Part of her was suspiciously aroused by the rocking motion of the car… like a bucking bronco tethered in place by heavy chains. The jabs on the pedal made the motor rasp as if restrained ruthlessly and short of breath.
Jen’s mind was being assaulted by images of her boyfriend ravaging her swiftly and aggressively. Her foot kept stabbing the pedal with short shallow quick jabs.
“Time the jabs… Jen… time them to improve momentum” Sally instructed.
Jen couldn’t figure out what that mean as she squeezed her legs together and bit her lips and jabbed more frantically and erratically. The intense feelings were washing her with jubilee and worry.
“Come on!” shouted Jen as she slapped the dash.
Sally’s eyes widened. Her friend was in her own world. Frustration was understandably oozing out of her, but there was arousal as well. The kind of arousal Sally had seen other boys exhibit when watching a damsel in distress.
Anger started to grip Sally. So, this is how boys objectified women in dire situation… this better not be the feelings Troy got from helping her… Sally fumed.
“Don’t let me down baby girl” hissed Jen at the dash of her car as her foot dance erratically on the pedal.
“Just floor it for the love of anything holy” Sally implored.
Jen stopped and looked at Sally in disbelief.
“Why would I punish my car for me being stuck?” Jen asked in puzzlement.
“Let’s just get out of here, OK” Sally said evenly.
Jen knew that tone. Sally was mad. And the kind of mad that only a boy could create.
In the background, a motor revved up and the sound of ice being slaughtered echoed through the campus. Whoever was stuck was really nervous… the sound indicated.
“Can we just get going” Sally asked once more.
Jen felt bad for Sally. This was a scary situation. The building they had been in was now locked, as the janitor had informed on their way out. They were stuck in the cold and the temps were dropping. Sally, as confident as she was, was probably feeling the reality of their danger.
“Believe me, I want out too. I just can’t bring myself to floor it like you can” Jen explained.
“I know…” trailed Sally.
In the background, the timidly revved motor grew more angry and determined. The driver was starting to use brute force to power out of the situation they were in.
“I’ll get you safely into Troy’s arms in no time Sally” Jen return the tease.
“That’s not funny” Sally quietly responded.
Jen leaned forward and began to earnestly fight with the car to get free. But, as before, just a series of short bursts of pedal action. The car rocked and tried but there was not enough sustained effort to make progress. The car kept rolling back into it’s stuck position every time Jen let off.
The two girls nearly jumped out of their seat when a knock thumped on the driver’s side glass.
Rolling the window down slightly, Jen yelled “what do you want?” to the stranger outside.
“You’re going to have to do better than that to get free, Jen” Troy announced.
“Oh MY Gosh!!!!!!! You scared me!” Jen shrieked as she opened the door and jumped out.
“Sorry” Troy offered as Jen threw herself around his neck.
“I’m so glad you’re here!!” Jen professed joyfully.
“Um… OK… nice to see you Jen” Troy stammered a little.
In the background, the motor started to sound very angry as the revs raised and the tires screamed a loud protesting “zzzz”
“Can you get me free?” Jen asked while shivering ever harder.
“Jump in, I got you” Troy assured.
Jen pulled open her back door and jumped in while slamming the door shut. Troy, slightly surprised, entered through the open driver’s door.
Spotting the car was still in gear, Troy slipped the car into reverse and gave a short burst of gas. The car crunched hard on the ice and popped up freely over the ice behind the car.
“Watch out Troy” Jen exclaimed.
Before Jen could reach and touch Troy’s shoulder, he slipped the car into Drive and goosed the pedal. The car lunged forward and bounced very hard into and over the hole it had been in and popped free onto the other side.
The crunching of ice was reverberating through the car. Troy backed up a little and then stopped.
“You’re good to go. Just be steady on the gas and you’ll be OK. No tiny rapid fire jabs” cautioned Troy.
As he got ready to open the door, the temperature in the car suddenly grew intensely hot. Jen sat back and held her tongue as her mouth gaped open.
Troy slowly turned to Sally and paused. Sally held her breath.
“Good seeing you Sally” Troy greeted with a smile.
“Good seeing you too” Sally quietly replied.
Troy swung the driver’s door open and stepped out quickly. Assisting Jen, he opened the door and helped her get behind the wheel.
“Remember, nice and steady instead of short jabs” Troy encouraged as he tapped the door of the car and walked away.
The two women watched Troy move as quickly as he could on the ice and disappear into the swirling mess the storm was kicking up.
In the distance, the motor was bouncing all over the RPM band as the driver was giving in to their anger at being stuck.
Sally watched a pair of headlights flash on. Jen was not paying attention.
What Sally saw made her heart sink. If there ever was a time she needed Troy, it was now. But the inner conflict about being stuck in front of him filled her with dread. What if Troy was the type of guy who got off on seeing a woman in distress…
Sally couldn’t finish the thought.
Jen looked up.
“Hey Sally, you look like you saw a ghost…” Jen inquired.
“I might as well have…” Sally feebly replied.
Jen looked out and peered intently. There was nothing but the snow and ice reflecting back at her through her high-beams.
In the distance, a frantically roaring motor grew quiet. The scent of spent rubber started to faintly filter into the car.
Jen and Sally looked at each other…
“Troy” they both exclaimed in worry.
To be continued
RPM
For the other chapters in this story… and more like it… see below for a growing list…
- Sally’s College Parking
- The Boy in the Civic
- The Great Escape
- Formal Introductions
- Capricious Starts
- The Ice Storm
- The Buddy System
- New Starts Require Heat
Shallows of the Deep 