Grey

Look, I know I'm not supposed to pick up hitchers. It's not smart for me, and it's not smart for the hiker. But it was a rainy afternoon, and the guy up the road looked really dejected. He was somewhat small anyway, and his shoulders slumped over as he slogged through the mud. All alone in the half-dark like that, he reminded me of my cat when I had rescued him as a stray from a sudden downpour. The kid had a yellow poncho on and wasn't carrying any bag or even a gas can. I supposed he was just walking some short distance, and I could drop him off and be on my way in five minutes. I pulled over and lowered the passenger window. "Where you headed?" The guy leaned down and looked in through the opened window. Except it wasn't a guy. She was maybe twenty or twenty-one, and she was soaked like she wasn't wearing the plastic poncho at all. If there's anything that makes my heart melt more than a kitten in a rainstorm, it's a beautiful young woman in a rainstorm. The look in her eyes told me...