Page 86 of The Apple Tree

DEF LEPPARD, “POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME”

Kyle

Melinda thoughtshe was always right.

Caring.

Giving.

Independent.

Confident.

Perfect.

The list of self-declared characteristics went to infinity.

Then she left me with our newborn baby and a letter filled with lies and excuses.

Eve unloaded everything all at once. Maybe any other guy would have run, but I focused on what mattered: She thought of me when she masturbated, and she liked imagining Josh was hers. Sure, some questionable things were mixed between those, but I stayed focused on the important ones.

In the end, I knew she needed me to be human and flawed, to see my impulsive and irrational side.

So I gave her a beer and told her to get on her knees.

A+

Eve was a quick study.

I told her to spit on it, and once she got past her initial embarrassment and apprehension, she gave me the best damn blow job I’d ever had.

“Oh fuuuck …” I groaned as quietly as possible, tipping my head back.

She gazed up at me and grinned. Then she picked her beer off the floor and stood. “How’d I do, Coach?” She took several gulps of the beer while I tucked myself back into my underwear and jeans.

“I’m not proud of that,” I said because I wasn’t.

She sat on the end of my bed, taking another swig of beer. “No? Why not?”

I shook my head, unable to entirely hide my grin. “I’m capable of being a much better man. But I wanted you to know that I’m not perfect, not even close. I make poor decisions that lead to questionable behavior. I don’t think bad decisions are a flaw; it’s one’s inability for self-reflection and willingness to be humbled by our mistakes that makes us insufferable humans.”

Eve drained the rest of the beer and stood. “Your problem is you think everything has to be a lesson. I suppose it’s an occupational hazard.” She handed me the empty can. “Just admit you’ve thought about me doing that to you since the day we met.” With a flat hand, she patted my chest. “They say you're already halfway there if you can visualize something. So way to go.”

She eased open the door, and I stepped into the bathroom. By the time I made it downstairs, she was gone.

I headed downstairs to eat the lunch she brought, but as soon as I turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs, I heard a shrill, bloody-murder scream coming from outside. So I pulled on my boots and ran out the front door toward the barn wherethe screaming was coming from. Just as I reached the door, Eve hysterically fled the barn.

I caught her, and she buried her face in my chest.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!” Her body shook.

“What are you doing? Is there a bear in there?”

She shook her head, but it was more like a violent shiver, teeth chattering, breaths short and fast. “It l-looked at m-me … its e-eyes are … ohmygodohmygodohmygod!”

I released her and slowly opened the barn door. There wasn’t anything except … I chuckled. “Eve, are you talking about my deer hanging from the rafters?”

She stared at me with wide eyes, both hands covering her mouth as she slowly nodded.

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