"So that's it then?": Another One Bites the Dust in Coeur d'Alene (pics below!)

I came to from a dreamless sleep at 9:30 AM, slowly waking up to realize that I had dodged yet another bullet. I set out on this trip partly in hopes of proving that people are ultimately trustworthy and honest, and I've done it dozens of times over by putting myself into some vulnerable situations and seeing if I make my way out of them. I have so far. Yet every morning I wake up in a stranger's house, I wonder how much longer it will be until I prove myself wrong.

Steve had not done anything out of line that night, still, I was less than excited about having to sleep in his bed. Besides being a little too close for comfort, it was the first time I'd been anywhere close to a man's bed besides my boyfriend's since last November and I felt a little guilty even sleeping in the same room. I mean, it wasn't cheating, but it didn't make me want to get up and dance, either.

I showered and went down to the shop where Steve worked. It was dead. Steve was acting pretty distant and I chalked it up to not wanting to make me any more uncomfortable than I already was at having to sleep on his bed. I respected him for that, and even more for taking me in in the first place, despite the awkward sleeping arrangements. We shot the breeze and he told me about a town in Washington to check out. "It's called Leavenworth. It's completely Bavarian. It's like a law or something, everything has to be Bavarian style, even the McDonald's."
"Cool, thanks, I'll check it out!"

After awhile I asked, "So what time do you get off again?"
"Two."
"Cool, and we're going on the motorcycle after that?"
He winced, looking off to the side, avoiding eye contact.
"Well... I can't hang out later."
"Why?"
"Well, this girl got mad at me for having you over."
"'This girl'? Your girlfriend?"
"Well, she's not my girlfriend. But she's the girl that gets mad if I have other girls over. Which is stupid, because she's a stripper and she gets paid to rub her naked body on strange men, but yeah, she got pretty mad when I told her I let you stay."
"Okay, so she's your booty call. Did you tell her nothing happened?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah! I told her you were wearing sweatpants and it wasn't sexy at all."
"Thanks," I said sarcastically. "I thought I was the only one that noticed."
He blushed. "Well, you know what I mean."
"Yeah, I get it. So.... so that's it, then?"
He tried to smile and failed. "Yeah. Yeah, that's it."
Another one bites the dust. Another person I thought wouldn't blow smoke up my ass did just that. I was all alone again.
"Well.," I said, with all the sincerity of a pink slip. "Thank you for your hospitality. I certainly appreciate it."
With that, I collected my things, wrote my email on a slip of paper, slid it across the counter, and said goodbye.

I didn't mean for it to come out mean, it just did. The "No Jessica Allowed" signs were back up. Goddammit. Thirty-one days on the road at that point and I felt more alone than I had after 132 the year before. "What am I doing wrong?" I wondered.

I climbed back in the driver's seat and bid Coeur d'Alene a final adieu by screaming "fuck" out the window as I hit the city limits.