""Damn it! This is soo not my night," The shapely brunette sighed, pressing her knees together she squatted low to the ground and retrieved the spilled contents of her purse. The wind picked up and she brushed the unruly strands of her flowing ebony tresses from her face, revealing sparkling cinnamon eyes. The shimmering flecks of aureate in her almond shaped orbs were further enhanced by the warm honey of her complexion.
"Hey, you sure you want me to leave you here?" The driver motioned towards the unassuming building. His voice apprehensive the expression on his faces questioning.
The girl smiled at his concerned look. His dark eyes narrowed with uncertainty. Crinkling his nose, the lines in the man's forehead deepened into noticeable creases. "It just don't seem right leaving a young girl in a place like this."
Earlier that evening when he picked her up outside the popular eatery, he'd been certain the girl would want to go to one of the local clubs that the younger crowd frequented. Her request to be driven so far from the bright lights of the big city puzzled him. She flashed him an innocent smile and assured him that she knew exactly where she was going and that her brother lived only a few miles away.
The middle-aged father of two teenage daughters was certain that the girl smiling reassuringly at him wasn't much older than his girls were, but had reluctantly accepted the fair. Now he questioned his decision. "Look, it's late and I'm sure your brother's already worried bout you. Why don't you let me drop you home?" He question again his paternal instincts urging him to safeguard the young woman who'd temporarily placed herself in his care no less than a half hour ago. He frowned when she shook her head. Long dark strands fell over her shoulders and brushed along her rounded cheeks before settling smoothly against her back. She looked young, far too young to be left alone in a place like this. "Hey girl, my shift don't end till morning," He leaned forward picking through loose receipts, parking tickets, and old gum wrappers carelessly tossed in the glove box, his fingers finally landing on what he'd been searching for. "When you're ready to head over to your brother's place, give me a call ya hear? It ain't decent for a doe eyed thing like you to be walking around these back roads all hours of the night."
She smiled warmly in appreciation of his concern. "I'll be fine. Thanks for the ride and keep the change." She deposited a large bill in his hand, stuffing the money into his unopened fist before quickly jaunting off with a dismissive wave of her hand and a whispered goodnight.
Shifting his car into gear, the man decided to head home. He made a U-turn back onto the main road, saying a silent prayer that he wouldn't see the girl's pretty face on the late news. He turned on the radio and tried to ignore the twinge of guilt rolling in his gut. He had no real cause for concern. He'd dropped her off at an establishment he'd frequented himself once or twice. Hell, some of the guys in there were poker buddies of his. He sighed. Those 'buddies' were what worried him most, not that they were a bad sort. They were hardly criminals. If you looked passed their foul language and rude behavior they were a decent bunch, provided they hadn't been drinking much.
The cab driver glanced at the clock, groaning as he confirmed the late hour. There was no way Frank and the boys weren't good and toasted by now. Those fella's lost all traces of common sense and decency when they got drunk, and at least two of them would be three sheets to the wind by now. Sighing heavily the man cursed his good nature, switched on the right turn signal and headed back. Wearily he smoothed a hand over his face and waited for the light to change. He heard the screeching of tires, but never saw the speeding truck that barreled through the light.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Sighing, the young woman tugged at the sleeves of her faded dark denim jacket. She nibbled her bottom lip, smoothing her hands over her butt and thighs. It was a nervous habit of hers touching the parts of her body she was most self-conscious about. She was a curvy girl. The boys she'd known back home called her 'thick'. Slightly taller than average she carried the extra thirty-five or so pounds well. She glanced down at her feet. In her kitten heels, she was 5'8. Not supermodel height, but tall for a girl. Smiling to herself, she was thankful for the couple of inches that let her get away with her love of decadent desserts.
She adjusted the dark denim miniskirt. Satisfied that the material was preserving her modesty and ran a hand through her tousled hair before reaching for the door. Just as her fingers wrapped around the cool steel of the cylindrical handle the large wooden door creaked open. She gasped, taking an involuntary step back startled by the sudden appearance of the lanky man with a lit cigarette dangling from his lips. He looked her up and down. His eyes roaming over her provocatively dressed frame. She pulled the open edges of her jacket closer together when his eyes lingered on the swell of her breasts straining against her inky black cotton off the shoulder top.
Smiling shyly, the self-conscious girl slipped passed the leering stranger through the heavy door. Once inside and away from the unsettling gaze of the man in the parking lot she exhaled the breath, she'd been holding during his visual perusal of her body. Settling her nerves, the girl glanced around for a place to sit. It was late and whatever crowd there might have been had long thinned out, leaving plenty of choice seating. She decided on the bar rather than a table and waited for someone to take her drink order. The bartender walked over and stared at her for a moment, eying her suspiciously. His gaze was annoying, but not unnerving. She knew what he wanted and unlike the man in the parking lot, it wasn't sex. Giggling lightly, she tossed her hair over her left shoulder before digging through her overstuffed bag in search of proof of age. Uttering a soft squeak of victory and wearing a triumphant grin, the baby faced young woman pulled her driver's license out and handed it over. The barkeep eyed the little plastic card skeptically for a long moment before returning it to her hand with a grunt.
"Scotch on the rocks with a lime wedge please." She chirped, with a sense of self-satisfaction. Looking like a high school kid had its drawbacks, like trying to get a drink without being scrutinized.
She heard him before she saw him. The sound a low rumble, more of a chuckle than a laugh amused, but not mocking. Placing her purse in the seat adjacent to her, she turned slightly to her right in search of the owner of that laugh. He sat several seats away towards the end of the bar a beer in hand, his face in profile. She watched as he lifted the long neck bottle to his mouth draining the last of it before setting it down on the worn wood bar with a dull thud.
