The Hitchhiker

The guy looked sufficiently vulnerable to Jasper, so he pulled his car over on the lonely stretch of two lane highway, and stopped on the shoulder with his hazard lights on. He could see the guy in his rear view mirror, picking up his stuff and running toward the car, so he unlocked the doors. He wondered how the guy had ended up out here, so far from any houses or farms but was not inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth. The door opened, admitting the chill night air as well as the man who eased himself into the passenger seat, throwing a knapsack onto the floor near his feet.

"Thank you so much!" The man exclaimed. "I thought I was going to be out there forever!" He closed the door and sat back against the seat, leaning his head back and sighing in apparent relief. Jasper nodded, pulling out.

"Mmhmm." He responded, a man of few words. The guy squinted curiously at the side of his face and thrust out his hand in Jasper's direction.

"Name's Gus." He said shortly. Jasper glanced at him before looking back at the road. He was already regretting the stop. Some people had no instincts at all.

"Jasper." He said, ignoring the hand. The guy shrugged and they drove on in silence for a few minutes. Jasper thought he would wait for a turn off, and then he would pull over and do it. It had been so long, he was shaking with need. They passed two women walking and Jasper slowed the car, passing them slowly. They were women, easier probably, but he already had this guy in the car. He drove on. The guy was gonna suspicious if he didn’t say something.

“So where you headed?” He asked.