Personal narrative intro

I lay crying on the dank motel bed. I was in Spokane, Washington with one of my best friends. It seemed like we were millions of miles from home. The boy I had only met a few months ago, who had asked me to drive up to Washington from Salt Lake and had convinced me that we were perfect for each other, had disappeared off the face of the planet. I was mad, embarrassed, and depressed. He had convinced me to do something that was completely unlike me, and I was more upset with myself than I was with anyone else. Robyn tried to console me like a good friend would do. She sat on the bed next to me and let me cry.
With my legs pulled toward my chest, I tried to control my emotions and analyze the situation I had gotten myself into. We had a car, some money for food and gas, and a map of the US. I knew there were people I could call, people who would do anything to help me, but I didn’t want them to know how stupid I had been, how badly I had misjudged the situation. I had never been this spontaneous, and now it had all backfired.
I had to figure this out. Even with Robyn there, I had never felt so alone in my life. I was in a strange place, and an even stranger situation. The smell of cigarette smoke and cheap motel mingled in the air around me, and I knew I would have to make the best of this dreadful situation.

personal narrative -2a-

To understand how this situation had come about, we need to back up about 4 months. My Air Force ROTC detachment was at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington. We were spending a few days touring the base, and learning what it was like to be on active duty. One day while getting food in the chow hall, I was approached by a young airman in his uniform. He asked me if I was from Utah, and after noticing my confused look, he mentioned that he had seen my CTR ring and figured that since I was Mormon, I must be from Utah. I was hesitant to give him any information about myself; until I found out we went to the same high school and graduated a year apart. He introduced himself as Josh, and to make it even stranger, he was friends with my best friend Brandon. After talking for a few minutes, I said goodbye and didn’t think more about him until a week later when Brandon gave him my e-mail address.
Over the next three months Josh and I started calling and texting each other daily. Although I had only really met him once, I felt that I knew him pretty well. After all, I had asked Brandon about him and even went as far as to ask a seminary teacher we both had if this boy was for real. It wasn’t until later that I realized how naïve and stupid I had been.
One day in late April, Robyn and I had gone out to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants. We were both stressed from school and ready to take a break. When the idea of a road trip came up, I was quick to mention that maybe we could go back to Fairchild AFB. Robyn definitely had fun the first time we went there, and we could take a trip over to Mt. St. Helens, and come back through Yellowstone. It was settled. We mapped out our route and anxiously awaited our departure.
Two days before we left, I called Josh to make sure that the motels on base were available. Without missing a beat he told me that they were always available, and they never filled up. That was great news for us, because the motel on base only cost about $25 a night.
After finishing up some last minute grocery shopping and tests, we were off! I could hardly contain my excitement. I was finally doing something completely spontaneous and random. Even if I didn’t end up liking this guy, I was going to have a great time and I really deserved this vacation.