Page 38 of Pit Stop

“What just happened?”

Tillman won’t face me. It’s almost as if he’s speaking to the trees. “Something that shouldn’t.”

Those words slice at me, leaving a wound I didn’t expect. “Don’t say that.”

“You don’t understand, Odette. I’m not someone you need in your life.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “You don’t know that.”

He spins around to face me. “I do. You are so good. The light inside of you just oozes from you. I bask in it, Odette, but me… I’m dark and not a good kind. Everything about me is tainted. Blood is on my hands, it’s on my shoulders. There is no erasing my past. You are the one thing in this world I would love to know and be with but someone like me will never deserve you.” Tillman hangs his head, shaking it slightly in disgust and disbelief. His shoulders slump.

This man has no idea how I see him. In just the little time that I’ve known him I’ve seen the goodness in him. I’ve seen the light coming through. He goes out of his way to help others, some of us that he barely knows. Tillman doesn’t see himself as good or worthy, but I do. Determination sets in and I close what little distance there is between us. When I’m close enough, I grip his shirt and pull him towards me and rise to my tip toes, stretching every muscle in my body to get enough height to reach his lips.

When our lips collide, everything feels right in the world. His surprise is evident at first but soon his arms come around me, holding me to him as his lips seek mine, just as mine do his. Sparkles dance behind my eyelids, knees feel weak, and my body on fire. I swear I would float off like a balloon if it wasn’t for Tillman’s arms holding me.