Got some good reception on my introductory post, here, so here’s the first part of another story I had fun writing.
This is the first installment of “The Hitchhiker’s Gratitude”; a story inspired by, and originally submitted as a response to, [this prompt](https://www.reddit.com/r/DirtyWritingPrompts/comments/f4ft7z/wp_turns_out_the_hitchhiker_you_picked_up_is_more/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app) by u/RedFredHunter.
***
“Where’re we headed?” She asked, climbing with a little difficulty into the passenger seat of the truck.
“Me?” He responded. “Bakersfield. You? You tell me.”
“Bakersfield sounds nice.” She answered, slamming her door closed with one hand as she began to tug at the seatbelt with the other. “Thanks for picking me up.”
“Wouldn’t have felt right leaving someone on the side of the road like that, middle of summer. Car broke down, somewhere?”
“Something like that.”
“Something like that?” He questioned the cryptic response as the mechanism of her seatbelt clinked.
He had shifted the truck to drive, pulled entirely off the shoulder, and almost got up to speed before she finally answered him.
“Hitchhiking my way across the state.” She provided. “Last guy gave me a ride dropped me off about where you found me.”