Dire

“The snow’s picking up.” She changed the subject as I turned onto the Mass Pike.

“Back to the weather, are we?” I teased.

“It’s appropriate considering what it looks like outside.”

“Think of this as an adventure then.”

“An adventure? Right.” She turned to look out the window, but I caught a smile on her face first. She had a nice smile, the kind that actually showed off teeth.

Nice. At least I was making some progress with her.

We drove for about another hour before we came to a near standstill in traffic. The lines of cars went on for as far as I could see. It was probably an accident. “Fantastic.”

“Do you want to stop? We can still turn around or find a place for the night.”

I’d have been more than happy to find a place for the night with her, but that wasn’t in the cards. “No, the snow isn’t too crazy right now. Let’s pull off at the next town so I can put the chains on.” I didn’t want to admit it, but the snow was getting heavier. With chains I’d be able to get through the mountains, but without them it might get dicey.

“Okay, we can reassess then.”

I smiled. Reassess. This girl was something else.

We crawled for another twenty minutes before we finally hit the exit. I pulled off, looking for a gas station with a covered area and an open twenty-four hours store so Mary Anne could grab us some food. Half a mile down the road, I found something better, a station catty corner to a diner that still had its lights on. I decided to deal with any angry response head on. “One of us needs to do the chains and the other needs to order food. I’m not about gender stereotyping but—”

“I’ll get the food. What do you want?”

I laughed. I guess I’d been wrong about her response. “Surprise me.” I winked.

She slipped back into her coat and zipped it up. She looked adorable with the hood on, but I kept that assessment to myself.

I opened the tail gate and pulled out the chains. It would probably take longer for her to get the food, but I wanted to get the chains over with. Even without the snow, it was cold as hell out, and I was ready to get inside.

Fifteen minutes later I walked inside and glanced around for Mary Anne. She was seated in a booth chatting with an older couple sitting at the next table.

“Hey.” I slid in across from her.

“Hey. Did you get them on?”

“Yes. It’s not my first time doing it.”

“I know. I just felt bad leaving you out there like that.” She gazed out at the snowy parking lot.

“Aww, thanks.” I noticed a cup of coffee. “How’d you know I wanted this?”

“It’s late and we’ve got hours to drive. Whether you wanted the coffee is meaningless. You needed it.”

I sipped the hot coffee, enjoying the warmth on the way down. “Thanks.”

“Don’t you want to know what I ordered you to eat?”

“I told you to surprise me, I’ll find out when it gets here.”

“You didn’t mention your friend was so handsome.” The older woman smiled at Mary Anne.

I grinned. “You were talking about me?”

She shifted in her seat. “I was assuring this nice couple that I wasn’t out in this weather alone.”

“Of course not. I mean girls can’t even travel themselves, can they?” I smirked.

Mary Anne kicked me under the table.

“Well, you two would make a lovely couple.” The woman smiled.

“We would, wouldn’t we?” I didn’t know why I was messing with Mary Anne, but it was unbelievably fun. Her facial expressions were priceless. I even got another blush out of her.

She shook her head. “Oh look, our food’s coming.”

A waitress walked over with two large white plates. She placed mine in front of me.

“Perfect.” I grabbed one fry from the heaping pile on the plate next to my turkey club.

She blushed again. “Glad you like it.”

She took a bite of her identical sandwich.

“You assumed I liked the same thing as you?”

“No, I remembered,” she mumbled before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Remembered from?” I wracked my brain. Had we had a meal together before?

“That’s what you ordered when you went out to eat with my family in high school.”

“Uh…” Did she seriously remember what I ate that long ago?

“I have a really good memory.” She stuffed a fry in her mouth.

“Wow, I’m flattered you remember.”

“Don’t be. I told you I just have a good memory.”

“Whatever you say.” I forced back a smile. Good memory or not, she was into me. That thought made me happier than it should have.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Uh oh. I’d worry you were going to say you were pregnant, but we haven’t had sex.” Not yet. Fuck, I couldn’t think that way. She was off limits. Completely off limits. I shouldn’t have even been joking with her that way. It just sort of happened. She was bringing out that side in me.

Both members of the older couple looked over. Mary Anne glared. “Very funny.”

“Okay, what is it?

“There are a couple of decent hotels around. Maybe we should see if we can find one with an open room.”

“Mary Anne, I’m flattered you want to get me into a hotel room, but I’m kind of in the mood to get home.” Total bullshit. My pants were tight just thinking about her in a hotel room, but it would lead to trouble.

She kicked me again, this time harder. “With all these sex jokes I’d think you were the one who wanted me.”

“Who said I didn’t?” No use lying to the girl.

Her face paled and she said nothing. Had I actually left her speechless? “We’ve got the chains and a truck. We’re good.”

“Ok. I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.” She slid out of the booth and walked away.

“She’s a keeper.” The older man leaned over.

“Yeah, thanks.” I had to get myself in check. What was going on with me? Maybe this is what happened when I went close to two months without getting any. It was my longest stretch of celibacy since I was sixteen, but I just hadn’t found anyone worth my time in a while. All the girls I attracted seemed desperate or something.

“I mean it. Don’t be stupid. Girls like that are hard to find, and when you do find them you need to keep them.” He reached over and squeezed the hand of the woman I assumed was his wife.