I hate flying. I hate driving too, but not as much as flying. So here I was behind the wheel of my truck, fifty miles south of Knoxville on Interstate 75 and a long, long way from home. Not that there was anything waiting there that excited me.

The last job had been a good one. I'd been sorry to see it end. The problems were real for a change-challenging-something I hadn't experienced in a while. When my software company went belly-up in the dying throes of the dot com era I thought my life was over. Then a competitor called with a problem on a program that was three months overdue for delivery and my new career was born.

I charged a flat fee; a quarter of a million bucks, regardless of how long the job lasts. That's expensive and it scared some business away at first, but that was the way I wanted it because I only wanted the tough assignments. Problem was that after a while I got a reputation for always delivering on time and clients decided it was worth it to hire me to baby-sit projects just to reassure nervous customers and investors. Especially when analysts started spreading rumors that a software project was in trouble and the company's stock started to tank.

The road was wide open and I was tired. I should have gotten a decent night's sleep and headed back in the morning, but I'd been packed and I always got depressed when I hung around after a job was finished. I decided to stop for gas and some coffee at the exit that was a mile away according to the road signs. Southern Tennessee was desolate, but was rolling and green and more interesting than the long flat stretches of Georgia and Florida that lay ahead.

As I approached the exit I noticed her. A girl, hitchhiking. That was interesting in itself. You don't see many hitchhikers at all anymore, let alone females, and most of them look like terrorists. This girl was young, and cute in a road weary, sweaty sort of way. She wore jeans and a plaid shirt, and a huge backpack. She didn't signal for a ride at first; she looked at my truck, hesitated and then stuck her thumb out. I waited before turning on my signal for the exit; I didn't want her to think I was pulling over for her. As I slowed and pulled off the highway I glanced in the rearview mirror. The girl turned and watched me exit, shifted the weight of the backpack and started walking again. It was one of those things you see and then have to puzzle over, a person who seems out of place and probably out of their mind to be doing what they're doing. And I felt sorry for her.

After I gassed up I decided to get a late lunch. There was a diner that looked inviting and I wasn't in a hurry anyway. After a club sandwich, a pretty decent piece of apple pie, several cups of black coffee and a pitstop in the bathroom I was ready to go again. I was twelve hours from home and toying with the idea of driving straight through just to get the trip over with. I would need gas one more time, an opportunity for another break and maybe a nap; my truck - actually an SUV but I liked to call it a truck because it sounded better - really sucked the fuel but it had a huge tank.

I pulled onto the entrance ramp squinting into the afternoon sun and there she was again. The girl hitchhiker was standing on the shoulder at the entrance to the freeway, looking like she was waiting for me. Instead of holding her thumb out she was holding a blank, ragged piece of cardboard at her waist with both hands. She looked smaller than she had earlier, and as I got closer I could see her face. She looked nervous, or scared or worried, it was hard to tell which.

When I was thirty feet away and had just about convinced myself to stop for her, the girl flipped the cardboard over and held it out at arm's length. I glanced at her face first, drawn by the sudden look of defiance, then down at the cardboard, a makeshift sign. Scrawled in dark, block letters the sign said:

I'LL BLOW YOU FOR A RIDE TO CLEARWATER

Not what I expected. Either because of the shock of the message, or the look on the girl's face, or the fact that her destination was so close to where I was going that it seemed weird, I stopped. I didn't exactly slam on my brakes but I had to lean on them pretty hard and I skidded a little when my wheels hit the shoulder. Not very dignified, and I was embarrassed because it would look like I was anxious to take the girl up on her offer. It didn't seem to bother her, though. I watched in the passenger side mirror as she ran the fifty feet that separated us, a big smile lighting up her face.

She opened the door a little.

"You want me to put this in the back?" She was holding up the backpack. I could see the girl better now. She was about 5'5" with an athletic build, slim but muscular. Like a swimmer maybe. She had fairly long, medium brown hair that curled in little, delicate ringlets. Her face was exotic, like she had a little bit of Asian heritage. Her nicest feature was her eyes; large, expressive, and dark. The cheekbones were nice too.

"Sure. Let me get the door," I said, pausing to adjust my slacks as I got out. Maybe I was a little anxious about the girl's offer after all, and I felt silly. Like a high school kid on his first date, hiding an involuntary boner. I couldn't help it, spontaneous sex never happened to me.

I opened the back door and it swung up, revealing the interior and a lot of leather upholstery. The girl whistled.

"Nice car. I didn't know Cadillac made an SUV," she said.

"It's really a decked out Suburban with a better radio," I replied, still nervous. I took the backpack and stowed it, then shut the rear door. We stood there for a second, the girl still holding the sign. The words "BLOW YOU" seemed like they were flashing on the cardboard and it was all I could do not to stare at them.

"You want to get in?" I finally asked, nodding toward the passenger side. She smiled, and then we parted to head toward our respective seats.

"You better buckle up," I said, starting the car. She pulled the shoulder harness across her chest and fumbled with the latch as I eased onto the highway, determined not to spin my tires. Everything felt awkward, and then as I accelerated I realized that I had the transmission in second gear. Flustered, I shifted and then swerved back into my lane. I glanced at the girl and attempted a smile; my heart was pounding like crazy and I could feel sweat dripping down my temples even though it wasn't hot outside and the air conditioning was working fine.

I accelerated smoothly to seventy miles an hour and set the cruise, concentrating on driving and beginning to feel a little more composed. Neither of us had said anything for a couple of minutes though, and that was starting to feel uncomfortable. I drew in a slow breath and looked over at the girl. She was looking at me, a quizzical half smile on her face, and didn't look away when our eyes met. The cardboard sign was in her lap.

"Why are you doing this? You don't seem like the type," I finally asked.

"To give blow jobs or to go to Clearwater?" she answered. I felt my face burning as I stared out the windshield without really seeing the road.

"To be hitchhiking; but yeah, the first thing too," I said without looking at her.

"I've never hitched before. It was my boyfriend's idea; he was supposed to go with me. Then he went on a three-day-going-away-celebration bender and at the end of it decided he didn't want to move to Florida. I need to get to Clearwater to start a job so I went by myself," the girl said, all the toughness and sass gone from her voice.

"Why me?"

"I saw your license plate when you passed me the first time. Pinellas County; that's where I'm going. So I waited on the entrance ramp for you, thinking about what to do. I'm not very good at hitchhiking. I've been mainly walking for two days, and only covered like two hundred miles. If I'm not in Clearwater day after tomorrow I lose the job. So do you want me to do it now?"

"Do what?" I asked.

"Blow you, silly. That's what I said I'd do."

Now I looked at her. She looked serious and determined and I had no doubt she'd do it. And she was even prettier than before; some of the tension had drained from her face and it made her look younger. I felt my engorging dick creeping over toward my left pocket and every fiber of my being was screaming 'yes'. Getting sucked off by a gorgeous young stranger while motoring down the highway was a fantasy for the ages.

"Um, no. Not now, we've got plenty of time," I said instead.

"Thank god! I'm really beat; I'd have probably fallen asleep in the middle of it," the girl said. "You mind if I take a nap?"

At first I was afraid that the falling asleep comment was an insult but her eyes were drooping; she looked exhausted.

"No, go ahead. You can recline the seat; the controls are on the side," I said.

She played with the buttons for a while like a kid, trying each one. Finally she figured it out and with a steady hum the electric motor moved her upper body back forty-five degrees.

"Thanks for everything. This is so comfortable," she said.

I looked over ready to say something clever but the girl was already asleep.

It took me fifty miles to stop kicking myself for being so stupid. I should have taken the blowjob; waiting would only make it more awkward and the girl might change her mind. Me and my stupid conscience. It was the story of my freaking life. Between being incredibly slow on the uptake and worrying about hurting feelings or feeling guilty afterwards I'd missed out on more sex than I'd gotten. Like the time after my high school graduation party when Emily Honeycutt more or less passed out in my car. I could have balled her brains out and she was an incredible babe. Kind of stupid but she had big tits and this really tight little ass and her dress was already practically falling off of her. But I didn't; I just kind of held her for a few hours while she slept it off and then drove her home. And I still caught hell from her dad when I dropped her off. I never saw her again, so what difference would it have made?

The girl started to snore softly, probably because she wasn't reclined enough and her head was leaning over at an awkward angle, her mouth hanging open a little. She was slumping toward me, and the shoulder harness was shoving her blouse open, pressing against her right tit. I could see the smooth skin of her chest all the way over to her armpit. I couldn't see any tanlines, or any bra straps either. The gentle rise of her breast looked incredible, and I was pretty sure I could see the outline of her nipple through the fabric of her shirt. If only that damned seat belt moved over another two inches I thought, trying to judge if the shirt was unbuttoned down far enough. Probably not, I decided, so instead I eased over and leaned my head back trying for a better angle, still keeping my attention half on the road.

I saw enough to figure out that she had bigger tits than I thought, and had done some tanning without a swimsuit, at least up top. The rest of my passenger looked terrific, too. The jeans were tight across her slim thighs, which were spread slightly, and the pants were cut low enough that the waistband of her panties was peeking out. A little scallop of lace, and yellow, my favorite color. By now my boner was back with a vengeance and was aching for relief. I rubbed myself through my slacks, which didn't help much but at least it got my dick into a more comfortable position. Collecting the girl's fare for the ride would solve the rest of my problem, and I decided that waiting a while would make it even more special. I turned my attention fully to the highway and drove.

She slept for over three hours. By then the coffee was wearing off, or at least working its way through my system. I was going to need to stop before I needed gas, and dinner was starting to sound like a good idea. The sandwich and pie were all I'd eaten that day and I was hungry again.

The girl stretched and looked around, disoriented. Then she looked at me and remembered.

"Hi. That was great. I didn't get much sleep last night. I've got a sleeping bag but the ground was pretty hard and there were a lot of animal noises," she said. She went straight for the right button this time and returned her seat to more or less upright. She leaned over and pulled off her sneakers, then rubbed her feet. She had on cute little anklet socks and her feet were small for her size, with slim ankles. From the grimace on the girl's face I could tell her feet were hurting her.

"How come you were walking so much?" I asked. "I wouldn't think you'd have any trouble getting rides."

"I just had two before you. A family picked me up first, but they were only going an hour or so on 75 before they got off. Then this morning a trucker stopped. He said he thought me being a girl and not bad to look at hurt me. People would think it was a setup - that my boyfriend would jump out and rob them or something as soon as they stopped," she said.

I nodded. I hadn't thought of that but it made sense.

"What happened with the trucker?"

"I had to make him let me out. It got uncomfortable," she said.

"In what way?" I asked. She grimaced.

"First I kept catching him trying to peek down my shirt."

"No shit?" I blurted. "What a loser!" I could feel my face reddening.

"Yeah, and then he suggested that we stop and climb into the little bedroom he had in the back of the cab. For a little 'poke and tickle session' he called it. He was really gross."

She didn't seem to want to provide any more details, and the whole subject felt uncomfortable. Particularly since she owed me a blowjob. Maybe losing that ride because she wouldn't give the guy what he wanted was what gave her the idea with me. As the scope of the mess she was in and how tough her two-day trip must have been sunk in, I could simultaneously feel my sympathy for her rising and the chances of me collecting on the blowjob falling. Crap, that damned conscience acting up again.

"By the way, my name's Brad," I said reaching over to shake her hand. It felt tiny in mine; small like her feet, cool and soft.

"I'm Kate. I'm glad you did that, Brad. I was so tired and nervous when I got in that I forgot to introduce myself, and now I was afraid that it would seem silly after, um, some of the stuff we've been talking about and riding with you for..." she stopped, looking out the car window. The sun was nearly down; it was after seven o'clock.

"Hey, where are we? How long was I asleep?"

"We're a little south of Atlanta. You were asleep for three hours," I said, pleased at the big grin this evoked.

"South of Atlanta! That's great! We're making great time," she said, and looked like she wanted to hug me. Instead she wrapped her arms tightly around herself, and closed her eyes. When she opened them it looked like she wiped away a tear, still looking very happy.

"Listen, Kate. I'm going to need a break in a bit, for some dinner. And I was going to drive straight through but I don't think I'll make it. I'm pretty tired."

She looked like I'd let the air out of her, her face suddenly pale.

"But you'll still take me the rest of the way? Please, I'll do what I said. I wasn't trying to get out of that," Kate said, her voice small and quiet.

"Of course I'll take you. And on the other thing... you don't have to. I'd feel better if we just forgot about it," I said, a sick feeling settling into the pit of my stomach as I kissed my blowjob goodbye. Kate was staring at me with a funny look on her face. I was guessing it was gratitude, and she looked like she might cry again.

"Thanks. After the way my trip started all this was seeming like it was too good to be true so I guess I was nervous." She paused, biting her lip and staring at the piece of cardboard under her feet. "I made the sign up just for you; it was the only thing I could think of to get you to stop for me, and I was desperate. I was so tired and everything seemed pretty hopeless."

At one of the exits for Macon there were a bunch of restaurants and hotels. I pulled off and chose a Crackerbarrel. There seemed to be one at every Interstate exit in the South, and while they weren't terrific they were reliable. There was what looked like a brand new hotel right next door that shared the parking lot, a national chain I liked.

"I'll just wait in the car. I'm not very hungry," Kate said.

"Bull! I ate right before I picked you up and I'm starved. Besides, your stomach was growling like crazy while you were asleep," I said, smiling. "Come on, dinner's on me."

"Are you sure? Oh, jeez. Thanks, I'm famished," she said, then leaned over the center console and kissed me on the cheek. It was apparently my day for blushing, and I worked up a good one quickly. I got out of the truck and then had to hurry to catch Kate, who was heading for the restaurant at a trot.

She ordered a waffle with bacon, and then asked if she could have a hamburger too. And she ate almost all of the cornbread and rolls that were on the table.

"So what's this job you're moving for? A hotel?" I asked. Tourism was the lifeblood of Clearwater. Along with the Scientologists, who owned about half the town. I didn't think Kate was the type for a cult. She got another funny look on her face when I asked the question.

"No, nothing like that. It's a job with a software company. It doesn't pay a lot to start but it's the area I want to get into. Microtechnology and manufacturing at the molecular level mainly. The company writes software to help with the processes. Kind of boring," she said.

"Is it SoftTronics?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah! Have you heard of them?"

"Yes. It's a good company," I said. I'd done some work for them. They were cutting edge but their financial backing wasn't; I'd heard they were in some trouble. "What was your major?"

"Computer science and biology. Most people think that's a weird combination but it's really not," Kate said, studying my face for a reaction.

"I know it's not. A very hot combination right now," I said, which seemed to please her. Then the waitress brought our food and Kate tore into her waffle like a lioness on a gazelle. For five minutes she didn't take a break except to sample her hamburger and fries.

"Sorry to be a pig. I was really hungry. I've got some money but couldn't afford to spend anything on food because I'll need it when I get to Clearwater. I didn't think it would take this long to get there and I ate everything I brought with me the first day," she explained.

The longer I talked to Kate, the more I wondered how she got into such a fix. A college grad in a good field hitchhiking a thousand miles across the country, with no money for food.

"Don't worry about it. Usually when I buy meals for women they're way more expensive than this one, and the women enjoy them way less," I said.

Kate smiled, but looked like she was thinking my comment over. She slowed her eating down to a more dignified pace. Her eyes really were beautiful, and she had a fantastic smile. Straight, brilliant white teeth and full, dark lips. She glanced up and caught me staring.

"So, do you have a family?" she asked.

"My parents are alive, and I've got a sister," I said, guessing that wasn't what Kate meant. "I'm divorced, no kids."

"What went wrong?"

"We got married right before I started my own company. Bad timing. I was more interested in my work than my marriage and after a while my wife got tired of being home alone and decided to do something about it. My fault. That was three years ago."

I'd been finished eating for a while. Kate still had some waffle left and didn't look like she was planning on wasting it. I put some money on the table for the tip and stood up.

"I'm going to pay the check and then walk over to that hotel next door to get a room. I'll get one with two beds and you can stay with me if you want. I promise I'll behave myself," I said.

"I trust you, Brad. That would be great. I was going to offer to sleep in your car but a bed would be heaven. I really, really appreciate all your help," Kate said, making eye contact. She looked pretty serious, and was studying my face like she was expecting me to say something else. Instead I just nodded and walked away. When I got to the door I looked back. Kate was still watching me.

I got the room and hauled my suitcase and Kate's backpack in and sat them on our respective beds, which looked pretty close together. Probably standard spacing but I never noticed it before. I'd thought about offering her a separate room but didn't, telling myself she'd be uncomfortable letting me pay for it. The truth was I wanted to be with her. And not because I expected anything. Since Kate had climbed into my car I'd felt more alive than I had in years.

I was already starting to dread the next day. With a decent start we could be in Clearwater by early afternoon. I would drop Kate where she wanted to go, she'd thank me and walk away and I'd never see her again. Like someone you sit next to on a really long plane ride. You form an artificial bond and then there's that uncomfortable moment when you get off the plane. By the time you see them with their family or whatever at the baggage claim you don't even acknowledge each other.

The backpack was heavier than it looked. When I moved to Florida after my company folded I was divorced and Amy had taken most of the furniture but I still needed almost a full moving van. It was hard to believe that a human being could move, to start a new job and life, and bring everything they had in an oversized camping pack. Kate was barely operating at survival level but she seemed more optimistic and satisfied with herself than most people I knew. All my stuff hadn't made me happy.

When I got back to the restaurant Kate was finished eating and looked enormously relieved to see me. As though she was worried that I'd ditched her. She jumped up from the table and ran to meet me. While we were walking out she stayed close; not touching me but not worrying that people would know we were together.

When we got to our hotel room she looked around, moved her backpack off her bed and then lay down on top of the comforter and stretched.

"Oh, man that feels good. Can we turn the air conditioning way up and ask for extra blankets?" she asked. I nodded. Kate's shirt had come untucked and her abdomen was showing; smooth and tanned with not a hint of fat. After a minute or so she sat up.

"I can't lay down or I'll fall asleep. First I want a shower; a long, hot shower. I've been in these clothes for two days and I've never been so grimy," she said.

"Be my guest," I said, smiling. "Just leave me one towel."

Kate went over and pulled some stuff out of her backpack, then gave me a little wave as she disappeared into the bathroom. I heard the shower come on and then a few minutes later she started singing softly. The songs I recognized were from Les Miserables, one of my favorite plays.

I adjusted the thermostat the way Kate wanted it, and then called housekeeping for the extra blankets. The hotel wasn't particularly efficient, but the blankets still arrived several minutes before Kate finished her shower. When the bathroom door opened, steam billowed out, followed by a vision wearing an oversized tee shirt. She had a towel wrapped around her head, her legs were showing to mid-thigh, and her skin looked moist and smooth and squeaky clean; glowing.

"Wow. You really clean up nice," I said, then worried she'd take it the wrong way.

"Thanks. I wasn't in there too long, was I?" she asked. I shook my head, then collected some toiletries and a modest pair of pajamas from my suitcase.

"I'll just take a quick one. Make yourself at home. The maid brought the blankets." As I said this, Kate was staring at my pajamas and she looked like she was trying not to smirk.

When I got into the shower, I noticed the stuff Kate left. A washcloth, her shampoo and a little partially used hotel bar of soap, and the shower was still warm and dripping from when she used it. It was silly, but it felt intimate, her naked body had been there only moments before.

I was still trying to figure out what was so damn funny about my pajamas. What did she expect me to wear, a tee shirt and my underwear like her? Christ, she looked good. That's a lot easier when you're just out of college. I was in pretty good shape for my mid-thirties but it sure as hell got harder every year, especially since I was on the road a lot. I promised myself that as soon as I got home I'd start exercising again and lose five pounds. Maybe ten.

When I finished Kate was already propped up in bed, one of the extra blankets spread over her comforter. Her hair was down, but still looked wet, and she had her hands folded demurely on her chest outside the covers.

"Did you want to watch TV or something?" she asked. I glanced at my watch. It wasn't quite ten o'clock yet, early for me but I knew how tired Kate was.

"No. We've both had a long day, and we should get an early start tomorrow. I'm ready to hit it," I said. I turned out the room lights leaving only the lamp on the night stand, and climbed into bed. When I looked over, Kate was staring at me.

"Good night, Kate," I said. Saying it felt good.

"Good night, Brad. I..." She paused. "I can't thank you enough, for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you. I was so scared when you stopped for me. Anyway, thanks."

All of a sudden missing out on the blowjob didn't seem so bad. I turned off the lamp and rolled onto my side, facing her.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew the bedside clock said it was almost midnight. There was a little light from the window and my eyes had adjusted so that I could see the outlines of the room. I jumped when I felt something nudge my shoulder. I looked up. Kate was standing next to the bed. I watched as she pulled the big tee shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor. A tiny pair of white panties, all she was now wearing, seemed to glow in the dark. I could hear her breathing, shallow and fast.

"I'd like to sleep with you, Brad. If it's okay," she said.

I didn't answer right away, probably because of oxygen deprivation to my brain. All my blood was gathering in a different part of my body. She was close enough that I could smell her skin.

"You don't have to do that, Kate," I said. I felt lightheaded, and I was dying to reach for her.

"I want to. And not to pay you back for the ride. I just want to be with you."

Instead of answering I took her by the hand and drew her in, holding up the edge of the covers. She scooted over against me, and hooked a leg over my thigh. Her nose was an inch from mine. Kate was panting now, and the hot little bursts of air seemed to pull my mouth to hers. The kiss didn't waste any time on preliminaries; we were immediately fully engaged, tongues darting and working for position to taste each other more completely. I ran a hand up her thigh, over the waistband of the panties at her hip and then across the firm smoothness of Kate's stomach, finally coming to rest on her right breast. As I cupped it she moaned, pushing against my fingers. Her tit was full and firm, and it tapered to an exquisite point, the nipple erect.

As I stroked her, Kate rolled onto her back. My other hand found its way to her mons and my fingers slipped between her legs. She was already wet, soaked through the panties. I broke the kiss but kept my face close, eyes locked on hers in the dim light.

"Are you sure about this Kate?"

"I'm sure. I've just got two questions," she said.

Startled, I nodded.

"Who irons your pajamas, Brad?" Kate was grinning.

"The drycleaner," I said. "What's the other question?"

"Are you going to take them off, or am I going to have to do it for you?"

As I scrambled to comply, Kate pulled her knees up and slipped off her panties. We were both naked now, and as we embraced and once again locked lips, the feel of Kate's body against mine overwhelmed me. I rolled on top of her and her hips cradled me. My hands found the perfect symmetry of her ass as hers stroked my back and came to rest on my shoulders. Her legs were wrapped around me, heels stroking the backs of my thighs.

I kissed her again, and then shifted my weight letting the head of my cock find its way to the wet, warm spot at the center of her. When I knew I was there, I leaned against her just enough to penetrate but not enter her all the way. Kate gasped, urging me with her hands but I was not going to be rushed. I eased back and then pressed against her again and again, savoring the bliss of the most sensitive parts of our bodies touching.

I didn't want to let myself go until I was sure that Kate was ready. I pushed my right hand between us and found her clit with my index finger. My other fingers pulled back the wet folds at the top of her pussy and stroked as I teased and rubbed her. My cock was still between her legs, pressed against her labia.

The restraint was killing me, my senses overloaded, a dull ache of desire spreading from my groin and threatening to squeeze the breath out of my lungs. Kate was going wild, her knees drawn up almost even with her shoulders.