Alex drove along the interstate toward New Mexico in silence. He only had the hum of the engine and the ‘swoosh’ of the passing cars to keep him company. He was content though; it had been quite sometime since he had driven a car, motorcycles had been his life for more than 6 years. In his rearview mirror he could see the 3 in the back fast asleep. Howie was curled up into a ball with his face resting on the doorjamb, while Brian had his head resting backwards at an unnatural angle. Alex giggled a little at how stiff Brian’s neck was going to be when he woke up. With another glance in the mirror he could see CJ, sound asleep across Brian’s chest. She hadn’t been that way when she or Brian were awake, so Alex figured they would be in for a surprise when they woke.
Alex lost himself within his thoughts for miles. Five hours had spun by without him even noticing. He thought he was alone in the car, he believed everyone to be asleep. He jumped a little when he glanced over his right shoulder at Kevin in the passenger seat. It unnerved him a little when he realized that Kevin was wide awake, no bobbing head, no droopy eyes, just wide awake and fixated on the open road. “Hey man, I thought that you were asleep too, you’ve been so quiet,” Alex said. Kevin didn’t respond, he didn’t even acknowledge that he had heard him. “Hey Kevin, are you alright? You haven’t said a word in hours...” “I’m fine.” Kevin replied coldly. “You’re not still mad about the smoking thing are you, cuz I...” Alex started. “I’m not mad.....I just don’t feel like talking....okay?” “Are you and me OK? I mean are you okay with me being here?” Alex asked. “I don’t even know you.....All I know is that you are a stranger and that you are driving my car!” Kevin said. “Oh....so that’s it! You’re worried about me wrecking your car. Well don’t worry, we’re in the middle of nowhere. We haven’t passed a town in ages. What’s there to hit?” Alex replied with a little laugh. Kevin followed with a grin.
Kevin watched the road closely, there was no scenery to look at, it was all desert. He watched Alex’s head out of the corner of his eye as he checked and rechecked his mirrors. He was watching the road behind him through his mirrors as much as the road ahead of him. Kevin wanted him to be cautious, but this was beyond cautious. “You’re not in trouble with the law are you Alex?” Kevin finally had to ask. “What? NO! Why do you ask?” “Well I couldn”t help but notice how meticulously you are at checking the mirrors...” Kevin trailed off. Alex took in a big breath and let out a defeated sigh. “She’ll find me y’know.” Alex began. “Who? Ireland?” “It won’t matter if I’m 3, 30 or 3000 miles from home, she will find me. She always does. And when she does, I don’t know what I’ll do.” Kevin didn’t know how to respond. If Alex was a girl, he would take her in a strong embrace and tell her that he was going do everything in his power to protect her. But with this, he didn’t know what to do.
Alex glanced down and realized that the gas tank was dangerously low, so low infact, that it was beyond the red. He would have stopped, it had crossed his mind several times, but the space between gas stations out here was unreal. “Uh, Kevin....we are going to be in some serious trouble if we don’t find a gas station-FAST!” Alex said. Kevin glanced over at the gauge and saw the needle way below empty. “You BoneHead! Why didn’t you stop at the last service station?” Kevin bellowed, stirring the passengers in the back from their slumber. Brian tried to raise his head and screamed out in pain. He forced himself, and with the help of his hand, managed to raise his head up, realizing that CJ was sound asleep on him. The pain went away as he rubbed her back with his hand. “What service station? When did you last see a service station?” Alex bellowed back.
“What are you two fighting over now?” Brian said groggily. Just as Kevin was about to explain, over the horizon Alex saw the light, the bright red light of the Texaco station. As he pulled off the interstate and into the station, the car stalled and coasted up along side of the pumps. “Whew! That was too close for comfort!” Alex sighed with relief as he hopped out of the car and gave a big stretch and yawn. “If any of you clowns back there are hungry, you better go and see what they have to eat in there. Who knows how long until the next stop.” Kevin said as he got out of the car. “But there’s no restaurant here, all they’ll have to eat is chips from 1985!” Brian laughed, waking Howie. Howie straightened up and saw CJ still sound asleep on Brian. A pang of unnecessary jealously washed over him, then he shook it off. “I’m going to get some gum at least,” Howie said as he followed Kevin towards the service centre. Brian smiled to himself again as he looked down at the beautiful CJ. She was so beautiful as she slept, he could have watched her for hours on end and he was sorry that he had been asleep, missing the opportunity to drink this all in. He stared a moment longer, rubbing her back, then realized that he should wake her. It wouldn’t be fair if she missed the chance to eat or pee.
“CJ, wake up,” he whispered as he tried to wiggle out from underneath her. She opened her eyes and looked around. She looked up and realized that she was in Brian’s clutch and leapt forward in her seat. “Oh, Brian! I’m so sorry! I don’t know how....why.....I’m so sorry. Oh, and look..I’ve drooled on your shirt!” she said as she tried to dry it with her sleeve. Brian laughed and told her not to worry about it as he helped her out of the car. She straightened out her legs and leaned back against the car. Brian was about the head for the store, when she grabbed his hand. He stopped and turned and stood up close to her. “Thank you,” she started. “Thanx for not tossing me aside,” she said as she batted her eyes and squeezed his hand a little tighter. Brian loved the feel of her grip, her fingers were so slim and long, he intertwined his fingers with hers and took another step towards her.
“It was my pleasure...drool and all,” he laughed. She laughed hard, tossing her head back into the wind, her loose hair draping on her shoulder. Brian didn’t think. He acted on impulse. His instincts told him to do it and he did. He pressed his body up against hers and pushed her hard into the car. He clutched both sides of her face in his hands and pulled her to him, their lips meeting in a sultry embrace. He kissed her hard, the way he had wanted to since she first walked into his life. She didn’t resist, but she didn’t exactly nurse him either. When he pulled back, releasing their wet embrace he looked deep into her eye for a sign. He needed to know whether he should kiss her again or duck from her swing. He looked hard and saw surprise. She didn’t slap him, but she didn’t kiss him either. “Sorry CJ,” he said finally. “I’ve wanted to do that for some time. I thought you wanted it.” “Wow Brian! That was some kiss!” she said and threw her arms around his neck and squeezed tightly as Howie came into view. He looked at them and gave a hurtful sigh before turning around and going back in to find Alex and Kevin. “Howie! Wait!” she yelled after him, releasing her grip on Brian. But Howie was already gone. “Look Brian, you’re sweet and I really like you and I’m flattered, but I don’t really think of you like that. I hope that you understand. I hope that we can still be friends.” she said calmly and kissed him on the cheek and jogged into the store after Howie, leaving Brian alone to feel the pain of being jilted once again.