Driving down the road on a bright Saturday afternoon, Jo was enjoying life. It was early in the fall, and the temperatures were just starting to drop and the colors of the leaves were beginning to get beautiful. The air outside her small car was chilly, but Joannah Simons was toasty warm inside with the heat on nearly full blast. And to top off her day, she was on her way back to her hometown to surprise her parents and attend a homecoming football game. She hadn't seen her parents in several months because they had both been very busy with work and other social engagements, but this weekend they were both free. Of course, her parents didn't know that Jo was free, but that was part of the surprise.
After driving for nearly three hours, Jo decided she needed to stop and fill her tank before getting to town. The further north she drove on the interstate, the higher the gas prices got, and she wasn't really interested in paying an extra five cents a gallon in her hometown if she could possibly get it cheaper along the way. Pulling off the interstate into a truck stop, she fueled her tank then went inside to pay.
Walking inside, she took a quick look around for the cashier. It was at the other end of the store, through what appeared to be a small diner for the truckers who had stopped for their afternoon meal. Uneasily, Jo noticed that nearly all the eyes in the place seemed to be leering at her, looking up and down her tall, slender frame. Taking a deep breath, she began to walk past the men to the cashier. The place hadn't looked that seedy from the outside, but Jo almost wished it had, because then she would have kept driving and wouldn't be the object of so many men's attention, but it was too late now. After paying, she turned and started the walk back down the gauntlet of stares.
About half way to the door, however, a leg stretched across the isle and stopped Jo in her tracks. Taking her eyes from the floor, she looked at the man to whom the leg belonged, and saw a rugged, yet strangely handsome man looking at her as if he was going to throw her to the floor and fuck her right there in the restaurant. Shuddering slightly, Jo knew he wouldn't let her past unless she said something.
"Excuse me, let me pass." Thinking the direct way was best, Jo was proven wrong when the man only opened his eyes wider and gave her a single word reply.
"No," he said in a deep voice. Normally Jo would have been swooning at the sound of that voice, but right now she was just scared, and becoming a bit angry.
"I said, please let me pass," she replied testily. She glanced around at some of the other patrons, but they had all turned their backs to the two of them, and the cashier had disappeared. While she was distracted, the man reached out and fondled Jo's ass. Without thinking, she turned back and slapped the man as hard as she could. Watching in horror at the man, fearing his reaction, he only glared. After a few seconds, he lowered his leg, and let her pass. Relieved and terrified that the man would attack her, Jo nearly bolted for the door and ran out to her car, glancing after herself to make sure the man was not following her. She only was able to calm down after she got back on the interstate.
What the hell was that all about, Jo screamed in her head as she drove with a greater urgency towards her destination. At first, the guy had look interested, but then after she slapped him she saw only hatred in her eyes. They looked as if they were telling her that he would get his revenge on her because of that slap that probably didn't even hurt him all that much physically, but had most likely made him look bad in front of the other customers. Oh well, she told herself, I'll never see him again. With that, she tried to put the whole thing out of her mind, and concentrated on the two hours of driving that were left.
But the 23-year-old woman couldn't keep her mind off that man's face. His hair had been very dark, and his eyes had matched, dark pools of unreadable emotion swirling beneath them. The more Joannah thought about his muscled arms and the long legs that had blocked her way, the more she thought that he really hadn't been that bad looking. He could have used a shave that's all.
All of the sudden, Jo heard and felt a sputter come from the front of her car. That was all the warning she had before she felt the accelerator give out. Quickly realizing that she was going to coast to a stop, she pulled over on the side of the road as far on the shoulder as she possibly could. Finally satisfied that the car wouldn't start again, Jo popped the hood to take a look.
Not knowing much about cars to begin with, Jo really didn't know what good actually looking under the hood of her car would do, but perhaps it would convince another passing motorist to stop and give her a lift to the nearest phone. Inwardly she cursed herself for leaving her cellular phone at home. Raising the hood, Jo leaned in to see if anything obvious was wrong. The only thing she noticed was that the wiper fluid was low and nothing was smoking. Standing and turning to lean against the front grill, she shivered in the wind that had suddenly picked up.
Well, she would need to get some warm clothes out of her trunk, and start walking. Jo pulled on the driver's side door so she could hit the lever to pop the trunk, but the door didn't open. Shit! While getting out she had locked the door without thinking, and now she was not only stranded, but also locked out of any warmth she had once had access to. Shivering again, Jo realized that she had better get moving if she wanted to possibly make it to a service station before she froze.
Desperately wishing that she had chosen not to leave straight after work, Jo began walking in three-inch high-heeled shoes, a skirt that barely fell to her knees, and a light silk blouse. The skirt was wool, as was the jacket that went with it, but it offered little comfort now. Her jacket was locked in the car with the rest of her belongings, and now the cool, forty-degree temperatures cut into her practically bare skin. Her hair whipped around her head as well, and after a few minutes of trying to keep it controlled, Jo gave up and let her golden brown hair blow wild. Never mind that she couldn't see where she was going, she just hoped that nobody would run over her as she stumbled along in her heels.
It didn't take long for someone to take pity on the poor girl walking alongside the road, although it seemed like forever to Jo. When she saw the truck and trailer pull over and stop about a quarter mile ahead of her, she was overjoyed. Her nose had already started to run, and she was feeling the cold all the way down to her bones. Quickening her pace, she soon caught up to the truck that had been waiting for her.
Not knowing which side to approach, she walked up the passenger side of the trailer, hoping that the trucker would be willing to give her a ride to the next town. She had seen signs that said it was at least 30 miles up the road, and she was not looking forward to such a long walk. When she finally reached the door to the truck, she knocked tentatively. Even though she was desperate to get into some warmth, she was still nervous about asking a favor of a complete stranger.
The window rolled down, and Jo stepped back a couple of steps. She could barely see inside, and she couldn't see anything of the driver that called out to her.
"You need a ride, Lady?" came the voice from inside. Straining on her toes to see the face that went with the voice, Jo decided that pickers can't be choosers.
"Yes, just to the nearest service station." Waiting for a moment, she tried to stand on her toes once more to get a better look, and suddenly lost her balance. Tumbling backwards, Jo's head snapped back onto a flat rock when she finally hit the bottom of the shallow ditch. Darkness quickly enveloped her vision, and she fell unconscious.