Rocco’s hands slipped from around the throttle of his bike, and he lifted his hand to wipe the sweat off of his brow. The run down gas station that he pulled in front of had just flickered on it’s lights for the day. The gas station attendant ambled around their booth and tugged at the sides of their dark red vest.
Rocco shook his head. I remember when Mom tried to get me to work a normal job like that back in the day. I laughed her off like it was the most ridiculous thing that I’d ever heard. If I had settled for a gig like that, I probably wouldn’t be running halfway across the country with no clue as to where my Old Lady and my unborn kid are.
A navy blue sedan pulled into the gas station. The driver’s side door opened and a long legged woman stepped out of the car. Her heels clicked against the asphalt as she headed towards the building. Her short, flirty, sun dress fluttered around her knees.
As if she could feel Rocco’s eyes resting on her legs and back, she turned her head and grinned. A thick bundle of dark hair followed her, and she winked before turning back around and heading inside.
Mariah used to wear little dresses like that. Rocco sighed, and lifted his legs off of his bike. His head swiveled on his shoulders and he narrowed his eyes at the rural scene that took place behind him.On the other side of the dirt road between the gas station, was a couple of tractors and a couple of guys leaning against them.
Rocco wore a friendly grin and lifted his hand towards them. They nodded their heads in response, and Rocco took a few steps towards the gas station. His shoes created clouds of dirt as she shuffled inside of the building. He pushed his hand against the glass and stepped inside. The cool breeze of the air conditioning, which had to be cranked all of the way up, hit him instantly.
He dragged his knuckles across his cheeks and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. The woman that had met eyes with him in the parking lot turned her head and offered him another smile. Her lips were lined with a wine colored lipstick, and her big, brown eyes scanned his face.
Rocco nodded politely and said, “Good Afternoon.”
Her voice hit his ears like a suggestive caress, “It is a good one, isn’t it?” The woman’s voice was rougher than most women’s. Hailey’s soft, high pitched voice wouldn’t have been able to get a word in with this woman around. The woman moved forward in line and set her elbows on top of the counter. “I’ll take twenty on five, and a pack of menthols. I’ve got a long trip ahead of me. Oh, I’ll also pay for whatever he’s getting.” She jerked her thumb back at Rocco and said, “Now’s a good time to grab something to eat.”
Rocco’s eyes widened and he waved his wallet out in front of her. “You don’t need to do that, I’ve got it.”
The woman raised one of her bony fingers and wiggled it out in front of him. “Nope, something tells me that you’re out of my league, and that you’re going to say no if I ask you out. So, I’d rather do something nice for you so that I can think about it later.”
The cashier coughed, and the woman gestured at the man that sat behind the glass. “See? We’re holding him up.”
Rocco sighed, but a smile crept in on the edge of his lips. “Alright, you can pay for my gas.”
The woman reached into her purse and pulled out a thick band of twenties. She stripped a few bills off of the roll and handed them over to the cashier. She twisted her head and turned towards him, “See? Look at how easy that was.”
The cashier slid a few singles back to her and she tucked them into the folds of her brown colored satchel. She slapped her hand on Rocco’s shoulder and slid past him, “Have a nice trip.”
Rocco watched her dress swish around her legs as she went. He turned his head and shared a glance with the cashier that stood behind the counter. The man bounced his eyebrows and grinned, “Lucky day, huh?”
Rocco shook his head as the woman slipped into her sedan and steered the car onto the dirt road. “Maybe if I didn’t already have an Old Lady.” He chuckled and said, “You know how it is.”
The cashier nodded and Rocco said, “I have the bike at eight, that’s the one that she was paying for, just so you know.”
Rocco stepped outside and walked up to the gas pump. He unhooked it from the holster and chuckled to himself. He squeezed his fingers around the pump and his eyes followed the tractor that ambled about across the street.
***
The heat had finally broken around midnight. Hailey had gone through the motions for most of the afternoon, trailing behind her mother and Becca as they walked throughout stores and holding maternity dresses up to her body. She sighed, the heat had been grueling, she was confident that you could have slipped into any one of the health food stores in her mother’s neighborhood and tossed an egg onto the sidewalk only to see it perfectly cook around the edges.
Hailey stretched her legs out, and worked her hands into the tops of her legs and the back of her knees. The feeling of her fingertips pressing into the soft skin underneath her knee reminded her of the gentle pressure that Rocco would apply as he’d grab her legs for leverage. A chill shot through her body, especially when she thought of the way that Rocco would use his thick, massive hands for so much good. Hailey tossed her head back and sighed.
Her eyes drifted over to the set of keys that rested on the end table beside her. She set her hand on top of the end table, and turned her eyes towards the carefully packed drawstring bag that rested against the doorframe.
When can I leave? She slipped off of the bed and carefully walked across the floor. Hailey pressed her body into the door and wrapped her hands around the doorknob. She pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. A draft sailed through the empty hallway, she winced as the floorboards creaked underneath her footsteps.
Hailey craned her neck to look over the bannister, and ran her eyes over the armchair and sofa in the livingroom to see if she could spot a hint of Eric lounging about. Eric was a bit of a night owl, which was the complete opposite of his wife’s sleep pattern. Anna usually retired around 10 each night, while Eric would meander into the living room around that time and devour a book.
I really don’t need any questions from Eric. Hailey crept down the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief to find the sofa and arm chair abandoned. She pulled the heavy front door of the brownstone open. Hailey stepped onto the stoop, and nodded at a young couple that moved along the sidewalk.
The woman leaned into the man by her side. “I’m going to have a ton of work to do tomorrow, I can’t believe that I let you talk me into this.”
Hailey sighed and moved down the steps and onto the sidewalk. The moonlight glinted off of the metal of Rocco’s bike. She moved towards it and set her palm on top of the throttle. I was in such a hurry to get here using this thing. Now I can’t wait to go back. Hailey tossed one of her legs over the bike and sat back on the motorcycle. Well, it’s not that I can’t wait. I just don’t know if I can afford to sit back and hope that Rocco is okay.
The cold metal of the bike pressed against her inner thighs. Hailey ran her palm over the delicate curves of the bike. A door smacked against the frame as a woman jogged down her stoop. Her trash swung from in between her fingertips and she wrinkled her nose and offered a quizzical glance to Hailey.
Hailey grinned and slid off of the bike. She jogged up the steps and slid back into the brownstone. She moved over to the sofa and collapsed into the pillows. Hailey wrapped her arms around her belly and extended her legs out onto the sofa. She watched as people moved past the bike outside, and moved down the street and away.