Chapter 23

No human being should ever have to ride a fucking bus Lynn complained to herself. You always end up sitting near the stickiest, fattest, and hairiest human male imaginable she almost puked at the image, which wasn't far from her reality. The man sitting behind her and Jeff was stinky, fat and hairy. Not to mention he snored louder than the engine roared.

"You okay?" Jeff asked noticing her fidgeting.

"I'm fine I just hate buses," she complained.

He smiled and shifted in his seat to face her a little. "Why do you hate buses?" he asked trying to strike up a conversation. They had been riding the bus for almost ten hours and she hadn't said more than ten words. He was bored out of his mind and usually she always had something of interest to talk about. It didn't matter what it was, it was how she talked about it. Everything was important to her. Nothing was to small to trivial.

"A bus is a moving port-a-john. They stink and the one person in your life you never want to meet is always riding that same bus and they either sit right next to you so they can rub their hairy sweaty bodies against you. Or they sit behind you and try to suffocate you with their stench," she rambled in an aggravated tone.

"Are you trying to tell me something," he said trying to lighten her mood.

She was in such a bad mood but she took one look at him and couldn't help but break into a smile. He was the only reason she being as calm as she was. If it wasn't for strenuous circumstances she wouldn't even be on the bus. She took a deep breath and counted backwards from ten.

"Still feel like murdering everyone in sight?" he asked.

She chuckled, "I'm sorry I just really really really hate buses. The person who created a bus should be shot in the kneecaps and quartered then buried alive."

He cringed and shifted in his seat. "I would not want to piss you off," he commented.

"My mother had a short temper and she would have these small explosions, but my father on the other hand had a long fuse and when he exploded...you better duck and cover," she laughed.

He regarded her a moment, "I imagine you're a lot like your father."

"I am...I was a daddy's girl," she smiled. "He was my whole world growing up. What ever he said was right and everyone else was wrong." she paused a moment. "They died right after I graduated high school in a car accident. I don't have any brother or sisters so...here I am."

"Five years is a long time to move around," he said.

She nodded, "I met Vickie in Kansas a few months after."

"Then the two of you just traveled around the country huh?"

She turned in her seat and leaned against the window, "It wasn't so bad you know. Never staying in one place always moving around. Now, I will admit it would probably suck if you were by yourself but if you've got the right company then it would be a blast."

"Did you ever meet Carolina...Vickie's cousin?" he asked out of the blue softly.

She shook her head, "No...Vickie never even mentioned her by name but...she did talk about a cousin of hers." She saw the lost look on his face. "Why do you ask?"

He shook his head, "No reason...just curious."

She tilted her head, "What's he like?"

"Who?" he asked looking her direction.

"Mariachi...what's he like?" she asked curiously.

He shifted his gaze as if he were looking out the window. "He's a lonely man who loves all the wrong women."

"What do you mean?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cigarettes. "It seems every time he falls in love with a woman they end up being killed. That's how he met Carolina...he was avenging his lost love."

"That's sad," she said hanging her head looking at her hands in her lap. "At least he doesn't loose hope of finding another."

Jeff just shrugged and lit his cigarette.

She watched him take a puff. "People have a habit of wanting to hide from such emotions after they've stung them so many times. Truth is, that's how you know you still feel. If it doesn't hurt anymore...then you don't care anymore," she said.

"Or maybe the right one hasn't come along," he suggested.

"True," she nodded. "My daddy used to tell me that there was a man out there that had half of my heart already, and when I finally found him I would know it...at the right time." She stared at him watching for any kind of reaction to her words. Over the last three months her infatuation of him had grown into affection and respect. She wasn't the type woman to try and get someone to return her attention. She hated woman that threw themselves on a guy after knowing him for a week or less and wouldn't leave him alone even when he showed no interest. If that was all they wanted was sex they should've left it at that. One night stands or even f*ck buddies were simple. You left your baggage on the front door...and when you left you picked it up and went on about your business, easy as that.

"Mind if I ask you a personal question?" he asked interested. "It's someone I've been dyeing to know since you mentioned it."

She looked at him curiously, "What's that?"

He cracked a small smile, "You said your first time wasn't bad just...not perfect. What'd you mean by that?"

She blushed instantly and cleared her throat, "I um...I didn't loose my virginity till I was twenty and uh...God this is so embarrassing." she paused to gather her thoughts. "...Vickie was what you would call a man-eater. She couldn't get enough of men, period. She was the horniest woman I had ever met. We were at this bar just sitting around when these two guys walked up and introduced themselves. Of course Vickie jumped on the opportunity to get laid and left me alone with his friend. Amazingly enough he didn't try to get in my pants right off we just sat around and drank while we talked. A couple hours went by and we headed to my room and...he popped my cherry, " she said the last bit with a bit of an English accent. "I never saw him again."

"He didn't pressure you?" he asked.

"If you're implying he raped me, no, he didn't," she assured. "I was curious about it and I had just enough alcohol in me to lower my inhibitions to allow myself the courage to go through with it."

"Do you even remember his name?" he teased playfully.

"Do you remember who you lost your virginity too?" she shot back.

"Lacey McCall," he groaned.

Lynn giggled, "That bad huh?"

He groaned again, "You just don't know."

She laughed and shook her head. They fell silent and she suddenly felt sleepy. Maybe I'll sleep the rest of the way she thought hopefully. She shifted in her seat and laid her head on his lap. "Mind if I use you as my personal pillow?" she asked hopefully.

He shook his head lightly, "Get some sleep sugarbutts."

She smiled and closed her eyes.