by DOMINO
I studied him and wondered how he managed to retain good manners living on the streets. “All right, but maybe if you didn't want the extra jumbo triple meat burger, it wouldn't cost so much" I poked him in the arm.
"Mmmm hmmm" He grumbled.
We took our food to go so we could eat it on the bus, but decided to look around the rest stop at all of the small kiosks and stores.
"I have an idea" I grinned when he picked up a pair of shades and put them on.
"Yeah, what is it?" He poked out his lips and tried to put on a sexy smile. "How do I look?"
"Like a moron" I grinned. I pulled him to the side after he put the shades down. "Let's make a bet"
He revealed his devious grin once again. "Bet? Like what?"
"Let's see who can steal the most expensive thing in here, let’s see who wins?" I felt giddy thinking about it.
I knew stealing and robbing was wrong, but it gave me such a rush, and I figured the more I did it, the better I got doing it. I considered it training, long as I didn't get caught.
"Sounds good, but what do I win if I beat you?" He cocked his head to the side and looked at me.
I knew that look; most men did it before they asked for sex. "Not that"
"Not what?" He looked confused.
"Anything but sex—" I began.
"Whoa, wait a minute. You act as if I'm begging to sleep with you or something, Maxx. You act like I've been trying to screw you for weeks or something"
"You know what I mean" I interrupted to shut him up.
"No, what makes you think that I consider you a prize, huh?" He crossed his arms. "That's mighty uppity of you. What makes you think that I even considered—"
"Alright, alright, fine" I quipped so he would be quiet.
"I mean you're pretty sexy, but I don't know about you being something I would want as my prize or anything—" He stopped and put his hand on my shoulder and then pointed at me with wide eyes. "Wait, you wanna sleep with me, don't you?"
"What?" I almost yelled. "Get serious Rio"
"That's why you keep bringing it up. That story about the mother and sister wet your panties, didn't it? I think it's your mind that's in the gutter miss prissy, not mine. Did you stare at me while I was sleep or something, ponder things over?"
"No" I replied through clenched teeth and prayed he didn't know that I really did look at him while he was sleeping. "Fine, you made your point—" I crossed my arms at his smug expression. "What's the bet then?"
"So that was the bet, huh?" He began laughing.
"Screw you Rio" I said walking away.
"No, you just said that wasn't the bet" He continued laughing until he caught up with me. "Alright, okay, we got about twenty minutes. Clocks ticking, and don't think about following me to pick up any pointers. We can decide on the bet after we determine the winner"
I turned my nose up in air. "No, first the bet is that you be my slave for a whole twenty four hours"
"Normally, I would say no problem, but you have a look in your eyes like you have hell in store for me. But just remember, you made the bet, and I hope you're ready"
"Get ready to bark like a dog on the bus, loudly" I said as I walked off.
"Get ready to purr like a starving kitty" He added and sauntered off in the opposite direction.
"Whatever" I sighed.
I walked up to a kiosk that had watches and jewelry. I'm gonna make you crawl on all fours. I smiled and looked overhead to see where the video cameras were. Bark and crawl on all fours.
THIRTEEN
I got on the bus and found him already seated, we lost a few passengers, and I was happy to see the man with the bad smell was gone.
"Well, well, well" I stepped over him to sit down and gave my jacket pockets a pat. "Let's see what you got?"
"You're not serious are you?" He whispered and then looked down the aisle. "We have to wait until we get out of here at least. Rule number one; never reveal what you steal, where you steal—"
He made a good point. I nodded in agreement before we decided to eat our food and wait for the other passengers to get on.
"I'm full" He sighed as he sipped on his tea.
"Me too, I'm gonna sleep like a baby for the next two hours" I was warm and content.
"Well, you ready?" he asked and rubbed his hands together anxiously.
"Ready?" I asked, chewing on a piece of ice.
"Yeah, ready to purr like a cat in heat?" He asked smugly.
I rolled my eyes before I let out a slight chuckle. "Yup"
"Good, ladies first" He smiled, showing off his perfect smile.
I pulled out a few fake chains, a t-shirt, and a new pair of black mittens. "Ha, look at that" I said proudly.
"That's good, real good, but look at this" He pulled out a black digital watch. I realized he made sure it was a woman’s watch before he handed it to me. "You need one, right?"
I looked at it and frowned, but was also surprised he noticed that I didn't have one.
"Thanks" I said after he handed it to me. "It's really nice, but not really good enough" I pulled out four pairs of shades, including the pair he tried on. "Merry Christmas" I smiled as I put them on his face.
"Sweet" He grinned and struck a pose once again.
"Looks like I win" I smiled and put on a pair of red heart shaped shades. "Ready to bark like a dog?"
"But I got you a watch" He pushed his long hair back with the shades when he rested them on his head.
"But my stuff cost more, and as nice as that watch is, it didn't cost more than all of those shades—" I replied and showed him all my teeth. “Cheap or not, they still cost more”
"Oh really" He sat back and looked at me.
"Yeah, but thanks for the early Christmas gift" I teased.
"Well, if we're going by how much things cost—" He reached under the seat and pulled out a black down coat, just like his, and put it on my lap. "I'm the winner, Merry Christmas"
I stared down at the coat in disbelief. "How the hell did you manage this? I saw these hanging up, but didn't even consider it" I was full of disbelief as I checked to see if he got a size medium.
"I'm just that damn good" He grinned and held his finger near my face. “Never, I repeat, never, doubt my abilities as a professional thief"
I shook my head and looked at him. "Thank you—" I gasped.
"Now you got a decent coat, you needed that" He said softly. "You also need to know the time, even if you don't have a job to go to"
I agreed; nobody ever got me something for nothing before. "Thank you Rio—" I heard myself saying again, knowing the coat would make a difference in the cold winds of Illinois.
"No problem, but there is something else—" He furrowed his brows.
"I was strapping on the watch and trying to set the time before I glanced up at him. “What’s the problem?"
"You answered me incorrectly” He displayed a look of confusion.
"Huh?"
"You're supposed to say—meow" His green eyes turned devilish once again. "Come on, I wanna hear it before that burger makes you snore"
I threw my head back and looked up at the bus ceiling. "Meow" I said softly.
"Nope, not uh, you need to make me believe it" He ordered, trying to hold in his laughter.
"Mmmeeeooowww" I said before I giggled and punched him in the arm.
"Once more, and this time, louder, and I mean it, louder" He pointed his finger at me and tried to look serious.
"Meeeooowww"
"Again"
"Meeeoooowww"
"Again, purr this time" He persisted.
"Puuuurrrrr" I rolled my tongue and turned red in the face.
"Meow again, louder" He urged.
"Meeeooowwww!"
"Hey! We're trying to sleep up here!" Someone shouted, making me slap my hand over my mouth.
He and I both laughed quietly to ourselves before he pulled out a thick fleece blanket from underneath the seat.
"I'm not eve
n gonna rub this one in your face" He winked before he covered us up. "And just so you're aware, that new watch you're wearing, the time stops when you go to sleep. That way you can keep track of my twenty four hours of slavery"
I didn't reply, I only smiled. I closed my eyes and thought about how happy I was that he was with me and I wasn't alone.
FOURTEEN
I woke up with my head on his shoulders; he was sleeping with one leg stretched out in the aisle. I smiled and stared down at my watch and the blanket.
He really is a good guy.
I glanced at a highway sign that read Springdale three and a half miles ahead. We slept the majority of the ride so I nudged him awake.
"We're almost there" I nudged him again.
"Nowhere?" He asked.
"Yeah—" I answered. I rubbed my eyes and tried to fix my hair, suddenly caring about how I looked. "Just up ahead, we should get our things together"
He leaned over and began shoving things into his backpack and I noticed his broad back, wishing I had some chap stick or lip-gloss to put on. I made a mental note to steal some the next chance I got.
"Springdale, you sure?" He asked when the bus pulled off on the exit.
"Well, it's all we paid for, so it has to be. Let's see what trouble we can stay out of while we're here" I muttered and looked out the window.
He smiled and sat back as we waited for the bus to stop at the station. "You ready?" he asked as everyone began getting off.
"Yeah" I glanced back at my old jacket I left in the seat. "Let's go"
I got off the bus and a cold wind immediately hit me in the face. I was grateful he got me the new coat. It made a difference when I felt snowflakes melt on my face. We stood out in front of the bus station, watched people being picked up by friends and family, and found we were the last ones left.
"This is nowhere alright" He said as he pulled down his knit cap. "A cold nowhere"
"Very cold nowhere" I confirmed.
"Let's find a motel and then we can search this place in the morning and see what it has to offer" he suggested.
I nodded quickly, wanting to get out of the cold. We went inside the bus station, and asked the attendant where the nearest motel was, and he told us two miles up the road. He and I looked at each other before we looked outside at the mounting snow.
"I'll call a cab" He said as he shook his head at the falling snow.
"I'll go halfsies" I offered.
"No, I got it, just go have a seat" He replied and asked the attendant if we could call a cab.
I listened to him lie to the attendant, telling him that we were trying to make it home for Christmas, and felt sad that we didn't have a home to go to. I managed a smile when he came and sat down next to me.
"Everything alright?" I asked.
"Yeah, should be here in about fifteen, he also said that there's an all-night diner across the street from the motel, so we can get something to eat there too"
"Great—" I sighed.
The bored bus station attendant told us all about the small town, and we pretended to care, until the taxi pulled up and we told him goodbye.
"Motel hell" Rio joked to the cab driver once we got in.
"He means the Springhill Motel two miles up" I nudged him in the side and got comfortable next to him.
We rode in silence until we got to the motel, and after I looked it over, I grimaced. "Great, another motel hell for real" I scowled.
"Told you so" He replied dryly before we walked into the rental office.
I was pissed he wouldn't let me help pay and he used our bet of slavery to make me shut up and wait as he got us a room.
"I hope the heat works in here" I was jumping up and down while I waited for him to get the key in the door.
"Damn, it's not working" He huffed and tried it once again. "I gotta run back in and get another key" He frowned after he kicked the door with frustration. "Come on"
"No, I'll wait right here, you just gotta run in and get another one right?" I leaned against the door.
"Come on Maxx" He urged and looked around. “It’s dark and that run-down apartment complex over there doesn’t look too safe. This time of year, all the creeps come out, so come on—”
"Just go, I'll be right here—" I pushed him. "Hurry"
He hesitated before he rushed back around the corner to the rental office. I zipped my coat up to my nose and stared across the street, a diner and a few stores were down the street. The gas station was closed and I stared at the run-down apartment complex next to the motel. I could tell this was the bad part of town and I narrowed my eyes at a guy that was walking up the side of the motel towards me. I felt in my pocket for my switchblade and realized I left it in my old jacket on the bus.
Dammit! This doesn’t look good.
I reached down to pick up Rio's backpack and make my way to the rental office, but not look like I was running from him either.
"Hey, you got any money?" I heard his rough voice behind me, but I didn't answer, just picked up my pace. "Hey bitch” I heard him snarl.
I gripped Rio's backpack in my frozen hands and turned around to see how close he was when I heard Rio and exhaled with relief.
"What the hell do you want?" Rio growled, startling him. I rushed to stand behind him. I was grateful that he wasn't scared of anything and was big and tall enough to intimidate someone. "Get the hell out of here!" He yelled, walking toward him with a look of murder in his green eyes.
"He's leaving, he's leaving" I pulled his arm to stop him from following him. The guy ran off into the run down apartments and out of sight.
"You alright?" He looked at me with concern. "Did he touch you?"
"No—" I shook my head, surprised how something could happen so quickly. "I'm fine, let's just get in, and lock the door"
He was furious. "It's amazing, even in the cold and snow, people are still out to get you—" He complained before we walked into to our room.
He checked inside first and then made me go in. He stood in the doorway and frowned at the apartment complex across the alleyway, he was still mad.
"Rio, I think he's gone. He's probably just a wanderer or something, so get in here" I persisted. I stood in the middle of the room with our things still in my hands, ready to sprint if we needed to. "Just close the door, its cold"
He looked at the windows and frowned. "I'll be right back, lock the door"
"Rio!" I shouted. "Where the hell are you going? No!" I yelled before he closed the door behind him. "No!" Don't leave me!
I looked out the window to see him running toward the rental office again. I looked around the room for something to stab someone with, but there was nothing. I stood at the window, waited for sight of him, and sighed again with relief, when he came running back. He held a wooden broom in his hands as he dusted the snow off his cap and locked the doors before he looked at me.
"What?" He asked.
"What the hell are you doing?" I threw our backpacks to the floor furiously. "What the hell were you thinking, leaving me here?"
"I had to get a broom" He answered and leaned it against the wall. "I'll put this chair under the doorknob. The attendant told me this neighborhood has a high crime rate and he would have the cops do a drive by—"
I turned the heat up as high as it would go and was pleased when it began to blow hot air in my face.
"Why the hell do we need a broom?" I asked and analyzed the comforter and pillows on the bed. I was happy they were clean, even if it was in a bad part of town, the room was clean, and there weren't any cigarette burns on the rug.
I watched him stand on the end of the broom with his boots and break off the end of it. He wedged it into the window so it couldn't be open and then turned to smile at me.
"Now, I can sleep peacefully" He blew into his hands and exhaled loudly.
I looked at the window and smiled, he was smart. He pointed towards the back of the room and raised his eyebrow at me.
"Nope, one way in
and one way out" I knew what he was thinking.
"Good" He said as he unzipped his coat. He hung it up in the closet next to mine and followed me into the small kitchen area.
"It's small but it works, two burners are good enough. We can buy some eggs and bacon, save us some money versus eating out?" I said proudly.