A/N: Thank you so much for the fic love. This chapter is twice as long as the previous one, but I just can't help myself when it comes to horror.
They had been on the road for slightly over two hours when the gas gauge showed they were almost on empty. They had contemplated filling up the tank in Boston or even in the suburbs, but they were both too distracted by each other to care. Jane and Maura had gone on road trips together in the past, but it was always with friends. This was the first time they had taken a trip just the two of them and they wanted to take advantage of every moment left until they had to return home and worry about what the rest of their lives had in store for them. For the first and final time in their lives, Jane and Maura were going to forget about the future and just enjoy being young.
Another ten minutes had passed before Maura spotted a sign that said there was a gas station ahead. She had expected the type of gas stations she was familiar with in Boston, so she was surprised to see a run-down station with two pumps that looked as if they had been there since the 1950s. There was a pair of guys about their age standing outside, watching their every move as they pulled up to one of the pumps. There were no uniforms or nametags on their shirts, so Maura wasn't sure if they worked there or if they were just loitering. Regardless, they gave her an uneasy feeling that she couldn't quite shake even when Jane squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring look.
Maura leaned in to give her a kiss, but Jane quickly pulled away. "Not here," she said.
"Why?" Maura asked.
"We're not in Boston anymore," Jane pointed out, but Maura was still confused. "You know I'd never reject you, but people might not be as accepting here and I don't want to put us in any danger."
Maura winked at her. "My perfect girlfriend."
"Your perfect girlfriend wants a soda," Jane quipped.
"Water," Maura argued.
"Beer."
"Wine," Maura insisted.
"Babe, look where we are," Jane said sarcastically. "I'm sure they have the finest selection."
With Jane's words about people being more conservative still running through her head, Maura buttoned up the oversized plaid shirt she had taken from Jane over a year ago. With nothing but a form-fitting tank top underneath that shirt, Maura didn't want to risk being judged by whomever might be inside the store nor did she want to hear any catcalls from the guys standing outside. Jane had offered to let her stay in the car, but Maura insisted on doing her fair share. She'd buy the refreshments while Jane stayed and filled up the tank.
Maura didn't want to stop at that particular gas station, but with no other gas station around, they didn't have a choice. Instead, she stepped out of the car and braved herself for what might be ahead of her. She may have been wearing an oversized shirt, but her short skirt and heels managed to attract attention from the two guys standing outside. They whistled at her and made lewd comments until Jane walked over to them and told one to fill up the tank.
"I'll fill up your tank," one of them said to Jane. As literal as Maura would interpret things, even she noticed the innuendo.
"There's one for each of us," the other pointed out. "When Joseph comes back, he and I can share blondie over there. She looks like she could handle it."
Maura was repulsed by their behavior, but the more she listened to them the more she realized they were all talk. Jane's presence put their masculinity in question and their talk was a way of knocking her down a level, but nothing they said ignited even the smallest bit of fear within Jane.
"Just fill up the tank," Jane groaned. When they realized she wasn't affected by what they were saying, the guys stopped and did as they were instructed.
Although she was relieved, Maura rolled her eyes and walked inside the store. She had expected to see another teenage boy, but she was surprised to find an elderly woman working behind the counter. The woman smiled at her and Maura was comforted by the warmth and sincerity in her smile. She saw a grandmotherly figure in this woman, which made her wonder how such a sweet woman could work with such Neanderthal young men.
Maura took a few bottles of water and a bottle of cheap wine over to the counter and prepared for the inevitable. She took her driver's license out before the woman asked for it in hopes of proving that she was a responsible young adult unlike the young adults she was probably used to dealing with.
"You're far from home, sweetheart," the woman said as she scanned Maura's driver's license to make sure she was twenty-one. "Your boyfriend taking you to a cabin?"
Maura was taken aback by the question. She wanted to say that her girlfriend was taking her to a cabin, but she remembered Jane's warning about people most likely being conservative. "I don't have a boyfriend," Maura said matter-of-factly.
"A beautiful girl like you doesn't have a boyfriend?" she asked. "I don't believe it."
Maura quickly glanced at Jane leaning against the car, casually talking to the two gas station attendants. The hem of her t-shirt touched just above her navel and Maura could see a hint of her abs. She knew she would be seeing so much more of her body later that night, but just tiny glimpses were enough to arouse Maura. With a girlfriend like Jane, Maura had no desire for any man or even another woman, but there was no revealing such information to the elderly woman she was talking to. "It's the truth," Maura said nonchalantly.
After the lady finished ringing her up, Maura handed her a twenty dollar bill and waited for her change. "Have a safe trip, sweetheart," the lady told her when the transaction was over. "Stay out of trouble."
Her last statement made Maura smile. "Thank you and I will," Maura responded.
"You were both dicks to us," Maura heard her girlfriend say to the guys now that Jane and the two of them were having a friendly conversation near the car.
"Hey, man, we have to be," one of the guys responded.
"Maur, I want you to meet Jeff and Brian," Jane said. "Guys, this is Maura."
"Sorry about what I said earlier," Brian told Maura. "We cool?"
"Yes," Maura said although she wasn't sure what was happening.
"That's our grandma inside the store," Jeff informed them. "She and our grandpa have owned this place for about fifty years now and we kinda just chill out here and keep an eye on her. We always keep our guard up regardless of who we see. That's why we were saying what we were saying earlier. We'd never hurt women but we hate when city girls come over here and start acting like snobs to our grandma."
"Jane and I aren't snobs," Maura reassured them.
Brian grabbed a nearby crowbar and handed it to Jane. Both girls looked at him in disbelief and his gesture made them feel uneasy again. "Take it," he insisted.
"Why?" Jane asked, although she was already tightly gripping the crowbar.
"Do you have a gun?" Brian asked.
"No," Jane responded.
"A knife?" Jeff asked.
"No."
"Then take this," Jeff urged them. "I'd give you something better but we don't have any weapons on us."
"What the hell's going on?" Jane asked.
"Two girls alone in the woods," Jeff pointed out. "You never know what can happen."
"We'll take our chances," Jane scoffed. She was about to hand Jeff the crowbar, but Maura intercepted it.
"We'll take the crowbar," Maura insisted. Once the crowbar was in her hands, she held onto it for dear life.
Brian fidgeted with his cap. "Look, we usually don't give a damn, but you two seem cool and blondie—"
"Maura," Jane corrected him.
"Maura," Brian said. "Maura, blondie, whatever. Either way, she reminds me of my girlfriend and I wouldn't want her out there alone."
"She's not alone," Jane said angrily.
"There's no guy with you so you two are basically alone," Brian pointed out.
"Really?" Jane asked sarcastically. "I can take care of my girl."
It was a slip-up—Maura knew it was when Jane silently chastised herself for what she had said.
"Your girl?" Jeff asked.
"Yes, my girl," Jane admitted. Now that their secret was out in the open, there was no turning back.
"Hey, whatever," Brian said although he was trying his hardest not to laugh. "We've seen some stuff around here lately, so watch out."
"What have you seen?" Maura asked.
"It's going to get dark," Jane pointed out. "We should leave now."
Maura was reluctant to get inside the car, but she knew Jane was right about it getting dark soon and they wanted to be settled in by nightfall.
"We warned you," Brian called out to them, but Jane had already pulled out of the gas station.
"I can't believe you took that thing," Jane scoffed.
"Jane, I'm afraid," Maura admitted. "I want to go home."
Maura was taken aback when Jane quickly pulled over. "Babe, look at me," Jane insisted. "You have no reason to be afraid. Teenagers and people our age make up stories. We do the same thing in Boston. Remember that time Frankie and I made Tommy think his room was haunted? He slept on the couch for a week. This is just like that. There's nothing better for those guys to do at that gas station so they mess around with people who stop by. When we first got there, they were making lewd comments and then they switched to warning us about being alone? C'mon, babe."
"Jane—"
"How long have we been together?" Jane asked to illustrate her point.
"Almost three years," Maura responded.
"Almost three years," Jane repeated. "And in that time have I ever put you in any danger or let anything happen to you?"
Maura shook her head. "No, you haven't."
"Then why would I start now?" Jane asked. "I'd do anything to protect you, Maura."
"Fine," Maura sighed, although she still hadn't been reassured. "Jane?"
"Yeah?"
Maura looked into Jane's eyes and never before had she seen such a look of love and sincerity. She was Jane's girl and Jane would never put her in harm's way. "I love you, Jane. I love you so much and I'm going to trust you."
"I love you, too," Jane told her. "And we're going to be okay. We're going to be better than okay. We're going to be alone in a cabin with no interruptions and you'll be wearing nothing but the lingerie you brought in your suitcase."
"You peeked?" Maura gasped.
Jane leaned in and pressed her lips to Maura's in hopes that it would make her girlfriend forgive her for having peeked into her suitcase. "Why do you think I'm in such a hurry to get you to the cabin?"
Maura was grateful for the levity her girlfriend brought to the situation, but regardless of what Jane had told her she still had an uneasy feeling that she just couldn't get through to her.
