Owned (18 page)

And he hugged me. As he patted me on the back, I reached around him and slapped him on the back. Strangely, I didn’t want him to let me go. As I held him I whispered.

“I appreciate it Derek. I really do,” I whispered.

Derek Jackson. The one and only. The Bone.

“Anyone else?”
The Bone gestured to the group as he released me from the hug.

“I take exception to being called a weird fucker,” A-Train laughed as he held his hand out and shook mine, looking at The Bone as he did.

“I got one thing, Doc. Only because I love ya like a brother,” Teddy said.

I nodded.

“Well, Heather’s got that damned Kindle deal. She keeps books on it. She had me try and read some book on there that Kelli had her buy. Some Fat Kid book. I couldn’t even finish that damned thing. Dumbest fuckin’ book I ever read. But anyway, there was a part in it she showed me. Probably only part in it made any kinda sense,” he paused.

“I read it,” I said, nodding.

“Well, let me finish,” he said.

“There was a part in it where the fat boy was talking to some girl about being
tall.
Difference between tall and short people. Not necessarily meanin’ tall, per se. He was meanin’ smart people and dumb fuckers. In fat boy’s opinion, he and this girl was tall. Taller’n everyone else. They saw shit that others couldn’t - because the others was all too damned
short.
Made sense to me. Smart people see all the smart shit in life. And we dumb fuckers just see what we see, because we ain’t able to comprehend all the smart shit,” he rubbed his beard and took a breath.

“You’re tall Doc. Real tall. Sometimes I just think you need to come back down to earth for a bit and see what we see….all the dumb shit. It’s down here…I know it is, because I step through it every damned day. You just don’t notice. You don’t notice because your head is way up above everyone else’s. Guess what I’m saying is this, pay attention to the small shit, Doc. Kelli loves ya. She may not tell ya, but she does. Guess that’s all I got,” he rubbed his hands together.

“Anybody else?” The Bone asked.

“The greatest sign of commitment is giving up what we enjoy to take care of what we love,” Jake said over A-train’s shoulder.

“What the fuck, Jake, you some kinda philosopher?” Teddy laughed.

“I like to read poetry. F
uck you,” Jake responded.

We all laughed.

“Guess that’s it, Doc. Sorry, this had to be done. So, I guess our recommendation is to either ditch the black-haired girl, or keep her. It’s up to you, but you need to make a step. A step for
you
…and for all of us. Now, what were you two fools wanting to talk about?” The Bone asked.

“Well, yeah. We came by last night, and you were gone. We didn’t really want to text it or call. You got a minute?” I asked.

“I’ve got a lifetime, Doc,” he responded

I took a deep breath and looked at Teddy. Teddy nodded. I rubbed my hands on my jeans and took another breath.

“Kelli’s purse was stolen out of Crash’s saddle bag. It looks like it was stolen while we were at the bar-b-que. Slick was at the bar-b-que. We just thought we should bring it to you,” I rubbed my head with my hands and waited.

“So, I’m judge, jury, and executioner now?” The Bone responded.

“No, we brought it to you out of
respect
, Bone. Damn sight better than if we said
nothing
. Kelli’s filing a police report today. I ain’t worried about it,” I responded flatly.

“Well, file a report. Shit, it could have been anybody. There were about 1300 people there, all told. Like I said befor
e, we met, we voted, and we decided. Rightfully so, the law will decide Slick’s fate,” The Bone responded.

“Alright,” I said as I turned to Teddy.

As Jake turned to walk back into the repair shop, I heard a motorcycle fire up. Through the shop door, I watched A-Train fly past, speeding up the street.

“Guess he wa
s done talking,” The Bone said.

“Shit,” Teddy said.

“Shit is right,” I added.

KELLI
. Erik had told me to live life with hope, and not expectations. He said unmet expectations led to disappointment. Having hope allows us to do just that, hope. When our hope isn’t met, there is no disappointment, only a little lost hope.

Erik had routines and schedules. These routines, right or wrong
, caused me to have expectations of him doing certain things. We had developed a routine of talking every morning before work. I looked forward to these talks. When, for some reason he was busy or on the phone with someone else and couldn’t talk to me, it was upsetting. Sometimes I missed it so much it hurt.

If Erik told me he was going to see me, he always did. I couldn’t imagine if he ever changed plans. I had come to expect things from him, depend on him, and appreciate him for all he was and all that he did. When I told Erik I was going to do something, I wanted to be sure to do it, so maybe he would see the same value in me I saw in him. I have seen changes in Erik over the last month, and I like what I see. I do not want to give him any reason to change back to the person he was when we met.

We were scheduled to meet tonight for dinner after work. My mid-day trip to the police station and a few other things I had to take care of took four hours, and now I was working late to complete my unfinished work from the day. I explained to Erik that I should be done around eight o’ clock, and he understood my need to work late.

His understanding made me wonder if he truly ever had any expectations whatsoever of me. I felt like I was becoming much more comfortable around Erik lately. Maybe one day I will ask him. Not tonight, but sometime soon.

As I finished my work, and turned off the lights, I noticed my father was still in his office. His office was a remote office in the parking lot, away from the showroom floor where I worked. As I looked toward his office, I smiled, remembering the talk that he had with Erik and I.

I got into my car and quickly typed Erik a message explaining that I was on my way home to meet him. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I thought of holding him in my arms when he walked in. He almost always gave me a hug when he saw me, and I like that about him. It was
one of the many things about him I expected and enjoyed. In some respects, I guess we’re all predictable. Even if the things are small or few, they’re still nice to have.

As I sped down the highway my phone beeped. I fumbled with it, hoping it was Erik. Text messages from him always made me happy, and I had kept all of his messages that he ever sent me. I cleared the screen on my phone and glanced at it.

Erik Ead:
I’m on Douglas now. Meet at Il Vicino? The one on Douglas?

I immediately typed “yes” into my phone and pressed send. I set the speed control at 70 miles an hour and anxiously waited for my exit to arrive. Waiting to see Erik excites me as much today as it did the first day we met. When I know I am going to see him, the time drags on forever. The road ahead had few cars on it. What little rush hour traffic Wichita had was long gone. It was now dark and I could see the taillights of all the cars ahead of me.
There were only a few.

Fuck it.

I pressed the gas pedal to the floor and sped up to 95 miles an hour. As I changed lanes to exit, I thought about Erik dancing on the kitchen counter with his cock in his hand. I wish he did that more often. That night was the best night we have ever had. Ever. I want more nights like that, and I hoped they were more frequent in the future.

I turned at the light onto Douglas and wondered what kind of mood Erik would be in tonight. I wondered what his day was like. What he did. What type of mood he was in. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw his motorcycle parked by the entrance. I pulled in the stall beside it and parked.

He never drives his car any more. I like that car.

“I’m out here, Kelli,” Erik said from behind the fence of the outdoor patio.

I skipped to the entrance of the patio privacy fence and stepped inside. Erik was sitting alone, and with the exception of Erik, the patio was empty.

Yaaay
.

I walked to his table and started to sit across from him.

“Hey,” he said sharply.

“Yes?” I responded.

“Kiss me,” he said as he leaned toward me.

As I leaned his direction, he reached out and touched my face with his fingertips. As he held my face in his hand, he guided my mouth to meet his and kissed me deeply. As our lips parted, he flicked his tongue to touch my upper lip.

“Your skin makes me want to touch you all the damned time. It’s tough for me to keep my damned hands off of you. Sit
here
,” he said as he pulled out the chair beside him.

I sat beside him and smiled. I liked being close to him. He made me feel safe.
Safe and special. When we were together it was easy for me to daydream about the
what ifs
.
What if
we were together for
real
.
What if
we were a true couple.
What if
we were married.
What if
he was really mine.
What if
…

“Kelli, I’ve been thinking,” he said as he turned to face me.

“About what, sir? I asked.

“About you, Kelli,” he responded, squinting as he looked at me.

Oh fuck. No. No. No. This is going to suck. He’s going to say something awful.

“
Uhhmm. Okay. What did I do?” I asked, wondering what happened.

“Well,
you
didn’t do anything, Kelli. It’s more about
us.
Let me say all that I have to say, and then we can both discuss this, okay?” he asked as he moved his hand to his chin.

The waiter came outside and Erik held his hand in the air and waved it.

“Give us a few minutes,” Erik said to the waiter.

Oh. My.
God. I’m going to vomit. He’s calling me ‘Kelli’. This is not going to be good.

I nodded and tried to fight back tears.

“Kelli, this is about what we’re
doing
. This thing we have between us. I guess I’m ready to make some changes. This isn’t totally satisfying for me, not any more, not completely. I want to move ahead, take another approach with life and see what happens, see how I feel about change,” he rubbed his face and took a breath.

I covered my face with my hands, sliding my fingers up to cover my eyes. I was going to cry. Cry and vomit. This could not be happening. I did nothing to deserve this. I’ve done everything he has asked. I have kept my mouth shut. I listen and don’t speak unless he asks me to. I have been a good girl. He tells me he’s proud. That has to mean something. Did he forget how proud I make him? I wanted to interrupt, but he told me not to. I moved my index fingers so I could see his face. He was looking up at the sky.

“Kelli, I want to make a change. For me, it’s huge. For you, it may not even matter,” his voice was cracking and he was clearly upset.

Seriously?
Not matter? You shallow prick.

“Kelli, I want to…” he took another breath.

I moved my hands.

“I want to commit to you. I want to be yours. I want you to be mine. Nothing really will change I don’t guess, just the
knowing
. Knowing that I’m yours. Tell the world. I will do the same. I just want to, I guess - what do they call it now? Exclusive? I want to be
exclusive
. Date. Boyfriend-girlfriend. Whatever you want to call it. I want you to know I’m
your
man. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for you, okay? You alright with that?” he inhaled a breath and paused, waiting on an answer.

I tried to take a breath. It went in in short machine-gun like bursts. I was overcome with emotion. My face felt hot. I stared.
He wants me.
Erik Ead wants me to be his woman. Not just to fuck. He wants more from me. I want to give him all that I have.

Erik Ead wants to be
my
man.

I fought back tears and tried to bring myself to speak.
Focus Kelli. You can do this.

“Kelli, did you hear me?” he asked.

“Will you…” I tried not to cry.

“Still…”

“Call me…”

“Baby girl?”

“Awwe, baby girl. Sure I will. You like that, don’t you?”

I nodded my head repeatedly
.

“Okay, I’ll call
you baby girl. Consider it done. Now, will you be
my
baby girl, nobody else’s?” he held his hands out with is palms turned up.