Sacrifice For Love

by Vicki Green

  She bends down under the counter and grabs a wash cloth, wets it in the sink and I turn to her as she starts cleaning my face. “Damn, man. You’re gonna need stitches on this one. I can do that for you with your kit.”

  I stare at her, wincing every now and then, watching the look of concentration on her face. My mouth turns into a grin. “Why is it we never hooked up, Irish?”

  She laughs. “Shit. You’ve been in love with Taren since I can remember and Kane, well, he’s always been too much of a womanizer. Besides, you all are like brothers to me and I can’t think of you in that way. And you’re too young for me.”

  I chuckle at the thought, same as I had the other day. “Hey, I’m only a year younger. Why don’t you ever go out on dates, find someone you can be with? Seems like your always working, always alone. Doesn’t seem fair, pretty girl like you.” It’s true. I’ve never seen her go out with anyone or even really talk about a guy in the many years I’ve known her. I’ve always wondered why. She’s a beautiful woman and any man would be lucky to know her.

  “Hmm, haven’t found any one I want to grace my presence with.” She laughs and then moves back a bit. “Okay, this top cut is gonna have to have stitches or I can use your butterfly tape to close it. Either way, I think you’re gonna have a scar. I recommend when it heals to apply vitamin E oil on it to lessen the scarring.”

  I turn my head and look in the mirror. One large cut on my cheek and one smaller one underneath it. My cheek is swollen, turning purple and even though I let him get the best of me, I do look tough. “Butterfly tape. I hate needles.”

  “Ha, wimp.”

  She finished doctoring me up, gets me a baggie full of ice wrapped in a hand towel and leaves me sitting on my couch, kissing my other cheek, then leaves. I sit here staring at the TV nothing really on at three in the morning and hold my make shift ice pack against my swollen eye. I’ve got a lot of explaining to do to Ma in the morning.

  Chapter Five

  Taren

  Brock: Can you get out today? I’m off.

  Me: Let me see what I can do

  Me: I need to go out all day. Cover?

  Jeffrey: I suppose

  Me: Thx

  Me: Meet u at 2?

  Brock: Fuck! Can’t wait! C u then

  I run around packing a small bag full of things to munch on and a change of clothes, along with my bikini. The small pond we had found so long ago beyond the field would feel amazing in today’s heat. I sit down at my desk and boot up my laptop, tapping my fingers against the wood impatiently. Finally, it’s up and immediately the IM chat box pops up showing Irish’s name. Ut, oh. Shit! I haven’t talked to her yet. She’s gotta be pissed.

  Irish: What the fuck, Taren! Why didn’t you tell me you did the dirty deed with Brock? Why am I the last to know?

  Me: The last to know? Who the hell else knows?

  Irish: Well, Kane. He knows everything everyone does. How are you, sweetie? I’ve missed you.

  Me: I’m rolling my eyes right now. I’m ok, hanging in there. We need to get together soon. I’ve missed you too.

  Irish: Find out a day/time and we’ll go hang out at the mall. Make it soon!

  Me: Definitely! I’ll let you know soon!

  How the hell does everyone seem to know that Brock and I had sex? I’m so freaking embarrassed. I sign off as it gets closer to the time to leave when I hear my door open. Mimi walks in with a stack of folded clothes, looking at me as she puts them away in my dresser and then walks over to me. “You’re going to meet him, aren’t you?” I nod slowly, unsure if she is going to tell on me or not. “Good. Just make sure you get home safely and protect yourself. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing, keeping this from your parents? I know your dad is rough on you but maybe it’s time to tell him the truth.” My heart races because deep down I know she’s wrong. It’s not time. It may never be time until I can move out.

  I shake my head and swallow hard. “No, Mimi. He’s not ready to hear about me and Brock, he may never be. Mom knows though.” She smiles. “I’m so relieved but terrified all at the same time. I have to be careful.” I stand and face her, taking her hands in mine. “You can’t tell a soul, Mimi. I’m planning on moving out as soon as I turn twenty one next month. I’ll get the money Daddy promised and Brock and I can be together, out in the open, like a real couple. That’s what will make me happy.”

  She releases my hands and takes me in her arms. “I know it will, honey. I will help in any way I can. Everyone deserves happiness, especially you.”

  I lean in and kiss her cheek. She’s always been so good to me. “Thank you, Mimi. I’ve got to go but I promise I won’t be too late and I’ll be careful.”

  “Good. Your dad is out of the house running some errands. Now would be a good time to leave. I’ll let him know when he returns that you’re out on a date. I just won’t say with whom. It won’t be a total lie that way.” She winks. God, I’m so fortunate to have her.

  I grab my bag, smiling and start towards the door. “Thanks! Love you!” She calls back her love to me as I walk out the door and run down the stairs.

  I have a hard time lugging my bag without falling down the long hill to the dirt road but finally manage to get there. After walking across the road and into the thick wooded trees, I make it to the creek and see Brock’s truck already parked in the same place it normally is when we meet here, but he’s not in it. I slip twice as I make my way across the big rocks in the creek, cold water splashing over my tennis shoes and legs then start the trek through the clearing and across the field. The gentle breeze blows the overgrown grass and also making my long hair whip around me and into my face. I didn’t want to tie it back today, wanting his fingers to tangle in it, just how I love. The shack is in my sight, hidden behind the growth, and my heart beats wildly in anticipation. I always feel this way when I get to see him. He’s the most handsome, strong but yet gentle man I’ve ever known. I chuckle to myself as I remember how scrawny he was when we were younger, how he would try to flex his muscles telling me he’d been working out with Kane. God, I miss those times.

  I open the door to the shack, the hinge creaking, and step into the small room. The lamps are lit, a nice breeze flowing in from the raised window, fresh flowers in a vase on the table and the bucket chilling some drinks by the futon. I look over at Brock, laying on the cot, and gasp. My hands fly over my mouth as I drop my bag with a thud and run over to him. I sit down next to him and reach over to touch his swollen cheek. “Oh, my God! Brock! What happened?” His eye is swollen shut. A small bandage runs along his cheek and there’s another one underneath it. It is all swollen, purple and red. I’m afraid to touch his injuries, so I quickly get up and run to the cooler on the floor, open it and grab a cloth. I practically throw ice into it, wrap it up and run it back over to him, gently laying it against his swollen eye. He winces and so do I.

  “It’s nothing, Taren. Not a big deal.” He winces again.

  I concentrate on what I’m doing but my anger begins to steam. “Nothing? Brock, have you seen your face?” He captures my wrist, pulling me down until his mouth is pressed against mine. I’m having a hard time staying mad at him when his touch travels all the way down my body, but I am still concerned and don’t want to hurt him. “Brock. Mmmm,” I moan and then kiss him harder. His hand weaves underneath my long hair. His fingers tangle into the strands, and I can’t think straight anymore. What was I gonna say? He releases my wrist. His hand touches my throat, sliding down my chest and then cups my breast. I raise my hand, placing it over the side of his face, my thumb starting to rub his jaw when he winces, his mouth snapping shut, muffling his groan. “Oh, shit!” I yell as I sit up straight. My heart is beating so fast. Partly due to my desire but mostly due to hurting him.

  He struggles to sit up and I’m afraid to touch him anymore. “I’m ok, Taren. Really. It looks worse than it feels.” He winces again, his hand moving to this side. “Okay, it does hurt a little but really I’m fine. Can
you get me a beer, please?”

  I stand, grab him and me both a beer and bring one to him, sit back down on the bed and suddenly feel like I could cry. He looks at me, takes my beer and twist off the cap then hands it back to me. “Don’t cry, baby. I’m really ok. It’s all on the surface. They’ll heal. Come here.” He holds out his hand, and I place mine in it then move over until I’m sitting next to his good side. His arm wraps around my shoulders and squeezes. “See? I still have a good side left that I can cuddle with.”

  A sob escapes me intermingled with a laugh and his hold tightens. “Who did this, Brock?” I look over at him and by the sound of his silence I know he’s not going to tell me. “Brock, please. Was it because of me?” He’s always been so strong, so tough. I have to know or it will drive me crazy. Who would do this? Deep down, I have a feeling I know.

  He turns his head, looks me in the eye and frowns. “Taren, you need to change your plan and stay away from Stratton. He’s no good and I don’t trust him. You shouldn’t trust him.” Anger swells within me. That’s exactly who I thought it was.

  “He did this to you?” My voice raises an octave and my hand clenches into a fist.

  He winces as he reaches across me, laying his warm hand against my face. It’s so hard to look at his battered face as only one of his eyes searches mine. “Baby, just promise me you’ll call off the deal and stay away from him. We’ll figure out another way to be together. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’d die first.” I swallow hard and lay my head on his shoulder. His fingers brush away my fallen hair as he kisses my forehead.

  “I want to hit him back, make him pay for doing that to you,” I respond, my eyes looking up at him. “Why? Why would he do this to you? I don’t understand.”

  “It was a warning, Taren, to stay away from you.” I gasp, not able to stop my reaction. “We’ll find a way to be together, baby. We don’t need your money. We can have everything we need just being together. Don’t you understand that? Did you know your mom came to see mine?” I rise up, my mouth opening in shock and realization hits me. “Yeah, it was kind of awkward since I was there but she was really cool about everything. She’s on our side, Taren.” He smiles as he pushes some of my hair behind my ear, leaving his hand there. “I’m sure she’d help us and Ma too. We have support, Taren. We can make this work. Even Irish and Kane would be there for us.”

  “And you’re dad? Is he behind us?” I whisper.

  His face scrunches, and I know the answer. “Doesn’t matter. We have everyone else. If you keep your plan, something bad’s gonna happen. I don’t want you to get hurt or lose you, baby. Please say you’ll call it off. We’ll make a new plan, one that will finally let us be together. Talk to your mom. Tell her what’s happened and what Stratton is really like. I’m sure if she knew she wouldn’t want you to be with him. I bet Mimi would help too. You know she has a soft spot for me.” He smiles, but it seems one sided with his swollen face so it turns into a lopsided smirk.

  I laugh and run my fingers over his bare chest under his half opened shirt. “That’s true. I think she does have a crush on you.” The lights flicker and I turn to the window to see it’s darkened outside, a heavy gust of air blows through the shack. Thunder rumbles in the distance. “A storm’s brewing.” I turn back to Brock and smile. “Okay. We’ll figure something out. I didn’t care about the money other than it would really help us start out but I trust you. I trust us.” I lean down, my mouth covers his and all I can think about is his lips and nothing else matters.

  Brock

  We end up sitting in each other’s arms for about three hours, talking, kissing, munching, and kissing some more and making plans. She gets up, and I watch her cute ass sway in her shorts as she walks to her bag. When she bends over to pick it up, I want to run over and bring her back to bed. Sadly, I’m not very fast right now with my injuries. Fucking Stratton. She has to get away from him. I meant what I told her.

  Thunder roars again outside, and the rain begins to pelt against the window. She walks over to it, lowers it until only a crack is open and then walks back across the room, doing something on the counter that I can’t make out. I look at my watch. It’s only five thirty, and it looks like it’s nighttime from the darkness of the storm. I reach over and turn the radio on. Music flows in the small area. She turns her head, smiling at me and my heart flutters. She really is the most beautiful creature on earth. She turns and walks back to me, climbing onto the cot with a bowl of assorted fruit and cheeses and snuggles close as my arm wraps around her. I don’t think I can ever get close enough to her.

  “We may need to leave a little early or ride out the storm. I want you to be able to get home safely.”

  She answers by putting a grape up to my mouth, and I pull it in, and then suck on her fingers. “I say we ride it out,” she whispers. Her eyes deepen with lust, her voice low and sexy.

  I take the bowl of goodies from her lap, wanting some other kind of sweetness as quickly as possible. I turn to my left, wincing as I set it down on the small table and then turn back to my girl. My hand moves underneath her long soft hair, wrapping around the back of her neck, urging her to lean in and my mouth is on hers instantly. “I think…. There’s a lot we can do…. to occupy our time,” I whisper as I kiss her lips in between.

  “Mmmmm,” she moans as my tongue moves into her luscious mouth, tasting grapes, and her sweetness intermingled.

  I slowly slide down, my other hand grasping her upper arm, and I try to hide the pain as she moves on top of me. Her hands move up and into my hair. Even though I keep it fairly short, there’s enough there for her fingers to tangle and tug. I’m not sure which is worse at this point, the pain from my injuries or my hardened cock. Her lips release mine, and I’m about to protest until her body moves down mine. Her mouth trails hot kisses on my chest. Her hands leave my hair and unbutton my shirt along the way. Fuck! She’s killing me here! Once my shirt is completely open, she rises, sitting back on my thighs, pulling my shirt aside. I move up, biting my lip from the pain, and watch her remove it. As I lay back down, she unbuttons my jeans, sliding the zipper down slowly all the while staring into my eyes, hers full of desire. God, she’s fucking sexy! She moves backwards, stands on the floor at the end of the cot as she pulls my jeans off completely. I think by the widening of her eyes she’s a little shocked to find I’m commando.

  Before I start begging her to come back to me, she starts unbuttoning her blouse. Slowly. My heart beats frantically as she removes it off one shoulder, then the other, dropping it on the floor, giving me my own private teasing. She’s wearing a baby pink bra, lace around the top and a little bow in the middle. She turns, reaches behind her, and unclasps the hook. I swallow hard as she removes it completely, turning back around facing me. My cock is embarrassingly hard and standing at attention. Not like it’s the first time, definitely won’t be the last. My body always reacts this way around her. But this? Fuck! She’s so pure and unknowingly sexy. Only been touched by me.

  I can’t stop my hand from reaching down, grasping my more than aching cock and begin stroking as she unbuttons her jean shorts. She looks down, watching me, and licks her lips as she shimmies out of them. I watch as she slides her matching panties down her long legs and I stroke a little harder as she steps out of them. She’s killing me.

  She crawls on the cot in between my outstretched legs, and when she pushes my hand away, she puts her fuck hot mouth over the top of my cock and I about lose it right then. Hottest thing ever! This is something I’ve always wanted her to do but never prompted, always waited until she felt comfortable enough. But I always prayed she would. Shit, what guy doesn’t? I look at her full lips wrapped around my cock as she sucks. A loud guttural moan leaves my mouth. She releases me, licks the tip and I grab her upper arms quickly. “Baby, I’m about to lose it and want to be inside you.” She puts her knees on the mattress on either side of my legs as I keep my hold of her arms and she takes my cock in her small hand. Aiming f
or her entrance as she slowly sits down, making me go so deep inside her.

  “Ugh!” She moans as I fill her full. “God, so deep, so good.”

  She begins to rock and I move in and out, each time she gasps and moans. Those beautiful, sexy noises she’s making just spurs me on that much more. I thrust harder each time until I feel her muscles clamp around my cock as well as her legs squeezing mine, and I know she’s close. Her legs begin to shake, and I watch her beautiful face as she comes undone. “BROCK!” she screams and collapses on top of me. I pump into her a few more times, my own release surging through me.

  “Taren!” My voice is hoarse as my entire body shudders, and I release everything I have into her. She shivers and I manage to bring her to my side, struggling to pull the covers over us as she cuddles into me. The pain I feel doesn’t come close to the ecstasy that’s filled me as I hold her close, brushing her long hair back with my hand and kiss her damp forehead. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” I whisper against her warm skin.

  She looks up at me through her long lashes and smiles. “That was amazing and so hot.”

  I smile back and kiss her nose. “It was sexy as hell.”

  She giggles, rubbing her nose against my lips. “I think you’ve worn me out, Mr. Evans.”

  I lay my head back down as she snuggles back into me. “Then sleep, my love.”

  I close the only eye that’s open and soon I fall into a deep sleep, comfortable with her in my arms.

  My arm moves up, and I can barely make out the time on my watch. I reach over and shake Taren, who had rolled over onto her other side and was still sleeping. “Taren? Baby, it’s after eleven thirty. Let’s get you home.” Thunder roars as a large boom sounds, the rain extremely loud outside. She rolls halfway, turning her head, and looks at me sleepily then her eyes widen, and she jumps out of bed.