:9:

She sat quietly in the passenger side of the GTO. The driver kept his face focused completely on the road. Good thing - they were up around 100 miles an hour. The windows were down. She trapped her long blonde hair back with one hand and held half a joint with the other.

Didn't know where they were going. Didn't much care. As long as they were moving - the speed, the road in front - black, full of promise, flowed like a river beneath them. It felt good. Moving forward with more promise than being stuck in a small town with nothing to do.

"Get me one please", he finally spoke. And as he spoke he turned to her and smiled. The distance between them, as distant as the destination ahead, ended. His smile was quick and broad. Bright white teeth in a warm brown face. A good face for a good man. She handed him the joint and reached behind her for the cooler full of beer. She grabbed one and set it between his legs. She took another for herself and set it on the floor between her feet. He reached for it, popped the top and took a long long drink.

"Happy?", he asked.
"Not bad", she replied. "Glad we left?"
"Yep. Good to be with you. Just you and me huh?"
"Just you and me".

To make her laugh, he smacked the empty beer can against his head and threw it out the window. They rolled on. She'd known him for two days.

JH