Hotel Café
Chapter 1.

I was lost in life. That's the only way I knew how to put it. I had finally decided, once and for all that I, Baya Henely was going to leave this worthless down, the one that held no opportunities and no hope for my future, that I was going to pack up and move on to bigger and better things. I had been burned, cheated on, taken advantage of and I was tired of it. I was better than that, then this, and deserved more in life. I knew that no one else could save me and that it was up to nobody else but myself. I was sick of the excuses, the procrastination and everything that prevented me from leaving. It was when I woke up, sad, alone and on the brink of depression, that I decided I was going to leave.

And that's what leads me to the hear and now.

I switched the track on my CD player, glancing over my shoulder to change lanes and continued on this tortuous journey. I used to find road trips kind of soothing. A place where I could turn the radio up and sing as loud as I wanted to and just be alone with my thoughts but that ended about five hours ago and now I'm just bored out of my little mind.

I've went through most of my favorite Cd's. I've switched to the random tracks I have on my ipod but nothing seems to surpass the time. I've sorted out my thoughts, tried to make a plan for what was to come and now I'm just itching to get out of this car and do anything but sit. I know I could possibly stop somewhere but I'm not in the mood to pass the time by chatting with creepy truck drivers, not to mention I'm terrified of road side rests. Instead, I take the time to crack my neck, rolling my shoulders to sooth my aching muscles, all while keeping my eyes on the road.

I think about all of the things I'm leaving behind, mostly being my friends and family but I know I don't have to lose them just because I'm moving away. They all encouraged me to go, to chase whatever dreams I had but right now, I don't even know what exactly those dreams are. I guess it would be silly of me to say that a part of me could maybe see myself as an actress some day but then again, I don't feel like I have the personality to be full of all the glitz and glam. I'm just a typical girl, twenty six years old from the worlds smallest town in Pennsylvania, wanting and needing to live in a land where the world is at my feet, where I can wake up every day with new dreams, new goals and feel anything besides living in a dead end road. I want the world at my feet.

And to me, California was my answer to that solution.

I get a little excited when I think of the access to the beaches I'll have, to waking up to weather that I could just dissolve in. The beauty of not having to shovel my snow just to get out of my drive way. Ahh, yes the simple things in life.

I glance at my GPS as it reads my next exit coming up and groan when I see how many more miles I have to go. This trip is going to take my another four days, easily. Focus, Baya, focus.

I tap my finger tips to the steering wheel, hoping to surpass my attention span, even if it's just for a little while. I find myself finally getting into a song, finding myself signing along and for that moment, I'll just let myself get lost in the song. Anything, and I mean anything to surpass the time. This is getting to be too much. It's times like these where a passenger would come in handy to save my sanity right about now. I could always pick up a hitch hiker. I shake my head, laughing at how ridiculous that thought is. I must really be getting delirious.

Okay, it's official. When it gets dark, I'm stopping at a hotel. A little sleep will do me some good right? Right.

Another three hours to go. Sanity, officially lost.

***

I had lost count of the time but I know it felt like I had driven to Egypt and back.I had given up on switching Cd's and was now enjoying flipping back and forth between radio stations until I found a song to hold my temporary interest. All I knew is that it was getting dark and my eyes were shutting with each second that passed. I looked at my GPS, checking to see what the hell state or town I was in when I learned I had finally made it to Tennessee. For some reason, that interested me. Wasn't Nashville and all of that where country music and blues was popular? I loved music of all kinds and more than anything, I lived for seeing new places.

It seemed the perfect place to find a hotel. I kept driving, being a little choosy on my surroundings and not wanting to end up in the ghetto of some town. When I finally did make my way off the highway, I took in the surroundings as I seemed to get closer to the downtown region of wherever I was. I chose the first one I saw, lit up with neon letters and big guitar attached to it. I should have known music was going to be the theme of this. Who knows, maybe it'd end up being more that I predict. Hell, at this point, all I want to do is relax for a bit and eventually fall onto a bed and sleep.

I could already feel it in my bones. These next few days and I'm sure more to come were going to be a whirlwind.

**

I grabbed my bare essentials, over night back with clothes and the basics and was impressed with how fast it was to get a room. Hotel room key in hand, I walked towards the elevators, taking in the surroundings of the hotel. Country and blues were definitely the theme here. And if for just a second I might forget, all I had to do was turn around and there was some type of picture or statue to remind me.

When I finally reached my room, a quick shower seemed to be due and as I layed their in my large king size bed, flipping through the TV, I realized I wasn't as tired as I had once thought. Apparently my shower had temporarily revived me of stresses and all I wanted to do was get up and do something.

My laptop came to mind, until I had realized I had left it in my car. Grabbing my hotel key, I quickly left my room, en route to find it. As the elevator descended down, I heard what could only be described as a band playing. It sounded like a cross between some type of blues and jazz but I had no idea where it was coming from. My ears seemed to follow the sound just around the corner from the lobby where I was met with what little to be some type of Café. I had come to get my laptop but suddenly I couldn't pull myself away.

I stood there, by the door, not committing myself to go in just yet as I leaned against the side, arms crossed, slowly taking in the music. Among the small stage set up at the end of the room, I took in the band playing but more importantly the lead singer. He sat perched on the bench, one foot up, the other lying on the wooden floor. His guitar lay in his lap, drink beside his foot where he'd take turns nursing the beer bottle between choruses. His thin frame was dressed in what appeared to be vintage washed jeans, and a gray and red plaid button down, open and exposing the t-shirt beneth.

I wasn't staring.

He continued strumming his guitar, right before he began to belt out the bridge of the song and I swear my heart just did a flip flop. Whatever he was singing hit me like a ton of bricks as he went on and on about the paths we take in life and all of the roads we have to cross to get there. The words seemed to fit perfectly in sync with my life right now and it was almost too much to take. I've been known for randomly crying at lyrics that touch me. Don't ask, I'm a girl.

I swallowed thickly, my mouth suddenly void of any moisture but it was all I could do to hand my mouth open in awe at the sound of this mans voice. I couldn't stop taking in little things like the way he'd lick his lips every so often or how his curly hair looked like a light golden brown color with the lights hanging above him.

I looked around nervously as I felt my eyes well up and dammit, this was getting to be too much. Only I would be on the verge of tears from a song I heard in some random town in Tennessee by band I'd never heard of. I took a deep breath, gathering myself together when I took my attention back to the stage only to find myself sort of breath.

He was looking right at me.

Not just looking. His eyes held mine with a slight smile as he continued to sing and strum his guitar and lick his lips like he seemed to have a habit of. My heart thudded loudly in my ears and my brain told me that this feeling was too much, too intense but for some reason, my brain wouldn't make the connection to my feet and I couldn't move.

What exactly was I getting from my car?