Page 43 of Road Trip
“You say the sweetest things! How did you know I was thinking how wonderful it would be to just curl up with you tonight?”
“But why the tears?”
I hoped she’d let me in this time. She turned to look at me, and I could see I was getting to her.
“Last time I was here was Grad Night. A guy named Anthony I had class with hung out with me the whole night. We’d never dated or anything, so I should have questioned why he all of a sudden wanted to be all up in my business. He was a jock, really popular and all that shit. I let the magic of the place carry me away, I guess. I believed it when he said he wanted to go out, that he wanted to date me. We made out every possible chance, but I wouldn’t let him do anything more. On the way to the bus to go home, he’d hooked up with his fellow teammates, and I overheard them asking about me. He said, and I quote, ‘Guess I’d heard wrong. She would have been worth my investment if she sucked my dick. She’s supposedly really good at it.’”
“That’s terrible,” I said, feeling all kinds of guilty for bringing her here. “I’m so sorry, Abra. You should have said something! I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s fine. He got what was coming to him. Over that summer he apparently messed around with someone’s little sister and got his ass kicked up and down. Charges were filed because she was underage and he lost his football scholarship. Karma, dude. I believe in it.”
But I knew it had to have affected her. This gave me much more insight into where she was coming from with a lot of her actions and statements. I wanted to pound on the guy myself.
“Regardless. He was an ignorant piece of crap.”
“Oooooo! Crap! We’re getting closer.”
I put her in a headlock and breathed a little easier when she started laughing.
We walked back to the hotel with our arms around each other, joking about how tired we were, but how much we couldn’t wait to get back to the park first thing in the morning.
Back at the room, we rinsed off in the shower, laughing and talking about how much fun we’d had and how we’d felt like kids. We wrapped in towels and lay on the bed next to each other, but facing opposite directions so we could rub each other’s feet. It felt very intimate and while she was so tantalizing lying there next to me, I wanted to comfort her, not attack her. Well, I did want to attack her. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I wanted desperately to tear her towel off and—
“Kelly, I really want to take you in my mouth right now, but I am so exhausted! I can’t believe I am admitting that to you!” She laughed nervously, and I shook my head.
“I was thinking how much I wanted to bury my face in you, but I can’t even lift my arms right now.”
“It feels like we’re already one of those couples who’ve been together for so long, they are happy together whatever they are doing. It’s nice, Kelly. Whatever it means.”
“I think what it means,” I said carefully, “is that we are making a go of this. We’re doing that thing called—”
“Don’t say anything else.” She yawned. “This has been a perfect day.” She leaned forward and kissed my foot, then rolled over and hugged her pillow. “Good night, Farm Boy.”
I laughed because she was already asleep before I could turn over, turn off the lights, and pull her into my arms.
I woke from a nightmare early in the morning feeling out of breath. I’d been back on that side of the road. I got up quietly and left her a note in case she woke up. I needed to work out. I tried to call my partner, but I knew he’d just gotten off shift and was probably dead asleep. I wanted to know what was going on with the case, but at the same time I didn’t. The dream had been so real; it was as if I were feeling the blows all over again. I ran a few miles on the treadmill, trying to drive away the tension.
Abra was awake when I returned and had ordered breakfast. She tried to get me to talk, but I didn’t want to bring her into my world of problems. She’d kept her ugly stuff from me, so I decided to keep her from mine a little longer. Not the healthiest way to approach things, but perhaps once we had some more time together, we’d find a way to navigate each other’s issues. Or not. I’d deal with that later.
We attempted to do all of the rides on the right hand side of the park. We discovered a mutual love ofStar Warsand all things Sci-Fi! We shopped, we ate, and we cuddled at every opportunity. I got a little competitive in the Astro Blasters, but she held her own.
“Have you ever fired a weapon before?” I asked as we left the ride.
She shook her head. “Nope. I’ve always been a little leery of guns. I guess I’ve seen too much violence.”
“You mean at work?”
She’d mentioned her friend getting shot at school. I wondered just what else she’d seen.
“That, yeah. I’ve had to visit kids in the hospital and I’ve sat through memorial services for students who fell victims to gun violence in the streets, as well as two who have committed suicide. It’s scary.”
Well, that wouldn’t work. Anyone I got involved with would have to be comfortable with guns. It was a fact of life for me. I had guns in my house and I actually felt comfortable with them because my grandfather had trained me from my youth to be safe. I worried about asking her, but this was a hurdle we had to get past.
“Would you be willing to go to the range with me sometime?” I held my breath, waiting for an answer. Some people are okay with guns in theory, but when it came to being around them, they couldn’t handle the reality of having them in the home, having gun cleaning sessions at the kitchen table, etc. That was a different story.
“I’ve never really thought about it. I know it’s a part of your life, though, right? Are you like, an enthusiast, or more like an ‘it’s a necessity’ kind of guy?”
“Definitely a necessity. I don’t hunt or anything. I have guns because of my job and because when I’m at the ranch, you just never know. I do enjoy marksmanship. Surprisingly, the focus it takes is kind of relaxing. It’s one of the things I do, like riding horses and working out, that allow me to get out of my head.”
