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(c) 2003 copyright by SJTJ (a.k.a. Naive)
Copyright information: This story is the sole property of SJTJ (a.k.a. 
Naive). No one has the right to alter, distribute, or sell this story 
with out my written permission. I do hear by give the right to give or 
display this story to anyone who wants it as long as it's free of 
charge. Changes and follow-up stories should have my permission. Any 
grammatical or spelling changes are permissible as long as it does not 
alter the concept.
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This story is intended for mature audiences. You must be 18 or older to 
read this story. This story contains adult situations and sexual 
content. If subject matter of this type offends please DO NOT read any 
further. Thank you.
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By the Road
By Naive(c) <shattered_mind@nospam.hotmail.com>
************

I felt her at my side, touching, feeling me. Her warm body like a salve 
to my worn and weary heart. I'd met her by accident. She was hitching 
beside the road as I pulled over to fix a flat.

She stood there drenched, beautiful. Her hair was streaming down her 
worn leather coat, her patched jeans barely holding together. Her pack 
so small - just enough to carry another set of clothes which were 
probably soaked through too.

I don't pick up hitchers though, but how could I leave her?

I told her to hop in while I fixed the tire. I think that tire saved my 
life.

Hopping in out of the rain I found her asleep in the back seat. Her 
face looked so serene, unlike those eyes I'd seen her staring at me 
with before. Spooked eyes, scared eyes. It was hard to see a girl so 
young in so much pain.

I drove for a few hours before I had to stop for the night. Sleep was 
pulling at my eyes and the rain was sheeting down so hard that 
everything was just a blur.

The Super 8 was a Godsend. I don't think I could have made it another 
minute. It didn't take long to get a room (a double). Climbing back 
into the car I couldn't help, but look at her again. She couldn't have 
been but four or five years younger. But I felt old, much older than my 
years.

Gently I touched her cheek to wake her, she jumped like a startled cat. 
Clutching her things she looked ready to bolt.

"What?" She stammered.

"I got us a room," her look said everything, "a double."

"I can just walk from here." She started to open the door.

"I can get you your own room."

"Why?" She asked with seasoned suspicion.

"You just look cold and wet, that's all." I tried to make my voice 
soothing. Something I hadn't tried in a while.

She just stared at me, no, into me. She nodded to herself, "I can deal 
with a double."

I smiled, but it felt hollow. We drove to the room and it didn't take 
long to get settled in. I stripped down to a t-shirt and a pair of 
shorts and offered the girl my bag, so she could find something to 
wear. She took it to the bathroom and I could hear the distinct click 
of the lock.

I laid down and never saw her come out. I was asleep almost 
immediately.

It was sometime early in the morning that I felt her hands on me. She 
whispered, "I'm cold." And I knew the cold she meant. I knew it because 
it was buried in my heart like a knife. A knife my wife put there the 
day she disappeared with my kids. The day I started searching. I knew 
the cold.

Wrapping my arms around her we kissed. Searching for a warmth that 
neither of us had alone. Something sparked and I felt alive, and I 
could tell she felt something too.

It was passion. Something we both thought lost. It consumed us. Held 
us. Washed away the aches and sorrow, if only for an instant. Our 
bodies collided. We thrust our passions into the light. Sweating out 
the pain and betrayal. Ravaging our bodies while appeasing our souls.

When it was over we stayed there, bodies joined, souls joined. We've 
never left each other's side since that day. Three years have passed. 
Three years since a flat tire saved my life.

Now I know that sometimes God does provide.

The End.


  
btr