Page 5 of Rocking the Trucker

Not that he had said anything after the first fifteen minutes, but still. He was beginning to shiver from the icy wall that seemed to run down the middle of the cab.

Pulling out the notebook that was always with him, he began to write. Nothing of any importance, just a stream of consciousness word salad that would help clear his head and, with any luck, help him figure out how to melt the wall between them.

He had no crazy illusion that Sam would ever fully forgive him and things would go back to how they were before that dreadful night, but he needed the man to not hate him.

He looked up when the engine noise changed and the truck began to slow. A few minutes later, Sam steered off the highway at an exit.

“Pit stop,” Sam said as he eased to a stop in a rest stop parking lot. He did not look in his direction as he continued. “You’ve got fifteen minutes to use the head, get whatever snacks you want, and walk around. Just be sure to get at least one bottle of water.”

Gabriel nodded but remained silent as he released his seatbelt then climbed down from the truck.

He followed a few feet behind Sam as the big man headed to the restrooms, both of them twisting their bodies and swinging their arms as they walked. He did not want to lose sight of the man, but also knew the trucker would not want him too close either.

After using the facilities and washing his hands, Gabriel headed to the vending machines. He scanned the machines, his belly demanding something to snack on, but for the first time, being very mindful that he had one prepaid credit card in his wallet with two hundred dollars, his entire life savings, on it.

He would need to be very careful because that money needed to last him several weeks, or at least until he began selling the CDs and t-shirts that were packed in the truck.

It wasn’t like the old days when money flowed in and out of his life like the ocean waves, and he did not even acknowledge how much he spent in a day.

He just hoped that over the next six weeks he could regain the love of old fans, find, and earn the love of new ones, and convince Sam that he was not the same narcissistic asshole he’d been before fame and bad behavior caused his life to implode.

He was just afraid it might take a miracle of Biblical proportions to accomplish any of it in only six weeks.

****

Sam watched as Gabrielmoved between the vending machines, studying the selections, and then staring at the card in his hands. He wondered what the singer was debating. In the past he always bought twice as many snacks as he needed, often giving them away to children who crossed his path on the way back to whatever vehicle they were using for the tour.

But today, he seemed to be debating even getting something to eat. Pulling the company credit card from his pocket, Sam walked up to the drink machine and bought his favorite soda. He then bought two bottles of water and another soda. The one that he remembered was Gabriel’s favorite drink. He then moved to the snack machine and bought his favorite bag of popcorn and then looked at Gabriel.

“What do you want?”

Gabriel took a half step back and shook his head. “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not. What do you want?”

He watched as Gabriel scanned the machine and pointed to a cracker pack. It was the cheapest thing in the machine and would not keep him full for more than about ten minutes.

But he did not argue. After buying two packs of crackers, he then bought two packs of cookies, and another bag of popcorn.

Now the trick would be to get everything back to the truck.

“Here,” he said, handing Gabriel the soda he’d bought him and one of the waters. After he had hold of them, Sam passed him half the snack packages.

Packing the cookies and crackers into one of the leg pockets of his cargo pants, Sam carried his drinks and popcorn to the truck. Gabriel followed silently and did not speak until they were back on the highway.

“Why?”

“Why what?” Sam asked as he reached for his bottle of water.

“Why did you buy my snacks?”

“You looked like you were having a hard time deciding, and we needed to get back on the road so we can get you to tonight’s show.”

“Uh-huh,” Gabriel said. “Thank you. I’ll pay you back.”

Sam shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I bought you dinner atL’Atelier. I just bought you some snacks to get through the day.”

Gabriel didn’t respond, but Sam could see he remembered the night they went to the high-end restaurant in Vegas and spent more money on one meal than Sam spent on groceries in three months back home. It had been an amazing night, ending with them in bed, declaring their love for one another.

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