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I can talk Mom into giving me a little shoulder rub
when I get home.
    As my car inches along, my usual radio station breaks to broadcast
a Special Report. Chicago's mayor is asking, or more like pleading, that all
motorists clear the roads because the street plowing crews are making little
headway against the heavy snowfall. Add rush hour and New Year’s Eve travelers
to the mix, and the roads were totally jam-packed leaving a complete gridlock
across the city.
    I just need to get home.
Home
. That’s my focus now.
Mom’s cooking and maybe some hot chocolate will be waiting for me. I imagine
Dad sitting in his comfy chair by a roaring fire. I can almost hear the wood popping
and feel the warmth from the flames.
    Now I really do hear popping sounds as car horns blare all
around me. A bus has begun to swerve erratically in front of me and my foot
presses hard onto the brakes. I clutch the steering wheel for dear life as my
car skids toward the side of the still moving bus. It’s now sideways across all
the lanes of traffic on Lake Shore Drive.
     
     

Danger Ahead
     
    As the bus fishtails in front of me, I get a sick feeling in
my stomach. The car next to me swerves out of the bus's way and ends up in the
ditch facing the opposite direction. I continue to slam on my brakes, but
realize a chain reaction wreck is about to take place and I’m going to be a
part of it.
    The next few seconds transpire in slow motion. I pump my
car's brakes, turn the steering wheel as I've been taught, but still my car spins
out of control. It becomes clear that my fate is in someone else's hands, so I
close my eyes preparing for the inevitable crunch of metal. But it never comes.
Instead, I feel a thud against the passenger side door. My head keeps moving
and hits the window at my side, hard. Now my car has come to a halt, so I open
my eyes to see where I’ve had landed. My vision is a little blurry but
eventually focuses.
    Somehow, I've ended up parallel to the bus with my car's
right side pressed against the back wheel well. I’m sure I have a large dent,
but the most important thing is I’ve thankfully survived to live another day. Putting
my car in park, I rest my forehead against the steering wheel and say a silent
prayer. Though my head hurts a little, my life was somehow spared.
    Taps at my window draw me out of my reverent moment. I look
out to see a young man staring at me through the glass. He’s mouthing something
and motioning for me to roll down my window. I reach for the button and roll it
down.
    "Are you alright?" the stranger asks.
    "I think so," I reply, rubbing the small knot
forming by my left temple. He smiles down at me with a beautiful display of
white teeth. I want to restate my condition, as the snowflakes blow around him.
He makes me feel anything but okay. I must’ve hit my head harder than I
realized.
    "You look a little pale. Why don't you come and sit in
my car?" His eyes have a look of concern, but I think I see a smile
lurking behind them. "I have a feeling we're gonna be here for quite
awhile."
    He points to the bus that’s hugging my car and blocking all
the lanes in front of us. "Someone will have to come and tow away the bus
before we can even think about moving our cars."
    I watch snowflakes land on the young man's black cashmere
coat and can see a signature Burberry scarf peeking out from around his neck,
which leads me back up to his face. It’s hard to look away from him. I've heard
people call hot guys beautiful, but this guy really fits the description. He
has a strong jaw line, high cheekbones, and intense, dark brown eyes that
continue to study me. He is, without a doubt, one hundred percent delicious.
    I need to pull myself out of this beautiful boy daze and
answer him. He wants me in his car, with him. Um, that sounds like a plan as I
throw caution to the wind.
    I've seen the movie
American Psycho
, but right now
I'm freezing and stranded in the damn snow on New Year’s Eve with a head