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I busied myself by cleaning out my car while AJ
disappeared into the bus - my passenger seat was littered with empty
Pepsi cans, candy bar wrappers, and used Kleenex, courtesy of the crying
jag I went on all the way from Odessa to Columbia, Missouri.
Not the
kind of mess I wanted AJ to have to sit in.
He appeared next to me just as I was
contemplating the spilled pop on the carpet. "Ready to go?" he
asked.
I looked up at him as I stood up. "Yep, let's
get out of here." I tried to ignore the pounding in my chest.
Too late
to back out now, I told myself.
AJ slid into the passenger seat and threw his
suitcase into the back as I took the wheel. Just like that, we
were
off.
As I drove, he picked up my CD case. "Mind if I
take a look?"
I shook my head, wondering what his reaction
would be. Somehow, I didn't think that country music or Lilith
Fair
artists were quite his style. He grinned as he rifled through
them.
"You have interesting taste in music."
"I suppose 'interesting' means 'bad,'" I
clarified, laughing.
"No, not bad, just different than mine, that's
for sure. What do you recommend we listen to?"
"Um ... Indigo Girls. Rites of Passage."
"That it is, then."
I was still shaking slightly. I'd never been
more frightened in my life ... nor had I ever felt more alive.
I'd
never been so spontaneous before. AJ could be some kind of serial
killer, for all I knew, but I still invited him into my car on a
feeling. What kind of a feeling, though, I was at a loss to explain.
At that moment, his hand accidentally brushed my
leg. I felt an electrical thrill run over my skin, even through
my
jeans ... it nearly made me jump. Sexual attraction, I immediately
asked myself? Don't be silly, the rational part of my brain replied,
it's just the excitement and the nerves. Don't be so melodramatic
-
he's not even your type.
AJ interrupted my argument with myself. "So ...
do you have a destination in mind for today?"
"No, not really. I was just going to wander
into Indiana and figure out where we were from there. Does that
sound
okay?"
"You're the boss ... I'm just along for the
ride."
We lapsed into silence again. Once again, I
began to obsess over his presence. Why had I asked him?
Why had he
said yes? What did we do now? He leaned back in his seat
and closed
his eyes, while I took the opportunity to study him out of the corner
of
my eye. I guessed that he was around my age, 21 ... he also had
a nice
body. A very nice body. After spending so much time with
Steve, both
in and out of bed, it was nice to admire a male body that wasn't
slightly soft from too many beers. I also found myself studying
his
tattoos - I'd never known anyone who had so many. Sarah had gotten
one
last year, a tiny heart on her shoulder, but that was the only one
I'd
ever really seen up close. Sarah had told stories of how she
screamed
from the pain when she got hers ... how could someone stand getting
them
all over?
I asked him as much. He laughed. "I don't
know, I'm used to it by now."
"Why did you get the first one?"
"Rebellion, maybe. Just to say I had. That's
the kind of person I am - I don't want to get down the line and wish
I'd
done something I had the opportunity to do, you know?"
"You mean, like suddenly going on a road trip
with a girl you don't know?" I asked.
AJ laughed. "Yeah, exactly like that. Or like
asking a guy you just met to come with you on a road trip. So,
tell me,
what kind of a girl does that?"
"One that ... has decided to live a different
life than she has been," I said carefully.
AJ just raised his eyebrows at that, and grabbed
the parking pass that hung off my rear view mirror. "Victoria
Reynolds,
Martel Corporation," he read off the back. "Is that where you
work?"
"Not any more. I forgot about that - they're
going to be pissed that I didn't give it back."
"What did you do there?"
"This and that. Clerical work ... lots of
paperwork and customer service. It was boring. What do
you do?"
A strange look passed over his face, but it left
quickly. "I'm a musician," he answered.
"Oh, boy, my mother warned me about musicians,"
I teased. "Maybe I should make you get out right here."
"Yeah, we're a decadent bunch," he said, a sly
grin on his face. "We do all sorts of stuff your mom probably
wouldn't
want you knowing about."
I sighed. "You know, that's probably the kind
of stuff I should start doing. I need a little adventure in my
life."
AJ gestured to himself. "Stick with me, Tori,
adventure is my middle name."
"I thought that was Austin Powers."
"No, that's danger."
"Danger, adventure, same thing."
"Maybe ... maybe not."
We both burst into laughter. Maybe he was right. Maybe
he was
exactly what I needed.
