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“I’ll be fine dad, remember what we spoke about the other day?” I sigh smiling when I remind him about it. Feeling like nothing can go wrong if I’m thinking about his billboard, and the man himself, Ben.
Dad groans himself to submission but makes me promise to call him whenever I have to stop.
“Or even sooner,” he adds.
“I knew I should’ve waited after your graduation, we could have flown back together. I should never have—” he starts, but I intercept him before he can make me feel guilty.
“I’ll call dad, promise. My phone’s charging right now,” I chime back, hanging up and swerving back onto the right side of the road when I get distracted by the huge screen in the console which shows me where I am, where I’m headed, and how long until the recharge point.
And how much power the car has left.
It’s showing one red bar, but I figure that’s standard, they always have more power than they show you.
Right?
The thought of Ben’s billboard takes over again, and I feel the sleek car accelerate faster in tune with my own heart rate as my foot gets a little heavy on the juice.
Wiling myself to be closer to his huge image sooner, I know I’m probably risking a speeding ticket, but the view would be totally worth it.
Cranking up the stereo and singing to myself, thinking about Ranger Ben for what feels like nowhere near long enough, I finally see his huge smiling face coming into view.
I’m near the entrance to the National Park and feel the car slowing as if it somehow knows where I want to stop.
Pulling over onto the soft shoulder, I leave the music playing as I put the car in park and get out to stretch my legs and admire the view I’ve driven so far out of my way to reach.
Hugging my elbows from the cold, I press my legs together as I feel a familiar flush of heat down there as I stare up at him.
The sign is welcoming me to the park, telling me the entrance is a few miles ahead and Ranger Ben wishes me a safe and responsible stay.
Pity I’m not staying, I could stare at him all day.
I sigh with contentment, not even noticing when the music dies and the sounds of a chilly day turn into bad weather replacing my favorite all-girl band.
His chiseled jaw is clean shaven, leading my eyes to his perfect smile. Two rows of gleaming white teeth between his suggestive grinning lips.
Lips I’ve dreamed about pressing against my own, as well as covering a few other places.
One eye is slightly raised, his Ranger’s uniform and cap bristling against his physique and thick head of dark hair, which I remember is graying ever so slightly at the sides but it looks like they edited that part out for the advertising billboard.
Hearing myself sigh again as I keep staring, I shiver and then decide to head back to the car to either get a sweater on or maybe keep going like I know I should.
But the high-pitched sound from the car jolts me back to reality more than the cold.
I figure it must be the car telling me I left the door open, but the doors are all closed.
There’s a growing feeling of dread inside me like I’m about to discover something I’m not gonna like, which only intensifies the closer I get to the car.
The screen on the console is cheerfully informing me the car’s battery cell is empty, showing a number to call for roadside assistance.
I groan loudly, then gasp when I snatch my phone up and see it’s died as well.
For all my congratulating myself on finding the USB port in the console to charge my phone, I hadn’t been so clever to make sure the phone was even connected.
My annoyance turns to anger and then finally dread when the monotone alarm from the car stops and the screen goes blank.
All I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears, and a distant rumble of thunder that reminds me I was driving away from a forecasted storm cell.
Trying not to panic, and feeling a little better when I look up at Ben’s smiling face watching over me, I tell myself someone will come by soon and I can flag them down. Maybe use their phone to call for help.
But after a solid hour, or what feels more like three, I don’t see any other cars and I feel myself starting to panic.
Stuck out on a lonely stretch of highway with no phone and no working car, I swallow hard. Shivering in my seat, looking up at the huge image of Ben.
Ranger Ben? Now would be a great time for you to drive past on your way to work.
It’s gonna be dark soon and by the time it starts to rain I’m almost hysterical with panic.
