by CJ Azevedo
We get out of the car and I grab the cooler and the cases of beer and lead the way into the kitchen. There are few people hanging out in the kitchen that we say hey to as we unload the cases of beer. I pick up the cooler that has Bailey’s whiskey in it and take her by the hand. Just before we reach the door to go out back to the beach I feel like I need to warn her about the welcoming we are most likely about to receive. And just because I can, I set the cooler back down and grab her by the waist. Pull her in close so I can whisper.
“I’m guessing the greeting we’re about to get is going to be pretty rowdy based on the texts I’ve been getting tonight. There will probably be a lot of talk about Missy but it’ll pass quickly, I promise. I just didn’t want you to get caught off guard or misunderstand.”
At the sound of Missy’s name she tenses up. When I finish she pulls back and looks me right in the eye. Not the shiver I was going for, but I can smooth this over.
“Talon. What are you getting me into? Is she like your vacation girl something?” She looks more irritated and annoyed than upset. I can deal with annoyed.
“Really? How did you get that out of what I just said?” I look at her incredulously and try to make light of our situation.
“So she’s not then?” she asks, clearly not believing it for a second.
“She used to be, kind of. It’s complicated. But I don’t want you to worry about it, ok? It’s going to be fine. All of these grown ass adults tend to act like high schoolers when it comes to these bonfires, but it’ll be fine. I promise. Come on.”
I kiss her on her nose before we walk down to the beach. There are a ton of people here and I am secretly hoping that it’s going to be as fine as I’m telling Bailey it’s going to be. Judging by Missy’s reaction at the restaurant earlier, I most definitely hope to stay clear of her.
A few of the guys turn around and greet us as we walk up. I set the cooler down to the side and take Bailey’s hand. I can already tell that she’ll have plenty of guys approaching her and almost want to turn around and take her right back home.
“Talon! Gladyoumadeitman!” Darren slurs quickly then his eyes are on Bailey.
“And who is this sweet little thing? Daayuum Tal, she’s hot.” Darren laughs while his eyes travel the path of Bay’s body.
“Hi. I’m Bailey Hayes, pleased to meet you.” She steps up to Darren and sticks her hand out to him. He looks stunned for just a second then grabs her hand and pulls her into a hug.
“Sassy ‘lil thing, aren’t you?” he laughs out loud and Bailey pulls back from him. Her face has turned a light shade of pink. Anger or embarrassment?
She steps back by me and sighs a deep ragged breath as I slip my arm around her waist and pull her close. “I need a drink,” she says, clearly annoyed.
“Aw c’mon sweetheart, I’m sorry. Let me take you inside and get you one of those wine spritzers the girls are drinkin.” Oh, hell this is going to be good.
Bailey takes a deep breath and turns a shade closer to crimson before replying. “No thank you…. sweetheart. I’m good.” Bailey turns right around in a huff, grabs her whiskey out of the cooler and fills her plastic cup. She takes a large gulp before refilling it and heading down closer to the water.
“What the hell Darren? Was that necessary?”
Darren laughs and grabs onto my shoulder. “I said I was sorry. How long have you been seeing her? I wasn’t lying when I said she’s smokin’ hot man, the girl is beautiful.”
“It’s complicated, and yeah, she is beautiful. Can you help me out with Missy tonight? We saw her at the restaurant and she was being pissy. We don’t need the drama tonight.”
“Speaking of drama, what the hell happened to her face? Looks brutal.” I was really hoping that would have gone unseen in the dark of the night. Guess not.
“That’s why we don’t need the drama. Are you going to help me out?” Darren, even though he’s drunk, comes through. He doesn’t ask any more questions and agrees to do what he can with Missy.
****
Bailey
I don’t know why I let that guy get to me like that. There was just something about his whole drunken demeanor that struck a nerve with me. I should feel bad about reacting that way and making such a terrible first impression in front of Talon’s friends, but I just can’t bring myself to care. Who am I kidding? He can barely stand, there’s no way he’ll even remember the conversation in the morning.
I find myself missing my life in California as I drink my whiskey with a bonfire at my back. Of course, I didn’t have this water to enjoy, but the smell of the fire, the noisy people, some speaking gibberish; some laughing and others like me just enjoying the water and the environment. I wish I had my sister and our friends here. Actually, since I’m making wishes I might as well wish that my life didn’t suck right now and I could be in California in a pasture with a fire and my friends.
Warm arms slip around my waist and I feel Talon nuzzle his way to my neck. “I’m sorry Bailey. I knew he was drunk but I had no idea he would treat you that way. I was going to step in but you pretty much had it covered. Are you ok?” Just the fact that he thought about stepping in but realized I could take care of myself makes me smile. I remember our whole plan for the night is to be happy and do what we feel appropriate. Right now, I feel like kissing him for the first time and it feels totally appropriate. I have been dreaming of this since the night I ran into him at his hockey game. I have desired this every time his lush lips touched my forehead or the hair on my head or even the tip of my nose. My lips have been jealous, so I think now is the perfect time to ease that jealousy and see what all the hype is about.
I turn around in his embrace so I am looking up into his gorgeous eyes. I wrap my arms around his neck. I stare at him for just a second before sliding my hands onto either side of his face and pulling his mouth to mine. We both hold still for a few seconds and when he pulls my body in closer to his I pull back just enough to softly bite his bottom lip. I hear him groan slightly before he deepens the kiss. My hands make their way into his soft hair as his hands rub my lower back.
I freeze as I hear someone clear their throat way too close to us. I know it is Missy who has been watching us and is now interrupting the best kiss I have ever had. I know it’s cliché and even corny but there were definite fireworks going off behind my eyelids as Talon McAllister kissed me on this beach.
“Hey Missy,” I hear Talon say to her, he’s smiling like the cat that caught the mouse.
“Um hey. Sorry to interrupt but I just, um… just wanted to let you know I was here and say hello.”
“Ok. We’ll be back up there in a minute.” Talon looks back into my eyes as Missy turns to go back up towards the house. “Hey Missy?”
“Yeah?” Missy turns back to face Talon. I have no idea what he’s about to say to her but he definitely has a hard look on his face.
“Let everyone know that if they have something to say that I’m not going to like they’re definitely going to have to deal with me. I won’t walk away.” Talon grabs my hand and we walk further down the beach and away from Missy.
We stop not too far from the party but far enough to have a private conversation.
“Do you want to sit or would you rather go back home?” Talon asks as he hugs me.
“No, I don’t want to leave yet, we can sit.” So we sit down. Talon grabs my hand as he pulls his legs up into the bent position and I cross mine out in front of me. “Before you came up to me over there I was thinking about how much I miss this. Friends, family, the smell of the fire. I haven’t really thought about it too much since I left but tonight I’m really missing my old life in California.”
“What was it like? Like, who would be at a bonfire with you?” Thinking about his question makes my heart hurt with homesickness. I smile wide as I begin to answer him.
“My sister and I grew up on a farm. There are a lot of acres on our property so neighbors weren’t really an option for us. There were a few othe
r families who have farms like ours and they have all been friends with my parents since before we were born. They all had kids around the same time. Shy is my sister Cheyenne, she is only a year older than I am and then there are the three boys. None of us are related but we were raised like siblings being so far out in the country. Garret, Blaine, Tucker, and I are all just a few months apart and started going to bonfires with our parents. When we got old enough to hold our own, we did exactly that.” I take a minute remembering all of the times we sat around the fire while our parents sat inside playing cards.
“When we first started having them on our own, it was just the five of us but as we got older and could drive something other than a quad or gator we started having friends out. Pendleton was the drink of choice for the boys since that’s what they could get out of their father’s liquor cabinets and since Shy and I couldn’t get our own alcohol it was what we learned to love.” I laugh softly at the thought of the first few times drinking the whiskey.
“Ah, the whiskey. So are you getting ready to tell me your reasons for drinking whiskey, finally?” I love that I have his complete attention and he seems so into everything I’m talking about.
“Well, not the reasons you’re talking about, but I will tell you how it became my preference.” I gently laugh and so does Talon.
“Alright then, let’s hear it” Talon says as he smiles and runs his thumb alongside my own.
“I don’t take well to being challenged. So when they told me I couldn’t handle it, I took it as a personal mission to out drink them.” I turn to face Talon as I continue because I have gone long enough without looking into those eyes. He’s laughing at the thought also. “Bad idea. Very, very bad idea. Shy couldn’t get me into the house by herself at the end of the night so she had Tucker help her. He wasn’t going to take the heat from my dad alone so all three boys and Shy walked me inside and put me to bed.” Talon chuckles at the visual I’m painting for him. “I don’t remember even getting inside but apparently they all walked me right past the dining room table where all of our parents sat playing cards and talking. Needless to say, my parents were pissed, but the boys’ dads kicked them all the way out of the house.” I shake my head and continue smiling. “It has pretty much been that way since day one. If one of us was going to go down we all jumped on board.”
“What happened to them? The boys. Are you still in contact with them?”
“Not really. Blaine and I still keep in touch randomly but they were all pretty mad when I left and I never went back to fix things.”
“When was the last time you saw them?”
“My mom’s funeral. It was the last time we were all together anyway. I see them randomly when I go back to visit my dad and Shy but Blaine is the only one who spends a lot of time with me when I’m there. They were all there at the funeral but they had a rodeo out of town that weekend. When they got back I had moved to New York.”
“You just left? I can see why they’d be pissed. What would possess you to just pack up and move across the country?”
“Well, a couple different things factored in but mostly I needed to get away from my house that my mom no longer lived in.” I could continue with this conversation but I really don’t feel like it tonight. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore, this is not the careless happiness I was wanting for tonight, plus, I need a new drink. I dropped mine when you kissed me.” I smile at him sheepishly knowing full well it was me who kissed him.
“Ahhh. When I kissed you, huh?” I smile and nod at him as he stands then helps me up. Talon pulls me into his arms for another breathtaking kiss. “Let’s go get you that drink,” he says in a husky tone as he pulls me by the hand back up to the house.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BAILEY
We hung out with his friends for a couple of hours. After we went back to the fire where everyone was, nobody said another word to me or Talon that would have pissed him off. I guess they got the message. Missy never said a word to Talon or me again but she did give me her best death glare for half the night. If she has some sort of history with Talon, then I can’t really blame her for hating me. I’ve only been with him for a few hours and I already am questioning how the heck I am going to be able to keep things platonic when the sun rises. He has been so attentive towards me. Even being around his friends and telling stories that I know nothing about, he makes sure to keep me engaged in the conversations. He keeps at least one hand on me at all times, brushes his lips on the side of my face, my ear, my hand. He whispers all kinds of things that are meant only for me that cause me to shiver and him to laugh.
We say our good-byes and go back to the house. I’m not ready to give Talon up yet and he feels the same so we get into comfy clothes and light a fire out on the back balcony. We’ve been cuddled up on the chaise lounge for a while talking about everything under the sun with the exception of Hollister and my life in Cali when I hear my phone ringing. I reach over to grab it off the end table and gasp loudly when I see who’s calling me on FaceTime.
“Bailey? What’s wrong?” Talon asks concernedly at the sound of my gasp.
“Oh my gosh!” I hit the talk button and see that it’s not just Blaine, but it’s all of them! “BLAINE!! HI!! What are you guys doing??” I have tears in my eyes that are now rolling down my cheeks. Talon doesn’t get in the view of my phone but he reaches over and grabs my free hand and smiles at me now knowing who I’m freaking out over.
“Baby Bay! No cryin’, I’m too far away to wipe your tears and too drunk to say the right thing.” He looks so good, he looks like he’s been rodeoing or working maybe, but I’m going to bet he’s at a rodeo since I don’t recognize the background. He’s wearing one of his famous plaid western shirts and the same cowboy hat he got for his sixteenth birthday. The hat has seen better days, but he’ll wear that thing until the end of time or at least until the hat won’t do the job any longer.
“Blaine, what are you doing? God, I miss you so much. I was just telling a friend of mine tonight about you guys and I was feeling so homesick.”
“You don’t get homesick, what’s wrong baby girl? Something happen? Is it that douche bag boy of yours? I’ll fly out and kick his ass right now if I need to Bailey.” I’m sniffling and Talon is laughing just a little. I cut my eyes over to him and he lifts his hands in surrender with an innocent look on his face. “What’s so funny?” I whisper to Talon.
“He nailed it. Instantly, it was impressive,” Talon whispers back as he shrugs his shoulders.
“Who are you talking to Bay?” Blaine asks.
“I’m sorry Blaine, that’s my friend I told you I was talking to earlier about you.”
“Is she hot? Melanie left me last week, I could use some hotness,” he tells me in a very serious tone.
I laugh hard because he thinks Talon is a girl and Talon looks absolutely mortified. “Well yeah, my friend is way hot, but definitely not your type.” I keep laughing and Talon just shakes his head.
“I don’t have a type Bay, you know that. Hot’s hot. Lemme see her.”
I flip my camera over so it faces Talon. He gives his million dollar smile and puts up two fingers in the form of a wave to Blaine. I can’t see Blaine’s face but I’m sure it’s not pretty.
“Hey man! Will you hit Bay for me?”
“HEY!! No hitting, it’s against the rules and you know it!”
“Alright alright. He is hot though Bay, that your new boyfriend?”
“Um, no he’s not, he’s a really good friend,” I say as I peek through my lashes at Talon looking at me. He winks at me then hands me my whiskey.
“So anyway, for the first time in a long time we’re all together at a rodeo in Tulsa. We all flew in tonight and we were just reminiscing and missing you girls. Ol’ Tucker here just got out the guitar and is getting ready to do ‘Back when we was kids’ and we knew you would want to be here for that and FaceTime is the best I can do.” This catches me totally off guard and I start crying again. I
used to listen to Tucker on his guitar all night long, but this particular song is my absolute favorite. The camera flips over and faces Tucker with Garrett sitting next to him.
“Hi,” I whisper to them, four fingers resting on my lips in disbelief.
“Hey Baby Bay, you look beautiful, it’s been too long,” Garrett says as he tips his mason jar towards the phone.
“Thank you Garrett, you look great too. I miss you.” I wipe my tears and Talon kisses my hand and starts to trace small figure eights on the back of it.
“Hey Bay,” Tucker says as he starts strumming his guitar. “You do look beautiful, I think of you, ya know, all the time.” Tucker takes a quick break from strummin’ and raises his mason jar and says that we need to toast so I show him my tall glass and he shakes his head. All three boys yell, “Noooo. No toasting Chris LeDoux with some hoity-toity city drink Bay! You should know better!” Talon and I laugh at their horror stricken faces.
“Relax guys; I’m still a whiskey girl through and through. Pendleton even!”
“Alright that’s better,” Tucker says as he raises his mason jar once more and begins his toast.
“To Bay, may you never forget us country folk out here in the backwoods. And God Bless Chris LeDoux!”
He continues strumming as I lean over to Talon and whisper, “You asked what our bonfires were like… they were just like this.” He reaches up to gently guide my face closer to his and gives me a kiss. I scoot over so Talon can watch with me. Tucker has an amazing voice and is extremely talented on the guitar but this song he drawls out softly and slowly like a thoughtful poem as he simply plays background music.
