Chapter One
Livia
“I’ll give you ten thousand dollars to let me ride around with you for a month.” The man with the hood over his head froze while drinking his coffee, and turned slowly to look at me.
Holy hell, he was more attractive than I thought. He had blue eyes mixed with gray, kind of like the ocean after a storm. Murky, but calm. It was my favorite time to sit by the water, as it smoothed out to look like glass. Well, used to be my favorite time.
“I think you have the wrong guy.” His voice was deep, and matched the after-storm effect of his eyes. He pushed his medium-length golden blond hair away from his eyes, which was a failed attempt, since it went right back to where it was.
“The other drivers said you were the only one that is driving out of state. I need to get out of Florida.” His eyebrows drew in together, and looked at the group of men sitting at a table. They were the ones I’d talked to. Some people would think I was crazy, and right now I was probably a little loony, but who was I trying to impress? No one. Not even this attractive truck driver. His eyes took me in and then got stuck on my eyes. Yeah, I know, freak show eyes. I was always picked on as a kid for having different color eyes. My right one was blue, and my left one was light green with brown splashed in it. I’ve heard all the jokes before. His eyes held mine briefly before answering.
“No.” He turned to finish drinking his coffee. No?NO? That just wasn’t going to work for me. My car had just broken down, and it would be a few more days before it was fixed. I didn’t want to wait. I needed to get out and do something. My life was in ruins, and I couldn’t stay still. I needed to be on the road. What better way to do that, than with someone who was on the road all the time?
“Fifteen thousand. I’ll give you half now, and at the end of the month I’ll give you the other half. As long as I’m not lying in a ditch somewhere. So no killing or raping me,” I somewhat joked with him. I really didn’t need any more horrible experiences. I’d gone through enough in the past couple months to last me for a while. He turned back towards me and just stared at my face, trying to figure me out.
“I know this all seems crazy, but I just need to get away. I feel like this is what I need. I swear I’m not a loon. Please don’t say no,” I begged, hoping my pure desperation would come through, and he would say yes to my outlandish proposal. His head turned slightly to the side, and that long piece of hair blocked part of his right eye, blocking me from seeing any emotion that it held. Unsure if he believed me or not, he simply turned back towards his coffee. Then he huffed.
“Sure.”
That was a yes! Holy shit, this plan worked! I was going on a month-long road trip with a strange, attractive, trucker! This was exactly what I needed.
“Great! I’ll go grab my small suitcase and get rid of my car real quick. I’ll be right back.” I turned and walked away quickly before he could change his mind. As soon as I opened the door, the Florida air hit me. It was nice out, being January, but I was ready for a change. The little mechanic’s shop was attached to the truck stop I was just inside, which was convenient.
“Hello!” I called out to the mechanic that was working on my car.
“Hey! I just got off the phone; your transmission will be here in two days.” He smiled at me while wiping a big glob of grease on his forehead in an attempt to wipe the sweat off his face. I shook my head.
“That’s okay. I actually have a different plan of action now. Wanna buy my car?” The guy just laughed and went to work back on my car. What was with people not believing me today?
“I’m serious. I don’t want it anymore.” I walked over to him and stood close. Crossing my arms across my chest.
“Uh, this is a really nice car. Don’t think you want to just get rid of it.” This was starting to get frustrating.
“I know. I’m just moving on with my life, and this was the car my ex-fiancé gave me as a Christmas gift. I don’t even really like it. Not my style.” And that was the truth. I didn’t care for flashy or expensive cars. When Lane surprised me with this new BMW SUV, I faked enthusiasm as best as I could. And sadly, he thought it was real. I was raised in the country; my dad had a beat-up old truck, and Mom drove a Jeep. I figured he had known I wouldn’t have cared for it, but he got it for me anyways.
“Oh, Uh. What do you want for it?” He rubbed more grease on his head. I felt compelled to tell him he was doing that, and opened my mouth right when a little kid ran through the garage.
“Daddy!” The kid was probably around five. He looked like his dad, with curly brown hair, and tan skin. He even had a little grease on his hands, as if he was trying to be like his dad. The mechanic, whose coverall saidJoe,picked up the kid for a hug then set him back down.
My chest began to ache, seeing them together. You could tell they really loved each other. I felt the stinging of tears threaten my eyes, and I made a quick decision. I opened the door and climbed in to grab the papers out of the glove box. I wasn’t sure why I had grabbed them in the first place for this trip, but now I was glad I did. After finding a pen in there, too, I signed the paper, and climbed back out of the SUV.
“Here, it’s yours.” I handed him the title to the car. I didn’t need the money, and I didn’t want to deal with the car anymore. Joe’s mouth dropped open, and he held out his hands.
“Are you serious?” He was in shock. His son was just looking at me with an uncertain grin on his face. Yeah, this was totally worth it. They would have a nice family car to drive around in.
“Yep. Have fun!” I grabbed my suitcase out of the back seat and walked back towards the little diner on the other end of the truck stop. The man I made a deal with was standing next to a big, blue semi-trailer truck, stretching. He was taller than I had thought, and bigger, too. As I neared the truck, I finally took him in. The low-lit diner hadn’t done him justice. He wasn’t attractive; he was beautiful. His hair was hanging down as he bent to touch his toes. When he lifted up and stretched his arms over his head, his blue thermal shirt rode up, and I could see tan skin—muscular tan skin. His jeans rode low and covered brown boots.
The clicking of my own girly version of trucker boots alerted him to my approach.
“Hiya!” I waved with my free hand. He dropped his hands and waited for me to get closer.
“We’re driving by my rules, none of that peeing-every-hour shit, okay?” I just nodded. I had peed before I talked to him; I would be good for a little while.
“Where are we heading?” My excitement for this trip was hard to contain, but I didn’t wanna weird him out with my exuberance.
“Orlando,” he huffed. He was certainly not a big talker. That’s all right. I could be quiet for a little while. Then I could probably talk for the both of us.
“Then where?”
