Vinny felt his eyebrows rise and his mouth drop open as the driver of the semi exited the vehicle. At 6'7,Vinny was used to being the tallest person around at any given moment, but this man had to be at least 7 feet tall, probably 7'2 if Vinny was any judge (and he was: his height was one of the few things Vinny felt any pride in). It actually made him feel a little jealous.
He consoled himself that the stranger didn't seem nearly as robustly built as Vinny did: Where Vinny was well-padded and well-fed, the stranger was lanky, practically thin as a rail (though from what Vinny could see his slim arms were corded with taut muscle). He was Hispanic and looked to be in his late 30s to early 40s, with slight crow's feet around the eyes of his handsome, square jawed face. His graying black hair was shaved nearly to the skin on the sides, and artfully spiked in front on the top. His eyes were a warm brown color, and his and he had a classic style goatee (also with a little grey in the black) with no mustache. He was wearing a black t-shirt and faded jeans, and when he approached Vinny he spoke in a warm baritone with a slight Spanish accent.
"Hello, I am Matteo. You need help,¿sí? Is not a good day to be walking on road with no coche. Perhaps I can give you a lift, ¿sí?"
"Could you?" Vinny asked, perking up and putting on his best smile. With his masterfully tousled blonde hair, bright green eyes, handsome face, and white teeth, that smile had gone a long way towards getting Vinny what he wanted all his life. Based on the faint flush he saw on Mateo's cheeks, he knew it wasn't about to fail him now.
"Sí," Mateo said with smile. "It would be my placer."
Vinny had no idea what that meant, but he didn't much care. He was too happy to finally be getting off the road: his feet were killing him! He followed Mateo back to his truck, happily hopping up into the passenger side seat when Mateo opened the door. On the inside, the cab was large and clean, with a bed and a portable satellite TV resting on top of the comforter.
"You must be tired, ¿si?" Mateo asked once he got the truck back on the road. "Is not perhaps permitido, but you may rest on bed in back as we drive." Vinny didn't need a second invitation, unbuckling his seat belt and clamoring back to plop down on the bed with a happy sigh. It was surprisingly comfortable for something that was literally in the back of a truck.
"The televisión has a full battery, and gets two hundred channels," Mateo said from the front. Figuring that meant he could use the TV, Vinny wasted no time picking up the little tv set and flicking it on, beginning to scroll through the channels.
"There are snacks in box on the left side," Mateo added, watching Vinny in the rear view mirror (Which, if Vinny had been thinking, he would have found odd: what did a semi truck need with a rear view mirror? All it could ever show was the cab.).
Snacks? Sweet! Food and the tube, just what the doctor ordered after all that walking! Vinny leaned over and slid the large cardboard box over, opening it to find boxes of cupcakes, packages of candy, bags of chips, and some cola at the bottom. Without bothering to say thank you he took out one of the boxes of pre-packaged cupcakes, tore one open, and bit into it. He gave a little 'mmmm' of pleasure before he stuffed the rest into his mouth to free up his hands to open one of the bottles of soda.
Mateo watched him in the rearview mirror, a small smile pulling at the edge of his lips. There was a glint in his brown eyes that would have made a more canny individual than Vinny feel wary.
"Come bien, mi cerdito gordo. Este es sólo el comienzo." he said softly. And smiled.
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