Sweet Hitchhiker Ch. 01

He looked at me as they ran out and jumped into their truck, slinging dust in the air as they took off down a dirt road. "Family, you know?"

I just grinned. "Yeah, I know."

Technically, I worked on the farm. Buck paid me in cash, and gave me a 1099 form, saying I was responsible for my own taxes. I grinned as I paid it at tax time, knowing what kind of farming paid the bills.

My farming had netted me about sixty grand, pretty good money in 1976. I put fifteen grand in the bank, claiming it as my farm pay, but I'd be spending cash on most things. Buck got a third before I took my cut, twenty grand, and he was pretty tickled.

August had rolled around, and I'd found a pretty decent apartment close to college. The courses weren't as challenging as I thought, which suited me fine. I was older than the average student and I tended to keep to myself, but one Friday I got bored and a guy in my accounting class invited me to a party. I rolled up about half a dozen pretty good joints from stuff I'd raised, bought a case of beer, and showed up.

The beer flowed, and I'd passed around three of my joints. My stuff was pretty potent, far more than what they were used to, and pretty soon there was about seven really wasted college students around me. I grinned, wriggled out from under the girl that had passed out on top of me, and headed for the keg.

The lights were down low, but there was enough for me to admire the body in front of me. Long blond hair flowed down to a very nice ass, and as I got closer I realized she was black. It never mattered to me, a pretty ass was a pretty ass, no matter what kind of skin was wrapped around it. Billy grinned when I walked up.

"Here he is now! Matt, this is Angel. She wants to know where you get your bud, it really is some primo stuff."

Angel turned around grinning, until she saw who I was. Her snarl was loud and I think almost every one there heard her light into me. "You assshole! I want my money back, and the price of the weed you took! I got friends who would be happy to kick your ass for me. When they do I want to watch, maybe get a few kicks in when you're down."

I just grinned and leaned in close. "You really want these guys to hear the story of how we met? You deserve everything that happened to you, trying to roll a guy helping you out. I sometimes regret giving you your top back. You have an outstanding rack, by the way. Great nipples."

Then I shocked the shit out of her by snatching her up and putting a really strong liplock on her. She was so surprised she didn't fight it, and I put her down. "There. Now we've kissed and made up. See you, Angel."

I walked off with my beer, and Billy followed me. "Fuck dude! That was intense. Why's she so pissed off at you? And in all the time I've been around her, I've never see her kiss anybody."

"Let's just say we started out on the wrong foot. And truth be told, I kissed her. Is she a student?"

He shrugged. "Naw, she's our hookup, but her shit ain't near as good as yours. I was tellin' her about it and she wanted to meet you."

Well now. She was their dealer? Stood to reason. A girl has to make a living, I guess.

I felt her eyes on me almost the whole time I was there. Once I caught her coming out of the bathroom. "Hey, Angel!"

"What, asshole?"

"Here!" she jumped at the knife that was suddenly embedded in the doorframe an inch from her cheek. "I thought you might like that back, it might have sentimental value to you. It is a really good knife. I'm leaving now, wanna give me a kiss goodnight?"

There for a second it looked like she wanted give the knife back an inch at a time, and then, she....grinned. She had a nice smile.

"The only time your lips will ever touch my body again will be when you kiss my ass."

"That doesn't sound bad."

I loved watching her blush, as she pushed by me and stormed out.

.................................................................

Two weeks later I found her standing in the student union, grinning. "Buy a girl a coke?"

"For the pleasure of your company? Sure. I doubt you'd shank me in front of all these witnesses."

She smirked back. "No, I'll lure you in somewhere dark and do it then."

We sat down with our drinks. She got right to the point. "Where do you get your smoke? Billy gave me a joint, and man, that is some really good shit. It's way above anything that's floating around now. You and I could make some serious money here."

I acted disappointed. "And I thought you wanted me for my body. Sorry, Angel. That's some private stuff I get from home, and while I know the grower, he just raises enough for family and friends."

She rubbed her hands down her tight top. "Introduce me. I could be his friend."

"Sorry, honey. He likes white meat."

"You never know. Once you go black..."

"Give me a picture. Maybe he'll be tempted. As stimulating as this conversation is, I need to go. Sorry I couldn't hook you up."

She shocked the shit out of me when she asked if I wanted to go to a party Saturday. "With you? No thanks, that would be like walking into the lions' den, and I don't have that many eyes."

Angel reached out and grabbed my hand. "I deserved it, all right? I got the shit beat out of me over you, when I showed up without the money or the product. Look," she flipped up her hair and I saw the scar, "a little something to remind me not to fuck up again."

I felt a little bad. "I'm sorry you got hurt, but you brought it on yourself. What made you think it was a good idea?"

"I didn't think. I was a little buzzed and was tired of guys trying to make me put out for a ride. You seemed kind and really gentle, and I thought you'd be easy. You sure fucked that plan up."

"I hope it made you a little more cautious. See you around."

The smirk was back. "I'm sure you will." Then I watched that great ass sway all the way out of the building.

.....................................................................

I saw her again a month later, at the Double Door Inn, a local blues bar that was right across from the college. They had been around forever, and had hosted many of the legends of blues. Eric Clapton played there, sitting in after a show. I usually went in the afternoon, when it was quiet and I could enjoy a beer. I had another buddy in Nam who exposed me to the blues, and I liked it almost as good as bluegrass.

I was on my second beer when someone plopped down beside me. "I'll have the most expensive thing you have, in a bottle. He's paying."

"Hello Angel."

"Hi, Asshole. Watcha doing?"

"Well, I was trying to enjoy a quiet beer or two, but that plan just got shot to hell. What are you up to?"

"I'm here to get Koko Taylor tickets."

The bartender grinned. "Sorry honey, that's been sold out for a few days now. We're trying to get her to do a second show, but I don't think that's going to happen. Get your boyfriend here to take you, that's probably why he bought two."

She said "He's not...." the same time I said "I'm not...." Then I grinned.

"Good way to screw up a surprise, Heather. Thanks a lot."

She just grinned and started washing mugs. We sat for a second, drinking our beer, before Angel got impatient. "You gonna ask me or what?"

"Probably what. I'd like to enjoy the show, without wondering when the shiv would go into my back."

"I'll make you a deal. I won't shiv you if you promise not to leave me half naked on the side of the road."

Heather looked up grinning. "You guys got a strange style of foreplay. Tell me, are there chains and leather? Can I come? In case no one's pointed it out to you, I run AC/DC. I'd love a chance to eat you up, and I have a really big bed."

I swear, I think Heather licked her eyebrow while she grinned. Honey went that odd shade she gets when she flushes, and I laughed. Heather was hispanic, I think she told me once she was from Honduras, with the lush body that goes with her racial profile.

"As much as the thought of being a white boy sandwich intrigues me, I think I'll pass. I probably couldn't handle one of you, two would put me into mental overload."

"I'm sure we can talk her into taking it easy on you, honey. Besides, we'd have each other to fall back on." Angel was giving me an evil grin, and it looked like her tongue touched her earlobe. I took my last swallow of beer and stood up.

"As great as that sounds, I think I'll leave now, while I still have enough blood flow to the brain to operate a motor vehicle. Thanks for the beer, Heather, and the interesting conversation. You," I said, pointing at Angel, "meet me at the Open Kitchen. Seven on the dot. It's right down the street and we won't have to hurry. See you then."

I walked out as their heads went together. Conspiring against me, no doubt.

..........................................

I have no problem saying Angel looked like hot sex in four inch heels when we met at the restaurant. Her ivory dress was a perfect compliment to her skin tone, her hem line was seriously high, and her cleavage looked like it could put your eye out if you got too close. For the first time since she had her afro, her hair wasn't flowing down her back, but up in a messy bum that made you want to just grab it and drag her to the nearest flat surface.

Her eyes grew wide as I finished my appraisal. "Damn girl, you clean up GOOD!"

"You don't look to bad either, for a white boy. Now feed me, I'm starving here."

"Surely you're not going to try to eat in that dress, are you? I seriously doubt those seams could handle much more pressure."

She giggled, and it sounded like a little girl's giggle, which made me smile. I felt the electricity when she latched down on my hand, strutting into the place like she owned it. We got a few looks, this WAS the South, in the mid-seventies, and interracial couples were the exception and not the norm. There were even disapproving looks from several of the black couples. Angel missed it all, and I guess looking at my face made them think now would not be the best time to say anything disparaging.

She ate a salad, a pasta dish, and most of our pizza. I just grinned and watched. She looked up and flushed. "What, I got food on me or something?"

"More the or something, I've never seen anyone enjoy food so much." I picked up a napkin and gently dabbed at her jaw, getting the red sauce across it off.

She had one of the saddest expressions I'd ever seen on another human. She almost whispered "You should try not eating fro a couple of days, often, when you're a kid."

I almost lost it. I'd grown up in the sticks, with sisters and brothers, with a mother and father that was always there for us. There were a few times we didn't eat high on the hog, but there was always something on the table. I flashed back to a few villages while I was In Country, huts bombed out of existence, crops laid waste, and the villagers almost all banded together and pooled their food, invariably feeding the children first. To let a human semi-starve in their childhood was almost beyond my comprehension. I didn't even realize it, but I had her hand, pulling her to me. She allowed the hug for a moment before pushing me back.

"That's in the past! I'm healthy enough now, don't you think?"

"Absolutely, although a few of your jeans may wish you weren't. I bet they scream when you stuff yourself in them."

She giggled, her good mood back. "You don't like the way they make my ass look?"

I like the way your ass looks whatever you're wearing. That dress is doing wonders for it. Or is the ass making the dress look good? Whatever. Ready?"

We had high hopes for the evening and were badly disappointed. Koko arrived late, did a forty-five minute set, and left. That was it, no mingling with the crowd, no autographs, nothing. One of her flunkies was hawking her latest record, but I was so pissed I passed. The Observer, the local paper, had their music reporter there and his review was polite but savage at the same time when the paper came out Sunday, and I couldn't have agreed more.

Angel was very sad, so I took her to a little club I knew. There were a few looks as we came in, but then they ignored us. I wanted to hear the band, a three piece outfit, keyboards, drums, and guitar. They were all very proficient, playing with skill and passion. The drummer and the keyboard player took turns singing lead, and the guitar player let his instrument do his singing.

We had left the city, and the club was on the shore of Lake Norman, so there were a good many vacationers there. The drinks flowed, and the sentiment 'nobody knows me here' kicked in. Ther were four couples who stayed out for every dance, and as it got later they got a little wilder. The woman beside us was dancing with abandon, and suddenly she pulled her spaghetti strap tank top down. It seemed she had alread removed her bra, and she had a very impressive set of mammary glands. She giggled when she saw me looking, and cupped them, pushing them higher on her chest. Her husband was laughing so hard he had to stop dancing.

One of her friends was not about to be outdone, so she inched her skirt up until she was holding it up waist high, revealing very small, neon pink bikini panties. We were in a dark corner of the dance floor, and soon the other two women were flashing their boobs or ass. One had on hose and a garter belt, the other was in jeans and she just yanked off her top and twirled it as she moved.

I looked over at Angel. She had a pretty good buzz going. She grinned, and pulled the front of her dress down. Her breasts stood high, firm, and full, and her nipples were hard as rocks. By then the crowd was roaring, and the management decided to see what was going on. Two bartenders were headed our way, but by the time they got there everyone was covered. The place was still rocking, because when they got past Angel and the first woman to show her chest, their boobs were out. All of us suddenly found ourselves outside in the parking lot, laughing like crazy.

We exchanged names, and when one of the women said she was starving, we took them a few miles up the road to an all night diner. It was an independent, with large tables. We pushed two together and talked as we waited for our food. Two couples were from Knoxville, one was from Asheville, and the last from Johnson City. They were flirty and giggly, and when all the ladies returned from a bathroom trip, Angel had a strange expression on her face.

They invited us to a private marina the next morning. One couple owned a huge pontoon they kept there and wanted to cruise. We never firmly agreed, and there were a lot of hugs in the parking lot as we parted. Angel waited until they were almost to their cars before calling out. They turned to see her with her back to them, her dress pulled up to her waist. She must have taken her panties off in the bathroom. As good as it must have looked across the parking lot, it looked spectacular in person. I ran a hand over her cheeks, and she squealed, yanking her dress back down.

It was three in the morning by then, and she'd had a few drinks, so she was asleep before we got a mile, snuggled up to me as tightly as she could with a seatbelt on. We always met somewhere, I had no idea where she lived, so I took her to my place and got her cogzinant enough to semi-stagger through the door.

I eased her into the bedroom propping her on the bed. "Time to sleep, baby."

She stretched, which did interesting things to the front of her dress, giggled drunkenly, and raised her arms. "Help me."

I unzipped her and slowly eased the dress off her. She was every bit as stunning naked as I expected, maybe more. And she was completely naked, her panties still in her pocketbook. As hot as she was, she was stoned from all the drinking and the three joints we'd shared with our new friends, and was asleep before her head hit the pillow. I went down to my briefs, sighing as she immediately spooned to me, her firm ass grinding slightly against me. That didn't help the massive boner that had popped up as soon as her dress came off, not at all. She wriggled around (again, not helping my erection) until her head was nestled on my arm, taking my hand and holding it to her, up against one surprisingly firm breast.

I slowly relaxed as she turned over, snuggling with her head on my chest, her hair surprisingly soft. Pretty ignorant when it came to black women, I expected it to be coarser for some reason. Comtemplating that, I was soon asleep.

..................................................

Waking up to a screaming woman is not exactly pleasant, and with my fight or flight training kicking in, it ended badly because I immediately threw her out of the bed, coming after her on the way down. By then I had my hand on her throat, ready to take her out. Her eyes were bugging out by then so I let go, and she lay gasping, obviously terrified. Calming down but still pissed, I lit into her.

"What the fuck is your problem!? A word of advice here. Don't wake me up like that again, it will never end well for you."

By now, realizing that I wasn't going to kill her, her attitude came roaring back. "Damn you. Just couldn't wait to get a taste of nigger pussy, could you? I hope I was a dead fuck! Did I mention I had the clap?"

"Just get out, Angel. And if you ever see me again, don't speak or acknowledge me in any way. If I'm going down the sidewalk, cross to the other side. Go on now, get to steppin' before you piss me off any more."

I jumped up and went into the kitchen. I needed coffee in the worst way, and it would give her some privacy. I set the pot, and sat at the table, wondering what her life was like. She crept in the room like she was a small child afraid of her daddy.

"Can I have a cup?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be? Away from me, for instance?"

"Did we fuck last night?"

"If we did, I must have been spectacularly bad at it if you don't remember."

"I don't think we did. My pussy doesn't feel like it, and nothing was leaking out of me. What happened? More importantly, where's my panties?"

"If I had to guess, they're either inside your pocketbook or in the bathroom at the diner. Looks like you'll be going out of here commando. You need to call someone, because you can bet your black, VD infested ass I'm not hauling you anywhere."

Well shit, she started crying. I got up, fixed her a cup of coffee, and left her, walking to the park across the parking lot from my apartment. Forty-five minutes later she found me on a bench. She'd showered and dressed, and I idly wondered if she found her drawers.

She sat for ten or fifteen minutes before she spoke. "I'm sorry, all right? You have to admit I was pretty fucked up last night, and I'm remembering parts of it in snatches here and there. My track record with men is pretty miserable and I figured you were like all the rest of them, just after a little pussy."

I grinned. "Well, it is a pretty little pussy. And if I was with you, I'd expect a LOT of pussy."

"Shut up! I already feel like shit, you take care of me and in return I hand you a load of trash. I mean it when I say you're one of the good guys."

"If I'm one of the good guys, can I ask you a question? Did you find your drawers?"

I could get used to watching her blush, then she grinned. "As a matter of fact I did. They're hanging on your shower rod drying out right now."

You don't mind if I verify that, do you?"

She giggled. "I take it back. You're an asshole."

"I'm a hungry asshole then. Breakfast?"

"You know how to cook?"

"I can burn toast and scorch eggs. If you're lucky I'll overfry the bacon."

"You make it all sound so delicious."

.............................................................................................

She sat on a stool and chattered while I made the ham and cheese omelettes, with home fries and sliced tomatoes on the side. It was easy to tell she was impressed, and after she cleaned her plate, she sat back and sighed.