The Hitcher, Part 2

The Hitcher:
By karriejj@hotmail.com

Part II:

They opened the doors at the same time and before John could grab his
cigarettes, Konni had picked up the pack.

"Thank god you smoke," she said flipping the box top back. She extracted one
with her long manicured nails and slipped it in her lips.  "Don't mind if I
bum one do you? Mine got soaked in the rain."

John watched helplessly as Konni withdrew a lighter from her pocket and
brought life to the tip of the cigarette. She took a half pull on the
cigarette, inhaled it, and then drew deeply, As her cheeks hollowed, twin
streams of the first inhale jetted out her nostrils. She then closed her eyes
and inhaled deeply, holding it for an eternity.

She exhaled a tight stream towards the windshield and the smoke rolled over
the dash like waves on the beach.

"You OK?" she asked John.

John stood staring curiously at Konni. It was two things that had frozen him.
One was the fact that Konni was smoking in his company car, filling it with
the noxious smell of the smoke. The other was the fact that Konni was smoking
in his company car, looking like a vision of pure sex and lust that
captivated him like nothing had before.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Sorry," he offered and climbed in. He put the car in drive and
performed a U-Turn and rolled back up on the Interstate. In the brief amount
of time, the hard rain had turned to large snowflakes.

From the corner of his eyes he watched Konni. She held the cigarette propped
very daintily next to her face. She brought it to her lips and she squinted
slightly as she drew hard. She then inhaled, bathing her lungs with his
cigarette smoke. Although her window was cracked, she made no attempt to
direct her exhale outside. Instead she filled the interior of the Jeep with a
voluminous cloud that swirled around each of them.

John fought hard to keep his concentration on driving, but inside he
struggled with the fact that Konni was 'polluting' the inside of his Jeep,
not to mention the clothes he was wearing. But she looked so good, so damn
good. Finally, he spoke.

"Hey listen, would you mind..." he began.

Konni cut him off before he could finish. "Oh, I'm sorry. How inconsiderate
of me." She pulled the ashtray out and trimmed her ash and then sat her
cigarette in. She reached for the pack and extracted another cigarette and
lit it quickly. She drew just enough to get it lit and then handed it
outstretched to John.

She spoke through bursts of smoke. "Here ya go John, and thanks again for the
ride, you're a lifesaver."

John was speechless and felt a bit light headed and out of sorts. It wasn't
what he had wanted, but he helplessly took the cigarette and examined it
briefly. A slight hint of Konni's lipstick coated the filter. Almost in slow
motion, he brought the filter to his lips and drew. In that instant, John was
'outed' to someone; he was actually smoking in the open and a rush of
satisfaction and triumph filled him as he inhaled it down.

Konni watched him and reached for her own cigarette. She drew and nodded in a
sort of approval as they both exhaled into the Jeeps dimly lit interior.



John and Konni talked for the next 45 minutes getting to know one another as
the snow increased and road conditions worsened. Konni was intelligent,
outgoing, and confident in every way. She was 20, and in her junior year at
Washington State, majoring in business with hopes of going to law school.

Their pleasant conversation turned as they approached the town of Ellensburg.
A stream of traffic slowed to a crawl and they could see highway patrol
directing traffic to the exit. John slowed enough to put the Jeep into 4
High, 4 wheel drive.

John looked at his watch and huffed and stress clouded over him. They
approached the highway patrol and John rolled down his window and was greeted
by the blowing snow and winds.

"I-90 is closed up ahead, all the way to Seattle. We're advising travelers to
get off the road now and wait it out. Should be clear by the morning."

John simply nodded and turned on his blinker.

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