Hitched: A Dark Hitchhiker Romance (Ride or Die Romances)
Hitched: Chapter 20

Selena

We’ve been living our new life for a few nights now, and it quickly became clear we’d need more money, even while living off-grid. Much like the guy who lived in this cabin before us, Lex has been doing odd jobs for others who have moved off the grid themselves, but it’s not enough to keep food on our table. Lex keeps promising to teach me how to hunt, and I need to hold him to that one of these days.

Prey can hunt prey.

“Rabbit,” Lex says as he walks in. The screen door slams behind him.

I finish drying the dish in my hand and turn to face him. “What?”

“I have an idea, but I’m not sure I can let you go with me.”

“I’m going where you go.”

He smirks. “I thought you’d say that. I’m going to do a little robbery. Get some quick cash.”

I shake my head. “Wh-what?”

“Don’t worry, rabbit, I’ve done jobs like this in my sleep.” He walks over and brushes a dirt-covered hand across my cheek.

“You ended up in prison, Lex!”

“I was in prison for murder, not robberies.”

“Who are you thinking about robbing?” I ask. We need money but committing a robbery seems like an unnecessary risk. We’ve committed enough felonies since the night I met Lex. On the other hand, what’s one more?

“There’s a small gas station down the road. No cameras. Nothing. I know they won’t have much, but they’ll have more than we do.”

“How do you plan on doing this?”

He reaches back, pulls the pistol from his jeans, and shakes it in front of my face. “Easily.” His eyes darken. “Especially with a hot little diversion.”

I lift one of my eyebrows and cock my head at his statement.

“You’d be bait, little rabbit.”

“They’d see our faces.”

“We leave the truck, go on foot, and avoid that gas station from now on. There’s plenty of others.”

“Seems really fucking dumb, Lex.”

“Then don’t go. I don’t need bait to get the job done.” He tucks the pistol into his jeans again. “I’ll be back later.”

The moment he turns to walk away, I feel the tug at my heart. “No, I’ll go.”

“What’s the plan?” I ask as we pull onto a dead-end road about a quarter of a mile from the rustic gas station.

Lex chambers his pistol. “We separate as we get closer to the building. You draw out the clerk. I’ll sneak in and take the money in the till and the safe, if there is one.”

My mouth gapes. “How the hell am I going to lure the guy away from the register?”

Lex’s hungry eyes rove down my body, and my cheeks flush. “You’ll figure it out. You’re resourceful, remember?”

We abandon the truck, and Lex pockets the keys. The sun has set, and we are ghosts walking along the dark road. Lex wraps his arm around me and drags me to the inside so he’s closest to the road. What a gentleman.

The small gas station comes into view ahead. A tall black lamp post illuminates the front door. Bugs swarm around it. There’s only a single pump for gas, with nozzles on both sides and enough room for two cars at any given time. This is a small and local community.

People here are way too trusting, and Lex will prey on that trusting nature. I doubt they have much more than a few dollars in the till, let alone anything worth protecting with cameras, so at least he was right about that.

Lex pushes me toward the door and walks ahead of me, looping around the building. I brush my sweaty palms on my jeans and take a deep breath before gripping the door’s grimy handle. A bell rings overhead when I enter. The racks inside mostly house essentials and snacks—toothpaste, mouthwash, and deodorant alongside a variety of chips, beef jerky, and pretzels.

A door closes somewhere inside a back hallway, and footsteps draw closer. My heart races, and my eyes fall on the old desk with the even older cash register sitting on top of it. Cigarettes line the wall behind the register, waiting to be chosen beneath a worn age-restriction sign.

A balding man appears in the doorway, and he smiles when he sees me. He looks behind me. “Can I help you?”

I struggle to get out the words I need to say as guilt chokes me. I feel absolutely awful about robbing this man. He hasn’t done anything to deserve a visit from us. This is where Lex and I differ. He doesn’t see people as human beings. Collateral damage doesn’t exist to him. There are no innocents.

“H-Hi, yes.” I point toward the darkened road. “My car ran out of gas down the road.”

“You walked here all by yourself?” His eyes scan me. There’s a hint of suspicion in his words, and I try to pull my shit together for Lex.

“Yeah, it’s not far. I’m wondering if I could buy a gallon off you.” I pull some bills from my pocket and show him the money.

The man steps from behind the counter, his eyes never leaving mine. “You need a can?” he asks as he guides me toward the door.

I nod.

I follow him outside and trail behind him until we reach the circle of light from the lamp above us. I’m not going back into the darkness with him. He unlocks a door, and I can’t see anything until he closes it and appears beneath the light. He’s carrying an old metal gas can. “Just drop it off when you come back for more gas,” he says as he hands it to me and keeps his hand outstretched for the money.

I hand him four dollars, but I catch a glimpse of Lex’s shadow inside. I need to keep the man out here with me for his safety. I don’t want any more death on our hands, and I’ll do what I can to keep this robbery from becoming a murder. I lift the heavy jerrycan and futz with the top. As he starts to walk away, I increase the sounds of frustration leaving my lips. He finally turns back to me.

“Do you need help, miss?” he asks.

I smile and hand it back to him. He works off the cap and puts the nozzle into it. “There you go,” he says, and turns to leave once more.

Fighting through panic, I reach out and graze his arm. My eyelashes flutter as I lean back against the pump. “I really appreciate your help, mister.”

He looks at his feet, seeming bashful all of a sudden. “That’s what we do here, ma’am. It’s really nothing.” His words make me feel fucking awful. This man will probably never trust another person in need because of me.

The meter ticks past one gallon, and I bend over to remove the nozzle from the can. Shy or not, the man is so focused on me that he doesn’t notice Lex leaving. I hang the nozzle back in the pump and smile at him. “I’ll bring this back,” I say as I shake the can.

He nods and goes back inside. Lights turn on as he returns to the back of the store.

Lex and I hightail it back down the road. The can sloshes in my hand, and he’s grinning from ear to ear. “You didn’t need to steal his can,” he says.

“Well, too late now.”

We get to the truck, and Lex puts the can in the bed before climbing inside. The gas on my hands creates an overpowering smell when I close the cab door.

“So?” I ask once we get a little further down the road. I’m torn between hoping there wasn’t much to steal from the poor guy and wanting there to be.

“I think that dude lives there. He was watching porn in a room with a rickety bed.”

I curl my lip. “Gross.”

“I bet he doesn’t even know he’s been robbed yet. Probably still finishing rubbing one out.”

I fight the pang of guilt, forcing it away as I look toward Lex’s pocket. “I don’t care about what he was doing, Lex. What’d you get?”

“He had way more than I thought. Hardly shit in the cash register, but fat fucking stacks in his masturbation station.”

“Jesus Christ,” I groan. “You didn’t rob him of everything he owned, did you?”

A smirk crosses his face. “Of course not, bunny. I knew that would eat at that little heart of yours. I took enough, though. Should have taken more for the way he fucked you with his eyes,” he says through a growl. “You did so fucking good.”

When Lex doesn’t turn onto the utility road, I gesture toward it.

“We aren’t going back yet. Let’s go get a little something to eat at the diner. I know you like that place, and I love that no one asks fucking questions. Everyone there looks like they have a past they’re running from.”

Excitement swells in my gut at the thought of a hearty meal. We’ve been so frugal. He still hasn’t told me how much he took, but I’m too distracted by the thought of good food to ask again right now.

We pull into the hole-in-the-wall diner, and Lex covers the jerrycan in the back with a blanket. “Oh, hey, I grabbed this for you,” he says as he reaches into his back pocket and tosses a stick of deodorant at me.

My lips tremble. Lex cut the top layer off the cabin owner’s deodorant and has been using that. I politely refused. Now I have my own to use. My heart stumbles over itself at the small but significant gesture.

I set the stick on the dashboard, but Lex shakes his head. “Nothing from the gas station in view. Put it under the seat.”

I do as I’m told, and his attention to detail makes me realize why he never got caught. Well, for robberies, at least. I hope his street smarts rub off on me like the rest of him has.

Lex

The waitress acknowledges us with a curt nod when we head inside. Red paint peels off the seat of our chosen booth. Selena goes to get in across from me, but I grab her arm and pull her beside me.

“Hey, you two,” the waitress says as she tugs out her pad of paper. “Menus?” We both shake our heads. “What can I get you?”

“A cheeseburger,” Selena says with too much excitement at the thought of a greasy burger. She’s nearly wiggling at the idea.

“Make it two,” I tell the waitress, minus the childish excitement. “And two coffees and waters, please.”

The waitress scribbles on her pad and puts it in her apron.

“It’s too late for coffee,” Selena says after the waitress walks away. “We’ll be up all night.”

“That’s the plan,” I say. I don’t intend to sleep once we get back. And neither will she.

I look back at the empty diner. My hand rises to her throat, and she whimpers. The sound goes straight to my cock. I’ve been hard since we left the gas station because of how well she played her part. I lean in and kiss her, tugging at her lower lip as I bite into it. My hand moves to her thigh, and she spreads her legs for me.

“Unzip your jeans for me, bunny,” I say without looking at her.

She shakes her head. “Not here.”

“I want to reward you,” I say, leaving no room for another objection. “Unzip those jeans and keep those thighs spread for me so I can make you come before our dinner is served. The longer you wait, the more likely it is she’ll return while my fingers are still buried in your cunt.”

She inhales a sharp breath, but her fingers drop to her jeans. I dip my hand beneath the splayed fabric and replace her bare pussy with the tips of my fingers. Her cheeks flush the moment I run them along her wet slit. I rub her clit.

The door to the kitchen opens, and she grabs my wrist with her hand. I don’t move from between her legs. She leans forward to block the view of her sweet little pussy, and the waitress smiles as she sets down two coffees and two red glasses filled with water.

“Sorry it took so long. I had to brew a new pot. Your meals will be out shortly.”

“Thank you.” I turn to Selena. “Didn’t you want to ask for creamer, babe?” I swirl my fingers around her clit. She leans on her fist, anger radiating from her. For a show rabbit, she sure doesn’t like to be shown. “Go on,” I tell her.

“Can I h-have creamer?” she asks with a tremble in her voice as I dip my fingers inside her in the middle of her request.

A smirk crosses my lips as the waitress nods and grabs a silver creamer pitcher from another table. She leaves, and Selena’s eyes jump to mine. Fuck you, she mouths.

“Watch your mouth, rabbit, or I’ll put you on your fucking knees beneath this table. See how mouthy you feel like being then.”

She knows I will absolutely fuck the brattiness out of her throat, and her pelvis tilts at the thought. She loves being used, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.

I keep rubbing her until she grips my thigh beneath the table. I take a casual sip of my coffee, and she struggles to keep her moans at bay beside me. She isn’t getting close enough from just my touch, too panicked at the idea of getting caught.

“I want you to come, bunny. You were so fucking good tonight, so damn sexy. Such a good little bait rabbit. I don’t know a single man that wouldn’t go out of their way to help you. All you have to do is give us a look with those big, sweet eyes. Fuck,” I tell her with a growl as I lower the coffee mug to the table. Her thighs tremble and her muscles tighten the more they try to close against my touch. “Come for me. Come on my fingers so I can eat my dinner with your scent still on me.”

That did it for her. She grips her silverware, the metal scraping against the table as she fights the moans and the shudder of her body. A low sound slips from her and makes me ache.

The waitress returns to our table. Selena straightens her back and leans forward. I keep my hand down her pants. She sets the plates in front of us. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Selena leans back, but I don’t take my hand away from the warmth of her pussy. I let the throb of her clit speak to my fingertips before I finally pull my hand away. My fingers are covered in her come, and I twitch at the sight of it. I lift my burger with both hands and bite into it. Her mouth gapes as she watches me.

“Don’t look at me like that, rabbit. I told you I’m going to eat my dinner with my fingers covered in your come.” I nudge her to eat, and she finally starts to devour her long-anticipated meal. Grease from the burger mixes with the sweetness of her come, and after my last bite, I put my fingers into my mouth and finally lick her off my skin.

I stare at her as she finishes eating.

I love that she’s sitting in her come-soaked jeans right now, with nothing between her and the denim. She looks like she’s enjoying that burger as much as she enjoyed my fingers. I wanted to give her this normalcy tonight. She deserves it. I asked her to do something very abnormal, and she did it without question. Two things, actually. I asked her to help me commit a robbery, and to come on my fingers in the middle of a diner, and she did both.

Like a good fucking girl.

The waitress comes back and puts the check on the table. When she leaves, I pull out the thick stack of money folded in my pocket and lay out two twenty-dollar bills. Selena’s eyes widen. When coupled with what I make from odd jobs, the amount I took is enough to keep us going for a little while. It physically pained me to leave some of the man’s money behind, but she’s rubbing off on me as much as I’m rubbing off on her. I could use a little of her light. Some of her emotions.

All of her.