THE SIXTH WHEEL, Part Two
by Clarice_Lecter

It was almost three hours before Ray and Carlos returned to the hideout. Ray was driving a Family Cruiser station wagon he'd stolen from a residential neighborhood, with Carlos close behind in Laura's car, and they were surprised to see the lights out.
They parked the cars in the garage, then started inside. "I thought Max was gonna stay up 'til we got back," Carlos said in an agitated tone.
"Give the guy a break, he's not as young as we are," Ray replied. "Maybe he needed some sleep, too."
"Yeah, don't we all."
They reentered the house, Ray turning on a lamp before heading to the bedroom. "Think we should let 'em know we're back?"
"If they're asleep, there's no sense waking them u - !"
It was then Carlos noticed the bedroom door was closed. "I don't remember the door being shut last night," Carlos now said.
"Carlos, she's a girl, hello?" Ray retorted. "A girl needs her privacy. Still, it wouldn't hurt to check on 'em."
They looked in the other rooms, thinking Max had crashed in one of them. When they realized he wasn't sleeping in any of them, they got totally confused.
"You don't think...?" Carlos now asked.
"I told you before, he's old enough to be her grandpa," Ray replied. "I'll prove it to you. If he IS in there with her, chances are he's sleeping on the floor."
"So open the door, hot shot."
"Gladly."
A smug look crossed Ray's face as he slowly opened the door. "There," he said, not yet looking into the room as they began to walk in, "what did I tell - !"
When Ray turned around, he and Carlos got a surprise neither of them had looked for. "Oh, my God!" Carlos exclaimed upon seeing Max and Laura cuddled in the bed.
Laura had unzipped her sleeping bag into a blanket before she and Max had gone to bed. Their clothes lay scattered on the floor, right down to their underwear, and it appeared she'd inadvertently popped a couple of his shirt buttons while they were undressing.
An open box of condoms lay on the nightstand nearby. One of them had been used, and judging by the fingernail scratches across Max's back and the love bites on their necks this had been a very passionate tryst.
"So much for Laura having a tough time cranking HIM up on a cold morning," Carlos mused.
"C'mon, let's get some sleep," Ray whispered, "we don't want to wake up the lovebirds."

Carlos and Ray awakened the next morning to the feverish sounds of Max and Laura's lovemaking. "Not again," Ray whined, rising from his chair to start a pot of coffee.
"Some guys have all the fucking luck," Carlos grumbled, stumbling off the sofa before heading into the bathroom to take a shower.
"Tell me about it."
Max and Laura finally emerged from the bedroom half an hour later. Laura had put on Max's dress shirt, while he'd pulled on his slacks and put his t-shirt on. "'Bout time you two came up for air," Ray teased as Max and Laura sat at the kitchen table, their faces giving away their afterglow.
"Don't you start," Max half-warned, lighting up two cigarettes and giving one to Laura, "Laura and I hadn't seen each other in awhile."
"So you were playing catch-up?"
"I told you, smartass, don't start."
"Guys, don't fight," Laura said in a sweetly sleepy tone. "We've still gotta get Fuckwad Nick outta jail, remember?"
Max softly held her hand. "She's right, y'know. How'd you and Carlos do getting another car?"
Ray poured four cups of coffee, then sat at the table with them. "It took us awhile, but we managed to find a station wagon in one of the bedroom communities. It's parked in the garage next to Laura's other ride."
Laura and Max looked at each other, then she picked up the newspaper and swatted Ray with it. "Now don't you pull a Nick Bartkowski on me!" she scolded.
"Hey, take it easy! What do you mean 'pull a Nick - !'"
Then it dawned on Ray. "That asshole hit on you in Nevada, didn't he?"
"Hell, yes. When ah told him ah was taken, he wouldn't let up. When he was here a couple days ago, did y'all notice he had a shiner?"
"Yeah."
"Ah'm the one who gave it to him. He backed down when we stopped at a gas station to fuel up, acted like he was sorry an' ever'thang. But when ah went in t'pay fer the gas, he took mah car an' left me hangin'."
Carlos had overheard the conversation during his shower, and came out to join them after he'd dried off and put on a clean pair of jeans. "Does Nick know about you an' Max?" he asked.
"All Nick knows is ah have a fella. He don't know it's Max, at least not yet. Ah'm just dyin' t'see the look on his face when he realizes LC Haggerty happens t'be me."
Max squeezed her hand gently. "Take it easy, babe, we don't know what his bail's gonna be set at yet," he said before looking at his watch. "We have to be in court a few minutes before nine. It's seven now, so we'd better hurry."

END OF PART TWO