There's nothing inherently dirty about sex, but if you try real hard and use your imagination you can overcome that. -- Lewis Grizzard
I was walking around the little store stretching my legs when I saw her. She looked tired and dirty. She didn't really belong in this dirty, desert store. I'm not good at guessing ages but she was somewhere between fourteen and twenty-two. She had a cute face, brunette hair, nice legs displayed by her shorts, very thin hips, almost no waist and small breasts pushing out her tight yellow shirt. She was listlessly walking around the store looking at the food. There was something about her that piqued my curiosity. What was she doing here?
I had stopped at this combination gas station, store, and lunch counter just across the Arizona border east of Blythe. It was lunchtime and I knew there wasn't much along these roads so I had stopped at this not very promising lunch stand. I was driving a van I had converted for the trip. The back had been modified into a simple, with an emphasis on little, apartment on wheels: storage areas for clothes, CD racks for my music, a little cabinet for emergency provisions like wine and snacks and a pull down mattress that was actually pretty comfortable. I wasn't planning to sleep in the van all that often but I could do it if I was away from towns and needed too. Towns are few and far between in the Southwest.
I had planned this trip to see the Southwest for some time. Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada were all on the itinerary. Setting out from California in the spring to avoid the heat of summer I was making my first stop. What was the girl doing here? I looked around the store. No one else was in the store. She wasn't here with family. I looked outside. My car was the only one here. She obviously didn't live around here. The only thing within miles was cactus and sand. Our meandering paths crossed at the candy. She looked up at me with that same listless look but it turned to a little smile.
I took a chance. "You want to have some lunch?"
She stopped. I could see a lot of thoughts reflected in the changes in her face.
"On me," I continued.
She looked over at the restaurant. It was open and public and safe so hunger overcame apprehension. "Kay."
I led the way over to the cafe. We sat in a little booth and the waitress brought menus. The waitress gave me one of those stares. She probably had noticed that we hadn't come in together. 'Fine,' I thought. She sure hadn't offered the girl lunch. Screw her. We ordered a couple of burgers with fries and cokes.
"I'm Mike."
"Tammy." I held out my hand and we shook. For some reason she thought this was funny and started giggling. The weariness left her face. That quick handshake broke the ice. I don't know why but the dam had been breached. She started talking. She had hitched from somewhere in LA. This is as far as she got. She was riding with a trucker who picked her up in Riverside. A few hours out of LA he had let her know there was a price attached to the free ride. He had pointed to the bed in the back of his cabin. So at the first stop when the trucker had needed to take a pee, she had run into the ladies room and hidden until he left. An hour later she was still wandering around the store when I said Hi. I had a million questions but some things are not a stranger's business.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Going east."
"Me too," she said. "How far?"
I smiled. "Until I get far enough."
"Far enough?"
"Yeah," I said. "Far enough."
"Are you going somewhere or going away from somewhere?"
I was startled. That was a perceptive question. I looked into her eyes. There was genuine concern and intelligence in those eyes. I started to give a flip answer but stopped myself. "A little of both. But mostly going away I guess. Why did you ask that?"
"I'm doing the same I guess. I thought maybe you were like me." She rested her head on her upraised hand. Some of the tiredness was back.
"You want to ride with me?" She looked apprehensive. "Or you can wait for another truck driver."
She got my point. I could see she was thinking that she didn't have a lot of good choices. I guess she didn't think I was a great choice either. "You're not a truck driver?"
I smiled. "Nope. I'm not a truck driver. But the accommodations are cozy. I don't want to lie about that. You'll know whether I snore."
She hesitated and then said, "Well, I guess that's better than staying here. I'll ride along. What are you going to do?"
"My plan was to see the sights in the Southwest. I want to see some of the cliff dwellings. Some of the national parks. Maybe see the caverns in New Mexico. I want to see Monument Valley."
"What's that?" she asked looking puzzled.
"That's where they filmed the westerns. John Ford started filming there in the thirties. You know the shots in westerns where you see these giant columns in the background coming straight out of the desert?"
"Yeah."
"That's Monument Valley. I've wanted to see it since I was a kid watching John Wayne. It's America."
Tammy smiled again. "So you and me are going to be like in the movies, huh?"
"I guess so," I answered. "By the way. How old are you." Her face clouded up a little. I was prying and she didn't like it. I couldn't blame her. I didn't want her prying into my life either. When it hurts to look back the last thing you want is someone forcing you to look. "I'm not prying. I don't really care. But you have to be eighteen or I can't take you along."
She looked at me and said a little defensively, "Sorry. I don't trust a lot right now. I'm eighteen. You won't get in trouble."
"That's good enough for me."
We finished lunch right after and headed out to the van. I took off down highway 95 south toward Yuma. The country rolled by. It was bleak. The same monotonous colors. Everything was gray and brown. Even the cactus, although nominally green, look gray and sandy colored in that forlorn country. The only real splotches of color are man-made, the occasional billboard or road sign. Sand, rocks, and scrub. That's it.
Just short of Yuma I pulled off into a rest stop. We could have put a few more miles under the tires but I was in no hurry. We went into the restrooms. Back at the car I opened the sliding door and climbed in the back. I pulled out some of the emergency rations. A nice Zinfandel followed by a can of almonds and crackers and some cheese that didn't need refrigeration. I don't know how they make cheese like that and it's probably better if I don't. A pear and apple that I sliced up completed dinner. I grabbed a couple paper plates and spread out the food. Two plastic glasses came from the cupboard.
"Wine?"
She looked at the bottle and said, "I've never had wine."
"Okay. But would you like to have some? How can you have a civilized dinner without wine?"
She looked at the paper plates and back at me, "Civilized?"
"Absolutely. People would pay a pretty penny to dine like this." I pointed out the door. "A view that stretches to Mexico. Fine wine. Delectable victuals and a beautiful woman. I wish I could box this up and sell it. I'd be rich."
Tammy was blushing. "I'm not beautiful."
I said seriously now, "Don't say that. Don't ever let anyone tell you that. You are beautiful." She looked away and the blush faded. "So. Do you want to try the wine?"
"If you put it that way I guess I have to," a small smile playing on her face.
We ate the cheese and crackers and fruit and sipped the wine. The sun started to slip behind the hills and the temperature dropped rapidly. Pretty soon she was feeling the chill wearing only her shorts and shirt. I closed the door on the van, which helped a little. There was a soft light coming through the front. As the sun set and the light came on in the rest stop I said, "Well, about time for bed."
"Where am I going to sleep?" she asked.
"Here."
"Where are you going to sleep."
"Here. I told you it was cozy."
She looked around. "We can't do that."
"You can try sleeping in the front seat if you want. But I think you'll be sorry. I tried it and it doesn't work very well." She was obviously worried. "Tammy. I told you. I'm not the truck driver."
"But what if something happens?"
"It won't happen unless we both want it to." I held her gaze trying to reassure her. I could see understanding in her eyes and I nodded my head to reinforce the thought. I pulled down the mattress from the wall. It was a double and comfortable. I was using a sheet on the bottom and a sleeping bag for the top. I had installed a curtain rod right behind the seat with a blackout curtain. I pulled the sheet across the front of the van, which almost completely blocked the light. I pulled off my clothes and slid under the cover. Tammy hadn't said anything the whole time. She started to climb in fully clothed.
"Hey," I said. "You can't get in here in those clothes. They're dirty."
"What am I going to do? I don't have any pajamas."
"I don't either."
"You're not wearing any clothes?"
"No. Of course not."
"But you'll see me."
"Did you see me?"
"No."
"Then don't worry. Skin out of those clothes and climb in." She sat there for a while. It was starting to get cold in the van. In the desert the temperature drops fast. Tammy finally made a decision and quickly skinned out of her shorts, shoes and top. By now my eyes had adjusted to the light and so I could make out some details. No bra. Of course she didn't really need one. She left on her panties and slid under the sleeping bag. She moved as close to the edge as she could.
I laughed. "You going to wind up falling out of bed that way." She moved back a little toward the middle. I reached out and pulled her more toward the middle and we wound up cuddled like spoons. I felt her stiffen so I said, "We'll be warmer this way." She didn't say anything I think expecting the pawing to start and ready to defend her honor. Instead she felt me relax. Gradually she also relaxed. I could hear an occasional truck going by the rest stop. Otherwise we were a million miles away from anything.
"Mike?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
She paused and asked, "How come you're not... trying to do something? Don't you want to?"
When she asked me that I felt my blood start to pound. I had been holding back thoughts like that because I knew what it could lead to all too easily. I felt myself growing erect against my will. It started to press against her thighs. Embarrassed I said, "Well that should answer that question."
She realized what was happening and asked confused, "Which question?"
"Whether I want to."
"Oh. Yes, I guess it does." She didn't move away from me, which surprised me a little. She held very still and then I felt her move back against me slightly. "I've never felt one before. It's very hard."
Jeez. What could I say to that? Was it really possible she hadn't felt an erection before? Or was she playing with me? I changed the subject. "About your other question. I promised I wouldn't do something unless you wanted."
There was silence for awhile then she said, "Thank you. I don't want my first time to be in the back of a van." First time? Could she really be a virgin? I felt her snuggle back into my chest, which also caused my erection to slide further toward her thighs. They parted slightly and I felt her legs surrounding me. We lay like that. I dare not move because if I started I knew I wouldn't be able to stop. I felt my erection subsiding. Finally it slipped from between her legs. I lay for a long time thinking about what she had said. Her breathing slowed and I knew she had drifted off. I was able to fall asleep but my dreams were filled with wild and passionate deeds.
Copyright Rod O'Steele © 2005, 2007