Page 48 of Road Trip
Chapter Twelve
Abra
We hit a few snags on our second day in the park, but I chalked them up to him still dealing with, or not dealing with, his attack and work stuff, and me being me. I was a little nervous when he mentioned guns. I trusted him and I could tell he was really safe about them, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about being around them on a regular basis. With my mental instability? Yeah, I just didn’t know. But he hadn’t flipped out. He really was too good to be true. I guess I’d find that out eventually.
And then there were those moments when he just zoned out. Was that an all the time thing? Because I could see that being an issue while he was on duty. The counselor in me was really curious what had him escaping from consciousness for those few moments. I was debating suggesting to him that he maybe needed to think about seeing someone about what had happened to him, but I didn’t know how he’d take that. He seemed very concerned with being able to take care of himself. I didn’t want him to think I doubted him.
We shared a sundae after the sun went down at the saloon and had some laughs at the goofy actors doing an Old West themed show. Kelly let me feed him ice cream, and I was so aroused by the sight of whipped cream on his lips, I had to taste him. A few licks and I was sprawled across his lap in the dark corner of the balcony. The show was over and I couldn’t help myself.
“I love you on my lap, doll. When we make love, I want to have you just like this,” he groaned. He swiped his finger through the whipped cream and spread it on my chest, then cleaned me thoroughly with his tongue.
“We’ll have to invest in some of this stuff, too,” I whispered. “I can think of so many places I’d love to lick this off of you.”
His groan was so pained, it made me start giggling. Then he was laughing and we clung to each other, trying to catch our breaths. Laughter really was the best medicine when stress threatened to become debilitating. I’d just have to ensure he got a good dose of it, but also that he started confronting his situation. Tonight. If he didn’t talk to me about it, I was going to push. Before he lost it.
“You’re so fun, Kelly,” I finally got out. “I’m having the best time. Thank you for changing my mind about this place.”
“I should thank you, a thousand times thank you for coming with me on this crazy trip.”
His next kiss was different. It wasn’t playful, it wasn’t desperate...it was like a promise, full of gratitude and peace. I wrapped myself around him and basked in the moment.
After ice cream, my phone rang again. I froze, but then I didn’t recognize the number.
“For you?” I asked.
His smile fell. He answered and it was Sergeant Cavanaugh. I watched Kelly tense up as they spoke, his voice going all businesslike and short. He talked some, but mostly listened and hung up after just a couple of minutes.
“Any news?”
Kelly shook his head and took a deep breath. “No.”
That was it? Nope, not gonna work.
“Kelly? What’s going on in your head?”
He gave me a questioning look. We’d stopped in the middle of the walkway and he’d, well, he’d just stopped.
I tried to tug on his hand to get him moving again, but he just sort of spaced out. He started to speak, and then was bumped from behind, hard enough to knock him into me. He spun on his heel and went nearly nose-to-nose with an older teenaged kid walking with a group of friends.
Kelly didn’t say a word, just glared at the kid. His cheeks were all mottled, his body strung like a bow. After my years working in tough schools, I knew fighting posture well. I moved over without hesitation and got in between them, shoving Kelly back a bit. The kid looked at Kelly like he was crazy and then walked away, talking about “crazy-ass motherfuckers,” with his group of friends.
“Kelly?”
He watched them until they were out of his eyesight and then he looked down at me.
“I need a minute,” he said and stalked off toward the bathroom.
I waited ten long minutes for him to come outside. His color was back to normal and he was breathing normal, but there was still tension in his shoulders.
“You want to tell me what just happened?”
I guided him over to a bench and made him sit. He put his face in his hands and leaned forward on his elbows.
“You know how you talked about cops being jerks?”
I did remember that.
“I almost hit that kid. I don’t know what happened. I just reacted. I don’t know how I didn’t. I think you being there is the only thing that stopped me from hauling off and putting his lights out.”
