Drop-Dead Gorgeous Ch 5

CHAPTER 5
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember is waking up in that 1967 Volkswagen.  I looked out the window and saw the trees whish past me.  It was morning; I looked at the clock on the dashboard and it read 8am.  I felt completely disoriented.  For a few minutes, I wasn't quite sure where I was.  My answer lay in the driver's seat next to me.  I looked up to see Mr. Gorgeous, intent on the road that lay ahead of us.  He looked a little exhausted, and he was squinting to see through the windshield.  I nearly melted when his eyes met mine.  "Good morning, sleepy head," he greeted me, a little more cheerful than I had remembered him to be the night before.  I sat up straight in the passenger seat and stretched my arms out in front of me.  "So, this isn't a dream..." I said with a yawn.

Mr. Gorgeous laughed as he placed his eyes back on the road.  I tried to see if I could recognize where we were, but there was no such luck.  Nothing looked familiar, but we couldn't have gotten very far.  I still couldn't believe that I had actually gone with this guy, a guy that I barely knew...  I didn't even know his real name.  How could I be so stupid?  My mom must be so worried about me....  "We have to go back," I suddenly said.  Mr. Gorgeous turned back to me.  "What?  You know I can't do that, Kat," he said regretfully.  Okay, this was starting to drive me crazy.  "How come you call me that?" I asked curiously.  Mr. Gorgeous seemed confused.  "What?" he asked innocently.  Like he didn't know what I was talking about...  "You call me Kat.  When I first meet someone, I never tell them I'm Kat.  I always say Katarina.  Only my mom calls me Kat.  My dad started calling me Kat when I was 7, but I never allowed other people besides my parents to call me Kat.  Then you stroll on by, and all of a sudden, you're calling me Kat.  How did you know about my nickname?" I demanded.

He can't keep these secrets from me for much longer.  Mr. Gorgeous shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  "Well, it's obvious.  You're name is Katarina, so the obvious nickname is Kat.  It's easy to remember, and I think it suits you. Cats are feisty and have claws... so do you," he explained.  Oh, wow... What an answer...  I didn't know whether I should be flattered or offended.  "It's not fair," I mumbled to myself.  He must have had really good hearing because he asked, "What's not fair?"  I sighed to myself.  Gee, let's see, shall we?  What's not fair?  Mr. Gorgeous knows what my name is, where I work, where I live, and when I will die.  I know nothing about him-absolutely nothing...  So where am I supposed to start finally getting some answers, here?  "Well, let me tell you what's not fair.  You seem to know so much about me, but I know absolutely nothing about you," I exclaimed.

Mr. Gorgeous nodded with understanding.  "Okay, what exactly do you want to know?" he asked as he turned onto a narrow road leading onto the highway.  I began to think; but he really couldn't be serious.  I may not have known much about him, but I knew he was one not to shed details.  "You'll actually answer my questions?" I said skeptically.  Mr. Gorgeous let out his sexy husky laugh.  My skin began to tingle.  I tried to ignore it...  "I'll answer what I feel I can answer, okay?" he said.  It was as if we were making some sort of deal.  He held out his hand to show he promised that much.  I rolled my eyes, but accepted his hand and shook it.  His skin felt so warm...  I just wanted to hold onto his hand forever, but I let go of it anyway.  I was supposed to be upset.

"Good... Let's see... What is your name?" I asked, seeing that would be the obvious first question to ask a perfect stranger.  He smiled at me, and then turned back onto the road.  "Samuel," he replied.  I made a face.  Samuel?  What a weird name...  He laughed at my facial expression.  "Somehow I knew you would react that way..." he replied.  I let out a little giggle.  "Well, it's just that Samuel is a bit of an... unusual name.  And I always sort of pictured you as a Rick or Tony...  I'm not sure why," I exclaimed.  I wasn't quite sure why I was revealing so much of my thoughts to this guy all of a sudden.  Maybe it was because I finally had a legitimate name to put with the face.  "Samuel... I guess it sort of suits you," I replied.  Mr. Gorgeous smiled.  "Well, you don't have to call me Samuel, you can call me Sam.  You know, that would be the nickname for Samuel..."  He was mocking me?  It wasn't very funny...

"Okay, Sam.  Where were you born?" I asked, continuing with my "interview"... or interrogation...  Sam thought about whether or not he would answer my question for a moment.  "I was actually born in your town, believe it or not," he finally answered.  What?  How had I not noticed him before?  "Really?  You were born in Ruckshire?" I asked in disbelief.  Sam nodded with his winning smile.  I began to allow myself to gush a little.  "I was born there, but I only lived there for three years.  When I was three, my parents moved me to Chicago.  I lived there ever since I was eighteen," he replied.  I nodded.  It was weird to finally be receiving some information on this guy.  "Where did you live after that?" I asked.  Sam seemed in a distant and faraway place when I asked that question.

"No comment," he replied.  I rolled my eyes at his answer.  "Why am I not surprised?" I said, throwing my hands in the air.  Sam let out a little chuckle.  "I told you I wasn't going to answer all of your questions..." he stated simply.  There goes Mr. Smart-ass again.  Okay, I guess I need to think of another question.  "How old are you?" I asked, trying to guess by looking at his beautiful facial features.  He didn't seem very old, but he didn't seem like some immature teenager either.  "I'm 25," he replied.  Ooh, an older man... Six years older to be exact.  But shouldn't Sam be some kind of power suit or have a job or something?  The way he was acting made him seem like he just drove along with the wind.  Maybe that's why I found him so appealing.  He didn't have any set rules that he went by; he just did whatever he felt.  Suddenly, I felt oddly safe with him.  I can't quite explain it, but it was probably because I finally knew a little something about his personal life.  He wasn't just this guy who was following me around and saying cryptic things; he was a person who actually has parents and a name.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Sam asked suddenly through the silence.  I turned to him.  Was this a good idea?  I really wasn't sure what kind of questions he would ask.  He seemed to know a whole lot about me, so I wasn't sure why he would need to ask me any questions.  "Um... sure?" I finally agreed.  How bad could his questions be?  "What did you call me when I came to your house the other night?" he asked.  Never mind, I don't like this game.  Forget it, no answers.  "No comment," I replied, using the same tactic he had used on me.  Sam laughed as he let go of the wheel with one of his hands, opened his window, and rested his hand on the edge.  "Kat, come on.  You don't have any life-threatening secrets like I do.  Just tell me what you said.  I'm sure it's no big deal..."

No big deal?  Are you kidding me?  I was hell-bent on not answering his question, but when I looked into his eyes, I couldn't say no.  "Mr. Gorgeous," I finally mumbled.  Sam looked at me with confusion.  "What?" he asked.  He knew what I said; he just wanted me to say it out loud.  I rolled my eyes as he was having way too much fun with this.  "Mr. Gorgeous, okay?  That's what I called you.  I didn't know what else to call you..." I finally admitted.  Sam went into a laugh fit as I sat there with an angry look on my face.  "Fine, go ahead, laugh all you want.  I should have called you Mr. Jerk," I stated angrily.  Sam continued to laugh.  "Oh, come on, Kat.  It's pretty funny...  I mean, it's also very flattering," he replied, trying to stifle his laughs from continuing.  I turned away from his face and looked out the window.  I felt the wind whip across my face lightly.

My hair began to flow around my face.  If I wasn't so angry, I would revel in how freeing this felt.  "I only called you that before I really knew you.  Now that I know how you are, I definitely would have changed the name," I stated smugly.  Sam shook his head at me.  "No you wouldn't," he countered.  What?  How does he know I wouldn't?  Of course I would... No, I wouldn't...  How did he know me so well?  "Shut up," I finally said, extremely irritated.  Sam began to laugh.  "You crack me up," he stated.  Oh really?  Well I'm glad to be of some comic relief to this horribly twisted situation...  I was quiet.  Sam turned back to the road and turned off on an exit.  "Are you hungry?" he asked as we neared a small town.  I shrugged my shoulders, obviously still angry with him.  Sam rolled his eyes at my response.  "Well, we're stopping so I can get some more gas, so if you want to go into the diner and get something to-go, you can," he finished.  I quickly escaped the car and ran inside.  I ordered some pancakes to go, when I spotted a payphone.

A payphone?  I can call Sarah and tell her I'm okay.  But what will I say?  How will I explain this to her?  I'm not even sure myself...  But I have to do something before she has a nervous breakdown...  I headed over to the payphone and searched for some quarters in my pockets.  Damn!  Why don't I carry any loose change in my pockets anymore?  I turned to the waitress.  "Excuse me, but do you have a quarter I could use to call my mom?  She's worried sick about me..." I explained.  The waitress was really nice and handed me two quarters.  I thanked her gratefully and went back to the payphone.  I placed the quarter into the slot and began to dial home.  I wasn't sure what I was going to tell Sarah, but I was sure that if she just heard my voice, she would be happy.  I waited a little impatiently as the phone began to ring.  "Hello?" Sarah finally answered. 

"Sarah?  It's me, Kat," I replied.  I could hear my mother freaking out over the phone.  "Kat!  Where are you? What's going on?  I'm worried sick about..."  Suddenly, I was cut off.  "Hey!" I yelled, wondering what had gone wrong.  I turned to see Sam standing there with his hand on the receiver.  "What did you do that for?" I asked angrily.  Sam grabbed the phone from my hand.  "Don't be stupid, Kat.  You can't call your mom.  It's too dangerous.  She obviously called the cops, so they must be there right now, trying to trace this call.  We can't have anyone following us, okay," he explained, and he seemed to be growing frustrated with me.  I couldn't believe he just wasted that 25 cents!  He was being ridiculous.  "You're crazy.  My mom is freaking out! I just wanted to tell her I was okay so she wouldn't have a heart attack, that's all," I stated with resentment.  This guy just thought he could be the boss of me!  Well no one is the boss of me except for me! 

"No more phone calls, Kat.  We can't afford to have someone following us.  From now on, I don't want you to be in contact with anyone, okay?" Sam sounded like he was controlling me.  It was beginning to freak me out.  This was all getting to be too much for me.  I couldn't believe I had left my home and gone hundreds of miles away with a guy I barely knew.  Curse his good looks!  That's all it was that had got me to go, wasn't it?  He was just so good looking, and he made life so much more interesting...  I needed to be reasonable.  This would never work.  I had a fantasy that Sam and I would start a new life together, we would be rich, and there would be no problems at all, no secrets...  But that was all a fantasy.  Get a grip, Kat.  It was never going to happen.  And now look what I've got myself into?  I'm hundreds of miles away from home with a man I hardly know who is telling me I can't be in contact with my family.  I'm being kidnapped!  I looked at the nearest exit.  "Kat, what is wrong with you?" Sam asked as I stared past him.  And that's when I ran for it.  I just jumped out the front door and kept running.  I ran until my legs couldn't run anymore.  When I stopped running, I found myself in the forest near the diner, and I began to pant.  There was a terrible pain in my side, but I did it.  I escaped his clutches.  I would somehow find a way to get home and make all of this right.  "Goodbye, Mr. Gorgeous," I whispered.  Kat 2, Mr. Gorgeous, 0.