The RV Trip

"Why, don't you find me attractive?"

"You know I do."

"And do you enjoy talking to me?" I nodded. "Then why can't this be a real date?"

"I don't know about you, but when I take someone out I want there to be a chance for more."

"Like a mattress buddy?"

"Not only that but definitely some of that at some point. I mean, if that's not happening what's the point of dating. I'm also talking about that boyfriend/girlfriend stuff."

"And why can't you see me that way?"

I stepped around her and shrugged. Insanely, she pushed me and I stumble toward the bed.

"Are you crazy?!"

"No, just tired of your shit. You like me but won't take me out. Why? Cause I'm homeless?"

"No, because you're out of my league, okay? I mean, you're young and gorgeous and I'm not. Why would anyone like you want to go out with anyone like me?"

"I'll have you know I would rather date older men. They're more respectful and more willing to take the lead."

I grabbed my towel and said, "Uh-huh, You've yet to let me take the lead. You like taking the lead, so don't bullshit me."

"I won't deny it, but when you have a loving giving partner there's nothing better in the world to sit back and let someone take care of you."

"So, you just sit back and get pampered while the guy does all the work?"

"I didn't say that, but I've always been a fan of the yin and yang of the relationship. Men and women have their own strengths and weaknesses which complement each other. So, yeah, I'm all for getting pampered, but that goes in both directions. I like gender roles."

I looked at her, "Sure you won't get your feminist card taken away for that?"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be dominated, or clubbed on the head, but I still like being a girly girl and sometimes I want my guy to be a man's man. Hairy knuckle dragger and all."

I laughed and tried to imitate a Neanderthal. "Oog, oog, Alex like woman, woman go to the front."

"Go to the front? Why?"

"Mr. Softy's shy and I need a shower."

"I don't mind. Take your shower, I'll be right here," she said sitting on the bed.

"Now, who's the perv?"

"Oh, I'm a big ole' freak. So, what are you going to wear? Do we need to go back into Walmart?"

I rolled my eyes as I got in the shower, "I was thinking some nice pants and a nice shirt. I mean, there's not a lot of opportunities to attend a formal function when you're driving around in an RV."

"Hmm, I see your point, but what about when we go out again? You can't just keep wearing the same thing over and over again."

I looked out the bathroom and said, "Slow your roll there, skippy. You've got to woo me a little before you get a second date."

She laughed, "Woo? Are you sure your not eighty?"

"If you want a second date you have to romance me."

"Isn't that supposed to be the man's job?"

"You'd think so, but then you're not giving me a chance, are you," I said as I continued washing.

"I don't understand."

"Well, you say you want a 'man's man' who can take the lead in a relationship, but your actions say the complete opposite. I've been through that before so what I'm saying is I'll be more than happy to take you out, but you're going to have to be extremely more clear about what you really want."

I almost screamed when the door flew open. "Fine, I want you to take control."

I turned the shower off and held the towel in front of me. "As you said, a relationship should be about the give and take. One person gives what they're comfortable giving and takes what the other person is willing to give. For me, if you're comfortable giving control then I'll be happy to take it, but if I have to fight you for some kind of imaginary power struggle then we'll go out as friends and I'll be glad to know you." I pushed past her and into the bedroom shutting the little slide door.

"You're an enigmatic person, Alex," she said as I put on my clothes.

"What can I say? I grew up in the '80s and was bombarded with romance from TV, radio, and movies. I really loved the idea of love, but then I got married to a woman who didn't like that stuff so now I just try to roll with it."

"I'm not talking about a power struggle, but a little fiery passion. A little bit more of an aggressive give and take."

"The last time I had that kind of fiery passion it turned out it was just fire and no passion. No, I'm fine with just being friends, all the fight I had is gone. I'm just wanting to live a life of peace."

"Love and peace rarely live in the same house."

I opened the door wide-eyed. "Are you saying you love me?

She laughed, "Hell no, I barely know you, but when you love someone or have feelings for them, you can't take the back seat. You can't just let them roll over you all the time."

"Sure I can. I mean, I fought with my wife all the time, and all that got me an RV and a lonely life."

"Fine, but if you didn't fight, how would you've felt? At least you tried. If you're willing to try with someone who doesn't want you, why are you not going to fight for someone who does."

"But that's my point, if someone wants me why should we fight at all?"

She nodded, "I get it, and that's why I love older guys, they've got experience. They can see life's hurdles before I can, and while I'm willing to fight for everything I'll ever have I'm not going to lie and say I would rather not fight."

"Sounds like you're looking for a mentor, not a lover."

"Maybe, but why wouldn't I want the person helping me through life to also be my life partner? To me, that's the dream."

"And you don't see that happening with a man who'll love you and let you be you?"

She laughed, "I mess up so often that if you left me to my own devices I'll burn the world with my choices. Hell no, I want someone who'll drag me away kicking and screaming when they see me fucking up."

Suddenly she grabbed me and said, "You know those songs where the singer is looking for someone to save them? Well, that's me. I'm looking for a savior and he better be ready for war."

I backed up but she stepped forward with me. Her aggressive invasion of my space caused my emotional claustrophobia to return. Every step I took, she took one keeping her body less than an inch from mine.

"Okay, I get it," I said. Another step for both of us. "You've made your point." She smiled and I got serious. "Stop."

"Come on, stop me."

"Stop you?"

She stepped into me, "Yeah, show me some fire. Show me some passion."

"No."

"Why not? Are you a wimp, Alex?" I closed my eyes, memories of another conversation surfacing. "Be a man, Alex."

The other conversation slammed into me, "If you were more of a man, I wouldn't have to get fucked by Bryan. You're such a wimp, such a pussy."

My ex's words mingled with Savannah's and I got angry. "I'm not playing, stop," I demanded.

My legs hit the bed frame as she pushed her face near mine, "Make me... Pussy."

"You're such a pussy, Alex," my wife's words echoed in my mind.

I snapped. All the horrible things she'd said to me rushed me and I couldn't breathe, I had to get it out. "Fuck you, Jessie!!" I wasn't seeing Savannah anymore, all I could see Jessie, my ex. I grabbed her and threw her onto the bed.

She laid there looking up at me as I yelled, "You always demean me and make me feel like shit! Why?! You're the one fucking around on me! How the hell is that my fault?! I did everything you wanted. I bent over backward to make you happy, but it was never enough. Why wasn't it ever enough?"

Tears flood my eyes as I collapse onto her. I squeezed her tight and kept saying, "Why wasn't I enough?"

It took a few moments, but I finally felt Savannah stroking my head and whispering, "It's going to be alright, I've got you," over and over in my ear. I tried to roll away from her, but she rolled with me holding me as tight as I had held her.

As she comforted me we heard a knock at the door. I moved to get up and she put a hand on my face, "I'll get it."

I heard a voice say, "Ma'am, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Someone heard some yelling and called security."

"My guy was talking to his ex. She really pushes his buttons."

"Don't they all? Can I talk to him?"

"He's in the bathroom, might be in there for a bit. You wanna yell through the door?"

I heard the hesitation and then the guy said, "I'm good, but are you sure that's all it was? Just him yelling at his ex? If you need protection just step out and I'll get you help."

Savannah laughed and said, "Thanks, but he's a big old teddy bear with me, her on the other hand..."

I heard the guard chuckle, "Well, tell him I think I dated her sister. Oh, and you can't stay here unless you're shopping."

"We just got done when he got the call, but is there a place we can go? I think we're done driving for the night."

"There's the truck stop over there, but this time of night it's pretty packed, you might find a spot. Oh, there's an RV park at the next exit. They're always empty."

"How far is that?"

"Not too far, about ten miles."

"Which way is it?"

"Go right out of the parking lot and then right at the light. After that just follow the signs."

"Sounds easy enough, thanks."

I heard the door shut and the engine start. Before I could get out of the bed, we were moving.

I looked out the window and could see her making wide turns as she used as much space as she could. Every time I tried to move she either hit the gas or the brake so I figured I'd hold on until we got on the interstate.

I watched as she got onto the main road, and by the horns blowing she did it by sheer force. By the time I got to the front we were cruising at a steady pace of 40 miles an hour on the interstate and I could hear her talking to herself.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit."

"You okay?"

I dodged as she slapped at my arm, "Where the fuck have you been?!" I grabbed the back of the passenger seat as she weaved. "What do I do?"

"This is just like a large truck, just stay in your lane and get us up to speed. Just no quick or sharp turns, alright?"

The RV shot forward as she pressed down on the gas peddle and we were soon moving at the same speed as the rest of the traffic.

"I'm going to pull over and let you drive."

"You're doing fine, but hit the turn signal and move easy."

It wasn't the steadiest of stops, but she got us off the road so I wasn't going to complain.

"Shit, there's a cop behind us, what do I do?"

I looked into the passenger's mirror and said, "Get out of the driver's seat and follow my lead."

She hopped out as I exited through the side door. The sun was sinking and the air was starting to get a little chilly, it felt good and I would've loved to enjoy it a little but the cop was walking toward me.

"Are you sure you heard something back here," I called into Savannah as I looked under the RV for my imaginary noise.

She said, "Uh..."

I shook my head for a second and said, "Uh? You said you heard something banging around and now you're saying, 'Uh'? Baby, I can't find an uh."

She popped her head out as the cop said, "Everything alright?"

"I mean, I think it was on the outside, but I guess it could've been in here somewhere."

I looked around, "Oh, hey."

"Everything alright," he asked. "You were driving a little erratic."

"Sorry about that, she said she heard something and we were trying to figure out what it was." I looked back at Savannah, "Babe, what'd it sound like again?"

"Kind of like a thump thump with a metallic after sound."

"After lunch today, did you secure all the dishes?"

"Let me look."

I could only imagine what the cop was thinking as we put on our little play, but from his expression, we were pushing the bounds of credibility. He followed me as I walked back toward the open door.

Crash! The noise exploded from inside. The cop and I shot forward and when we looked inside Savannah was standing in a pile of dishes, her hand was on the cabinet door. Since I was the last one to use the dishes I knew they were very secure and I had to look away when she gave me a sad smile.

"Sorry, I guess that was it."I bit my lip as I tried not to laugh, and I think I would've made it if she hadn't said, "It's not funny."

I burst out with a large belly laugh and had to hold myself up on the chair. It was way more than the incident deserved, but I was releasing a lot of tension from earlier. She started laughing with me and before we knew it the cop was laughing too.

"Alright," he said, "Make sure you get that cleaned up and secure before you take off. And do me a favor, next time wait until you get stopped before you start searching for things."

"Yes, sir, will do."

"Thank you."

The cop stopped for a second and asked, "We had a report about a couple fighting at the Walmart in an RV."

"Last place we stopped was for lunch a couple of hours ago. We're kind of in a hurry."

"Where are you headed?"

I smiled, "We just got engaged and are going to the Yellowstone to celebrate."

Savannah snorted and when the cop looked at her she said, "Sorry, it's just that he's taken forever to ask and I still can't believe he's going to make an honest woman of me."

"Well, take it easy so you can enjoy your trip. Alright?" We nodded and he said, "You folks have a nice night."

"I'll make sure he does." The way she said it made both me and the cop look at her.

I helped her pick up all the dishes as he walked back to his car. "Did you have to clear out the cabinet?"

She laughed, "I was trying to sell it. Did you have to laugh?"

"You looked so cute standing in that pile, I couldn't help it."

"Well, it sounded like you needed it."

I nodded as we finished securing everything. As I thought about the last hour I got silent again. She picked up on it immediately.

"You okay?" I nodded and she said, "Uh-huh, are you mad at me?" She waited for a moment and said, "Come on, talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Tell me why you're being quiet."

I sighed, "Part embarrassment, part pissed off."

"At me?" I nodded. "What'd I do?"

"What'd you do? I told you to stop and you kept pushing. That's why, but now I'm just embarrassed because of what I said. I really am a pussy. You said it, she said it, hell everyone probably says it."

She slipped out of her seat and hugged me. "No, you're not, I shouldn't have pushed, I'm sorry." She rubbed my leg. "If it makes you feel better this is the first time I've ever driven an RV."

"I'm so glad you used my brand new vehicle to learn on. Why didn't you come to get me?"

She shrugged, "I thought I could do it, but it's a lot more daunting than it looks. Besides, the security guard said we couldn't stay."

"Why didn't you pull it over to the truck stop?"

"Oh God no, that place was full and all these trucks were pulling in, I was afraid of causing an accident."

I laughed, "So you thought taking her onto the interstate was better?"

"I see you're feeling better?"

"No, keep rubbing my leg," I said glancing at her.

She laughed and slapped my leg, "Perv."

As she sat back in her seat, she asked, "So, we really going to the Yellowstone?"

"I don't see why not."

"I thought you wanted to go to the Grand Canyon?"

I shrugged and pulled off the exit for the RV park. "Yellowstone is closer, and we can see the Grand Canyon next."

"You still want me to go with you?"

"How else am I going to get that second date?"

"Technically, you didn't get the first date."

"I don't know, I showered and we ended up in bed together. That's a lot better than anything else I've had in a while."

She looked out the window and said, "About what you said..."

"Yeah, I've got to stop bottling things up. The things you were saying were the same things she used to say. Then you were crowding me until I wanted to throw something, just happened to be you."

"Well, you threw me pretty good."

"Sorry about that, I promise not to throw you onto the bed again."

"Wait a minute, I like getting thrown on a bed, as long as it's done in passion, not anger."

"I'll keep that in mind, but you've got to stop pushing my buttons."

She smiled, "I'll stop pushing those buttons, but I'm going to keep pushing until I find that passionate fire."

"Well, do me a favor, don't stoke the fire unless you plan on tending it."

I hopped out of the RV and went into the office. It took about half an hour and when I got back in I said, "Okay we're set up. Can you find a place that'll deliver?"

"Where's your phone?"

"In my pocket."

She started patting my lap looking for my phone and I smiled. "Whatcha doing?"

"Looking for your phone."

"My phone's in my jacket pocket on the couch."

"Why you old perv," she said as she stood up. She grabbed my face leaned me back and kissed me hard before looking deep into my eyes and saying, "Payback's a bitch."

I smiled as she went back to sit on the bed and I drove us to the designated spot. I stood outside for a half-hour trying to get everything hooked up and then Savannah took over and had it done in ten minutes.

"Does it always take you that long to do something?"

"Usually takes me a lot longer. Guess it's your job now."

"No, but I'll teach you to do it quicker. Ugh, I need a shower."

I laughed, "It wasn't that bad, and I said you didn't have to help."

She gave me a look, "I got tired of you struggling like a little baby, and besides if I'm here I'm pulling my wait." She looked at me and said, "I'm not kidding I want a shower."

"Go ahead. Dinner will be here when you get done."

"Fine, but your showering too. I'm not eating while you sit there covered in... that stuff out there."

"We didn't get anything on us, it's all in your head." She glared. "How about I wash my hands?"

"Fine, wash your hands and help me out of these clothes, but be prepared for a shower when I get out."

As I washed my hands I said, "You're still wearing my shirt, you don't need much help."

"My clothes are still dirty and this shirt is comfy. Do these places have laundromats?

I looked at the pamphlet and said, "Yeah, looks like this one does. I have detergent and we can wash clothes tomorrow if you want."

"More than anything in the world. Now, get over here and strip me."

"Yes, ma'am," I said excitedly.

"With your eyes closed."

I frowned and she gave me a look. I smiled and closed my eyes. When she got close I ran my hands down her sides until I could take the bottom of her shirt. I slid the shirt up and off and knew if I opened my eyes she'd be standing in front of me in nothing but a thong.

I waited for her to go away, but she just stood there. She said, "You going to get my panties?" My eyes shot open and before I could see anything she pressed against me. "Careful there big boy, you don't have a ticket for that ride."

I slipped my hands around her waist and said, "You tell me to undress you and are surprised I want to look? You do remember you were trying to get me to rub your towel-covered leg earlier, right? Not to mention flashing me a look at your thong you're trying to hide now, don't you?"

"I'm nervous, okay."

"What's changed?

"I guess I started thinking about us dating, and I don't want you to think I'm a slut."

"Why would I think that?"

She shrugged, "With all the flirting and the showing you my thong."

"Do you do that with all the guys you meet?"

"God, no!"

"So, why with me?"

"The way you look at me."

"How do I look at you?"

"Like you're seeing past my body."

"If it helps, I am absolutely looking at your body."

"She laughed, "Shut up, you know what I mean."

I closed my eyes again and said, "Better?"

She hugged me, "Yes, thank you."

Slowly, I kneeled in front of her and ran my hands down her legs taking her panties with me. As she stepped out I let my hands rise back up her buttery soft skin until I got to the round curve of her buttocks. I heard her gasp a little and then felt her bend toward me. I instinctively raised my face and she kissed me as I caressed her.