So Much for That, cont. ~ an excerpt from my novel in progress by D. Savannah George
Sly, that's the name of my trucker, for some reason decided to adopt me and called his cousin Ben, who was even taller and bigger than Sly. Which I wouldn't have thought possible, as big as Sly was. How Ben could fit under a car is still beyond me.
Sly told me stories about being a truck driver while we waited for Ben and the tow truck, a monstrosity with "Murphy Towing" emblazoned in garish colors. By the time Ben found us, my shirt and hair were soaked with sweat, which could be either incredibly attractive or incredibly not, depending on how you looked at it. Either way, I really wanted a bath.
"Howdy, ma'am," Ben rumbled, all business, hooking the Buick to his truck. When he started the motor to pull the car up, it groaned a little but then got the car moving. The car barely fit on the top of the tow truck, but Ben managed to get it secured.
"Jesus, how much does this thing weigh?" he asked of no one in particular.
"Her name's Jessie," Sly said. Guess he was starting to realize how annoying all the "jesuses" could be. "I gotta take my load in. Will you take her in with you?"
"Yeah, sure, sure," Ben said, waving Sly away.
Unlike Sly, Ben stayed quiet, just moved trash out of the passenger seat and motioned I should get in, then said nothing. Which was fine by me, considering how tired I suddenly felt. As we pulled into the garage, Ben asked if I had somewhere to stay.
"Well, no, can't say as I have," I said. "You got any suggestions?"
"Sure, sure," he said, which I learned later was one of his favorite sayings. "There's a hotel right up the street. Run by my cousin Patsy."
I stood quietly next to the wall while he unloaded my car.
"You need anything?" he asked when he was done, wiping his forehead with a bandana similar to the one Sly had been wringing, only his was green.
I grabbed the suitcase I was pretty sure held my clean clothes, and he drove me to the hotel in a car even bigger (and uglier, for that matter) than my Buick, then escorted me in, as if I might get bad service without a proper introduction.
"Patsy, this here is..." he trailed off and looked blank, so I jumped right in, holding out my hand for her to shake.
"Jessie, ma'am, pleased to meet you. Ben here and Sly have been kind enough to help me out since I'm having a spot of car trouble."
Patsy ignored my hand like Sly had.
"How long you planning on staying?" She was all business, just like Ben.
"I guess it depends on how long it takes Ben to fix my car."
"Well then, I'll put you in room 3A." She started rambling on about the rules of the hotel, which I barely listened to and promptly forgot. "I'll need $50 right now."
I blinked at her, reached into my blouse and pulled three sweaty $20 bills out of my bra.
"Here you go," I said cheerfully as I handed them over. "You might as well hang on to the change. Who knows how long it will take to get my car running again!"
Her expression remained bland as she took the money, put it in the till and then handed me a key, impressing me to no end.
So there I was, right in the middle of a nice dream, when loud banging interrupted.
"Yeah?" I squinted against the glare when I opened the door.
"Jessie?"
"Yeah?"
"Uh, I was wondering if you wanted to get some lunch or something," a male voice said, and I suddenly realized it was damn near noon, and Sly stood in my doorway.
"Yeah, just give me minute," I said, though truthfully I probably needed more than that.
