Trucker (The Good Guys #1)

by Jamie Schlosser

“Take this off,” she demanded, clawing at my shirt.

  After whipping it over my head, she pushed on my chest until I was lying on my back. Her hands trailed down my chest and stopped at the waistband of my shorts.

  I reached out to grab her hand. “Angel, if you touch me, I’m going to explode.”

  “That’s kind of the point,” she quipped with a smirk before eagerly tugging my shorts and boxers off.

  She stared at my dick with an expression of awe on her face. She was still completely naked, and seeing her hover over me caused another bead of pre-cum to gather at the tip.

  Slowly reaching out, she spread the wetness around the head of my cock with her index finger. Then she leaned down to lick it once while wrapping her delicate hand around the base.

  “Fuck,” I rasped. Now it was my turn to fist the sheets.

  Her warm, wet mouth engulfed the tip, testing and tasting. She let out a quiet moan in the back of her throat, so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.

  It was a sound of satisfaction. She liked the way I tasted. That alone was enough to make me clench my jaw in effort to hold off coming all over her beautiful face.

  Angel looked up at me with innocent eyes.

  “Tell me what you like,” she whispered.

  The heat of her breath licked over my sensitive skin and my dick twitched in her hand.

  The realization hit me that she’d probably never done this before.

  “Wrap your hand around it. Yeah, just like that,” I encouraged. “Suck it into your mouth as far as you can and use your hand, too. Shit, that’s good.”

  Her golden waves fell around her face like a curtain and I lifted some of it out of out of the way so I could watch my cock disappear into her mouth.

  She did everything I said perfectly.

  Too perfectly.

  Angel bobbed up and down a few times when I felt my balls draw up tight to my body.

  I wasn’t kidding when I told her I was close.

  “Fuck, baby… I’m gonna come,” I grunted, and tapped her shoulder in warning so she could take me out of her mouth.

  But she didn’t. If anything, she sucked me harder, took me in deeper.

  My entire body tensed up as the orgasm slammed through me. Letting out a hoarse shout, I emptied into the back of her throat as she swallowed every drop.

  Angel sat back on her heels, shyly wiping at her grinning mouth, then crawled up my body so I could wrap my arms around her.

  “Well, I hope you’re proud of yourself,” I said, still breathing hard. “That was… perfect.”

  I loved the feel of her naked body against mine. Skin on skin. I brought my lips to hers for a kiss, then affectionately brushed my nose over hers.

  Angel smirked and threw my words back at me. “Life-changing?”

  “Definitely,” I told her without a doubt.

  I wasn’t sure if she had any idea how true those words were. Because that’s what she was for me.

  Life-changing.

  *

  After breakfast, we watched some morning talk shows before I decided to take a shower, and Angel went into the bedroom to read a book she’d borrowed from Beverly last week.

  Being with Angel was easy like that. Comfortable.

  We’d quickly developed a relationship where being around each other didn’t mean constant conversation, and we didn’t feel the need to spend every second together. My mom always told me the best relationships included companionable silences. I never knew what she meant until now.

  I guess that’s what happened when you basically moved in with someone right off the bat.

  Was it normal? No. But that didn’t make it any less awesome.

  I was walking through the living room, running a towel over my wet hair, when my phone started ringing on the coffee table. Seeing it was Colton, I picked up right away.

  “What’s up, man?”

  As he quickly explained what he learned from Tara the night before, my hand gripped the phone tightly. Every word he said caused the anger to build and I had to restrain myself from saying something shitty to him. None of this was his fault—he was just the messenger.

  When we ended the call, my hands shook from the rage I was feeling.

  I set the phone back down to keep myself from hurling it into the wall. I was a pretty laid-back guy and it took a lot to make me angry. Kendra had officially crossed the line.

  After taking a deep breath, I went to the bedroom to find Angel. She was lying on the bed on her stomach, propping the book up in front of her so I could clearly see the cover. It was one of those smut books with an oiled-up man torso on the front.

  I’d been so pissed off a second ago, but I couldn’t help smiling as I watched her. Her eyebrows were drawn together and she was biting her nails—something she never did. The story must’ve been at one of the really good parts.

  I almost didn’t want to interrupt her. Didn’t want to ruin the peace she might finally be feeling. But she had a right to know and maybe it would make her feel better to find out the truth.

  I cleared my throat to get her attention and she looked up at me. “Hey,” I said.

  “Hi,” she said back as she dog-eared the page she was on. “What’s wrong?”

  I went to sit on the bed with her, resting my back against the headboard, and she sat up next to me.

  “I just got off the phone with Colton. He found out some stuff from Tara about what went down yesterday,” I said, and she waited for me to continue with an impatient expression on her face. “Kendra lied about everything. All of it. There was no missing person’s report. She made that poster herself.”

  “She made the whole thing up?” Angel wanted confirmation, and I nodded my head. “But it had my senior picture… And it sounded so real.”

  “I know. Apparently, Kendra’s a lot smarter than I thought. She must’ve done some serious Googling on you. That poster she made—it was never even on Facebook. It never went viral. You didn’t actually see it on her profile page, did you?”

  Angel shook her head. “She just pulled up a picture of it on her phone.”

  “I’m really fucking pissed at her for this. That’s some devious shit right there. But I’m also a little relieved now that I think about it. That means you can relax. There’s no missing person’s poster out there.”

  “I’m so stupid.” She started thumping herself on the forehead with the book. “I can’t believe I believed her!”

  “Hey, you’re not stupid.” I took the book away from her and set it on the nightstand. “This is all on Kendra. I never would’ve expected her to do something like this either.”

  “Well,” Angel sighed. “I’ll still call my case worker, just in case anyone really is looking for me. But I guess I feel better now knowing the poster was fake.”

  “I’m so sorry this happened, baby.” I picked up her hand and absentmindedly fiddled with her fingers.

  Her face screwed up. “It’s not your fault Kendra’s a psycho.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “But I feel like I should’ve seen this coming. I knew she was giving you a hard time and I should’ve done something about it sooner.”

  Angel moved onto my lap, sitting sideways, and looped her arms around my neck. “Let’s just both agree to stop blaming ourselves. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I smiled. Like there was any chance I could say no to her.

  *

  After suiting up in my coveralls, I told Angel I was heading into the shop for a couple hours and that I’d be back around three. Before I left, she kissed me, looked me in the eye, and told me she would be here.

  It was like she could read my mind. Maybe she could tell I felt reluctant to leave her, afraid that when I came home she’d be gone.

  I walked quickly down the block, eager to get my work done at the shop, but as soon as I got there Hank sent me home. He’d heard about what happened yesterday from Colton.

  “You go be with your girl. Sounds like she needs you right now,” he sa
id as he affectionately squeezed my shoulder.

  I did leave the shop, but I didn’t go straight home. There was something I had to take care of first.

  I saw Kendra’s car parked behind Buck’s so I knew she was there.

  I’d known Kendra wasn’t the nicest person, but I didn’t think she was cruel. One thing was for sure—I’d underestimated her intelligence and overestimated her decency as a person.

  Some people made the mistake of thinking that just because I was a nice guy, I was a pushover. They mistook kindness for weakness. I wasn’t a fucking pushover and Kendra was about to find that out right now.

  Buck’s was the same as always. Long bar off to the right and some tables to the left. The place was pretty empty—just one older man sitting at the bar and a young couple at a table by the front window—and I was glad. I didn’t want a lot of people hearing what I was about to say.

  Kendra was wiping down a table in the back and she looked surprised when I approached her. Surprise gave way to a satisfaction. She obviously didn’t know my purpose for coming here. She thought she’d won.

  Her smile faded as I got closer, and she saw the cold look in my eyes.

  “Are you proud of yourself?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets. I would never physically harm a woman, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have the urge to throttle her.

  I held eye contact with her, my hard stare unwavering. She nervously glanced away before deciding to play clueless. “What are you talking about?”

  “Are you proud of yourself,” I repeated, annunciating the words. “You took a girl who didn’t have anything, didn’t have anyone,” I slashed my hand through the air then pointed it at her. “And you ran her out of town.”

  Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out. I didn’t need her to talk. There wasn’t anything I wanted to hear her say.

  “You need to listen to me.” I leaned forward and flattened my hand on the table between us. “There will never be anything with you and me. Even if I’d never met Angel, that wouldn’t change.”

  “She’s leaving.” She glared at me. “But I’ll still be here, Travis.”

  “I love her.” The confession left my mouth without warning and warmth spread through my chest. It was bittersweet because, although it felt good to say the words, the wrong person got to hear it.

  “That’s ridiculous,” she scoffed and laughed humorlessly. “You’ve known her for, like, two weeks.”

  “And what does that tell you, Kendra? I’ve known you for how many years? Yet, I feel nothing for you. I’ve been with Angel for two weeks and I’m in love with her. I love her,” I said vehemently before continuing. “And how much does it suck that you’re the first person to know? The first time I’ve ever been in love and you’re the first person I tell… It. Fucking. Sucks.”

  Kendra’s face was stricken and tears glistened in her eyes. I couldn’t even feel bad about it. Not after what she did to Angel.

  “Are you going to ruin this for her, too?” I demanded. “Are you going to run and tell her?”

  “No,” she whispered, her voice wobbly.

  “Good. Stay the fuck away.”

  She called after me as I was leaving. “I’ll be waiting for you after she breaks your heart.”

  I thought about letting her have the last word—it was the only thing she would ever get from me.

  But fuck that.

  I turned on my heel and went back over to where she was standing until our faces were inches apart. “No. Not now. Not ever. Not under any circumstances. This is a small town, Kendra. Psycho doesn’t look very good on you. Got it?”

  I didn’t wait for her to respond before walking away. Short and sweet. Well, not really sweet, but clear as day.

  After leaving Buck’s I made a quick trip to the next town over. I had to get Angel’s birthday present and I had the perfect gift in mind.

  ANGEL

  I wasn’t used to waking up alone anymore, so I was briefly disappointed when I felt the cold, empty sheets next to me.

  Burying my face in Travis’s T-shirt, I breathed in his scent. I’d started wearing his clothes at night. My particular favorite was an old high school baseball tee. The light blue fabric was worn and super soft from years of use.

  Without bothering to put on pants (because the shirt was basically a nightgown), I sleepily puttered out to the kitchen, following the smell of bacon and a hint of cinnamon.

  Mmm bacon.

  Travis was standing at the stove, wielding a spatula in one hand and a fork in the other. He was shirtless and his track pants rode dangerously low on his hips, showing off the low back dimples I liked so much. My mouth watered and I wasn’t sure if it was from the smell of breakfast or the view.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as I rubbed my eyes and attempted to smooth out my bedhead.

  He turned around and shot me a grin, complete with the other set of dimples I couldn’t get enough of.

  “Happy birthday, baby.” He came over to place a kiss on my lips. “I was planning to bring you breakfast in bed.”

  “This works just fine.” I smiled as I plucked a perfectly cooked piece of bacon off the plate on the counter. “Mmm. You made it extra crispy, too.”

  “Just how you like it. The waffles are almost done.”

  I sat at the table while Travis served up the best waffles I’d ever had. While it was clearly a waffle, it tasted like a cinnamon roll. Instead of syrup, icing was drizzled on top, collecting in the square pattern made by the waffle iron.

  “How did you do this? This is amazing,” I mumbled around a huge bite.

  “It’s actually really easy. It’s premade cinnamon rolls that come in a can. I just flatten them out and put them in the waffle iron.”

  “Where did you learn that?” I said between bites.

  I shoveled another fork-full into my mouth. Unbelievable. Travis had successfully made a hybrid of my two favorite breakfast foods.

  “Pinterest.”

  A surprised laugh burst from my mouth, along with several particles of food. I grimaced and felt my face heat from embarrassment as I covered my mouth with a hand.

  Travis just laughed and handed me a napkin.

  “Well, you nailed it,” I said after making sure I didn’t have any food in my mouth. “It’s just… The sexy trucker browsing Pinterest is kind of hilarious to me.”

  “Sexy truckers like Pinterest, too. But don’t tell anyone. It’s kind of a secret,” he teased.

  I just made an incoherent sound of agreement and kept eating. After I finished every bite, I had to resist the urge to lick the plate.

  Just as I took my dishes over to the sink, Travis walked by. “You’d better go get ready,” he said by my ear before lightly swatting my butt. “Got big plans today.”

  “What big plans?”

  “Well, first we have to drop the trailer off in Bloomington for the Colorado trip. Then I thought we could go to the zoo, since we’ll already be close to there.”

  “I love the zoo.” My heart melted a little.

  “I know.” He grinned. “So, do you want your present now or later?”

  “There’s more? Um, now of course.” I gave him my best ‘you should know the answer to that’ tone.

  Travis grabbed a small gray plastic bag off the counter and handed it to me. I reached inside and picked up a sleek black cell phone. Complete with a touch screen, it was fancy. Probably not top of the line, but way better than the one I used to have.

  “You got me a phone?” I asked with disbelief. It was an expensive gift. Honestly, I expected a key chain or something.

  I swiped my finger across the screen to unlock it and burst into a fit of laughter. The background picture was of Travis, cocky grin and dimples in place while he gave a ‘thumbs-up’ sign.

  He shrugged. “Figured you’d need it. Plus, I like the idea of being able to get ahold of you. You know, for when you’re running off to train stations and stuff,” he joked.

 
I raised an eyebrow and gave him a pointed look.

  “Too soon?” he asked cheekily.

  I poked his chest playfully before rising up to give him a kiss. “Thank you for the gift. Really, it’s way more than you should have spent.”

  “It’s practical. I’m a practical guy.” He smiled then his face got serious and his hand came up to toy with a wild strand of my hair. “But mostly, I want to be able to talk to you when you’re in California, so it would mean a lot to me if you keep it.”

  We rarely mentioned my upcoming departure. It was as if we’d come to some unspoken agreement not to talk about it.

  Glancing up to his face, I held his stare for a few seconds—not because I needed to think it over—but because I wanted to soak up the way he looked right now. Every now and then, I saw a side to Travis that he tried to hide. It wasn’t insecurity—he was one of the most self-assured people I’d ever met.

  It was vulnerability. And every time I got a glimpse of it, I felt like I was seeing into his heart, into the deepest part of him.

  “I’ll keep it,” I promised.

  TRAVIS

  I hadn’t been to this zoo—or any zoo, for that matter—in over ten years. When I’d come here as a kid it seemed so big. Huge. Epic.

  But now that I was seeing it from adult eyes, it seemed so small and I suddenly felt silly for bringing Angel here. That is, until I saw her face.

  Her face held an expression of awe as she walked towards the wallaby exhibit. My eyes followed the innocent, yet seductive sway of her hips as her dress swished around her thighs.

  “Look!” She pointed to the gate. “It says we can go inside.”

  I swung our laced hands between us as we walked and Angel chattered on about how cute the wallabies were—most of which were hiding behind the logs and bushes.

  She got out her phone to snap some pictures and after she was done, I took it from her hands to turn it around on us. I wanted a selfie with my girl.

  When we came to the otters, Angel did some sort of spastic happy dance, which was really fucking cute, then practically fell over the wall of the habitat trying to get a closer look.

  Because her dress—the white dress that drove me crazy—was already short, it rode up way too high for my liking while we were in public. I came up behind her to make sure no one got a peek at what was mine.