Crossed: Book Two (A NEW ADULT ROMANCE) (2 page)

BOOK: Crossed: Book Two (A NEW ADULT ROMANCE)
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CHAPTER 3

 

The two kids disappear fast down an alley and I hear the sounds of sirens approaching rapidly. Then screeching tires. People are coming out of the bars and filling the sidewalks. Looking around to see what is going on. Thank god that bullet went up to the sky and not towards us. They come to Tyson and immediately have him up against a wall cuffed. He’s in the police car fast and I am being ushered that direction as well. Minus the cuffs.

They ask a litany of questions about what happened, what they were wearing, am I hurt? All that and then, as quickly as he went in, Tyson is back out of the car and another officer is removing his cuffs.

“Sorry, we had to do that Mr. Hawk,” the officer says to Tyson.

“No worries,” Tyson says back and looks in my direction.

“Let’s get out of here,” he says to me and puts his hand on my back pushing me firmly to get moving.

I’m completely bewildered. He’s fighting. He’s in cuffs. He’s out of cuffs. And we are leaving. When we are a distance from the cop cars and the rest of the scene, I ask, “What was that all about?”

“He was going to take me to jail, but then thought better of it.”

“What do you mean by that? I may be a naive little North Carolinian, but I know they don’t normally put fighters in cuffs and release them moments later.”

“Well, yeah, but once they checked on your dad, that’s all they needed.”

“My dad? What does he have to do with this?”

“Your dad has helped me out of a few scrapes and this is a small matter- what happened here tonight.”

“So you called my dad. How did-“

“-No. I just let them know that I’m working with your dad and they did some checking.”

“Working with my dad? What do you mean?”

“It’s kind of a long story and we need to be getting out of here.”

“I want to know what is going on.” I stop walking and grab his arm. “I’ve been following you around and not asking a whole lot of questions for the last ten, or twelve, or however many hours. The least you can give me is how you know my dad. And why you are dropping his name around when you get in trouble. And…”

“I’m working with your dad on some Special Ops stuff. Keeping my military commitment. Marcus filled you in on that, did he not?”

“Well, Marcus told me some things, but I need to know from you, Tyson. What is going on? I need to know what is going on if I’m going to go to that hotel. And get back in that car with you tomorrow. Or… Or, I’m just going to hitchhike or something back the other way.”

“Don’t do that, Kase. There are reasonable answers to those questions.”

Sure. A good explanation. Like there always is in his life. Something simple. Something easy. Nothing to worry about.

“West Point wanted to keep everything about the fighting quiet so they sent me to the Navy, and are paying me handsomely for that exchange. My part of the commitment was to train with the Navy and then work with your dad when needed for the next two years. And then I’m done. I walk away. I keep my mouth shut. They hold up their end of the payments. And all is good.”

I start to ask, “What do you do with my…,” and then trail off, already knowing the answer. I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want it to be true. But I need him to say it. “Did you…? …for my mom?” I trail off again.

“My first work for your dad. That guy had it coming. Your dad filled me in on what he did to your mom. I’ve wanted so badly to tell you. But you have to understand my commitment. I can tell you more in time. But it’s difficult right now.” He stops talking and looks off down the street. This is the first time I’ve seen him sound or act unsure. I feel sweat forming on my forehead and I want to wipe off, but instead slip my arm around his waist again. I lean my head into his shoulder as we walk. I expect no answer but say anyway, “Oh Tyson, why is this all so fucking complicated?”  I feel the tears forming.

We walk close and enter the hotel lobby. We’re up to the room and before the door is even shut I’m in his embrace. This time our whole bodies are close. All crisscrossed around each other. My heart takes off. His fingers are up my back and in my hair and I feel the softness of his tongue on mine. There’s no need for words now. It’s the kiss I remembered from the cabin. From what seems like years ago now. It’s no less magic than it was then. I’m sinking. He holds me up and I don’t have to worry. I can’t think anymore. I’m dizzy. He lays me down and I feel his body pressed on top of mine. I don’t want to stop. Don’t want this to end. It all feels so good. So new. So fresh. I’ve been kissed before. I’ve been touched, but not by someone like
him
.

His hand returns to my thigh and I open a little to welcome it. I feel the strength in his touch and I can see his bicep flex. He hovers around my neck and nibbles my lobe. The hair on the back of my neck dances. I’ve
never
felt like this before.

His hand inches up and is between my legs now. Pulsing. Flooding. I can feel the dampness in my panties. I don’t want it to stop. I don’t.

But opposing thoughts come fast.
I can’t let this happen now.
I’m so torn up.
He won’t love me like I need to be loved.

I realize those thoughts as valid, and know that if my zipper goes down, it’s over. It’s happening. For a minute, I know I want that.

His hand moves north. And losing my virginity becomes more possible than ever before.

Oh god, I have to keep these pants on, I tell myself. That’s my only hope at maintaining what I’ve kept all these years. What I’ve kept so close. All my values. All that my mom has made of me. I can’t let it get away now. The kiss and his touch are enough for one night, I keep telling myself. I finally get it out.

“I want to… but I… It’s just all so confusing right now,” I say.

And then he pauses.

“It’s okay,” he says after what feels like twenty minutes, “You’ve been through a heck of a lot in two days. Let’s just take it slow for now.”

I shake my head partly in agreement and partly in disbelief. We move into more singular positions on the bed, but remain close.

His hand returns to my thigh. That’s okay now. We’ve gone that far. I lean over to him and lay my hand on his thigh too. My head against his shoulder. I can breathe again.

I close my eyes for a minute. I want him to know I’m getting feelings, but there are reasons to be slow. I want so badly for it to be right. For it to be perfect. I just need a little more time. I need to know him better. I need to know that he’s not just some fighting… some
killing
lunatic. I just don’t know him yet…

CHAPTER 4

 

The road is stretched out before us. I think about Nicky and Marcus and what it is going to be like without them for a while. I struggle with those thoughts. She is such a great friend, but we can call and write and all that. We’ll stay in touch. I don’t know about Marcus. We’re tight too, but sometimes we lose touch. Like when he went off to West Point, we didn’t talk as much. Things are different now though and with he and Nicky hooking up, who knows, maybe that will change things and make us closer as well.

“I love this song,” Tyson says, “You like Bob Dylan at all?”

“Nah, not much, but I liked ‘Playbook’ quite a bit.”

“Playbook?” he asks.

“Yeah, Silver Linings. You know. Bradley Cooper.
Girl from the North Country
. Duh.”

“Oh, you mean Jennifer Lawrence?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“And the ending?” he winks.

“Well, I know I won’t be teaching you the Waltz. Do you think you can still love me?”

“Most definitely. I already know the Waltz. And besides, there are plenty of other things you can teach me.”

“Oh yeah, like what? We’ve already covered that I’m just some girl from the
southeast
country.”

“Well, you’ve already taught me the one thing I never knew before.”

“What’s that?”

“That there’s only one girl on earth that I can still love.”

“Well I guess we’ll have to go over that assignment again then. Perhaps I’m not such a good teacher after all…” I conjecture.

“No, you’re not good,” he smiles, “You’re the best.”

 

*****

 

We drive for two more days stopping for sleep, gas, and granola bars. We cross the Montana borderline and I roll the window down for a breath of fresh air.

“Taste it,” he yells.

Just then a truck drives by and I get a whiff of diesel.

“Oh yeah, that’s delicious.”

“Sorry, bad timing. We’ll do that again when we get to Cody’s ranch.”

Big Sky is most of the way across the state so we still have about four hours ahead of us. Three the way Tyson drives. We both feel pretty good, despite the length of this trip and agree to get it done and crash after we get there. It’ll be dinnertime then and we’ll have a nice relaxed first night in Montana.

“You ever have that feeling?” I start, “Like you work in a clothing store. You’re getting ready to open for the day of the big sale and you’re getting all the new clothes put out and folded neatly for display. Then you look around, everything is set for the day ahead. You feel good. You open the store and throngs of people come in. Within two minutes everything you’ve done is disheveled. Clothes hanging off racks, some on the floor, some put back half-folded. It’s a tough thing to watch happen.”

“I guess I know what you mean, but why do you ask?”

“Well, I just had that feeling after leaving back home. Before things all went crazy. Before my apartment flooded. Before I went to the cabin with you. Before this trip. It wasn’t exactly all peaches and ice cream in my life at that point, but I had graduated. I was ready to get a job. My dad helped ease the pain of my mom’s death. I had money. Somehow, I didn’t see it clearly, but things were starting to look better. But now I’m not so sure. I’m in a sports car, halfway around the world, with some guy I just met a few weeks ago. It’s not exactly a straight course I just took if you get my drift.”

“Life is never a straight course.”

“Well that’s easy for you to say. You have the perfect life. You have success, you have money, and you’ll retire in another two years. What’s left to accomplish for you?”

“There’s one thing, Kase. One thing that will change my life forever.”

“And that is?”

“Well, now you wouldn’t want to go unfolding things yet, would you?”

“That seems to be the pattern in my life,” I say. And think of numerous examples, but don’t say any of them. “You are patient. I’ll give you that.”

“Just let me get there, Kase, and you won’t ever have to worry about the unfolding part again. Just a little time. I’ve been respectful of what you’ve saved.”

“And what exactly have I saved?”

“You’re virginity.”

“My what? How do you know that?”

“Oh come on, Kase, guys talk. You had to figure Marcus would have told me. And you haven’t exactly given much up all along.”

“Marcus? I could kill him. What the…?”

“It’s okay Kase. It means nothing to me. Well something…, I mean, I like that fact that you’re a virgin. Not like it’s a conquest for me or that you’ve been saving yourself. It’s just that it’s special. It will be very special when it happens for….”

I want to ask him about all of his women. I’ve been imagining the numbers. The sluts. The dirty girls. The pigs. I know there are many of them. He reeks of toughness and chicks love that stuff. There’s no reason he hasn’t been with dozens of women.

“Listen Kase,” he says before I have a chance to form any questions, “You need to know something. If we go down that road. We’re going all the way. There’s no turning back for me. I don’t change course. I don’t share with anyone else. I won’t accept anything short of full commitment.”

“So I won’t just be like any of the other girls?” I say and then realize I just made a total ass of myself.

“The other girls? There are no other girls now. There’s only one. I don’t do that Kase. I don’t share. You have to know that now.”

I went down a road I wasn’t at all ready for. I fumble around with my phone, looking down. My face is covered in red. Is he wondering too if we might have unfolded something here? I have no idea how to respond and I blurt out, “Sounds like you are kidnapping me, Tyson.”

              He looks over. His eyebrows come down and his eyes darken. He looks so beautiful in this moment. So serious when he says, “It’s not kidnapping if you want to go.”

CHAPTER 5

 

I grab his hand, pull it to me and we drive on. The landscape is fantastic. I remember the sixth grade project I did on the trees of the northwest. The expanse of Douglas Firs reminds me of Christmas when I was young, but I flush those memories out fast. The Spruce, with their big drooping branches, they look sad too.

Finally up ahead, I see them. The towering one-hundred-and-fifty-foot-tall Ponderosa Pines. I always liked those. Like they stand there, king of the jungle. They’re huge. They live forever. Their thick orange-yellow bark displays like a jig-saw puzzle on the lower part of the trunk and then fade to the top, solid and freshly grown. That’s where I’m going, I tell myself.

I see snow at the top of the mountains. The early September sun glistens off of their caps. It is simply gorgeous. I stick my head out the window and take a deep breath. “I agree,” I say to Tyson.

Competing for the space, Bear sticks his head out too and I get another of those wet sloppy kisses from him.

An hour outside of Bozeman, we make one last stop before making the final push to Big Sky. I grab a Mountain Dew and as I’m walking towards the register a display stand grabs my attention. Among the pamphlets are Glacier National Park, the Continental Divide, Big Sky Resort, Museum of the Rockies, and Custer’s Last Stand. I pick up Big Sky and Custer and quickly leaf through them. They assume a spot in my back pocket for later.

On the road for another hour and we pull off of the highway. We’re deep in the mountains, but short of Big Sky when we pull off. We drive another half hour and go off of the street onto a dirt road. We head up the road and come to a ranch. It appears a very nice homestead and I see some horses off to the side and in the distance. Instantly I want to go ride them. I’ve never ridden horses before and since I’m doing things I’ve never done before, now seems like the time to do that too. And then I see them. On the porch. Standing now and looking right at us as we approach.

“Oh my god, Tyson. Why didn’t you tell me?” I snap.

“Well, I didn’t know myself,” he answers.

“Didn’t know… yeah right. Really expect me to believe that now?”

“Yes, I do,” he replies, exiting the car.

I get out and walk towards the porch. Tyson is there first with the usual fist pumps and man hugging with whom I assume to be Cody. And then he turns to my dad and gives a much more formal handshake. “Hi John,” he smiles.

What in the world is going on? I thought I was heading toward simple, not this.

“Hi Kasey,” he says, approaching me with hands out for a hug.

I go into him, but don’t extend my arms. He hugs me tightly and says, “It’s good to see you, again.”

“Hi Dad,” is about all I can manage right now.

“You must be exhausted. Go on inside. I’ll get your things.”

“I don’t have any things, Dad. Just this backpack.”

“Well, let me take that for you.” And turning to Cody, he says, “This is Kasey.”

“Hey,” Cody says.

“Hey,” I reply.

“I’m Cody.”

“Got that. But Tyson didn’t properly preface this greeting. How do you guys know each other?”

“Oh, yeah, Tyson has a way of leaving out key details sometimes. That’s my big brother for ya.”

“You guys must be ready for a drink. Let’s go inside,” my dad says, “I know I’m thirsty.”

We walk inside and I find it very nicely suited to the landscape. Nice, but not overly done. Fits the mountain country scenery here. Lots of wood, a tall and open feel, nice large family room, kitchen adjoining and fireplace fit to warm the whole place up. It’s quite large, but fits the rest of the space well. Reminds me a lot of the Falls Lake cabin.

We find ourselves at the table and Cody is gathering all the necessaries for drinks and a snack. “Gin?” he asks, looking at me.

“She doesn’t do Gin,” Tyson says, “Gives her headaches and I think I’ve given her enough of those lately.”

“Well I’ve got a lot to learn,” Cody returns. “Vodka then?”

“A beer would be great if you have one,” I say, knowing that one will probably make me sleepy and that could be a good thing. Escape to a bedroom sounds about right, I think, looking in my dad’s direction.

Cody brings me a beer and drinks for Tyson and my dad. He pours himself something clear and joins us at the table.

“To Kasey,” my dad says raising his glass, “Welcome to Big Sky country.”

“To Big Sky country,” say Tyson and Cody in unison, my own words softly trailing behind theirs.

“Appreciate the welcome, though from whom it comes is quite unexpected,” I say.

“I’m just so happy you are here,” my dad says, “This is a great place to be for a while. Take your mind off of some things. There’s plenty of land here for walks and horse trails. Did you see the horses on the way in, Kase?”

“Yeah, I saw them. Maybe I’ll try that out sometime.”

“You’ll get used to it here quickly, Kase. Cody will show you around and you’ll have plenty of time to relax while Tyson and I are away.”

“While Tyson… and you… what? Where are you going now? We just got here.”

“Well, duty calls and we only have a short time until we have to go. He’ll be here tonight, but by sun up, we’ll both be in the air.”

I can tell from his expression that Tyson is as surprised as I am. And I can see his concern. He is looking at me rather than my dad now. His hand comes across the table and touches my forearm. His touch is cold from the glass he was holding and I retreat for that reason.

“Oh Kase, it’s going to be okay. I’m sure we’ll be back very quickly, right John?” Tyson asks.

“It looks like this one is about two weeks, Tyson, so yes, we’ll be back pretty quickly if all goes as planned. There are rumors of a war down there, so no guarantees. Initially two weeks for us though,” my dad answers. “We’ll talk about the mission in more detail later tonight.”

I’m stunned. We just got here and now he’s leaving already. And with my dad. I don’t know if I can take all of this. It’s too much. And too fast. I need some time to take it all in. To let it digest.

“I’m going to go get some air,” I say picking up my backpack and my beer and walking to the front porch. Tyson follows and I let him know on the porch that I just want to walk, alone, for a little while. He assures me things are okay and I walk away.

I walk a distance from the house and toward the horses. I want to look at them more closely, but it’s still too close to the house. I take the first path I see into the pines. I get in a little ways and then look for a place to sit. I reach into my front backpack pocket and pull out a pack of Marlboro’s. I light one up and close my eyes for the first puff. It’s rough. I thought about Camels or Marlboro Lights when I bought these, but felt stronger would be better considering my circumstances. I’m a few drags into it and my head feels considerably lighter. I see him approaching down the path. A rifle slung over his shoulder and a bottle of rum in his hand.

“Join you for a smoke?” Tyson asks.

“Sure, but tell me how a guy who looks like you, with your build, who drinks and smokes, who sustains himself with only granola bars and Funyuns- explain to me how a guy like you apparently never works out?”

“Ha,” he says laughing. “You found me out. Maybe I’ve got some secrets too!”

“Yeah, ‘roids, right?”

“No way, don’t touch that stuff. Makes your penis shrink.”

“A lot to look forward to then?”

“Come on, Kase, let’s talk.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Oh, you know, things.”

“What things?”

“Well, what are you feeling now, for starters? You have questions, I’m sure.”

“My dad? Why is he here?”

“For our trip. This is our jumping off point. We meet here sometimes and fly out of Bozeman Yellowstone.”

“They let you fly out with rifles attached to your back?”

“Ha ha. No, we don’t really travel that way. Sometimes in helicopters, sometimes in military planes. Not civilian travel. I’m carrying this now because there are bears in the area. Anytime you go any distance from the house, you better bring something with you.”

“Great, another worry. So… do you get peanuts on those flights?”

“You’re being very funny,
funny girl
.”

“Well someone has to lighten up the mood. I can’t do tension anymore.”

“Sometimes, we just have to let things happen, Kase, Let things come to us instead of chasing everything down. I learned that lesson a long time ago.”

“A long time ago?”

“Yeah, I was chasing for a while too.”

“Do tell. What exactly was it you were chasing?”

“Freedom.”

“What do you mean, you seem pretty free to me.”

“Freedom from fear.”

“What kind of fear. I haven’t seen that either.”

“When I was a little kid,” he starts seriously, and then stops with his head down. “My… well… let’s just say I didn’t exactly have a perfect childhood.”

“Oh like you didn’t get to eat your Wheaties every day?” I joke.

He doesn’t laugh or lift his head.

I’ve never seen him like this.

“Sorry, just trying to be light again.”

“Pass a cigarette to me. Maybe that will lighten things for me too.”

I oblige and take a drink of beer as well.

He lights his smoke and inhales the first drag deeply. As if pausing to gather his thoughts, the first exhale is long and full. Smoke clouds the air in front of us. His eyebrows come down and the corners of his mouth are flat. Like something left him with that breath.

He turns to me and I see a tear in the corner of his eye. “My dad… he hurt me,” he says.

“Oh Tyson. I’m sorry.” I drop my smoke and put my arm around his waist. I can barely reach the other side and my hand lands somewhere on the back side of his other hip. I feel tension in his lower back and I rub gently.

“He hit me a lot. And there was nothing I could do. I dealt with it for years. And then I thought I could run away from it. And I did. But when he found me it got worse. I felt so helpless. Like there was nothing I could do to stop it. I knew that nights he went out drinking, which were many, meant trouble for me. And if I left again, I’d be in even more trouble. So I collapsed. Gave in and accepted that that was my life. I stopped chasing a way out.”

“Your mom?” I ask, “her too?”

“No, she passed when I was really young. I never really knew what happened to her. My dad never talked about it. I don’t think he did anything to her though. They looked so happy in all the pictures when they were young and together. My uncle Bob told me once that they were very happy together. He said she had gotten some terrible illness. Might have been cancer, but I’ve never been able to find out. Uncle Bob died when I was teenager and I just didn’t have the chance to find out. Don’t really know any other relatives, aside from Cody. But, it’s made us tight. That much I know. I’d do anything for Cody and he’d do the same.”

“So how did you get away from your dad? What happened to him?”

“Fucker got hit by a train. He was driving home drunk one night and dropped a bottle of beer on the floor. It rolled over to the passenger side and he leaned over and down to pick it up, to keep it from spilling any more. It must have been bouncing around considerably as he rolled over the tracks because that’s where he hit the brakes. By the time he looked up, all he would have seen would have been white. The last and brightest light he ever saw in his pathetic life.”

“I guess now we have two things in common. Books and movies, and dead relatives. The perfect Romeo and Juliet.”

“Don’t go killing yourself just yet. We’re past the bad stuff now. We’ve crossed over to the other side. The happier side. I know there’s a happy ending for us, Kase. I know it.”

“But I just can’t keep taking care of Bear every time you go away. You’ve got to stop doing that.”

“Time, Kase, just a little more time. And then we’re free.”

I light another smoke and hand it to him. Then one for myself.

“I feel like things are getting more complicated, Tyson. I don’t want that.”

“Then don’t chase anymore, Kasey. Just don’t chase.”

He looks into my eyes and he comes close. I can taste his breath and I want to inhale every part of it. I do. But when he kisses me… I resist.

“A little more time, Tyson…”

I take a long drag from my cigarette and exhale.

BOOK: Crossed: Book Two (A NEW ADULT ROMANCE)
2.37Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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