by L. L. Ash
-Don’t stop. I like talking to you.
-You won’t get fired or anything?
-HA! Uh no.
-What do you do there anyway?
-Whatever my dad needs,
-Any examples?
-Well, I oversee reservations and comment cards. That’s what I’m doing right now. And sometimes I smooze up the higher profile guests. That’s usually a riot cause they’re typically drunk.
-Do you drink?
-Sometimes. Do you?
-I’m underage.
-I know. That wasn’t the question.
I hesitated. I wasn’t sure how honest I wanted to be.
-Not usually. But I have before with my bestie.
There was a pause before another ding.
-Guess it’s kind of a right of passage.
-Did you drink when you were in high school?
-I had my moments.
-Would you get me beer if I asked nicely.
-Not even if you asked naked.
I burst out laughing at that.
-How are you still single? You’re too charming to be unattached.
-Never wanted a girlfriend, until now.
-Until now?
-We’ll see.
-Gotta pass the inspection first?
-Something like that. ;)
Our conversation tapered after that. I found my way over to bed and cuddled up with my phone just in case he texted again. He didn’t, but I certainly dreamed of him all night.
Come morning, I spent more than 3 hours primping before Tyler arrived. Dad had made it a point to be at the house at 2 so he could meet Tyler, and sure enough he showed up about 5 minutes in advance. I waited with an overnight bag and my quarterstaff bag by the door until I heard that purr coming from outside.
Dad must have heard it too because he came to the door to wait beside me. When Tyler knocked Dad answered.
“Hi,” Tyler said, holding out his hand. “I’m Tyler Harrison.”
“You’re taking Sammy to that competition?” he asked, not bothering to introduce himself.
Tyler’s head dipped in the affirmative.
“And you’re going to watch out for her? Protect her?”
“I’d never let anything happen to her. You won’t have to worry about that.”
Dad stood there for another minute, assessing the young man standing before him. And much to his credit, Tyler didn’t flinch at the blunt behavior.
“Well ok,” Dad said, moving so I could get around him and go out the door. “Be careful on those canyon roads. It is the end of October and snow is due anytime in Utah.”
“I checked the weather before planning the trip. There’s no snow expected until next week,” Tyler assured Dad.
Dad nodded and held his arms out to hug me. I snuggled into his embrace as I laughed out, “I’m not joining the Army Dad. I’ll be back in 24 hours.”
He nodded again and I backed up, clutching my bags in nervousness at the look in his eyes. It was a look of resignation and regret. Like he was losing me.
“Call me if the plans change,” he said and stepped onto the porch with us, locking up the door.
“I will,” I agreed and kissed his cheek before following Tyler to his car.
Tyler opened the door for me and shut it again once I was in before carrying my bags to the trunk and throwing them in, then he got into his own seat with one last wave at Dad. Dad waved back and we pulled forward onto the street.
“Your Dad really loves you,” was the first thing out of Tyler’s mouth.
“I know. I couldn’t have asked for a better Dad.”
He nodded and pushed a button on his phone, bringing up the music app. It started blaring some soft punk/rock music that wasn’t so bad and I settled into the seat with excitement and nervousness vibrating through me.
The trip up was rather uneventful. Tyler drove the entire way, stopping for food periodically and potty breaks where we picked up snacks to keep us awake.
We never ran out of subjects and our conversation rarely dwindled. When we arrived it was around 4 in the morning. Grey clouds covered the sky and it looked a little ominus, but I wasn’t too concerned about it. The sky showed no signs of dawn approaching yet and it was pitch black outside where we were parked in the stadium’s lot. Tyler put the car in park with a sigh and turned off the engine.
“Well that was fun,” he said and looked over at me, his head resting on the chair back.
“It was. It was also exhausting,” I said. “I don’t know how we’re supposed to go play after a trip like this and no sleep.”
“Let’s see if we can get a little shut eye before it starts. I was hoping that we’d arrive early enough to sleep a little.”
“So that’s why we left at 2?”
He nodded and adjusted his chair back to sort of lie back. I fumbled under my seat to try and do the same but couldn’t find the lever.
“Need help?” He asked as he watched me fumble around.
“Maybe,” I answered, checking the side of the seat again.
Tyler climbed onto his knees in his seat and reached over around me, his chest brushing mine and his head tucked nicely next to my head and right shoulder. With a soft grunt the seat jerked backwards and we toppled with it. Tyler caught himself before completely squishing me, but I wasn’t too upset by the pressure of him against me. It took a grand total of 2 seconds before his head, only inches from mine, dipped and we were kissing again.
No reservation was taken in this kiss. Tongues explored and hands wandered. Tyler’s left hand, the one that wasn’t holding him up, skimmed along my jaw and pressed into my hair, palming the back of my head and pulling my mouth harder against his, then the hand detangled and his fingertips brushed down my throat and neck, barely making contact with the sides of my breast before it curled around my waist.
“If I weren’t so tired I’d freaking eat you whole,” he breathed and backed away an inch.
“It’s been a long night,” I agreed, gulping air back into my lungs.
Tyler smoothed his thumb over my eyebrow and side of my face before moving back to his seat and settling in for some attempted sleep.
“Like I’ll get any sleep now,” He mumbled and shifted, trying to get comfortable.
“Sorry,” I offered, but his head swung over and he looked at me with fierce eyes.
“Don’t ever apologize for being sweet and charming and attractive.”
“I will if it keeps you from getting sleep.”
“It’s not YOU that’s going to keep me from sleeping. It’s ME.”
His eyes dipped briefly to his lap and I followed, practically gasping at the erection pushing at the zipper of his jeans.
“That must be torturous,” I commented before I realize the words left my mouth.
Tyler burst into laughter before saying, “Best type of torture.”
I blushed and sank further down into my seat.
We were quiet for a long time, trying to catch a couple hours of sleep before the competition started. And even with all the nerves of having Tyler near me, I managed to sleep because the next thing I knew he was shaking me awake.
“It starts in about 20 minutes Sam,” he said, tweaking my nose. “Figured you’d want to change before we head in.”
I wiggled a little and yawned before nodding and sitting up. The sun was fully up now and the clock said 7:41. Tyler handed me my bag and I got out of the car. After slipping my feet out of my sandals and standing on them I pulled the suit over my shorts and tank top. Tyler was holding his bag in his hand, his suit was already on over his hips and the sleeves were tied around his waist.
Once I slipped my tennis shoes on I was ready. We walked toward the building and I felt the lightest feathery touch against my palm before a hand wrapped around mine. I looked over at Tyler and he was looking at me with an innocent smile. I turned away and grinned to myself as his grip on my hand tightened.
When we got into the stadium we had to sign in and it all looked
quite official. We showed our ID’s when the girl at the table looked up and said, “Oh you’re the one I talked to on Monday about the last minute entry aren’t you?”
“Yeah that was me,” he said and grabbed our badges.
“You must have really wanted to enter. I can’t believe you paid that much to get in!” she said in a shrieking voice.
Tyler steered me away from the tables and I looked back at him with a frown.
“You never told me there was an entry fee.”
“I took care of it. It’s not a big deal.”
“Let me pay for it...” I started but he cut me off.
“It was my idea that you should come, and I can afford it. Just smile and say thanks, huh?”
I eyed him for a minute before saying ‘thanks’ with a frown.
Tyler gave that half smile before pushing open the doors to the stadium floor.
There were probably around a hundred people practicing stick-work and fighting or doing jumps and stretches to warm up.
We planted our bags on the ground in an empty spot and immediately got to shaking off the cramped muscles from our long drive and sleeping in the car afterwards. After some stretches Tyler enticed me to a run so we ran around the stadium twice before settling on some maneuvers fighting against each other.
There were 100 (plus 1) entrants in the competition and it was structured as 5 rounds of 20 with the last 2 standing from each group moving on to the final round. Last man standing was the winner.
As I looked around I only saw 1 other girl playing. She was probably a decade older though, and tough looking. While females were looked down upon generally in this sport because of the physicality, only a few forbid them to join the group like the one in Vegas did. The competition was all for letting whoever wants join as long as they pay, but we were still 1 woman for every 49 men.
Tyler and I were placed on the 3rd bout so we watched and waited during the first 2. I kept a close eye on the best players, trying to get a hang of how they moved and thought. I’d never be able to beat them if I didn’t know how they played.
So 4 moved on to the finals and it was our turn. I’m not proud of it, but Tyler and I totally teamed up against the others, so no surprise, we moved on to the finals. Only problem with that is only one of us could win. After the bout we got some fresh air.
Surprise of surprises, it was snowing outside. Light drifts of white stuff fell gently to the ground. There was about an inch on the ground and I watched Tyler bite his lip in worry.
“It better stop soon or we’ll never get through the canyons.”
I looked at him, then at the snow and commanded it to stop. Last thing we needed was to get the car trapped in a snow drift on the mountain pass.
Finally we headed inside and watched the last bout before everyone separated for a very late lunch break provided by the competition around 2:30. We picked up our sack lunch holding a bologna sandwich, chip bag and a water bottle. A twinky finished it off.
When we opened the bags we looked at each other and Tyler asked, “Wanna go get something?”
“Yes please.”
We dumped the sack lunches in the trash minus the water that we kept and hurried across the street to the sandwich shop whose parking lot stood almost empty. Upon entering we shook off the snow from our suits and found ourselves far from alone. The building was almost full to bursting with people in white armored suits. We waited in line a good 20 minutes before getting to order, then we had to wolf the sandwich down to get back in time for the final round. We headed back to the stadium as a large group but instead of sitting with most others we headed to the floor to await the whistle to begin.
There was a short dialog before they commenced the final. Tyler and I attacked with fierceness, getting the group of ten down to a group of four quickly with only a little help. Finally we each faced off with an opponent, and it was hard to try and best the one I was fighting while dodging the flying sticks from Tyler’s battle only a foot away. I was gaining ground against the large man in front of me until Tyler’s opponent hit me in the shin with his stick. I teetered to the side and my enemy came at me, stick swinging at my head when Tyler threw himself at the guy, knocking him on his butt while at the same time getting himself eliminated. I stood gaping for a moment until another stick was swinging at me. I managed to outmaneuver him, using my twist hop technique that had bested Tyler not long ago. Being the last one standing the rest of the players jumped out of their seats and shouted their approval. A whistle blared sharply and it made me jump a little. The two refs proceeded to huddle and I took the time to help Tyler up.
He groaned as he took my hand, letting me pull him to his feet. His hand went to his side and he explained.
“I got a kidney shot while I jumped that guy.”
“Are you ok?” I asked, instinctively trying to find the offending spot on his side.
He pushed my hands off gently and nodded.
“Why did you do that?” I asked, anger almost overcoming me now that I knew he was ok.
“To be honest I’m not sure. I saw him swinging at your head and I just kind of lost my shit momentarily.”
“Attention!” a ref called after blowing the whistle again. “We considered the win and the knockout and have come to the conclusion that the runner up number 36 is our new champion. Teams are strictly forbidden and players 8 and 101 teamed up on player 78 and are therefore disqualified.”
Tyler groaned again and fell back on his ass.
“I’m sorry Sam,” he started but I just held my hand back out to him.
We took our sweet time wiping the sweat from our bodies and changing into fresh clothes for the trip home after a lengthy award ceremony. The snow had eased mildly so we decided to attempt heading home. We got about 1 1/2 hours out of denver on the I-70 when the snow started falling in huge drifts. It was dark outside and the headlights reflected off the sheet of snow, blinding us. Tyler was white-knuckling the steering wheel with hands at 10 and 2 like they teach in driver’s ed, and his face was fiercely concentrated while the occasional expletive escaped his mouth followed by an immediate apology.
Finally a flash of green came into the headlight’s reflection and we saw a big ‘Silverthorne Dillon Exit Only’ I watched Tyler let out a huge sigh of relief as he took the exit drifting to the right. The road wasn’t AS terrifying when we were only going 15 miles an hour instead of the 40 we were going on the freeway but no matter how slow you go it was still a whiteout. The drifts got heavier when we pulled into the nearest hotel. Tyler got out of the car after telling me to wait before he ran inside, trying to shield himself from the snow in his shorts and t-shirt.
He was gone a good few minutes before he came back and got back in the car, snow clinging to his clothes and hair. He was shivering.
“They’re booked up for the night,” he said and cranked up the heat.
“How can a dinky town like this be filled up?”
“Lots of the tournament players stopped here and other travelers, too. Nobody wants to drive in this.”
He hooked his seatbelt on and continued as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“The receptionist gave me an address to a bed and breakfast that’s only known to the locals though, so hopefully they’ll have room for us.”
Five minutes later we were pulling up to a large log cabin.
Tyler got out again and made his run inside. It was only a couple minutes later that he came back and shouted to me over the wind, “We got the last room. Come on in.”
I opened my door heavily against the wind and gasped as pins and needles of snowflakes pelted into my bare skin. Tyler had our bags in one hand, and came around the car to cover my bare shoulders with his other arm, attempting to shield me as much as he could while we ran inside.
The inn keeper was an older woman with pink cheeks and a grin on her face.
“Well I’m glad you stopped safely. It’s nasty out there. And to get our best room to boot! Quite fortunate
you are, I’d say!”
I tried to smile at her while I shivered and followed the woman and Tyler up three sets of stairs before stopping at a wooden door at the top.
“Our honeymoon suit,” she said and unlocked the door before giving me the key. “Have a nice evening kids.”
“Oh wait,” Tyler stopped her. “Is the kitchen closed?”
A look of sympathy crossed her face.
“I’m afraid so. Our cook is a single mom so she had to get her kids and stay at home this evening with the storm raging like it is. We’re offering soup, bread and butter if you’re interested.”
“Yeah. We don’t have dinner.”
“I’ll bring up a tray right away,” she said and let herself out.
I looked around the room and, though it was cold, it was quite cozy looking. Quilts were laid over every surface and pillows propped against every corner available, covering the bed and chairs.
“I’m sorry we have to share,” Tyler started. “I’d have gotten 2 rooms if they were available. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“It’s a cute room,” I commented as I pulled a quilt around my shoulders to ease my shivering.
“Are you cold?” he asked, heading for the fireplace.
The innkeeper knocked on the door before coming in with a tray ladened with 2 big bowls of soup, 6 pieces of bread and a load of butter packets.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” She asked putting the load down on the table near the door.
Tyler looked at me to echo the question. I shook my head and he let the innkeeper go. She smiled at me and I smiled back before she left, closing the door again. I followed her and locked the deadbolt behind her. Tyler got the gas fireplace burning and joined me as I sat at the table. We basically inhaled the potato soup and bread, being generous with the pats of butter.
When our bellies were satisfied we looked at each other, wondering what to do next.
“Suppose I should call my dad,” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
I pulled mine out too. After 6 rings my call went to Dad’s answering machine.
“Hey dad,” I said to the recorder. “The snow came early and let in a nasty storm so we’re hunkered down for the night at a lodge. We’re safe and whole and fine so don’t worry. I’ll talk to you in the morning when we head out. Love you.”
