Like Falling

by Jaden Wilkes

  “Prince Rupert,” Naomi said, smiling widely.

  “You’re kidding, right? Why would we go there? There are so many other places we could go. I’ve never been to Victoria or been on a ferry.”

  “Not kidding, I have to go home for a bit. My parents are guilt tripping me since I missed Christmas. It’s a long ways to get there, but if we share driving it should be just a day,” Nic looked at Naomi and the two shared a secret smile.

  “Wait, who’s all going? What vehicle are we taking?”

  “It’s just us, and Tyr. The four of us!” Naomi exclaimed. Ah, this is what they’ve been plotting. They could probably sense us cooling off.

  “Ok, it could work. Where are we staying?” Sarah replied.

  “My parents place, they’re cool with it,” Nic said.

  “They don’t mind...you know. The fact that you have a girlfriend?”

  “Oh god no, they love it! My parents feel like having a queer daughter gets them automatic entrance into some exclusive club. Like it makes them instantly cool that they are totally ok with it. They’re almost too ok with it actually,” Nic laughed. “They probably wouldn’t let me have a guy spend a few days at the house, but they are pretty excited to meet Naomi.”

  “That’s awesome, you’re lucky,” Sarah said glancing at Naomi. Her friend’s face was unreadable, but Sarah knew she must be thinking about the disaster it would be to take Naomi back to Alberta. Think angry villagers, torches and angry mob kind of disaster. She felt like an asshole again, wallowing in her own problems when Naomi was facing something far greater than she ever would. At least she could bring her future husband into the community without being shunned, no matter who that would end up being. Tyr, let it be Tyr, the damned stubborn voice in her head piped up.

  “I guess it would be a good chance to finally meet Eric too. I could get my parents off my back and they could move on to the next nice church boy wanting to purchase a wife and broodmare.”

  “Oh yeah, I didn’t even think about that. Perfect, we can all go out for dinner one night, you can find out why you want nothing to do with him, and all is settled,” Naomi agreed.

  “Now we just have to tell Tyr he’s going with us!” Nic laughed and the girls started planning their get away.

  *****

  They left early Saturday morning. Tyr showed up at the apartment at 5AM looking fucking hot as usual. He’s not just hot anymore, she thought, or even smoking hot...this guy is fucking hot. She smiled inwardly at her expletive. This was becoming second nature to her, now if she could just talk dirty. She had a vague feeling that she had been dreaming about him when she had been woken up, she still felt hot kisses on her neck and a tightness in her stomach.

  Tyr grabbed her backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He was wearing his trademark tight jeans and blunt toed black boots, white t-shirt and black leather jacket. She could see his tattoos peeking out over top of the collar on the t shirt and felt herself waking up. This is going to be an interesting trip, the entire day sitting next to him, listening to his voice, smelling his skin and thinking about the hard, thick bulge in his pants the night he had pressed it against her. She felt her face start to heat up, between her legs caught up immediately. She was warm and wet and focused on his muscular chest.

  “What’s up? You look like you’re ready to pounce,” he laughed.

  “Uh, yeah, just thinking about breakfast. We should stop somewhere on the way out.”

  “We’ll hit the McDonalds in Chilliwack, it’s sort of a tradition with Nic and I,” he replied, looking her up and down slowly as if seeing her for the first time. “Did you do something different with your hair?”

  “Nope.”

  “There’s something different about you,” he said, eyes settling on her breasts, she could feel her hardened nipples poking through the fabric of her own shirt.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and said “nothing that I can think of.” Um, I’m horny, you’re hot, I am dying to...fuck you. Yay, dirty talk! I want that hard dick I felt deep inside of me, that’s all Tyr, no big deal, she thought, narrowing her eyes and daring him to push it further.

  He saw her expression, smiled, turned and said “I guess we should get going then.”

  Naomi and Nic were waiting downstairs for them. When they all got in the car, Sarah was silent, brooding really, thinking about Tyr’s body pressing up against hers. He started the engine and the trip began.

  A few minutes into the drive they hit traffic, Tyr turned up the old radio in the Jeep and Sarah fell asleep listening to the soft murmurs of the news host. She woke up as they were pulling into the parking lot of a McDonalds in Chilliwack. She had the memory of another Tyr dream, a vague feeling of his hands on her body, woven in her hair and pinning her down as he thrust himself into her. What is happening to me, she thought, blushing and glancing sideways at him in the line up. He’s given me nothing, but I can’t stop thinking about him, I need to give myself a shake. He’s just not that into you, deal with it and move on.

  Tyr looked over at her and smiled, reached out and put his arm around her shoulder. It was a familiar gesture, but something a brother might do. Don’t read too much into this, don’t let yourself get excited. It was too late, she felt the familiar tingle and creeping warmth from between her legs. Pussy, he makes your pussy hot, just admit it. She leaned into him and asked “what are you having?”

  “Coffee...lots of coffee,” he said, looking up and down the menu.

  They all got their food, sat in the back corner of the restaurant and talked about the many times Tyr and Nic had made this trip together.

  “It just becomes second nature, I could drive this highway with my eyes close,” he said.

  Sarah drew back in mock horror, “please don’t!”

  “I’ll get you there safely,” he said, and stroked his finger up her arm. She felt a jolt pass through her and shuddered. How does he do this? Just a touch, just a sentence and I’m shaking like an idiot. She hoped Nic and Naomi hadn’t noticed, but they were deep in their own conversation about Naomi’s potential tattoo. She looked back at Tyr and he gave her a smile and a small shrug. It’s like he knows exactly what he does to me and does it on purpose.

  They were back on the road within half an hour, Tyr driving again and Sarah in the front passenger side. It was quiet in the Jeep, Nic and Naomi started to drift off in the back seat and Sarah stared out the window watching the landscape change. They were leaving farmland behind and driving towards jutting mountains capped with misty clouds. She loved this part of the highway, it filled her with hope and excitement, as though they were speeding towards a fresh start.

  “What are you thinking about?” Tyr asked her, breaking her reverie.

  “Nothing much,” she replied. The radio started to hiss, they were out of range of the Lower Mainland stations. “Do you have anything to listen to?”

  “Nic was in charge of the music,” he said and looked in the rearview mirror. “Looks like it might be a while before we find out what she had in mind. We might have to talk...or sing, are you a good singer?”

  Sarah laughed, “No, you don’t need to hear that. Nobody needs to hear that! I was taught to mouth the words in church, during any singing or choir practice. I couldn’t keep my voice quiet and would overpower the rest of the singers.”

  “I don’t believe it! You seemed like a little mouse when I first talked to you in your kitchen.”

  “You’re a little intimidating sometimes. Besides, I was drinking and thought I was saying too much.”

  “You barely talked, I felt like an asshole the way you looked so scared.”

  “You were kind of a jerk, you called me ass kisser, remember?”

  “I was joking! I swear!” Tyr put one hand out and said “ok, I was being kind of a jerk, truce?”

  She took his hand, shook it lightly and didn’t let go. “Truce,” she said and laced her fingers through his, they lined up perfectly. His skin was warm and dry and she co
uld feel his pulse in the vein on his thumb. He didn’t pull back, didn’t look at her. He kept one hand on the wheel and looked straight ahead, making cheerful small talk about school or life in Prince Rupert, but he didn’t pull his hand away.

  The miles raced by, the highway was dry and clear and pulled them along towards their destination. Tyr had to pull his hand away at one point as we went through Hope, he need both hands to guide the Jeep through the sleepy town, but as soon as they hit the ninety kilometre zone on the other side, he dropped his hand back down to the seat. Sarah moved towards him as far as the seatbelt would allow and picked it up, lacing their fingers again, and again ignoring the fact that they were linking their bodies this way. The intimacy of this small act cause emotions to well up inside of her, emotions and obsessions that she thought she was managing rather well lately. She kept envisioning that recurring fantasy, of Tyr laying her down and sliding their naked bodies together in the act of love. She worried that he might notice how hot her hand had gotten, so she pulled it away on the pretense of wrapping her hair back into a loose bun.

  She saw him glance at her, smile to himself and put both hands on the wheel. This is awkward, she thought, I really do wish there was an owner’s manual for guys, some clever girl is going to make a mint writing one.

  They settled into a comfortable silence interspersed with conversation. An hour or so past Hope, Nic and Naomi woke up and started chatting, this took some of the pressure off Sarah so she relaxed, turned around and joined in the conversation. The time passed quickly with the two girls spinning tall tales of crazy school days and wild nights at the clubs in Vancouver.

  They passed through a tiny town called Lytton, and after that the highway was straight and wide. Tyr accelerated to pass a heavily loaded down big rig. He swerved into the passing lane, started to gain speed when they Jeep hit something with a loud thump. Tyr hit the brakes, slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road.

  “Oh my god I hope that wasn’t an animal!” Naomi screamed. “I think it was a deer!”

  “I think it was a pothole,” Tyr assured her and got out. “If it was a deer, you would have felt a lot more than that!” he said as he shut the door. The three girls followed and they all assessed the damage. The tire was destroyed, it sat flat on the muddy gravel at the side of the highway. Nic pulled out her phone and announced “No signal, fuck.” She held her arm up and turned around slowly, the hope on her face quickly turning to frustration. “Nothing,” she said again.

  The other three pulled out their phones to check, all with the same results.

  “What do we do?” Sarah asked, crossing her arms and shivering. It was startling how much of a temperature difference it made coming a few hours into the mountains.

  Tyr ran his hand through his hair, chewed his bottom lip and looked at the frightened girls. “I guess I change it,” he said as he smiled and took off his jacket. Sarah felt a warmth start in between her thighs, pussy, just say pussy, and spread through her body. She watched him open the back of the Jeep and pull out the jack and spare tire. She loved the way his arms flexed under his shirt, the way he moved as he carried the tire. She held his jacket to her nose and inhaled his scent while he was turned away. Now this is a real man, and yeah, it’s fucking hot.

  “Shit,” she heard Tyr exclaim as he dropped the tire next to the flat.

  “What’s up?” Sarah asked, looking up for Naomi and Nic. They were a hundred feet or so down the road standing near the ditch still looking for a signal

  “This is only a temporary spare,” Tyr answered, cursing under his breath again.

  “What does that mean? It looks the same to me.”

  “It means it’s smaller, we can drive on it until the next town but not the whole way. I never looked at it before, I’ve never had to.”

  “Oh no, but we aren’t trapped here, are we?” She looked up and down at the desolate highway and noticed dark clouds gathering in the distance. There was a light brushing of snow on the ground already, and a winter storm in the canyon would mean horrible driving.

  “Not at all, just give me a hand and we’ll get this done in no time!” Tyr sounded hopeful and that comforted Sarah. She set his jacket in the Jeep and bent down beside him.

  She learned a lot in the few minutes it took him to change the tire. She learned that the bolts on the tire are called lug nuts, she learned where to put a jack to lift the Jeep up, and most importantly, she learned that there was no way to deny how much she wanted to feel him deep inside of her, thrusting himself against her. God, this is ridiculous, I’m fascinated by his muscles, the way they bulge as he’s tightening the lug nuts. I need a hobby. I wonder if knitting is hard.

  “Ok, it’s all done,” Tyr announced, breaking into her little fantasy. She smiled, looked down and they all hopped in, driving along the highway like nothing had happened.

  The next major town was Cache Creek, little more of a meeting of two highways, a cluster of gas stations and a few motels. They found a tire shop, the only one for miles, and Tyr went inside to talk to them.

  Sarah turned to talk to Nic and Naomi while they waited for Tyr. It didn’t take long, Tyr got back into the Jeep and said “good news and bad news, what do you want first?”

  “Good news!” Nic said from the back.

  “Well, they can get a tire for us, no problem,” he said. “They bad news is that the rim is shot on the old one and we’ll have to wait until tomorrow for it to get here. Welcome to Cache Creek ladies, looks like we’re spending the night.”

  *****

  Nic and Naomi wanted their own room, Sarah briefly considered tagging along but was uninterested in listening to them humping all night. It was bad enough at home when she wandered out to the bathroom at 4AM and heard the telltale sounds of sex from Naomi’s room. She didn’t want to stay with Tyr either, she had a weird feeling that she would be swept under a wave of lust if she shared a bed with him, a thought that both excited her and frightened her. She didn’t like to lose control, and she heard her mother’s voice whispering about what good girls did to get into heaven. Fucking your university crush in a cheesy motel room in Cache Creek, BC was not one of them. At least I don’t think it is, she laughed to herself. Maybe I should do it, then apologize to God after the fact. Or maybe I should just settle down and enjoy being around him and see what happens, her inner critic chided.

  It turned out that Sarah didn’t have to decide, there was no way she could afford to spend the $79 per night for a room of her own. Tyr asked for a room with two queen beds, Sarah felt relief and the sting of rejection. Is he trying to tell me something, or be a gentleman? This uncertainty was killing her.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Sarah flung her pack onto the bed nearest the bathroom and jumped on it.

  “It’s nice to be off the floor for a change,” she laughed at Tyr’s quizzical expression. “I don’t think I’ve been on a real bed since Christmas, back at home.”

  “Oh right, you’ve got the mattress on the floor thing going on. Very sexy,” he raised one eyebrow suggestively. They both laughed, but Sarah blushed, as usual.

  “Should we go grab dinner?” Tyr asked her, zipping up his pack and sitting on the other bed.

  “Do you think they want to come?” Sarah nodded her chin in the direction of Naomi and Nic’s room where they heard the obvious cry of somebody enjoying themselves. Sarah blushed even redder, looked past Tyr to avoid eye contact and said “Or not.”

  “Uh yeah, they seem busy. Let’s go find something that doesn’t serve roadkill. It could be a dining experience!”

  They walked through the deserted town and found a diner that looked almost promising. They ordered a couple of burgers and Cokes. Sarah had thought about getting a beer, but didn’t really like the taste and felt mildly uncomfortable drinking around Tyr.

  “Why don’t I ever see you drinking?” she asked.

  “It’s a long story,” he replied after a moment. His eyes looked pained and he rea
d the menu over again.

  “Well, I’m not going anywhere,” she said.

  “Ok, long story short, my family has a history of alcohol addiction and I’m not going to risk it. I do drink, but I save it for special occasions or when I splurge on an expensive bottle of wine,” he said. Oh wow, he knows about wine, that’s cool. “Besides, I’m the only one who apparently knows how to drive in our group, so I’m the eternal designated driver.”

  “Fair enough,” she laughed, “I do have my license, I just don’t like driving in the city. And I never drank until we got to university. My family has a history of never drinking, and I just followed their lead.”

  “Oh yeah, the Mennonite thing. Are all of you like that?”

  “No, not at all. I just recently discovered that alcoholism is supposedly an issue in our community. I just never saw it when I was growing up. I guess I had my head in the sand,” she admitted. “My family is pretty strict too, even more so than most. They’re pretty narrow minded.”

  “I wonder what they’d think if they saw you with me right now,” he teased. He probably knows the answer to that one. “Besides, I think you just have a nice way of looking at the world.”

  “What makes you say that? I think I’m pretty critical, but I have a tendency to live in my head and miss a lot of things that are going on right in front of me”

  “You see, I think that’s a good thing,” he said. She laughed at him and he protested, “no, really! Most people get weighed down by the shit they carry around, they live only in their bodies. You have this way of rising above it, I admire that.”

  “So are you saying I don’t live in my body?” she smiled. “Come on, I live just everybody else, I just choose to not worry about every little thing all the time.”

  “That’s what I mean Sarah, you have this incredible gift to let go of the problems that hold the rest of us back. I can see that on your face, when you walk, when you laugh. It’s like you’re almost...otherworldly,” he said, looking into her eyes. He was being serious.