“We’ve been in a whirlwind and I haven’t taken you out much, but just sayin’, I’m gonna do whatever I gotta do to get you to dress up more.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. You’re beautiful. I’m a lucky, lucky man.” Rys moved to me, put a hand on my waist pulling me into him so that my body was flush with his. He kissed me lightly and looked deep into my eyes again. “So,” another kiss, “very,” kiss, “lucky.”
“I’d say I’m pretty lucky myself,” I grabbed his behind through his jeans and then bit the bottom of my lip because I suddenly could care less about going to Iggy’s.
“Temptress, c’mon. Max is probably already waiting on us.”
I gave him a look that said, “Are you sure we should go?”
“You’re killing me,” he laughed and stepped away from me.
Iggy’s had a decent crowd tonight. It wasn’t overly packed, but the bar was crowded enough that I had to stretch up on my tiptoes to spot Max.
“Hey you,” I greeted and gave Max a hug. Max was wearing a pair of black slacks and a light blue polo shirt. It wasn’t his normal attire. “Fancy threads. What’s the occasion?”
He broke from our hug and said, “I could say the same thing about you, Maple.” He gave me a once over.
“Hey now,” Rys responded, giving him a gentle warning.
“I’m meeting someone,” Max said nervously.
“So why are we here, then?” Rys asked.
“She said she’s not dating right now. So, I figured if I had friends with me, then it wouldn't be a date.”
“So, we’re your wingmen?” I asked.
“Guilty,” he laughed holding his hands up defensively.
“You need a refill?” Rys asked Max.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Whatcha having, Maple? Beer?”
“No. You know what? I’m going to switch it up tonight. I’ll have a Gin and Tonic, tall, lemon and a lime.”
“Gotcha.” He gave me a quick kiss before heading to the bar.
“So, how are you holding up?” Max asked leaning over the small high top table.
“I’m doing alright. I miss her, and sometimes I feel cheated, like I should’ve had more time with her, but Rys has helped a lot.”
“Not gonna lie, I always had a crush on you growing up, but watching you two? Damn--you have it.”
“It?”
“Yeah, you know that thing we're all looking for. It’s so obvious.”
I smiled as Rys approached with our drinks, “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“What is? What are you guys talking about?” Rys asked as he set my drink down and stood casually by my side, slipping his hand around my waist.
“Us, you. That I love you.” I sighed.
“Alright, I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.” Max fake hurled, and then his face paled. “Shit, there she is,” he straightened his shoulders and I swear puffed out his chest a little.
I followed his gaze and saw a petite blonde woman talking with a few of her girlfriends. She wasn’t dressed to impress, she wore jean shorts and a plain white tee. She had sandy blonde hair and light eyes, she was pretty, but I could tell she was shy, this was evidenced by how she made eye contact with Max and then immediately looked away, but not before I could see a pink blush covering her cheeks.
“You going to go talk to her, or are you just gonna stand there staring at her?” Rys asked.
“I’m going to give her a minute.”
We drank and talked. When Max gave her more than a minute, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
“I’m going to get this round.” Rys squeezed my thigh and then let it go as I stood. “Keenan Rys!” I scolded.
“Put it on my tab, okay?”
“I can get it,” I argued.
“I know you can, but I think we’ve been over this before.” Okay, we totally had, and I knew I wasn’t going to win this battle.
“Alright,” I said and walked away, but not before stopping at the woman who Max couldn't keep his eyes off of and her friends.
“Hey, I’m Maple. I’m kind of new here. Y’all look like nice girls, and I know there can be some real snooties around here. Do y’all want to do a shot with me?”
Her friends jumped right in. “Hey, I’m Emily.”
“Beth.”
She cast her eyes down for a moment, and quietly said, “Mary.”
“So shots?” I asked again.
Emily, the loudest of her friends said, “Hell yeah.” Beth hooked her arm in mine. Mary, unsure, answered, “I...I don’t know.”
“C’mon, let loose,” Beth urged. I could see Mary’s indecision.
I’ve seen that face on plenty of patrons; it was the one that said booze is gross. “Trust me, I’ll get us something that tastes awesome.”
We approached the bar and Sasha came over immediately, “Hey Maple, how’d today go? You doing alright?”
I smiled at Sasha, “Yeah, I think I am. Thank you. Delilah excited about tomorrow?”
“Are you kidding me? She wouldn't shut up about it.”
“Good, I’ll see you around eleven. Can you get me three Vanilla Cakes, a tall Gin and Tonic and two beers for the guys, when you get a second?”
“Sure can, I’ll bring them over to your table if you want.” My eyes lit, up, even better.
“C’mon ladies, meet my man.”
“I thought you said you were new around here?” Beth asked.
“I work here, but besides Sasha and a few people I grew up with, I hardly know anyone.” We arrived back at our table and I made introductions, “Rys honey, this is Beth, Emily and…”
“Mary, Max cut me off, “nice to see you.”.
Her face flamed again, and I just knew that this was going to be a challenge.
“Shit, he’s ‘thee Max’?” Emily asked.
“You talked about me?” he asked quietly.
Sasha arrived with our drinks, and I helped her grab them off of the tray. “Shot time,” I declared. I handed the shots to the girls. Rys just quirked up an eyebrow at me. I suppose he hadn’t seen me relax and let my hair down at Iggy’s.
“To new friends,” I lifted the glass in the air and watched as Mary lifted hers hesitantly.
“New friends,” Emily and Beth repeated while throwing their shot back. Mary looked at us, and I gulped mine down at the same time as her.
“Wow, that was surprisingly good,” she admitted.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I heard Max say under his breath.
Rys and I made small talk with the women, and we found ourselves in an easy conversation. Emily was a lot like me in that she grew up here and then moved away. I could see myself being friends with her, and I was glad that I was playing Max’s wing-women.
The stream of people in the bar was a steady flow of in and out. It was loud, but not too loud that you couldn’t hear the person next to you. Beth and Emily spotted a few guys that they wanted to talk to at the bar, and left a quiet Mary with Max. Rys and I became caught up in our own little world. The alcohol fueled with my dress that Rys couldn't stop touching made us seem like a couple of teenagers. He made me feel so much younger than I was, almost carefree. I found myself laughing at everything he said, and having an extremely good time. For once, the overwhelming sadness that I had been coping with was silent and for that, I was grateful.
Rys had stopped drinking so that he could drive us home. “Love seeing you smile, honey,” he told me. “I’ll take care of you, you let go as much as you need to.”
I smirked at him and grabbed his behind, “Are you sure you’re wanting me to let go, Keenan?”
He laughed and then his smile died on his face. I followed his gaze and instantly saw why. Standing in the doorway of the bar, looking less put together than I had ever seen her, was Crystal. “Oh, God. Well if that’s not a mood killer,” I said under my breath, but could tell Keenan caught it.
“Well, well, well. If it’s not the town slut,” she sneere
d as soon as she saw us. “I’ve been asking questions about you, and I heard quite a bit.” I didn't want to deal with her, not even a little bit.
“Crystal, enough,” Rys snapped, grabbed her by the elbow and led her towards the door.
“Let me go, you dick,” she shouted.
I immediately followed him and watched closely to see if I needed to step in with her. She dug her heels into the ground and eventually we were all outside. I didn't know what Rys was going to do.
“What are you doing?” she snapped. “Let me go!”
“I’m doing what I should’ve done a long time ago,” Rys pulled his phone from his pocket, hit a button and placed it to his ear. “Frank,” he waited.
“No, you can't call my daddy.”
“Listen, I hate to make this call to you, but Crystal’s drowning. Every time I turn around, she’s practically stalking my woman and me. She’s showing up drunk. She’s making scenes, and I gotta tell you, I think she’s losing it. Now, I never made a big deal about that money she took from me, or that everyone knew she fooled around on me, but enough is enough. You need to get her help, and I mean right away, because if you don’t, my next stop will be to the police department. I’ll file harassment charges against her.” I watched as Rys listened to what her dad had to say and then he responded, “No, trust me, enough people have seen her harassing Maple at her employment that I’ll have no problem.” He sucked in a breath, “Really? Are you sure you want that making the local gossip circuit because the way I hear it is you’re thinking about running soon, and what would that say about you if you can’t even keep your daughter under control?” He paused for a few minutes and I stared at him, loving the way he was finally taking control of this situation. “Right, well I expect a car to come get her. And Frank? I’m thinking you’ll need to go through her place, something tells me, her showing up to a bar drunk means she’s got quite the stash at home,” another pause then, “Alright.”
He slipped the phone into his pocket and Crystal smacked him on his chest. “I can’t believe you called my daddy you prick.”
“Crystal, you need help. You look horrible, and I’m guessing you’re drinking way more than just socially.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but Rys cut her off.
“I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t the husband you wanted. The military changed me and it took me a long time to right myself, but you could’ve ended things with me. You didn't need to run around on me. I would’ve walked away. But this? All the boozing, and making scenes everywhere you go, has got to stop. You can’t be happy. Now, I’ve found my peace, and it’s not with you. It’s never been with you, and I’ll take that on. That was my fault, but this has got to stop. Find your peace.”
Crystal started to cry. The woman who I would’ve described as a viper had tears running down her face, and for a moment I felt bad for her, but only a moment.
A black sedan pulled up and a driver rounded the car and opened the back seat, “Crystal,” he said nodding for her to get in and she defeatedly followed.
“I’m sorry about that, honey. Do you want to go back in, or do you want to go?”
“I think she’s a real buzz killer. Take me home, Keenan.” We went inside and said our goodbyes. Mary grabbed my hand and thanked me for the shot, but I had a feeling that she was thanking me for bringing her over to Max because the two of them seemed like they just needed that extra nudge towards each other.
Once in the truck, I looked to Rys, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I should have called her dad a while ago. When you asked me the other day if she was like your mom, I blew that off and had immediately said no, but maybe you were right. I think she’s a drunk, but the more and more I’ve thought about it, the more I can see that she needs help. Whether she has an underlying mental illness is for them to figure out. Hopefully, if her dad gets her the help she needs, the doctors can figure that out. I’m just sorry that I didn’t call him sooner. I didn’t want to be in the middle of it, but I guess Crystal was going to put me be in the middle of it until I put a stop to it. The thing is, Frank gives her money monthly, and I know she needs that money, because she can't support herself.
I squeezed his hand, “I’m proud of you. Hate that you had to put her in her place, but love that you finally did. I love you,” I said with ease. Those words at one time were something I always felt forced saying, but with Rys, they came out so easily.
“Love you too.”
We pulled up to the house and Rys helped me down from the truck like he always did. Then used the key that I’d recently given him, and opened the door to the house. I sat on the couch and began pulling my cowboy boots off. Rys kneeled in front of me, “Let me do it.” He pulled the heel lifting my foot up and then slid his strong callused hands along my calf. He repeated that same action on my other leg, his hands moved slowly, only didn’t stop, strong fingers trailed up my leg, rubbing my thigh. He moved in closer and began rubbing both of my thighs. As he massaged my legs, the stress from the last twenty minutes faded away. It was, again, just Maple and Keenan. We didn't kiss, not yet. We stared at each other. The question, “What are you going to do next?” danced in my eyes. I remained still, waiting for him to lead me.
“What I said back there? You’re my peace, Maple. I’ve never felt more at peace and like everything in my life was right until there was you.”
“Keenan,” I whispered and my breathing hitched as he moved his hands higher and higher until he reached the edges of my panties then he slipped them down the sides of my legs.
My body was so turned on and in tune with him. His slow movements were a torture I’d endure. As his fingers found my center, I said his name again, “Keenan!” I cried out.
“You know how sexy it is to hear you call my name?”
I whimpered.
“You know how sexy it is to see you spread wearing this dress with your panties on the ground? You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
His fingers swirled, making me moan and cry out as he brought me to the brink.
“Oh, Keenan,” I panted his name over and over again.
He pulled his hands away and couldn't rid himself of clothes fast enough. What seemed slow and methodical at first became frenzied with need. This was often the case with us. I tugged at his belt buckle while he tore at his shirt and then before I knew it, my dress was shoved up around my waist and my bosom was exposed. We licked, bit, grabbed and tore at one another until he was buried deep inside of me, and we were both climbing higher and higher.
“Maple, my Maple,” he cried out over and over again as he found his release and then seconds later with the help of his hand on my clit, I was panting and crying out his name.
It had been a few weeks since the Crystal debacle. I hadn’t gone to see Grams’ property yet. I wasn’t sure why, but something had been holding me back. Rys and I were sitting in the backyard drinking coffee. I was admiring his handy work. He had poured a concrete driveway and made it so that the doors to the garage were automatic. I had been leaving Bertha out in the rain when I was done driving her because the door was such a hassle to use. I drove Grams convertible too, but there was something about Sunday strolling in Bertha that lit me up on the inside. Since Rys had all but moved in, he took it upon himself to see to any renovations that the house needed. I liked this.
I wanted to pay for it, but he refused, “I own my own business. This is what I do. You don't have a mortgage here, but I’m paying the taxes and the utilities.” I argued with him that I had the money but again, he refused.
“Any man that’s any kind of man, would do no less.” He then asked me if he was a man, I gave him a look that said you know you’re a man, and it was settled. I knew it wasn’t a battle I would win and it felt good to have him take care of me.
“I’m thinking that we should build a deck off the side of the house,” he suggested. “This backyard is beautiful but we need a place to grill. We can add another set of doors in the
dining room. Imagine how much more light we’ll get. Plus since it’s on the east side of the house, it will be shaded by dinnertime.” This was typical Rys chatter. I was learning that he didn’t like idle hands. He needed to keep himself busy.
“That could be nice. I wouldn't want anything too huge.”
“I’ll draw up plans. You’ll see, it will be perfect.”
I imagined it would be since Rys’ craftsmanship was impeccable. I took another sip of my O’Malley’s coffee and flipped the page of the Sun newspaper I was reading. I began reading an article about a drunk driver on I-97 that recently went left of center and crashed into the medium. My entire body went still. I sucked in a breath. There was a picture. It was of that man-the one that made me watch.
“What is it?” Rys noticed my body language change.
I handed him the paper and pointed, “It’s him. He’s dead.”
Rys studied the picture, squinting his eyes, and I saw it dawn on him exactly who it was. He then studied me, “Good.” He waited for my reaction. I wasn't sure what I felt.
I took another sip of my coffee, then stared out at the back yard. “Good,” I returned and that was the end of that. A bad man was dead, and the world would be a better place because of it. One more piece of my past had closure.
“I still don't understand how Grams could have property and not tell me about it.” My curiosity had been running wild.
“Did you ask Bob about it?”
“I tried, but he gave me the same vague answer, that I should take the drive and see.”
“Hmm, that’s odd.”
“Okay, Google Maps says we turn left up here,” I said pointing to a dirt road up ahead.
Rys turned and it appeared we were in a long driveway. Before he went any further, he stopped and put his truck into park.
“Alright, Maple. Don't be mad, but this right here is all Grams. Need to put this on you.”
He pulled a black piece of fabric from his back pocket and dangled it, letting me see it was a blindfold then secured it around my head. “What’s going on?” I asked completely confused.
“You’ll see. Wait here.”
Tainted by Crazy Page 19