Page 3 of Sugar and the Skeptic
“Cat got your tongue?” She tilts her head slightly, and all I want to do is run my fingertips along the exposed skin of her neck.
Smiling, I step back and shake my head. “Not one for small talk, I suppose.”
“Oh?” Her brow shoots up and her smile brightens. “You sound like my kind of person, Rafe Valentine. I’m not a fan of small talk either. I’d much rather sit for a long time looking up at the night sky and discussing the origins of the universe. No one needs to talk about the weather.”
“Especially since we’re all experiencing it at the same time.”
“Indeed.” With her smile fixed in place, she looks at me for a long moment then sucks in a deep breath and nods toward the parking lot. “I’m actually heading out. Maybe I’ll see you around while I’m in town?”
“You staying long?”
She walks backward a little and bounces a shoulder. “Who knows?”
“What does that mean?” I frown and find myself walking forward as she walks back.
“It means I’ll stay until I don’t want to anymore.”
Glancing over her shoulder before looking back to me, I follow her gaze and notice for the first time a classic VW campervan parked at the edge of the lot. “I have no idea how I missedthat,” I say, stopping and looking over the white and teal van. “You live in there?”
“Sure do. I’m not a big fan of spending too much time in one place, so a life on wheels suits me just fine.”
“It’s… pretty.”
She arches a brow. “You say that like you expected any vehicle I drive to be ugly.”Fuck.“But I’m choosing to take it as a compliment instead, so…thanks?”
“No. Shit. I swear I didn’t mean it like that. Of course anything you drive would be pretty. Beautiful, even. I was…I was just trying to say it’s a cool-lookin’ campervan. I’ve never seen one restored this well.” When I finish rapid firing my explanation at her, I take a deep breath and glance her way, noticing the way her mouth is kicking up at the corners. “You’re messin’ with me, aren’t you?”
“A little.” She chuckles before glancing back toward the bar. “I should go. And you should probably get back inside. I’m sure your family is wondering where you went by now.”
I open my mouth to argue that I’m probably the last person on their minds right now, but then Kellen steps out to prove me wrong, hollering my name and something about a toast they needed me for.
“S’pose you’re right,” I say, lifting a hand to signal to Kellen that I’ll be there soon. “Sure you don’t want to come back in and have some food? I’m sure there’s plenty.”
When I turn back to her, I’m met with empty space, my answering sound the revving of her van when the engine ignites. I step back in surprise, smiling when she gives me a wave and the camper seems to amble off, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaving me standing in it.
“Things are goin’ well with the new girl then?” Kellen teases, a shit-eating grin on his face as I walk back toward the bar.
“Don’t start,” I say, earning myself a chuckle from my cousin, who I’m sure is going to tell everyone a pretty girl just made me eat her dust.
CLEMENTINE
The suspension in my van wasn’t really built for these unfinished mountain roads, but my old girl is as steadfast as she is tough, and eventually we find the driveway Serenity described and turn into it. It takes a little more slow and steady rocking and bumping before the cabin comes into view, but when it does, I release my breath in awe. At this late point in the day with the sun dipping down behind the mountain, the soft peachy glow of the sky gives everything a storybook quality. To my right is a quaint little log cabin with a sprawling porch complete with swing and pot plants, and to my left is a shimmering lake with thick, luscious trees closing everything in.
When I pull to a stop along the lake’s shore, I cut the engine and just take a moment to drink it all in. If ever there was a place I’d want to call my home, it’d have to look something like this. Majestic.
Smiling wide, I open my door and jump out onto the rocky surface, hearing a crunch of stone beneath my feet as I walk toward the water. I kick off my shoes and hitch up my skirt, walking to the water’s edge and just letting the current lap at my toes.Ah, this is the life!The water feels slightly warm, like a tepid bath that’s been slowly heated throughout the day by the summer sun. If I could wake up every day to a view like this, I don’t think I’d ever have reason to feel sad. This right here, is as good as it gets.
Pulling at my bottom lip with my teeth, I get the inclination to venture a little further into the water. After traveling all day, a cheeky dip in a freshwater lake feels like the most luxurious end to a long trip. And since I doubt there’s anyone around for miles, I don’t even hesitate when I reach down and pull my skirt up over my head and toss it on the rocks near my parked van, my tank and the rest of my clothes quickly following until I’m left in nothing but the skin my mother gave me and the rings on my fingers.
Taking a deep inhale, I giggle to myself, feeling free as I wade deeper into the water, gliding into a frog swim the moment I hit waist depth. The further out I swim, the cooler the water gets. But it’s so still and clear that I can see the plant life and a few fish swimming near me as well as some brightly colored rocks.
Wanting to take a closer look, I dive down and pluck a stone from the bottom, rising back to the surface and treading water as I hold it up to the light. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, with fragments of reds, green and yellow interspersed with clear quartz. The more I look at it, the more color I pick out. I find myself floating on my back like a little otter, transfixed by searching the gem-filled stone like I’ve just found the eighth natural wonder of the world.
I don’t know how long I spend looking at it, but when the colors become more difficult to see in the fading light, I figure it’s time to head back to shore, promising myself I’ll go hunting for more of these stones in the morning. I have just the thing to use them for.
RAFE
With a slight headache throbbing against my temples, I get up out of bed and head into the kitchen to start coffee. I may have had one too many drinks last night during the wedding celebrations, but since everyone kept telling me to relax and have fun, the extra liquid encouragement helped take the edge off. Despite being overly skeptical about the soulwink my family believes in, I am still human. And being the only single person at a wedding kinda sucked. I ended up leaving early.
