Finding Charley (Full Circle) (25 page)

As time approaches for the party, we take turns getting ready.  Hayden and Anna have asked a million questions about what to expect about a field party.  I realize it’s easy to just listen about it.  I crank up Brad Paisley’s “Outstanding in our Field”. When the song ends, they look lost.

“Y’all all right?”

“Is that how
it’s really gonna be?  I mean, a tire for a cooler?”  I shake my head yes.  Hayden seems to have a light-bulb moment and then is good to go.  “I’m down.”

As I finish putting on the final touches of my makeup, I hear Mama calling.  Piper and Joe are here.  I yell for her to send them up.

“Hey, hot bitches!” Piper says as she enters.

“I think you’ve got that wrong, Piper.  You look like you’re about to go out in the city,” Caroline counters.

“I also try to look my best, even when we are out in the middle of nowhere.  Plus, I have one fine man beside me that I have got to look fabulous for.   Isn’t that right, Joe?”

His face turns red.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.  “Piper, you know you don’t have to impress me.  You’re perfect just the way you are.”  He pulls her in and gives her a quick kiss on the side of her forehead.  We all say, “Awe.”

Once downstairs, I ask Dad for the keys to the Chevy.  There’s no way we are going to make it without four-wheel drive.  Tori chimes in and says that she’s got this.  I look at Dad and shrug my shoulders.

We give Piper and Joe the rundown of tonight’s events.  They are game, and we make our way to the McCracken’s farm.

Once I know that we are safe from other ears, I ask if anyone has talked to Cash.  Tessa has, and he’s ready.

When we pull up to the field, Tori
stops the Explorer and turns the wheel locks. We all hop out, grab the beer, and make our way to the field.  I have to say that I am impressed she’s from the South and just made me a little bit prouder.

“So, where will we know where to go?”  Anna asks.

I don’t answer; I point.  There is an enormous orange flame to our right.

“Holy shit!” she says.

As we approach, I see Cash talking to the triplets.  We smile and move on.  I take a couple of minutes and introduce the girls to several people. 

While talking to Sally and a few of Tessa’s friends, I feel someone’s arms wrap around my waist and whisper into my ear.  “You look great, Charley.”

I turn, wrap my arms around him and smile. “Thanks.”

The night goes on just as I expected with great music, food, drinks, and dancing.  As if someone knew what we were waiting on, “Pour Some Sugar on
Me” comes through the speakers.  I look at the Kluft girls, and we know exactly what we have to do.  In fact, we dance even more seductively than we did when we were at Turtle’s.

Halfway through the song, we are no longer dancing alone.  The entire crowd is shaking it, and I can feel Dylan pressed firmly against my backside.  I know that the beginning of the end is about to happen.  I start to panic inside.  I search the crowd for Cash, but he is nowhere to be found.  Then, I see him dancing with Sally.  I pause momentarily.

Dylan notices me.  “You know he’ll never have you, right?  You’re mine.”

“I only want to be yours, Dylan,” I say as I turn to face him, kissing him slowly and seductively.

“Good.”  We finish dancing to the song, and then he pulls me from around the fire.  I know that this is it.  My heartbeat increases when I realize that I can’t signal anyone; I sure hope they are paying attention and not lost in lust with anyone.

I take him by the hand and follow him to the edge of the light, and we sit on a stump.  Turning to look at me, he says, “Char, you’re gorgeous. You know that, don’t you?” he asks as he
brushes my hair behind my ear.

Biting my lip, I look into the eyes of the devil in human form.  I know that is his weakness.  “Don’t do that, if you know what’s good for ya,” he says jokingly.  I do it again, and he wastes no
time.  His lips capture mine.

I close my eyes and push away all thoughts of who is around me, the game I’m playing, and I kiss Dylan like my life
depends on it, because it does.

It doesn’t take Dylan long to try to turn up the heat a notch.  He starts with the hem of my shirt.  He toys with it a little before moving his hand underneath.  I flinch at his touch, and he tells me
it’s okay before pushing further.  I kiss him deeper, move my hands across his body, straddle him, and act as if I’m up for a Golden Globe.

Just as expected, Dylan begins to try more.  The difference between tonight and the last time is that we are both in control.  Neither of us has been drinking, I haven’t
been drugged, and yet, this monstrous side of him is rearing his ugly head again.

I pull away as he touches my breast.  He stops and looks at me with those same hungry eyes he had before.

“I think we need to slow down,” I whisper.

“Why?  You know you want to.”

“I don’t think I do.”

“Okay.” 
Okay? What the hell? 
He stops for a minute, but then kisses my neck.  I know that he’s not going to completely stop; he’s just trying to butter me up.

I let him attempt a little more during round two.  I keep my eyes closed because I don’t want to see who is watching, and if Cash is, it will break my heart.

Just as I expected, when he feels that he has me, he makes another bold move.  This time he tries to slide his hand down my pants.  I stop him.  I can see that he is getting pissed off.  “Not here,” I whisper into his ear.

Looking like he just won the lottery, he stands and adjusts himself. We walk toward a place a little more secluded called Make-out Manor.  It’s a little shed on the farm.  My brain goes into overdrive.  What if no one follows us?  When we enter the shed, Dylan uses his phone to guide me to a spot to sit.  I don’t hear anyone else. 
Shit!
  He wastes no time trying to explore my body.  I give him a little leeway, but as soon as he crosses the elastic band of my panties, I start pushing him off me.

“Stop, Dylan. I need a minute.  I’m not sure I want to do this.”

“Come on, Char.  Don’t tell me you led me in here just to mess around.”

“No, I thought I was, but I’m not.  I want to be that girl for you, Dylan.  I want to give you all of me, but I just don’t know if I can.”

He stops and seems to contemplate his next move.  He takes a deep breath and kisses me forcefully.  I try to move to offset his weight on me, but it’s no use.

Dylan’s movements, touches, and kisses get heavier with each moment.  I push, beg, and plead with him to stop, but he continues to kiss me. 
“Stop! Please!”  First, it’s a whisper.  He pushes forward.  The next time my volume increases and becomes more confident and firm.

I quickly realize that he’s not going to stop, and there is no one here to save me but myself.  Ideas begin to race around in my mind.  How am I going to get out of this?  I’ve done it again.  Maybe I can push him off me?  I use all my strength, but it doesn’t work.  Feeling that I’m defeated again, I allow tears to trail quietly down my face as Dylan begins to try to take complete advantage of me…again.  Then, as if I turned on a light, it occurs to me that this is my game, and I’m coming out on top this time.

I relax and act as if I’m giving in to his request.  Closing my eyes, I focus on making Dylan feel like I belong to him.  I caress his tatted and broad swimming arms, run my hands through his hair, and get lost in a kiss that will end this charade, all the while trying to keep this from crossing the line.  I push things further by moving my hands down his body, yet my lips never leave his.  A loud moan escapes his mouth, and I know he starts to think that I’m going all the way as I find his belt.  Catching him off guard, I playfully bite his lip, causing another moan to release.  Then, as he is losing himself in me, I bite the hell out of his lip.  He’s in complete shock.  I take his moment of weakness to move from underneath him.  I stand and try to find a way out in the dark.

I can see the light of the fire barely underneath the crack in the door.  Hurrying across the room, I grab the handle of the door.  As I pull it open, he grabs my arm.  Trying not to fall back into his trap again, I yank my arm with every ounce of my being f
rom his grasp while screaming.

“Somebody help me!
PLEEEAASSSSSEEEE!” I expel from my lungs.  No one.  Not a soul sees us.  My adrenaline kicks into high gear. I put the Ariats in the wind and haul ass to the fire.

As the roar of the fire comes into view, so do all the people.  They are oblivious to what has just occurred.  They continue to sing, drink, and party as I run as fast as I can.  The more people I’m around, the safer I am.  I see Piper and Joe sitting on a log.  A look of horror flashes when she sees me, and her eyes speak volumes.  I know that he is coming…that he is coming for me… it’s time to face the devil with everyone watching.  Knowing that I don’t want to turn around and face him, I center my feelings to my core, and I do it anyway.

Dylan is within a few feet of me.  He has a mix of emotions on his face that include shock, pain, and confidence, but the obvious one is rage.

“Stay away from
me,” I growl through my teeth.

He laughs wickedly as he inches closer.  “I’ll never stay away.  Don’t you get it?  You’re mine.”  Grabbing my waist, he pulls me close to him.  I try to escape his clutch,
but it’s impossible. “You were mine from the first time I saw you at GPAC.”

For the first time, all eyes fall on us.  Dylan is about to be famous, but not in a good way.

“Like hell I was!”  I say as a lean back from him.

“You are so full of shit, Charley!  You know you wanted me, everyone does, but I made sure of it!  That state championship made you fall hard.  You were different, like a new event at a meet that I was going to win, and then I sealed the deal at Trent’s.  You fell for it so easily.  I slipped that “Z” in your beer without you knowing.  You were so naïve and stupid!  Going to the bathroom was just
classic!”

People begin to whisper and point, as we are on full display now.  Something inside me snaps.  I push him back, but he comes at me again.  This time I can’t push him off me, and I struggle to stand my ground.  I use every ounce of force, but as soon as I’m ready to push away again, a fist comes i
n contact with his jaw.  Cash.

Punch after punch, blow after blow, Cash continues to take out the past eighteen months of bottled-up emotions on him.  Cash continues to hit him over and over.  The sounds coming from Dylan’s body are like none I have ever heard. There are cracks, crunches, whimpers, and howls.  By the time Cash is finished, Dylan is lying in a fetal position in the dirt, not moving.

“You listen to me, motherfucker.  Char-coal’s not yours.  She’s mine.”

To be continued…
Loving Charley
will release spring 2014

About the Author

Casey Peeler grew up and still lives in North Carolina with her husband and daughter. Her first passion is teaching students with special needs. Over the years, she found her way to relax was in a good book.

After reading
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neal Hurston her senior year of high school and multiple Nicholas Sparks’ novels, she found a hidden love and appreciation for reading.

Casey is an avid reader, blogger (Hardcover Therapy,) and now author.
 
No Turning Back
(Full Circle #1) is her debut novel released September 30th.

Her goal is to one day be an author who is recognized nationwide like Jamie McGuire, Colleen Hoover, Tiffany King, and Amanda Bennett.

When Casey isn’t reading, you can find her listening to country music, spending the day at the lake, being a wife and dance mom, and spending time with friends and family.

Her perfect day consists of water, sand between her toes, a cold beverage, and a great book!

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