It turned out to be one of the best trips I had ever taken, and that was saying a lot. My dad used to take me on amazing vacations as a kid. There was never any expense spared. I mean when your gambling and winning thousands of dollars in one night, why not spend it all. I laughed knowing I would never be like my father. As much as I loved him, I wanted so much more for my life and that didn't include drugs, gambling, or stealing.
My future was sealed that weekend I spent in Arizona. The school was amazing, the people were awesome and the coaches were some of the nicest I had ever met. I took my trip the weekend before I came to the farm to help out. I didn't want my grandfather getting suspicious, so I told him that my band had a gig that weekend, but I would still make it out in time.
Knowing this would be my last summer here, I made sure to tell my grandfather that I couldn't stay the entire length of it. I didn't necessarily lie when I told him my band had gigs, but I also didn't tell him the full truth. I was expected to report to camp by the last week of July. As much as I didn't want to leave or even cut my time with them short, this was what I had to do.
So here I sat against this old damn tree stump against the far end of the open land, staring out at the middle of nowhere, contemplating the decisions I have made thus far. I had practically been on my own since I was fifteen and saw no reason to seek out any guidance now. I lifted the cigarette I had been holding between my fingers, when I heard a loud girly giggle, echo through the night. I wasn't sure if I really heard it at first, but when it happened again, I knew it had to be her. Hell, she was the only girl besides my grams and her grandmamma that was around.
I sat still, smoking my cigarette, paying her no mind, when I saw her tiny frame wobbling up that damn hill. A slight breeze had picked up and her long brown hair blew across her face as a hint of strawberry assaulted my nostrils. It was heavenly and exactly the distraction I needed from my own head. As much as I didn't want this girl to get in my head, somehow or another she had found her way there, despite how hard I tried to ignore it.
She finally made it up the hill and I watched intently as she pulled something from her pocket and then flung herself on the ground. I muffled my laugh as I watched her try to light her cigarette. She was the cutest thing I had ever seen. I still made no attempt to move when I heard her melodic voice carry through the night. I wasn't sure if she was talking to herself, but there was no way she knew I was here, so I could only assume that was the case.
I put my cigarette out on the patch of grass next to me, trying to make as little noise as possible. I had been hiding out this long and I didn't want to scare her, so I just kept quiet and listened to her rambling on and on. I couldn't make out much, but I think I got the gist of what she was saying. She was definitely mad at someone because I had never heard so many curse words come out of such a sweet looking mouth. The only name I caught in all of her ranting was Wren, whoever the hell that was.
I was just about to get up and head back home, when my cell started ringing in my pocket. I let a string of curse words fly out of my mouth that would make my dead momma blush, as I frantically searched for the damn thing. As soon as I got it out of my pocket, I quickly hit the side button to stop the ringing. When the sound finished echoing off of the vast open land, I held my breath waiting to see if she was going to say anything. After a few minutes and no response, I thought it safe to start heading back, but then her voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
"You know you don't have to hide in the dark to be around me. I won't bite. Well, not unless you ask real nice." A small giggle followed her putting-it-out-there sentence and I just stood there in shock.
My mind was telling me to answer, to say anything, but for some reason my lips refused to move. I took a few steps in the direction of my grandparent's house, when she spoke again.
"That's okay, I don't need you, just like I don't need them."
I heard her let out a loud sigh and I instantly felt like a prick. Once again, against my better judgment and my grandfather's warning, I did something I knew I shouldn't, but I just couldn't help myself any longer. I walked right over to where she was laying down, and stood directly above her. I looked down at her beautiful face in awe. It all seemed a little wrong, given the fact she was just barely seventeen, but I was drawn to her.
Her eyes were closed as I traced every facet of her face with my eyes, committing it to memory. Suddenly electric blue was staring back at me, unfazed by my close proximity to her. She slowly blinked and I caught a glimpse of her tongue dart out and wet her full bottom lip. My pants tightened and I knew I was in some serious trouble if this pretty little thing stayed around much longer.
"Can I help you, Madison?" The sarcastic emphasis she put on my name made me burst out in laughter. "What is so funny?" She shouted as I continued to laugh.
"I'm s..or..ry." I stuttered through my laughter. I put up my finger for her to give me a second, as I tried to catch my breath and calm down my laughter that was apparently starting to piss her off. "You really don't like me do ya?" I croaked out.
"Well whatever would've given' ya that idea, cowboy?" She sneered.
"Oh I don't know, how about that from the minute you laid eyes on me, you have done nothin' but give me dirty looks. Or, how about the fact that you wouldn't even say more than one word to me?" I sat down next to where she was lying unmoving. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be moving anytime soon. "Honestly, I should've known that a pretty, little princess wouldn't want to speak to me anyway. I didn't really think she was a princess, but her reaction to the word, was worth it.
My last sentence must've really gotten to her, because she was sittin' up right quicker than shit.
"I'm sorry and who the hell do you think you are, judging me when you have no fuckin' clue about anything about me." Her words were coming out a bit slurred and I could almost bet by the amount of smoking she was doing, that she was on something. "And why are you just staring at me like that?"
I swear if she were standing, she would be tapping her little foot against the ground, with her hands on her hips. The vision of this made me want to laugh even more, but I held it in as to not further piss this little firecracker off.
"Well, are you even going to give me enough respect to answer me?"
I wasn't quite sure how I was looking at her, but I figured I should apologize to calm her down, if anything. "I'm sorry if I offended you in any way sweetheart. That wasn't my intention. I was honestly heading back to the house, when your voice caught me off guard. I thought I was still alone out here." That was a lie obviously, but she didn't need to know that.
"I'm sorry too. I'm just a little tightly wound at the moment."
I watched as she struggled to cross her legs in front of herself, but this time there was no laughing. I could tell she was in a lot of pain, so I just sat back on my arms, legs crossed in front of me with my head back.
We sat in silence for what felt like hours, but in all actuality, was about ten minutes. I only know because I kept checking my watch. I finally came to the distinct conclusion that the conversation was probably over, so I sat forward brushing my hands off on my jeans. Just as I was about to get up and head to bed, she spoke. What came out of her mouth next, was nothing I expected to hear from this amazingly beautiful girl, or any girl for that matter.
Chapter 11
Kayla
The second the words came out of my mouth, I instantly regretted saying them. I had no intentions to ever let anyone know, but something strong came over me, possibly the Vicodin. When I saw him get up to leave, for whatever reason I just didn't want to see him go. I could feel my body reacting to him and although it scared the ever livin' hell out of me, I couldn't just let him walk away and take the chance that I may never see him again.
I had the sudden urge to bare my soul and body to him, maybe too early for the latter, but still it was true. I stared up at his expressionless face, waiting for him to say something, anything, but when he didn't I was di
sappointed. Maybe my grandparents were right in their warning of Madison. But always staying true to myself, I threw caution to the wind. Apparently, that wasn't the best idea it would seem.
"Come again?" His voice was soft and soothing, which only intensified my yearning to be closer to him.
He sat back down next to me, never releasing eye contact. I was suddenly rendered speechless, as a sea of sparkling green was staring right into my eyes. When I opened my mouth to utter those words one more time, my mouth closed tightly and I contemplating telling him I was only lying. My eyes were still on him and I was lost in his gaze, until he decided to speak again.
"You know KJ, you can tell me anything. I know you don't know me all that well, but I can be a real good listener if need be."
"Why did you just call me KJ?" I tried to remove all worry from my thoughts, but he must've noticed my vulnerability.
"Oh...um, my grandfather told me that's what people call you. I'm sorry sweetheart, I can call you Kayla if that works better for ya." He slowly removed his baseball cap from his head and pushed his fingers back through his thick hair. It wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. It was cut similar to Justin Beiber's old hairstyle, but shorter and he definitely made that look sexy. Man, he was a beautiful specimen of man. God broke the mold when he created this one, that's for sure. He slowly tugged his cap back on, just as I started to realize that I was staring.
I cleared my throat, not wanting him to know just how much I truly wanted him. "Um, no KJ is fine. Most people don't call me that anymore that's all." I lifted up my face to look at him again. Damn, this guy was hot.
"So, you were about to tell me what you said." He winked and I grew wet.
"Oh that. Sorry, I don't usually go around blurting out random things to people, especially people I barely know." I grabbed a fresh smoke from my pack and as I reached for my lighter, a bright orange flame flickered in front of my face. I took the small opportunity to see him better in the light. His lips slowly pulled up and into a wide smile, before the flame flickered and then went out. I definitely wasn't disappointed with the turn of events thus far.
"Like I said, I'm a great listener." He sat back on one of his hands and lit himself a smoke.
"I was stabbed." I wasn't quite sure what else to say, but it seemed like a good starting point. Like I said, totally wasn't my plan to tell him or anyone.
"Well, I guess that explains the limping. Hmm." His hat was once again off of his head, but this time he threw it a ways away from him. His free hand was pushing though the thick, soft, unruly hair again. I was starting to figure out that this was somewhat of a nervous habit of his. I took note, and then turned myself so I was facing him.
"Look, I know we don't know each other all that well. Apparently we hung out a few times when we were younger but I don't remember, just as I'm sure you don't either. My life is messy, and when I say messy, I mean fucked up." I let out a small laugh to help lighten the mood before I continued. "I won't bore you will the details. It was a bad situation, that hopefully I have left behind."
"What if I said I wanted you to bore me with the details?" I could see the smoldering look in his eyes and I backed up a tiny bit. I wasn't quite sure how comfortable to feel around him, but it did feel like I had known him for years. Speaking of years, I quietly made a mental note to remember to call Cami when I got back in the house.
"I don't open up to anyone, Madison. I have trust issues and a whole closet full of ghosts. So...I can't guarantee that you will even like me, I mean care about me, wait not that either. I mean, I can't be certain that what I tell you won't have you running as far away from me as possible." I took in a deep breath, exhaling loudly.
"I have my fair share of ghosts, KJ. I'm pretty sure that whatever you tell me, won't have me running for the hills, mountains, ocean or any other far off place. Got me?" If I was in a different state of mind, I may have been put off by the way he was speaking to me, but part of me liked it. A lot!
I took a long drag from my almost gone cigarette; before I could muster up enough courage to finish telling him what happened. "Maybe we could talk about some things about ourselves first. Then maybe, I won't feel like I'm talkin' to a complete stranger. Sound good?"
"Sure, but just because I tell you my favorite color, doesn't mean we will be any less strangers."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. I think once I know a few key things, then I'd say we were well on our way to being friends." He grinned up at me, and my heart melted a bit. He was good. I'd give him that much, for now. "So?"
"What? You didn't ask me anything. How am I supposed to answer a non-existent question sweetheart?
"Oh sorry. Ok first question. What's your favorite time of day?" I knew it sounded like a stupid question, but that actually says a lot about a person.
He let out a chuckle and then became very serious, for my benefit I'm sure.
"Noon, and you?
"Noon, why?" He had already peaked my interest and we were only on our first question.
"You sure ya wanna waste one of your questions on that?"
I could tell he was teasing me, just by the way he was smirking, but I seriously wanted to know. "Yep, now spill cowboy."
"Well, I don't know really. It always has been. I suppose in high school, it was because that's when we all took lunch. But, now that I'm out of school, I think it's because that's when I feel the most productive. Your turn." He glanced over at me, but I quickly turned my attention back to the ground.
"I would have to say sundown. The sky turns such a magnificent shade of orange, red and yellow. It's almost hypnotizing to me. Okay, next question. How old are you?"
I just had to know, but his reply wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. In fact, I believe it damn near almost broke my heart.
Chapter 12
Madison
"I'm twenty four." I tried to keep my face composed as I answered and by the look on her face, I could tell she was disappointed. I was gonna let it go for a bit, but she got real quiet and I didn't want to scare her off. "I'm just teasin' sweetheart, I'm only eighteen." I let out a loud laugh and the worry that was etched in her face slowly dissipated.
"Why would you do that?" She squealed, as she play punched my leg.
When her flesh touched my leg, electricity started flowing through me. There was somethin' there, and I could tell she could feel it too. She let her hand linger on my leg for a few seconds and my breath hitched in my throat. My eyes landed on her small balled up hand and that's when I noticed the bruises that wrapped around her wrists.
"KJ, I know it ain't my business, but what happened here sweetheart?" I slid my finger around the dark ring that looked like a bracelet, and she hastily jerked away.
"Nothin', now think of a better question."
I couldn't tell if she was upset with me or not, but I didn't want to push her away, so I continued on to my next question. "So how old are you pretty girl?" I smiled briefly at her, hoping to put her back into a comfortable place.
"Uh, I just turned seventeen not too long ago." Her voice was just above a whisper.
"Look at you, gettin' all old." I was relieved when she laughed out loud.
"Shut up, you're one to talk, Mr. Eighteen Year Old." She tilted her head to the side, exposing one of the most beautiful smiles I think I had ever seen. It made her whole face light up, and I liked seeing a flicker of her burnt out light, exposed.
"I know, god I'm close to retirement age." We both shared a laugh before she started back in on the inquisition.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Even in the dark of night, I could see the anticipation written all over her face about what I was gonna answer.
"No." I could have elaborated, but if she really wanted to know more, I'm sure she would ask.
"Oh."
When she didn't say more than that, I started in on my question. "How long are you stayin' with your grandparents?"
She looked back at me and the light from the moon lit up
her face, making my lips yearn to feel what hers would feel like. I leaned in towards her ear knowing I now had her full attention. I wanted to go in for the kill, I really did, but the better part of me convinced myself otherwise. "Are you gonna answer?" I whispered.
Her expression turned solemn and I almost regretted asking her, but then she started to speak. "I'm gonna be here for quite some time. You know it's getting pretty late, I think maybe I should start heading back."
My heart dropped. I didn't want our time together to end. It was nice hanging out with somebody. Especially someone who didn't expect anything from you, or who just wanted to sleep with you. It was refreshing. She was refreshing.
"I'm sorry, KJ. I didn't mean to pry."
"No, it's okay. I'm just starting to get real tired. I had to take some pain medicine earlier and it's starting to kick my ass. I had fun though. It was real nice gettin' to know ya, Madison."
"Well at least you left out the disdain this time when you said my name." I smiled down at her and then stood. I brushed my hands on my pants just before reaching out to take her hand and help her up. She stared at me questioningly, but reached for my hands. When I pulled her up, she stumbled forward, catching herself as she placed her hands against my chest. I watched, as her eyes grew large once she saw the closeness of our bodies to one another.
I wrapped my calloused hands around hers and gently pushed her back a little bit. I could feel her body humming, just as mine was, but I couldn't do anything about it. I wanted this girl, in more ways than one, but I didn't want to be another person in her life to disappoint her when I left. I'm pretty sure this girl has had enough disappointment to last her for quite awhile.
This Love of Mine (Raine Series #1) Page 5
