Interlude: Country Hospitality

The first thing I heard was the heavy rumble of what could only have been an American V-8 engine in all its thunderous glory. I kept my focus on the broken piece of serpentine rubber that hung loosely under the hood of my gold coloured 1991 corolla. I heard the opening and slamming of a heavy car door and then the sound of creaking springs.

"Howdy!" I heard from beneath the 2 pm Sunday sun. But where I expected to hear the gruff voice of a walking redneck stereotype, I heard a voice full of authentic cheer. I lifted my head from the gas scented insides of my clunker and peered around the wobbly, propped hood.

"Howdy?" she said again, waving a small hand in my direction. She was seated on the hood of a massive, off-road equipped Ford F-150, dressed in yellows and reds.

"Hi," I said back -- I wasn't sure if she was just a cute talking hood ornament, a bait designed to capture me and feed me to a monster truck, or the actual driver of that behemoth.

"You look like you could use some help," she said with a slight drawl. Added to her infectious grin, she was utterly adorable.

"Yeah," I said, wiping my hands on my jeans and walking around to the front of her truck. "I heard something snap under the hood and my steering got really heavy. I don't know if its the timing belt that blew or something else. What I do know is a rubber belt is busted and I don't have a spare one. There's no cell reception either -- so, I'm at the mercy of strangers."

She slid off the hood of the truck and landed gracefully on the ground and started to walk towards me -- she was a tiny woman, barely a hair over 5 feet tall. She wore a wide rimmed, straw cowboy hat and had huge, beautiful green eyes, a small button nose and lovely, slightly pouty lips. All of that beauty in an oval shaped face. I couldn't help but notice her long legs as she wore the shortest daisy-duke like cut-off denim overalls I'd ever encountered. Her ankle-high boots clapped on the asphalt as she came around me and looked into the engine cavity of my junker. I stood back to give her some room and saw she wore a blue t-shirt with a meshed back, exposing her lacy black bra to me, as well as the sides of her D-cup breasts. When she bent over, her overalls rode up slightly and the bottom of her bubbly ass became visible.

I tried to concentrate and reposition my growing hard-on by imagining her father or brothers running me over in her truck.

She straightened and extended her hand to me and said, "My name's Alice."

"I'm Colin," I said, her hand disappearing in mine.

"Well, I guess we're not strangers no more," Alice said, letting her fingers linger in my palm.

"Indeed -- so I guess I can't count on your mercy anymore," I said with a smile. "What with us being acquaintances and all."

"You can always count on the hospitality of a country girl," she said as she crossed her hands behind her back and tucked her chin in.

"Can I count on an open auto parts store?"

"'Fraid not," Alice said. "Good news is: its not your timing belt. So if you shut your hood, put her in neutral, I ought to be able to use my chains and tow you to Brick's Autoworks. That's my cousin's garage. Just keep you engine running and follow my lead and brake when I do, we should be there in no time."

"That's in the next town?"

"Yup," Alice answered while opening her driver's side door and reaching behind the seat. She pulled out two thick chains and gave them to me before taking her seat in the massive pick-up. "The town's Rockshire -- about a fifteen minute drive from here."

Alice started her truck and the engine barked before settling to a content rumble. She put it in gear and moved the truck in front of my corolla while I watched; she got out and took the chains from me and I shut the hood of the car as she expertly set up the chains, wrapping them around the pick-up's rear bumper and under the corolla's bumper and on the frame.

I slipped into the driver's seat and the turned the ignition on as commanded -- Alice was back in her truck, gave a thumbs up and we slowly pulled onto the road, a tenuous caravan on way to the city of Rockshire.

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After we dropped the corolla off at her cousin's auto shop, Alice drove slowly down Rockshire's main road, pointing out the house where her mother worked as a nanny and the post office from where her daddy worked as a mailman.

"They've been dead for three years," she answered when I asked what became of her parents. Any other question I might have had was drowned out by Luke Bryant booming from the speakers. She was a country girl to the bone. She still pointed out some points of interest like the town hall where a fox was elected as mayor in 1975.

"You remember that?" I asked, struck with the idea of her being alive in 1975 -- I was born in '71!

"Course not, silly! I was born in 1988."

My smile floundered a bit -- she was almost twenty years younger than me. Goddammit!

"But that's ok," Alice reassured me, somehow reading my mind. "You're kinda cute when you blush," she added while patting my knee. My cock jumped at her touch.

"Your baby blues are pretty too," she added quietly as she pulled into Brick's bar & grill. I ran my fingers through my short cropped, dirty blond hair.

"Same cousin?" I asked.

"Yup."

"So what doesn't he own in this town?" I pondered.

Alice was already out of the Ford -- I noticed she had left her cowboy hat on her seat.

"Me," she said with a smile. I watched for a few seconds and she bounced towards the bar's front door, the edge of her tight ass ever so slightly visible from the bottom of her cut-offs. I sighed before getting out of the truck and catching up to her.

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We took a booth by the window and Alice put her chin in palm, her fore and middle finger on each side of her mouth and she looked out the window. It was pass three in the afternoon and the sun crept slowly to it setting below the horizon. Alice's straight blond hair hung just down to the nape of her slender neck.

"You pickin' up strays again, Alice?" a husky voice said, pulling Alice from her reverie. I turned and saw a tall, thin waitress with bottle born red hair and too many lines around her eyes. Her name tag baptized her Trudie.

"You know it, Truds," Alice laughed. "But only as long as I can find'em a bed for the night." Trudie winked knowingly at Alice while looking me over.

"So what's it gonna be, handsome?" Trudie asked, flipping her order pad open.

"Just coffee for now." She made a quick scribble of my order.

"And you, Alice?"

"You know my usual, hun," Alice said with a wink of her own.

"Chicken wings and a brew it is," Trudie added to her order pad and walked behind the bar and pinned the paper to a hook that caught the attention of the grizzly sized cook.

I watched Alice as she turned her attention back to the window -- my eyes roamed across her lips and down her neck. "So -- strays are a habit of yours?"

She cocked her head to the left and peered at me, chewing her lower lip slightly before answering. "I wouldn't call it a habit, Colin -- you just looked like a good guy who needed help."

"That part is true enough," I said as Trudie deposited my coffee and Alice's beer on the table. The coffee had a deep, rich aroma -- better than I expected to find in Rockshire.

"Now I have to ask, after leading you into town and all: what brings you to this neck of the woods? I don't see many Quebec plates down here."

"I quit my teaching job after embezzling a cool half-mill I got stored in a duffel bag in the trunk, and I was looking for a secluded motel run by a crazy taxidermist," I stated flatly. "Except that with the exchange rate, my half-mill is worth only 63.40$ on this side of the border. So, I guess I'm fucked."

Alice gazed at me from over the rim of her glass before busting a gut. Beer dribbled down her pointy chin and I fought the urge to like her clean of it.

"Well," she giggled, "the Bates Motel is thataway." She was pointing in the direction we'd come from.

"How could I have missed it?" I pondered. "But seriously? I did quit a teaching job I'd just restarted after taking a hiatus following my wife's death."

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed. "I ... I'm sorry."

"It's okay. She passed away seven years ago. But I felt I needed a change of scenery so I sold everything, bought a beater of a car, and just ... drove. I wanted to write a book about the experience, kind of a follow up to Kerouac's On the Road.

"But the roads are a lot less -- I dunno -- spontaneous, than they used to be, you know?"

Alice just observed me, sipping her beer. I paused a moment for Trudie to deliver Alice's plateau of hot wings.

"It's like the whole idea of taking a road trip without a fixed destination is some kind of aberration. Every where you go ends up having a web site touting its virtues."

"Did you find one for Rockshire?" Alice asked as she gnawed on a wing.

"I did, actually," I said, smiling at the sauce that stuck to her lips. "But it ... it didn't mention you."

It was her turn to blush.

"I think I know how you should start your book," she said after wiping the sauce from her lips.

"How's that?"

"This girl found me by the side of the road ..."

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It was half past four by the time we left Brick's Bar & Grill -- I finally ordered some ribs and we talked some more. I paid for our meal and Alice brought me back to my car where I could grab my duffel bag.

"Does your cousin Brick own a motel in town?" I asked.

"Yeah, but ... I wouldn't let my worst enemy stay there. There's room enough for you to crash at my place -- if you wanted to."

Our eyes locked and we both knew, at that moment, that neither one of us was going to get much sleep. I tossed my duffel bag into the cab and climbed into the truck's passenger seat.

Alice spun the wheels of the truck before pulling out of town.

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Alice's house was a huge, two story building with a veranda that went around the entire dwelling, and it was hidden from the main road by a 500 foot, curvy access road. She lived there alone while her siblings were gone to school or the army. I found out that she was a partner in the businesses her cousin Brick operated, so she had enough money coming in to live comfortably -- although she did put in a few hours a week as a receptionist or a waitress at the grill.

She drove her pick-up around to the back of the house and pulled to a stop in front of a patio door covered by a thick iron grill. We got out and I retrieved my bag as she unlocked the door -- I looked over her yard and it was a deep stretch of land bordered by dense woods. I could see the occasional opening which must've been animal trails -- there was a large watering hole near the end of the yard.

"Chee-dog! We have a visitor!" Alice exclaimed after I heard her open the iron gate. I turned, expecting to see something like a lab or a retriever.

It turned out to be a small horse.

Or, that's what I thought I saw as it galloped towards me -- before I could drop my bag and brace myself, I was tackled by 125 lbs of sandy coloured great dane. My 200 lbs, 5'9 frame was knocked over and all sound was washed away by the critter's large, smooth, flat tongue.

"I think he likes you," Alice chuckled as her dog drowned me in canine affection.

"Or he's tasting me," I snickered as the big dane plopped himself across my legs, diligently waiting while I scratched his ears and side. "Why do you call him Chee-dog?"

Alice kneeled next to her pet and patted him on his other side -- and I could have sworn the dog was actually purring. "When he runs, he's nearly as fast as a cheetah and he's a dog -- so: Chee-dog."

I managed to slip my legs from under the big hound and found my feet. Alice grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs and into her house, Chee-dog at point.

"I also have a cabbitt," she said nonchalantly.

A what?

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The cabbitt was actually a long haired rabbit that had a knack for using a litter box. She named it Reginald.

Alice had showed me to an upstair's guest room. It had its own bathroom and shower. She got me some towels.

"Take a shower if you want," she said as she put the towels on the bed. "It's about 6 pm but since we ate, I'm just gonna prepare a snack if you don't mind."

"What? No room service?" I said with a frown. "This won't help the review I'm going to write on trip adviser dot com."

She crossed her arms across her ample chest and tapped her foot on the hardwood floor. "And ... just how much am I charging you to stay here?"

"Right ..." I relented. "Forgot about that. That shower sounds like a good idea."

I began to unbutton my shirt when I noticed Alice was still standing in the door way. "Do you mind?" I asked sheepishly.

"Ok ... but Chee-dog will be taking notes." After hearing his name, the great dane jumped onto the bed and panted. "And making sure you don't steal anything."

I turned to her and she winked before exiting the room, leaving the door slightly ajar so Chee-dog could leave. I finished disrobing and put my clothes on a chair along with my Casio watch -- the bathroom was large with white tiled floors and white walls. It was clean but not so much as to be spotless -- I liked the lived in feel of it. I found myself liking Alice more and more.

I started the water and within a few seconds it was hot without being scalding -- I went back to my duffel bag and retrieved the shower gel I used and picked up a wash cloth before submitting to the water. I lathered the wash cloth and scrubbed myself down -- but when I reached my cock, images of Alice pushing the shower curtain aside and joining me under the water for a naughty romp popped up. I got hard but I suddenly fell back against the shower wall. I was tired -- tired of searching for something worthwhile. Tired of running away from some memory that I should cherish instead of allow to haunt me. Tired of running away from myself.

I finished cleaning myself and I stepped out of the shower after closing the tap. Steam had filled the bathroom and I touched my unshaven face -- a week's worth of stubble and I could feel the stiffer hairs on my chin that would be grey if I could see them.

I towelled down and returned to the guest room -- I could hear Alice singing to Luke Bryant from downstairs. I smiled and then looked at the bed. I let myself fall into its silky blankets and fell soon asleep.

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I woke up to the smell of burning wood, but I was reassured when I found Chee-dog stretched out on the bed next to me. I scratched the dogs ears and he shook his leg happily. After a few seconds, I dressed in boxers, jeans, a black t-shirt and flip flops and headed downstairs. I looked around the living room, appreciating the country "nouveau" furnishings, but failed in finding Alice.

But I didn't have to look for long -- Chee-dog bounded down the stairs and stopped in front of the patio doors at the back of the house. I looked at my watch and was shocked to see it was almost 10 pm -- I'd slept over three hours in a beautiful stranger's house. It was when I looked up from the watch that I noticed the flickering flames at the far end of the yard.

I opened the patio door and Chee-dog dashed past me and disappeared in the darkness between the patio and the bonfire burning at the end of the yard. I followed the big dog -- from the sounds he made, he was doubling back and then rolling around in the grass before letting out a small bark and dashing for the fire. He was a cheerful and playful dog, and I wished I'd had one like him.

I decided to jog towards the bonfire -- I could hear the great dane running around me until we reached the edge of the glow of the fire. Alice was there, wrapped in a blanket and relaxing in a long-chair Her pick-up truck was parked so that the bed was facing the fire. Chee-dog was by her side, leaning his massive body against the long-chair while she scratched his belly.

"Howdy stranger," she said as she greeted me with a wave.

"I thought we weren't strangers anymore," I answered, finding a big rock to sit on. "Why'd you let me sleep so long?"

Alice tossed her bare legs over the side of the long-chair and placed her elbows on her knees and looked at me and said: "You looked like you needed it, and besides, my Chee-dog was keeping you company."

"I might have enjoyed more ... delicate company," I said -- I wasn't sure if I sounded charming or pleading.

"Hmmmm," Alice sounded before standing from her chair and joining me on the stone I used as a perch. "You talk in your sleep."

"You eavesdrop on your guests?"

She punched me in the shoulder. "Only the cute ones -- who's Sonia?"

"You heard that?"

Alice nodded.

I found myself staring into the fire -- memories flooded my mind. "Sonia -- she was my wife. We were married for 15 years. I think she's always talking to me in my dreams." I turned to Alice and she was staring into the fire as well.

"Has there been anybody else since then?" she asked -- I heard a tremor in her voice.

"No. Just a few ... flings. I even overstepped and got involved with two students from the University where I was teaching. I was drinking way more, too."

Alice was quiet -- Chee-dog had jumped onto the long-chair and was settled comfortably. "That sounds sexy but sad at the same time," she whispered.

There was a silence between us now. I wasn't sure how to read her body language -- she was leaning forward, her elbows on her knees and her head was straight. I could see the muscles of her jaw tense and loosen as she was obviously mulling something over. Then, without a word, she turned her face to mine and cupped her hands on my cheeks and she kissed me. It was a gentle, lingering kiss, like a flower petal falling on my skin. She followed up with two others, the last one focusing on my lower lip.

"That was good," Alice commented as she brushed her fingers through my short hair. "I'm gonna go for a swim."

As she stood and walked slowly towards the water so that I could enjoy every inch of her long legs and the sight of the edge of her ass exposed by her cut-off overalls, I said: "I don't have any swim trunks."

Alice turned to me, her features illuminated by the firelight and by its flickering reflection off the finish of her truck -- she undid the left snap of her overalls. "That's ok. I don't have a bathing suit either."

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I was standing in front of Alice by the time she reached the right snap of her overalls. My hand covered hers and we undid it together. As the garment split open, it slid down her thighs and to her ankles -- she stood before me in just her black g-string and blue t-shirt with the lacy, see-though sides. I tilted my head down and we kissed again -- it was more intense this time as our tongues got involved. My fingers found the bottom of her t-shirt and I slid it up her body, my nails grazing her sides -- I felt her kiss dangle with her smile as my light touch tickled her.

Our lips parted enough for the shirt to slide over her head. I loved the smell of her hair as it fell back to her shoulders -- it smelled like the woods after a refreshing rain. I placed my hands on her shoulders as she undid the clasp of her black bra. I pushed the loosened straps off and her majestic bosom became free. I let my hands drift to her front -- her tits were firm and her pink nipples grew thick and hard against my hands and the night air.

"My turn," Alice whispered as she kissed my cheek and my ear. She worked my t-shirt over my head, alternately pushing the front and pulling the back until I was shirtless. Her hands roamed across my hairy chest and shoulders -- she seemed to appreciate their muscled thickness. The hairs on my arms rose as she ran her powder blue coloured nails across the sensitive skin of my inner forearms until she reached my buckled jeans. She undid them easily and pulled them down until I stepped out of them and stood only in boxer briefs -- my cock was already semi-erect behind the black fabric and it longed for her touch.