“Lift up your dress.” Travis’s voice came out huskily.
“I think it’s a little too late to bring the mood back,” I quipped, arching an eyebrow.
“I bet you have bites under here.” Flicking at the hem of my dress, he smirked. “I’m just trying to be thorough.”
Standing up to give him better access, I watched him as he kneeled in front of me. My breath caught in my throat as he searched my skin. His fingertips grazed the edge of my white cotton panties, lifting them in certain places, but not removing them from my body.
He was right. I had two bites on my inner thigh, one on my butt, and one on my hip. He seemed to take extra care with those, going as far as applying the lotion twice.
I wasn’t sure which was worse—the itchy welts on my skin or the sexual frustration I was feeling.
Just as Travis was finishing up with the last untreated bumps on my face, Colton walked through the door.
“What the hell happened to you?” he asked, looking me up and down.
“Country cruising happened,” I said, and Colton guffawed obnoxiously. “You guys have some seriously aggressive mosquitos in this town,” I informed him as I resisted the urge to claw at my skin.
Three really is a crowd.
Don’t get me wrong. Colton was my best friend and I loved him like a brother. But the dude was a cock-block.
It was another rainy Sunday, only this time, Colton hung with Angel and me at the apartment. All day.
She didn’t seem to mind his company. In fact, they even spent a good hour making random comments about some ridiculous romantic comedy on TV.
The only good thing about that was having Angel next to me. Every now and then, she would absentmindedly graze her fingers over my stomach and I kept getting a whiff of the scent coming from her hair. Honey and vanilla.
At least Colton wasn’t trying to sit on the couch with us.
“Gerard Butler was way better in 300. That movie was epic,” he told Angel.
“You would say that.” She smirked. “Every guy thinks that movie was epic.”
“The special effects alone made it awesome. Although, it didn’t have Katherine Heigl in it. She’s pretty hot.” Colton grinned, and Angel rolled her eyes at his typical guy observation.
“What’s Tara up to today?” I hinted, hoping he would leave.
“Hell if I know,” he replied with a shrug.
He and Angel resumed their friendly banter while I wallowed in my grumpy mood.
Last night, I’d been ready to take things to the next level with Angel. Maybe not sex, but definitely more than what we’d been doing.
And shit, I was still ready. But it wasn’t going to happen with my roommate hanging around.
Even though Angel’s mosquito bites looked better this morning, I’d insisted on applying the lotion again. I told her it was because I didn’t want her to be itchy, but I might’ve had ulterior motives.
There was something so sexy about seeing her in those little white panties. They were innocent-looking and completely unpretentious. They made me so hard it hurt.
The day passed slowly as we all pitched in cleaning around the apartment. After that was done, we watched some baseball on TV. Angel admitted she didn’t know anything about sports, but she took interest in the game, asking questions about rules and certain players.
Sometime during the afternoon, I got the idea that I might take Angel for another country drive, only this time, we’d stay inside the truck. We had the perfect opportunity to leave because dinner at my mom’s had gotten pushed back a day due to the festival. And since it was raining, we’d have to drive anyway.
Much to my dismay, Colt slid into the passenger side of my Chevy before we could take off and Angel scooted to the middle of the bench seat to make room for him.
On the short ride, he was completely oblivious to my seething as he rubbed his hands together and talked about how much he was looking forward to lasagna night.
Angel gave me a knowing look as she squeezed my thigh with her hand. Just that one touch made my cock twitch.
Colton bolted from the truck as soon as we got into the driveway, finally leaving me alone with Angel.
“Give the guy a break.” She rubbed her hand up and down my leg, which did nothing to help the uncontrollable need I felt. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with me and he probably just misses you.”
I sighed, suddenly feeling bad. “Ah, you’re right. I’m being a dick.”
I’d never been one to think with the wrong head before, but it was definitely the one in control today. Hell, I even tried to push Colton off on Tara. That was a whole new low for me.
Angel giggled. “I never said you were a dick.”
“Mmm, baby. Say dick again.” I nuzzled the side of her neck.
“Dick,” she whispered.
“Fuck.” I laughed as I not-so-discreetly adjusted the front of my pants. “You’re driving me crazy, you know that? Like, I’m losing my shit here.”
The smirk on her face said she knew exactly what she was doing to me.
“You’re not the only one. I’ve never hated mosquitoes more than I do right now.” She huffed.
“Maybe I’ll see if Colt wants to go to the gym with me tonight,” I suggested, thinking a workout would help me blow off some steam.
“I’m sure he would like that.” She placed a loud smooching kiss on my cheek and smiled. “Let’s go eat before we steam up the windows.”
A sense of déjà vu washed over me as I walked into my mom’s house holding Angel’s hand, only this time she didn’t seem so skittish. In fact, she abandoned me as soon as we got inside, heading straight to the kitchen to hang out with my mom.
Colton was sitting down on the couch and I took a seat on the opposite end.
“Hey, you wanna head to the gym tonight?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if he’d been aware of my shitty attitude today, but I wanted to make it up to him.
“Hell, yeah.” He extended his arm out to me and we fist-bumped, then his face turned serious. “So, what was up with Kendra yesterday at the shop? She been giving Angel a hard time?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
“I don’t know.” I frowned at the reminder. “It didn’t look like they were having a very friendly conversation.”
I didn’t know what transpired between them, but I didn’t need to. It was obvious Kendra was trying to intimidate Angel, and that didn’t sit well with me.
“Chick is bat-shit crazy, man,” Colton said. “Even Tara’s starting to feel weird about hanging out with her. I guess all she ever does is talk about you.”
“I’ve sent the message loud and clear,” I said, frustration evident in my tone. “I’ve flat-out told her I don’t want to date her. I don’t know what else I can do to show her I’m not interested.”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I never should’ve asked you to take her out. That’s on me.”
I was about to tell him he was forgiven, but feminine laughter floated out into the living room followed by the dinner announcement. It made me smile and all thoughts of Kendra were forgotten.
After Travis headed over to the shop Monday morning, I went to mow for Beverly and Ernie earlier than usual. I wanted to get done before lunch so I would have some time to hang out with them afterwards.
Mowing the second time around went much better than the first. Beverly’s mower and I seemed to have come to an understanding.
Meaning, I finally understood how to start the dang thing.
Ernie’s yard came next and I was done before noon. As usual, Beverly had a lemonade and a plate full of zingers waiting for me. The woman seemed to have an endless supply of snack cakes.
Ernie said he didn’t have any balloon animals, but he tipped me an extra five dollars to make up for it. I had no complaints about that.
I said my goodbyes sometime after two o’clock so I could go back to the apartment and shower.
That happiness I’d wished for a week ago? I
was starting to feel it. There was an extra hop in my step as I walked the streets of Tolson.
I even found myself singing in the shower. As I scrubbed my body, I belted out ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ by the Beach Boys. I wasn’t going to win any awards, but if Travis could do it I could, too.
I continued to hum the happy tune as I got dressed and threw a load of laundry into the washing machine.
My hair was still wet when I heard a knock at the door.
That was odd. People never stopped by here during the day. If they wanted to talk to Travis or Colton, they just found them at the shop.
A second knock echoed through the apartment and I rubbed a towel over my hair one more time before I opened the door to a smug-faced Kendra.
“Travis and Colton aren’t here,” I informed her, before shutting the door in her face. Her hand slapped the surface before I could close it all the way.
“Well, that’s just fine, because I came here to talk to you,” she said.
“What do you want, Kendra?” I sighed tiredly. I wasn’t in the mood for her antics.
She looked like she always did—impeccably put together in a green halter top paired with a short jean skirt, and her long legs were perfectly balanced on four-inch heels.
“Do you have a Facebook account?” Her random question threw me off a bit.
“Not an active one.” I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously, wondering what she was getting at. “Why? You want to be friends?”
I couldn’t help the snide remark. I was pretty sure there was no chance of a friendship in our future. That ship had already sailed.
Kendra turned her phone towards me so I could see her profile. Was it petty of me for wanting to scoff at her picture? She was doing one of those ridiculous duck faces while her boobs spilled out of her shirt.
How cliché.
I was still confused as to why she was here when she turned her phone back around, pressed the touch screen a few times with her manicured fingertips, then turned it back to me.
Shock caused my stomach to drop and I felt the blood leave my face. A picture of myself was staring back at me. Not just any picture—it was a missing person poster.
My mouth was gaping as I rudely snatched the phone from her hand to get a closer look. It was my senior yearbook photo. The information stated that I was a runaway—or that I had possibly been abducted—and to contact the authorities immediately if anyone had information on my whereabouts.
“Where did you get this?” I whispered harshly as I tried to regulate my breathing. Hyperventilating would be extremely inconvenient right now.
“Looks like you’ve gone viral, honey,” she announced in a congratulatory voice. “Saw it in my newsfeed this morning. Must be that pretty face of yours.”
“You’re not going to say anything, are you?” I practically begged as I clutched her phone against my chest. I hated how desperate I sounded. “Travis could get into trouble. You wouldn’t want that.”
It was a bluff. I wasn’t sure if there would be any consequences for Travis, and I didn’t like appealing to her feelings for him, but it was the only card I had to play.
“Oh, gosh.” Kendra feigned concern. “You’re right. He could get into big trouble. He might even lose his license. I think it’s sort of illegal to pick up a hitchhiker, especially with you being a minor and all.”
“And that’s why you shouldn’t tell anyone,” I confirmed. “Besides, my birthday is the day after tomorrow. After I turn eighteen, they won’t care about where I am.”
I silently begged her with my eyes as she pried her phone out of my hands. She shrugged, completely nonchalant. “Too bad I already called the cops.”
“You… wh-what?” I stuttered as I tried to comprehend what she was saying. She couldn’t possibly be that much of a bitch, right?
“I already told them. They’re probably on their way here,” she said, her face filled with triumph. “Maybe you should get going. If you hurry, they might miss you.”
Kendra stood casually with her hands in her back pockets, relaxing against the door frame as though she hadn’t just decimated my world.
Okay, so maybe she really was that much of a bitch. I slammed the door in her bitchy face without bothering to say one more word.
“Shit. Shit shit shit,” I chanted as I ran around the apartment stuffing my belongings into my backpack. I didn’t swear very often—at least, not out loud—but maybe Beverly’s bad-language habits were rubbing off on me.
Or maybe this situation just called for a few ‘shits’.
What was I going to do? Where could I go?
If I went to Travis, there was no way he would let me leave and I couldn’t let him lose everything he’d worked so hard for.
Now that I thought about it, Kendra was right—he could get into big trouble for helping me.
If they found me, what would they do? Drag me back to Maine? Honestly, I didn’t even care about that at this point. But I couldn’t let them find me here, in Travis’s apartment.
This was my mess and I wouldn’t let him get dragged into it.
“Beverly?” I frantically rapped on the door then continued knocking when she didn’t answer right away. “Beverly!”
I heard shuffling of feet and a ‘hold your horses!’ from inside before the door swung open. The screen door creaked as Beverly opened it to peer into my face.
“What’s wrong?” She looked worried as she took in my haggard appearance.
“Do you have a car?” I asked, breathless from running the whole way. “And a driver’s license?” I added, wondering if people her age could still drive. I didn’t have time to consider the possibility she might be offended.
“Of course I do,” she said haughtily as she straightened her shoulders. “I passed the test just last year, and I won’t stop driving ‘til they tell me I can’t anymore.”
A sigh of relief left me. “Good. That’s great. Could you possibly drive me to a bus station? Or a train station?”
“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Her eyes narrowed at me through her thick glasses.
I probably looked as panicked as I felt. My hair was still slightly damp and sticking to the sweat on my neck and forehead. My cheeks felt flushed and I was still breathing heavily.
“Something like that.” I nodded.
She stared at me for a few seconds before seeming to come to a decision. “All right. Let me get my things together.”
I followed her inside as she gathered her purse and took off her housecoat. I never knew what she wore underneath it—she always had it on. I’d just assumed she liked to be comfortable. If I was her age, I’d stay in my pajamas all day, too.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the woman was dressed to impress. She wore black slacks and a white blouse with a black floral design. It was like she was ready for action at any moment. I would’ve been able to appreciate the hilarity of it if the circumstances had been different.
Beverly tied a white scarf over her head and smiled, seeming oblivious to my inner torment. “I haven’t had a trip into the city in ages. This is going to be so fun!”
An air freshener in the shape of a palm tree dangled from the rearview mirror, filling the car with a tropical scent as we drove out of Tolson.
Beverly squinted through her giant glasses and adjusted them on her face. Her white-knuckled hands were positioned at ten and two on the wheel, and I suddenly wondered if asking her for a ride had been a very bad idea.
Moving along at a snail’s pace, some very pissed-off people passed us. Some laid on their horns, a few yelled obscenities out their windows, and we were on the receiving end of one middle finger.
I peered over at the speedometer and noticed we were barely going twenty on a road with a fifty-five-mile-per-hour speed limit.
“People are always in such a hurry these days,” she muttered, shaking her head and clucking her tongue.
With the radio off the silence was unnerving, and there was nothing to dist
ract me from my current situation. I thought about making conversation with Beverly, but I didn’t want to distract her from driving. Obviously, she was concentrating very hard on not running us off the road.
My hands twisted in my lap and I pressed my lips together to keep from urging her to go faster. Anxiously, I looked into the rearview mirror several times, expecting to see red and blue flashing lights behind us, but, thankfully, that never happened.
A trip that should’ve taken twenty-five minutes took closer to an hour, and I finally let out the breath I’d been holding when we pulled into the train station’s parking lot. Beverly shut off the car and started to get out.
“Oh, you don’t have to come in with me,” I said, feeling like I’d already inconvenienced her enough. “I’m really grateful for the ride.”
“Of course I’m coming in with you,” she insisted. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t make sure you got your ticket?”
Once we were inside, I looked at the large clock over the ticket counter. It was 3:50pm and the next train to St. Louis didn’t leave until 5:15. Travis would already know I was gone by then. In fact, he would probably find out within the next fifteen minutes because he was supposed to get done at the shop at four.
My heart squeezed painfully when I thought about him coming home to find me gone. I’d been in such a hurry that I didn’t even leave a note.
Would he hate me for this? It was a possibility.
But he’d hate me more if my careless decisions got him arrested or made him lose his job.
I scanned the train station, wondering if anyone would recognize me. Every time someone looked up from their phone, I was afraid they would point at me and say I was that missing girl they saw on the internet, but no one even gave me a second glance.
I wasn’t even sure what my plan was, but I’d have time to think about it on the train.
Once I purchased my ticket, Beverly handed me a piece of paper with her phone number written on it. “Don’t be a stranger. Call me soon, ya hear?”
The Good Guys Box Set: TRUCKER, DANCER, DROPOUT, and A Trucker Wedding Page 14