A Love 11

Posted by Adminh, ? Views, Released on April 2, 2025

Ride From a Stranger

The rain is relentless, each drop fatter than the one before.

The water is at least warm, the smell of dirt wafting around me. None of that is comforting though as I walk down the mostly empty road. Only a few cars have zoomed past me, none of them paying me any mind.

The diner is now behind me, having walked about 15 minutes but I still have a dreaded walk ahead of me to get home. I have had enough time to process my thoughts, but still I don’t reach into my pocket to call an Uber.

Fucking Zaid.

It’s my dumbass fault for trusting him.

He’s not the good kind that you can sit with and open up to and expect him to have an appropriate emotional reaction.

My mind races with anger and frustration as I wrap my arms around my waist, my shirt now soaked through and my hair dripping wet.

He left me! He just left me!

I don’t know what I expected from him. The few sweet moments we did share were overpowered by the dumbass shit he always ended up doing.

I shake my head, biting down on my tongue.

I don’t even know my way around here, and I’m going to end up on the news tomorrow

morning.

Body found on the side of the road.

I scream, covering my face with my hands. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I’m so stupid.

The road stretches out before me and my nostrils flare with both panic and full on rage. There’s not a single building in sight, just how far away am I from Melview?

My shoes begin to squelch with every step but the rain lightens up, the clouds shifting as

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the sun shines bright again.

Perfect. Wet and hot, that just feels lovely.

I hear a car behind me, tired against wet road. I don’t look.

Tears prick the back of my eyes and I jump when the car stop beside me, honking. I look over with a frown, and the window rolls down.

A man, with a baseball cap and a short, trimmed beard smiles at me, concern flashing in his dark eyes. “Need a ride?”

I raise and eyebrow and scoff. “No.”

His jaw drops as if he’s surprised with my response. “I promise I just want to give you a ride. It’s getting dark soon, you shouldn’t be out walking alone like this.”

I chew on the inside of my cheeks.

“I have kids your age, I’m just watching out for you.”

My mind still flashes through every bad thing that could happen if I get in the car with a stranger, but something in his eyes tells me he’s being honest. I am miles from home, I’m soaked, and the thought of walking the rest of the way has me wanting to cry.

“I just want to help,” He adds, smiling softly.

Reluctantly, I nod and walk around the front of his car. I hear the click of him unlocking the door and I slide into the passenger seat, not even looking at him. I snap my seatbelt into place and cross my arms on my chest.

“Where to?” He starts driving forward.

“Melview.”

His eyebrows lift, but he says nothing.

I shift, watching him from my peripherals. For an older man, he’s handsome. Dark eyes, tan skin, strong hands that flex as he drives. There’s almost something familiar about him, I don’t know what, but it makes me relax just a bit.

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I take note that he doesn’t wear a ring and that just increases the tension in the air. I wonder if he can feel it.

“Thanks,” I whisper, trying to dig myself out of my thoughts.

“No problem,” he replies, his tone gentle. “I’m Jake, by the way.”

I glance out the window, twisting my fingers together.

“Not giving me your name, huh?”

I look back to him and shake my head.

He smiles. “Smart.”

There’s a twinkle in his eyes and it immediately has me sitting straighter. He draws me in with the playful way he speaks to me, and it somehow feels different to be looked at so intently by him.

We drive in silence for a few minutes, and the nerves get the best of me. I tremble, going

over and over in my head what happened to me earlier today.

I don’t miss the way Jake’s eyes shift over to me from time to time, the way his eyes take in my legs, the way they focus on my thighs. When I turn my head to face him fully, he’s looking directly at me.

He doesn’t look away in shame.

No, he drinks me in, his eyes slowly raking up my legs and to my breasts. He flicks them to my eyes for a second and he turns his attention back to the road. He leans further back into his seat and places his elbow on the door, digging his fingers into his chin.

“Your shirt is soaked through,” He grumbles.

I look down, noticing my black lacey bra clearly through my white t–shirt. I only purse my lips and look away, not attempting to hide at this point.

Jake grunts, and readjusts his hand on the wheel. “So, why were you trying to walk all the

way to Melview on your own?”

For some reason, he makes me want to open up. He’s a stranger, someone I will never

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have to see again and the thought alone is comforting enough.

“I was with a friend and we fought, so he left me,” I whisper, swallowing the lump in my

throat.

“Friend?”

I turn to him and frown, knowing the intention behind his question. “Yes. Friend.”

“What an asshole move.”

I roll my eyes, “That’s one way to describe him.”

“What did you guys argue over?”

Frustration spreads through me and I huff, throwing my head back. “Honestly, I don’t

know. He saved me earlier and then he blew up on me.”

He shifts, gripping the steering wheel with two hands as we approach sharp curve. “Saved

you?”

“It’s stupid,” I shake my head.

“I can do stupid, we have time to kill.”

“Well, there’s this guy I’ve been talking to, but I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”

He hisses, “Tough.”

“She wasn’t all to happy when she found out we were hanging out,” I clear my throat, for some reason trying to avoid the words high school in the conversation. It’s dumb, wanting to appear older in front of him, more mature, but I lack the experience and the knowledge to be able to keep up with the pretense.