This is a story written with another very talented writer.
Chapter 1. Full on Trouble
"Fuck. That traffic was absolutely terrible. I'm going to be so fucking late now." The trucker muttered to himself. A glance at the radio clock in front of him confirmed his worst fears. An hour behind schedule already with miles more to go. One additional issue could make him late for the delivery, robbing him of an entire day's pay. This was a route he was obsessively familiar with. He only lived two hours south. He had a cabin up this way. His friend had a cabin up this way. He had been trucking for five years now and this was his most popular route. He had it all timed out to the minute, and almost never experienced any traffic except for today. Today, the mother of all traffic jams had pushed his delivery time to the brink before he even was able to stop for lunch.
The only positive that he could see was that the traffic up ahead was light. Maybe he could make up some time here. So he pushed forward. The miles started to blur as they do for a trucker with momentum on his side. He managed to shave five minutes off of his eta within an hour. His bad mood was starting to dissipate, he could almost find the fragments of a smile within him when the gas light turned on. How could that be? It hadn't been that long since he filled up. He could push his luck and hope to shave a few extra minutes off of his time but he knew that if he fucked around and ran out of gas, he would be doomed. He was close to an exit, one with a truck stop right off of the exit and made the decision to pull off.
He pulled up next to the pump nearest to the entrance. He nearly sprinted around the front of the truck, his card already fished out of the wallet before he even exited the vehicle. He was going to set a record for fastest fill up. Until, he pushed the card into the reader and the message popped up onto the screen. "PLEASE SEE ATTENDANT INSIDE." "You have got to be fucking kidding me." He screamed inside his head. The trucker took a long look around to make sure he wouldn't be judged too much before bursting into an all out sprint inside. Every minute that he wasn't on the road felt like money leaving his pocket.
At the till, stood a young woman- the kind that in a different place at a different time and perhaps in some nicer clothes, might turn heads. She was counting her change on the counter, adding up out loud as the attendant gave her an impatient look. She patted her pockets and searched for some extra coins, hiding her embarrassment behind a curtain of messy chocolate waves. The heat from the day had not made her sweat as much as the struggle to find enough to pay for her lunch; her stomach ached and rumbled in protest, anticipating another day of hunger- when would it stop? This endless chase for the next meal? Living on Hail Mary's and drifting through the height of her youth.
It was the way she turned around to whisper a "Sorry" with blushing cheeks and a sweet smile that made him pause, forgetting his rush and destination. He felt her flush, making him stir uncomfortably, unconsciously tracing the curves of her body with his eyes, noticing the sweat stains on her thin white shirt, the frayed hem of her tight blue jeans, the dirt streaks on her shapely legs, all the way down to her mismatched socks and worn out running shoes. His mouth went dry as he tried to remember how to speak. Suddenly he felt annoyance flash across his face. He could tell he was being watched by both the clerk and this poor soul. Her eyes suddenly glazed with mischief, making his chest tight as lust pushed to the forefront.
He glanced up at the clock on the register, the "12:30 PM" stared back at him. It yanked him back to reality, pressure starting to mount in his mind, flipping his carnal admiration back into annoyance- how long is it gonna take this broad to scrounge enough change to pay? His annoyance pulsed at his temples until abruptly, he pushed past the girl in front of him, and upon reaching the counter, he pulled out his wallet and opened it, fanning through the stack of cash, asking: "How much for the girl's lunch?"
The clerk gave him a number. The pressure throbbing in his head caused the trucker to miss it. He steadied himself against the counter, too much going on at once.
The woman looked over his shoulder. "You really don't have to do that. I have enough."
The trucker sighed. "Listen, hun. It's not a big deal at all. Some of us have deadlines to meet."
The tone he used irked her. Patronizing. Like he owed her this. She was proud despite her current misfortune and she had enough money. Really, she did. It might take a few minutes to find it but what was a few minutes to this guy. He had a wallet full of cash. A wallet full of cash.
Her demeanor changed on a dime, a wide smile adorned her face. "That's very sweet of you. I just wish I could find a way to repay you."
The trucker tried to ignore her. Of course it wouldn't be hard for him to think of a way or two for her to repay him but that would have to wait. In another life, maybe he would let her repay him on her knees behind his truck. But he had a deadline and was running late and every second that she kept him there was a second he couldn't make up later, so today that was repayment enough. "Really, it's okay."
He turned back to the clerk, a couple of big bills in his hand. The trucker counted out $500. "I want to pay for whatever she was trying to pay for and put the rest on pump one." The clerk stared at him for a moment before nodding and taking the bill.
