CRANKSHAFT
By BLACK CHERRY
CHAPTER ONE
“Get your Kicks on route 66”…
Eastbound:
The sun was at her back, the wind in her hair. This time of day the road
was all but empty, and Jodi “Leather” Dawson could open her Shadow up
and let it hum. She loved riding on Sundays, heading east on 66 and
grabbing a bite in an out of the way place. It was a break from her
routine and a freedom like no other; a freedom from the daily grind. She
always had a dog and rings at Mike’s burger shack out off the old state
road. He had the best dogs in the world, and Leather loved a good dog and
a cold beer. Shit, life doesn’t get much better than this, She
thought to herself as she cruised down old route 66.
Westbound:
Sharon
Walker emptied the last drop of her designer water and tossed the bottle
into the back of her Ranger. She loved long road trips and driving across
country was a way she could lose herself and forget about the stress of
her work, her family, and the universe around her. She was on vacation,
and determined to enjoy every moment of her freedom. It was a dream of
hers to travel old route 66, and see the sights without the prying eyes of
her boss, her ex girlfriend, or anyone who had the potential to seriously
piss her off. But the trip had been less than ideal; it was cold, the sun
was in her eyes and she really had to pee. She passed a sign that said
Mike’s burger shack seven miles ahead, and decided she could use some
food and a long bathroom break.
Sharon's
impromptu vacation was spurred on by the recent discovery that her
girlfriend was sleeping with her boss; which led to her being put on leave
for “health reasons”. Ha! She thought to herself, my mental
health! Because the bitches made me crazy!!!
All her holiday plans were screwed now, so why not take off on a
road trip? So now she was hungry, tired and had to pee. Really bad!
She
pushed down the accelerator to close the distance to the burger shack.
East
Meets West:
Leather coasted into the lot at Mike’s and stopped in her usual spot.
She flipped the kickstand down with her boot heel and set her shades on
top of her head. She dismounted the bike, stretching her long lean body
and popping her back. She was a beautiful, raven-haired woman, reaching
nearly six feet tall. Her features were angular and she had a look of
native in her, save her crystalline blue eyes. Her eyes were the color of
the Texas sky that bloomed above… icy and brilliant at the same time.
Leather had started toward the pickup window to place her order when a
Ford Ranger came out of nowhere, skidding through the gravel top parking
lot, throwing rocks up and nearly hitting her.
“Shit!”
she spat as she rubbed the dust out of her eyes and checked her bike for
dings and chips. She shot an angry look at the driver of the pickup and
took a step in her direction as the door opened.
But
Leather stopped in her tracks when a girl stepped out... a beautiful,
sexy, leggy girl with really nice boobs. Wow. She was maybe in her
twenties, with a baby face and deceivingly innocent features. And, with
sassy short hair the color of honey and piercing peridot eyes, Leather
thought she was very hot.
Putting
all of that aside, the dark rider shook her head focusing on her anger.
“You almost hit me, you know that right?” she asked coldly as the girl
walked past her.
“Sorry…
in a rush!” the blonde muttered and hurried past Leather, holding her
bladder, to the window to ask where the restroom is.
The
dark woman shook her head, chuckling to herself. Fuck it. She was
in too good a mood. It was a beautiful fall day and the girl was hot so
she could let it go.
Leather
ordered her usual and shot the shit with Mike for a few while she sipped
on a beer and waited for her order. “Be right back, Mike” she said,
“Gotta wash the road dust off my hands.”
“Yeah,
you wouldn’t want it to ruin the taste of all that grease and starch!”
Mike chuckled after her.
As
the dark woman walked toward the restroom, she turned back to flash him a
grin when… WHAM! the door slammed into her when Sharon Walker
bolted out. She was momentarily stunned, but somehow managed to maintain
her balance.
“Oh
my goodness! I am so sorry! Are you all right? You’re not hurt are you?
I didn’t see you there…you know, you should be more careful!”
Leather’s
head was spinning. It was that leggy girl, chattering like a chip monk in
her face about how it is her own fault she got hit with the door! “I
should be careful?! Lady, you hit me!” barked Leather.
“Yes
but how was I supposed to see you on the other side of that door? Didn’t
it occur to you that someone might be coming out, as you’re going in?
Huh?” smirked Sharon.
“Wha?”
Leather was dumbfounded. “Fuck, forget it!” she grumbled as she went
into the restroom.
Sharon
stepped up to the counter and tapped a coin on it to get Mike’s
attention since he was busy staring at her chest. “Hiya! Up here,
Sweetie!” she smiled.
“Er…yes
ma’am, what can I do you for?” he asked sheepishly.
“I’ll
have a hotdog, fries and a coke, thanks.” She replied.
“Comin’
right up.”
Inside
the restroom, Leather washed her hands and placed a cool wet paper towel
on her forehead where the door had banged against her brow piercing.
“God damn…” she muttered, “That girl’s a damn menace!” The
dark rider finished cleaning herself up, took a deep breath and let it out
slowly, blinking her eyes to clear her vision. Then she left the restroom
and walked back to the pickup window to get her order.
”Kept
it warm for ya, Leather,” Mike called as he moved to the fryer to toss
the fries.
“Thanks.”
Leather replied as she took her food and found a table out of the way to
sit by herself to eat.
“Hey,”
a voice said from over the dark woman's shoulder. It was that chick again.
Leather’s eyebrow lifted as she looked at her over the lenses of her
shades.
“Can
I borrow that please?” Sharon asked, pointing at the ketchup bottle.
With
a sigh, Leather curled her lip and handed Sharon the bottle, which the
blonde began to shake vigorously.
“No!"
Leather yelled. "Don’t shake it!”
Too
late.
The
bottle spewed sticky, red ketchup all over Leather’s face and down the
front of her jacket.
“FUCK!!
I told you not to do that!” Leather shouted, “Why did you do that?!”
“Oh
my goodness! I'm so sorry! I didn’t know it would do that! I was just
trying to get the ketchup down to the nozzle. You know you gotta shake it
up because is separates, right?”
Leather
was furious, so furious that she couldn't even speak so she stood up and
stomped back to the restroom to clean the mess off. She took off her
shades and wiped the ketchup off them muttering angrily under her breath.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and saw the red streak going
up her cheek, across her face and down her jacket.
“Aww
fuck!” she growled as she wiped everything clean. Maybe I should just
stay in here ‘til she's gone! she thought to herself, irritated. She
threw the wet towels in the trash and slowly opened the door peeking
around the corner before stepping out. Then the dark woman noticed the
girl getting into her truck and sighed with relief.
She
felt it was safe enough to go back to her lunch when she saw the girl
driving off in the distance. “Hey Mike, set me up with another beer! I
sure as hell need it now!” she laughed.
“No
kidding, It’s a good thing she’s pretty! She was a one woman
cyclone!” Mike laughed, handing her a Rolling Rock.
Leather
smiled and sipped her beer, “Yeah… she sure was.” A cyclone in
the streets, a banshee in the sheets, Leather chuckled to herself,
daydreaming.
“Great
tits though,” added Mike.
“Oh
yeeeeaaaaah” Leather nodded, smiling.
Sharon
drove down route 66 and casually ate her fries as she drove. She tried to
find a good radio station to listen to, but out here in the sticks, there
wasn’t much to choose from: country, more country or country &
western.
“Bleh!”
she mocked, as she put in a CD and jammed out to TOOL. That was more like
it. Now she was happy; alone on the road, heading west away from her
problems, her past and that hot leather-clad biker chick, she kept making
a fool of herself in front of. “God I'm an idiot! I can’t believe I
hit her with a door and spilled ketchup on her!” she scolded herself.
“But… it woulda been cool if she’d let me lick it off her…“ As
her thoughts trailed off…she was smiling. Sharon drove on heading west
into the setting sun, thinking about the stranger in leather.
Meanwhile,
Leather finished her food and sipped the last of her beer. She let out a
long, relaxing sigh, then decided to head back. It would be getting dark
soon, and she wanted to get down the highway before the temperature
dropped. Even though she had her leathers on, it would still be cold with
the wind whipping against her skin, once the sun went below the mountains.
She said her farewells to Mike and mounted her bike, slipping on her
gloves and helmet, and revving the engine as she clicked it into first
gear. It had been a good day, even with the dingy girl twirling and
spraying her world red with tomato paste. Leather laughed to herself as
she pulled onto the highway and headed west. In fact, it had been a rather
interesting afternoon.
***
Sharon
turned the stereo down and cocked her head to listen. Yes, there it is
again; that weird noise. What is that? She wondered. Was it coming from
the engine?
Aw
Crap.
She
pulled over to the side of the road, and popped the hood. Getting out of
the cab, Sharon walked around and lifted the hood. As she peered down into
the engine she heard a grinding noise even as the truck idled in neutral.
“What
the hell is that noise?” she said out loud. “Oh God… I'm out here in
the middle of nowhere…what the hell do I do?” she asked fighting
panic. The blonde pulled the tailgate down and sat in the back, dropping
her face into her hands and bursting into tears.
Leather
was enjoying the ride back home when she spotted something on the side of
the road ahead of her. It was a stranded motorist.
Not just any stranded motorist. It was that chick. Oh my fucking
god, Leather thought to herself.
She slowed her bike and downshifted as she rolled up to the scene.
The girl was sitting on the tailgate of her truck with her face in her
hands, her body shuddering with sobs. Shit, Leather thought as she
pulled up behind the truck.
Pulling
off her helmet she approached Sharon and stopped a few feet away from her.
“Hey,”
she said as Sharon looked up. “Engine trouble?”
The
blonde couldn’t believe it. It was her! It was the badass,
leather chick from the burger shack; the one she made a fool of herself in
front of. God I want to die! she thought to herself. She was so
upset she just stared blankly at Leather.
The
dark rider's brow furrowed into a frown, “Hey! You in there or what?”
she said, snapping Sharon out of her haze.
“Oh….uh…yeah…engine.
It’s making a freaky noise.”
“Want
I should look at it?” asked Leather.
“Thank
you.”
The
dark rider walked around to the engine and took a quick peek. ”Can you
start it up please?” she shouted toward Sharon.
The
blonde wiped her eyes and walked to the cab. She got in and turned the key
and the engine cranked over then began to make a horrid grinding sound.
“Okay...
cut it off!” Leather said.
“What
is it? Do you know what it is?” Sharon asked, as the dark woman came to
the window.
“Uh
yeah, it’s the crankshaft.”
“Shit,
is that serious?” the blonde wondered biting her lip.
Leather
watched her mouth, was captivated by the lip biting, and felt her mouth go
dry. “Uh… Yeah, I'm afraid it is. You got a cell phone?” she asked.
Sharon
shook her head, still visibly upset. “No.”
“Uh
well, you’ll need a mechanic. You can’t drive it, it’ll ruin the
engine if you do.”
“Oh
God…what do I do? I mean, I don’t have a phone and I don’t know
anything about cars, and I don’t really know where I am, or anyone
around here, do you? What do you think I should do?”
“Well…
first, you might try breathing,” Leather chuckled. Sharon pouted and
burst into tears. Shit, the dark woman thought. “Hey, hey! Calm
the fuck down! I’ll take you to a phone, ok?” she said to Sharon.
“Really?
You will? That’s so nice of you, after all the things that happened back
there, I thought you hated me! We’re going on your motorbike? Can we
both fit on there? Is it safe? Are you a careful driver? Are—“ The
blonde was suddenly cut off by a pair of lips pressing themselves to hers.
Sharon
melted into the kiss, surprised, excited and frightened all at once. She
had thought about kissing this woman for the last thirty miles, and here
she was, locked in her embrace. She didn’t want to let go… she wanted
to remain right there forever being kissed by this leather clad stranger.
But
the kiss ended, and the silence of the moment was broken.
“You
done rambling?” Leather asked, wickedly.
“What??”
squeaked Sharon, “Why did--?”
”Hey,
I had to do something to shut you up! Come on, I’ll take you to that
phone," the dark woman chuckled, wiping her hands and heading for her
bike. Sharon wilted, then shook her head and grabbed her purse and keys.
She walked toward the bike, and felt like even more of a fool than before.
Her heart was breaking.