Raven (5 page)

“It will,” Garrett says, as if he’s able to read my mind. That or my gasp was louder than I thought it was.

“I’m not so sure,” I say. It comes out like I’m mocking him, but I’m dead serious. I know how all this is supposed to work, and I assume it’s not his first time. My fear is palpable. What if we try to have sex and it doesn’t work? Or what if it works just fine but he shatters me? I assume you can’t cast a vagina. My heart’s beating out of control, like it’s about to pop out of my chest any moment, and it’s not just because I’m all worked up.

“There’s only one way to find out,” he kids,
playfully tugging at the tied strings on the sides of my bottoms, but not removing them from my body.

When he lets them go and repositions his fingers on the insides of my thighs, moving them closer and closer to my core, all bets are off. I don’t care if it won’t
fit; I just want him to touch me.
Need
him to touch me. Even with the risk of death by penetration.

“Garrett, please,” I beg. His instincts immediately pick up on what I’m asking for. Moving the fabric aside, his fingers brush over my most sensitive spot as I attempt to grind down onto him. He’s po
ised at my entrance, ready to give me my first real touch, when car horns start blaring in the distance.

“The fuck,” he groans, pulling
me closer to his body to hide my exposed breasts. In the distance, a blue pickup parks next to his, still honking away. My cheeks flush and I try to hide even further into Garrett. He turns my back to the shore and reties my bikini top. Once it’s tight enough, I situate myself, pushing back and glancing down to ensure that I’m not popping out anywhere.
Thank God he didn’t take my bottoms off.

“Hey
, man, are we interrupting?”
We? Who the hell is we?

I spin around only to be
face-to-face with Eli and Valerie who’s setting up blankets on the grassy bank.
Awesome
. This is exactly what I wanted today. There’s nothing more fun than spending the day with the boy I didn’t let take me on a date and the girl who has the hots for my boyfriend.

“Well, actually…” Garrett star
ts and I pinch his side, signaling him to shut it. I don’t need anyone in this town knowing anything about my sex life … or lack thereof. “We’re getting ready to get out and take off. Lake’s all yours.”

I walk slowly toward the shore
, and as soon as it reaches my waist, Garrett stops me, making me walk in front of him, staying as close as possible. It didn’t even dawn on me that he’d want to conceal his erection from the prying eyes of his friends. Chuckling to myself, I follow his lead, sticking to him like glue until we’re behind his truck.

Opening the tailgate, I wrap a towel around
myself and methodically take off my bathing suit to change into dry clothes and make sure that nobody can get a peek at my body. Unashamed, Garrett watches my every move, probably praying for a slip of the towel. Apparently I’m the only modest one. Garrett strips out of his trunks, not even attempting to hide his toned body and still hard cock.

The water was very deceptive. He’s much larger than I initially thought and those abs … sweet baby Jesus in a manger, those abs.
A droplet of water slides down his muscular chest, defined abs and finally gets lost in the “V” that points to his semi-erect cock. What I wouldn’t give to be that small droplet.

Sighing, I shimmy into
my skirt and tank top.

“Looks like
you’re enjoying your view as much as I am mine,” Garrett teases.

“So sure of yourself, aren’t you
, Rhodes?”

“Most certainly,” he says, smirking. Closing the tailgate, we both walk around the truck and climb in
to the cab. I turn on the radio as Garrett pulls away from the lake and
Closer
by Nine Inch Nails blares through the speakers. My face turns ten different shades of crimson as Garrett’s grin widens. Glancing over at me, he takes my hand in his.

“One day.”

I’m not sure if that’s a threat or a promise, but I clench my thighs together, trying to ease the ache. I’m not so sure it’s actually working. Garrett can read me like a book … in the dark … in French.

If I’m already this worked up and haven’t actually done it, God help us when I get a taste of the real thing. And they s
ay teenage boys are sex crazed.
Pfffttt
.

Chapter 7

The rest of the school year flew by and Garrett graduated last week. His parents have a graduation party slash going away party planned for him tonight. As proud of him as I am, I can’t help but think of the end. This could very well be the last weekend we spend together for at least six weeks while he’s at basic training. To say I’m going to miss him is an understatement.

I already feel like I can’t breathe. It’s only been three months, but it feels like so much longer.
Elaine tells me not to worry. I do, though … worry. Long distance relationships tend to be a mess of epic proportions in almost every romance novel, movie or television show. Add to that the fact that it’s typically the man that strays, I’m ready to vomit and cut a bitch at the same time.

Especially since we haven’t been intimate yet. The more I thought about it, I wanted to wait. Not because I don’t trust him or am scared that once he gets it, he’ll leave. I
want to give him something right before he leaves … something to entice him to come home as soon as he can.

“If you don’t hurry, you’re gonna be late, Rian,” Elaine calls from the living room. I’ve changed my outfit more times that I can count
, finally settling on a short, flared white skirt and lacy white tank top. Spending so much time at the lake with Garrett, my usually olive skin is even more tanned. Add in all the swimming and playing volleyball, and my body is in the best shape of my life, including the years that I cheered.

Slipping my feet into a pair of white ballet slipper style shoes, I throw a few bobby pins in my hair to keep it out of my face and make my way out to the parking lot. Elaine doesn’t have to work tonight and has given me permission to use her car, under the strict guideline that if I drink, I’m not to drive. I laughed when she told me that. I may only be seventeen now, but I already know to not do dumb shit.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I yell to Elaine who’s standing just inside the doorway. Catching her wave, I cautiously pull out of the lot and head toward Garrett’s house.

Pulling in the driveway,
there are cars parked all over the lawn and street. Unsure of where I’m supposed to park, I leave the car running and walk into the house, straight into Mrs. Rhodes.

“Rian, you look breathtaking,” she says, embracing me like she didn’t just see me a few days ago at the graduation.

“Thank you,” I mutter, trying to breathe in her death grip of a hug. “Where do you want me to park? I didn’t see any empty spots out there. It seems like everyone in town is here.”

“Oh, just leave it there sweetheart. I’ll get
Paul to park it for you.” Just then, Paul, Garrett’s dad, comes around the corner, stopping dead in his tracks.

“Is that Rian Fields I see? You look beautiful. My son’s one lucky man,” he says, patting me on the back. He’s right, too. Garrett’s extremely lucky. He has the best parents in the entire world. I’d give anything to have a mom and dad like him. Who am I kidding? I’d do just about anything to have my mom back.
Even just for one day to apologize.

“Honey, can you move Rian’s car somewhere safe? I told all the kids if they’re drinking, they have to stay, but you know how they can be. I don’t want anything to happen to i
t.” Paul steps into Gabriella and gives her a slight peck on the cheek and heads out the front door.

“I’ll put it in the garage,” he hollers just before the screen door closes.

“Let me take you out back. Garrett made me promise as soon as you got here to take you right to him. That boy is in love with you, sweetheart. I hope you know that.”

As soon as we pass through the living room and formal dining room, we take the sliding doors out onto the deck. Looking around, I see Garrett standing next to the pool with some of his basketball friends. As soon as our eyes meet, his lips turn up in the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen on a man.

“Yes, ma’am, I know. I love him, too,” I whisper, taking the stairs down to the patio.

Getting stuck in some traffic near the keg, it’s a few minutes before I’m able to spot Garrett again. When I’m about ten yards away, Valerie
moves in front of Garrett, pulling him in for a hug with her greedy little fingers resting too low on his waist for comfort. Just as I’m about to grab her by her overly processed, fake platinum blonde locks, Garrett catches me in the corner of his eye.

“Excuse me, Val,” he says, stepping around her and heading directly toward me. I don’t miss Valerie’s inner temper tantrum and the rolling of her contact blue eyes as Garrett picks me up, twirling me around before wrapping his arms tightly around my middle. It takes everything in me to not act as childish as her, or do something immature like sticking my tongue out at her. My main focus is the man who’s locked me in his grip so
tightly; I realize he must have gotten it from his momma.

“I was waiting for the most beautiful girl in school to get here. For a second, I thought she wasn’t g
onna show,” he jokes, kissing me so passionately I almost forget his guests standing around. I’m not one to be worried about giving people something to talk about, but making out with your boyfriend in front of a few hundred of his closest friends, including his parents, is where I draw the line.

“Does it feel any different? You know, being done with school forever?”

“It does, but leaving next week for basic kinda puts a damper on that. I won’t have to wake up at seven for school anymore, but I’ll have to wake up at five. Kill me now.”

“Hey, buddy, this was
your
decision. No bitching about it now,” I tease.

Garrett doesn’t leave my side the entire day and well into the evening
, even
with
the constant interruptions from Valerie. Someone needs to just cut this girl. Annoying doesn’t even begin to describe her desperate actions. Unable to hold back anymore, I weasel away from Garrett and approach her.

“Val, do you think we can talk for a second?” I ask, anticipating her to blow me off.

“Sure,” she responds. Shock me, shock me. Trying to bury my frustrations with her, we walk over to the edge of the yard, far from people that might want to be in our business. And by people, I mean everyone who is watching with their jaws on the ground as we make our way from the crowd.

“I just wanted to see what was going on. You seem very interested in Garrett lately. I’m not gonna lie. It doesn’t rub me the right way.” I waste no time cutting to the chase. The least amount of time I have to spend with Valerie, the better.

“Well, he’s going off to the Army, as you know, and I just want to spend as much time with him as I can before he goes.”

“I get that, but you can’t hang all over him like you’ve been trying to do. I know you know we’re together and it’s really disrespectful to me. I haven’t said anything since I moved here, but I can’t hold it in anymore.”
Remain diplomatic, that’s the goal.

“You do realize he was mine before he was yours, right?” Valerie asks, rolling her eyes. My hand clenches at my side, balling into a fist, ready to strike her across her heavily made up face.
Diplomacy’s about to get chucked off a roof in about two seconds.

“Valerie. I’m gonna say this as nice as I possibly can. You may have
thought
he was yours, but that isn’t the case. I’ve known him since we were kids and he’s
always
been mine. I’m here now. You’re not needed and it probably would be in your best interest to just leave. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

Valerie steps into my space, antagonizing me, probably thinking I’m scared of her like so many of the other girls at our school. I’ve heard more times
than I care to talk about that she’s the toughest girl in school and she’ll kick anyone’s ass. Well, newsflash, she isn’t kicking shit today … but rocks.

“I’ll leave when
Garrett
asks me to leave. I know you’re dealing with your mom’s death and all, but if you think you can come to my school and fuck with me, you’re sadly mistaken.” It takes me all of three seconds to grip Valerie’s wrist, twist it at an uncomfortable angle and spin her around. Pushing upward, I hold her steady as she begins to lean forward.

“Okay, Princess. You don’t know me very well. I’m gonna give you the crash course, are you ready?” A small whimper comes from Valerie’s mouth. “Okay, good. I’m fucking crazy. I’ve beat
en the shit out of a grown man. Not something I’m proud of, but it’s a fucking fact. You ever in your life think of saying one thing about my mother, I’ll snap your arm in two different places. Do you think the coach wants an injured cheerleader next year?” I pull up on her arm again, inciting an answer from her.

“No,” she cries, trying to
wrench free. It only infuriates me more that she thinks she can overpower me. Adding slightly more pressure, I can feel her ligaments stretching in ways they shouldn’t.

“So, here’s what we’re gonna do. Listen close
ly, Princess. I’m gonna let you go, you’re gonna grab your shit and stay the fuck out of my sight. So help me God, if you even
think
of mentioning Garrett’s name to one of your whore friends, I’ll end you. I really hope we’re clear.” Letting go of her arm, I shove her forward and she almost falls. Grabbing and massaging her shoulder, Valerie refuses to meet my eyes.

The same kind of
fire slowly burns inside of me as the day I hurt Tom. I should be more worried that I’m getting off on hurting someone, but it feels so natural. Letting her slink past me, I fix my skirt and turn around to see the entire party is staring in our direction and snickering as Valerie walks past them.

Garrett sees me and quickly walks over to me. “Is everything okay? Why does Valerie look like you just killed her puppy?”

“Everything’s fine,” I stand on my tiptoes to kiss his jaw. “Valerie had to go and was upset about it. Something else needed her attention. She wanted me to tell you congratulations and she can’t wait to see you at the ten year reunion.”

“You’re lying,” he whispers, claiming my lips.

“I am, but it’s over now and I’d rather not talk about it. There is something
we
should discuss, though. After everyone leaves, if that’s okay?”

“You’re not breaking up with me, are you?” Panic sounds in his voice and pulls at my heart. My sweet Garrett must not know how much I love him.

“Absolutely not. Just want to tell you a story.”

The rest of the evening goes by slowly. More often than not, I’m sitting on one of the lounge chairs as people make their way over to Garrett, handing him cards and congratulating him. The older guests, which I assume are family or friends of the family, are doing the same thing, but are crying when they tell him goodbye. I feel their pain. It’s going to be hard around here without him. My best friend … my only friend … my boyfriend. My everything.

Just as Mrs. Rhodes suspected, none of the kids hang around, even after having a few drinks. I didn’t see anyone that had more than one or two glasses of beer, so I’m not worried. As soon as the last guest leaves, Garrett leads me to the pool house that can double as a guest’s quarters. I didn’t realize how much money his family has, but I would assume they do alright since Paul is a career military man.

This town was his last assignment, so this is where they bought their house. After a few conversations with
Gabriella, she told me that they wanted to be in one spot so Garrett could have a chance to make some lifelong friends. The only other place they lived for any long stretch of time was Detroit. Garrett talks about it a lot, sometimes saying he felt more at home in the city than the country. With all the shit happening there, it seems natural for Kentucky to be their final home.

The last three years
have been really good to them and I’m happy Garrett’s parents focused their life around him … what was best for him. Paul and Gabriella are the kind of parents I would like to be some day.

Shutting the door behind him, I excuse myself to use the restroom. I need to work up the courage for this one. It’s been three months since Garrett walked back into my life … or I walked into his
… I still haven’t told him what happened to my mom. There’s a chance that Valerie won’t take my warning seriously and will open her dick sucker about what I said about beating a grown man. That’s not how I want this to be brought up. I need to be the one to tell him.

Splashing some cool water on my face and changing into a long tee shirt Garrett made sure was ready for me, I feel like I’m finally ready to talk about this. Stepping out of the bathroom, Garrett’s waiting on the sofa with a couple cans of soda and wearing nothing but a pair of loose fitting pajama bottoms. He might have to put some clothes on for this. My thoughts are everywhere but what the topic needs to be.

“What did you want to talk about?” he asks, pulling the blanket off the back of the sofa and draping it across my lap as I sit next to him.

“It’s about my mom.”

“We don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready, Ri. It’s got to be hard on you, I can only imagine. I don’t want to make it worse by opening a wound that’s finally started to heal.”

Taking a deep breath, I crack the tab on my soda can and take a large pull. It’s now or never. Bracing myself for his judgment, I start to recite the events surrounding my mother’s death.