My Spy

Dirty Ol Truck

I manage to show Ryan how to gracefully sneak off the roof and we swiftly make our way across the backyard, over to the garage that sits off down by the stables. Ryan helps me lift the heavy metal garage door and I swipe a flashlight off the rusty shelf that sits next to the door. A beam of light illuminates my dad's old, rusty Ford pickup truck and Ryan looks to me.

"You want to go for a drive in this?"

"Yeah, it will be fun. It's a little tricky to get the engine to turn over though. It used to take us a couple tries to get it started when we'd sneak it out in high school." I reply with a smile as I am reminded of the good times I've had in this truck. We both walk over to the driver's side and Ryan pulls the squealing door open.

"Do you know anything about trucks?" I ask Ryan and he surprises me with a laugh in response.

"Girl, I know everything about trucks. I'm not like Austin who likes pretty cars, I am a country boy who loves trucks." His confession makes me laugh and I like the tiny amount of personal details I'm able to pull out of him. He bends down under the steering wheel. He messes with a few wires then jiggles the keys my dad always leaves in the ignition. The truck comes roaring to life and I quickly jump into the passenger seat.

We pull out of the garage slowly and I point to the back dusty road that leads into the woods behind our house. I glance over to the dashboard and see we have a half tank of gas, so we can go quite a ways before we have to turn around. The moon is still casting enough light that it's easy to navigate down the back roads and we bounce around as we roll over the bumpy dirt. We roll all the windows down and Ryan looks relaxed as he rests his elbow on the open window. I glance from him back to the woods and we both enjoy the coolness of the night.

I point over to the same clearing Maybelle sprinted to and Ryan off roads it up to the top of the meadow. He parks it so we have a view of the stars above us and he catches my wicked grin as I pull a bottle of Jack Daniels out of the glove box.

"Does your father know you store that in there?" Ryan jokingly asks me and I shrug, "Who do you think put it there?" I watch Ryan smile as I climb out of my seat and we both walk around to the bed of the truck. He pops the tailgate down before helping me climb into the back. My boots bang on top of the metal bed as I cross over to the back and I'm glad I don't have to worry about being loud.

We both lay back so we can see the bright blanket of stars above us and I start glancing around to try and catch a shooting one. I take a quick swig of Jack and pass the bottle to Ryan, who does the same.

"Ya know, I've driven a truck since I was sixteen but I have never laid in the back of one with a girl like this," Ryan confesses and I look over to him in disbelief.

"How is that possible? I thought that was like, in the credo for country boys."

Ryan shakes his head, "Nah, not this one."

I laugh, "I think that's all we did in high school. Drive around the woods until we found a clearing and then huddle together as we drank and looked at the stars."

"Who's we?" Ryan casually asks and I glance back to him, "Me, Annabeth, Whitney and Gus. Or whoever I was dating at the time." I give him a sly smile and then ask, "You never drove girls around in your truck in high school?" He shakes his head.

"Nope. Truth is, I was awkward in high school. I wasn't the one getting the ladies. It wasn't really until I met your brother that girls found me appealing." I let out a light laugh before responding, "Austin has been a chick magnet since preschool. I think he had his first kiss when he was still in diapers."

"Yeah Sawyer, I hate to tell you this but...your brother is a bit of a slut," Ryan jokes and we both laugh. I don't know if it's the Jack or if Ryan is finally at ease with me, but he seems much looser than he has ever been before. I decide to pounce on this opportunity and ask him, "So what about you? You're an attractive, truck drivin', two steppin', plaid wearing federal agent with hypnotizing green eyes. You must be quite the lady killer yourself now." Ryan takes another long swig from the bottle and I smell the whiskey on his breath as he confesses, "No, not really. To be honest, I tried the whole girlfriend thing before I became an agent. We stayed together after I got my first job but I was in a different state than she was at first. The problem was most of my work is classified and she always wanted to know what was going on. Since I couldn't tell her, she'd get real suspicious and angry when I'd work late or miss phone dates. It was too complicated so I broke it off. Since then, I realized it's much easier to not have anything tying me down. Not having someone to worry about all the time. I don't really sleep around either because I couldn't handle a random baby mama ya know?" I giggle again and I can't believe I just heard Ryan say baby mama. He then catches my eye and asks, "What about you? What was Sawyer like before Jackson?" I roll my eyes at the mention of Jackson but I answer, "I was always a bit of a prude. I mean, I did my fair share of kissing but nothing else. I casually dated in high school but nothing serious until Jackson. And I made him wait over a year before I gave up the goods to him."

"Wow and you only made me wait like what, an hour?" Ryan jokes and I playfully smack him in the shoulder. I take another small swig before adding, "Well I'm not the same girl I was. That and I honestly had no clue if you'd even go for it. I kind of threw it out there and was pleasantly surprised when you agreed." I notice our hands have somehow found each other and he's holding onto mine while sipping on Jack with the other. After he swallows, he meets my eyes again and says, "I'm kind of surprised I agreed myself. But I knew I'd kick myself every time I saw you if I said no. I have a feeling you are going to get me into a whole lot of trouble Sawyer Sweeney." I wink to him and then we both tilt our heads back to gaze at the stars. He's quiet again and I always wonder if he's deep in thought when he gets quiet or if he is just taking in the moment. I take another small burning swig of whiskey and Ryan suddenly asks, "Do you want to stay here in Hollis? Is here where you want to lay your foundation?"

I catch his eye and reply, "To be honest, I thought I'd always get out of Hollis. Be the belle that became a mystery because she was out exploring the world. When I got engaged to Jackson, I thought his money was going to let us go anywhere and do whatever we wanted but I soon realized Jackson is a simple country boy, with a simple mind and has a plan for a simple life. I honestly don't think he cares to know what's outside the Mississippi boundaries. I'm here now, but if I get an opportunity to leave, I'm outta here. Why do you ask?"

Ryan shakes his head, "Just wondering if you were happy here." I look to him and smile at his glassy eyes and cockeyed grin.

"So, you know I'm from Hollis and my whole back story but what about you? Where'd you grow up? Where is home for you? Tell me everything." I ask him.

He shakes his head, "I am afraid I can't talk about my past, even with you darlin'."

I roll my eyes and ask, "Okay, how about something simple like...your favorite color?" He shakes his head again.

"I'm not gonna start answering these questions because I know it will only lead to more. You have to remember, only I get to ask the questions." He smirks to me and I let out a loud laugh. I forgot that he is the boss. I feel the butterflies swarm around in my stomach and I lean into Ryan so I can give him a quick kiss. He surprises me when he grabs onto my face and kisses me harder. I pull myself over to him and he puts the empty bottle on top of the cab. He runs his eyes down my face, to his button up that I am currently wearing. He rubs his hands on my thighs and says, "Austin has talked about you, and I understand why he wouldn't think you are a bombshell, but I can honestly say, I had no idea you were going to look how you do. Know I feel very lucky to be under you right now."

"Were you expecting someone different?" I ask him, surprised at his confession. He pops his shoulder up, "I figured you'd look similar to Austin, blonde hair, blue eyes but...I wasn't expecting to lay my eyes on the longest pair of tanned legs ever." He continues to run his hands down my thighs and then finds my gaze, "And your eyes are a different blue than Austin's. They have some green in them and they pretty much convey every emotion that goes on up there." He taps on my forehead but I quickly shake my head.

"Nothing beats your green eyes there, Mr. Hart." He hoists me onto him and after a few more moments of kissing, he whispers, "You know, if I've never laid in the back of a truck with a girl, that means I have never gotten laid by a girl in the back of a truck either." I pull away from his lips and with a wry grin reply, "Oh really? You want to do it right here in the back of this dirty ol' truck?" He slightly nods and with a bright smile replies, "It's only on my bucket list. And if it happens with you, then I can die a happy man." He makes me laugh loudly before pulling his gorgeous face back to mine. He quickly flips me onto my back and we enjoy the rest of the moonlight together in the back of the dirty ol' truck.