Chapter 5

Chapter 5:
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Two hours went by in the blink of an eye. They swapped stories about their families, places they had lived, even heartbreak. Christina told Ryan all about what she was doing on the road. He thought she was crazy for going at it alone, a pretty young thing like her should have a partner so they could look after each other, but he understood her need to be on her own. He commended her bravery and told her the offer always stood. She would always have a place to stay in his neck of the woods. He did make her give him her cell number "just in case" she needed anything and for his own peace of mind. He could not sleep at night knowing she was out there and not knowing if she was okay. He knew the roads he gave her were safe enough, but things happened everywhere.

Soon enough, they were pulling into the Greyhound bus station in Fayettville, North Carolina. Christina had been having such a wonderful time talking with Ryan that she almost didn't want to leave. But she took one look out the window and her heart dropped. Nature was calling to her, beckoning for her to enjoy this leg of the trip, until Savannah where she promised to stop at Ryan's place for one night of real sleep before the last leg. He said he could get her another bus ticket if she wanted and she told him she would see how she felt at that point.
She stretched her whole body before grabbing her bags. Everyone else who needed to get off the bus had gotten off already so she didn't need to worry about rolling over anyone's feet. Her heart ached for these people. Even though they were strangers, everyone had been so nice and treated her with kindness. Nobody rolled their eyes at her bike or asked her questions, but a few of the people sitting by her who were listening while she was telling Ryan the whole story of her recent past piped in with their own thoughts. Everyone was really supportive of her and wished her well on her trip.
She took one last look and waved to the people still on the bus, and the ones who were awake waved back. She finally stepped off the bus to a new journey.

Ryan walked off the bus after her. He was greeted by his buddy Aaron who was taking over his shift so he could drive home and crash.
"hey, man," Aaron said. "you look beat! How did you survive the drive?"
"you see that fine looking thing over there with that bike?" Ryan asked, nodding his head over at Christina, who was texting on her phone.
"yep, sure do."
"that's how."
"say no more, my friend. Is she getting back on the bus?"
"nope, she's riding her bike all the way to my house."
"Daymn!!!!" Aaron exclaimed. A few passengers gave him a funny look but he didn't seem to mind. "how did you land that?"
"I didn't."
"you mean you didn't put the famous Ryan moves on her and she still accepted your offer? Somehow I doubt that."
"look. When she got on the bus she looked heartsick. When she finally started talking to me it was like an angel stepped in. I was on my last legs.  When she started talking to me, it was literally the only thing keeping me from running the bus off the road. I'm not gonna offer her a place to stay just to expect her to put out when she gets there. And now I'm gonna pass out in my car before I drive home."
Aaron looked at his buddy. Ryan Patrick was tall and lanky, with short brown hair and green eyes that any woman would swoon over. He knew this because he watched a few do just that. Ryan was the kind of guy who could get any woman he wanted, and usually did. Aaron was a little older, a little shorter, and a lot balder. He was lucky he had a good woman at home who loved him enough to have two babies with him. But it didn't mean he couldn't live vicariously through his friend and colleague. But he also could respect the fact that Ryan had a soft spot for this one, so he just decided to let it go for once.
"okay, man.  You told her our route so she knows where we will be if she catches up to us before your place?"
"yep, sure did."
"well then, let's get this party started!" and with that, Aaron finished loading everyone's suitcases, checked their tickets, and drove away.

Christina looked up when the bus took off. It was just her and Ryan and he looked like he was coming over to her. She felt her face blush as he did, even though her heart was still broken, he WAS handsome. She smiled as he came over.
"well, my ride just left," she said in an "aww shucks but not really" kind of way.
"well, good thing you have another one," Ryan answered while pointing to the handle bars.
"yep, sure do, and she can't wait to be on the road. Thank you for everything."
Ryan looked into Christina's eyes. There was something there that went beyond just a pretty girl looking for adventure on the open road. There was someone who had lost a piece of herself and was trying like hell to find it. As much as he wanted to kiss her, he settled for opening his arms and feeling her body relax as he embraced her for a little bit.
When she pulled back, he felt her leave and it broke his heart a little. It was strange, even though she had been in his life for at least 12 hours, he knew her entire life story, at least the parts she wanted to share. He knew she was a very special lady and he also knew that coming across another Christina just wouldn't happen. But he also didn't want to scare her. It was obvious she had no idea how special she really was. And he wasn't about to tell her.

"alright, time for me to get some rest before I drive home."
"yep, it looks like you're about to fall asleep standing up."
"goodbye, Christina."
"see you later, Ryan."

And with that, Christina watched as Ryan went to his car, got in, and rolled the windows down. She hoped he wouldn't fry in the heat. Hopefully he would feel better in a little bit and drive to a hotel where he could take a nap in some air conditioning. She took a deep breath, looking out onto the open road before her. She hopped on her bike with a huge smile on her face. She was feeling better already.

Looking out on the road made her feel so much better. She was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic on that bus and she knew it was time to spread her wings again. Feeling the wind on her skin made her feel more alive than since before she broke up with Jimmy. And although he was still texting her, she didn't really know what to say back. She had bared her soul to him more than anyone else on this planet and she still ended up running away from him. It wasn't him that was the problem. It wasn't even the fact that he loved her. It was the fact that for the first time, she had felt like what it felt to really be loved and to love someone back the same and it freaked her out too much to face it. So she did what she did best. she picked another adventure.
So far, her adventure was pretty cool. She met an awesome guy who was growing on her every second. It wasn't even like she wanted to hook up with him. There was just something about him that resonated with her and she wanted to get to know him better, even if she would just be staying with him for one night.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Christina had been on the road for exactly one hour, and she had already begun to feel like a new woman. Looking at the beautiful North Carolina landscape made her feel like she was in a movie and even though the sun was hot she had her spray-on sunscreen, water bottle, and plenty of scenery to stop and take pictures of.
Even though she had gotten a text from Jimmy, she couldn't help from thinking about Ryan. At first he was just another greyhound bus driver but he ended up turning out to be a really good friend. Or at least someone she could picture herself being friends with. Even though he was very attractive, there was something different about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. There was a time when they were hugging that she thought he might kiss her but he didn't. And she didn't know what was bothering her more: the fact that he didn't even try or that she was thinking about him kissing her. Is that even what she really wanted? And why did her mind always have to go there when it was obvious that he was just trying to be a friend?
Suddenly she couldn't take it anymore. The sun was too hot and she needed a break. She stopped in a town called Elizabethtown, with a population of about 3,585 people. It wasn't just a small town, she thought. It was a teeny tiny town. But at least there was an ice cream parlor that looked like it had been built in the 50's and then never had anything else done to it besides basic maintenance. She loved it already.
She hooked her bike up to a park bench outside even though she was fairly certain everyone in town was in the ice cream shop, escaping the heat. Looking around she could tell that the place could only hold maybe 1/4th of them, but it was still decent. At least the AC worked.

There were a couple of older couples in the booths, too busy with their ice cream sundaes to pay much attention to an outsider. She had been all over the eastern part of the united states and had come across small towns before, but she felt like a sore thumb here. Definitely an outsider. She just hoped the locals were friendly.
Upon sitting down on a very dated but still very comfy cushioned bar stool at the counter, she was about to find out.
"you new here?" a voice observed from her left. She looked up to find a not unattractive older man, probably in his late 30s, staring tentatively at her. She would have been slightly afraid if it weren't for his impossibly kind eyes.
"just passing through."
"where ya goin'?"
Although he looked nice enough, and he was sitting in an ice cream parlor at 3pm, something about him told her not to say exactly where she would be. "I'm just waiting for my boyfriend to show up. He told me to meet him here at 3:06pm sharp at this bar stool in this ice cream parlor."
She had no idea what had possessed her to say that. She looked at her cell phone, which read 3:04pm. Her nonexistent boyfriend would not be walking through those doors and everyone here would think she was crazy. Before the man could begin to protest, a very chipper man in his 50s showed up. "hi, and welcome to Bart's Soda Shoppe.  I'm Bart, what can I do ya for?"
Christina had realized in all the distractions that she hadn't even looked at the menu. She was about to stick her nose in the 3 paged menu when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She jumped slightly but felt immediately better once she saw who it was. It was Ryan, the bus driver. He looked as surprised to see her as she did him, but she wasn't about to tell him that.

"3:06pm on the dot, just like you said. Right, honey?"
Something in her eyes told Ryan he should play along. "Right. I'm so glad you decided to listen to me for once." He planted a kiss on her forehead and turned to the man who just a few minutes ago had been giving Christina the  creeps. "Women. You tell them anything it goes in one ear, out the other. Am I right?"
The guy took one look at Ryan, who had his arm protectively around Christina's waist. She looked perfectly comfortably and not at all freaking out, like she was on the inside. She gave the man a smile while he continued to stare incredulously at both Ryan and Christina before getting up off his stool and walking out of the ice cream place without taking his ice cream with him.
"so, does someone want to explain what in the heck all that was about?" Ryan asked as he sat down next to Christina, whose eyes were now wide and her cheeks were flustered. "how did you--? I said--"
She couldn't get the words out of her mouth. How in the hell could she have reached into the deepest recesses of her mind and just knew that this man would show up at this specific place at this specific time? certainly the sun was making her go crazy. Or being on the road too long. Or something.
"I slept for about an hour before almost frying to death in my car so I decided to head out. When I passed through this town I saw your bike so I decided to stop in and see if you were here and here you are. Looking very weirded out by me being here. Oh no, I'm stalking you, aren't I?" Christina saw his face drop and instantly felt the need to explain.
"no, no, no!! I'm glad you're here! It's just that I told that man you were on your way and you told me to meet you here at a specific time and well... You showed up."
"true story, I heard all of it," Bart offered. "she was getting hit on by the town creepo and told him some story about a boyfriend meeting her here and in you walk and nearly startled the poor thing to death who still has yet to order."
"I will have a root beer float, extra float, easy on the root." Christina said in her best "thank you for making me not sound completely crazy" voice.
"coming right up!" Bart said happily as he left the two of them alone for a minute.  She watched as Ryan's face contemplated all of this. He knew there was something special about her and every minute he spent with her, he was being validated.
He ordered a hot fudge sundae and they decided to have their treats outside. The town was tiny but beautiful enough to walk through and Christina was okay with meeting crazy guy again as long as she had someone with her, at least for the time being.
"so, there's something that I wanted to run by you," Ryan said. Christina noticed that his voice got a little bit shy as he said that and she wondered if he was going to try and kiss her. A part of her hoped not, but another part was getting more curious by the second. It was a wonder she wasn't committed for all of the problems she had figuring out boys. She realized now that she was talking to herself inside her head and not out loud. She cleared her throat. "okay, go ahead."
"so, I'm wondering if you will let me drive you to my place and then to your friend's house?"
Christina's face dropped. Ryan instantly regretted the words that came out of his mouth. He had just met her and now he was asking her to go on a road trip with him? Was he completely crazy? If he was being honest with himself, he was crazy. About her. But he didn't want to be like every other guy. He wanted to try being her friend first and seeing if that could work. He wanted her to be safe more than he cared about anything else. And the only way for his mind to be completely rested was if he saw her safe himself. If she turned around screaming in the other direction he couldn't control that, but he had to ask.
"well, you've gotten me this far. I may as well let you take me at least to your place. If you need me to drive, I can."
When she said that, his face lit up. She wasn't sure which part he was happiest about, but she was happy that she could make a guy as sweet as him happy. He literally looked as if he had won the lottery.
It was getting later but the town only seemed to be getting hotter as they walked back to the ice cream shop so Christina could grab her bike. There was just enough room to fit it in the trunk of his car if they moved some stuff around so he could lay in the backseat. He set up the GPS so she could see where to go and as soon as she was on the road again, he was out like a light.