He looks at his feet, seeming bashful all of a sudden. “That’s what we do here, ma’am. It’s really nothing.” His words make me feel fucking awful. This man will probably never trust another person in need because of me.
The meter ticks past one gallon, and I bend over to remove the nozzle from the can. Shy or not, the man is so focused on me that he doesn’t notice Lex leaving. I hang the nozzle back in the pump and smile at him. “I’ll bring this back,” I say as I shake the can.
He nods and goes back inside. Lights turn on as he returns to the back of the store.
Lex and I hightail it back down the road. The can sloshes in my hand, and he’s grinning from ear to ear. “You didn’t need to steal his can,” he says.
“Well, too late now.”
We get to the truck, and Lex puts the can in the bed before climbing inside. The gas on my hands creates an overpowering smell when I close the cab door.
“So?” I ask once we get a little further down the road. I’m torn between hoping there wasn’t much to steal from the poor guy and wanting there to be.
“I think that dude lives there. He was watching porn in a room with a rickety bed.”
I curl my lip. “Gross.”
“I bet he doesn’t even know he’s been robbed yet. Probably still finishing rubbing one out.”
I fight the pang of guilt, forcing it away as I look toward Lex’s pocket. “I don’t care about what he was doing, Lex. What’d you get?”
“He had way more than I thought. Hardly shit in the cash register, but fat fucking stacks in his masturbation station.”
“Jesus Christ,” I groan. “You didn’t rob him of everything he owned, did you?”
A smirk crosses his face. “Of course not, bunny. I knew that would eat at that little heart of yours. I took enough, though. Should have taken more for the way he fucked you with his eyes,” he says through a growl. “You did so fucking good.”
When Lex doesn’t turn onto the utility road, I gesture toward it.
“We aren’t going back yet. Let’s go get a little something to eat at the diner. I know you like that place, and I love that no one asks fucking questions. Everyone there looks like they have a past they’re running from.”
Excitement swells in my gut at the thought of a hearty meal. We’ve been so frugal. He still hasn’t told me how much he took, but I’m too distracted by the thought of good food to ask again right now.
We pull into the hole-in-the-wall diner, and Lex covers the jerrycan in the back with a blanket. “Oh, hey, I grabbed this for you,” he says as he reaches into his back pocket and tosses a stick of deodorant at me.
My lips tremble. Lex cut the top layer off the cabin owner’s deodorant and has been using that. I politely refused. Now I have my own to use. My heart stumbles over itself at the small but significant gesture.
I set the stick on the dashboard, but Lex shakes his head. “Nothing from the gas station in view. Put it under the seat.”
I do as I’m told, and his attention to detail makes me realize why he never got caught. Well, for robberies, at least. I hope his street smarts rub off on me like the rest of him has.
* * *
Lex
The waitress acknowledgesus with a curt nod when we head inside. Red paint peels off the seat of our chosen booth. Selena goes to get in across from me, but I grab her arm and pull her beside me.
“Hey, you two,” the waitress says as she tugs out her pad of paper. “Menus?” We both shake our heads. “What can I get you?”
“A cheeseburger,” Selena says with too much excitement at the thought of a greasy burger. She’s nearly wiggling at the idea.
“Make it two,” I tell the waitress, minus the childish excitement. “And two coffees and waters, please.”
The waitress scribbles on her pad and puts it in her apron.
“It’s too late for coffee,” Selena says after the waitress walks away. “We’ll be up all night.”
“That’s the plan,” I say. I don’t intend to sleep once we get back. And neither will she.