Rebecca Rush couldn't take it anymore.
She grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. Sitting around looking for yet another show to numb her boredom was no way to live. She'd always imagined her life being more interesting than this. She deserved more than this.
Her husband, Ted, had left that morning on yet another business trip, this time to London. She'd begged him to take her, but he said it would be awkward because of all the meetings he needed to have. Deep down she suspected—no, she knew—he was cheating on her, but they kept up the charade anyway.
It had been easy to keep pretending everything was fine. His business had taken off just a few years into their marriage, and that's when everything started to change. They suddenly went from a young struggling couple to the wealthiest people they knew, and neither of them knew how to handle it. Ted became increasingly distant, constantly blaming work for his absences. Rebecca let laziness get the best of her, settling into a routine of shopping and eating out with her girlfriends, and sitting on the sofa watching TV between outings. (The life of excess had also manifested itself in her body, which was a lot curvier than it used to be—not that she minded the impressive breasts the extra weight had given her.)
The suburban monotony had been eating away at her recently. While going through an old box, she'd come across her journals from college, and it reminded her of her dreams of traveling the world, of having adventures, of doing things that made her a unique and interesting person. She missed that version of Rebecca Rush, the fearless, confident one who'd never turn down an opportunity to do something new.
She also missed the men. In her journal, she'd detailed her exploits with over a dozen men in college, including a young frat boy, a mature businessmen, a hulking football player, two bisexual surfers, and others. It brought back feelings she hadn't felt in a long time. Reading through her own words, her own memories, she found her pulse accelerating in a way it hadn't for Ted in a long time.
She couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out and do something. Anything.
She jogged upstairs and into her large walk-in closet. Even though Ted's company had been going through a rough time lately, leading him to restrict her shopping budget, her closet was nearly bursting with clothes she'd purchased in recent years. Not knowing where she was going, she decided to keep it simple: a low cut white blouse that showed off her noteworthy cleavage, and a pair of tight jeans with some fun glitter to draw some attention to her round hips. She put on some big hoop earrings and some bracelets, threw on her sunglasses, and she was ready to go—wherever it was she was going.
She went downstairs and climbed into her pride and joy: a tricked-out, lifted Chevy Tahoe with dark tinted windows and custom chrome. She'd named it Joan, after Joan Jett—and her namesake, the Tahoe was a badass. She kicked it in reverse and backed out of the garage.
Rebecca didn't know what she was doing, but she felt that same surge of energy she had in college. The thrill of the unknown. The ripeness of the potential. Something was going to happen today. She'd find an adventure if it...
"Shit," she said, looking through the steering wheel at the fuel light. She'd forgotten to fill up after dropping the kids off at school.
She turned around at the next light and headed back to the gas station on the corner, wondering what she could do today. Maybe she'd drive up north and soak her feet in the lake. Or maybe go downtown and go people watching in the financial district. Perhaps she'd go test drive some new cars. It felt good to be out doing something.
She pulled up to a pump and climbed down, pulling out the debit card. Ted had been telling her to be careful about her spending lately, with the company's cash flow not being what it was last year, but even though Joan had an massive appetite for fuel, it wasn't as if she could stop buying gas, right?
As she shoved the nozzle into the tank and started pumping, enjoying the rhythmic throb of the fuel as it pulsed through the hose, she smiled to herself. Ted could go to hell. He'd been neglecting their marriage for so long that she was having trouble caring anymore. Their kids hardly knew him because he supposedly stayed late at work all the time, or had business trips, or was too tired to do anything besides drink and sleep. He wasn't even trying anymore. She and he both knew without saying it that they were only together to keep up appearances for the kids, and that his money was basically buying her silence. Whatever. As the cents turned into dollars on the pumps rapidly-changing digital display, she enjoyed the idea of his money going down the drain.
"You've got a great smile," a voice said.
Rebecca looked around. Finally, she caught the face of the man speaking with her, a tall, dark-skinned man with a shaved head. She laughed. "Thanks."
"It's nice to see someone who's genuinely happy," he said, returning the smile. His teeth gleamed white against his mocha-colored face. He was cute. Maybe mid-thirties, like her. No wedding band, she noticed. He was filling up a full-sized luxury sedan that looked brand new.
Rebecca rolled her eyes. "'Happy' might not be the right word for it, but I appreciate the sentiment."
He took a step toward her. "I'm sorry to hear that. You sure seemed happy enough in the moment. Maybe it was a passing thought. Either way, I'm glad I was able to see it."
"Passing, maybe, but I'm trying to have more of those thoughts. I've realized I don't have enough of them these days."
"It's easy to get distracted with life and forget to find those moments of joy," he said. "I'm Carlos, by the way. What's your name?"
Was he flirting? "Rebecca," she said, immediately wishing she'd give a made-up name instead, and then wondering why she'd wished that.
He looked her up and down with a subtle glance. "Rebecca, can I take you out to lunch?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Lunch. I'm on my way up to the mountains for a business retreat, just stopping for gas and lunch before the second leg of my journey. I figure you'd know what's good around here, and I'd enjoy having a lunch companion with a smile like yours."
