Page 52 of Road Trip
Kelly brushed his thumb across my cheek and smiled. “Yeah. You turned out pretty great.” He smiled sadly. Then he chuckled.
“What’s so funny, Farm Boy?”
“I was just thinking how much more effective you are than the department shrink.”
I frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He blushed. “I don’t think she’d play with my hair while I confessed my sins. I don’t think I’d want her to.”
I shoved at him playfully. “She? You’ve already been to see her?”
He laughed. “Not for this, not yet, but I’ve seen her around.”
He looked guilty and wasn’t giving me any more information.
“And?” I prodded him to keep going, like hard in his gut.
“Ow! What? She’s like my grandmother’s age! Relax! I only want you playing with my hair.”
He was damn lucky he was so cute, but I could tell he was covering up for something. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, but we’d made a good start. I’d continue asking questions when he seemed like he was ready to talk. In the meantime, I’d hold his hand, play with his hair, whatever he wanted. For now, it seemed like he could use an activity to take his mind off things.
“Oh, you are in trouble now. That’s it! I’m making you take me on the water ride!”
Kelly
Ugh. The water ride. “Really? Do we have to? I mean, isn’t the water kind of dirty? And walking around in wet shorts? I probably shouldn’t, you know, with my stitches.”
I wasn’t going to win this one.
Abra tugged on my hand to pull me from the bench. “Nice try. You have a waterproof bandage on your ass. You have been naughty and you must pay,” she scolded.
I let her drag me across the park and tried to deal with my little idiosyncrasy.
My mood was a lot lighter after talking with her about everything. I didn’t really do that, confide in people. For some reason, she made it so easy. I never felt like I was talking to a counselor with her, which was probably why I said so much. I felt exposed, but not vulnerable. I trusted her, especially after she shared that information about her life.
Father in prison? Mom not available? There was much more to that story, but it explained a lot. The legacy she was getting away from on this runaway was probably pretty heavy, but she was right. She’d ensnared me. I doubted there was anything she could do or say now to make me leave. Even go on a darn water ride.
When we were finished with the ride, however, I was the one who was smiling. Abra had chosen a thin white tank for her attire of the day and since she was smaller than me, she had to sit in front.
“I can’t believe you ducked behind me! Gah, I’m soaked! Can you totally see through this?” she asked me.
“Totally,” I said tightly. Okay, it wasn’t so funny. Not only was she wearing a white top, but a white, sheer bra underneath that did nothing to hide her beautiful breasts. She was thoroughly drenched. I was unsuccessful holding in a laugh.
“I see you’re enjoying this,” she said, trying to act mad, but it was so ridiculous, she couldn’t even keep a straight face. All of a sudden she grabbed me around the middle and hugged me tight to get me wet.
“Jeeeez, that’s cold.” I sucked in a breath.
She squeezed tighter and rubbed against me.
“But it’s so warm out here! I was just trying to cool you down.” She pulled away from me with a laugh, but my smile fell. Her shirt was completely plastered to her and you could see every bit of her brown areolas through her shirt, as well as her tattoos.
“Um, Abra? You are doing nothing to cool me down. In fact, if we don’t get you covered up, you’re going to be having quite an effect on all the males in the vicinity.”
We were next to a stand with some T-shirts that had a skeleton guy on them. I pulled one off the rack and handed it to her.
“Here. Put this on and let me pay for it. You’ll thank me.” The sales clerk came over with a frown, but when she noticed Abra’s condition, she shoved the shirt at her.
“Just give me the tag and I’ll ring it up,” she said hurriedly.
