by Susan Stoker
“You ready to go?” Chief asked softly.
Sophie nodded. If he wanted to go, she would gladly follow him. She had a feeling she’d follow him anywhere.
“Well, this has been fun, but I’m beat. I’m gonna take Sophie home,” Chief told the group.
His pronouncement was greeted with agreement from the others, and pretty soon everyone was standing and getting ready to head out.
“I can take Quinn home if you want,” Driftwood said as they were gathering to leave.
Sophie looked over at her friend. Quinn was blushing but didn’t say anything.
“She came with us. I can do it,” Chief told his friend. “Besides, her car is at Soph’s. Since we’re going there anyway, it makes sense for her to come with us.”
“You s-said you were going to s-show m-me that thing on the way home,” Sophie told Chief. She sucked at subterfuge, but she had to try. If Driftwood was interested in Quinn, she knew her friend wouldn’t ever encourage him. She needed a nudge.
As if they really did have a conversation about stopping somewhere on the way home, Chief said, “That’s right. I forgot. Quinn, do you mind?”
The other woman narrowed her eyes at Sophie, but finally shook her head. “No, that’s okay. If you’re sure you don’t mind?” The last was directed at Driftwood.
“I definitely don’t mind. I wouldn’t have asked if I did,” he reassured her.
“Great. It’s s-settled. I’ll s-see you later. Text m-me to let m-me know you got home all right,” Sophie ordered her friend.
Quinn hugged Sophie goodbye and whispered in her ear as she did so, “We will be talking about this later.”
Sophie merely smiled at her friend and nodded. They said their goodbyes to all the others and Chief escorted her to his truck with his hand at the small of her back. He opened her door, waited until she was settled inside, then shut it and walked around to the driver’s side. He started up the engine and backed out of the long driveway. When they were on their way, he turned to Sophie and asked, “Want to tell me what ‘thing’ I wanted to show you?”
Sophie chuckled. “I have no idea, but we need to drive around or s-something because even though Quinn knows I lied, I want to give her and Driftwood a chance to talk…or at least for her to leave before we s-show up back at home.”
“Do you trust me?”
Sophie looked over at Chief. She could only see glimpses of him as they drove past streetlights, but she immediately said, “Yes.” Her entire life, she’d never felt safer than when she was with the man sitting beside her. She might not know everything about him, and might not even understand everything about his culture, but she knew without a doubt that he’d never do anything to put her in danger.
* * *
They drove for quite a while. Chief knew it was going to be very late, or early, by the time they made it back to their neighborhood, but he wanted to share this with Sophie. It was as close as he could get to sharing part of his childhood with her without driving all the way to New Mexico and the Navajo reservation.
He saw the sign he’d been watching for and turned onto a dirt road. They bounced along the road for about five minutes before he stopped the truck and turned off the engine.
Sophie hadn’t asked him where they were going, or expressed any concern whatsoever that he’d driven them out of the city and essentially to the middle of nowhere. It was obvious that she did trust him, and her willingness to follow his lead settled into his heart.
He’d never hurt her. Ever.
“Stay there, I’ll come around,” he told her. He waited until she nodded before climbing out and walking around to her side of the vehicle. He opened the door and held out his hand. She immediately grabbed hold and he helped her hop to her feet.
It was dark, really dark, but Chief had no need for a flashlight because they weren’t going far. He led her around to the back of his truck and lowered the tailgate. He put his hands on Sophie’s waist and turned her so her back was to the truck bed. “On the count of three, jump up. I’ll help you,” he told her.
“Okay.”
He got her settled and hopped up next to her and put his weight on his hands behind him. “Look up,” he said softly.
He heard Sophie gasp when she did as he asked. “Oh m-my God,” she said reverently. “It’s beautiful.”
And it was. The night was clear with not a cloud in the sky. The stars over their heads twinkled.
“I’m sorry I don’t have a blanket, but the truck bed is clean. Lay back?”
He felt her shift next to him as they both lay down. Realizing how hard the metal under his back was, he said, “Come here.”
He put his arm out and felt Sophie move until she was touching him. He helped position her so her head was resting on his shoulder and his arm was around her. Chief made a mental note to put a blanket in the back of his truck as soon as he got home, but for the moment, he’d deal with the discomfort, especially if it meant Sophie was in his arms.
They lay silent for a long time, simply enjoying the beauty of the sky above them. After a while, she asked, “Where are we?”
“Hill Country State Natural Area. It’s about forty miles of untouched land. People can camp and hike here, but it’s all primitive. No big RVs are allowed. I imagine this is what it was like thousands of years ago. We’ve helped fight a few wildfires in the area, and that’s how I know about this back road. It’s not on any map, and it’s off limits to the general population, but it’s one of my favorite places to go. Well, this and the Canyon State Natural Area, but that’s a bit farther west. I was pushing my luck bringing you this far out of the city,” he said with a chuckle.
He felt her snort against him. “True. Don’t people come to places like this to dump dead bodies?”
“I’d never hurt you, Soph.”
“I know. I didn’t m-mean to imply that you would.”
“This is what it was like growing up on the reservation,” he told her. “Every night, this was our view. Many nights I slept outside our hogan. Being under the stars like this was refreshing. I felt as if I could breathe easier. There’s so much light pollution in the city, even in our neighborhood, that coming out here is the only place to truly experience the beauty that is our sky.”
“Thank you for s-sharing this with m-me. I envy you the way you grew up. Connected to nature, s-seeing beauty like this all the time.”
“It wasn’t always beautiful,” Chief said honestly. “There was a lot of poverty. Men felt it was their right to beat their wives. There was too much alcoholism and we went to bed hungry a lot. And I’ve already told you about the dirt and mice.”
“I know,” Sophie said softly. “I didn’t have to deal with m-much of that when I was growing up. Besides Bruce hurting m-me and dealing with the burn, m-my childhood was good. Easy, even. M-My m-mom worked her butt off to m-make s-sure we had food on the table. S-She loved m-me and told m-me all the time. We went on vacations. But I’ve never been camping. I’ve never s-stopped to appreciate nature like this. I don’t have any idea which is even the North S-Star.”
Chief held up his free hand and pointed at a bright star in the sky. “That’s the North Star. The Navajo have names for the constellations that are different than what you’ve probably heard of.”
Sophie tightened the arm she’d thrown across his belly in a half hug. “Like what?”
“Well, Gah Haat’e’ii is known as the rabbit tracks in my culture. It’s part of the tail of what most people know of as Scorpius. It was used long ago by hunters to figure out what the start of hunting season should be. When the constellation was seen in the sky, deer couldn’t be hunted because they still depended on their mothers for nourishment. When the stars tipped eastward, that’s when they knew they could safely begin their hunts.”
“That’s amazing,” Sophie said. “What else?”
“Yikáísídáhí is what you would consider to be the Milky Way.” Chief pointed at the millions of stars that made up a
swath of light in the sky. “In my language, it means ‘Waits for Dawn.’ It represents the corn pollen that is sprinkled during morning prayers among traditional Navajos.”
“It’s beautiful, Chief.”
“It is,” he agreed, not even looking at the sky anymore. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness around them, he couldn’t take them off Sophie. Her eyes were wide as she gazed upward. He could make out the slope of her nose, the fullness of her lips, and her hair seemed to shine brightly, even in the dark. “The North Star is called Náhookos Biko’ and translates into The Northern Fire. It’s surrounded by four other stars, and represents the fire at the center of the hogan, which the mother and father of the home circle around. The stars around it represent the family.”
“The Northern Fire. I like that,” Sophie told him. Her eyes met his in the darkness.
Chief felt as if they were the only two people in the world. Lying there, under the stars he used to lie under as a child, and later as a young man as he dreamed about the woman who would someday be his, he felt as if he’d come full circle. It was only right that the stars witness this moment.
“Ayóó ánííníshní.”
Sophie didn’t take her eyes off his. “What does that m-mean? Is that another constellation?”
Chief leaned forward and kissed Sophie’s forehead reverently. He’d heard the words said often amongst his people as he’d grown up, but had sworn never to say them to another person unless he was absolutely sure of his feelings.
Saying “I love you” to Sophie in his language was his way of making a vow to her. But he knew she wasn’t ready to hear it. Wasn’t ready to truly believe that, after such a short amount of time, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and only her. “No, it’s not a constellation. It’s a term of endearment that my people say to one another.”
“Oh. It’s beautiful. S-Say it again?”
Chief smiled, and repeated the words that came from his soul. “Ayóó ánííníshní.”
“Ah yo, Ah knee nesh yay,” Sophie said slowly, stumbling over the pronunciation of the words.
Not able to stop himself, even knowing she had no idea what she was saying, Chief rolled until Sophie was on her back and he was hovering over her. “Say it again,” he ordered.
“Ah yo, Ah knee nesh yay,” she whispered.
Goosebumps broke out on Chief’s arms and raced down the back of his neck. “Fuck,” he murmured, before closing the distance between them. He slammed his lips down on hers, not able to hold back. Hearing her say she loved him in his native language had flicked a switch inside him. For a split second, he worried that he was scaring her, or that he was moving too fast, but when he felt her hand slide up his back and latch onto the nape of his neck, he relaxed.
She pressed his head closer and he stopped thinking. Her tongue dueled with his, as if she somehow recognized the importance of what had just occurred. For several moments, they made out under the dark night sky. Chief had the brief thought that the constellations were blessing their union as they learned what the other liked.
When Sophie tugged the elastic band out of his hair and his dark locks fell around their faces as they kissed, she moaned.
Chief felt the small sound reverberate through his mouth and it went straight to his hard-as-nails cock…and it brought him back to where he was and what he was doing. He’d been thrusting his hips against Sophie as if they were lying on the softest of mattresses instead of on the hard metal of his truck bed.
He immediately clasped Sophie to him and turned onto his back. At the feel of the hardness against his spine, he regretted allowing Sophie to experience that for one second. She pulled back, which pressed her hips harder to his. Chief brought a hand up to her face. He grasped a length of her blonde hair and held it up.
She smiled down at him and grabbed a handful of his own dark black hair. She held a lock up to her own, and even in the darkness of the night, Chief could see the contrast easily. He took the hair she’d been holding and twisted it around hers. The light and dark looked as if it belonged together.
“We’re s-so different,” Sophie said.
“But we go together so perfectly,” Chief countered.
Sophie stared at their entwined hair for a long moment before laying her head on his chest. Chief immediately dropped the hair he’d been holding and wrapped both arms around her back. He was still hard, still aroused, but he was content to hold Sophie in his arms.
“What is this?” she asked in a small voice.
Knowing exactly what she was asking, Chief answered, “The start of us.”
“Why does it feel s-so right?”
“Because it is,” Chief said simply.
Sophie lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. “I s-should be freaking out about this. I m-mean, it’s been what…three weeks?”
“I’m thirty years old, Soph. I’ve dated women. But not once has my soul called out to another like it does with you.”
“That’s beautiful.”
“It’s the absolute truth. Back in the day, the women of my people would hold a Crane Dance. Eligible women would dress up and dance for several days, showing themselves off to the single men. If a man found a woman he was interested in, he spoke to her mother. If she approved of the match, the man was allowed to come into the lodge when everyone was sleeping. He woke up the woman of his choice and shone a candle on his face so she could see him. If she was happy with the match, she blew out the candle, and that was that. He was then a part of the family.”
“You aren’t holding a candle up to your face,” she said, the humor easy to hear in her tone. “It’s s-so dark I can’t even really s-see you. You could be anyone.”
Chief’s lips twitched. “Cheeky wench,” he complained.
She snuggled back down into him and placed her cheek over his heart. “I’ve never done this before.”
“What?”
“Thrown m-myself into a relationship. I’m usually very cautious. I wait until I’m really, really s-sure about the m-man. We s-start out very s-slow. No kissing until like the fourth date. And then only briefly. No public displays of affection. And only after he’s m-met m-my m-mom, and s-she approves, do I even think about doing anything m-more.”
“You’ve been hurt,” Chief concluded, gritting his teeth at the thought.
“Yeah, but who hasn’t?” she replied breezily. She lifted her head and stared at him. “I’ve only had one real relationship, only been with one guy, Chief. I’m not experienced. S-So being here with you, like this, and doing what we’ve done…it’s not normal for m-me.”
Chief closed his eyes at the feelings coursing through his body. She’d only been with one man. She was practically a virgin. His hands moved up and down her back, soothing, while at the same time branding her as his.
His eyes opened. “So we’ll make our new normal.”
Sophie licked her lips nervously. “Just like that?”
“No. We’ll take our time. Really get to know each other. We’ll meet each other’s mothers. It’s like the Crane Dance, and it’s one I’m more than willing to engage in with you, Soph. There’s no rush. As much as I love the feel of you over, and under, me, I can wait until you’re absolutely sure of our relationship. When you’re ready to blow out my candle and accept me one hundred percent into your life, know that I’m right there with you.”
She stared at him for a beat, then slowly nodded. “Okay.”
Fuck. He was so far gone it wasn’t even funny. “Okay,” he echoed.
“How do you s-say that word again?”
“What word?” Chief was still lost in the thought that he would only be the second man to touch her.
“The endearment. Ah yo knee s-something?”
“Ayóó ánííníshní.” He said it slowly, the love he felt for her clear, at least in his own mind.
“Ah yo, Ah knee nesh yay,” she repeated. Then she said it again, faster. “Ah yo, Ah knee nesh yay. It doesn’t start with
an s or m. I like that.”
“Me too, Soph. Me too.”
They lay together, lightly caressing each other for another thirty minutes or so. Chief’s lust from earlier was banked by hearing her say she loved him, as well as learning she was practically a virgin. Somehow it made it easier to hold back his own lustful feelings. Simply having her body weight against him, feeling the globes of her breasts pressing against his chest, and knowing eventually they’d lie like this naked and sated after making love, made the moment all the sweeter.
Finally, feeling her shiver in the chilly night air, Chief helped her up. They drove back to their neighborhood holding hands and not saying a word.
He parked in his driveway and helped Sophie out. He walked her to her door and kissed her once more.
“It feels weird to leave you,” Sophie admitted.
“I know. But I’m only a couple steps next door. If you need me, don’t hesitate to come over or call. For any reason.”
“Okay. Thank you for inviting m-me tonight. I like your friends.”
“You’re welcome. You impressed them,” Chief told her, fingering a lock of her hair as he spoke.
“And thank you for s-sharing s-some of your customs and s-stories with m-me.”
“Anytime you want more, all you have to do is say something.”
“I want m-more,” she said immediately.
He grinned at her. “Maybe not when it’s,” he paused to look at his watch, “three-thirty in the morning.”
“It’s that late?”
“Yeah.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Sophie quipped.
“That it does.” Knowing he could stand outside her door and talk with her all night, but that she had to be exhausted, Chief leaned forward and kissed her again. It wasn’t as intense as it had been earlier that night, but it was no less heartfelt.
The feel of her fingernails lightly digging into the back of his neck as she held him to her would forever be ingrained in his memory. She held him as if she never wanted him to pull away.
