THE HITCHHIKER....
I'd only covered the first six of a thirty-two hour journey, when I saw her standing on the side of the highway with her thumb out. I'd noticed her from quite away back and had begun to slow for a closer look. As I approached, I could make out a dirty blonde who looked to be about 5'4" with a petite figure. She wore form fitting black yoga pants and a light summer top.
It was a typically hot July day in Canada and not one that a person would care to spend on the side of a road. I was on my way back from a week-long sporting event and eager to drive thru as long as I could before stopping. I thought back to my university years and remembered how grateful I had been for rides before I had a vehicle of my own. It was after all, a long trip and the right company might make the miles pass more quickly.
I drove past her by 50 feet and came to a stop along the side of the road. The young woman hefted her backpack over the shoulder and hustled up to my truck. Taryn introduced herself and advised that she was going to spend a few weeks with friends she had met at school the year before. I was travelling through Toronto and offered to drop her at a subway station. It seemed I would have company for almost my entire trip.
Taryn climbed into the cab of my pickup and we engaged in the typical discussion that two complete strangers would have. I learned that she was 20 years old and entering her second year of university. At 38 years of age, there was almost nothing I had in common with the young woman but I enjoyed hearing of her experiences at school and her plans for the future. Oh, to be that young and optimistic again!
Taryn turned out to be quite the communicator and from my perspective, very self-confident for a girl of such young age. She managed to hang in with the conversation for the first hour or so and then announced that she was going to close her eyes for a short nap, if I didn't mind. Apparently, it had taken three hours on the side of the highway before I came along to pick her up. Between the blistering sun and the miles of walking, she was understandably tired.
It didn't take long before I could hear the shallow breathing which confirmed that she was well asleep. She was an incredibly attractive young woman and I studied the delicate features of her face. She had put her dark sunglasses on to help block out the light and I noticed how they sat somewhat askew with her head resting against the window. Her blonde hair was styled in the current fashion but would have looked equally fantastic in the 'feathered' fashion of the eighties when I was her age.
Before long I found myself spending as much time staring at her sleeping form, as I was the roadway. My new copilot was clearly out of my age range and could not possibly find a man as old as I attractive, but a guy could fantasize and she had become the focus of my attention. While keeping one eye on the road, the other examined every observable inch of Taryn's body.