Standstill

By Dan Leicht

The light turned red. There were three cars in front of him. He could see the woman in front of him staring at him through her rear view mirror as she applied lipstick. They locked eyes and he quickly averted his gaze elsewhere.

In his cup holder was an empty bag of beef jerky crumbled up. He unfolded it and licked his finger before prying open the freshness seal. He smeared his finger along the bottom and licked what remained of the teriyaki flavor.

The light turned green. He adjusted his rear view mirror and locked eyes with the person behind him.