Shattered Essence (3 page)

My mom is a little overprotective of
her kids. When the three Malone children were growing up we could never, and I
mean
never,
be outside without an adult. Plus we could never be more
than talking distance away. I think we were the only kids who were never
allowed to spend the night at a friend’s house. Friends were, however, always
welcome at our house. Our house became the house where all the kids hang out.
My mom wouldn’t have it any other way. Even now as teenagers, when we’re out
with my mom, we have to be in her line of sight. It’s difficult for her to see
us doing anything alone. She consistently tries to get us to do things together,
to watch over each other, basically. She worries way too much I can see it in
her face. It was one hell of a battle convincing her to let me study in Mexico
for a year. That’s a story for another time. All I can say is, thankfully, my
dad was on my side. To some degree I can understand the safeguards she put into
place. As an FBI agent I’m sure my mom has seen things most people can’t even
imagine. I try really hard not to give my mom any grief when she asks me to
take one of my younger siblings along with me.

I stood, took a deep breath, and
rolled my eyes. “Since it looks like I’m babysitting  Jessica, do you want to
go with?”

Jessica stood up and simply nodded
her head up and down.

Espe

I had just enough time to grab a
sweater and change into my best jeans before meeting up with Paula. It was
almost nine-thirty when I spotted her walking toward the main cabin with Brooke
and Matthew. Brooke was wearing jeans, Paula was dressed in a red cotton
sundress and brown cowboy boots. Looking cute as hell. Matthew was wearing
shorts and I thought he was nuts. Sure it was summer but in this high altitude,
just over eight thousand feet, once the sun went down it was chilly.

I was wondering if my ancient deity would
be at the bonfire. Since the moment I saw him I hadn’t stopped thinking about
him. During dinner he caught me watching him on more than one occasion. I was
pretty sure he thought I was some kind of nutcase.

Walking backward with his arms swinging
back and forth Matthew asked, “Do you know if any other guests are coming?”

“I heard several of the staff would
be here. I didn’t hear about any other guests. I wasn’t lucky enough at dinner
to sit with anyone my age. They were either too young or too old,” Brooke
replied, shrugging.

“I hear you, girlfriend,” Paula
said. “Did you guys get a look at the super sexy surfer dude?”

A chuckle came from Matthew. “You
mean the one that looks like he plays baseball or the one that looks like he
plays tight end for the Broncos?”

Paula was putting her straight red
hair in a pony tail. “I think the baseball player maybe a little too young for
me.” Raising her eyebrows Paula continued, “Don’t get me wrong, he is a little
hottie. But let me tell you, I’d love to lick his brother.”

Matthew stopped in the middle of the
road looking surprised and horrified. “Paula! You’re quite the little slut,
aren’t you?” he teased.

Paula laughed, saying, “Zip it, nerdalicious!”

“Ahh come on, I was only teasing. Besides
you can’t be too mad at me.” Smiling from ear to ear he added, “You just called
me a good-looking nerd.”

“You’re okay, but nowhere near as
good looking as my Mr. Surfer lollipop,” Paula replied.

“I think someone else would like to
give him a lick.” Matthew was looking right at me.

I looked at my feet, wishing Matthew
would spontaneously combust.

“Who?” Paula asked defensively.

“You should have seen Espe drooling all
over herself, in front of him.” Matthew stuck his tongue out to the side and
started making gurgling noises.

Oh god! Is there a cliff nearby I
can jump off?

“I was not drooling, Matthew!” I
snapped.

“Whatever! You were literally
undressing him with your eyes.”

“Asshole,” I punched his arm. “Paula,
you don’t have to worry about me. If you want him, go get him.”

Thankfully we were only a few yards
away from the crowd. The bonfire was roaring and the music was blaring. Many of
the attendees were already drunk and rowdy. Across the fire stood surfer dude,
the ancient deity.

Skunk balls!

My headlights just turned on. To
make matters worse I just wet my panties and not with pee.

Damn!

I had no idea why just looking at
him put my body on the fritz. I really needed a few minutes alone to compose
myself.

Looking for an escape I asked,
“Anyone need some water? Soda? Beer?”

Paula was already shaking her booty.
She pulled me into a hug and said, “Looks like Mr. Surfer Dude can’t take his
eyes off you. Besides he looks way too young for me. I prefer men who are old
enough to grow hair on their chests.” She pushed me away. “By the way, water
would be great!”

I was making my way to the cooler
when Brooke stepped in front of me asking, “Isn’t this exciting?” Jumping up
and down. “I love bonfires. We have them all the time in Texas.”

Before I had a chance to respond to
Brooke I felt a bolt of electricity on my shoulder. I turned to see the darkest
green eyes I have ever seen. They were emerald green. Just like I somehow knew
they would be. His eyes had tiny flecks of gold and they were smiling at me.

I touched my shoulder. “Did you feel
that?” I was thankful my mouth moved and words came out.

“Yes, crazy right?” he said rubbing his
electrocuted hand.

His voice was deep, smooth, and
rather velvety. I had this sudden urge to slide my tongue along the side of his
throat. I swallowed hard and clicked my tongue, trying to focus on anything
other than the way I wanted to devour him.

It was confirmed. I was a madwoman.
I wanted more than a taste. I literally wanted to eat him.

Down girl!

I took a deep breath, attempting to
swallow the lump in my throat. “Really freaky!”

Did I just sound like a frog?
Shoot me, shoot me now!

“Hi, I’m Drew Malone.”

“Esperanza Reyes, but most people
call me Espe.”

I extended my right hand; when he
grabbed it another bolt of electricity hit me. This one went straight down my
spine. Touched my toes then returned to make my heart flutter.

Drew

“Wakey, wakey, hands off snakey!”

“Dad, seriously?” I tried pulling
the covers over my head, hoping to fall back to sleep.

“We need to get going, Son. We’re
leaving in half an hour for breakfast. Afterward we’re going horseback riding.”

My dad is such a dork. He is a
typical accountant. Stiff. Always abiding by the rules. He tries to be funny
but fails most of the time.

“I only need five more minutes of
sleep.” I rumbled from underneath the covers.

“Don’t be late, Drew.” I heard my
dad grunt as he left.

I wasn’t ready to get out of bed. I
needed more sleep.

After meeting Esperanza at the
bonfire last night we talked for three hours. Before I knew it, it was almost
one o’clock in the morning. I probably would’ve talked to her all night if
Jessica wasn’t tired and ready for bed. When we arrived back at the cabin,
sleep was the last thing on my mind. I lay in bed wide-eyed for a while, recalling
my encounter with Espe.

Even now I couldn’t get the picture
of her full red lips out of my mind. Nor her sparkling eyes, her high
cheekbones. The way her hair looked so soft and how all I wanted to do was run
my fingers through it. Her heart-shaped butt was doing a number on my brain. I
kept recalling the way her nipples peaked underneath her clothing when she was
cold. I could still hear her laughing at my silly jokes. Oh god, her laughter
was intoxicating.

Damn! I need a cold shower.

Espe

I was looking forward to going
horseback riding. It had been years since the last time I rode. I had ten
minutes before I needed to meet my parents at the barn. I swooped my hair into
a pony tail while glancing at my reflection in the mirror.
Not bad.
I
thought. My black jeans looked nice with my new one-inch heel black cowboy
boots. My white T-shirt seemed to be hugging all the right places. There was
nothing significant or obscene about the way I looked this morning, making it
the perfect outfit.

I was ready to head out to the barn
when I heard the front door open.

“Mom?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I came to see if you
were ready. Wrangler Bob has all the horses ready. Most of the guests have
mounted.” Pushing me out of the bathroom she said, “
Ándale, muchacha
.”

I groaned. My mom was so impatient
sometimes. I grabbed my lip-gloss shoved it in my pocket and followed my mom
out the door.

“What took you so long?” Teasing, she
elbowed me in the ribs, “It wouldn’t have anything to do with that boy who
wouldn’t stop staring at you during dinner, now would it?”

I smiled at my mom. “His name is
Drew Malone. I met him at the lake last night.” I winked and clicked my tongue.
“He kisses pretty good for a thirty year old.”

My mom stopped walking. Her eyes
almost popped out of her head and her jaw nearly touched the ground.

Laughing I said, “Mom I’m kidding.”

Putting her hand on her chest in
relief she said, “Thank god.”

“He’s not a good kisser,” I said shaking
my head back and forth.

Her hand remained over her heart and
her mouth dropped again.

“Honestly, Mom,” I said while giving
her a hug. “He is 18 and I didn’t kiss him.” I love how she tried to be my
friend and my mom at the same time. A sigh left my mom’s lungs as she returned
my hug. As we walked I told her about the night before.

Arriving at the barn, I watched as
the group of guests rode through the corral.

“I thought we had plenty of time,” I
winced saying, “I’m so sorry, Mom.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she added, “We’ll
catch up to the others in no time. Besides, your dad picked out some nice
horses for us earlier.”

I mauled the inside of my lower lip,
looking at the only two horses left. A large black one appeared twice the size as
the mean-looking pinto. From the two available horses I wasn’t sure if I should
take Black Beauty’s’ demon twin or Satan’s spawn. I thought now would be a good
time to pray.

“Howdy folks. I’m wrangler Sam,” he
said, tightening the saddle on Satan’s spawn. “Wrangler Bob told me you two
lovely ladies were experienced riders.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I admitted.

“Have you ridden a horse before?” he
asked.

“Yes, but it’s been at least three
years.” I was nervous. Three years was a long time. “My mom, on the other hand,
rides at least three times a week.”

Wrangler Sam lifted his cowboy hat,
wiped the sweat off his forehead then put his hat back on. “Riding a horse is like
riding a bike, you never forget.”

My mom pushed me in the direction of
the horses and said, “Come on Espe, pick a horse.”

“Mom, these horses look like they
want to eat me.” I really didn’t want to ride on either of these two beasts. Nervously
I said, “Maybe I should stay behind.”

But then again, I didn’t want to
miss an opportunity to see Drew.

My mom put her hands on her hips, “Maybe
you should put your big girl panties on.”

I felt my mouth fall open from
shock. “That is not very nice, Mother!”

Rubbing my sweaty palms on my thighs
I turned to face wrangler Sam. “Which one of these horses is the lesser of two
evils?”

Sam chuckled. “Both of these here
horses are completely broke, they know where we’re going and they know the
trail. Ace here likes to trot. He knows he’s bigger than the other horses. He
likes to tease them by trying to bite them. Kit Kat is headstrong. If you’re
slacking on the reins too much she’ll get restless and either run straight back
to the corral or lie down on the trail.”

I couldn’t believe I was actually
thinking about riding one of these beasts.

Black Beauty’s demon twin is an
arrogant bully and Satan’s spawn is a loose cannon?
Wonderful, freaking
wonderful!
I thought
.

After comparing the two horses I
said, “I’ll take Ace.”

I figured a bully would be better than
a loose cannon.

“He’s a good horse and a fine
choice,” Sam said then handed me the reins. “Sounds like Kit Kat is all yours,
Mrs. Malone.”

It only took me a couple of minutes
to get comfortable in the saddle.
Man I missed riding.
I made a mental
note to start riding more when I got home. Wrangler Sam was right, it was like
riding a bike. It was all coming back to me. It felt great to be back in a
saddle.

“Can I catch up to my dad?” I asked
Wrangler Sam.

Smiling, he replied, “I think Ace
would love a good run.”

I kicked Black Beauty’s demon twin
in the ribs and he took off full speed. It seemed like only a matter of seconds
before I was trotting up next to my dad. The horse my dad was on was even
bigger than Ace. Nevertheless the horse looked small with my dad’s large frame
on it.

“That felt great!” I said as I slowed
Ace down.

“I thought you chickened out,” my
dad teased.

I winked at him. “You thought wrong,
old man.”

Drew

I saw her from the corner of my eye
on the back of a large black horse I spotted back at the barn. The horse was
running full force and at first my belly flipped. I felt the urge to save her,
to protect her. My brain was trying to figure out what I needed to do to rescue
her from the runaway horse. Before my pea-sized brain came up with the answer, I
saw her smiling from ear to ear.