The Runaway Human Queen

“Come on you stupid car! Seriously, why now!!!” I screamed at my old cheap car that I have had for the last 3 months. I knew it was cheap for a reason, but had it serviced in the hopes it would last me most of the year. Just one year! That is all I needed! I am currently stuck on the side of a dirt road about 30 miles from the nearest town. Well, according to the map on my phone, before it lost all service, but who knows? The road is barely 2 cars wide, and the last bitumen road was a good hour’s drive, so quite a walk as well! Yay! Sure, I love a good walk when sightseeing, but not when I am in the middle of nowhere and I have seen way too many American Horror movies to know where this leads to! And, of course, that is exactly where my overactive imagination wants to go. At least in Australia, I felt safe and almost knew what to expect. Some farmer or other local would eventually drive down the dirt road, so you would wait. Not here! I have no clue how much this road is used. America is so different to Australia, so I have no idea when this road was even last used. Yay Freedom Tour! Is this where I am supposed to tell myself it is just another part of the adventure? Yeah, nah, too old and cynical for that!  My Freedom Tour! The type of trip you name to make yourself feel better after finding my scumbag of a boyfriend, Craig, balls deep in the neighbour! Yep full on going for it! We had only been together for 7 long years. And yes, he was still only my boyfriend, not husband, not fiancé, just boyfriend of 7 years! Just what every young girl dreams about… being strung along! We talked about marriage and what type of wedding we were going to have. Kids… well it never really came up and honestly I wasn’t sure I wanted them. We were both so busy with our jobs and seemed to barely make time for each other, so why would we bring kids into the mix! Or maybe my subconscious knew having kids with him would have been a huge mistake! Oh and you want to know what he said when I caught them, he was having one last fling before he proposed to me… yep what the hell!! Needless to say, I slapped him as hard as I could across the face. Then proceeded to scream at him and her for the next 5 minutes while the 19-year-old, blonde perfect barbie made a run for it. I wanted to punch her but I was too busy screaming, crying and throwing things. I did nearly get her with a photo frame but she dodged it just in time. So annoyed! I immediately moved out, took out my half of the savings and blocked him in every possible way from phone numbers to all social media platforms. I then did a cleanse and deleted all reference to him. And yes, I did have a nice burning ceremony thanks to the Friends episode where I burnt all photos, memories etcetera. I made sure it was outside so I didn’t have the same outcome as on the episode though. One positive was we had a lot of money in savings. All we did was work and save. We were saving for a house deposit and new cars… and a big overseas wedding. It took me about a week of staring into space and him finally catching up with me in my favourite coffee shop and proposing… yes, he got down on one knee! Wanker! That’s when I decided to sell everything and start my freedom tour. There was no way I was sticking around! I had always wanted to go overseas and my best friend Andrea was living the life in Grease on a super yacht working as a stewardess. Sure she was practically stuck on it for 5 months serving the ridiculously rich, but the amount of money she had made and the places she had seen were amazing. She only had 3 weeks left and was ready to explore. I had to give 4 weeks’ notice at work, which gave me time to sort everything out, and then I was on my first flight out of there. I met Andrea in Germany and we had a ball for the next 2 months, traveling through Europe. We stayed with a lot of her friends and in cheap hostels to save money. It was great staying with locals and getting proper tours wherever we went. Andrea had a lot of connections from all her travels. I wasn’t surprised as she could turn a lamp post into a lifelong friend. She just had the gift of the gab. She got another call up for another yacht job and asked if I wanted to apply and work with her. I thought about it but decided against it for the moment. I wanted to do more touring. I spent the next month still touring around when my brother gave me the idea to work and tour America or Canada. I was over the age of 30, so it was hard to get a simple working Green card. I enquired anyway through the American Embassy in France. It turned out with my Accounting Degree, no criminal record and the amount of money still in my account, I met the skilled worker criteria or something, so I was granted a 1 year Green card. If I wanted to stay longer, I would have to get a sponsorship at an Accounting Firm or something. I wasn’t too fussed right now though.   So here I am, a 35 year old Australian single woman stuck in a beautiful forest trying to get phone coverage… and not murdered. I grew up in the country so loved being out in nature. I love both the city and the country. I just had to stop my overactive imagination and get my walk on.   From memory, the closest town was in front of me, not behind. I grabbed my backpack, some food, my laptop, purse, mace, Taser (to make me feel better) and a spare change of clothes and set out for the nearest town… or phone coverage. Whatever comes first! The walk was actually nice after being in the car for 3 hours. I love listening to the birds, the rustling of the leaves and the fresh wind on my face. From the tall trees the sun didn’t reach down to the road. It was just all so beautiful. I left the last hostel early so I could get to the town I had chosen, which was half way to the Grand Canyon, as early as possible. I liked getting a lay of the land as soon as I got there so I could get a fresh start and a plan together straight up. The town looked big enough to get a job, hopefully for a month or just chill. I hadn’t been using my degree and was just doing odd jobs here and there, paying for my travels and adding a little to my savings. I was actually enjoying the less stressful jobs, it was adding to unwinding my brain and heart from being so lost. “Come on, you stupid phone. Seriously?” I growled at it as if it was really going to help.  I had been walking for over an hour and was sure I still had another 5 or more if I didn’t get coverage. “I don’t think yelling at it will help” came a very husky masculine voice in front of me that nearly made me jump out of my skin. I looked up to see 3 extremely tall, well-built and I mean 6 pack well-built men in front of me. Seriously, I don’t think there was a single fat cell on any of them! They all only had different types of running shorts on, no shirts and strangely, no shoes either. They all had short dark brown hair and tanned skin that helped show off those abs that every woman dreams of touching or licking chocolate off of. How did I not notice 3 male models coming towards me? Or even hear them? And where the hell are their shoes? The older one in the middle had the brightest smile on his face. He looked older than the other two and I mean older, as in more my age, whereas the other two, I swear, wouldn’t even be legal to drink yet- in America that is. The two young ones were looking at me confused but gave me their best death stares for some reason with their muscular arms crossed in front of them. I felt like a cougar admiring their arms, but seriously, no one would blame me! “Well, nothing else seems to be working” I nervously laughed back, trying not to show my embarrassment. I am very well versed at yelling at inanimate objects as most of my old work colleagues had become accustomed to. “What accent is that?’ one of the young ones spoke up. “Australian” They all now quickly glanced at each other confused but seemed to relax a bit. “And what is an attractive Australian woman doing here…” the stunning drool worthy older one gestured to the trees while not taking his eyes off mine. They were a deep brown that reflected the light and matched his tanned skin. “Well, I thought it would be a great place to break down and then yell at my phone” “You do know that there are wolves and other dangerous animals around here?” He smiled as the two younger ones huffed in approval with smirks on their faces. “Sorry my car and phone didn’t get the memo or decided they didn’t like me and wanted me to die a horrible death” They all gave a little chuckle. “Well it wouldn’t be gentlemanly of us to let you die out here then” he looked at the young one to his right. “Can you call Max to bring the tow truck out then. Keep going, I will start walking to the car with our Australian damsel in distress” Both of the young ones' faces dropped and they looked even more confused than before. The one that had to go contact the Max guy went to say something but was given a stern look by the older god-like man. Wow, he was gorgeous and I don’t just mean that because it had been a little while between drinks, if you know what I mean. Their eyes seemed to suddenly glaze over as they stared each other down. Odd! The younger one suddenly made a little nod in understanding and disappeared into the trees with the other young one on his heels. The older one whom I am just going to call “the god” until I get his name, seemed to unfreeze as well. His eyes came back into focus as he looked back at me with his perfect smile again. “So what’s your name?” “Emily. Yours? “Damien” “Nice to meet you and thank you!” “Ah, don’t mention it. So where you headed?” “A town call Payson” “Why did you use this road?” “Don’t ask me, ask the GPS on my phone, when it wants to start working again.” He laughed that earthy deep laugh that would make most women wet in a second, “Will do. Why don’t we start slowly walking back to your car”, he suggests, and motions for us to start walking. “Good idea. So you live out here?” “Yeah not far. Why are you heading to Payson?” “Looked like a cute town to stop in for a while. Maybe get a job” “Maybe? So you don’t have anything organised?” he asked while watching me curiously as we walked. I didn’t mind, as he seemed like a genuinely nice guy who didn’t seem to set any of my alarm bells off. “No just enjoying the freedom to see what happens” “So how long have you been in America?” “Only 3 months” I replied while glancing down at his feet “do you normally go for a walk without shoes? Did you want to sit down and wait? Happy to wait if your feet are sore”  He seemed to think that was one of the funniest things he had ever heard and gave a deep-hearted laugh. “Thank you, but I’m fine. How much longer are you in the country for?” he deflected while still chuckling.  “I have a 12 month green card, unless I find a good job and get a sponsor…” “Or fall for some handsome chivalrous American man that whisks you off your feet and marries you.” Now I was laughing, as there was no way in hell that was happening. Happy to find a friend with benefits, but men are untrustworthy animals that are only useful for a good time. Yes, yes, I know I will trust again one day, but not for a very long time! He was giving me a strange look and definitely didn’t get why I thought that was funny. “Sorry, but I very, very much doubt that will be happening. I have a bright future of being the strange cat lady that everyone avoids all mapped out and I am very much looking forward to it” “You doubt it, huh?” He asked with the wide smile still on his face. “Not just doubt, absolutely know it. Anyway, are you sure your feet are OK? We can sit down for a bit?” “Are you really that worried about my feet or do you just want to sit down? Do you need to sit down?” he actually seemed concerned. “No I’m fine, I just don’t know how you are able to walk on the rocks without shoes on.” He just chuckled and shook his head. “I’m fine. We can stop though.” This time I just rolled my eyes and kept walking. The concern from this male model was f*****g hot! “So not married and I am guessing no kids?” I shook my head “traveling around America on your own?” he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.  OK, he seems nice but I am not dumb enough to say I am on my own. “No, with my brother he is meeting me in Payson. He went ahead with his Canadian wife… or should I say girlfriend, as they haven’t told the family they had a quickie wedding after being together for a month. Our parents will flip their lid. So to everyone, it’s girlfriend” “But he told you so I’m guessing you're close.... did you travel over here at the same time?” I know where this is going. He is not catching me on the whole not being at their quickie wedding. “No, he had been here for 6 months before I arrived and then convinced me to join him” “So getting married quickly is in your family, good to know. Do you like her?” Seriously, he has talked more about marriage in the last 10 minutes than my ex did in our whole relationship! I was trying not to cringe every time he mentioned it as well. Marriage… hell no! “Yeah she’s great. Very full on but great. Opposite to my typical Aussie laid back brother. It’s quite funny actually. I suppose they balance each other out.” He seemed to think about that for a bit before he asked me about my experiences in America so far. We just chatted about the difference between the 2 countries, the local area and bits and pieces. I was still very careful to mention my brother constantly and how much we checked in on each other when not together. Can’t be too careful! We had only been walking for about twenty minutes when the tow truck came up beside us. Damien helped me into the truck, which I really didn’t need, but he seemed to have this whole gentleman thing going, so I let him. I couldn’t believe my eyes when even the tow truck driver who had to be only a little bit older than me was also hot. Seriously, what is in the water out here? Can I stay here?? “Well, hello there” Max’s deep sultry voice drawled as he took me in with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Hi, Max I’m guessing?” his smirk turned into a grin as I asked and offered my hand for him to shake. “That’s me. The kids didn’t say I was picking up a hot foreigner. I would have been here quicker” he shook my hand gently, like he was scared he was going to crush my fingers or something. “Calm down Romeo before I tell Cami and she rips your tongue out.” Came with almost a snarl from Damien and Max quickly put his hands up in defeat. “Hey, just being polite. You’re sitting on your shirt by the way.” Damien grabbed it and put it on. I made sure to look straight ahead. OK, so maybe I did watch out the corner of my eye as every muscle moved as he lifted it up over his head. Yes, I am a pervert and proud of it when it comes to hot men! The uncomfortable silence for the next few minutes was interesting. These men seem to be hot tempered as well as hot. Great mix… not! “So Max… you’re the local mechanic?” he smiles and nods with his eyes still straight ahead. “have you always been into cars?” “Yep. Nothing like the deep purr of an old V8.” Ah, so he recognised my accent as Australian and was testing to see if I knew anything about cars. “Well, they are rare now that they’ve closed down all the plants in Australia, right? Or are there other places to get them now?” his smile broadened as I showed I had a tiny bit of knowledge. “All custom now… so guessing that is your little car ahead?” “Yes, that is my little buzz box. Thank you for this, I really do appreciate it.” “No problem at all” he smiled with his eyes still not even glancing my way. So it sounded like Max was married, although I didn’t think he was flirting enough to make Damien act like that or maybe his wife was the jealous type and Damien was warning him? Either way, Damien the nice guy turned into a possessive boyfriend in less than point 5 of a second without us even going on a date…. This was going to be interesting. I am sure he just tried to piss on my leg. Thank you to my car and phone for whatever you have gotten me in to!