Just from that small snippet of conversation and her accent, Kevin could tell that she wasn’t from around here.
“So what you have to do is get back on this road,” the cashier explained. “The Old U.S 87. Turn right at the first traffic light for the I-90 East and the second for the I-90 West.”
“That’s it?” she asked, sounding a little sheepish. “How did I miss that?”
Another chuckle burst out of him. “You were looking on the wrong side of the road. Where are you headed, little miss?”
“Georgia…Atlanta.”
It took a second for it to sink in and, when it did, Kevin almost dropped all three bottles of water. Georgia? She was going all the way to Georgia? That was, like, ninety percent of the way to Florida. He could be there in a couple days. It was impossible. His brain couldn’t even fathom the luck that he had just run into.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, he told himself.
She may not even agree to him tagging along with her. She didn’t know him. She could see him as some creepy weirdo and just drive off. He needed to play it cool.
“Thanks a lot, sir.” She shoved her Skittles into the pockets of her huge jacket and headed for the door.
Kevin quickly placed the bottles of water back in the fridge, flung his bags over his shoulder, and raced out after her. Excitement was brimming inside him. What incredible luck. He slowed his pace so that he didn’t come across as a deranged stalker ready to attack, but maintained a brisk walk to catch up to her before she got into her car. She had just opened the door of her blue Prius when he tapped her on the shoulder. She wildly spun around, a shrill gasp escaping her lips, and he had to grab her elbow to stop her from crashing to the floor. Her light brown eyes were wide, filled with fear and surprise.
Being so close, he got a whiff of her. She smelled like…a childhood, something familiar that could take a mind back through time. Something sweet and strawberry, like bubblegum or ice-cream.
“Don’t hurt me,” she whispered, sounding panicked. “I have pepper spray.”
“Easy.” He slowly released her elbow and lifted both hands to show he meant no harm. “No need for that.”
That wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for, but he only had himself to blame. It was the beard. He definitely looked like a creepy stalker. He remembered his hitchhiking tips. Appear friendly and approachable. And Smile! The latter took too much effort, so he went with the former.
“Sorry for sneaking up on you like that. I didn’t mean to scare you. Um…I overheard you in there…um…You’re going to Georgia.”
He didn’t think it was possible, but her eyes grew even wider. Yeah, eavesdropping probably made him seem even creepier.
“Yes,” she replied, not sounding any less panicked. She was actually pressing her back against the car to get further away from him so he took a step back.
“I was wondering…I’m going to Florida…it’s the same direction and I wanted to ask if you…wouldn’t mind giving me a ride…just to Georgia and then I’ll find my own way.”
“Oh.” She visibly relaxed, but still looked wary. “It’s a bit of a strange request.”
“Yeah.”
She gave it some thought. Actually, she gave it a lot of thought before she smiled at him. A cute smile despite the fact that she had an odd type of face. Definitely not ugly, just different. Skin the color of rich honey, which looked soft and…touchable, however, every feature seemed a little too extreme for her small, oval face. Her eyes were too wide. Her nose was too sharp. Her lips were just a little too plump. But when all those features came together, it almost worked. It was the type of face that if you stared at it long enough, maybe—just maybe—it could be pretty.
“Okay,” she said softly.
“Okay?” His eyes almost popped out of his head. A bucket of relief tipped over inside him. “Really? You’ll take me to Georgia?”
She shrugged like it was no big deal. “Yes.”
“Oh, my God! Thank you! Thank you so much. Um…I’m just gonna run back in and get some water…and then we can go.”
He raced back inside and grabbed two bottles of water, trying to get what he needed and pay as quickly as possible so she wouldn’t have time to change her mind. She was already back in the car when he came out again. Soft murmurs floated throughthe air as he approached and her words became clearer as he got closer.
“What were you thinking?!” she snapped, glancing at herself in the rearview mirror. “Adventure, yes. That’s what’s this trip is all about, but picking up strange hitchhikers? Are you crazy? He could be a rapist or a serial killer.” It was obvious she was having second thoughts and Kevin decided to hang back and listen to her scold herself. “Who does that? Who just goes around offering rides to random strangers? What was I thinking? I’m a moron…I could leave. I don’t owe him anything. I could just drive away and not look back…No! Relax, just take a deep breath and relax. He’s probably a normal guy and I’m blowing this out of proportion. I wanted to make friends, I wanted to meet new people. That’s what I’m gonna do.”
Kevin felt a little more comfortable to move to the window when he heard that.
“He’s not a very big guy. If he tries anything, I’ll just—”
“Am I interrupting something?” he cut in, leaning into the driver’s window.
