Ember Skies

by Nicky Crawford

  After what seems like forever, she finally calms down enough to speak, “I’m sorry, Dalton. That entire scene was too much. I love how she grabbed your junk in front of me. She’s a classy one.”

  I pulled Ember to her feet and walked to my porch. After pouring whiskey into two shot glasses, I sat next to her on my porch swing and handed her a shot. With no space between us, she smiles, clanks her shot glass against mine, and yells, “To being a whore and an asshole, cheers!”

  This girl is too much. Austin doesn’t realize how damn lucky he is. “Em, I want to show you something. Why don’t you head back to the fire and I’ll be right back.”

  I grab her hand and help her stand. She stumbles a little, falling against my chest. I don’t think she realized I was watching, but she leaned closer into me, breathed in my scent, and smiled. She is going to be the death of me.

  As Ember walked back to the fire, I head inside to grab my guitar. I’ve been playing the guitar since I was little. I rarely play for people, but I really want to play for Ember. Walking out of my spare bedroom, I spot Ember frozen in place and starring at something.

  As I walk closer, I see Austin and Lexi in midst of a hot and heavy make out session. She is on his lap, legs wrapped around his waist, and his hands are gripping her ass. They have no idea we are standing here. I try to read the look on Ember’s face, but I can’t. When I go to touch her arm, she jerks away and glares at me.

  She had no idea I was standing there and when she registers that it’s me, she relaxes, “I... I just had to use the bathroom.” Taking her hand, I walk her to the bathroom. When she is done, I intertwine my fingers with hers, and lead her back outside.

  Walking back to the fire, I rack my brain on what I should do. Do I go back inside and kick Austin’s ass? Do I sit here and comfort Ember, letting her cry it out? Or maybe both. Yeah, both. I lead Ember to a bench by the fire, “Em, I’ll be right back.”

  As I turn to make my way back inside, Ember grabs my arm and I turn around to meet her, “Dalton, don’t. He isn’t worth it. Please, let it go. Will you play for me?”

  I don’t want to let it go. I want to march inside and kick his ass for hurting Ember, but her eyes are pleading with me to stay. I feel so conflicted, “But, Em…”

  She lightly presses her finger against my lips, silencing me. She walks over to my guitar case, opens it, and carefully lifts my guitar out. Placing it in my hand, she smiles and sits back down on the bench.

  I want to say something else or run inside before she can stop me, but I don’t. I want to make her happy, and if playing music for her will do that, then who am I to argue. I sit next to her and begin to play. When I open my mouth and start singing, Ember’s smile lights up her whole face. The sight alone causes the rage I feel toward Austin to instantly melt away.

  I play song after song, most I had written myself. When I finish the last one, I put my guitar back and extend my hand to her, “Ember, dance with me.”

  Her eyes meet mine, curiosity flashing in them, “How will we dance with no music? You put your guitar away.”

  “We don’t need music, baby.” I pull her into my arms; holding her close, I begin to hum. We sway back and forth, savoring the feel of each other’s touch.

  I gently stroke her hair while her face presses against my chest. I kiss the top of her head and hold her tighter in my arms, loving the feel of being so close. We stay that way for a while, but the sounds of laughter shift our attention. Austin and Lexi are standing on the porch, filling shot glasses. Ember and I separate; the loss of contact makes me feel so empty. She shakes her head at me, silently letting me know I need to keep my cool.

  When Lexi and Austin finally make their way over to us, we pretend like nothing happened. As difficult as it is to refrain from calling Austin out, I keep my mouth shut because I want to make Ember happy.

  Ember smiles and then looks toward Lexi, “So Lexi, how do you know Austin?”

  “From work.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you are in the Army, also.”

  Lexi lets out a huff, as if annoyed by Ember’s words, “Umm, no. My work. I’m a dancer.”

  I choke on my beer and spit a little into the air in front of me. I never asked where Lexi works or how Austin even knew her. Honestly, before I agreed to this date, I thought Ember knew who she was.

  Ember turned to Austin with a strange look, one I couldn’t quite place, “Austin, I didn’t know you like the ballet.”

  I couldn’t help myself. I burst out in a fit of laughter, doubled over and gasping for breath. Lexi gave Ember a disgusted look while Ember winked at me.

  Austin turned to Ember, completely oblivious to the entire conversation, “The what?”

  “The ballet.” Ember said, “Lexi told me she’s a dancer and you met at her work. I never knew you liked the ballet.”

  Austin’s expression was almost nervous. He shot daggers at Lexi who was too busy eyeing Ember to notice. Before Austin could reply, Lexi huffed and rolled her eyes, “I’m not a fucking ballerina. I’m a stripper. Are you really that dense?”

  “I only went once. It was a bachelor party. I told you about that.”

  “Auuustin. Don’t be so modest. He comes for a lap dance every weekend.”

  Ember doesn’t even seem phased as she listens to Austin and Lexi spout off their bullshit.

  “Every weekend, huh?” Ember said as she looks at Austin.

  As Austin says, “No, just that once.”

  Lexi replies with, “Yup, every weekend.” at the same exact time.

  Austin stood, shooting Lexi a harsh glare, “You just don’t know when to shut the fuck up do you? Dumb bitch.”

  Lexi stood too, her mouth hung open in disbelief, “You… you’re an asshole, Austin.” She said as she turned and ran toward the house.

  Austin stood for a moment before walking after her, leaving me completely speechless and Ember with an embarrassed look on her face.

  “Are you okay, Ember?” she didn’t answer. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, body still. “Em?”

  “Huh? What? Oh yeah, yeah, I’m okay.”

  “No you’re not. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Later, okay? I just need a minute, or several.”

  “I’m here if you need me, babe.”

  I woke up disoriented with a hangover from hell. Austin and Lexi are passed out on the floor and Dalton is nowhere to be found. I make my way to the bathroom to barf up the three s’mores I ate last night, plus of course the copious amounts of alcohol I consumed. Making my way into the kitchen, I am blinded by the sunlight shining in through the window.

  Dalton is rummaging through the cupboards, clearly not as affected by our binge drinking session as I am. “Dalton, why is the sun so loud?”

  He starts laughing and hands me a glass of water with two aspirin, “The sun isn’t loud, honey, you’re just hungover.”

  I sat down at the table, took the pills, and shook my head, “I beg to differ. I am not hungover, I am dying. I’m also pretty sure I sprained my liver. Holy hell, Dalton, how are you functioning right now?”

  Dalton laughs as if I said something funny, but everything I told him was true. I’m fairly certain I am in fact dying. I rest my head on the table, trying to ward off the impending vomit war that is going on inside me, when Dalton sits down next to me, “Em, do you want to talk about last night before those two wake up?”

  Umm, the last thing I want to discuss with the man I’m trying not to have feelings for, is how my husband made out with Malibu Barbie last night and how I found out that he frequently visits her at the strip club where she works.

  “Thank you for being concerned about me, but don’t be. I’m fine and I would rather not talk about it right now.”

  Dalton looks toward the living room. When he is satisfied that the two scumbags are still asleep, he places a kiss on my forehead. Grabbing my hands, he whispers, “I will not stop being concerned about you, Ember. I know you’re in a shit
ty situation right now and I want to help you. Let me help you.”

  “No one can help me. I have to figure this out on my own. It’s… complicated.”

  “No, Em. You do not have to do this alone. Why are you being so stubborn about this?” I pull my hands away from Dalton and place them in my lap. I’m not stubborn, well maybe I am, but he doesn’t understand the risk. I cannot lose Harlee.

  I stand up and walk outside. It’s nice to be out here, away from civilization. I inhale deeply through my nose, savoring the smell of dew and pine trees. Dalton follows behind me and when his hand lands on my shoulder, I step off the porch and glance at the puffy white clouds hovering over us. The sun is not as loud as it was when I woke up. I hear Dalton’s footsteps slowly descend the stairs, but I keep my eyes fixed on the sky.

  “Ember?”

  “Please, stop worrying about me, Dalton.”

  “Look at me, Ember.”

  I refuse to make eye contact. He is my weakness and I cannot afford to be weak.

  “Just look at me, please.”

  Eyes on the sky, Ember! Eyes on the sky! Dalton’s hand lightly grips my arm and he turns me toward him. I look down, trying my hardest to avoid eye contact.

  His hands cup my face, forcing me to look at him. “I will not stop worrying about you, Ember. I want you to confide in me. Don’t shut me out. I’m not him. I will never be like him.”

  I push him away, desperately needing to hide somewhere and let my emotions consume me. I barely turn around when his hands are back on my face, holding my head to meet his gaze, “Why are you doing this, Dalton?”

  “Are you happy, Ember? Does Austin make you happy? He’s a piece of shit. Let me help you get away from him.”

  “No. It’s too risky. Why do you even care?”

  “Are you kidding? I’m crazy about you. Surely you realize that. He doesn’t deserve you. Hell, I don’t deserve you, but I need you in my life. I just want you to be happy, and I know I can make you happy.”

  “He’s my husband and I barely know you, Dalton.” I feel like I’m at the Kentucky Derby, but instead of horses, my tears are on the track. Ember’s tears are rounding the last turn, making their way out of her eyes. Oh it’s a close race folks, let’s see which tear wins first.

  The first tear crosses the finish line and Dalton wipes it away with his thumb, “You’re right, we barely know each other, but can you honestly deny that there is something between us? Can you deny that I make you smile and laugh when we are together?”

  I look deeply into Dalton’s eyes. His gaze is fluttering with conflict and sincerity. What am I doing? I mean, I haven’t loved Austin for a very long time. He has turned into the one person he always tried to be nothing like, his father. His father was an abusive alcoholic who never gave two damns about anyone. He was awful to Austin’s mom and used harsh discipline methods on both his sons. I always told Austin he would not turn out like him, but once Austin started drinking, he became the spitting image of his father.

  Denying that Dalton and I have a connection would be absolutely pointless. It’s abundantly clear that I am starting to have feelings for him and he is becoming relentless about letting me know how he feels. I am so damn conflicted, but I need to be honest with Dalton.

  “Yes, okay. Yes. You have made me smile and laugh more in the last week than I have in years. You make me feel appreciated and cared for, but Dalton, we just met. How can these feelings be anything more than just infatuation?”

  “I’m sorry, Ember. I know we just met, but I cannot help the way I feel about you. All I ask is that you let me help you, not for us, but for you and Harlee. And please, please don’t shut me out.”

  I smile and nod. I want to run for the hills, but who am I kidding; I haven’t felt a connection like this to a man, ever. Even when things were great between me and Austin, I never felt anything close to this. Noises in the house let us know that we are no longer the only ones awake. Dalton’s hands drop to his side and we step back from each other.

  Austin stumbles onto the porch with his hands over his eyes, “Fuck, Bates, please tell me you have aspirin or something, man.”

  Dalton winks at me and walks inside to retrieve the pills. We follow him into the kitchen as Lexi walks in from the bathroom. Malibu Barbie does not look too hot this morning. Her mascara has collected around her eyes, making her resemble a raccoon, and her hair is full of tangles that I suspect were created by Austin’s hands in her hair during what I assume was another late night make out session, at the very least.

  Silence fills the room as Austin and Lexi drink water and nurse their feverish hangovers. I feel so exhausted, but my hangover dissipated immensely during my talk with Dalton, minus the headache. I’ll be good as long as I don’t feel the need to expel my organs through my mouth. Hopefully I can nap today and avoid Austin at all costs.

  I open the slider door, noting how messy we made things last night. Alcohol bottles, beer cans, and wrappers are sprawled around everywhere. I head outside and busy myself with clean up duties.

  Dalton steps outside and grabs the trash bag from my hands, “I’ll clean this up later, just relax for a while.” I snatched the trash bag back, “I’m helping you, that’s all there is to it. Come on you guys. Fight through your hangover of death and help us pick up.”

  “I’m not cleaning anything. I feel awful so I’m staying right in this chair.”

  I let out a small laugh and make my way over to Lexi. Leaning into her ear, I speak softly, “Let me tell you how this is going to work. You’re going to get your skanky ass up and help us clean, or I’m going to pull you out of that chair by your hair.”

  Lexi’s head snapped to mine. She clearly isn’t going down without a fight. “Oh honey, is someone butt-hurt that her husband was sucking face with another girl?”

  She thinks she can hurt me, but she is seriously mistaken, “Actually, cuntcake, you did me a favor. Now get outside and help us clean before I forget my manners entirely.”

  Lexi huffed and made her way outside.

  Austin was cleaning up around where we had the fire and Dalton was standing on the porch, looking at me with what I can only guess was pride, “I’m proud of you, Em.” Yup, I was right, pride. “Why? Because I didn’t throat punch her, or because I didn’t cry?”

  “Both, but mostly for standing up for yourself. You should do the same with Austin.” I shot daggers at Dalton and he immediately looked away and continued to clean up. Everything he says is correct. I cannot be mad at him for stating the truth, but he doesn’t understand. I know I’ve let this go on for way too long, but I have yet to find a way to leave Austin without serious repercussions. If he wasn’t well known both in and out of the military, I would have left him a long time ago. Sadly, a lot of people look up to him and I truly believe that he would ruin me and be awarded custody of Harlee if I left. Maybe I do need Dalton’s help, but what would that look like? Everyone would assume I was having an affair and that would be one more thing against me. No matter how awful Austin is, or how I’m starting to feel about Dalton, I am not and will never be a cheater. I need to talk to Harper and when I go to Alabama to get Harlee, I’ll have plenty of alone time to think.

  “Oh. My. God! There are so many bugs out here! Daaaalton! Take me home.” Is she serious right now? Bugs are the least of Lexi’s concerns. Dalton looks at me and rolls his eyes. At least he is equally as annoyed with her as I am. It shows that I’m not just being overly dramatic about my negative feelings toward Malibu Barbie.

  “Go inside, Lexi. We only have a little left to clean and we can take you home.” Exfuckingcuse me! Austin has lost his damn mind.

  Dalton clearly feels the heat radiating off me from all the rage I am harboring. He wastes no time trying to defuse the situation. “Austin, it’s cool man. I’ll take Lexi home.”

  “Oh no, Dalton. I’ll just catch a ride with Austin.”

  Austin walks closer to us, clearly oblivious to my anger. “Yeah Bates, no sense
in you going out. Her house is right on the way to ours.”

  How does he know where Lexi lives? I’m not even going to put up a fight about taking her home. My head is two seconds away from exploding like a pumpkin does when you shoot a bullet through it.

  “Fine! We will take her home.” Dalton looks at me as if I’m nuts, Austin glares as if my opinion wouldn’t have mattered anyway, and Malibu fucking Barbie looks like she just got picked up by a billionaire while hooking herself out on the corner of Whore Street and Slut Avenue. Even though all eyes are on me, no one says a word.

  The three of us finish cleaning up while Lexi lounges inside. When it’s time to leave, Lexi heads right outside to the truck, completely avoiding any sort of good-bye. Austin shakes Dalton’s hand and follows closely behind Lexi. I smile at Dalton, the tension building around us as we inch closer to each other, slowly separating the distance.

  His arms wrap around my neck, pulling me into a tight hug. A hug that feels so right. One that makes me feel like our bodies were meant to connect to each other. I pull away before my emotions get the best of me. The loss of his body heat instantly makes me sad, and I’m certain my face is doing a horrible job of hiding my sadness.

  Dalton’s hand slips under my chin, pulling my head up so we are eye to eye, “I… I’m here for you, Em. Okay? Just know that I am always here for you.” His lips meet my forehead, lingering for what seems like hours. When he takes a step back, half his mouth tips up in a half smile; he is clearly as conflicted as I am.

  The sound of Austin’s truck horn startles me. I rush toward Dalton, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him close to me. Before he can say anything else, I’m out the door and inside the truck. I lean my head against the window. Shutting my eyes, I take a moment to savor the silence, but my calm state melts quickly when Lexi decides to open her mouth.

  “What a fun night, we totally have to do this again.”

  Austin offers her a smug smile, apparently on board with her stupid idea. Am I losing my damn mind? Do they not remember what happened last night, or are they dumb enough to think I, what, forgot?