Teddy Girls (Completed)

Part Twelve: On The Road Again

February 3, 1964

     We had just made it into Indiana. Not that I'd really know if Veronica didn't tell me. Everything looked the same outside.

     We had left the parking lot early that morning, and have drove through Illinois all day. It was boring as all get out, but we kept entertained with games: We would try and spot states from the passing cars' license plates, I would point at clouds that looked like things, we tried to guess what the other was thinking,

     And most importantly, I would sleep. I loved to sleep.

     You know, Illinois is a very slim state. It didn't take us long to drive across it. It rained mostly all day. At some point during our drive, the rain turned to sleet. Then the sleet turned to snow. Veronica warned me that we'd probably see more snowy days then we did back home.

     I made a face. I had never fancied the frozen rain. But as I pondered for a moment, the vision of warm nights with Veronica made me smile. I could imagine us drinking hot cocoa while watching the snow fall outside. Maybe a Christmas song would be playing from our radio, too.

     Hey! Speaking of the radio, it had been cutting out because of the weather. Put Your Head On My Shoulder had turned choppy on the Indiana station. I started flipping through radio sites.

The channels would fade in and out with every state we passed through. We hadn't found the top hits yet, and I could tell Veronica was craving some Beatles. She's tense when she's anxious.

     After her episode last night she seemed more calm. No, not the raccoon episode. The whole 'pull-up-your-dress-and-cuddle-with-you' episode. She had woke up before me this morning.

A little side-note: I might've felt a kiss on my temple this morning. I couldn't tell if it was a dream or not, though.

Anyway, Veronica took the liberty of going to the gas station and buying donuts. I was a big fan of chocolate while she favored jelly-filled. I snuck a bite of hers at one point.

     Although the donut seemed to have good intentions, I didn't fancy it much. The jelly was an unnecessary surprise. I'm glad Veronica liked them, though.

I gave up on finding a suitable radio station, and just settled on one showcasing the 30's. I cringed when Ten Cents a Dance came on. My mother loved these kinds of songs from her childhood.

Experiencing the dust bowl had made her unclean on the inside and out, it seemed. The song kept cutting out anyways. Thankfully I wouldn't have to listen to most of it.

     Veronica drove unblinkingly. She stared at the road like if she moved her eyes from the yellow lines, they would vanish. She looked like she was in a daze.

Today she was wearing a black shirt and leather pants that complimented her long legs nicely. Her hair was wound into a tight ponytail . The loose strands made a shhh sound against her leather jacket when she turned her head.

By now, the atmosphere had also developed a tense sort of feeling. Like we both didn't want to talk about last night. I felt my chest tighten as I remembered the way her body felt on mine. I wanted it to happen again.

     Did she know what she was doing to me? Was she just playing with me?

     Silence had plagued the car for entirely too long. Being alone with my thoughts was dangerous. I decided to try and lift the mood. Just when I was about to open my mouth, she beat me to it.

     "What do you look for it a partner?" She asked suddenly. The near-silent car made her voice sound as loud as thunder. She had her left hand on the wheel. Her right elbow propped against the console. Her right hand was frozen palm-up in a 'well?' gesture.