I was going to wait until I got closer to the Houston airport to fill up the Navigator, which guzzled gas like a frat boy at a keg party, but the gas light came on right before I started onto the interstate. There was a Midway Truck Stop at the Gulf Breeze exit now. I pulled up to the pump and shoved the nozzle in and gassed it up while I went inside to buy a Mountain Dew and some snacks for the trip.
The truck stop was busy with travelers going and coming from Galveston, mostly truckers and riggers. The place smelled like grease and oil and sweat and burnt hot dogs. I plucked a large bottle of Mountain Dew from the cooler, a plastic-wrapped bear claw from the pastry rack, and a large bag of Ranch Doritos. I’d miss these things when I was back in Afghanistan. Might as well have a picnic on the road to Houston because I’d be back on the SEAL diet of mess hall food and field rations tomorrow.
I paid for the gas and the snacks and stepped out into the sweltering sunny day. I didn’t see her until I put the nozzle in the pump and opened the door. Annabel was sitting in the passenger seat. She smiled and told me to get in the truck.
CHAPTER 23: Annabel
“What are you doing here?” Shane asked as he climbed into the truck and closed the door. He had a brown bag in his hand. He set it in the console and turned to face me.
“I wanted to ask you a question,” I said, sitting sideways with my back to the door.
“Just one?”
“Just one.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that Juju was the one trying to kiss you the other day?” I asked, resisting the urge to reach out to put my hand on his arm. I longed for the feeling of my fingertips on his skin. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were trying to put her off when I came in?”
“That’s two questions,” he said seriously.
“Okay, fine. Two questions. Answer both please.”
Shane squinted to stare through the dirty windshield at the sweltering day outside the air-conditioned SUV and blew out a long sigh. It was like all the air going out of him, like he’d held his breath for a dozen years.
“I figured I’d made enough excuses,” he said quietly. “I’d hurt you enough. There was no reason to do it again.”
“But you were really innocent this time,” I said, putting my hand on his arm now and giving it a squeeze. His skin was hot beneath my hand. “Juju told me the truth. Why didn’t you say something?”
“I tried,” he said, pulling his arm away and shaking his head. “I yelled after you but you wouldn’t stop. I tried calling you for two days. I got the message loud and clear. And now…”
Tears stung at my eyes. “And now what?”
“And now I have to leave.” He put his hands on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. “It’s for the best. I’ve hurt you enough.”
“It’ll hurt me even more if you leave,” I said. I reached across to put my finger under his chin and turn his face my way. “If you leave, I’ll be devastated.”
He blinked at me. “You will?”
“I will. Do you know why?”
“No. Why?”
“Because I love you, Shane Mavic. I’ve loved you since the first grade. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you run away from me again.”
Before he could say a word, I climbed over the center console and forced my way into his lap. I was wedged between his hard body and the steering wheel. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. He didn’t resist. He kissed me back, gently, longingly, as if it was a kiss he’d waited a life time to deliver.
“I have one more question,” I said, nibbling at his ear.
“What’s that?”
“Does this SUV have a big backseat?”
CHAPTER 24: Annabel
The first time Shane and I made love it was in the back of his mom’s car parked on a bluff overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. It was a Saturday night in the summer. It was dark, no moon out. The night air was thick, moist, hot. It made us sweat. The country station out of Galveston was on the radio. We steamed up the windows and stank up the seat. We were just two horny kids doing what came natural. It was a memory I’d never forget. And one I couldn’t believe I was in the process of reenacting.
This time we were in the back of a Lincoln Navigator in broad daylight, parked in the same spot with the same view that looked quite different in the bright light of day. The Navigator’s windows were heavily-tinted, not that it would have mattered. We would have fucked in the bed of my old pickup truck and welcomed the onlookers. We had no choice. Our bodies were screaming for one another. I could barely keep my hand off Shane’s cock as we drove to the bluff.