Different Roads (18 page)

            "Awe
Jaq, give me five minutes?" he pleaded. I shook my head slowly. "Just
five minutes, that's all I'm asking." He leaned around me and hollered
back at Vance, "Hey bro, give me five? I'll be right back."

            Like
an obedient child, I kept my head down. I shuffled silently in front of Damon
as he placed his hand on my lower back and guided me out the door. Outside, he
wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me softly on top of the head.
"Baby, I've been dying without you," he whispered into my hair.

           
I've
missed you too
. "Damon, we're not good together," I said. I found
the courage to face him and to my horror, his eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
Oh
shit, now what?

            "Baby,
we were good together and you know it," he sighed. "My temper just
gets out of control sometimes. I swear I won't lay a hand on you ever again.
Just give me one more chance. If I fuck up, you can castrate me."

            I
tipped my head back and laughed, "Can I get that in writing?"

            His
eyes went wide as golf balls and he moved his hands protectively in front of
his package, "If that's what it takes for you to give me another try, then
hell yeah,"

            I
blew out a noisy breath and looked skyward, "Shelley's so going to kick my
ass for this."

            "I'm
going four-wheelin' tonight with some buddies out on Cemetery Hill Road. Be my co-pilot?
Please?" he pleaded.

            I
scrunched my nose, "Co-pilot?
Really
?"

            He
laughed, "You know what I mean."

            Damon
and I worked out the details. I knew Shelley would secure me to the kitchen chair
with duct tape if she suspected I'd even talked to Damon Blackwell. We agreed
to meet in the grocery store parking lot just around the corner from my house.
I told him I'd walk over about six.

            He
pulled me hard against his chest, and his familiar scent crept into my senses,
blotting out all rational thought. "You won't regret it, I promise."

            "You
better be right, or," I narrowed my eyes and said, "Snip, snip."

I
waved my freshly tattooed wrist beneath Shelley's nose, "I did it," I
quipped proudly.

            She
scrutinized the new ink, "Looks good. I like the font. Who did it?"

            "Vance-somebody,
at
Infinite Ink
."

            "Brad
would be proud," she whispered before dropping my hand. "Where are you
off to tonight?"

            "Nowhere,"
I lied. I felt my cheeks immediately start to burn and hoped Shelley wouldn't
call me out on it. She was like a terrier sent to ground after a rodent when it
came to flushing out the truth, and she knew when I was being less than honest.
Always.

            Her
eyes narrowed, "Right. I buy that," she said, her voice thick with
sarcasm.

            I
shrugged, "Let me rephrase that, nowhere
important.
" I tugged my
hoodie down over my head and grabbed the house key from the hook by the door,
anxious to get away from the twenty questions I knew she was busy formulating with
her detective-like brain.

            I
spotted Damon's truck in the parking lot as soon as I rounded the corner. He
stood next to it; feet crossed at his ankles looking as hot as ever. My stomach
pinched when I thought about how dangerous he could be. I wasn't going to think
about that. I was willing to give him a fresh start, another chance to be a
good bad boy.

            Damon
lifted his arm and waved. There was a grin on his face that revealed a mixture
of both relief and surprise as I approached. "You showed up," he said
and held out his hand toward me.

            The
corner of my mouth rose into a half-smirk, "I said I would, didn't
I?" He hugged me against his broad chest and my senses began to flood with
the same sexy Damon scent I had always found so intoxicating. It had been
awhile, but I swore he was every bit as smoldering hot as I remembered.

            He
opened the driver's side door and boosted me up into the cab. I scooted over as
far as the middle. I ached for the heat of his body against mine, not because I
was cold, but because he lit up my senses with just his touch and I craved the
closeness. Damon had always reminded me of a couple of Bon Jovi songs like
Bad
Medicine
, and he definitely gave love a bad name.  His leg brushed against
mine, and his hand claimed my thigh as though he owned it. I made no attempt to
remove it and he grinned sideways at me with a devil-may-care wink.

            His
hand crept ever so close to the off-limits zone as we sped down the highway
toward Cemetery Hill Road. I promised myself I would not have sex with Damon
tonight. He needed to earn it first. What lesson would he learn if I let him
have his way the first time we were alone?

            I
rested my hand on top of his and nudged it a few inches closer to my knee and
away from my crotch. He chuckled, "Damn Jaq, I've missed your feisty
ass."

            "That
so?" I squeezed his hand and mentally began to pluck the bad times out of
my memory banks as though they happened to someone else -- in some other place
and time.
I mean, people change, right?

            As
soon as we got to our destination, I took in all of the trucks parked at the
bottom of the hill. Out of habit, I suppose. I don't think I did it because I
was interested in sizing up the competition for our night of four-wheelin'. Subconsciously,
maybe I was looking for a certain truck belonging to a certain blue-eyed,
baseball cap wearing used-to-be-mine guy.

            "I
doubt he'll be here tonight, Jaq," Damon muttered. "I hear his wife
keeps a pretty tight leash around his balls."

            My
head snapped in his direction, "I'm not looking for anybody."

            Damon
tipped his head back and laughed, "That's okay baby, I know you still have
it bad for Seth Thomas. Even if the fucker
is
married." My mouth
popped open as he slid the truck sideways, coming to a stop a few inches from the
bumper of one of the other pickups parked nearby. Damon smirked at me and hopped
down from the cab before I could recover my senses and defend myself.

            I'd
forgotten how much fun four-wheelin' was and it had been a long time since I'd laughed
so hard. It wasn't too far into the night before I began to let down my
defenses and started to relax in Damon's company. He was in a good mood, and as
long as I didn't do anything to piss him off, I knew the night wouldn't end
with him smacking me around.

            Later
when we were on our way back home, Damon abruptly hit the brakes and swung the
truck off the main highway onto a narrow gravel lane. I frowned over at him,
"What are you doing?"

            "My
back teeth are floating. I gotta take a piss," he muttered.

            He
eased along until we were no longer visible from the main road before turning
off the lights and jumping down from the truck. When he climbed back in beside
me he cut the engine and turned down the radio. I didn't protest when he leaned
over to kiss me. I didn't even think about stopping him as my head pressed into
the passenger door armrest. When he placed himself strategically between my
legs, my inner slut smiled in defeat. I was powerless to resist him, and his
eyes darkened with desire as he stared into my face.

            "Tell
me how bad you missed me Jaq," Damon breathed as his lips worked their
magic along the tender flesh beneath my ear. I moaned something unintelligible
and raked my fingers through his dark hair. He continued to tease me with a
trail of kisses along my jaw and I arched against his rock hard body. I knew I
was fast approaching the point of no return, and I wasn't entirely sure I
cared.

            "Damon,
we..." I paused, unclear of what I wanted to say, so I made up something. 
"The seatbelt's poking me."

He let out a heavy sigh and sat up,
"Yeah, you're right. This sucks."

I scooted upright and pulled my shirt
back down over my bare stomach, "The windows are all fogged up," I
stifled a giggle.

He reached across me and wrote: DB, with
a heart and added my initials, "I want to do right by you this time
Jaq."

"Yeah," I nodded.

"I mean don't get me wrong, I'd
like nothing better than to be buried balls deep in you right about now, but I'll
behave."

I rolled my eyes and playfully slapped
him on the shoulder, "You are such an ass Damon."

He shrugged, "What can I say? You
have that effect on me." He tugged at the front of his jeans to make sure
I got the point he was trying to express.

"Let's just go," I said
quietly.
Before I change my mind
and do something I'll regret
tomorrow
.

He parked the truck a couple of blocks
down from my house as I insisted. I was willing to take things slow with him
again, but I was not willing to face the wrath of Shelley tonight. I brushed my
lips across his cheek and reached for the door handle to let myself out.
"See ya, Damon. I had fun."

He touched my arm gently, "So are
we okay?"

I couldn't help but smile at the little
boy side of Damon, "We'll see," I said as I jumped down from the
pickup.

Damon
and I had officially been sneaking around for three weeks. It was only a matter
of time before we got caught. "
Shit
, wake up! They're home," I
shoved Damon onto the floor in an attempt to get him to wake up. Shelley and
Tim went to a movie and had planned on going to some party after that so I
figured it would be safe to have Damon over. I just hadn't planned on falling
asleep half naked on the couch.

            Damon
growled and sat up rubbing his eyes, "What the fuck, Jaq?"

            I
tossed him his shirt and grabbed the remaining clothes scattered about on the
floor, "Come on Damon.
Move
!"

            When
he heard Shelley's boots click against the sidewalk leading up to the house,
our predicament finally sank into his thick head. He scrambled to his feet and rushed
through the bedroom door right behind me. I eased the door closed just as the
front door swung open. We'd been so careful. I even made him borrow his
sister's Miata and park down the street.

            "Now
what?" he whispered.

            "I
don't know," my heart pounded as my eyes darted between him and the
bedroom door.

            He
grabbed my hand, "This is bullshit. It's your house, too. Come on." He
stood and I started to open my mouth to protest when Shelley's footsteps
stopped in the hall outside my room.

            "Oh
Jaq? Can you come out here a minute?" Damon and I stopped breathing for a
few seconds and I thought maybe she would think I was asleep. "Come on, I
know you're awake."

            "Just
a minute," I said. I shot Damon a keep your mouth shut glare and slipped
into the hall to face Shelley.

            She
leaned against the wall while twirling Damon's underwear on her finger,
"I'm going to take a wild ass guess that these aren't yours."

            My
cheeks burned and I shook my head.

            "Damon?
You can come out now," she told him.

            Head
down, he walked out to face Shelley as though we were two teenagers getting
caught with our pants down by mom. "Hey Shell," Damon muttered.

            "Hmph,"
she shook her head and flung the underwear at him and said, "I would have
thought a big tough guy like you would prefer to go commando."

            I
bit my lip to keep from giggling, "Normally he does. But well, he's got
this rash and it..." I stopped when Damon snorted.

            Shelley
did not find my joke even remotely humorous. Her hand snaked out grabbing a
hold of my arm. I flinched as her nails dug into my flesh. She narrowed her
eyes at Damon and pointed, "You need to leave. Right now," she
ordered.

             I
wrenched my arm free from her grasp, "Wait a damn minute, will you? At
least let him get dressed, and then we can talk."

            She
folded her arms in front of her chest and started tapping her foot impatiently,
"You've got one minute. I'm not playing," she stomped down the hall
away from us.

            I
placed the palm of my hand on Damon's bare chest and backed him through the
open door to my bedroom, "Just go, I'll talk to you later," I told
him.

"Does Cowbell Shelley own a
gun?" he asked.

            "Yes,
and she's a damn good shot," I said.

            I
couldn't remember a time when I had seen Shelley so pissed off. She didn't
lecture me after Damon left but she gave me a look that could only be described
as utter disgust.

I held up my hand, "Before you say
anything, he's trying
really
hard to be good."