2015 - Kiss Me, You Fool

As always, the concentration required to drive safely took her in her meditative zone.

>Still interested in spending long boring days with me?<

>I can't wait. When?<

>I can pick you up on my way through day after tomorrow. If not, it'll be next week.<

>I was hoping you'd say yes. Everything is set up. Let me know your eta.<

>I'll write when I leave Hammond in the morning.<

>I'll be thinking of you.<

>So will I. See you soon.<

Steph was glad to see that Abi had some sense of the limited space in a cab. She had a single duffle bag and her hand bag.

After putting it on her bunk behind the cupboard so there was no danger of it being flung forward if she had to brake suddenly, Steph explained the basic rules of living in a truck.

"Basically, before we leave, everything must be secure. We don't want things flying around in case of emergency. You can wear shoes in your seat, but if you move anywhere else in the cab, you take them off. Every couple of days, we clean up. More often if needed. That means we wash the floor, dash and windows. Once a week, we clean all over."

"I can help with that."

"Now that you're familiar with the space, you must realize that privacy is almost non-existent. You can close the drape to change or do it in your bunk, but we will be hearing everything the other does."

"So a fart goes a long way."

"You can say that again, but what I meant is that if you indulge, you might as well do it in front of me."

"What do you mean...? Oh! I don't do that."

"You don't? Either your hormones are out of whack or you're a saint. Whatever. I just meant to warn you."

"Does this mean you...?"

"It's just a word, Abi. Surely you can say it."

"Do you... masturbate?"

"To my knowledge, everybody does. I'll take you at your word if you say you don't and stand corrected."

"I may have... 'indulged'... once or twice... in the last week or so." Blushing, Abigail joined Steph and laughed too. "I'm a good Baptist girl. We don't talk about sex, even the nymphos. I guess it's all right to do it with you since you're worse than a Yankee."

"Worse than a Yankee? How is that?"

"You're from all the way north. You're not even American."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is. I've always felt I could talk to you about things that I'd never dare say to an American woman, much less a Southern one."

"You'd be surprised how much we have in common below the cultural surface. We're both women first and foremost. The rest is details."

"I think we're going to have fun together."

"I'm sure we will."

That night, they stopped at the Flying J in Franklin, KY.

"Do you want to shower?" Steph asked her friend.

"What about you?"

"I did last night, but I have only one free shower left at Flying J."

"Do you shower every night?"

"Sometimes in the morning, but I prefer to leave early so I have a better chance of finding parking when I stop for the night. For many new drivers, hygiene is the first thing to go. I was raised on the road though, so it's like home to me. While we're together, I can skip a shower here and there otherwise it's going to get expensive quickly."

"Did you have gym class when you were in school?" Abigail asked.

"I was lucky to be there before they started cutting them. Why?"

"Why can't we shower together?"

"Don't you tell your employees to watch out for that?"

"Yes but we don't do anything about it really, it's so rare. As long as we use only the towels already supplied, it shouldn't be a problem."

"And you don't mind showering with me?"

"Why should I? I regularly shower with other women at the gym."

"All right then. Once we're done, I'll eat a quick supper and go to bed. I need to catch up on my beauty sleep."

They managed to slip Abi in without a problem.

At first, Steph was a bit self-conscious, but she relaxed when her friend dropped trou without hesitation and was naked in short order. While she set the water temperature, Steph undressed and followed her. They took turns getting wet, soaping and rinsing.

"Do you mind if I shave my legs?" Abi asked. "I wanted to do it before leaving home, but I was so nervous last evening that I must have packed and unpacked my duffel three times, so I forgot."

"I normally do it when I stop for a log reset, but I guess I could too. Do you have an extra razor?"

"I have a new pack. Do you only use soap or shaving gel?"

"I usually use a gel. It protects the skin better."

"You can use mine then."

Seeing her friend naked hadn't entered in Steph's vision of their riding together, but she had to admit to herself that it had been almost inevitable.

While doing it discreetly, she took in Abi's toned shapely body. At five-eight, she was only slightly shorter than Steph. She wore her C-cups tipped with dark brown nipples high. The muscles of her heart-shaped ass rippled as she moved around. Steph watched the drops of water glisten on the unblemished skin tanned a golden hue without unsightly white lines. She managed to pull herself from her daydream of how it would feel to have Abi's long blond hair curtain over her as she leaned in for a kiss with her full lips while gazing at her with her cobalt blue eyes before her friend noticed.

Abigail didn't lie to her friend when she told her that she was comfortable showering with other women at the gym. In a one on one situation, though...

She had goosebumps all over her body and could feel herself getting wetter and wetter from the moment they climbed down from Steph's truck. She undressed and moved to the shower area quickly so her... sexual excitation -- there was no other word for what she was feeling -- wouldn't become apparent to Steph. She couldn't lie to herself. She was physically attracted to her friend.

Abi loved that Steph was a few inches taller. Her strong-boned body exuded power. Abi had seen her in t-shirts molding her muscular torso, but she hadn't been prepared for the sight of her naked body. She had seen athletes in her day, women who trained day in and day out. Each and every one of them would kill for abs like Steph's. She could see clearly defined chest muscles around the firm B-cups with the surprisingly, to her, small nipples and aureolae. She wasn't surprised though to see all the white skin except for the areas exposed by her work clothes. She knew she was lucky to have the time and opportunity to avoid tan lines.

She gulped when Steph faced her and she got a good look at the V leading to a neatly trimmed bush and the bald pussy her friend would probably freshen soon.

The body fit perfectly with Steph's chiseled features of which her most outstanding were her hazel eyes. It would be so easy to get lost in them. All in all, not a pretty face in the conventional sense, but one that reflected a strong personality. Abi wondered how her auburn hair would look if longer than in a crewcut.

"Would you spread some lotion on my back, please?" Steph asked Abigail. "There are always spots I can't reach."

"I have the same problem at the tanning salon, but the owner is a friend, so she comes in my booth and does my back even if it's against the rules."

"I appreciate the massage, Abi, but you don't have to do it."

"That's all right. I just want to make sure it penetrates the skin."

"As much as I enjoy it, we'd better get out soon or the employees will start wondering what's happening in here."

Back in the truck, Steph pulled down the top bunk and helped Abigail set-up the sheets.

"I'm sorry, but tomorrow is going to be a long day. Once we cross into Canada, I will have an extra two hours of driving time and I always use them when I can. If you want to read for a while, feel free. If you want to sleep some more when I'm ready to leave, you can use my bunk."

Impulsively, Abi pulled Steph in a hug and kissed her cheek. "Thank you so very much for letting me tag along. I'll try not to be in your way."

"It's not a problem. I admit I wasn't too sure, but I liked having some company today. It made the miles seem to go by faster."

After showering together, Steph had no problem sitting on her bed while Abi undressed and pulled on a t-shirt. They talked as Steph changed to a pair of boxers and a t-shirt too.

"Goodnight, Abi."

"Goodnight, Steph."

Stéphanie thought it would take her a while to fall asleep, but her... nervousness of the previous nights had fled and she was in deep sleep within minutes.

Abigail heard Stéphanie's breathing change. With the silence inside the cab, she became conscious of all the noises around the truck. The engines running, the noisy reefers, trucks arriving and leaving. She tried to read for a while, but couldn't concentrate. It took her a long while to fall asleep. She was tempted to resort to her favorite relaxation technique, but didn't know if she could be discreet enough.

In the middle of the night, she woke with a need to pee. Grumbling at the inconvenience, she climbed down and was getting dressed to go to the bathroom when Steph spoke to her.

"Going for a walk at night? Not the best idea for a woman alone in a truck stop."

"I need to pee. What else am I going to do?"

"It depends on how shy you are. I forgot to explain last evening. I have a bottle with a wide opening. You can use it. Just be careful not to drop it or it's going to stink in here and it's a pain in the ass to clean. Or I can lend you a skirt and you can squat under the trailer or between the tractor and the trailer. If you go out though, bring the billy club I use to check the tires and be ready to use it if you need."

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"Unfortunately, I'm not. I thought you'd be aware of this as a truck stop manager."

"We hear stories and we hired a security agency to drive around the lot regularly at night, but I didn't think it was this bad."

"It's the same as everywhere else in society. Only one rape in ten gets reported and truckers are proud people. Many women drivers have camping toilets in their trucks. If you want to go to the building, I'll come with you."

"No, you need to sleep. I'll borrow your skirt and be careful."

Steph reached over her head and opened the air vent. "If anything happens, shout and I'll be there."

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's nothing. I'm so used to it that I forgot to tell you before we went to sleep. There's a roll of toilet paper in the storage space above the door."

"Thanks. I'll be quick."

As she waited for Abigail to come back, Steph realized that there were a lot of things she took as a given that she would have to explain to her friend.

Chapter 2

The next days were very instructional for Abigail. She got quite an education on the driver side of the trucking industry.

When they arrived in Montreal, Steph's next load wasn't ready so they went to a laundromat, then a restaurant.

"Why don't you go to your home to do your laundry?" Abigail asked.

"I don't have an apartment. What would be the point to pay for a place if I'm never there? I use my sister's address for official documents. I give her some money to pay the few bills like my driver's licence renewal and such."

"Don't you ever get off the road? What about vacations?"

"Every three months or so, I stop for three or four days to take care of things that need my presence. I stay at my sister's or a friend's place. In the winter, I stop in the South if I can. The same for vacations."

"Isn't it a lonely life?"

"I suppose it could be, but I have a lot of friends." She reached and squeezed Abi's hand briefly. "I've definitely not been lonely these last couple of days."

"What about... You know?"

"Sex? Companionship? Love?"

"Exactly. I suppose you can masturbate all you want, but it can't be the same as doing it with a living human being. I suppose you often bring women with you."

"You're right, it's not the same. I have lovers here and there, but I'm not a fan of one night stands. I do miss having a girlfriend, but I've seen enough relationships crash and burn that I manage to live alone just fine. I do hope that one day I will be part of a couple like my parents'. My father wasn't there often, but when he was, it was all about us and we knew what he sacrificed for us to have a better life."

"Yet you became a trucker."

"It's a question of temperament, I suppose. I love what I do and the life I lead."

"You didn't answer my other question."

Steph laughed. "You noticed that, did you? No, I don't bring anyone with me. You're the first."

"Oh! I didn't know that."

"We've been friends for a long time. You're one of the few constants in my life. When you gave me the opportunity to get to know you better, I took it. I hope you don't regret it."

"I don't. I really don't." Abi was misty eyed. "I may not be alone day in day out like you, but I don't have many friends either. I... I was happy when you told me you were on this dedicated route." She took out her cell and flipped through it before passing it to Steph.

It was her calendar app. Looking back a few months, Steph could see the dates where she stopped in Fairview were marked and the time they spent together annotated with the name of the restaurant where they ate or, if they just talked, how long they spent together. The estimated dates for the next month were also marked.

"I wanted to get to know you better too." Abigail said softly. "I've been thinking about it for a long time and this is the only way I could come up with."

"I don't know what to say."

"I know you're a lesbian and you know I'm not. This has nothing to do with sex. I like you a lot and I wanted to spend some time with my friend. If you get tired of me, you can drop me off when we go through Fairview."

"I'm sure you'll get tired of me first. I get the best of the deal here. I have a funny, intelligent woman to keep me company and if I ever get tired of listening to her, I can ogle her beautiful body for a while."

"Oh you! If anyone is ogling, it's me. You have to keep your eyes on the road all the time."

"You're not very observant. My eyes are constantly moving. I check you out each time I look in the right side mirrors."

"You do? I mean, of course you check your mirrors."

They laughed for the rest of the meal, competing for the subtlest double-entendres.

When they got back to the yard, the dispatcher told Stéphanie that the load was ready so they drove to the client to switch an empty trailer for the full one. Thanks to the Canadian driving law, they were able to drive to a truck stop at the Ontario border. Steph explained that they would avoid the morning rush hour and could plan to go through Toronto around mid-day when the traffic is lighter, hopefully. With any luck, they'd be able to cross the border the same day.

The days passed quickly as they talked about literally everything.

They already knew they shared many interests, but had avoided the usual sensitive subjects before like religion and politics. Now, they found that they shared a cynic view of both. Being long time news junkies, they knew too much to still fall for the same old spins.

At first, Abi was shy about satisfying her curiosity, but Steph assured her that she would happily answer all her questions.

"I'd rather you know the facts, rather than base your opinions on prejudices and disinformation." She told her friend.

Soon, Abigail realized that there were more similarities between hetero and gay couples than she had expected, aside from the basic physical and emotional differences between men and women.

The women indulged in Steph's favorite pastime of making fun of four wheelers -- as truckers call car drivers -- or trying to guess what they did in life or where they were going.

Abi laughed when she noticed that Steph's eyes were actually roving all the time and that she would spare a second to look at her. She took to making faces, winking or blowing her kisses. Caught in the game, she almost flashed her friend, but stopped herself at the last moment. Instead, she took lascivious poses.

"You are such a tease. If I didn't know better, I'd think you're coming on to me." Steph laughed at Abi's deep blush. "I'm kidding. Girl, you're so easy."

"And you're mean. I'll make it my mission in life to make you blush too before you drop me off."

"Good luck with that."

For the first time in years, Steph planned to bypass Abi's Flying J. She hadn't told anyone where she was going for her vacation and didn't want to set tongues wagging.

"I assure you it's not that I'm ashamed of being seen with you." She told Steph. "It's just that the town's worst gossip works at Denny's and she's always looking for something to embarrass me with, real or imagined."

"I understand. It's not a problem."

"Really, it has nothing to do with you being a lesbian."

"Abi, relax. I know how it can be. That's another reason I love my job. People can talk about me all they want. I'm not there to hear about it."

Reaching across the cab, Abi put her hand on Steph's on the stick.

"You're such a good person, Stéphanie. I'm proud to be your friend."

"So am I, Abigail. I wish it was possible for me to be more that an occasional friend." She lifted Abi's hand and kissed her fingers.

"Steph..."

"Don't worry, I only meant that I wish I could live a normal life around here and be a real friend to you."

"Trust me... dear, you are a better friend than most people I know." When Steph squeezed her hand in acknowledgement, Abi couldn't talk further over the lump in her throat. Undoing her seatbelt, she leaned over and kissed her friend's cheek before going to stretch on the bunk.

The tears she had held back fell when her nose filled with Steph's scent from her pillow.

The nightmare scenario Steph had imagined was coming to pass. She was losing the one friendship she had come to count on... to depend on.

For the first time in her life, she seriously tried to imagine herself not being a truck driver... and failed. This was who she was, who she had grown up to be.

When her friends put up pop idols posters on their walls, she had the picture of a black classic Peterbuilt 389. When she watched the Smokey and the Bandit movies, she didn't see herself as the Bandit in his Trans Am, but as Cledus Snow in his big rig. She remembered the chills she felt when he was barrelling toward the line of police cars, alone until all the trucks which had been behind him moved to his side.

Also, even if she could leave the long road, there was the matter of getting a green card to work in the US.

The decision to allow Abigail to ride along hadn't been easy and she was paying for her selfishness. The anticipated pleasure of being with her for more than a couple of hours at the time had overridden her reason.

Now she could hear her friend sob in her bunk. It broke her heart.

Abigail had cried herself to sleep. When she woke up, the truck wasn't moving so she thought they had made it to the truck stop Steph had planned to reach.

Looking out, the parking lot looked familiar. Steph was closing her logbook when she joined her. Neither spoke until she was finished.

"Do you want me to go?" Abi asked in a resigned voice. "Did I say something wrong?"

""No, dear Abi. You most certainly did not but I did, obviously. I can't stand you being unhappy. I'd rather things going back to how they were and I hope you can forget this happened so you can be my best friend again."

"I'm your best friend?"

"If I didn't ruin it by letting you ride with me."

"Whatever gave you the idea that I wouldn't want to be your friend anymore? You are my best friend too."

"Why were you crying then? I thought it was because of something I said or did. I didn't mean to come on to you when I kissed your hand. It was only a friendly thing to show you how much I care about you."