The boy.
The boy who was just too damned delicious for his own good.
I stared at him as I drove closer, disbelief settling in slow and heavy.
You've got to be kidding me.
He was alone. On the side of a highway. Like that was a normal thing to be doing for him.
I should have realized! But dammit, I was too distracted to make the connection at the gas station... but there wasn'tanother car outside. Which could only mean the boy had been a hitchhiker.
And finding him at the side of the road now proved it.
Could he be any more clueless?
For the briefest of moments, I debated driving past him. He wasn't my responsibility or problem. And he'd made it this far, so he'd figure it out.
Or someone else could pick him up.
Someone worse than me.
My jaw tightened.
Fuck. Mother fucking, fucker.
I drove past him, not slowing down, and I refused to allow myself to look back. For a whole ten seconds. Max fifteen.
"Damn it," I muttered as I hit the indicator and pulled the car over. The entire time while I waited, I seethed and tried to get a handle on my irrational anger as I figured out what I was going to say to him. Nothing came to mind that didn't involve telling him he was an idiot.
The passenger door opened before I'd settled on anything. He leaned in, smiling like we were old friends. "Well! If it isn't Mr. Batman himself. What a lovely surprise. Where ya headed, handsome?"
I lost it.
Not my temper, my complete train of thought.
I couldn't form a single word, let alone a sentence.
There was a pause that stretched out embarrassingly long while he waited for me to respond.
"Get in the damned truck," I finally barked.
He jumped slightly at the loud snap of my voice, but his smile didn't dim for a moment.
The door shut with a solid thud. He didn't hesitate or pause for a moment. Just climbed in like he'd done it a hundred timesbefore, setting his backpack carefully at his feet before buckling his seatbelt with quick, practiced movements.
At least he did that right.
I pulled back onto the road without a word.
Silence settled in the cab. Briefly.
"Hi, again," he said.
I grunted.
That should have been the end of it.
"I'm Alfie," he continued, like we were exchanging pleasantries over coffee instead of two strangers hurtling down the highway. "Well, Alfred, technically, but only when I'm in trouble or filling out forms, and I don't think I'm doing either right now, so Alfie should do."
