by Kim Hornsby
Obi was stretched out on the couch, his body taking up most of the space. “Looks like that spot is taken.” She nodded to her dog.
“Oh, oh.” Jamey glanced at her, and then at the bed. “It’s a big bed.”
“Think we could sleep together without any funny business?” There was something wildly familiar in flirting with Jamey Dunn.
“Doubtful.” He crossed the room and cupped her face in his hands. “Shall we?”
She closed her eyes. “We shall.” His soft lips met hers and she melted like molten lava beneath his kiss. The effect he had on her was still there. His kisses moved to her neck, and she felt her knees almost give out. “Jamey?” Her breathy whisper barely had volume.
“Hmmm?” He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.
“I’m safe with you, right?”
“Yes. You are safest with me.” He kissed her lips tenderly and set her on the turned-down bed, unzipping her hooded jacket. Her hands ran up under his T-shirt, his abdomen tightening under her touch. First he pulled off her shirt, then his own. His hands encircled her small breasts. “I remember these.” Jamey eased his body half over her, half stretched out beside her. They looked into each other’s eyes as he fingered her nipples. Fondling, pinching lightly.
“I remember you,” she said.
“Hmmm. Good.” His voice was raspy.
They knew how to do this. She and Jamey had their own way together, familiarities reserved only for them—subtle but important tricks of how to bring the other to the highest point before letting go. Things escalated quickly.
Breaking away, she pushed him flat, removed his shorts and moved down along his length to take him in her mouth. He moaned and she drew back slightly. “Do you still like this?” She took his growl for affirmation and slid her teeth gently along his length. “Stop, just a second, Tina.” His hands threaded through her hair. “We have to slow down, make this last.” He pulled her up to him, taking her into an embrace, burying his face in her hair. “You are still the sexiest thing I’ve ever had on top of me,” he whispered. “Or beside me. Or anywhere near me.” He nibbled at her earlobe. “Do you have any idea?”
She didn’t want to compare, but not even in their first few months together did Hank seem desperate like Jamey, who was crazy with desire for her. He kissed like he had to have her, all of her, or else. She remembered that about him.
Her kisses traced his jaw line to his mouth. She brushed her lips with his. “Do you like this?”
He chuckled. “You could sing the national anthem and I’d get rock hard.”
“Oh, you’ve never heard me sing.” She deepened the kiss, and Jamey ran his hands down her back to grab her buttocks.
He pressed his erection into the V of her thighs. “We have all night.”
“Or not.” She smiled. Reaching down, she guided him into her warmth. As he went deeper, he licked his lips and moaned. With hands splayed across his chest, she gently rocked back and forth on him, never taking her eyes from his.
“Tina.” He said her name with such tenderness.
She leaned over to kiss him deep, deeper, and he pushed himself in, as far as he could. Once, twice. Again.
Then he stopped. “Me on top.” It wasn’t a question. She remembered. They flipped over and he mounted her, their hands woven together.
Taking him deep into her, to the most guarded parts of her, there was no holding back now. This was it. Everything they’d been thinking, dreaming, was about to come true. Hungry, they devoured each other in kisses, licks, bites. Their breaths mingled and the intensity increased. The run to the top was fast and when she exploded into pieces of shattered light, Jamey gave one last push and soon collapsed on her, stifling his cry in the pillow. Their heartbeats pounded against each other’s chests, a testimonial that they’d become one, even if just for a brief moment.
Wrapping her arms around his broad back, she lay listening to their tattered breaths. Tears filled her eyes and she pressed her lips together, wondering if he could read her. Then, without warning, a sob escaped her lips.
Jamey lifted his head. “What’s wrong?”
She sobbed again and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Why are you crying?” He stroked her hair. “Tell me I didn’t hurt you.”
“You didn’t.” He hadn’t read her feelings. Her bundle of mixed emotions, like a ball of string she didn’t want to unravel, was almost too lovely to reveal. “I’m happy.”
He kissed her mouth tenderly.
Smiling through tears, she tried giving him the message that couldn’t be put into words.
“I understand,” he whispered. “And not because of intuition. Just because.”
His expression told her that he did. She was grateful. All she had to offer him was this small moment on Molokai that touched something in her she’d buried. This stolen time. She had no idea who she’d be when morning came.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He kissed her forehead. “Don’t be.” When he withdrew and pulled her into the warmth of his embrace, he whispered into her hair. “This is enough, Tina.”
***
She was falling; falling into another dream, one she had no control over. This dream was different than the others. She was not in the water, not wet, not diving, not sinking into the salt water of the Pacific Ocean.
When she came through to the dream side, she stood beside Hank’s black truck on a pullout road used by surfers, just north of Honolua Bay. Hobbit Land. The sky was barely light, thick with the kind of clouds that threaten to ruin everyone’s vacation. “Fucking eh, I’ll do what I want.” Hank’s voice invaded the silence.
She froze. “We make all decisions together, Henry.” Noble’s voice was quiet but stern.
Who was Henry? Tina was blocked from view by the truck. She held her breath and waited, not daring to peek.
“Get your board, dumb fuck. We’ll surf.” Hank sounded amused.
“I’m not surfing until I get a promise from you that we leave this morning. That was our plan. I have a buyer for the paintings.”
She flattened herself against the truck and very slowly inched up to look over the truck’s edge. To her right, Noble’s old red truck looked empty, the driver door still open. Thirty feet away, at the head of the path leading to the well-known surfing spot, stood Noble and Hank. Only one man was prepared to surf.
Hank sighed. “I’m not leaving today.” He rested his board on the ground.
“You have a ticket to New Orleans, Henry. Just like our plan. I’m going to Reno.”
“I’m not going to fucking New Orleans, Nolan. I’m staying until I know for sure that Tina’s pregnant. Don’t oppose me on this, man. It’s the only thing I asked for on this one.” His hand went to his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Take this back to the house for me.” Hank tossed it.
Noble caught the flying wallet. “Lizzie’ll get us, Henry. You know that. The only other time you went soft was Miami, and I had to drag you out then too, remember?”
Hank nodded. “This is different.” He turned and chuckled. “You know this is different. This is Tina.”
Her name was spoken with such reverence, Tina’s breath caught in her throat.
Hank continued, “If I wasn’t being forced, I’d stay. This was where I wanted to get off the bus. You know that. I’m not giving in to Lizzie’s bribery. And I’m not selling Tina’s grandmother’s paintings. Neither are you.” He looked at Noble pleadingly. “Come on, man.”
Was this a dream born of her imagination, or did this actually happen? A glimpse, Jamey called it. Tina had never witnessed a conversation like this, between these two men who called each other ‘Nolan’ and ‘Henry.’ Tina’s breathing was shallow as she listened to catch every word.
“I don’t like this any more than you do, Bro,” Hank said, “but I don’t think Lizzie’s going to do anything immediately. I asked her for a few weeks, and I think she’ll give it to me.” Hank put his
hand on Noble’s arm, and it was shrugged off.
“I don’t agree. Tina’s mother is dangerous and we can’t risk it. And you know that. Deep down.” They stood staring at each other.
“I think it’s better for Tina if we just disappear now. We shoulda been gone a year ago, when you figured out where the paintings were.”
“I can’t.” Hank’s tone changed, like the closing of a door. “You can.” Noble sounded like he was used to making all final decisions.
“I’m not going. That’s that.”
“If I have to drag you, you are. Our buyer’s ready. The timing is perfect.” The tone in Noble’s voice made the skin on Tina’s arms crawl.
Hank picked up his board and started down the steep path to the put-in point. “You go,” he called over his shoulder. As Noble lunged to grab the board, the wallet fell unnoticed into a mound of thick scrub grass. Hank whipped around, his face full of fury. “You will not tell me what to do this time. She is my wife. And now, I’m going surfing.” He continued down the path.
Tina’s overwhelming desire to hear the conversation to the end spurred her to follow them as closely as she dared.
“Hey, Hot Shot!” Noble sped after Hank.
Hank stopped. Tina ducked back in the kiawe bushes, the prickly thorns nothing compared to the conversation.
Tina only saw the tops of their heads, but she desperately needed to see Hank’s face. A large boulder was only a few feet away. If she could duck behind that, the position would afford her a better view. If she didn’t make a sound and kept her head low, they might not see her. She took off.
“Is that what you think? That you love her?” Noble laughed, and threw his arms out. “You think that you can actually feel love? Tell me you’re not just trying to knock up Tina to get back at her mother.”
“I’m not, you goddamned motherfucker. She wants a baby. And I want to be the father of that baby.” Hank glared at Noble and poked him in the chest. “If I’m going to break her heart, thanks to her fucking mother, at least I want to give Tina what she’s wanted her whole life.” Hank’s voice was frantic with emotion.
Noble laughed at him.
“Shut the fuck up, Nolan!” Hank grabbed his board with both hands and swung it, knocking Noble into the side of the cliff to rebound off the rock. “That’s just it. She wants a baby, not you.” Noble advanced. “Who the hell do you think you are now? You’ll only ever be Henry Santiago, one of the pitiful Santiago kids. Stealing food, getting in trouble—just one more sob story from Compton. We’re just two kids whose junkie mother ran off.” Noble backed Hank to the edge of the path.
“Goddammit. I’m not like you in a lot of ways, and you know that. At least my father wasn’t a user.” Hank said something else that was undetectable and swung the board around to head back up the path to the truck. Tina crouched lower. “And you know what Nolan? I’m going to tell Tina the whole thing. Then no one will have anything to hold over my head.” Hank’s march uphill was interrupted when Noble grabbed the board and spun him around with it. “Like hell.” Noble’s face twisted into a mask of rage.
They were thirty feet away from Tina.
“This gig is over, Brother. No paintings. We’re not leaving Maui. At least I’m not.”
“Then you give me no choice.” With both hands, Noble wrestled the board free from Hank, drew it back, and whacked Hank across the chest.
The shock on Hank’s face displayed not only his surprise, but something like disappointment as he stumbled backward, clutching his chest. He tried to get his footing under him, but failed. Noble didn’t have time to drop the board and get to him. “Henry!”
Hank flung out his arms to grab something, anything, as he disappeared over the edge of the cliff. She sprang from her crouch. “NO!” Her scream mingled with two other cries in the morning air.
Still unaware of Tina, Noble raced down the path and disappeared from sight. “Henry!”
The quiet Maui morning was deafening.
From her vantage point, Tina couldn’t see below. She held her breath, listening, waiting, and reminding herself this was a dream. Even so, she stifled the urge to vomit. Then, Noble’s cry of anguish made her heart jump.
Oh, God. Tina wanted out of this nightmare. Blinking violently, she tried to wake herself. Then she attempted kicking the rock in front of her. Pinching. Pushing against her stomach, her hand sank through her torso.
But then her need to leave the nightmare was overshadowed by her need to see if Hank was dead. Even if it was a dream. Hearing nothing more than the surf below, Tina ran down the path. Flattening herself on the scratchy grass, she inched farther to the edge. Ninety feet down, Noble crouched over Hank’s form, which was sprawled across the lava rocks. The surf board lay off to one side. Every time the surf crashed against the rocks, salt water sprayed the scene.
The sound of sobbing came from below. When Noble shifted, she had a view of the body. Hank lay in a grotesque twist of arms, legs and torso, sprawled across the rocks. Tina swallowed the bile that rose in her mouth and buried her scream with her fist. Of course, he hadn’t survived the fall.
Noble looked around and she ducked, flattening her face on the scruffy grass. When she dared to look again, he had Hank’s lifeless body in his arms.
She had to get out of this dream before Noble walked up the path but she couldn’t look away. Instead of choosing the trail, Noble stumbled to the farthest point of rock with Hank. The surf crashed only a few feet away. He took a wide stance, braced, and lifted
Hank’s body above his head to heave him into the retreating wave.
Tina swallowed a scream and took off running up the hill. She didn’t know where she was going once she got out of the dream. Police maybe. But something made her look back. She wanted to see that she’d been wrong. That it had only been an illusion in the early morning sunlight. Down below, Noble picked up the board, and flung it out to sea, as far as it would go. She had to get to the truck, try to jump out of this dream. She turned again, and raced up the steep path.
“Tina!” Noble’s voice echoed off the cliff beside her. He’d seen her. “Stay there!”
She turned to see if he was running. If he was, she’d never make it to the truck before he caught her.
Noble took off at full speed as she darted up the path. “Tina, wait.” His legs were longer than hers, and he was in better shape, but still she ran like she had a chance, her legs burning with every step.
Noble’s feet crunched the lava pebbles just behind her, the sound gaining volume as he gained ground. At the top, with her lungs bursting, she knew he was just behind her. Thirty feet separated her from the portal where she’d jumped in. If she could make it to Hank’s truck, she’d be safe. And that was assuming she could jump out of this nightmare.
“Ti, wait!” His voice was close, not winded. “Hank drowned.”
Steps from the portal, she lunged forward, but when Noble grabbed the back of her shirt she screamed and went down on the red dirt, her face scraping against the hardness of the ground.
***
Jamey woke to Tina’s scream. Something was terrorizing her as she lay beside him in the Molokai bed. Should he jump? He’d find out what was happening and jump out if what he saw was none of his business. Obi had leapt off the bed and was now staring up from the floor.
“S’okay, boy.” Jamey grabbed Tina’s hand, and in less than five seconds he was in the dream, behind a black truck, only feet away from Noble and Tina. They were struggling on the ground, but Noble easily overpowered her by more than a hundred pounds. She was trying to slither out from under him, but he held her wrists.
Jamey took note of the portal and rounded the truck, sure he could take out the big man if he had to. “Noble. What’s going on?” Noble grabbed Tina’s shirt front and pulled her to a standing position, like she was a rag doll. He swept his arm around her neck in a chokehold. “Stay out of this, soldier-boy. Tina’s and my business is none of yours.” One firm twist and he
’d break her neck.
“He killed Hank.” Tina’s voice was strained.
Jamey threw out his hands to show Noble he was weaponless. “Noble, what are you doing?” He could read that Noble didn’t want to kill Tina but would, if he had to. Jamey had to turn things around, and get Tina out of there. Dying in a dream was serious. His uncle’s mysterious demise came to mind. Jamey backed off several steps.
“Dude, why are you treating Tina like this?”
Noble’s voice overflowed with panic. “I’ll snap her neck if you come closer.”
“Okay, I’m not moving. Don’t hurt her, man. You love her. I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll just go over here and sit down on this rock.” Jamey put his empty hands behind his head and sidestepped in a wide circle to put Tina halfway between him and the portal. If Noble backed up, Tina would be closer to the portal—a moot point if she didn’t know enough to jump out.
What else could Jamey try? She had no idea about summoning monsters to help with fights. But Jamey did. Care was needed if he was going to bring in a dangerous animal. He didn’t want some monster hurting Tina instead of Noble.
“Noble, please.” Tina’s voice was calm. She didn’t know what was at risk. “This is just a dream, and nothing is real. Don’t panic.
Everything’s okay.”
“She’s right, Noble. It’s just a dream. Watch this.” Jamey called for a tiger to appear close enough so it would make Noble back up to the truck. “Tiger.” He waited for the animal, but nothing happened.
“I wish it wasn’t real.” Noble’s face crumpled in misery. “Believe me.”
“Snake,” Jamey said. He happened to know that Tina was not afraid of them, but a lot of people were. Nothing happened. What the hell? Then he realized it was Tina’s jump. Maybe she was the only one who could summon. Jamey didn’t know the rules for piggybacking jumps. “Tina, picture a tiger over there.” Jamey pointed and Noble turned just as a tiger appeared twenty feet away. “What the fuck?” The tiger paced as Noble backed up closer to the portal.