"Road Trip"

[JumpMyBones]

Closed.

Joseph Green had been in the tiny, one horse town since sundown the night before. There wasn't much to see here, but he was sure that he'd seen it all: the café in which he'd had both breakfast and lunch; the mom and pop grocery in which he'd repeatedly check his debit card balance at the only ATM for twenty miles; the boat dock down on the river off which a series of country hicks had come to catch dinner and drink beer before heading home; and finally, now, the only tavern in town, where he was finishing off a basket of greasy chicken and jojos while sucking on a very strong beer that came from a local microbrewery.

A dozen or so people had made their way into and out of the tavern over the past two hours, but only one had caught Joe's interest. She was a beautiful young woman with a shapely body well displayed in tight fitting clothes. She was a local, he was sure, based upon the snippets of conversation she had with others.

Joe was surprised that she was here alone, though. No apparent boy friend. Even stranger, none of the guys who came in and chatted her up seem to be making much of an effort to actually hit on her.

He considered striking up a conversation with her himself but knew it would only end badly. Joe wasn't a hunk of a ladies man. In fact, if you looked up Average Joe in the dictionary, you would probably find a picture of him next to the definition. He wasn't ugly or anything. He just wasn't the first man upon whom the gazes of most attractive women fell.

He rose and moved up to the bar, signaling the bar keep with his empty mug. The man behind the counter filled another heavy glass and placed it before Joe, returning to stand before the beautiful woman to continue their conversation...

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wcXt--Wo-ws/UXYkIiki7zI/AAAAAAAAAiU/C-gR1Jaft8M/s320/lyndsy_fonseca_race.jpg


Jessica sighed as she sat at the bar staring at the glass of water in front of her. She hadn't had a drink in over a year but before then things had been quite different. She had run up quite the tab as she sat there night after night trying to drown her sorrows in any liquor they had. Even after she stopped drinking she still came to the bar, every night at the same time. It wasn't like there was much else to do in town.

"Don't you ever get tired of seeing the same old faces every single day? Doing the exact same thing every night, it's ridiculous. This town has become more predictable every day." She said looking at the bartender Sam who was standing across from her "don't you wish you could just get in your car and head down the road and just keep going? No real idea of where you are going or what the day will bring?" She asked as she drank a sip of her water.

 

[JumpMyBones]

Before he even realized he'd spoken, Joe said, "I do."

When the bar keep and beautiful brunette both turned to stare his way, Joe felt his face flush. He smiled, then chuckled nervously. He continued, "Wish I could get in a car and just go, I mean. I wish it sometimes."

He scooted one stool closer to the babe, leaned so far that he was close to falling off the pedestal, and shoved his hand out toward her, hoping to God that he was introducing himself to the wife of a jealous and shoot first, ask questions later Sheriff's Deputy. "Joseph Green. Joe. They call me Joe."

(OOC: If you can't get the Tumblr pic above to work, try this Photobucket one

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"Jessica Summers..." She said shaking his hand "you aren't from here so what's your excuse for wanting to run away from the world?" She asked "I would think you would be anxious to get back home." As she brushed a few lose strands of hair from her face she realized she hadn't even noticed him before now "what is that brought you her in the first place?"

 

[JumpMyBones]

Joe couldn't tell Jessica the truth, of course. Besides, she wouldn't believe it.

"Just passing through," he said, answering part of her question. He began to speak but was interrupted by a ruckus in the back corner. Sam, the bar keep, moved quickly to intercede, leaving the strangers alone at the bar. Joe moved one stool closer again -- there was only one left between them -- and continued, "I had a regular eight to five existence but burned out on it."

He knew that probably sounded strange coming from a man who had only reached the middle of his twenties a few weeks back.

"I was traveling ... driving across the country, but..." He hesitated for a moment, contemplating the next part of his lie. "But my car died. So ... here I am with no way to get down the road."

He was afraid that he would freak her out if he asked her to join up with him, so he didn't. Instead, he just left the thought hanging to see whether she would jump on it.

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"There hasn't been a mechanic in this town for at least as long as I've been alive." Jessica said thinking about the past 23 years of her life. "I could find someone to tow your car to the next town if you would like." She suggested "or we could just both hop into my car and leave this town far behind us." She joked as she fiddled around with a napkin "whatever you do, I suggest you find a way out before you get stuck here for good. Most people who end up her just stay around and get lost in the simplicity of the place."

 

[JumpMyBones]

"You're not going anywhere until you pay your bar tab, little lady," Sam piped in as he passed by with one of the trouble makers firmly in his grip. As he continued toward the door, manhandling the unsteady patron out he called back, "I could buy a small island with what you owe me."

Joe wasn't sure whether the bar keep was joking or serious, but that in which he was more interested was whether Jessica was. He began to ask if she would really disappear into the sunset with him, literally and figuratively, when the proprietor returned.

"I'll pay it, Sam," he told the man. When the bar keep stared at him, uncertain of what he was saying, Joe pulled out his debit card and slid it across the counter. "I'll pay Jessica's bar tab. In full."

Sam's gaze moved between the debit card, the male stranger, and the female regular with uncertainty. This out of towner wasn't serious, was he?

"Then, you can leave town," Joe said, turning his attention back to the beauty close to him. He added with obvious hesitance, "I mean ... if you were serious. I just ... I just need someone to drive. No strings, no ... expectations."

That last word was code for I'm not expecting you to sleep with me, although Joe wouldn't hesitate to slip between the sheets with the dark haired goddess. It had been a long time since Joe had been out with a beautiful woman and an even longer time since he'd been with one.

Of course, he had no expectations that Jessica would want to hop into the sack with him. Why would she? She was beautiful and shapely and seemed confident; and Joe was average looking and okay built and -- often -- a wreck of a human being.

Of course, if he paid off her apparently stiff bill and got her to leave town with him, who knew what might become of this, right?

(OOC: I left Sam's reaction to you. Jessica should know him better than Joe. Would he use the debit card and "indebt" Jessica to this stranger? Your call.)

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"Alright, fine. I'll go pack my bags and meet you back here within ten minutes." Jessica said as she got up from her seat. She wasn't yet sure if she was really going to go or not but she'd at least take him as far away as a days drive could get them. Leaving she gave a small smile to Sam who still stood there holding the man's card.

"I wouldn't take her money for it, I'm not gonna take yours." Sam said handing the card back "if you're seriously running off with her don't be shocked if she winds up turning around and coming right back to this bar stool."

 

[JumpMyBones]

Joe wasn't sure whether or not to believe this was going to happen. Surely, Jessica was getting into her car and driving home to get a good night's sleep, laughing all the way to her house, thinking about the gullible man waiting anxiously back at the bar for her return.

Sam's refusal to take his money for Jessica's bar tab left him conflicted, though. He seemed to be confirming that Jessica was, in fact, leaving with him; yet at the same time, not taking the money made it seem like she wasn't.

"Another beer while I wait, Sam," Joe said, sliding the card back toward the bar keep. Then, in hopeful anticipation that this was going to happen, he added, "And we might as well settle my own tab."

Sam took the card after dispensing another beer in the bottle, rang Joe up, and headed off to deal with his other customers. All Joe could do was sit and wait -- and hope he wasn't being played for a fool. This was likely going to be the longest ten minutes of his life.

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

It was just over ten minutes when Jessica arrived back at the bar "are you coming or not?" She asked "I'm packed and my cars sitting outside. I'm leaving with or without you Joe." Jessica said as she walked back up to the bar stools. "So what is it you wanna do?"

 

[JumpMyBones]

Joe couldn't believe his eyes when Jessica reappeared, declaring that she was outta here, with or without him. He leaped from the bar stool like a kid hearing that mom was going to the ice cream shop, spun back again to take one last drag on the bottle, then headed for the door.

"I'm going!" he said excitedly. "That's what I'm gonna do."

He couldn't believe this was happening. Who would ever dream of such a thing? You meet a beautiful woman in a bar, ask her to leave with you for a road trip, and she says yes...? It just didn't happen that way. And yet, it was!

He headed around to the driver's door explaining, "We need to grab my bag at the motel, then we can--"

He stopped suddenly, looking at her with a suddenly concerned look. "Crap! Did I... I didn't! Sorry, I didn't tell you where we're going. West. Doesn't matter where west, just west."

Of course, being here on the East Coast, there weren't a whole lot of places to go that weren't West. Joe guessed that Jessica might have thought they were heading south to the beaches of Miami or north to the maple forests of Maine. But no, he had to head west. It was part of his directive.

"Is that gonna be a problem?"

(OOC: Read the private message I am sending you before you post next, okay?)

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"It's not a problem at all, we can go wherever you want..." She said getting in the car and heading towards the only motel in town. When they arrived she waited in the car for him to retrieve his bag. Once he had done so and placed it in the trunk alongside her own suitcases she started the car once again "so is there any reason that you are going west in particular?" She asked "is there an old flame you're looking to meet up with or city you've always wanted to see?"

 

[JumpMyBones]

"No," Joe answered simply. A moment passed and he could tell by the sideways glances that he was getting from Jessica that his answer hadn't been enough for her. "I've lived on the East Coast all my life. And ... I just thought it would be nice to see the West."

As they headed down the road, he began listing some of the tourist traps and monuments and unique sites that were to the west of them. Some he knew a lot about, while others were as foreign to him as any language other than English.

He'd been rambling on for almost an hour before he finally went quiet for a long moment. He glanced over to Jessica, taking a moment to look her up and down. He still didn't understand why a woman this beautiful didn't have a husband or boy friend or girl friend for that matter. Of course, maybe she had had one but had recently split. Maybe that was the reason she'd been in such a hurry to get out of that one horse town.

"So ... tell me something," he said hesitantly. "I've told you why I wanted to hit the road. Why did you?"

He let her say as little or as much as she wanted, and while he was quiet for the most part, he did offer some acknowledgment that he was listening to and interested in what she had to say.

Just about the time she'd finished speaking her piece, they reached an off ramp with several tall motel signs breaking the dark of the highway. It was nearly midnight, and they couldn't drive all night.

"We should get a room," he said, quickly clarifying, "Two. One for me, and ... well, you know what I mean."

They picked the first establishment they passed and -- because it was all that was available -- got two rooms with a connecting door. Joe pulled a wad of cash from his jacket pocket as they got up to their rooms, ripped off two twenty dollar bills, and offered them out to Jessica.

"Incidentals," he said. "You know ... tooth brush, tooth paste, shampoo ... bottle of Jack if that's your thing. Like I said, I'm paying for everything, so ... if you need more, all you have to do is ask."

Joe opened his door and stepped inside, but hesitated. He looked to Jessica, smiling politely. He wished he was the type who could confidently ask, Would you like to come in for a drink ... or whatever? But he just wasn't that guy.

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

Jessica didn't really want to talk about everything that had happened that had caused her to want to run away from the old town. She simply told him that she had grown tired of the place, she wanted to see some new things. It was true but it wasn't the whole truth.

"Thanks..." She said taking the money "I think I'm just going to call it a night. It'll probably be another long day of driving so it's best to rest up." She said before heading into her room. She didn't even bother to change her clothes, she just lay on the bed and closed her eyes, falling asleep quite quickly, tired from the strange events of the evening.

 

[JumpMyBones]

Joe was disappointed with Jessica's departure, but what had he expected? She didn't know him. She certainly wasn't going to come into his room -- into a stranger's room -- at half past midnight for a drink or something.

He took a hot shower, taking care of himself to the fantasy of bending Jessica over the hood of her car out in the parking lot under a harsh street lamp. Ten minutes later he was passed out...



At 6am, his cell phone rang. He snatched it quickly, blinking his eyes in an attempt to focus on the Caller ID, which simply said Him. He pressed the call button. "Hello."

"Where are you?"

"Rocky Mount," Joe said, clearing his throat before clarifying, "Rocky Mount ... North Carolina ... east of Raleigh."

There was a long silence, then the male voice said, "I want you in Florence, South Carolina, by sundown."

Joe thought for a moment, then said, "Well ... that's not really west. That's more south than--"

There was a click, indicating that the call had come from a land line, not a cell and that it had been cut off. Joe put the cell aside and mumbled, "Florence it is."

He showered again -- this time keeping his hands off his privates -- then dressed and headed out to Jessica's door. He knocked, but she didn't answer. He didn't know whether that meant she was still asleep, in the shower, or out. Her car was still in the parking lot, so at least she hadn't abandoned him here.

He went back to his room, called her phone and left a message about where he'd be, then headed over to the café right across the street to wait for her.

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

Jessica was showering when she heard the knock on her door. She sighed, she had partially hoped that she had imagined him. She didn't know anything about him and yet she had agreed to drive who knows where with him.

When she was finished she saw the missed call on her phone, she listened to her voicemail as she dried off. When she had finished she quickly got dressed and repacked her things before loading them in her car and heading to the cafe to meet him.

"We should get going soon." Jessica said as she sat down across from him "it's probably best to cover as much ground as we can today."

 

[JumpMyBones]

"Sit," Joe said with a friendly smile and a gesture toward the bench seat across the table from him. "We should eat. Besides, today's gonna be easy. We're going to Florence. That's South Carolina. It's not even 200 miles."

The waitress stepped up and Joe began rattling off his order. It was huge, far more than any one man -- particularly one his size -- needed all to himself.

He gave Jessica a moment to figure out what she wanted to do, then simply stared at her with a smirk that was on the edge of being creepy. He finally said to her, "Thank you, Jessica. It's not just anyone who would do this for someone. Particularly not knowing where you're going."

He chuckled, then finished, "I mean ... that just kind of crazy, isn't it?"

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"It's definitely crazy but I told you I would help you out. So I'm going to get where you want to go, then you're on your own." She said "So why the change in destination? Yesterday it was just west now it's Florence? What's there?" She asked "I'm not going to take some silly half answer this time, what are you trying to get to?"

 

[JumpMyBones]

Joe couldn't tell Jessica the truth. But he also knew that if he didn't give her something more concrete than Go west, young man, she might up and tell him to take a frickin' bus.

So he went with his back up story, hoping it would hold her for a couple of days until he figured out whether she could be trusted with something closer to the truth.

"I'm helping my uncle research our family's history," he began. "We came out of New York, with one branch going south and west and the other going ... just west. Sometimes he calls me and tells me about a city where he's discovered something he wants me to investigate. Or, maybe he finds a death certificate and wants me to check out the graveyard in a town someplace."

He shrugged, then waited for the waitress to set down their drinks and depart. "He's old and frail and can't do this kind of stuff, so ... he pays me to do it for him. Some times I have to back track ... but mostly it's just about heading west and checking things out."

It was, of course, a totally bullshit story. But he's been practicing it for so long that it came out very convincingly.

The waitress returned again, this time with their toast and meat platters. Joe thanked her, ordered another carafe of coffee, and asked, "So ... you didn't tell me ... I mean, not that I asked, but ... do you have a boyfriend or something."

He chuckled, adding, "Do I need to worry about some guy pulling up next to us on the freeway and pumping a bullet through my skull?"

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"There aren't any guys you need to worry about." She said "I haven't dated anyone in a couple of years. There really isn't much to choose from in that town. Must couples there have only ever dated each other, although quite a few of them get around after the wedding ends." She sighed "Anyway... That sounds even more boring then I had imagined your excuse would be. I mean you get to see some different places but it just seems like a terrible way to live. You seem like the type who would be anxious to just meet someone and settle down."

They talked a while as they finished their breakfast. He payed and they headed back to the motel and packed up the rest of their belongings and once again they hit the road, heading towards Florence.

 

[JumpMyBones]

Joe listened to Jessica's description of her little town and thought, Amazing...

He'd lived his entire life in big cities -- Chicago, Boston, and most recently New York -- so the concept of not having many potential lovers from which to choose was foreign to him.

Of course, it wasn't like he'd been out with a different woman every weekend of his six active years of dating. In fact, now at 26, he would only have been able to boast of having had 5 lovers, and two of them had been one night stands he barely recalled, spurred on by the drinking of too much alcohol one or both of those involved.

So, while he couldn't imagine not having a world of choice before him, Joe also couldn't imagine what taking advantage of that choice would have been like. While he wished to God it was, it just wasn't him.

Of course, sitting here with Jessica now like this, face to face, almost as if on a real date, it wasn't a world of choice that Joe wanted. Right now, all Joe wanted was Jessica.

Their breakfast arrived and they finished it off, mostly in silence. They were back in the car, bags in the trunk and coffees in the holders, and heading down the road with just a few polite bits of conversation between them.

The drive was nice, even if it did feel a bit tense because of the lack of familiarity between them. They were in no hurry, so they stopped often. They checked out historic monuments and freakish road art. They took a moment to listen to a Jazz band at a truck stop they visited for gas, and a bit later watched a man in a tutu performing a tight rope act between two large signs advertising the products sold at his wife's highway gift shop.

All in all, it was an interesting day. But by the time they'd crawled into Florence, South Carolina, Joe was ready to just drop on his bed and quietly chastise himself for not knowing how to fucking talk to a beautiful woman.

For Christ's sake! his mind screamed as he clenched his hands about his temples. You are riding cross country with a beautiful, single woman, and you can't even find a way to...

To what...? Joe had no idea what he was wanting from Jessica, to be honest. She had begun as a fantasy and a tool: a fantasy of spending time with a sexy young goddess, and a tool to aid him in doing what was, in a sense, his job.

Was he really wanting to get to know her, to become friendly with her, possibly become her lover? What would happen if she learned his true reason for crossing the country?

He popped up off the bed, stood in place for a long moment as he contemplated, then hurried out the door of his room and down the hall to the far end. They hadn't been able to get side by side room's this night, which hadn't been a big deal since -- realistically -- they didn't need to be near one another.

"Jessica...?" Joe said softly through the door as he knocked upon it. "Are you there?"

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

Jessica had been in the middle of changing when he had knocked on her door. "What's going on?" She asked answering the door in just her bra and shorts, quickly pulling him inside. "Is something wrong? Did your plans change again, because I really don't know if I can keep doing this." She said as she dug around in her suitcase for a shirt.

 

[JumpMyBones]

Joe hadn't heard a single word Jessica was speaking. All he was hearing were her tits. Or ... seeing her tits. No, hearing was right, because they were screaming out to him We're big, we're beautiful, we're bared and you should touch us.

Joe fought to raise his eyes away from Jessica's impressive globes, and as he stared at her face instead, her questions finally reached his ears. All that came out, though, was, "Nothing!

He glanced back to her breasts, then realized quickly that not only was his face burning with blood but his cock was swelling with it as well. He pulled his gaze upward again, then quickly turned away as if to give Jessica a bit of privacy.

Joe was actually trying to shield the raging hard-on that was about to embarrass him. With his back to her now, he inconspicuously reached to his groin and rearranged his shaft so that it would lie less obviously. He thought he'd gotten away with it, but only after did he realize that his front side was fully within Jessica's view via the huge mirror on the motel wall before him.

His face exploded again as he looked away from the mirror and said quickly, "There's nothing wrong, Jessica. I just ... I just wanted to ask you..."

He was fucked. There was no getting around the fact that his inexperience with beautiful, sexy women had just made a fool of him. He turned slowly back to Jessica -- this time keeping his gaze firmly upon her own eyes -- and said in a calmer, slower tone, "I just thought ... that maybe we could go downstairs ... to the bar across the street. Get some food. Maybe a drink."

He knew that what Jessica really wanted was answers, so -- despite his better judgment -- he added the option, "Maybe talk."

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"I'm not really hungry or thirsty." Jessica said "but if you want to talk you can... What's on your mind?" She asked as she pulled a tank top on. "Is something wrong? You seem a bit distracted and I don't mean just by my boobs..."

 

[JumpMyBones]

Joe laughed nervously about her boobs joke and yet, he looked their way again! He blushed, and turned for the door, saying with embarrassment, "I, um ... just wasn't expecting you to flash me, I guess."

They ended up down at the bar, ordering beers and deep fried chicken. Joe ate when he was nervous, which around women was usually. They chatted a bit -- mostly because it seemed obligatory since they were sitting across from one another.

And finally, Joe was ready to at least tell a little bit of the truth about what he was really doing out here travelling across America.

"You know Hansel and Gretel?" he asked. "The fairy tale. The brother and sister ... they know that their parent are going to abandon them in the forest, so they drop little shiny rocks as they walk ... so that they can find their way back under the bright moon ... find their track home.?"

Their second round of beers arrived, and after a big draw, Joe continued. "Well ... I'm Hansel ... or, actually ... the anti-Hansel."

Joe could see that she wasn't following him, which wasn't surprising with the way he was explaining it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of folded pieces of paper. He laid them -- credit card receipts -- out upon the table, side by side, listing them off, "Boston ... New York City ... D.C. ... Richmond..."

The list went on until they got to the receipt for the gas he'd bought for Jessica's tank earlier that day.

"Shiny rocks," he said, "that can be seen under the moon light. Only ... these aren't tracked by a couple of kids ... they're tracked by..."

Joe hesitated. He hadn't actually planned on telling her even this much. But, he was infatuated with Jessica, and although what he was telling her was probably going to scare the hell out of her, he knew that the distance between them -- the tension -- was primarily due to the secret he was keeping.

"The FBI is tracking the credit cards I am using, Jessica." As he gathered the receipts again, then tossed them into the little garbage can that the passing waitress was carrying with her, he said, "And I'm letting them do it."