” the tip of her tongue wet her bottom lip as she paused. “For some reason, I think you’ll understand completely. It’s nice to be able to relate to someone and not have them judge you or pity you.”

He knew exactly where she was coming from and gave a nod for her to continue. So she did.

“Reid Taylor and I had been dating for nearly three years. You know who he is, right?” He nodded that he did and she drew herself up into a sitting position, pulling the pillow into her lap. “Right, well, he’s the first celebrity that I’ve dated actually. Before that it was normal kind of guys, so to say. No one the press cared about so when Reid came along, of course we were all over everywhere. They followed us and hounded us and spread this rumor or that, figured out our vacation plans or where we were headed for a shoot or something. It was horrible, but I thought that I loved him enough and we meant enough to each other that we could get through it.” She gave a snort and studied the pillow, not able to bring her eyes to look at him.

Alex watched her, just letting the silence settle over them. He wasn’t pressuring her to talk and she wasn’t looking to him for answers; they were just two beings who had come together and were sharing a moment that left them both vulnerable and exposed.

“For nearly three years we did manage,” she was speaking again, directing her words to the pillow in her lap as her fingers fiddled with it. “We handled whatever the press threw our way; rumors about cheating and costars we were having affairs with. We came out strong in the end and that gained the reputation of not letting the press, or gossip, bring us down.”

Their eyes met and a shiver of electricity cut through his chest. “You don’t have to continue.” He knew she wanted to, but he had to at least put it on the table.

Aspen gave a nod that she knew she could end the tale at any time, but she pressed on, “Then one night, not even three weeks ago, he comes to me and tells me we have to talk; he said it was about our future. I,” she managed a small chuckle at her own stupidity, “I thought it was our future together, not our futures apart.”

“And then he dumped you.” It was more a statement then a question.

“Yeah, imagine that.” She sniffed and tucked some hair behind her ear. “I foolishly thought he might be proposing to me, but he told me he didn’t love me anymore and was moving out.” Tears shimmered in her eyes and she had to look away from him before she sobbed. “How…how does someone go from loving someone so strongly, one moment, to having no feelings left, the next? How …how is that even possible?”

Alex pushed up from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom, returning a split second later with a box of tissues. He placed them down on the bed next to Aspen then settled back into his spot. “That’s the burning question and unfortunately I don’t have the answer to it.” He studied her with an expression that showed he related and empathized with her.

“Didn’t think you did.” She wiped her eyes with a tissue then balled it up in her hand. “So, that’s probably the part of the story you don’t know. The press were already having a field day with the breakup and now this…tape,” she said the word like it was poison on her tongue, “has come out and things have gone from worse to just plain hellish. No, past the point of hell. There’s like hell,” and she held a hand out to demonstrate, lowering her hand some with each example, “then about five hundred feet of pure hell crap then there’s my hell.”

He chuckled at that, knowing he really shouldn’t, but not able to help himself. “Everyone hits rock bottom once or twice in their life. Least you’re still young so the bounce back won’t be extremely difficult.”

Aspen snorted. “Are you serious? I’m not going to bounce back from this; I’m completely shattered. He literally ripped my heart from my chest then shoved it through a shredder and dropped it on the ground then danced all over it.”

“Literally?” He leaned closer and pressed his ear against her chest. “Hm, I hear your heartbeat.”

She laughed despite herself and gently shoved his head away. “Shut up, you know what I mean.”

Alex pulled back and sent her a cute smirk. “I’m just being a smartass.” Then he grew serious and reached out to take her hand in his. “And I’m sorry your ex is a douche bag. No one deserves to have things end that way. Though unless he was calling you names and throwing things at you, it can’t have been as bad as mine.”

Her brows lifted at that. “You just had a bad break up too?”

“Something like that.”

Aspen frowned some. “That’s why you wanted to escape. What happened?”

“Shit,” he rubbed the back of his neck and mulled her question over, “what didn’t happen, really? She was a Prima Donna who thought she was better than everyone.” He paused and brought his eyes to hers. “And she cheated on me, quite a few times.”

“Ouch,” she made a sympathetic face, “that sucks, I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, not your fault.” Alex shrugged in a casual manner, but deep down in the ache in his chest, her words had soothed some of the pain.

She studied him a moment. “That girl really did a number on you, huh?”

A shrug. “I suppose so, though a lot of my exes have done that.” He forced a chuckle. “My mom says I don’t know how to pick ‘em.”

“Maybe you don’t.” When he frowned at her, she shook her head to show she didn’t mean it as an insult. “Hey, you just heard my hellish tale, obviously, I don’t know how to pick them either.”

The seemed to make sense to the tattooed man and the room fell silent around them. The movie on the pay-per-view channel completely finished and the screen emitting a blue glow as it waited for the next directions from the remote, which had long been forgotten by either occupant. Outside, traffic could be heard as it passed by on the relatively busy road and the sounds of the night filled the air around the motel.

“I have to admit,” Aspen finally spoke up as she stretched back out on the bed, resting on her side and propping her head up with her hand.

“What’s that?” Alex’s dark eyes flickered her way, long, dark lashes lining the chocolate colored orbs.

She chuckled low. “It’s been a long time since I’ve stayed in a Days Inn; no offense. When I was little and we would go on vacations, it’d always be a Motel 6 or Comfort Inn or something, but since my career took off, those are the days of the past.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Normally, it’s like The Hilton or the Waldorf or some shit.” He winced. “Sorry.”

Aspen watched him with amusement. “You’ve got quite the potty mouth, don’t you?”

“I really do. I really, really do. And I try not to curse around new people or beautiful ladies." He wrinkled his nose. “It can be quite the turn off.”

She laughed low at that. "It really can be. No girl wants to meet some sexy guy who looks good and smells good, but the minute he opens his mouth all these dirty words come spilling out.”

“See.”

“I do.”

He chuckled low then sighed and stretched back out on the bed next to her. “Where do you wanna go tomorrow?”

“Do we have to have a destination? Can’t we just…go?”

“We can.” They made eye contact.

She smiled. “Good, because that’s all I want. I want to be free from LA and all the drama and just breathe. I felt like I was suffocating back there.”

“The town can do that to you. It uses you, abuses you, takes you up and chews you then spits you out bleeding and broken on the sidewalk.”

“Reid Taylor did that to me; not LA. I love LA.”

A small grin tugged at his lips and he reached a hand out to stroke it over her shoulder. “Good, don’t let that change. So many times LA changes people and leaves them struggling with demons and facing things they never thought possible.”

“Like you.”

Alex’s hand stilled at that and he studied her expression, seeing nothing but an understanding and compassion radiating from her beautiful eyes. Eyes that were so clear and crystal blue and crisp it felt like they could see right through him and everything he was desperately trying to hide. “It wasn’t LA that did that to me; it was the entire clusterfuck, pardon my French, that my life was, and still is,” he added the last part as an afterthought.

Aspen reached out and took his hand in hers. “Maybe this little road trip will be good for the both of us. We can just forget about the mess our lives are in and just…be. Two people out enjoying the beauty around them and exploring new places, not two shells of humans whose souls and hearts have been destroyed and we’re desperately trying to stay afloat in the ocean of life.”

“We can do that, but eventually we have to go back to Los Angeles. And everything we’ve been escaping from will still be there to drag us back down.” The idea of having to face it all again made his stomach clench.

She frowned. “Let’s not think about that, let’s take it a day at a time.

“A day at a time,” he spoke slowly as if he was trying to decide if that would be possible.

She nodded and echoed his words, “A day at a time.”

“With no thoughts of what tomorrow may bring.”

“Or what yesterday did to us.”

“A chance to escape and forget.”

“A chance to breathe and live again.”

He smiled softly, his eyes locked on hers. “Let’s do it.”

Aspen could feel a tiny shiver move through her chest. “Yeah?”

“Yes, let’s just get out there and go. See where the road takes us and live for today. That’s all we have, really.”

“You’re right.” Her eyes matched her smile. “Thank you.”

Alex chuckled low. “You’re going to have to quit thanking me. I’m doing this for myself, too.”

“I know.” Her face grew serious. “But I still really appreciate everything you’re doing and what you’ve done.”

He held up a finger and pressed it gently to her lips in a shushing gesture. “Remember, no thoughts about yesterday.”

With her lips pressed firmly together she nodded her head.

“Good.” He pulled his hand away and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “We’ll head out first thing in the morning.”

“Okay.” She smiled again then leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I’m going to call it a night. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.” Then she pulled back and slipped from the bed. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, sleep tight.” Alex watched her glide across the floor and disappear through the connecting doors into her own room. It wasn’t until those doors were closed and he was left lying in the dark with the only glow coming from the television that he realized his heart was beating harder and a little faster.

~*~*~*~*~

The following morning before they checked out of the motel, Aspen sent a text to her agent asking that he get someone to take her car from where it was still parked at The Grove, back to her home. Then she switched her phone off before he could respond and did the same with Alex’s phone. After a quick breakfast in the morning room, they loaded up in the car and were off once more to explore and see what lay ahead.

Highway 41 took the duo into Yosemite National Park. It lay just north east of their hotel and didn’t take long at all before they were coasting along the winding curves and seeing the magnificent views of the rock formations, mountain peaks and overlooks to the valleys below.

It was breathtaking for Aspen, who had never been this far north in California yet, surprisingly. She’d always been so busy with her film projects and promotions and Reid to take time away and just enjoy the beauty that was all around. Even when they’d filmed in another country, Aspen would be too involved with the film and script to do a little sightseeing. And as the car made its way deeper into the park and toward Yosemite Valley, she was kicking herself for not doing this a hell of a lot sooner.

“I can’t believe how gorgeous this is,” she breathed out to Alex as he slowed for a sharp curve that left the car hugging the road and one of the most surreal views she’d ever seen to the left.

He chuckled low. “Have you never been here before?”

“No,” she tore her eyes away from the scenery and over to him, “and I can’t believe it either. This is just…indescribable.”

Alex grinned at that. “This is just the beginning. Wait until we get further into the park and you see El Capitan and Glacier Point.”

“I almost can’t wait,” she sounded as excited as a five year old in a toy store would be. “I wish I had brought my camer-oh wait, my phone!” And she was digging through her bag and pulling the Blackberry out. “It has video too.”

“You sound like my mom.” He laughed at that then quickly corrected himself, “Not that you sound like an older woman, but she gets all excited and has to take pictures of everything.”

Aspen chuckled. “I’m glad you explained what you meant before I had to get all upset for sounding like a grown man’s mother.”

“No,” he laughed again, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

She smiled at that then turned back to the window and the glorious view that was around them. For the next hour, there wasn’t much detailed conversation between the two as they made their way deeper into the park. Aspen snapped pictures with her phone and excitedly pointed out when she saw a few deer or a view that took her breath away. At one point, Alex pulled the car off the road at an overlook and the two got out and just watched the scenery before them. It was more beautiful than anything the blonde had seen before and compared to LA or even Nebraska, it had them both beat tenfold. Finally, they reached the first destination Alex wanted her to see; Glacier Point. He parked next to a few other vehicles then they slipped from the Porsche and made their way to the look out to see the valley below and nature at its finest in all its glory.

Aspen was speechless as she stared out at the view of the valley and the rock formations surrounding it. Off across the way, she could see waterfalls cascading down the rocks and disappearing out of sight and she held her phone to her chest, just feeling the power of the beauty around her settling in her body. There really were no words to describe what she was seeing before her very eyes, but it was more powerful and beautiful and perfect than anything in her life and she could feel the tension and stress just melting from her shoulders and flowing out of her body in tune with the water that was flowing over the cliffs. It was a moment she never wanted to forget and she turned to Alex, opening her mouth to speak her thoughts, but trailed off at the expression on his face.

He had been staring out at the view with his own look of awe and astonishment. The clean air around them, the powerful sights before them and the woman at his side who seemed to understand his struggles without having to say a word were making his own worries and low self worth slowly start to dissolve. For the first time, in a very long time, there was a sense of peace settling in his chest and Alex realized very quickly that he didn’t want to lose it. Shifting his gaze over to Aspen, he found her eyes on him and he wet his bottom lip. “What?”

“You,” she drew a shoulder up in a susceptible manner, “just looked really serene and relaxed.” And beautiful, she had wanted to add. But men didn’t usually like to be called beautiful, though that was exactly how he had looked. Like he had found a little piece of the soul he’d lost over the years.

“How can you not feel that way out here? I mean, look at that view.” And he gestured before him. “Places like this touch something deep inside you, you know.”

“I do,” she agreed wholeheartedly.

He glanced to her and grinned. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this. It’d be horrible if you were bored or something.”

“Oh gosh no,” she shook her head, “I’m not bored at all.” She watched him a moment, her fingers fiddling with her phone. “I think it was a great idea to come here, so thank you. It’s perfect and I love it.”

He could hear the conviction in her voice and that warmed him inside. “You’re very welcome.” Then he reached over and quickly snatched her phone away.

“Hey!” Aspens eyes widened at that, but before she could react, he was holding it up and snapping her photo.

“Picture time!” He took a few more before finally handing it back over then laughing when she wrapped her arm around his waist and tugged him next to her so she could take one of the two of them together.

They took a few more and Aspen even finagled Alex in handing his phone over for some photos as well.

“Something to remember it all by,” she said as held his iPhone out in front of them and snapped the picture. “And when we get back home and think we’re going to drown in all the mess, just pull your phone out and look at these pictures. Hopefully it’ll help.”

Alex accepted the cell phone back and studied the picture, a smile slowly spreading over his lips at the sight of the two of them posing together with silly grins on their faces and their heads inclined toward each other. It was a moment he never wanted to forget. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he reached out and took her hand in his. “Now it’s my turn to thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” She squeezed his hand then turned back to the view, allowing herself to be swept up in it again and all of her problems waiting at home slipping from her mind.

And that’s how they stayed for a long while; standing side by side, hands intertwined, watching out over Glacier Point and lost in the moment of life’s not-so-little wonders while their souls took the first step in becoming whole again.