Menace

by Laramie Briscoe

  “Karina, we got a problem. It looks like a whole shit-ton of bottled up moonshine.”

  Immediately I realize what this means for the school. The fears that Mason had are founded – someone has been deliberately hurting the kids for the school year, and judging by the amount in there, they plan on continuing to do it. Putting my phone up to my ear, I dial 911. Other people besides us need to see this.

  Even if the whole situation is doing nothing but making me sick to my stomach.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Menace

  Karina’s head on my chest with her arms wrapped around my waist is my favorite place to be. Here, I don’t worry about what Caleb’s doing. If he’s eating, if he’s sleeping, are his coaches and teammates giving him a hard time, is he screwing around with girls he shouldn’t be? I don’t worry about what’s going on in this town with the moonshine business. My brain isn’t traveling fifty thousand miles an hour trying to unravel the mystery of how the moonshine is in the school. For the brief moments she’s in my arms and I’m in hers, my brain is quiet, my thoughts are peaceful. The only thing I think about is how good it feels to have a partner. How warm and loved I feel with her beside me. It’s an emotion I’d never known until I’d met her.

  “You’re quiet,” she comments as she runs her foot up my leg.

  “Just thinking.” I roll over so that we’re now facing each other, holding her in my arms.

  “What are you thinking?” She smiles, running her finger along my jawline. Those green eyes of her are inquisitive and as bright as they always are. If there’s one thing this woman has more than any other person I’ve ever met, it’s a love of life.

  My thoughts are more than likely not what she’s assuming. In fact, I’m surprising myself with the direction my thoughts have taken. First and foremost, I’m wondering what it would be like to wake up with her next to me every morning. I’m trying to figure out why I’ve wasted so much of my life living one way, when I’ve always wanted to be the settled guy. I’ve always wanted to give Caleb the family he never had, always dreamed of having a partner. In the midst of this thing Karina and I have started, I’ve come to know what that actually means. How good it feels to have a partner, and I don’t want to give it up. I’ve not planned any of this, but I feel such an urge, I blurt out the words that are on an infinite repeating scroll in my mind.

  Voice hoarse, hands shaking, stomach in knots, I ask the question that’s been rolling through my mind. “Marry me, Rina. Make me the happiest man in the world, and marry me.”

  Her surprise is written across her face, evident in the way her eyes widen, and the shock. “Mason, we haven’t been together that long.” She shakes her head. For the first time I see fear from her.

  “I’m not like that other guy.” I cup her face the palms of my hands, holding her steady, forcing her to look at me. “I’m not your ex-fiancé. I know what I would lose if I lost you, and I’m not planning on doing it.” I tilt my head back in frustration for a second. “I’m just a guy, totally in love with a woman, who’s waited more years than most to start that part of his life. I’ve never felt like this for anyone else, know deep down that I’ll never feel like this for anyone ever again. Why wait, Rina? Why wait when I know I’m never going to love anyone else as much as I love you. My job is dangerous, and tomorrow is not promised.” My voice is hoarse as I give her some reality. Every day when I leave the house, there’s a possibility I won’t come home. It’s always mattered, because of Caleb, but now it’s more acute. This woman has my heart; I don’t want to leave her alone, should it come to that. More than anything I’m desperately wanting to spend whatever time I have left on this earth with her, making memories that last a lifetime, telling our grandkids about how we met, and how the attraction was so fucking instantaneous that I knew in the moment she would be mine forever.

  “I just love you, and I just want to make memories with you, Rina. Fuck that other guy; he didn’t know what he had. He let go of you so we could find each other. Don’t you believe that?”

  Our eyes meet, I can see the fear in the depths of those green orbs, but I can also see her wanting to say yes. There’s a yearning I’ve never seen before.

  “Let me give you everything I have. My love, my heart, my last name. It’s all yours. All you have to do is say yes. Even if you don’t say yes–,” I lean my forehead into hers, “–I’ll get it. It’s only been a few months, but this feeling isn’t going anywhere. You can guarantee that above everything else. This catch in my chest when I see you, the pounding of my heart, the smile that instantly spreads across my face? It’s going to be there every fucking time I see you, no matter if we’re together for a few months or a few dozen years.”

  “Yes.” I faintly hear a whisper, feel wetness when I reach up with my thumbs. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “You will?” My stomach that’s been doing somersaults since I asked is now gurgling with joy. My heart which has been nervously pumping is now happily pounding with excitement.

  She chokes out a laugh. “If you didn’t think I’d say yes, why did you ask?”

  “I hoped you would.” I let go of her and reach over to the bedside table, opening the drawer and grabbing out the ring Caleb helped me pick out when we were together over the weekend. “This is for you.”

  “You have a ring!!??” she squeals, sitting up, forgetting about being naked under the sheet.

  “You think I’d ask without one? Caleb helped me pick it out. When he and I met for the afternoon, this is what we did.”

  “Then I know it’s perfect.” Her voice shakes as I open the box and show her the oval diamond set in rose gold. It’s classic and timeless, everything she is wrapped up in a small trinket of my affection. The way she gasps when it comes into her view lets me know we’ve done a good job.

  Sliding off the bed, in all my naked glory, I get down on one knee, holding out my hand for hers. “Karina Holland, will you share my life with me? Be my wife and come on this journey with me.”

  “Yes,” she answers again, letting me slide the ring on her finger before she vaults off the bed, throwing her arms around my neck, kissing me, wrapping herself around me. “Yes, yes, yes!” She pulls back, and it’s there in those eyes, where there had been fear minutes ago, I see the promise of my future.

  “I’ll make you happy, Rina, I swear.”

  “You already do, big guy.” She plays with my hair, running the strands through her fingers. The goofy smile on her face, I know is mirrored in mine, and I’m not sure those will ever go away. “Nobody’s ever made me happier, and I can’t wait to do life with you.”

  Life with her? Going to be the best ever.

  Karina

  Happiness was always something that seemed to elude me. Something that seemed like everyone else had. I’d thought I was happy in Philly, until I came to Laurel Springs and realized what happiness really was. Now that I’m with Mason, I know I was content, but I wasn’t happy. Every morning I wake up ready to face the day, ready to spend it with him, and to see what kind of trouble we can get into. Since the school year ended, there hasn’t been much on the moonshine front, so it’s allowed Mason to keep a regular schedule. It also affirms his thought that someone inside the school is the supplier. As I lie in bed this morning, all those thoughts are running through my head, but the one thing that outweighs all of it, is the new engagement ring sitting on my finger.

  Lifting Mason’s arm from around my waist, I carefully crawl out from under the blanket. Once I get to the kitchen, I do everything I can to contain a squeal, the squeal I’d wanted to give into last night when he’d proposed. When I know I can’t, I quickly make my way out to the back deck, run through the freshly cut yard and do a little dance while squealing to my heart’s content. As I walk back to the house, I realize something else. I’m dying to share this momentous occasion with someone who will understand.

  Grabbing my cell phone, I take a picture of my finger and attach it to a group message w
ith Violet and Leigh.

  K: So this happened last night.

  I don’t expect them to answer quickly, considering it’s early in the morning. Earlier than I realized when I see it’s barely pushing seven. But I’m surprised as they respond.

  V: OMG, Karina!!! Is that what I think it is?? Did you and Mason get engaged???

  L: What the what??? It’s gorgeous! Congrats girl!

  K: We did! Thank you all so much, it was completely unexpected, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my life.

  L: Girl, Whitney will be all over this!

  K: I’m gonna let her, I’ve already planned one wedding that didn’t take place. I’m not looking to do it again.

  V: So many congratulations!! We need to get together to scream about this – all of us!

  As I agree that we need to meet up, we end our conversation, and I decide there’s one more person that I want to inform. The next people should probably be my parents, but Caleb has been such a large part of our relationship, I want him to be one of the first to know.

  K: Thank you so much for helping your dad pick this out! I can’t wait to officially be a part of your family.

  I fire off the text to Caleb, feeling a little weepy, wishing he were here for me to hug. Quickly he became a part of my life I didn’t know I was missing and if it hadn’t been for him, Mason and I wouldn’t be together now.

  C: You’ve been a part of our family since Dad took you out on a date. Don’t think you haven’t. I can’t wait to freak people out by calling you Mom.

  K: LMAO!!

  C: I gotta go to an early morning workout, but I love you, Kari. Thanks for completing our family. I can’t wait to be an older brother.

  K: Have a good practice! Love you too, kiddo.

  And with the biggest smile on my face, I go about my day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Karina

  July

  There have been a lot of times in my life when I imagined my wedding day, especially when I was engaged before. That day was supposed to be the most magical day of my life. It had been planned for almost a year. The dress had cost more than I’d been able to afford, but it had been a gift from my parents, and the honeymoon was more than my yearly salary. That had been a gift from his parents. I still wonder to this day if they’d known what was going on. If that had been their way of trying to buy me off. I should have known something was up when they’d been all too eager to spend what could have been a down payment on a nice home to send us away.

  All of that though, it pales in comparison to what this day means to me. Last week when Mason had asked me to marry him, I’d imagined a long engagement. I’d thought maybe we’d get married next summer before Caleb started workouts for next year, but the more I’d thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t want to wait.

  Which is why, at this moment, everyone we hold dear to us is standing in the backyard of Whitney and Ryan’s home, waiting to watch me walk down a makeshift aisle in a gorgeous dress I found two days ago.

  “You sure you’re ready for this?” my dad asks as he holds out his arm for me to take. He and mom have met all the important people to us in a whirlwind. They came in on Thursday and now Saturday I’m getting married. Thank God for being a teacher and having summers free.

  “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” I assure him.

  As my dad and especially with my track record, I know he’s just making sure I’m ready, but at the same time he’s seen me with Mason. Anyone who’s seen me with Mason knows how much I adore him, how much he means to me, and the love and passion we share for one another.

  “I have to say-,” he nods, “–I was worried when you called us and told us you were getting married. I worried you were rushing into something because of what happened last time, but the more I’m around the two of you, the more I’m convinced this is the real deal.”

  “It is. I love him; I’m in love with him. I love Caleb, and we share some of the same friends. There isn’t a better man for me to marry. He treats me better than I deserve.”

  “There’s no such thing.”

  My dad never sees my flaws, never sees how I jump first without thinking, never sees how I don’t care about the ripples I cause if I believe in something, and he sure doesn’t see how wrong it probably was for me to sleep with Mason on the first date. But I’m beginning to learn that was the best impulse decision I’ve ever made.

  “We’re ready when you are.” Whitney brings in a bouquet as she crouches to fix my train.

  “Thank you again for getting this together on such short notice.” I’ve thanked her profusely numerous times, and at some point, I have a feeling she’s going to tell me to shut up.

  “Are you kidding? This is what I live for. If I can’t put a wedding together in a few days, I don’t need to be a wedding planner. Sometimes it’s fun for me to challenge my contacts and my skills. While it’s a little stressful, romantic situations like this are my best to do. It makes my heart pitter-patter that the two of you can’t wait to be married. That you don’t want to have a long engagement because you just want to be married now. When Mason told me that, I knew I would do everything in my power to make it happen for the two of you.”

  “Still I appreciate it.”

  “The thanks I get is when I see the groom’s face at the end of the aisle.” She smiles. “It’s my favorite part of weddings.”

  When I watch those videos on YouTube, they’re my favorite part too, and I can’t wait to see what Mason’s reaction is to me.

  “Alright, lady.” She pulls my veil over my face. “Let’s get you married.”

  With a gentle hand, my dad pulls me to the edge of the aisle that’s been set up for the night in their yard. A plain white runner leads to where the ceremony will take place. Glancing down at my shoes, I take a moment to gather my breath. I inhale, exhale, and vow to myself I will never forget what this feels like.

  Then I lift my head, look down the aisle, and stare directly into the eyes of the man I’ve come to love more than life itself, and as his gaze meets mine, the tears are almost instantaneous. I know without a doubt, this is the best decision I have ever made.

  “Let’s go, Dad, I have a groom you need to give me to.”

  I can feel him look over at me, but my eyes never leave Mason’s, not once as we make our way down the aisle.

  Menace

  My Rina is the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen. Not that I’ve seen a lot, but all of them pale in comparison to how she looks coming down the aisle toward me on her father’s arm. I’d had to fight back tears when I’d first seen her, gripping my hands in front of me tightly, hanging on to whatever I could in order not to let the emotions spill out from me in front of the fifty guests we invited to the wedding.

  “Dad, she looks amazing,” Caleb whispers to me from where he stands as my best man.

  “She’s gorgeous,” I answer back to him, my eyes never leaving her. So breathtaking I almost can’t get air into my lungs.

  Like a lot of things that have happened since she came into my life, I pinch myself, not sure I deserve it. Not at all sure I deserve the look of adoration she’s giving me as she floats down the aisle toward where Caleb and I stand.

  When her dad gives her hand over to me, I can’t help but talk to her before we turn to face the preacher. “You look amazing.”

  “Not so bad yourself, big guy.” She smirks, looking me up and down in the tux I wear.

  Given the way she’s eating me up with her eyes, maybe I’ll need to dress like this more often during the marriage.

  The ceremony is a blur. I know we exchange rings and repeat vows, but I can’t tear my eyes away from her. Can’t help but glance down at the neckline of the dress she wears, showing the upper swell of her breasts, can’t wait to take it off her and see what kind of lingerie she’s got covering herself underneath. There’s a primal part of me that can’t wait to claim my wife.

  “Do you Ka
rina, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  Those words bring me back to the present, they remind me that we have an audience, and me standing in front of a group of people with a hard-on is probably not the best thing for me to do right now.

  “Do you, Mason, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  “I do,” I answer, the same way she had.

  I let my eyes eat her up; don’t hold back the desire I’m feeling from her, let her see all of it exposed. She’s licking her lips, knowing what that does to me. And when we’re pronounced husband and wife and I’m fucking finally told I can kiss her, I crush her body to mine. The kiss is borderline inappropriate, but I’ve spent a lot of years of my life waiting for something like this to happen. If anyone deserves to do something inappropriate, it’s me.

  She takes the hand I hold out for her, and together we walk down the aisle as Caleb and Violet follow behind us. We try to get a moment alone, but immediately we’re waylaid by different family members and then photographers want pictures.

  It’s an hour later, when we’re finally getting into a limo taking us to the restaurant where we’re having a reception.

  “Finally got you alone.” I pull her into my arms, planning on disrupting the careful up-do her hair is in, planning on smearing the lipstick she wears. Karina is never this put-together and it kind of unnerves me to see her this way.

  “I never thought it would happen.” She willingly comes to me, straddling my lap as she situates herself. “God, you look good.” She runs her hands up my white tuxedo shirt.

  “Me?” I move the skirt of her dress away, unzip my pants, and press up into her. “Do you feel what I’ve been dealing with since I saw you walk down the aisle? You know how hard it was to keep this shit contained for pictures? You think I want someone to ask us in twenty years why grandpa has a tent in the front of his tuxedo pants in the wedding pictures?”

  “Yeah, well.” She reaches up, pulling down the front of her dress, easing up on her knees so that her nipples are at mouth level. “Thank God for padded bras because these would have given me away quicker than your hard cock would have.”