Country Life
Country Life Ch. 1
Country Life â€" Ch. 1
No yiff in this story, buuuuuuuuuutttt, I promise there will be some in the next ones, I could put some in, but it wouldn't really fit in this chapter. We cool? =]
All addresses and names are made up, if your name or address is the same as someone in the story, its pure chance, if they're both the same, tell me. =]
James Larson, although most people just called him Jimmy, was an 18 year old human and was nearly two months into his senior year in high school. He lived on a 3000 acre corn and soybean farm in rural northern Indiana and was part of his school's FFA chapter. Pulling his 1995 Dodge 2500 into the student parking lot at Deergrove High School, he pulled the truck into his spot and shut down the heavily modified Cummins turbo diesel engine. Leaving the five speed stick in first to keep the truck from rolling, he jumped out, locked the doors and walked inside. After saying hello to some friends, he opened his locker, which was in the science wing, near the auto shop. Just as he was closing his locker, a very attractive female grey wolf tapped him on the shoulder, surprising him some. "Excuse me, could you possibly tell me where room 107 is?" she asked with a timid smile.
"New here?" Jim managed to say, in awe of one of, if not, the most attractive wolfess he had ever seen.
"Yep, first day."
"Well, welcome to Deergrove, anyway, room 107 is where I'm heading, just follow me" he said smiling in return.
"Thank you."
"Noda problem."
Room 107 was nearly on the other side of the school building, the two took off down the main hallway.
She asked, "So what's your name?"
"James Larson, most people just call me Jim or Jimmy though."
"Well, nice to meet you Jim, I'm Elizabeth Jonson."
"Nice to meet you to, Elizabeth, so where are you from."
"Oh, please, just call me Liz and I moved here from southern Illinois, very small town called Pankeyville."
"Oh, ok, my family and I drove through once, we were taking a weeklong hiking trip and were on our way to the Garden of the Gods. Why'd you guys move, if you don't mind me asking?"
"No not at all, my grandfather on my mom's side's health has been degrading, we moved to be closer to the family, so have you lived here all your life, or what's your story?" "Oh, I'm sorry to hear about your grandpa, but yea, been here all my life and as far as I can see, I always will be."
"No reason to be sorry, he's lived a long and healthy life, just getting up there in years, my mom worries about him, so we moved closer" she said as they rounded a corner. "Why do you think you'll stay here for life?" she asked him with a questioning look.
"Work, see, I live on a farm and as long as the farm's here, I will be too, it's been in the family for 4 generations now, with me working on it, I would hate to see it change hands, my dad, uncle and grandpa too, they all would be equally unhappy if it ever did."
"Oh, really, how big of a farm do you live on?"
"We're up to about 3000 acres now, corn and soybeans."
"Wow, you must be a busy guy."
"Yea, keeps us busy for sure, especially since it's only my grandpa me, my dad and his brother working, but I do find time to have fun when I can."
"Speaking of fun, what is there to do around here?"
"There's not a lot up here, usually when I'm not at school, I'm working in the field, working on my old Oliver tractor that I'm restoring for parades, or competing in truck pulls, other than that, in the fall we have football, like any school, during winter, we have three weeks off, I spend most of those three weeks on a snowmobile or in the shop working on equipment or modifying my truck. During the spring, there's not much going on, other than the beginning of pulling season for me, during the summer, other than work, I go to a pull about every two weeks and go camping when I can. Also there are bonfires year round it seems like. "Fun fun fun, eh."
"Well, we're here, get ready to be extremely bored for the next hour and a half, Mr. Peterson speaks monotone and calculus is just boring anyway."
"I actually like math" she said to him in a matter of fact voice.
"Believe me, you will still be ready to leave by the end of class."
"I'll take your word for it, oh where can I sit?"
"Don't matter, there's no seating chart in his class."
"Ok, you mind if I sit next to you, it's nice to have someone to talk to."
"Yea, go ahead, believe me, you'll want someone to talk to when Mr. Peterson starts rambling, it's pretty boring and, well, well I have nothing else to say" he said, dropping his bag on the floor as he sat down.
The next hour and a half passed very, very slowly, as it always did, both of them somehow managing to stay awake, just barely. As the class came to a close, everyone packed up all their books and whatnot to head to second hour.
"What's next on your schedule there, Liz?"
"Um, let me see, weight training/conditioning."
"No way, that's the same class I have, weird." "That is weird, although, they put me in that class because there were no other P.E. classes that weren't full already."
"Oh, makes sense, you ever lift weight before?"
"A little, mostly for track season though."
"Cool, I should have guessed, you're built like a runner. Anyway what you do in class is up to you, as long as you're not sitting idle."
"Sweet, you guys got a treadmill?"
"Yep, four of them, the weight room, decked out with all the toys, including an extremely loud stereo."
"Good, I'll be able to do a little running, while you're, I assume lifting?"
"Yep, me and the guys lift together, then, lunch! How'd guess I lifted?"
"Well for one you're way too built to be a runner and you live on a farm, so lifting just seems like a natural choice."
"Well you hit the nail square on the head, that and both my dad and granddad are pretty stout guys, it runs in the family, so I take advantage of that in the weight room."
The two went separate directions, Jim to the guys locker room, Liz headed to the athletic office to get a lock for her gym locker. By the time Liz got her lock and found an unused locker and changed, Jim was already in the weight room, benching 250 pounds, the stereo cranked to some Iron Maiden, he had just racked the bar after five reps when Liz walked by in running shorts and a sleeveless shirt. "Hey Jim" she said in a cheery voice.
"Uh, hi!" Jim managed to say, stupefied by her toned figure, shown off by the lack of sleeves and jeans as she walked by.
She just smiled back and said, "Like what you see, I take it!"
"You could say that" he said with a small chuckle.
Liz jumped on one of the treadmills and started a slow warm up jog, while Jim climbed out from under the bench, to spot for Tommy Williams, a red fox, who made up for being slightly short at 5' 4", by being incredibly strong for a person his size. Tommy threw shot and disk for the track team and was near the top of his game.
"COME ON TOM, YOU GOT THIS, YEAAAA, MAN!!!" screamed John, a 6 foot 6 timber wolf, who, along with being built like a brick shit house which earned him the nickname, Big John, was the quarterback on the football team and a good friend to boot.
Jim just laughed at John's antics. The weight plates were changed out, everything but 2 forty five pounders were removed from each side, a third set was then added to bring the total up to 315 lbs.Liz cranked up the treadmill she was on, breaking into a fast paced run. The rest of the class consisted of parallel squat and dead lift for Jim, Tommy and John, who were all near the top of the class strength-wise. Liz, after running hard for several minutes, slowed the treadmill down a little, pacing herself. With twenty minutes left before the bell, everyone vacated the weight room to head for the showers and then catch some lunch. Sitting down at his normal seat, across from John and his girlfriend Allison, a raccoon morph, Jim attacked the food on his tray, some nachos, refried beans with shredded cheese and a can of Coke. "Dude, Jim, that lunch looks diabolical, how can you eat like that?" John said, looking, in disgust at Jim's lunch.
"Um, because it tastes good."
"Who was that grey wolf that said hi to you in weights?" asked John
"Oh, that's Liz, she just moved here, we have Peterson's class together."
"Cool beans man, hey, she's coming over here."
"Really" Jim said with a bit of surprise in his voice.
"Hey Jimmy" Liz said, as she sat down next to Jim, her tray lightly loaded with a grilled cheese, a cup of tomato soup and a can of iced tea.
"What's up Liz."
"Not much, what'd you grab for lunch?"
"Nachos, refried beans and a Coke."
"God that's unhealthy."
"Yea, I know ."
"Hey, can you tell me where I might find room 084 Jim?"
"Yea, sure, it's right down the hall to the left of here, third door down on the right side of the hall."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it, what about last hour?"
"Already saw it on the way here, it's the computer lab."
"Cool, what's the class?"
"Web design, so what do you have next?"
"Auto mechanics, it takes up the whole second half of my day." "That's neat, what are you doing there today, or do you not know yet?"
"We're going to start tearing down the motor we're going to put in the pulling truck the school sponsors."
"Cool! You said you pull, is that the truck you drive?"
"Nope, Big John here, he's the man behind the wheel, lucky SOB."
Until now, John had been busy eating his lunch, "Now I don't think I'm that lucky and we better get going."
"Oh yea, well, Liz, I'll see you later" Jim said with a slight smile.
"See ya" she said smiling back as they walked in opposite directions, Jim and John went to the shop while Liz headed off to newspaper, yes that was actually a class the school offered.
"What do we want to get accomplished on this motor today Jim?" John asked as they looked at the freshly degreased 12 valve Cummins turbo diesel that had come out of a 1997 dodge pickup truck.
"Well, we have 3 hours, basically two and a half if you include time to clean up and put tools away, I think pulling the turbo, exhaust manifold and the head would be a good goal, if we have time left over, we could start disassembling the head." By the time they had finished pulling the injectors, springs and valves from the head, it was time to tool down and clean up. John always wore mechanics coveralls, as it was a real pain in the tail cleaning the large amount oil and grease out of fur that was collected while working on these types of projects. Jim on the other hand, just took off his t-shirt, leaving only the sleeveless shirt he was wearing. After the two cleaned up, John took off to find Allison, as he always drove her home and Jim simply headed out to his pickup truck for the fifteen mile drive back home. He saw Liz get out of her car, with a slightly distraught look on her face, as he made his way to his truck, finally figuring out whose car that was parked in front of his truck, as no one had that spot.
"Hey stranger, what's wrong?"
"Oh, hey Jim, car battery's dead, won't even turn over, any chance you have a set of jumper cables?"
"Sure do, just let me start my truck and I'll have your car running in just a minute."
"Thank you, so much." "Don't mention it, anything for a friend" Jim said, giving her a wink.
With that, Jim climbed up into his truck, set the park brake, put the manual transmission in neutral and while holding the clutch pedal to the floor, he turned the key and with that trademark diesel clatter, the twin turbo Cummins came to life through the 5 inch straight pipe exhaust. After getting out of the truck and opening the toolbox in the bed, Jim grabbed his jumper cables and popped the hood. Liz opened the hood on her car as Jim attached one end of his cables to the left side battery on his truck and after he hooked the other end of them to her car, he got in and turned the key, the car starting almost immediately. After he took the cables off car's and his truck's batteries and putting them away, he walked around to the front of his truck to talk to Liz for the few minutes they had until the busses were gone and they were released, along with all the others who didn't make it out before the busses started rolling out.
"You busy Friday night?" Jim said in a slightly nervous tone. "No, why?"
"The homecoming game is Friday night, I was wondering if you would like to go."
"A little early to be asking me out, don't you think?"
"Not as just a couple of friends going to a football game."
"Oh, well, I don't see why not, sure I'll go, sorry to assume you were asking me on a date."
"Ah, that's quite alright, I'm not one to rush things. The game starts at 7 PM, so I figure I'll show up about 6:30, that way we can find some good seats."
"Sounds good, you may want to show up a little earlier though, my dad will want to meet you and have the chat."
"Understandable, I'll show up 6, then?"
"Ok, it should be fun."
"Well, Liz, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sure will, I'll meet you at your locker, ok?"
"Alright, well, I have to get going, I have to make a run to the John Deere dealership outside of town."
"Ok, yea, my parents still need help unpacking from the move."
"See ya later" Jim said flashing her a quick smile.
"Bye Jim" Liz responded with a smile of her own.
Liz got in her car and after backing out of her spot, took off, heading for the outskirts of the nearest town, 5 miles away. Watching her leave, Jim climbed back into his truck, released the brakes and put the truck in first gear, he slowly released the clutch, the overpowered diesel engine having no problem pushing the truck across the parking lot. Leaving the lot, he wound the motor up, spooling the turbochargers, his truck ripped down the two lane Indiana state highway, like a rocket sled on rails as jet black diesel smoke belched out the tailpipe, giving the truck a workout as Jim called it, oddly, Two Lane Blacktop, by Rob Zombie started playing, Jim cranked the stereo, even so, it couldn't drown out the scream of the truck's motor. The next day, Jim and Liz only had 4th hour and lunch together, as the school went by block scheduling, they had 4 classes per day with the same classes every other day. The rest of the week went in much the same fashion, the two hanging out when they could and being bored in Peterson's class. Liz started taking pictures for the school's newspaper. She got a good picture of John and Jim, up to their elbows in oil and grease and a few bloody knuckles, working on the diesel engine for the pulling truck on Wednesday.
"Thanks guys, I didn't know it was possible for you to stand still for more than three seconds" Liz said as she waved good bye to them.
The two quickly went back to working on the mostly disassembled engine in front of them.
"Well John, what do you say we unbolt the rods and main caps and get the crank dropped and pull the rods, pistons and sleeves."
"I say, lets go for it. Oh, do you know when the new parts are coming in from Scheid Diesel?"
"Yea, they're supposed to be in next Monday."
"Sweet, I tell you what, I'm happy that we're the only people working on this truck, most of these people don't know shit about diesels." "Tell me about it."
The two left the shop with the motor down to the bare block. Jim headed out to his truck to head home for the day, the only thing on his mind was how hot Liz looked today in that t-shirt and blue jeans, he smiled to himself as he shifted through the truck's 5 speed gearbox, knowing he was taking her to the game on Friday night. Liz was just happy she was going with someone as nice as he was, not like the typical jerks that hit on her at her old school. Not much happened Thursday or Friday for anybody, except Jim, who had nothing to do in auto shop on Friday until the parts for the pulling truck came in, on Monday. He pulled his dodge into the shop and gave it a once over , checking the oil, kicking the tires and cleaning the fast food wrappers and pop cans out of the cab and emptied the floor mats of dirt and the occasional kernel of corn or soybean, wanting to make a good impression on Liz. Later on that night at 6 PM, like they had agreed on, he rolled the truck up Liz's driveway and shut it down, after turning the radio down to a ‘normal' level. He checked the passenger door, making sure it was unlocked and jumped out of the truck, breathing heavily, he was nervous as hell, he walked up and knocked on the front door. When the door opened, he was greeted by Liz's father, Tanner Jonson, a grey wolf just as Liz was, he had just retired from the U.S Marines and had the build to prove it. Jim's first thought was, don't piss him off. "You must be Jim" said Tanner as he held out a massive hand.
Shaking the offered hand, Jim replied, "That'd be me".
"Well come on in boy and tell me about yourself."
Jim walked inside the house, noting how much larger it looked on the inside.
"Have a seat, Liz should be down in a few minutes" said Tanner as he sat down himself at the kitchen table. "Tell me about yourself."
"Alright, well, I live on a 3000 acre farm, about 10 miles west of here and am part of the school's FFA chapter, I compete in truck pulls, in the modified street class, I enjoy going fishing, camping and I also enjoy shooting, not a whole lot else to tell, really" Jim said, managing a nervous smile.
"You know, I've never been to a truck pull, I've seen them on TV, but I've never actually been to one, how does it work exactly?"
"Simple, the sled that's pulled has a weighted box that slides forward as the truck pulls it down the 300 foot track. The truck I pull with is also my daily driver and is modified with a balanced and knife edged crankshaft, a hotter cam designed for towing, the biggest air filter I could fit on it, larger injectors, oversized injection lines, a second turbo, 5 inch exhaust system, 4000 RPM governor springs in the injection pump, two water injection systems, one runs off a wide open throttle switch, the other is activated when exhaust temps hit 1300 degrees and the transmission has a twin disk clutch to handle the power it's putting out, oh and the head has a port and polish job, with Inconel exhaust valves cut at 45 degrees. When I hook, after rolling forward to tighten the chain, I have to wait for the flagger to drop the green flag, then I free rev the motor to about 3000 RPM and let off the clutch a little harder than I would on the street, gives you one hell of a jolt, I'll tell you what, once the clutch is engaged and the truck's moving down the track, I drop the hammer, letting the truck run the full 4000 RPM, usually the weight pulls it down to about 3400 though. The truck is in 4 wheel drive, low range and is left in third gear all the way down the track." "Sounds like fun, sounds expensive too, especially the motor in your truck."
"Oh, believe me, it's a lot of fun, gets the ol' blood pumping about the time the clutch is released and the throttle is pinned, as far as expensive, yea, it sure wasn't cheap, but my dad and I built the motor over a period of two years, spreading the cost out some, along with the rest of the truck, we pulled the body off the frame, completely boxed it, swapped the Dana 70 rear axle for the stronger Dana 80 and put a locker in it as well, the front axle was replaced with one from a 2002 ram, which has a one piece passenger shaft and fitted with locking hubs and a locker. Basically the truck has been rebuilt from the ground up."
"How long have you been pulling?"
"Since I could legally drive, which would be a little over two years now."
"Sorry I took so long" Liz said as she walked downstairs in a pair of blue jeans and a closely fitting sweater, "I didn't like anything I tried on."
"That's perfectly fine, I was just explaining to your dad the basics of truck pulling." "Still, I hate making people have to wait."
"Don't worry about it, I'm a patient guy, I can wait."
"Well, you two better get going, oh and don't have too much fun" Tanner said, chuckling at the two.
"Dad! We're just friends, nothing more!" was Liz's response as the two walked out the front door to Jim's truck.
Jim walked around to the passenger side door and opened it, lending Liz a hand up, even with a step, the truck was still a good step up to get into, as it had a 2.5 inch leveling kit and 35 inch tires on it. After making sure he wasn't going to shut her tail in the door, he closed it and walked around the front of the truck to the driver's door and climbed up.
Starting the engine, Jim looked over to Liz and smiled warmly at her, "Wow, you're beautiful".
"Oh, please, you're just saying that."
"No, I'm not, I wouldn't lie about that, even if you don't believe me, I think you are."
"Well, thank you anyway, oh is there a dance after the game, seeing as its homecoming?"
"Yep, sure is, we can go if you'd like." "Yay, lets go to it, I can't dance worth a dime though."
"Nor can I, I just go for the music, usually a good mix of country, classic rock and some metal thrown in for good measure."
Jim backed the truck onto the 2 lane blacktop and headed through the town to the school.
"Any type of music you like in particular Liz?" Jim asked as he shifted from second into third, through town.
"I listen to country for the most part, what about you?"
"Country, rock and metal mostly, a little Nickleback every now and again."
He tuned in a country station for the drive, Ol' Red, by Blake Shelton started playing. Ten minutes later, the truck was parked in the student parking lot and Jim was paying for two four dollar student tickets.
"Thanks for paying for my ticket" Liz said, smiling as the two headed for the grandstands. "Where do you want to sit?"
"What kind of guy would I be if I didn't pay for your ticket, and we can sit wherever you want."
"How about there?" as she pointed to an empty spot near the press box.
"Fine by me." The two headed up to the seats, finding the view of the field to be nearly perfect, goalpost to goalpost. After the school's marching band finished playing the Stars and Stripes, the opposing team kicked off, the ball carrier got tackled just four yards from the goal line, they scored on the next play and after making the point after, their luck ended, Deergrove basically murdered them, the final score being 49 to 7, Deeregrove coming out on top. Around halftime, Liz and Jim got up and headed to the concession stand for some hot coffee and a bite to eat.
"Jim, what's your obsession with nachos?" asked Liz as she looked at the paper tray Jim held, piled with the cheese covered corn chips.
"Their good, I dunno."
"Ok, I'll give you that, they are good" she said as she stole one.
"Told ya" Jim said with a smile.
"You're a dork."
"I've been told that before."
The game ended with the home stands going nuts and the guest team going home with their tails, the players that had them, between their legs. (Que that sound that's made when someone epically fails) "Well Liz, the dance started just about five minutes ago, so, let's be fashionably late and go have one heck of a time."
"Ok by me, I'm getting a little chilly out here."
"Want to borrow my jacket?"
"How will you keep warm then?"
"Actually I'm getting a little too warm in this jacket."
"Oh, well, if you don't mind, I will take that offer."
"Here ya go" said Jim as he handed her the Carhartt jacket that had Jim's farm name, Larson Farms, stitched on the back in green block lettering, along with Jim's real name, James, on the front.
"Thank you, so much, I dunno why I'm cold though" she said, zipping the jacket.
"Don't forget, you moved north a few hundred miles, your coat is still most likely shorter than most furs who live up here."
"You're probably right, oh well, I'm plenty comfortable now, I'll have to get one of these."
"They have them at the Rural King in town."
"Cool, I know where I'll be going tomorrow."
"Ha, making a Rural King run is a weekly occurrence in my family it seems like."
They made it up to the school and walked into the gym just as things were starting to pick up on the dance floor. Ballroom Blitz, by Sweet boomed through the speakers, Liz tossed Jim's jacket into the pile on the floor. The two saw John, Allison and Tommy walk in together, Allison hanging off John's heavily muscled arm, smiling brightly at her big, strong quarterback, though you'd never guess it, she wore the pants in that relationship! Tommy would, like he did before, try to find himself a girl. "Yo, John, awesome job tonight man, y'all kicked their asses!!" Jim hollered out to his friend as John walked up to the DJ to request a song.
"Show no mercy for the weak, or underpowered, man."
"Underpowered?" Liz asked, looking at Jim, puzzled.
"Oh, that's just something Big John and I say, the underpowered part refers to lower horsepower trucks on the pulling track."
"Oh, you guys are obsessed with that, I swear" Liz said, laughing.
"It's addicting, gets under your skin."
As Ballroom Blitz faded out, If Everyone Cared, by Nickleback started playing.
Looking at Jim, with a look that he couldn't say no to, Liz asked, "Dance?"
"Sure" said Jim as he pulled her close, but not too close as to make her feel uncomfortable.
As they danced, Jim looked deeply into Liz's ice blue eyes, noticing for the first time, exactly how beautiful they really were against her light grey, nearly white coat and long blonde hair.
"I know I've said this before, but, god you're unbelievably beautiful."
"Aww, Jim, stop, you're making me blush!" "I must be doing something right then."
"Yep, you must be. You know something, you're the first person I've ever felt any real attraction to."
"You feel attracted to me, of all people?"
"Yea."
"Why?"
"You're a good person, fun to be around and handsome to boot and I know you're attracted to me."
"Yea, I'll admit that I am."
"How come?"
"Basically put, you've got it all, brains, beauty, fun to be around and a real sweetheart."
"Aww, you're too kind."
"I try on occasion."
The song faded out and the two slipped out of each other's arms as Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy, by Big & Rich started playing. In high school tradition, pretty much everyone started singing the lyrics, off pitch for the most part, as per the same tradition of off pitch highschoolers singing, Highway to Hell and Don't Stop Believin' were played, along with a couple others. The dance continued until about 1 am, a steady mix of classic rock and country playing, not much metal, although Jim was happy to hear No Remorse and The Longest Day played, those were a couple of his favorites in the metal genera. The DJ called the last song and put Open Arms, by Journey on, weird choice for a high school dance eh? "Last dance Liz, shall we?"
"We shall."
Jim slipped his arms around Liz's waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. They shared the last dance with her cheek resting on his shoulder, her muzzle just under his chin. As the song ended, the lights were lit, Liz took Jim by the hand as they started walking towards the door, stopping to grab his jacket, which Liz wrapped up in before Jim even had a chance, not that he cared any, she was happy, that's all he cared about right now. After waking out to his truck, Jim opened the door for Liz and helped her in once again. He started the engine and let it idle for a few minutes, it was getting very cold at night now and Jim didn't exactly want to ruin the night by blowing up a 6000 dollar motor. After letting the motor warm for a few minutes, he put the truck in first and with a very light foot, started down the parking lot. Just after Jim shifted into second, both him and Liz saw Tommy walking out to his restored '53 Chevy, with a girl, finally, Jim though. As they rolled past them, Jim grabbed the cable and let a loud blast from the train horn in his truck roll across the parking lot, scaring the living shit out of Tommy and the girl and pretty much everyone else in the lot. Neither Jim, nor Liz could stop laughing. Pulling onto the highway, Jim tuned a classic rock station on the stereo, No One Like You, started playing. Pulling up to Liz's house, Jim knocked the truck out of gear and set the brakes, leaving the engine running. "Mind if I walk you to the door?"
"I'd like that, thanks."
Getting out of the truck, Jim walked with Liz, his arm wrapped around her waist, up to her front door. Reaching the door, Liz took Jim by both hands.
"Thanks Jim, I had sooooo much fun" Liz said as she wrapped him in a hug, a huge smile across her muzzle.
"Thank you for coming" said Jim, smiling in return.
She surprised Jim by giving him a quick kiss, straight on the lips. He returned the favor by kissing her on the nose.
"Well, I better get going before your dad wonders what's going on out here."
"Ha ha, yea, oh here's your jacket and here's my number, call me" Liz said, slipping him a small piece of paper with her cell number on it.
"Thanks, I must of done good enough tonight to pull your number."
"You did fine you goof."
"I'll call you tomorrow."
"Ok, I always have my phone on me, if you don't get an answer, I'll just send you a text."
"I better update my facebook status now, eh?"
"Yea, you and me both, finally."
"Ha, well, good night Liz."
"Night Jim." She walked inside as Jim climbed back up into his truck and headed for home, the cab feeling kind of lonely with no one in the passenger seat. After parking the truck for the night, Jim headed to his room and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Liz was asleep just as quick.
The next morning, Jim got a text from Liz saying she had the house to herself if he wanted to come over. Grabbing his keys and wallet from his dresser, Jim jumped in the big blue dodge and jumped on the highway...
To Be Continued...