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My body bounced as he ran over bumps with wild abandon, and I couldn’t help but curse at every pothole he insisted on driving over. I rolled back and forth across the grooved bed as he swerved up the steep hill, trying not to cry out in pain.
After what felt like a never-ending tactical course, the road became smooth, and the driver started to drive like an actual human being. I remained still, clinging harder to the railing.
Several minutes later, I felt the truck slowly steering to the left. Then it came to a complete stop.
I peeked from under the tarp and saw the bright, fluorescent lights of a gas station. Letting out a sigh of relief, I waited until I heard the driver open his car door and shut it. Until I heard him walking away.
I waited a few more seconds before rolling to the other side of the bed. Then I slowly climbed out.
“Are you enjoying the ride so far?” The sexy, green-eyed guy from the party was leaning against the hood of the truck. “I can take it a little slower next time, if that’s what you’re into.”
I said nothing. I was too busy staring and realizing that this man was far sexier than I thought. He has abs for days …
“Now that I think about it,” he said, stepping closer, “I couldn’t tell if your screams were from pleasure or pain. You want to tell me which one it was?”
“I’d rather tell you that you need to learn how to drive.” I snapped out of it. “For the record, I wasn’t screaming at all.”
“Oh, really?” He raised his eyebrow. “What do you think made me pull over at the first gas station I saw?”
“Maybe you have an empty tank.” I tried not to get lost in his eyes, tried to pretend like I wouldn’t go home with him right now if he asked me. “Maybe you needed to get more gas.”
“I don’t think so.” He smiled a perfect set of pearly whites as he looked me over. “There’s no such thing as driving on an empty tank in this part of town. Were you too drunk to drive your own car tonight?”
“No,” I said. “My ride left without me, and I didn’t want to get arrested for being tipsy at twenty.”
“So, you honestly thought that jumping into the back of a stranger’s truck was your safest option?”
I wanted to slap that smirk off his gorgeous face, but I was still enjoying the view.
“I can take you home,” he said, staring at me. “If you’re interested …”
“Um?no. That’s okay. There’s someone I can call to get me.” I took out my phone and saw that the battery was now at two percent.
I looked over at the shop windows and saw a huge red and white sign.
NO DIRECTIONS!
NO PHONE CHARGERS!
NO DUMB-ASS MILLENNIALS!
YES, WE HAVE VAPE!
“DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE a phone charger?” I asked him.
“No,” he said, still staring at me. “It wouldn’t matter if I did anyway. There’s no cell service on this stretch of the road.”
“What?” I looked at my phone again and noticed that there were no service bars.
“Like I was saying….” That sexy smirk slowly spread across his face again. “I’d be happy to take you home tonight. Where do you live?”
“Edgewood.” I couldn’t believe this shit was really happening. “The south shore of the lake.”
His eyes widened. “That’s two hours away.”
“Hence, why I’d rather call someone from there to come and get me.”
“The only people who live in Edgewood are filthy-rich tourists and the stuck-up, out of touch Harrison and Kensington families.” He shook his head. “Can you believe those assholes actually think that they’re royalty?”
I swallowed, unsure of what to say.
“I take it that your parents work around there?” he asked.
“Hey!” An older man suddenly stepped outside the station and glared at us. “If you two numb-nuts aren’t here to get gas or buy snacks, you can eye-fuck each other elsewhere! My station is for paying customers only!”
Green-Eyed Sexy Guy laughed and stepped back. “You want anything from inside?”
I shook my head and he looked me up and down again—pinning me to the spot with his heated gaze.
“I’ll be right back.”
As he walked away, I tried to think of all the murder mysteries I’d watched over the years. Tried to remember if, “girl jumps into guy’s truck, guy offers ride, guy slashes girl’s throat” was ever a featured episode.
There was definitely one like that, but it was the girl offering the ride.
He walked out of the store minutes later, armed with two brown paper bags.
“Okay, so here’s the deal,” he said, tossing me a bag of Cheese Puffs. “You’ve got two options. Plan A: I can drive you about ten miles up the road and you can call whoever you know to come get you.”
