Dorms? As he slowed the car down he felt it slide.  His eyes widened in fear.  It had been quite a while since he had driven in snow.  She sensed this and laughed softly.

“I don’t think it’s polite to laugh at the driver,” he said, his eyes never leaving the road.

“I hope this so-called driver knows if his car has anti-lock brakes,” she commented with a smirk.  She looked around, noticing the nearing streetlights were blinking yellow one direction and blinking red the other.  Very few cars were on the road.  She did notice one car seeming to follow them.  He sensed her uneasiness about this.

“Bodyguard.”  Nearing the intersection, he glanced both ways and sped up.  “You didn’t think they’d let me out without one, did you?”

She blushed slightly.  “Well, I dunno.”

“Sure, this is a smaller town and it is late, but nonetheless, they felt I needed one.”  He turned to look at her, a warm smile filling his face.  His blue eyes twinkled in the darkness.

She grinned back.  “So you do have people!”

Ignoring this, he pointed to a brightly lit building to the right.  “Is that it?”  She nodded, and he turned the car into the parking lot.  The other car followed, parking a few spaces away.  The two got out and walked inside.

“So, he just sits outside?” she asked as they entered.  He nodded.  The quiet clanking of glasses greeted them from the left.  A handful of people were scattered throughout the dining area of the truck stop.  Ahead of them was a large video game sitting in the middle of the hallway.  Behind it was a movie theater and washroom.  A little further back was an area of payphones and internet ports.  The convenience store of the truck stop was to the right.

“It’s like a little mall . . .” he breathed quietly.

She nodded.  “Yeah.  You’ve been to one before, haven’t you JC?”

“Um. . . . maybe?”

“I would’ve thought your busses would stop here sometimes with you guys.  They seem like pretty safe places.” 

He shrugged, tugging again on his hat.  A sign by a cash register near the diner read “Please seat yourself.”  Tentatively, he reached for her hand and pulled her into a booth in the back.  Not that he had to worry about being recognized, but it was almost force of habit.

The menus were in a holder behind the napkins, and JC took one.  He set it down at the table, glancing at it before looking up.

“So what’s good here, Allison?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.  “I don’t know.  I usually get the same thing everywhere I eat.”

He grinned.  “So do I.  It’s just easier, isn’t it?  You know what you like, so why change?”

“People give me crap sometimes – saying I’m too predictable.”  She reached for a menu and began to look through.

“Predictability isn’t a bad thing.”

Her eyes looked up from the menu, and he was amazed at how green they were, and at how they were looking at him so intently.

“Yeah, but since I’m on this whole unpredictable thing tonight, I think I’ll have pancakes.”

He broke his gaze and laughed.  “You’re being unpredictable tonight?  What about me?”

“I dunno.  You’re a,” she dropped her voice to a whisper, “celebrity.”  Grinning, she continued.  “And they’re known for being unpredictable.  Me, a ‘normal’ person – well, tonight has been unique.  Going to Wal Mart this late?  Not quite to unusual.  Having someone run into me and hanging out with this person I don’t really know – well, I don’t usually do things like this.”

He grinned, leaning his head closer to hers across the table.  “Hate to break it to you sweetie, but I’m not a ‘usual’ celebrity.”

She leaned her head closer, noticing that his gaze was focused solely on her.  “Oh really?  What makes you say that?  Are these random late night trips out for you usual?”

“Almost as usual as yours,” he replied in a low voice.  “But did I plan to run into you?”

“Dunno.  Did you?” she teased.

“If I say no, I become a usual celebrity. . .” he began.

“And if you say yes . . .” she prompted.

He wasn’t able to answer, as a waitress appeared at the table.  She looked tired, pale bags under her eyes reinforcing that.  JC and Allison pulled their heads apart, and he reached for the menu again.

“Do you need anything to drink?  Or are you ready to order?”  The waitress’ voice sounded flat.

“I’ll have the pancakes, eggs, and bacon.  And a glass of orange juice,” Allison said.

He closed his menu and looked up at the waitress.  “I’ll have the same.”

The waitress jotted some things on a notepad and snapped her gum before asking, “How do you want your eggs?”

Allison was looking at JC, smiling because he ordered the same thing.  “Scrambled.”

He grinned back at her.  “Over-easy.”  With a nod, the waitress turned and left.

“Always order the same thing as the girls you pick up at Wal Mart?”  Her smile turned to a smirk.

“Hey, I don’t usually run into people at Wal Mart.”  The waitress reappeared with two glasses of orange juice.

Allison took a sip of the juice, watching him wait for her response.  “That answers the question.  But usual is okay.  I can deal.”

“Not fair.  That was forced.”  She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and his gaze quickly watched her do this before looking back at her face.  Her smile was magnetic, and he couldn’t help but stare.

“Do I have something on my face or something?” she asked, blushing under his gaze.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.  It was late, he told himself.  He barely knew her, and he didn’t need to get caught up in anything.  “Nope.  There’s not.”

“That’s good.”  There were a few moments of somewhat awkward silence before Allison brought a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle a yawn.

He noticed this and smiled.  “It is getting late.  I wonder where the waitress . . .”  He let his voice fade out as their food was placed in front of them.

She was glad for the diversion of eating.  She should’ve been getting sleep, but something told her this was worth losing sleep.  She was enjoying herself.  She had good company, and she didn’t miss noticing that the company was pretty good looking.

Meanwhile, he wished the food hadn’t come.  He wanted to talk to her more.  It had been far too long since he was able to feel so normal.  He just didn’t know quite what to ask her because it had been so long.  He didn’t want to talk business, but he didn’t want her to feel like he was prying or hitting on her.  Not that it would be bad to hit on her, but . . .

“Have you read The Summons?” she asked.

“What?”

“John Grisham’s newest book.  I don’t know how much spare time you guys have, but I figured you read sometimes.”  She reached for her glass, finishing the last bit of orange juice.

He nodded.  “Yeah, we have a lot of spare time.  I did actually read it, too.  Grisham’s a great writer.  It seems like he’s back to his old style.”

“Exactly.  Some of his middle books between like this one and The Runaway Jury haven’t been up to his normal standard.”

He smiled.  “True.  What other stuff do you like to read?”

“Besides Cosmo?” she asked with a smirk.

“Ha.”  He stared at her for a second, still wondering why she was acting so normal around him.  Partly, he knew it was late and she was older, but it still was comforting to know some people could be normal.  “You into that whole Harry Potter thing?”

She shook her head.  “Nah.  Actually, I’m waiting for the next Princess Diaries book to come out.”

He smiled, amused.  “Really.”

She blushed slightly.  “Yeah.  They’re really cute.”

“Don’t be embarrassed,” he began.

“You read them, too?”  Her eyes twinkled with delight.

“I’ve seen the movie.  It was good.”  The waitress reappeared to clear the table.  Laying the check down, they both reached for it, brushing hands slightly.

He reached for his wallet, after claiming the check.

“I can pay for myself!” she argued.

He shushed her.  “I asked you to come.  I can pay for it.”

She sighed.  “At least let me get the tip.”

“Fine,” he agreed.  She pulled four ones out of her purse and set them on the table.  Then they both stood up, making their way to the counter to pay.  As he was paying, she wandered into the convenience store.  She was looking at the books on tape section when he found her.

“Did you know Barry Manilow reads books?”

He laughed.  “Well, I assumed he was literate . . .” he teased.

“Ha.  I mean on tape.”  She turned around to where he was standing, only to see him taking off his hat.  Another hat, tag still on it, was in his other hand.  His hair was stuck to his head, very much the hat hair, but she had a strong urge to fluff it up.  Shaking her head, she smirked.  “Hat hair anyone?”

He returned the smirk, pulling the new hat on his head.  He glanced at the tiny mirror on top of the hat rack.  Straightening the brim, he turned to look back at her, almost waiting for the comment she was going to make.

“Roger that.  That’s a big 10-4, over,” she said, using her best CB radio voice.  “We got a big niner four fiver.”

“Did I hear a niner in there?”  His blue eyes were twinkling again, she noted, almost ignoring the hat.

“I heard a hello ugly hat in there.”  She smiled innocently.

Reaching for the hat rack again, he picked up another hat and placed it on her head.  She began to laugh.  “It’s not ugly.  It’s patriotic.”

“Okay,” she replied between laughs.  She noticed that her hat was almost the same, except the red was replaced by green.  “And I would never guess it was you wearing like that if I saw someone walking around.”

“That settles it.  I’m buying it.”  He grinned.  She started to take hers off, but he reached to stop her.  “Nope. You’re gonna keep that.  We can match.”

“All right.”  She was still giggling as they walked pass the magazines and road maps.  A clock was on a wall, and she then realized truly how late it was.  “I need to sleep.”

He nodded.  “Me, too.”  They walked over to the cashier.  “Can you cut the tags off?  We want to wear them out.”  Laughing, the cashier did that.  After paying, the two went outside.  It was lightly snowing.

“JC, I want to thank you for everything tonight,” she said.

He shook his head.  “No, I should be thanking you.  You let me be normal for a night.  And that is something I’ll always be grateful for.”

She smiled.  “Not a problem.”  There was an awkward silence on the ride back to Wal Mart, as the two didn’t know how to end the night.  He parked by her car and they both got out.

“I don’t quite know how to say good-bye, Allison.  I almost don’t want to go, but I have to get some sleep.”

“I understand.  I want to be fully awake to see you all tomorrow night at the concert, er, um, well, later today.”  She paused, looking at the ground, then back up at his face.  “So, uh, I suppose . . .”

“I’ll see you later?” he asked, hoping she’d say yes.  She nodded.  “Tomorrow night?”

She smiled shyly.  “If you want.  I’d like that.”

“Well, then, Allison . . .”

“Benson,” she said, supplying her last name.

“Benson.”  He smiled.  “I’ll look for you tomorrow night.”  He leaned in and impulsively hugged her, a little longer than a ‘just friends’ hug, but not too much longer.

Pulling back, she smiled.  “Tomorrow night it is.”  With a wave, she walked to her car.

He watched her get in, and smiled to himself.  He’d said it before, but it was true – you never know who you’ll run into at a Wal Mart.

THE END.