Houck EXIT 348 read the road sign. About ten miles to the state line, and only a few more to the New Mexico Port of Entry, just west of Gallup. Ricky debated on stashing Joey in the sleeper, but decided against it. If they had a description of his truck and wanted to talk to him, it wouldn’t matter if she was visible or not. He decided to play it casual, just another happy couple riding across the country.
Joey was sitting crossways in her seat, feet between the seats, with knees resting against Ricky’s thigh, close enough for him to detect the vanilla scent he loved so well. He couldn’t keep his mind off the near encounter earlier in the sleeper when they were interrupted by the cop. He knew he needed to focus on his job, but he was giddy with excitement inside, despite his cool exterior.
“Time for you to sit up straight and buckle up, sweetie.” Ricky said. “Check point ahead. Usually no big deal.”
“What do I say if they ask me anything?” Joey asked.
“Just tell the truth. Usually the easiest way. You broke down, and I gave you a ride. We haven’t done anything wrong. That car can only be traced backed to it’s original owner, unless an eyewitness remembers seeing your cousin behind the wheel, and if he admitted selling the car to you. It would be a stretch to tie you with anything. And even if they did, it would all be circumstantial, after the fact stuff.” Ricky told her.
“Now you are talking like a lawyer. Are you sure you are just a regular truck driver?” Joey asked, with mock skepticism.
“Not just a regular truck driver. I possess super abilities.”
“Oh really? Like Spiderman? Or the Hulk maybe?” she teased. “And when do I get to see these super abilities?”
“That’s a good question, sweetie.” he said, as he passed her his road atlas. “Look at page twenty-eight. I have to be there before daylight Monday morning and Saturday is almost half over.”
“Jeez.” Joey replied. “I havent’t traveled very much in my life, but that seems like an awfully long distance. I hadn’t planned on being in Miami until Friday. Why do you have to be there so soon?”
“I reckon so folks can be dipping their strawberries in melted chocolate for a sexy dessert Monday evening.”
“Sounds good to me country boy.” Joey said as she pulled a calculator from the console. After looking at the atlas and doing some quick calculations, she emitted a low whistle. “Wow. I see what you mean. But if my calculations are correct, we can find time for a little sexy dessert of our own. The way I see it, you would be getting precious little sleep anyway, so why not relax in a different way? Who knows, it could even perk you up.”
Ricky and Joey eased through the New Mexico Port of Entry without anybody giving them a second look.
“I’d say we are pretty much out of the woods now. Next set of scales is clear over in Arkansas, and I don’t foresee any problems. I figure if you were a dangerous fugitive, they would have have tracked us down by now. Besides, you don’t seem all that dangerous to me.” Ricky said.
“You don’t seem all that dangerous to me either, country boy. But one never knows. I saw this movie once about this smooth talking guy that traveled all over the country picking up unfortunate women and doing horrible things to them.” Joey said, with mock seriousness.
“Hmm, I’m intrigued. Enlighten me as to the horrible things he did to them. And are you sure they didn’t deserve it?”
“Of course they didn’t deserve it.” she said, playfully slapping him on the arm. “And I will tell you what he did to this one chick. He really got her very interested in him. He was a smooth, sexy talker. Didn’t look too bad either. But all he did was drive and drive and drive, never stopping for anything. And all the while this girl was growing more and more anxious by the mile. It was making her crazy with desire to be so close to him and him barely looking at her. She longed for his touch, but felt like a prisoner buckled in the passenger seat.”
“Oh, my, what a scary dude. Maybe he had some secret he couldn’t reveal. The reason he kept the girl buckled in and made her keep her hands to herself.” Ricky countered.
“No that’s an interesting twist.” Joey said, playing along. “I must have missed that part of the movie. And just what was his terrible secret?”
“One reason he didn’t stop very often is because waitresses were so attracted to him, he would sometimes cause disturbances in the restaurant. And being such a super nice guy, it hurt him to think he caused any of the women to lose their jobs.” Ricky explained.
“Well that explains part of it. Now tell me why he tortures the girls he picks up.”
“Well, it’s like this. He is such a magnificent lover, that if he ever showed his skills to the women he picked up, they would never be the same. He would ruin their lives, for they would be searching forever for another that could please them the same way.”
“Now you have my complete attention, country boy, but answer me this. Why does he pick up the women in the first place? Why tease them so? Allow them to be in his presence and then withhold his super amorous pleasures?”
“Ah, good question. Maybe because he is such a super nice, generous guy at heart, he only wants to help them out by giving them a ride, lest some other trucker with evil intentions comes along. And maybe, just maybe, he is searching for that perfect lady to come along who is worthy of his passion.”
” ‘Worthy of his passion’. Now that is an interesting choice of words, country boy.”