Chasing the Wild Sparks

by Alexander, Ren

  “What?” he mumbles, not taking his eyes off the road.

  “Is there something bothering you that you’re not telling me about?” I ask, angling my body towards his.

  “No.”

  I cock my head in doubt and he finally glances over at me. His brown eyes fly quickly over my face, avoiding looking into my eyes directly. His eyes are hiding something and he knows I can see that.

  “Yes.” He sighs and looks back to the road. I lean forward to turn down his Black Veil Brides.

  “What?”

  “I want you to stay with me tonight.”

  “I have to work tomorrow.”

  “Becks.” He doesn’t sound in any mood for an argument.

  I sigh. “I don’t have any clothes at your apartment for work, Finn.”

  “We can still swing by your apartment before the kite thing, or stop on the way back.”

  “Why do you want me to stay? Didn’t you get your fill of sex this weekend?” I ask jokingly, but fear the answer.

  “Baby, that’s not why I want you to stay with me. I won’t even touch you.”

  “Sure.”

  He smirks, but then quickly frowns. “We weren’t even together Friday night.”

  “You were out.”

  “So?” His forehead wrinkles in bewilderment and he lifts his hand slightly from the steering wheel. “I was only going to be out with Ricky for maybe two hours after we were done with our bikes, and we weren’t working on them long.”

  “You were busy and you had to get up early.”

  “Again. So? I wouldn’t have stayed out if you were at my apartment. I would’ve come home. And I didn’t have to get up that early.”

  “Well, I knew you wanted to spend time with your friends. It was fine.” Not like he would have told them why he wanted to get home anyway, since Ricky is the only one that knows about me.

  “I wanted you to be with me.”

  “I wanted you to be with me,” I mirror back.

  His jaw clenches and he swallows. “And I would have.”

  I reach over and lightly rub his blue-jeaned thigh. “I know, but you need time with your friends. You don’t see them that much.”

  He shakes his head and takes his hand off of the gear shift to pick up my hand. He kisses the top of it and places our hands down on his leg, stroking my skin with his fingers. “I see them. I don’t see you at all.”

  “You see me for lunch during the week.”

  “Once. Maybe twice, if I’m lucky,” he looks over at me, “and I’m not without my charm.”

  I give him a small smile. He glances at my lips, but doesn’t return the smile. He turns back to the road and I mumble, “Our work schedules and traffic aren’t exactly conducive for us.”

  “No, they’re not,” he says with annoyance filtering through his tone.

  “I can try to meet you a third time this week.”

  “I have to be on location a few times and then I have meetings the rest of the week after the noon spot. I can meet you after my report on Wednesday. That’s it.”

  “Oh.”

  “We can meet for dinner, if you want. I’m good tomorrow night.”

  “I have a class with Morgan after work at the gym.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “Tuesday?”

  He sighs. “I’ll have to check.” I nod, not sure if he even sees me as he stares out the windshield. “Can I stay with you tonight?” he rephrases his original question.

  “You work late, don’t you? Since you switched with Drake, don’t you have to do 11, too?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t want you racing across town to get to my place.”

  He scowls at the road. “I’m not racing to your place.” He turns his head. “I’m racing to you.”

  I grin and he sweetly smiles before looking straight ahead again. I take my hand out of his hold and slide it up into his hair. “That was so sweet, baby,” I coo.

  He adorably grins. “I try.”

  I leave my hand in his hair as my gaze falls to the decent bruise on his neck. “Did you notice the mark I left on your neck?” I ask sheepishly.

  “The love bite? Yes.”

  I giggle. “Oh, is that what you’re calling it?”

  “Well, you were loving me when you did it, weren’t you?” He looks at me, moving my arm with his head.

  I smile at him. “I do love you.”

  He smiles back at me and turns his head to the road. “I know.” He shrugs his shoulders and sighs happily. “Who doesn’t? What’s not to love?” I release his hair and smack his arm, making him laugh.

  I again observe, “So, um. What about this love bite then?” His hair now is sexily sticking up on his right side where my hand was. Rod is definitely going to get the wrong idea, especially with the hickey.

  “What about it?” he asks and glances over to me from the corner of his eye.

  “What do you mean ‘what about it?’” I ask, imitating his deep voice the best I can.

  He loudly laughs and peers over at me. “That was horrible.”

  “It was. So what about it?” I ask again.

  Tilting his head at the road, he states, “It is what it is.”

  “And that it is. It’s definitely there.”

  “You did it!” he shouts incredulously with a laugh.

  “I know. I thought you were trying to give me one earlier in the kitchen.”

  “I was, but you moved. And then you moved again.”

  “Yes, but you now actually have one. I did try to give you one low enough that it would be hidden from your Finnatics.” He shrugs and I add, “Well, how come you didn’t hide it with makeup for today?”

  “It’s just your friends.”

  “They’re your friends, too, aren’t they?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Speaking of that. Do you have some kind of issue with Rod’s driving?”

  “His driving, his mouth, some of his music choices, his kite flying, his dependence on you... The fucking list goes on.”

  “His dependence on me? What’s that mean?”

  “He’s always around you.”

  “It’s Rod.”

  “It’s irritating.”

  I giggle in delight. “Baby, are you jealous now?”

  He shakes his head emphatically. “Never. I don’t get jealous.”

  “You don’t?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you have the key to my heart. That’s all the reassurance I need.”

  “Now you’re really trying to get lucky again tonight.”

  He laughs and reaches over to squeeze my thigh. He then swiftly looks over to my leg. “Shit.”

  “What?” I ask when he glances back to the road.

  “Your legs, Becks.” With his eyes still on the road, he slides his hand up into the skirt of my dress. I stop his hand and push it back out.

  “Hands to yourself, Finn Wilder.”

  “Not a chance with you wearing that, baby.” He licks his bottom lip and glances down to my legs and then up to my face. “You’re fucking hot. I already warned you about this dress. Look what I already did to your virtue.” My virtue? I wasn’t all that innocent when he got his hands on me. There were three other guys before Finn. My sexual past and exploits aren’t exactly headline news. I thought I was in love with the guy I lost my virginity to: Max Warren, but Bethany straightened me out about that colossal mistake. She tried to talk me out of two of my other missteps, but I didn’t listen to her. Another huge mistake.

  No. I didn’t know what falling in love was truly like until I broke my wrist and landed in the emergency room.

  I laugh and he asks, “Am I sleeping in your bed tonight?”

  I bite my lip and shake my head when he peers back at me. “No,” I tease.

  “You got that right, baby. If you’re wearing this dress, sleep is the last thing we’ll be doing when we get home.”

  “You’re gr
eedy, baby.” I hope it really isn’t just sex he wants from me, but sometimes it’s a nice perk.

  “Well, look at you, Becks. How can I not keep my hands off of you?” He plants his hand back on my leg and squeezes my naked thigh. His touch is firing me up again. We’ll never make it to the festival if he keeps this up. I move his hand so that it’s resting on the material of my dress instead. He tries to move his hand forward again, but I stop him.

  Bewildered by my action, he glances at me and asks, “What?”

  “It’s just safer if you keep your hand here.” I concentrate on making his hand stay on top of my dress to prevent myself from thinking about the feel of it beneath my dress.

  He protests, “Your skin is one of my favorite things about you.” He’s not making this easy.

  “And yours is one of mine, so let’s keep it G-rated.” He looks over at me as he reluctantly pulls his hand away so that he can downshift, his other hand flipping the turn signal for the exit to the festival.

  He wickedly smirks. “I’ll try.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Sitting, Rod shouts from a place he found underneath a large oak tree. “Well, there you are!” From the short distance, I see he’s wearing a white T-shirt with a woman on the front, and something is wrapped around Rod’s head. A white bandana? Another thing I notice is a large blanket laid out next to his feet. Finn tightens his fingers around mine and I pull him forward.

  Rod stands as we approach him. “Wilder? I thought you had to work?”

  “Got fired.”

  “Oh.” Does he actually believe Finn? Wow. Rod’s eyes flit to Finn’s hands. “Didn’t you bring a kite?”

  “It’s in the shop.”

  He looks at Finn skeptically. “Really? They have repair shops for kites?”

  “Damn, Rod,” I mutter in disbelief.

  He turns from Finn to me and points to my outfit. “And look at you, Hadders! What are you wearing?”

  I glance down and smooth out my dress. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “It’s a dress,” he states like I was unmindful of the fact. He sings, “I see London…”

  “I catch you looking up her dress, you will see London,” Finn warns as he pulls me closer to his side. Jeez, Finn.

  “It was a joke, Wilder. That would be gross anyway.” He sticks his tongue out while making a gagging sound. I scowl at Rod and then peer up to Finn, who irritably licks his top lip, shifts his eyes and glares down at me. I know he’s already reaching his limit with Rod.

  “What are you wearing, Rod?” I flip his question on him.

  “What?” He looks down at his shirt and then back up to me with an incredulous pout. “It’s Britney Spears!” Oh, Rod.

  With a dubious eyebrow arched, I point up to his head. “You’re wearing a Karate Kid bandana?”

  His entire face scrunches up like he just sucked on a lemon. “No. I don’t even know karate.” He aims his thumb at his chest. “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

  Finn laughs. “You sound like a damn super villain. Are you Fruity Kite Man?” I tighten my grip around his fingers as I giggle.

  “Shut up, Wilder,” Rod mumbles.

  I roll my eyes and then look down at the blanket. “A blanket, Rod? That was so thoughtful of you.”

  “Only the best for my friends.”

  I notice the print on the material as I set my kite down. “Really? Pound Puppies?” I ask, glancing at Rod. Finn snickers behind me.

  “It was the only old one I had. Lay off!” Rod whines.

  “Calm down. I’m just worried what Morgan is going to say about this.”

  He worriedly sucks air between his teeth. “I know. I honestly didn’t think of that.”

  “That’s a rather big oversight.” Finn sneers.

  “Shut up, Wilder!” Rod crosses his arms and angles his chin up. “Where have you two been anyway?” His eyes slide back and forth between us before I see the light bulb flash above his head. “Ooooh. Well, now it’s obvious.”

  “What’s obvious?” Finn asks, his jaw jumping with rising indignation.

  “What you two were doing. Sex in the ‘Stang.” Rod laughs into his hand and his mischievous brown eyes go to Finn’s head. “Love the new ‘do, Wilder. Hadders could’ve at least messed up the other side for you so that it would match.” He continues to laugh. “I hope you didn’t give her full price and a tip.” I run my fingers through Finn’s hair to put it back in place and he leans his head into my fingers, I think so I can reach his head.

  Trying to diffuse and distract, I turn my head to Rod and ask, “Where’s Morgan?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she was detained like you.” Rod cringes. “That actually makes me want to stab my eyes out with my kite.”

  I let go of Finn’s hair to pull out my phone. I don’t have any missed messages.

  “Holy fuck!” Rod yells and Finn and I swiftly look over at him.

  “Watch it!” Finn snaps.

  “What? Don’t tell me you’ve joined Officer Beckett’s F-Word Taskforce.” Rod rolls his eyes. “I will sign a blanket waiver at work tomorrow. I’ll get Amos to draw one up for me.”

  Reaching for my fingers again, Finn taunts, “And what are you doing? Joining the Closeted Gays Brigade? Come out already!”

  “Damn, Wilder. I thought you getting laid would lighten your cheery disposition, but I see that Hadders failed horribly on her part.” Rod walks over to me and smacks me on the back. “Maybe she didn’t do you enough.” Finn unclasps my hand and his fingers curl into a fist underneath my fingers. What the hell is suddenly going on with these two? They always seemed to have gotten along before.

  I laugh dimly. “Shut up, Rod.”

  He nudges my arm. “Did you see Amos’ boyfriend Friday?”

  I shove his arm and sigh. “No, Rod. The man is not gay!”

  “I swear to God he is, Hadders! Everyone in the office thinks he’s straight and I’m gay. No fucking way… Oh, oops.”

  “Sure…” I tease.

  Rod rolls his eyes at me. “Anyhoo, before Officer Wilder issued me a citation, I was going to say, ‘Holy cow! Look at the hickey on Wilder’s neck!’” Rod leans forward to get a better look and Finn scowls. “Is that from my buddy, Hadders, here?” Rod slings an arm around my shoulders and another hand up to his mouth as he giggles behind it.

  Finn’s eyes flash as he glowers at Rod’s arm. “Who else would it be from?” He’s pissed now. Shit.

  I shrug out from Rod’s arm and announce, “I brought food.” I drag Finn with me to the other side of the blanket. Taking the food bag from Finn’s other hand, I set it in the middle of the blanket.

  Rod holds up his iPod and announces, “I brought music!” Rod is an unofficial aficionado of music. He loves all kinds, but is undiscriminating for the absolute random. He’s been known to rock out to Barry Manilow while wearing a Foreigner T-shirt and a Vanilla Ice jacket. He also calls himself a DJ, but he’s only done it for two parties. Not exactly a professional. On most weekends, he is often wearing a band or some sort of other music-related T-shirt.

  Finn frowns at Rod. “I’m in no mood for Milli Vanilli.”

  “Bite your tongue or get your woman to do it. I didn’t bring them with me anyway.” Rod grabs his kite. “Let’s go fly a kite. Literally.”

  I bend, but remember to do so at the knees, since I have a dress on. No doubt that Finn would throw me over his shoulder and take me home if I flashed anyone. I’m still not sure about his outburst this morning with him saying, “You’re mine.” If I truly am, then why won’t he announce it to people?

  I pick my kite up and take it out of its packaging. “Come on, Finn.”

  He shakes his head, his shaded, light brown hair swaying against his forehead. “I’ll stay here and watch.”

  “Why?”

  “I have a couple calls to return.”

  I look down at my kite. “Okay.” I turn from him and he grabs my arm before I leave.

  “What?” I ask as I
glance up at his handsome face.

  He caresses my cheek. “I love you, too,” he finally tells me, since he was too busy teasing me in the car. I smile up at him before he sweetly kisses me.

  “Why don’t you both get another quickie in before we do this? I’ll wait, but make it fast, Wilder. Pretend you’re riding your bike and race to the finish.”

  Pulling away from me in annoyance, Finn’s gaze slides from me to Rod and he mutters to him, “Go fly your damned kite.”

  “I’ll be back,” I say and pat Finn’s chest. He distractedly nods and pulls his phone out of his front pocket.

  Rod squeals, “You’re not pulling it out here, are you? Jesus!”

  Finn glares at Rod. “Watch your mouth, Rodwell.”

  “Come on, Rod.” I step away from Finn and walk out to the field of colorful people and kites.

  Rod falls into step beside me and looks over his shoulder. “What’s wrong with Wilder now, Hadders? Seriously. Did you sleep with him? Maybe that’s the problem.”

  “Thanks, douchebag!”

  “Is fucking the only thing you did or did you talk, too?” He rolls his eyes when I peer over at him with antipathy.

  “Yes.”

  He giggles. “Yes to the fucking or talking?”

  “Both.”

  “Wow. That is TMI.”

  “You’re the one who asked!” I giggle, but manage to be serious as I tease, “Yes. While we were having hot and sweaty sex, you’re all we talked about.” Rod’s face suddenly looks like a melted candle with his bandana sadly drooping. I stop walking and laugh, holding the kite next to my face as I gasp for air.

  “Nice one, Hadders,” he mumbles when he recovers. “Let’s go over there.” Rod points to a small clearing amongst the other kite enthusiasts. We have to dodge through kids and adults alike holding onto their rolled strings. We stop near a huge bush with newly budded, light green leaves growing on it and look around. It’s a large meadow and people are spread throughout, spaced apart so kites don’t become tangled, but not far enough. The threat of kite entanglement still looms due to the large amount of people already participating, and the throngs of people still walking into the festival. There are kites of every size, shape, color and skill floating above us. Single-strings, stunts, boxes…

  He nods at me. “Let’s see it, and I mean your kite. I don’t want you pulling something out that is going to have Wilder beating the shit out of me for looking at it by accident.”