Page 77 of Road Trip
I laughed. In a sick way I wouldn’t mind being stalked by the likes of Kelly.
“I know what you meant. This is all new. It’s new and shiny and I want to keep it that way as long as we can before things start to tarnish our shiny and make it dull and grimy.”
Kelly ground his teeth together. I could see his jaw muscle twitching. “I understand. But, Abra?”
I looked up at him and his face was grim. “What is it, babe?”
“Just do me one favor. If things do get grimy, please talk to me about it. I’ll do the same with you. I’m going to have my own ugliness to face. I just don’t want either of us to give up because life throws us a few curveballs.”
This was getting heavier than I was ready to handle. I sat up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, not caring about his sweat. “I love it when you talk about your balls.” I reached around to cup him gently, and he groaned. I just wanted a few more minutes of fun…
“Yeah, well, a pitcher’s got to have a full repertoire if he—”
“Or she,” I corrected, stroking him gently. This line of talking was having the desired outcome.
“Yes, of course. Or she. If he, or she, wants to be successful on the mound,” he murmured, moving swiftly to pin me back on the cushions. He began kissing my mound as I giggled a little.
“And of course you must have good control over speed and location.” I stretched my arms back over my head as he showed me just what control he had, how consistent his mechanics were, and how quick a study of his opponent he’d become. He was highly skilled, an enthusiastic technician of his craft, and soon I was screaming my appreciation loudly.
After that game, we decided to go for a doubleheader, and, well, too soon we had to dress and pack up before we were late for checkout. Once in the lobby, we fought over the bill, and he realized quickly this was a time to let me have my way. I appreciated that, so I agreed to go halfsies on it. The valet brought the car around for us, and I handed the keys to him. I was excited to spend the next eight or so hours in the car with him, smelling his unique mixture of natural scents, and talking about everything and nothing. That should have scared me. I had such high hopes for this fledgling love affair. I just hoped I could keep things from getting ugly between us.
Kelly
I’d never enjoyed a road trip as much as I’d enjoyed this one with Abra. The eight hours flew by and the next thing I knew, we were pulling off 680 in San Ramon and making our way through Crow Canyon. We just seemed to mesh so well. Why did there seem to be a sense of foreboding? Perhaps her warnings were getting to me, perhaps I was starting to overthink, overprocess…I wanted things to continue as they’d been, but I feared the party was nearly over.
Abra was quiet, but I didn’t think she’d fallen asleep.
“Kelly? Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to stay with you tonight? I mean, isn’t your sister going to be there? And your grandparents? Are you sure this is how I should meet them?
It was just after eight and I knew my grandparents would be turning in for the evening soon, if not already. “Katie usually stays in her room up at the big house when she’s at the ranch, but my place has three bedrooms, so even if she’s there, we’ll have privacy. Besides, I think you two are going to hit it off famously and I’ll be the one under attack. Seriously! She’s been itching to mess with me, and I’ve just given her all kinds of ammunition.”
Abra laughed and leaned close to my shoulder to rub her cheek there. “As long as I’m not imposing. I worry about what your family will think of us together.”
“I wish you wouldn’t,” I said quietly. I had this sick feeling that Abra was going to bolt at the first sign of disapproval from my family. For that reason, I wanted to just build a stronger foundation for us before thrusting her into the lion’s den, but I also didn’t want to wait. I wanted her with me, period.
About ten minutes later, we pulled off the road to the right, following the private road over the bridge, up a slight hill, and then across another small bridge until we were in front of the barn. My grandparents’ house was off to the left and looked out over their ranch. The barn housed fifty horses and had a complete indoor arena. There were turnouts and outdoor arenas in front of us, and the guest house, or my house, was on the other side of the barn. I couldn’t wait to get out of these clothes, wash off the day, and curl up with my beautiful doll.
“Kelly, this place is amazing! Do you still ride?” Her eyes were taking in the beauty that was our family ranch.
In the twilight, it looked almost magical. I loved seeing the filtering sky lights fall through the trees and I loved hearing the soft chuffing of the horses.
“Every chance I get. It’s my way to relax. Horses just know what you need, you know? At least ours do. Have you ever ridden before?”
She shook her head. Oh, I couldn’t wait to take her out. I thought of the perfect mare for her to ride and was thinking maybe tomorrow…
“Kelly, is that you?” I heard Katie, before I could see her coming around the corner of the barn.
I dropped our bags and walked to her, sweeping her up in my arms.
“I missed you. You good?” I asked her quietly. I could tell she’d been crying recently and my heart hurt for my baby sister. I wished I could beat the snot out of her boyfriend, but I could kind of understand what he was doing. Katie had real problems, and at age twenty-two she needed to be doing a better job taking care of herself. He could have been more supportive, though. Good riddance if he couldn’t, I supposed.
“I’m fine. Is this her?” She peeked around my shoulder at Abra, who was standing next to the car wearing a nervous smile.
“Yeah, this is her. Katie, this is Abra, my running away partner, my savior, my—”
“Does he always carry on like that?” Abra asked, interrupting what was going to be an epic introduction.
I wasn’t successful at my attempt to not pout. She stepped forward and shook Katie’s hand firmly.
