It was nearly 11pm now and the temperature was cooling, goose bumps were appearing on her long slight legs and she was aware of the male glances at her hardening nipples (Jennie had nice c cup breasts but never felt the need to wear a bra).
She and Matt had argued again, and this time, was the last time he would ever raise a hand to her. Her cheek was still stinging from his slap and mascara was running down her face from her tears of anger. She couldn't work out who she was angrier at; herself for staying so long or him for getting drunk again and embarrassing her in public, again.
So there she was heading to the highway alone, she wanted to go home and pack some things but he might be back by now and manage to persuade her to stay, again.
If this was going to stop she had to get away and fast, applauding herself for wearing flip flops instead of heels, she reached the highway and started walking backwards down the side of the road with her thump out.
Hitch hiking was dangerous but more dangerous than Matt in a drunken stupor? She doubted it.
Car after car drove past her, some college kids slowed down and asked her how much for a quickie. She quickly told them where to get off.
Eventually a truck pulled up and wound the window down.
‘Where you heading?’ A male voice called but she couldn’t see a face.
‘Far, far from here,’ she replied.
‘Hop in!’
She opened the door; suddenly feeling nervous then reminded herself that, by now, Matt probably wanted to kill her, so she climbed her way into the cab, struggling not to flash her panties in her short skirt.
‘Jeez are you ok? Did someone hurt you? You need me to take you to a hospital?’ The driver asked, concerned.
‘No, no, I’m ok,’ Jennie grabbed her mirror out of her clutch and looked at her cheek, ‘he didn’t even break the skin,’ she said absently. She moved the mirror up to her eyes.
‘Jeez, I look a state!’ she put the mirror away and started wiping the mascara away with the back of her hand.
‘So someone did hurt you?’
‘Husband had a few too many, hence needing a lift,’ She smiled sadly.
The driver leaned back into the cab, Jennie flinched slightly, he brought something out.
‘You look cold,’ he handed Jennie a fleece jacket.
‘Oh thanks,’ she said gratefully.
The jacket dwarfed her, but she instantly felt warmer and more relaxed now she was covered up.
They made small talk as they drove; the drivers name was Louis, he was 38, had three children he never saw and an ex-wife that wouldn’t speak to him.
‘Usual Story’ he said, he used to be in the army and came back “changed.”
He wasn’t bad looking, Jennie thought, going from the size of his biceps he still kept in army shape. He had short salt and pepper hair and was tanned more on one side of his body than the other from driving. His face, though handsome, looked haunted in some way; his dark eyes looked almost hollow even when he smiled.
They lulled into a comfortable silence, just the sound of the engine and the occasional crackle of the radio. Jennie had curled her feet under her and was resting her head on the window.
‘You look young, to be married I mean,’ Louis finally said.
‘Not as young as I should be to be walking away,’ Jennie said cryptically, shaking her head.
‘oh’ he said, he wasn’t the prying type so just left it.
‘I got married at 17, high school sweetheart. He starts to drink more and more, I get the blame more and more. Six years later here I am, like you say, usual story,’ she explained in a single breath.
They both stayed quiet, looking out into the night, then, out of nowhere, Louis started laughing.
‘What’s so funny?’ Jennie said looking at him quizzically. He didn’t reply just gestured at the two of them.
‘What?’ she said, starting to laugh too.
‘Us! Peas in a pod,’ he said, they were both laughing now. The laughter fades naturally and they slip back into their comfortable silence.
At about 2am Louis pulls into a truck stop.
‘Need to get some rest,’ he said climbing into the back of the cab.
Jennie just sat there not quite knowing what to do; she unzipped the jacket and laid it over her as a blanket.
‘You’re fine to sleep out here,’ Louis poked his head back through, ’there is a spare mattress, it’s kind of cramped but like I said, you’re fine to sleep out here.’
It sounded like an invitation but Jennie wasn’t sure, alarm bells were ringing in her head, what if he tries to do something to me? She thought this over, then thought about his biceps and decided she wouldn’t actually mind him doing something to her. Besides it’s not as though those alarm bells had worked so well for her in the past.
She made her way back. He was right; there wasn’t much space. Thin curtains filtered the street lights; she could just about make out Louis. He was in some kind of hammock spanning the width of the cab, under that must have been what he referred to as the mattress, it wasn’t as long as the hammock, there was a heap of clothes at one end.
There was a towel strewn over the mattress and a jumper at the top which she supposed was a pillow and blanket.
She placed the jacket at the top near the ‘pillow’ then wriggled under the hammock and ‘blanket’; there really wasn’t much space.
As her eyes grew accustomed to the light she could admire Louis’ figure really well from underneath him. He had strong shoulders and a large chest; he was sleeping in just his boxers.
She flinched as she turned on her side (an old rib bruise) she turned over noticing as she did that her hips grazed Louis’ through the hammock. It sent a tingle through her.
She moved again, moving her hips back and forth while trying to make it seem accidental.
Louis moved above her, he turned on to his side, she could see a tent shape in his boxers, a large tent shape.
She gasped, Louis opened his eyes, looked down at her then at his bulge, he mumbled an apology, turned too sharply and fell from the hammock right on top of Jennie.