Princess & the Player

fourteen: steaming the windows

a/n: This is TOTAL full steam ahead! 

Maggie's POV:

The bus station was in an ancient convenience store. Which was closed "for lunch". Welcome to rural America.

I found a bench and sat cross-legged, enjoying the sun between the fast-moving clouds. My new family had sent more emails. Pictures of my dad and his sisters and his parents. It was strange to see his young face. His eyes were mine. My heart squeezed.

I pretended not to see Marco pull out of the diner parking lot and head back to the highway.

Stupid leaking eyes. I totally wasn't crying.

It was just that I was so ashamed. I had no idea how much I'd been building Marco up as my hero and my boyfriend. Even the thought of how much I'd been mooning made me cringe inside. God, so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

The door behind me jingled and I turned to see the sign flip back to "open". 

I dug out my wallet and the envelope with my last pay in it and tucked them in the front pocket of the backpack before standing up and stretching. With the pay schedule for the bus up on my phone in case the guy tried to cheat me, I headed into the store.

"What do you need?" The clerk was round and pink-faced and wearing old-fashioned suspenders.

"Ticket to Albany. Or just New York City. I can transfer there."

"Huh. Counter's in back, I'll be there in a second."

Marco's POV:

I got as far as the on-ramp. Then I blew right by it. 

There was no way I could leave her. 

I'd known it as soon as I'd started the damn truck.

I just didn't know how I could stay with her, either. 

There was no way to be the guy she wanted me to be. I'd learned that lesson a long time ago. Life was good when you left in the morning with no regrets. When sex came with no strings. When you never felt guilty for doing what you wanted. 

I kept driving down the county road. The rain hadn't reached these parts; I could tell by the plumes of dust in my rearview mirror. 

What I really wanted was to be naked with Maggie. I wanted to touch those tits again. I wanted to kiss her until she and I both exploded. 

But what about after?

She was leaving me in Albany. There was no way. There was no way in hell. 

I pulled over into an unpaved driveway and stopped. 

I got out of the cab and stretched out the kinks in my back. 

I knew I should just drive on. With a quick night's sleep, I could be home by late tomorrow. Go by Toby's the next day, drop off the truck. Take a week for a vacation. Maybe go...

My mind was spinning in circles and I was obsessing about Maggie back on that bench across from the diner. I need to get my mind clear and figure out what I really wanted to do next.

Maggie's POV:

The door jingled as the guy was trying to punch in 'Albany' into the ancient computer terminal for the third time. He actually was missing a few fingers. Construction accident. He'd told me all about it. 

And about how a pretty little girl like me could do well in a small town like his.

"Customer," he grunted, moving out of the little kiosk. "Be right back."