The Malibu pulled into the unpaved parking space just in front of the office of the Traveller’s Lodge. The ten room strip motel was just off the side of the roadway, located between here and there in the middle of the forest. There were only two other cars parked outside when Bonnie and Donovan had arrived.

Normally, Bonnie was able to drive much longer into the night. Though she wasn’t exactly tired, she felt like she had needed a break. She and Donovan had barely spoken to each other for the last couple of hours. Unsurprisingly, he seemed fine with that, but she was less so. She continuously shifted in her seat, sitting stiff and upright for most of the way. That awkward feeling lingering between them like a suffocating curtain had distracted her enough to fade what had happened in the forest into a dreamy haze.

For a portion of the drive, she had felt like she should try to summon some sort of contempt for what he had pulled on her, yell at him or scold him or something. The conflicting thought was that if she did any of that, her tirade would end up with her kicking him out of the car or Donovan electing to leave on his own. God help her, she wasn’t ready to leave him on the side of the road just yet.

She was relieved when she spotted the lights of the first motel they came across.

Bonnie turned off her engine and sat there for a moment, staring ahead over the wheel. She hadn’t stopped to consider the room arrangements for the evening.

As always, his actions provided her with the answer. Donovan got out of the car first and Bonnie followed. She looked over the roof at the car toward him as he reached down to grab his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and started to walk away from the motel.

Bonnie asked anxiously, “Where are you going?” Was he leaving?

He turned and said, “I’ll find a spot somewhere to bunk… by a tree or something.”

“Oh.” She nodded. Despite herself, she asked, “Are you sure?” As if there was any other option.

“Well, if you want to continue on by yourself tomorrow,” he replied, “then I’ll walk on down the road and try to catch another ride.”

Confounding man. Confounding man. Inwardly, Bonnie fumed like a boiling pot. “No,” she chirped, shrugging as if a feather had landed on her shoulder, “you can keep riding along with me tomorrow.”

Donovan backed across the road. “Then, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. “Have a good night.”

Bonnie watched him as he blended into the darkness and the trees. She walked towards the office and paused by the doorway, turning to look again at the forest. She rubbed her neck, grimaced, and sighed, “Lordy, I hope there aren’t any bears out there.”

***

Bonnie sat at the bottom of the bed, legs crossed, feeling a bit more refreshed. After a quick shower, she had changed into some comfy clothes: white, soft cotton shorts, and a loose yellow short-sleeve top. Her eyes closed, she rolled her head around slowly, easing the little twists and knots that had wended into her neck and back during the long drive.

She opened her eyes and scanned the room again. When she had first entered Room Nine, she was relieved that it was clean at least, since it was usually more miss than hit for places like this. It was dated and cheap to be sure, with faux wood panel on the walls, and furniture and floral bed covering likely harvested from thrift shops. The blue carpet was a little squishy underfoot, but not damp. Even with every light turned on, the room was still glazed in a lonely, dim, yellow glow.

But wow, the bathroom was certainly bright. Antiseptically white tiles, tub, and sink awash in the light of what must have been a bare, 100 watt bulb. Either she had walked into the halo of Heaven or an interrogation room, Bonnie couldn’t decide. Honestly, she was just happy that there was decent water pressure from the shower.

Bonnie munched on some nachos as she sat on the bed. In her haste to find a place to lodge for the evening, she had forgotten about dinner. Not that she had passed many dining options along the way, but she could have probably picked up a sandwich at a gas station. While her lunch would probably have been enough to tide her over for one night, she still couldn’t resist tearing open a bag of nachos. Besides, they went perfectly with her can of beer. The bubbly, tasty, amber liquid tickled down her throat most gratifyingly and helped blush a healthy pink glow in her cheeks.

As the alcohol coursed through her, her mind wandered a bit as her head turned towards the window. She stared at it as if she could see through the dizzying peacock-tail patterns of the heavy curtains. Somewhere out there in the forest and dark was Donovan. He was probably more relaxed and comfy lying on the dirt under some tree than she was right now, sitting on a lumpy bed.

Thoughts from the day seeped into her addled brain, each marked by her interactions with the lone hitchhiker: passing him on the desert highway the first time, accepting his help with her flat tire, picking him up, and making the detour to that hidden grotto. At that point, her thoughts became more vivid and raw, like experiencing the world unfiltered. From the moment she watched him take a shower at the grotto, to somehow ending up on top of her trunk kissing him, clutching at him, surrendering to him as he brought her to a dripping climax, every sense in her had seemed to have gone into overdrive. Then moments later, they were back on the road, acting just as if they had stopped to take pictures of some innocuous landmark.

It was like she had been pulled out of a mirage. Now she didn’t know what reality she wanted to live in.

Putting aside her indecision for the moment with a heavy, yet wholly unsatisfying, sigh, she finished her can of beer and immediately cracked open another. She picked up a remote, pointed it at the television --flat panel, but maybe an inch larger than a toaster oven-- and switched it on, immediately casting her face in a ghostly glow. Her finger twitched rapidly on the buttons, firing through thirty channels of sports news, infomercials, old sitcoms, and dead air. She probably went through three revolutions in a minute before giving up and leaving it on a channel broadcasting an old Friends episode, just for the sake of having some white noise fill the room.

A short while after she finished her second can of beer, she slowly fell back into the bed. She held up her car keys and regarded it for a couple of minutes, the lucky rabbit’s foot dangling above her. Eventually, she passed out.

***

“Whuzzat?” Bonnie sat up in bed suddenly, roused by what she thought was a voice. She blinked then squinted, focusing on the television. A repeat episode of Law & Order was now playing. As she scratched her head and rubbed her face, she whined softly. Leaning aside, she checked the clock; she’d been asleep for two hours.

A growling rumble of thunder rolled outside. Bonnie heard the heavy spatter of rain drops against the roof and window of the motel. She could tell that the storm was just beginning to pick up.

A fleeting thought skirted across her mind and she sat upright and alert. “Donovan,” she whispered.

Without another thought or hesitation, she stood up and walked to the door. When she opened it, she was confronted by a tall shadowy figure, filling her doorway. Bonnie jumped back, a sharp pitched gasp wheezing from her throat. “Oh… God! Donovan?” she exclaimed, quickly identifying the form and face of the hitchhiker. “Holy shit. Don’t do that!”

Donovan stood in the rain, his bag at his side and his jacket pulled over his head. He allowed Bonnie a moment to catch her breath before he asked, “Would it be okay if I stayed in the car?”

“What?” Bonnie’s heart had just settled back into her chest.

He nodded back toward her car.

She looked around him and it dawned on her what he was requesting. “Oh. My car,” she said. She frowned, then finally kicked herself when she realized the man was still patiently standing in the downpour as she tried to make up her mind. She shook her head and said, “Why don’t you just come inside?”

Donovan paused. “You sure?”

She shook her head again. “Just get in. Hurry. The rain’s coming in.”

He stepped into the room and she quickly closed the door. Standing by the bed, he dropped his bag on the floor and looked around her room, seemingly none too bothered about the fact he was sopping wet.

Bonnie looked at him like some big dog that had appeared in her living room. “Do you want to go dry off in the bathroom?” she finally asked.

Donovan picked up his bag and walked to the back and into the bathroom.

When the door shut behind him, Bonnie pushed her bangs up and exhaled a very long puff of air. Before she thought of what to do next with Donovan, she quickly went around the room, putting away the nachos, throwing out her beer cans, and stuffing her clothes back into her luggage.

The little hairs on the back of her neck stood up when she heard the bathroom door open again. She turned around to find Donovan standing there just like he was at forest clearing by the grotto, only this time he wasn’t just bare chested. He stood there before her in bare feet and without any pants from what she could tell with only a white motel towel he held wrapped his waist.

“Oh,” Bonnie breathed, feeling her heart flutter.

A tidy grin pulled at the edge of his lip. He nodded aside to his things in the bathroom. “Everything’s wet.”

Bonnie nodded, or perhaps her chin just trembled. “Yeah,” she said, “Sorry… I should have let you in sooner.”

Donovan shrugged. “It’s okay.”

She forced an awkward grin and rolled her eyes. “I should have just let you share the room from the beginning, I mean,” she chuckled uneasily, continuing to talk to him as he stood at the other end of the room. “We could have gotten a room with two beds easily enough.”

As he tucked the edges of the towel in along his waist, he looked at the bed and then back at her. “There’s only one bed in this one.”

She froze, suddenly realizing the corner she had painted herself into.

Slowly, Donovan took a step towards her. “You want to ask the office to change rooms?”

Bonnie frowned, her mind whirling. She hated changing rooms at a hotel, it was always such a hassle. She sucked in her lips as she thought, Well, if there ever was a good time to change a room...

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Won’t bother.”

“I could try pulling those two chairs together, sleep on those,” he said, taking another step.

She glanced at the two mismatched, small wooden chairs by the window. It made her chuckle inwardly imagining this guy perched between them like some giant fish on a spit. “I don’t think that would work,” she mocked.

Donovan tilted his head down, raising his brows and nodding towards the floor.

Bonnie frowned, her feet shifting on the squishy carpet. “Ew...no,” she said, “I wouldn’t lie on this.”

He moved within a yard of her and stopped.

Her eyes shifted upward to look up at him. His towering, broad frame blocked out the dull light in the room, casting a shadow across Bonnie from her nose to her feet. Her breathing intensified as he gazed deeply at her and her hands drifted to her belly, touching it lightly with her fingers trying to quell the butterflies beginning to stir there.

“So,” he said, “What do we do, Bonnie?”

Outside, the rain continued to fall, the wind rattled the windows, and the thunder rumbled overhead. Bonnie was unaware of any of it. Her space had collapsed to a radius of exactly one yard and it was being invaded in the most provocative of ways. She remained still even as Donovan took another half step slowly towards her. She was completely in his shadow now.

He raised a confident, heavy hand towards her face and teased aside loose strands of her blonde hair. He curled his fingers and ran his knuckles against her cheek with a surprising gentleness. “What do we do?” he repeated.

Bonnie didn’t move as he continued to brush her face with his knuckles and fingertips. Donovan’s touch set off a storm within her, gripping her in his undeniable energy. She was losing herself to him so quickly as if her brakes had been cut.

Her morning sky blue eyes narrowed on him. She visibly swallowed then mustered as steady a voice as she could and asked, “Were you the one who cut my tire?”

Donovan paused as he held her in his eyes. A sharp grin slashed along his lips. “What do you believe, Bonnie?” he asked in turn.

What did she believe? At this moment she believed two things. One, that the devil was in the detours. Two, she wanted to ride with that devil, right here, right now.

Donovan’s hand slid beneath her chin. His thumb brushed against her bottom lip, pulling it away from her upper lip, her soft, unsteady breath escaping between the gap. Further it moved down, the back of his hand caressing from the side to the front of her neck.

Bonnie’s feet were rooted to the floor even as tiny tremors of excitement worked their way throughout her body. Her flesh was tingling and she shuddered when she felt him stroke his knuckles and the back of his fingers across her breasts, focusing his attentions on her nipples as they stiffened behind her top.

Her own hand raised towards Donovan hesitantly. The tips of her fingers touched his stomach, flinched back, then reached for it again. She traced her fingers along the deep, defined lines of his abdomen, as if exploring a road map. She painted her hand up and down across his belly button. Her other hand joined in and she moved them upward till they were pushing through the soft curls sprinkled across his wide chest. She swirled her fingertips around his dark, brown nipples.

Donovan clasped her hands at his chest and leaned forward. She tilted her head up and to the side, as his lips angled towards hers. They held each other’s gaze for a fleeting moment before he settled his long lips against the soft buds of her mouth.

It was a remarkably gentle kiss, one that belied the strong and smoldering image the man projected. It was a slow burn, melting Bonnie to her core rather than smashing it with an impassioned assault of his mouth. With every rhythmic motion of his lips closing and opening against hers, the kiss deepened.

His strong hands released hers and they both swiftly positioned their arms around one another, locking their bodies together in an embrace, entwined just as their mouths were. Bonnie felt as if she were swept up within a blanket of warm flesh and hard muscle, her lithe, small body secure against his. Her heart was racing, her belly on fire, but she had no doubt in her mind that he would take care of her.

With a smooth twist of his body, Donovan shifted her slowly around, bending her back into a dip as they continued to fold their lips together. Her bottom lip slipped between his and he suckled delicately on it, and then pulled it with a light tug of his teeth.

An aching groan trilled through Bonnie’s throat. There was a thrill in her beating heart, unfamiliar yet so compelling. Donovan was a man her dad had warned her about, yet he was also a detour down a mysterious road, fraught with challenges and elements of danger, with a pay-off too enticing to ignore. The desire to follow that dark, unknown road was impossible to deny.

She groaned softly into Donovan’s mouth, darting her tongue in and out. She fell back against his arms as she felt him raise her up, her toes just above the carpet, and pivot her over and down onto the bed. As he stood back tall and looming, Bonnie, lying on her back on the bed looking up at him, floated on a cloud of déjà vu. At once, the time between when he left her lying on the trunk of the car to now collapsed into one moment. They would resume their session of passion and lust unabated, and take it to its conclusion.

With heady anticipation, she watched as he removed the towel from around his waist and tossed it aside. Her eyes tumbled down from his intense face, along his strapping body, to his crotch where his dark, desirable length of muscle hung and swayed. It pulled at her like a magnet and she sat up at the edge of the bed, closing in on it. Her hands reached out and gathered him up. She rolled it in her palms and fingers, petting and caressing it tenderly like a dear friend. Once again, Donovan took this moment to stroke her face with the back of his hand, and she tilted her head side to side to press against his touch.

Bonnie’s mouth ebbed closer and closer to his tip. She felt his shaft tense and stiffen against her palm and fingers.

She lifted her eyes to his face, watching him watch her as she leaned forward and took him into her mouth. She wrapped her lips around the bulbous tip, pressing her tongue against it before drawing it back out of her mouth like a lollipop. She repeated the motion again and again, intensifying the pressure of her sucks each time until she tasted a drop of bitter jism on her tongue. She lifted her mouth away and pumped the hardening length of muscle with her hand, making it slippery with her saliva and his initial spunk.

Donovan stood firm on his spot, his thick legs holding their ground. As she resumed her efforts along his shaft, his breathing intensified and he stroked her hair in silent appreciation.

Bonnie licked down the side of his cock, pressing the soft skin along the hard muscle against her tongue and cheek. She hummed and gasped with delight as she followed the rippling network of veins up and down from his tip to his base, swabbing him with her glistening saliva. Seconds later, she engulfed him with her mouth again, this time plunging her lips down his length until he was nudging against her throat.

Hands on her head and shoulders, Donovan swayed as she bobbed her head back and forth seated before him. Hungry gasps and slurps, and naughty, wet squelches filled the room. He watched as the fingers of her free hand crawled up his body like a spider, clawing their way up past his belly and to his chest, pulling at his nipple.

Bonnie’s trim brows pinched as she intensified the speed and pressure of her lusty sucks upon his cock. She loved the feel of it, how it hardened in her mouth and hand. She even savoured its bitter taste and earthy scent, her senses afire with just this one sensual act. There was more to come… much more.

Donovan stepped back and her mouth slipped off with a sharp gasp. Her small, pink lips were all glossy and shiny; a web of saliva hung from the edge of her mouth. Bonnie was hungry, and not just from a lack of dinner. It took little effort on his part to ease her back down against the bed and then roll her over, guiding her onto her belly. He then knelt down at the bottom of the bed.

Bonnie reached for a pillow, clutching at it beneath her chin as she felt Donovan grasp the sides of her shorts and panties and pulled them down and off with one smooth tug. She felt cool air on her exposed round buttocks. She closed her eyes and smiled as Donovan slowly slid his hands up along her calves and thighs until they found their mark, wrapping against her bottom. It was a soothing massage. When she felt the scruff on his face press it between the tight crack of her cheeks though, she inhaled sharply.

Donovan’s hands clamped her to the bed as she writhed on the sheets. His tongue stretched out and licked long and slowly up the length of her crack, circling her puckered hole, before snaking back down. He angled his head, lapping her from underneath, adding to the dampness there with his own warm saliva.

Bonnie shuddered, her head snapping back from the pillow as she felt his tongue slink across her slit and around her anus. The scruff on his face tickled and scratched her butt and the back of her thighs as he constantly shifted for a better route for his tongue and lips.

“Unn,” she groaned, biting the edge of the pillow when he introduced a curling, slippery finger to her trembling lips. The pillow dropped from her teeth when she tossed her head back, gasping, as he slid his digit past her slit and into her.

It was too much to bear, Donovan’s hot breath drifting through her crack, his tongue feathering along her outer folds while his finger hooked within her tender inner flesh. Bonnie raised and lowered her hips on the bed, rhythmically humping and bucking against his finger and tongue. Her nails nearly tore apart the pillow cover as she suddenly strained and tensed. Once more her head bucked back as she cried out in near delirious delight as a rush of fluids trembled out of her and splashed onto his fingers and hands.

“Mmm! Oh, God!” she groaned, twitching and shaking as she settled back onto the bed. Gasping against the pillow, she felt like she was on fire, like the whole room was an oven. The once dull lights in the room were now blinding.

Strong hands slipped along her side and eased her over onto her back and pulled her higher up onto the bed. She lay there like a rag doll, hands up beside her head, eyes fixed on Donovan. He knelt at the end of the bed, positioned between her legs. His swollen cock spiked from his powerful torso, the tip pointing to the headboard above her.

Bonnie’s eyes drifted from closed to open repeatedly as she felt the touch of his hands along her inner thighs. Her legs spread further apart when he shifted and bent down between them.

Donovan painted his tongue around the trim tuft of hair along Bonnie’s crotch. It slid on the smooth skin as if it were ice, moving upward to her belly button, plugging it with his moist, nimble tip. Round and round he went on her trembling, white belly, his tongue flinching back with every hitching twitch of her tummy. His hands slid up her sides, pushing her top up until it was over her head and tossed aside.

Bonnie’s round glimmering breasts didn’t feel the chill of the air for very long as they were quickly blanketed by Donovan, one with his groping hand, the other sucked deeply into his gaping mouth. Her lips rounded open wider and wider with each lustful swirl of his tongue around her nipple. She felt the sensuous pleasure of his bold, hard sucks and gasped. Her hand and arm wrapped along his head, holding him against her chest.

As she wiggled and twisted slowly under the influence of Donovan’s roaming mouth and hands, she felt his heavy shaft drag along her crotch and thighs. She reached down and rubbed it with her hand, curling her palm around his tip.

Donovan moved up face-to-face with her now. His long hair tangled within the grasp of her hand and he readily lowered himself to meet her for another torrid, tongue lashing kiss. A moment later, he leaned back and reached down adjusting Bonnie’s legs higher around his torso, her thighs clenching against the side of his buttocks.

Bonnie felt his weight upon her, his muscles rugged and hard against her soft skin, keenly aware of his thick tip mustering at the edges of her slit. She wrapped her fingers around his thick arms. She looked up at him, his handsome face covered in shadow by his lengths of hair that fell around it. Yet his dark eyes still caught the light and gleamed as he shifted his hips.

“Ah-uhh,” she groaned as his cock slid into her slowly. She held her breath and then gasped again louder, pushing her head back against the pillow.

Steadily he moved into her with a long, pleasurable thrust. Within a moment, he had filled her completely, his cock pushed in to the hilt. He stayed inside, throbbing and swelling within her soft, pink flesh.

Bonnie couldn’t pull her lips together if she tried, moans and quick breaths of air slipping past them. She felt her body temperature spike, a mask of sparkling perspiration appearing on her entire face and body. As Donovan, glided back and then thrust forward again and again, she welcomed every stroke with an aching, quick gasp or groan. His pace quickened, but remained fluid and easy allowing her to truly feel the power and strength of his hard shaft.

Her ankles cinched in behind his thighs, just below his buttocks. His butt tightened against her heels each time her surged forward.

Bonnie had no time to think on how such a large body as the one Donovan possessed could remain so controlled. She reached behind his neck and pulled him down to her. She yielded her own body to his, absorbing the rolling gyrations of his hips as he filled her with each delicious thrust of his cock. It felt so damn good.

Donovan kissed her, crushing her lips against his own. He muffled her moans and sighs for a moment then raised his head. As he continued his thrusting motions, he said through a subtle grin, “You like to drive, don’t you Bonnie?”

She had to blink twice to focus her eyes and thoughts. She listened to him repeat the question and she nodded quickly.

Within five breaths, he had switched their positions. He lay back on the bed and pulled her on top. Bonnie was perched over the man, kneeling around his crotch, his shaft pushing up into her. She scratched her fingers through the curls and into the tight flesh of his chest, managing a firm position over him. His thick, long cock was snug fit deep within her tenderness.

“Drive, Bonnie,” Donovan whispered.

The gaze of her soft blue eyes tethered to his, Bonnie slowly swayed and twisted her hips. She felt his shaft stir within her as she moved, her undulating rhythm driving delicious twinges of pleasure from his throbbing piece. She chewed on the side of her bottom lip and tossed her head back, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face. Like a rock rolling steadily down a hill, she moved her hips faster and faster, grinding her crotch lustfully over him.

When she drifted back, bowing her body and leaning her hands against his legs, Donovan dragged a hand to her belly and thumbed her clit. The tease of his digit on her tingling hood drew another round of loud, raspy approvals from the woman.

“Oh! Oh, fuck!” Bonnie gasped as threw herself forward and fell against Donovan’s chest like a survivor onto a life raft. More out of breath than physically exhausted, she allowed him to go back to work. He seized her butt and back then bucked his hips, filling her with brazen, stiff strokes from underneath.

Bonnie’s smaller body slid against his. He was perspiring heavily as well now. His long muscles shined nicely, she could see them working, expanding and contracting. More importantly, she could feel them working, extending themselves to draw as much pleasure from the moment as possible. Low, growling grunts drifted from the man’s lips to her ears, enhancing the hit of satisfaction pulsating through her.

Minutes later, Donovan was in the driver’s eat again. With Bonnie on her knees and her hands pressed up on the headboard of the bed, he thrust into her from behind, spanking her butt with his crotch. Bonnie’s eyes were welded shut, her brows twisting towards each other. She felt the sweat rolling down the side of her blushing face. Her mouth was ajar, harsh moans and expletives spilling out with every firm thrust of his cock. Her tongue lashed desperately along her pink, plush lips, and just as quickly her quick, hot breaths dried out.

Donovan held a tight a grip around her waist. Her slick, slender body slipped beneath his fingers, but he steadied her enough to ensure each of his long strokes were potent and strong. The solid slapping sound of bare flesh against flesh, along with their moans and grunts of pleasure, shook the faux panel walls.

A momentary concern of what possible neighbouring motel guests might be hearing was flushed out of Bonnie’s frenzied mind in a second. A pronounced thrust from Donovan ending with a delicious gyration of his hips, drove her to slap her hand against the wall and scream, “Ohh… fuck !”

They raced to the finish as they began: Bonnie on her back, her sweltering flesh against the now damp and crumpled sheets of the bed. Her legs were raised and bent over Donovan’s arms. He leaned over her, curling her body, raising her butt off the bed, then filled her with undulating thrusts.

Bonnie was aware of only the cool, determined gaze, the strong body, and pulsating shaft of the man above her and the sensuous, electric vibe coursing through her own hyper-stimulated body and mind. The regret and consequences of picking up this hitchhiker, this wanderer, this lustful, passionate man, would have to wait. For now, there was only him and her fucking like beasts.

It had been a damn long drive the past two days.

She could hear his breaths shorten along with her own. Through his parted lips she saw his clenched teeth. The bed creaked and bounced against his quickening thrusts. Her own body tightened, a fire surging through her, curling her toes, and digging her fingers into his flesh. She twisted her crotch, mashing it against his each time they came together.

Suddenly, Bonnie curled her head back over the pillow and called out to the ceiling, “Oh, God!” She felt her tummy seize up then a bursting, wet climax flow from within. She trembled and shuddered uncontrollably, her breaths hot and desperate. She felt Donovan sliding his cock within her still, even as a rush of liquid dripped along her butt and anus.

Donovan thrust into her again, and held there for a momentary gasp of air. He withdrew before throwing his hips forward once more, a stiff thrust driving his cock deep within Bonnie’s waiting flesh. His hard body froze and he was silent before he suddenly shook, a small quake rippling from his stomach to his butt then all over his body. He grunted, a primal and raw gush of air through his teeth, and reared his head back.

Bonnie felt him jet within her. His cock pulsed and throbbed, splashing more of his rich cum inside. She clenched tight around his shaft, eliciting another sumptuous rattle of his sturdy frame and another intense throb from his shaft.

Heaving and breathing like a horse after a hard ride, Donovan eased back on his knees, dropping Bonnie’s exhausted legs. His cock pulled out, slick and messy, dripping more pearly beads of cum on her thighs and crotch. He leaned back, sweeping his hair back with his hands, his shiny flesh glowing red all over his chest and neck and face.

Bonnie lay in the bed unable to move. Though her muscles ached and she could barely breath, it was gratifying for her to see that the big man was in just about in the same, exhausted condition as she was. Her hand slid down between her legs and skimmed along her petals, smearing through the sticky, thick, dampness she found there.

Donovan settled onto the bed beside her. The two of them lay on their backs looking up at the ceiling, aglow from their torrid encounter, their breaths slowly returning to them.

Outside, the storm had subsided.

It was then that Bonnie had to come to grips with the fact that she had broken another one of her dad’s road rules: she had forgotten to check for bed bugs.

***

The Malibu pulled up and stopped at the “Vista” point. Bonnie and Donovan got out and stretched on their sides of the car, taking in the fresh air from high up on the ridge. From this point, they were able to see the city and the sea stretching across beyond it along the endless horizon. She would be at her destination in a little under and hour. Her family were waiting to fill her ears with endless gossip, scandal, and jibber-jab. Yay.

While Donovan had a smoke, Bonnie stepped to the edge and pulled out her cellphone. She held out the Marky Mark doll, took a few pictures with the scenery in the background, and then messaged them to her friend back home. She texted: “Show these to Boomer. He hates drives but he likes beautiful scenery.”

When Donovan finished his cigarette, he went to the car and pulled out his bag from the back seat.

“You sure you want to get out here?” Bonnie asked.

Donovan said, “Might be able to hitch a ride when someone stops by here.”

She nodded and looked back toward the coast.

In the morning, when they had left the hotel, Donovan said that he wouldn’t go all the way into the city. He’d take his wanderings down another road. Bonnie at first wasn’t sure how to react to his decision. Did she really want him to come to the city and possibly have him run into her family? After a long pause, she finally had said simply, “Okay.”

After they had their heated moment at the motel, there was no cuddling or small talk. It was as if they had both silently agreed that it was a one off. They knew one another’s first names and that was it. No ties or commitments, it was best that way. They would part and go down their own roads after.

Bonnie got into her car as Donovan walked over to a large stone at the edge of the cliff and took a seat. She pulled her sunglasses down over her bright blue eyes, the image of the hitchhiker reflected in them as she looked at him. A few seconds later, she drove away, and quickly disappeared around a curve.

Donovan sat on the stone looking across the sky. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little green rabbit’s foot. He rubbed the soft fur with his thumb and wondered why it was green.

Seconds later, a car pulled into the Vista point and waited, its engine running. Donovan got up and walked over to the driver’s side as the window rolled down. He held out the rabbit’s foot.

“Yeah, as if I was really going to leave this with you,” Bonnie chuckled, grinning. She took the small trinket from his hand. As she attached it back on her key chain, she looked up at the hitchhiker and asked, “Do you want to go to a wedding? It’ll drive my family crazy.”

Donovan grinned and walked around to the passenger’s side. Bonnie popped the lock. After throwing his bag into the back, he got in and they drove away towards the coast… just a little detour during his road trip.