Toll Booth

The fucker ghosted me, she thought.

****

The rest of her shift was uneventful, and when Jasper relieved her in the morning and asked her if anything interesting had happened during the night, she shrugged and shook her head. The next night, she didn't even think about the strange encounter during the first hour of her shift, but shortly after midnight the red car appeared again.

Unlike the first night, he drove right up to the booth.

"Hey, Miss MaKayla, how's it shaking," he called out, showing a big toothy grin.

"It shakes like a leave on a tree every time one of these big ass trucks goes past. By the way, you didn't tell me your name."

He hesitated for a second before answering, and Makayla had the odd impression that his own name was some half forgotten bit of information.

"Tommy," he said. "My name is Tommy."

"So what kind of car is that? I never saw one like it before."

He ran his hand lovingly around the steering wheel. Makayla had a flashing image of him running it down her body.

"Oh baby doll, this is a '57 T-bird. It's got a 318 V-8 under the hood, dual exhaust, leather seat, white wall tires. Wait until you ride in it, you're going to love it."

"Oh, you think I'm going to go for a ride with you?"

"Yes, Ma'am. One of these nights, I'm going to drive up and you're going to hop in."

Makayla laughed. "I don't think so. You'll have to come back when I get off in the morning."

"Nope," he shook his head, "Gotta be night time. It's like the song says, the night time is the right time."

"I don't know that song. Why do you drive such an old car, anyway?"

"Old? This baby is cherry."

"Well, it's red, anyway."

"Flame Red, they call it." He revved the engine and winked at her. "Like me, hot as a pistol."

"I didn't know if I was going to see you again," Makayla said.

"Oh baby, don't think like that. I'm gonna keep coming back until you go for a ride with me."

"I don't think that's going to happen," she said, "I'm at work. I can't just take off on a joy ride. You know, what most guys do is ask a girl out on a date."

"Yeah, no can do, baby. But I'm gonna keep coming by to see you anyway."

On an impulse, MaKayla stepped out of the booth. She leaned down with her elbows on the edge of his window, propping her chin on her hands. She looked around the car's interior, and, surreptitiously, checked out a little more of Tommy.

"It really is a bitchin' ride," she said, "Seriously, I'd go for a ride if I wasn't working."

He smiled. "Chicks always dig a guy who drives a cool car."

Makayla stood up straight. "No, chicks dig a guy who can afford a cool car."

She caught a glimmer of light in her peripheral vision. "There are cars coming," she said.

"Well, I guess tonight ain't the night. See you later, doll face."

She stepped back into the booth, glancing to see how close the oncoming cars were, and when she looked back to say goodbye to Tommy, he was already gone.

She didn't understand how he came and went so suddenly. Joanne had said that cars couldn't sneak up on you at night, that you saw their headlights too far off. But Tommy seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye.

She looked up at the EZ Pass monitor. It showed a split screen, looking down at the two fast lanes. She flipped open the little door labeled controls and looked inside. Among the controls was a button marked with a left pointing arrow. She pressed it and saw a few seconds of a WalMart delivery truck passing beneath the camera. Apparently, it worked on a motion sensor.

The view went live again, back to the empty road. She looked closely to see if the regular lane, the one Tommy drove in, was in the picture. It was not, the edge of the picture was aligned with the barrier between the lanes.

He's just got a really fast car, she told herself, realizing that was not a good explanation. Rather than dwell on it, she cued up one of the movies she had downloaded to her phone and began to watch it.

Midway through the movie, she was distracted by movement in front of the booth. She looked out and saw a rabbit, or perhaps it was a snowshoe hare, cautiously hopping across the highway.

She smiled as she watched it, but suddenly a shape appeared above, moving swiftly. She barely had time to register that it was a large owl, before it had snatched the rabbit in its talons and disappeared into the night.

"Fuck!" She sat back in her seat and shivered. Coyotes, owls, who knew what other dangerous things might come out of the dark?

She returned to her movie, but for the rest of the night, she felt uneasy, her mind continuously returning to the image of the owl, its wings spread wide and its razor sharp claws extended, appearing out of nowhere; and the rabbit, going about its business, unaware that death could fall upon her at any moment.

****

By the next night it was clear that autumn had arrived. There was a chill in the air and swirls of red and brown leaves skittered along the pavement. Makayla kept her jacket on and reminded herself to start bringing one of her knit hats. Joanne had been wearing a pair of gloves with the fingers cut out and she thought it might be a good idea to get a pair for herself.

She realized she was anxiously waiting to see if Tommy would show up again. She was not disappointed. When headlights appeared in the northbound lane shortly after midnight, she knew it would be him.

"Don't you get cold sitting in that booth all night?" he asked as he rolled to a stop.

"There's a space heater."

"It's nice and warm in here," he said, patting the seat next to him.

"Oh, and you're not gonna drive off with me the minute I get in?"

"Not yet."

"I see. So you're still checking me out."

"Baby, I knew you were the right one the first time I laid eyes on you."

MaKayla stood up straight, her hands on her hips. "Promise you aren't going to drive off."

"Cross my heart and hope to..." He stopped, and looked up at her with a sad expression. "All I'm hoping tonight is you'll sit with me a while."

"All right, but if you take off with me in the car, that's kidnapping."

He chuckled. "Honeypie, you sure ain't a kid no more."

She looked both ways and saw no traffic, then went around to the passenger side and got in.

Sinking into the plush seat, she said, "This might be the most comfortable car seat I ever sat on."

Tommy ran his hand over the upholstery. "This middle part here is even more comfortable."

Makayla laughed and leaned back against the door.

"Don't get too full of yourself, buddy."

Tommy threw his hands up in a mock gesture of defeat.

"So where do you go every night?" Makayla asked.

"I go where the road takes me, honey."

"Where are you going tonight?"

"Doll face, my only plan was to come see you."

"Just come see me? Not get me to go riding with you?"

"Not tonight."

"Why not?"

"Tonight's not the night."

He turned up the radio. A DJ was talking much too loud and much too fast.

"...that was Teen Angel, and now here's a word from one of our sponsors..."

There was a commercial for something called Ipana, and then the DJ was back.

"It's 52 degrees here at the Big Eightysix studios. Now here's one for the kids down at Acheron High, Tell Laura I Love Her..."

"What's that?" Makayla asked, "Some oldies but goodies station?"

"Nothing wrong with the oldies, baby," he said.

Makayla became aware of how completely at ease she was feeling, sitting in Tommy's car. Something about it was just right, like she belonged here, as if meeting this strange man with the crazy car was not just happenstance, but an important event in her life.

She looked at Tommy, who was softly humming along with the radio. He glanced at her and grinned and without another thought she slid to the center of the seat.

"That's more like it, babydoll," he said. draping his arm over her shoulders.

"If I go with you, you have to let me drive this thing sometimes."

"Do you know how to handle a stick?"

She put her hand on his thigh and squeezed. "I've handled a few," she said.

Tommy howled. "You are something else, girl!"

"Yeah? What am I?"

His voice dropped low and he said, "Beautiful." He leaned his face in closer add MaKayla tilted her head, and they kissed.

When their lips met, Makayla felt a sensation almost like an electric shock. It was not painful, but she had the distinct notion that some kind of energy had passed between them.

Tommy drew his head back. "Was that okay?" he asked. Makayla put her hand on the side of his head and pulled him back, kissing him again, pressing her tongue between his lips and against his.

He responded, putting his free hand on her hip, turning her toward him and holding her closer. Their kisses grew more passionate until, after a few minutes, MaKayla pushed him away and looked into the rearview mirror.

"We've got to keep our eyes open for any cars coming," she said.

They kissed again, and Tommy grew more assertive, exploring her mouth with his tongue and stroking her back with his hand. But Makayla caught a glimpse of light in the read view mirror, and pushed him back.

"Someone's coming," she said. She slid across the seat and opened the door.

"Alright, gorgeous," Tommy said, I'll see you tomorrow."

"You don't have to go," she said as she shut the door. But she knew he would go, and when the new car stopped at the booth, he was nowhere to be seen.

Shortly after the car had paid their toll and left, she heard a noise from the far side of the southbound lanes. At first she thought it was just leaves rattling in the wind, but then she remembered the coyotes. She tensed and slid open the drawer, ready to pull out the pepper spray if she needed it. She saw a dim shape moving just beyond the circle of light. When it moved closer, she saw that it was a yearling deer. Its mother, an elegant doe, was close behind it, with a younger fawn peeking out from between her legs. They stood at the edge of the road, looking at her. When she made no move towards them they lowered their heads and began to forage in the brush along the shoulder. A moment later she heard another rustling sound, and watched, her mouth dropping open, as a large buck, sporting a full rack of antlers, joined his family.

Moving slowly, deliberately, she raised her hand from the drawer, reached into her jacket pocket and took out her phone. She opened the camera app and slipped carefully off her stool. Moving as quietly as she could, she unlatched the bottom door, pushed it open, and stepped outside.

The two adult deer raised their heads and stared at her for a moment, then went back to their feeding.

Makayla lifted the phone before her eye and adjusted the camera, just trying to get all four animals in the picture. The buck took a step forward. She thought he was taking a defensive position, so she cautiously took a half step back. He continued to watch her, but did not move. She snapped one picture, then another and then zoomed in to try to frame just the buck's head and impressive antlers. But before she could take the picture, he vanished from the camera's view.

Suddenly, she heard a loud, jarring blast of sound. A logging truck was roaring towards her, its air horn screaming.

She jumped backward as it closed in on her. The force of its wind knocked her off her feet. She slammed into the side of the booth and might have fallen under the logger's big rear wheels had she not been able to grab the handle of the bottom door and hold on.

The truck was gone as fast as it had arrived. Makayla leaned against the toll booth, panting, feeling the adrenaline rush slowly subside.

"Fucker wasn't in the EZ Pass lane," she muttered between gasps of breath. But when she looked across the road and saw the deer were gone, she realized the truck driver had probably seen them and veered into the inside lane to avoid hitting them.

She got back in the booth and sat down, her hands trembling. "You're okay," she whispered to herself, "Everything is alright." But it wasn't enough to tell herself that. She felt a deep need to be hugged, to be held and comforted. She wished Tommy would come back.

****

Makayla still felt anxious when she reported for work the next night. Joanne took notice.

"Long nights starting to get to you, dear? she asked.

"Maybe a little bit, MaKayla said, "Sometimes I think I see things moving around in the dark that I'm pretty sure aren't really there."

"Well, your eyes are gonna play tricks on you, dear. You'll get used to it."

"Last night there were some deer in the outside lane and a big truck came roaring by and I guess he wanted to stay clear of them, so he came in right next to the booth. Scared me half to death."

"Those big boys can really throw a fright into you," Joanne nodded, "Just gotta tell yourself they are professional drivers who know what they're doing." She hesitated for a second. "Well, most of them do."

While she waited for Tommy, MaKayla thought about how safe she had felt in his car, even though they were sitting right in the traffic lane. It seemed like a sort of sanctuary, a place where she knew she could never be hurt. That didn't make sense though, it was just a car, and an old car at that. She did not recall it having seat belts and it certainly did not have air bags.

When the T-Bird pulled up to the booth that night she immediately jumped out, ran around it and got in the passenger seat.

"Listen honey," she said, "Do you think you could pull your car over on the grass by the office? I get nervous sitting in the traffic lane."

Tommy peered through the windshield for a moment, then nodded. "I think I can do that," he said.

He steered on to the narrow strip of lawn, put the car in park, and shut off the lights. For a split second after the car became dark and he was only silhouetted by the flood lights behind him, Makayla had the odd impression that she could see right through him. But when he turned in his seat to face her, he appeared as he always had. She moved over to him on the seat and they embraced and kissed.

"Seems like you got the jitters tonight, honeypie," he said, brushing her hair back from her face.

"It gets scary out here alone in the dark at night," she said.

"Well, you've got nothing to fear tonight," he said, kissing her again. She felt in her heart that it was true, she was safe in his arms. She couldn't understand why she should feel that way, she just seemed to know.

He looked into her eyes and moved his hand to cup her breast. He whispered, "Is this okay?"

"Yes," she said, "is this?" She reached into his lap and ran her hand down between his legs.

He moaned in response and fondled her breast more firmly. She tugged at his belt. "Unfasten your pants," she said.

In a surprisingly shy voice, he asked her, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Tommy."

He pulled his belt loose and unbuttoned the waist of his jeans. Makayla tugged down his zipper and slipped her hand inside his pants. He was wearing tight white jockey shorts and she had trouble trying to get the fly open. Seeing her struggle, he hooked his thumbs in the sides of his jeans and pulled them, and the underwear with them, halfway down his thighs. Under the floodlights, his bare flesh was pale. MaKayla wrapped her hand around his hardening shaft and slowly stroked it.

"Holy cow," he muttered

"Do you like that?" she asked with a grin.

"You bet I do."

"What about this?" She bent down and wrapped her lips around the head of his cock.

He let out a long, low moan. She raised her head long enough to remind him to watch for traffic, then returned her mouth to his cock and sucked him fervently.

MaKayla surprised herself with the intensity of her desire for him. As his breathing grew heavy, that desire only increased. She sat back and looked out the rear window and then through the windshield, but realized she didn't care if there was any traffic. Let them drive by, she thought, let them skip their toll. It wasn't likely her bosses would find out; who would call to complain that they didn't pay their toll? And if they did, she still did not care. She wanted him more that she wanted keep her job.

She kicked off her shoes and unfastened her own pants. Tommy looked on with an expression of amazement as she slid back on the seat and slipped them off. When her panties followed, he moved closer.

Makayla turned and straddled his lap, taking his head in her hands and kissing him deeply. She felt his stiff cock beneath her, reached down and grasped it. Rising on her knees, she guided it into place and slowly lowered herself down on it.

Tommy's hands seemed to be everywhere, on her hips, her breasts, in her hair. His hips pumped energetically, meeting Makayla's motions in perfect synchronization.

A truck flew past in the EZ lane, but they scarcely noticed. Their passion mounted, and Tommy lifted Makayla off his lap and laid her down on the T-Bird's wide seat. He entered her again, smoothly and easily. She wrapped her legs around his hips, and after only a few thrusts, felt an orgasm sweep through her.

Tommy continued to fuck her, and she came again and again. Finally, he arched his back, groaned loudly and reached his own climax, pumping into her until she could feel his semen pooling beneath her. It was if he had not come in a very long time.

They sat up, side by side, holding hands and catching their breath. After a few minutes, Tommy just said, "Wow."

Makayla laughed. "Yeah, that sums it up pretty well," she said.

"I think you missed a couple of toll there, Doll face."

"Yeah, I had better get back in my booth."

She found her uniform pants on the floor and picked them up. There were lights approaching.

"Shit!" She kissed Tommy's cheek and opened the car door. She ran, naked from the waist down, across the lanes and managed to get into the booth, the bottom door closed, before the vehicle, a panel truck reached the plaza. She was afraid the driver sat high enough to see into the booth, but she draped her pants over her lap, and he did not seem to notice that she wasn't actually wearing them. He handed her a twenty. She made change and he pulled away. The T-Bird was gone, but her panties and shoes were in the grass where it had been parked.

****

Joanne kept puttering. MaKayla realized that getting her out of the plaza wouldn't make Tommy come any sooner, but still she couldn't wait for her to leave.

She was both exhilarated and anxious about the prospect of seeing Tommy again. Still in the afterglow of the previous evening, she longed to be in his area again. But would he even show up? Perhaps he had gotten what he wanted and would't be back.

She dismissed the notion that he would be satisfied with a one night quickie. She had felt a special bond between them, even from the first night. Surely, he felt it as well. But if that bond was real, it was time to tell him that late night rendezvous at the toll plaza would not be enough. She had decided that she would tell him tonight that she expected more. Waiting for JoAnne to finish her shift, she began to fear she might waver in her resolve.

Joanne finally finished double checking the count in her cash drawer. It had been raining steadily all evening. Her raincoat was draped over the back of the stool, and it seemed to take forever for her to put it on. Naturally, one sleeve had been turned inside out. Makayla helped her get into it, and finally, bid her good night.

"Don't imagine it's going to be an eventful night for you, dear," JoAnne said.

"Well, you never know," Makayla replied, smiling to herself.

Only a few minutes into her shift, a line of southbound semi trucks shook the booth so violently that she thought that it might shake apart.

By midnight it was raining harder and only two cars had gone through the plaza. Makayla didn't like the dampness in the booth, but if the storm kept everyone at home tonight, that would be fine with her.