Katie's wild ride

Chapter 2

The drive to Tammy and Chucks is only about fifteen minutes and it's all back country roads and the main reason I love the truck. It's early fall, the leaves are just starting to turn, the days are cool, the nights are cooler and so as it is evening, I am wearing jeans and a pullover hoodie with just a tee underneath. I pull into their long ass driveway and park about halfway up, since apparently they are having a few people over. I grab the container of cookies I baked and head towards the house. A tuck pulls in and parks behind me, a friend and one of the guys I work with climbs out of the driver's seat. "Hey, need a hand with that?" Joe asks with a grin. "It's just cookies and if you carry them, they may never make it to the house." I say, cocking an eyebrow at him. He laughs, "I won't argue that point with you. At least let me walk you up there, never know when you could get robbed." I shake my head with a chuckle and walk next to him. 

Joe is a good foot taller than my five foot three self, not fat but not skinny, dark hair cut very close to the scalp, dark brown eyes, a bit of scruffy facial hair, and a good sense of humor. He and his wife have been divorced for a few years and she is good friends with Tammy. It was a bit awkward at first but they effectively ignore each other now so, it's all good. "It seems they have a full house tonight." Joe grumbles. I laugh, "Stick by me, I'll protect you and I have the cookies." He grins and winks before snatching the pan from my hands and running off with them. Chuck spots him and takes off after him, "Hey! Not the cookies, Bro!" 

Tammy shakes her head as she walks over to me. "Boys. So are you gonna stay here tonight so you can get shit faced and forget all your problems?" I laugh and shake my head, "No way. I am going home tonight to wallow in my own bed." She groans, "Come on! You never drink with me" I pat her back, "I know but I am too old for sleepovers. Plus, Rusty would be there all alone all night." She pouts her lower lip out, "You should have just brought his ass with you." About that time Joe slides up to the counter that I am leaning up against, "Look, I can take you home if you want." 

I look up at him, "How would I get back here to get my truck?" He grins, "I can bring you back." l look at Tammy and she is grinning. I narrow my eyes and him, "So you would drive me home, then come back to my house tomorrow to get me and bring me back here?" He shrugged, "Or I could just stay at your house." Tammy looked at me wide eyed as I said, "I am not that easy , Mister." Joe just laughed, "You might be if you drink enough." I laughed, "Maybe, maybe not. I guess we will find out." Joe tossed me a wink before walking outside to smoke. Tammy looked at me, "What the hell was that?" I rolled my eyes, "It was just Joe being Joe. Now, let's peel some potatoes." 

After we all ate some dinner, I stepped outside to get some air. I'm not one for crowded places and Tammy's was always crowded. Joe was sitting in a chair on the deck, smoking a cigarette and looking out into the trees. "Whatcha thinkin about?" I asked as I sat in a chair on the other side of the deck. His dark brown eyes flicked to my blue ones. "Welp, I was just thinking about, well, I mean, I was thinking about you." He stumbled before looking away quickly. I was intrigued. "What about me?" He sighed and shook his head, "Nothing really, just how much you have come into yourself in the past year and..." Before he could finish, Tammy burst out the door with shots and his eyes met mine again as he gave me a wink. "I was serious about giving you a ride." 

My mind was churning with what he was going to say, I hated not knowing. Tammy plied me with drinks and soon I wasn't thinking about anything. After about two hours, Tammy was pretty smashed and I was pretty buzzed. Tammy was passed out and so was Chuck so I grabbed my stuff and turned to see Joe standing on the deck, "You ready?" I smiled and nodded. He lightly grabbed my arm as we made our way to his truck that he helped me into. The ride home was quiet and soon we were pulling into my driveway. He parked and turned off the truck before coming around to help me. "I'm not quite that drunk, sir. I can walk." I quipped and he chuckled.

I opened the door and he followed me into the living room. "You can sleep anywhere you want. There are the two kids bedrooms, the couch, whatever you feel most comfortable." Joe nodded and plopped on the couch. I smiled, "I'll grab you a pillow and blanket." I let poor Rusty out while I got Joe's linens out of my bedroom closet. I threw them on my bed while I changed out of my jeans and into my sleep shorts and pulled my hair out of the ponytail to relieve the pressure. I set his linens on the arm of the couch as I walked through to let Rusty back in. 

I turned to say something and Joe was standing right behind me so I bumped into him as I turned around. Immediately, his arms wrapped around me, so I didn't fall. "Woah there, how drunk are you?" I looked up into his eyes and cocked an eyebrow, "I'm not that drunk, I just didn't know you were standing so close." It was then that I realized he was in fact, holding me and I realized how good it felt to be held and how good he smelled. His cologne was spicy and woody, mixed with tobacco and his unique scent, it wrapped around me like a hug.  It was like a sudden fog had hit my brain and I could form words, all I could do was look into those brown eyes. 

I felt his hand trace up my spine to the base of my head and then come around to cup my cheek. His thumb gently stroked my skin, "You have no idea the things I want to do to you right now." His voice was rough, a hoarse whisper that sent shivers down my spine. He lowered his head and gently kissed me and as soon as I responded, he pulled me hard against him and deepened the kiss. One hand buried in my hair and the other wrapped firmly around my waist, holding me against him. When his tongue traced my lower lip and I allowed him access, I was a goner. I wrapped my arms around him and moaned.