Page 48 of Highway To Destiny

I noticed Ruthie had Mason’s attention, so I took to the snack aisle to grab chips for the road. They chatted for a few minutes, her hand on his arm, and I saw her give him a couple of soda cans—he laughed as she gave him another big hug.

I went up front to pay, my arms laden with bags of carbs, and Elmer rang them up. Once I’d handed him the money, I realized he only charged me for about half my stash as he finished bagging them up. We said our goodbyes, and they said they hoped to see me again once school got back underway.

We settled into the truck cab before pulling out. Mason checked his laptop to figure out travel times and distances. He coached me on how he planned his trips, and I found it difficult to concentrate as I took notes. I noticed the tick in his jaw when he focused on what had to be done. And the way he bit the end of his pen before writing on his printouts. They were simple gestures, but so Mason. I was falling for him.

It scared me a little.

31

MASON

Iwent through the organized system on my laptop with Connor as we sat in the truck before leaving Elmer and Ruthie’s store. He remained quiet and appeared to be picking up what I was explaining. He was smart, and I figured he’d understand my system soon enough. The route had us traveling south through Oregon into Nevada and Utah. We even had a delivery in Arizona.

I drove out of town, and as Connor got situated for our long drive, he asked what Ruthie and I had been talking about. I told him how she was more than aware that something was going on between the two of us.

“She actually said that?” Connor asked.

I wanted to reassure him that everything was fine. “It was mother's intuition, I think. You know they’re like my stepparents, and they’ve known me for years. Ruthie said she caught us looking at each other in that special way and wanted me to know we have their support. She and Elmer have a large family, and she has two grandchildren who are gay.”

“That’s so cool,” Connor replied. “Kinda shows that not all old people are so stuck on being bigoted." He looked out the window, then added, "I did notice they had a small rainbow Pride flag sticker on their front window.”

I laughed. “They’re rather progressive, babe. She and Elmer are quite the allies, and remember, they also have gay customers who frequent their store. The student body alone has quite a few, I’m sure.” I could see Connor relax at my explanation.

Connor had numerous questions as we drove, and it was only the first day. If he wasn’t asking me about my system, he asked about speed limits, hours of service per day, vehicle maintenance, right-of-way, etc. He was surprised at the different rules, considering he’d only driven cars. I noticed he was also antsy that we had to keep our speed closer to fifty-five miles per hour. I asked him if he had a lead foot. He looked at me with a grimaced shrug.

Most nights, we slept in rest areas and found my mattress a bit cramped unless we spooned. I preferred to sleep with him that way most of the time anyway. One morning, I found Connor on the floor in a makeshift bed. Apparently, I’d thrashed about and almost knocked him out of bed. Considering I was normally a light sleeper, I was surprised I hadn’t woken up after his apparent brush with death. He was the most adorable man lying there with his mouth open, lightly snoring. I was transfixed, watching him sleep on the floor below me.

We had numerous passionate nights and had figured out different positions for blowjobs, fucking, and God knows what else on my narrow mattress. Connor was keen on wearing his jockstrap to tease me knowing we’d have sex, and I found ways to use it as a leash around his waist as I fucked him from behind. I preferred facing him so I could look into his eyes during our lovemaking, but I couldn’t refuse his lust for taking it doggy style. He’d whimper and grind into me, and I had to force myself to stave off my release. He could be one insatiable bottom.

One night, we decided to stay at a travel center where they had showers to rent. Connor was all for that since we hadn’t had proper showers in about three days. Once we left the rig, we carried our toiletries into the main building. As I went up to rent the shower room for us, Connor attacked the snack aisles.

A woman’s hand gently landed on my arm. I turned and noticed she was a little younger than me, good-looking, with a bit too much makeup, and had an air about her that screamed ‘lot lizard.’ I thought it might be fun, so I decided to listen to her sex pitch. It could also teach Connor some of the darker underbelly of a trucker’s world.

“Hi there, handsome,” she said in a syrupy tone that had a slight Southern twang. “My name’s Candy.” She slipped her arm through mine and maneuvered us out of the line of sight of the attendant who was dealing with a customer at the counter. She was about two feet shorter than me.

I wasn’t about to tell her my name, so I gave her a friendly “Hello.”

She ran her other hand up and down my arm slowly and suggestively. I wanted to laugh but kept it together, hoping Connor would round a corner soon to witness what was going on.

“I noticed you when you came in the door and wondered if you’d be interested in some company tonight?” she asked flirtatiously.

I went to answer her but stopped short when I heard Connor’s footsteps, along with rustling bags of chips, come up next to me. Candy shot him a glance and then looked at me and gave a toothy smile. I noticed she had a crystal embedded in one of her incisors.

Connor was either in shock or dumbfounded by what was happening. He stood there looking at her and then up at me.

I could see Candy’s mind at work. She leaned in and whispered to the two of us, “We can have a party tonight if your partner here wants to join.” Now, I really wanted to laugh.

Without missing a beat, Connor smiled and looked at me, slipped his arm into mine, and said, “Ya know, if you had a brother with at least nine inches, we might be interested.” At that point, I let out a single bark of laughter.

Candy’s eyes went wide as she shot looks back and forth between Connor and me. “Well, I guess I read the room wrong,” she replied, losing her smile and removing her arm from mine. She took a step back with a look of disdain. Connor gave her a cursed snarl, and I could tell he was done playing.

I looked down and winked at her. “Best of luck tonight, Candy,” was all I could say before throwing her a cheesy grin. Connor and I watched her walk away, heels clicking. He still had that snarl on his face.

“What the fuck was that?” Connor asked, trying to balance his duffel and the bags of chips he’d snagged.

“That, babe, is what we call aLot Lizardin the trucker trade,” I snickered as I left him standing there befuddled. I walked up to the counter to rent our room, and I knew once we were alone, he’d have more questions about what happened and any other surprises he might witness.

After I paid for oursharedshower room, I continued to educate him. I had to tell him it was not only women who propositioned truckers but also men called‘good buddies’or‘truck chasers.’ I could tell he was storing that in his vastly overfilled data bank.