Red Collar

by Cartharn, Clarissa

  “Where do you think she might be now?” he asked carefully. He didn’t want to sound too obsessive and controlling but he was certain that he was beginning to look like it.

  Rudy shrugged again. “Probably with those losers that keep hanging out in the parking lot close to the liquor store down the street. One of the guys, Craig, I think has a thing for her. He keeps inviting her over. I know about it because once he sent a message through me. And then one night, Kate and Libby had a huge fight. Libby took off and when Kate went out looking for her, sure enough that’s where she found her. I don’t know how Kate managed to drag her ass back home but she did. Oh man, Kate has some powers I tell you.”

  Lorenzo stiffened. He suddenly didn’t think waiting was good enough particularly if he was led to assume she was spending the majority of the night with some deadbeat who wanted to get up her skirt.

  He threw down his spoon in annoyance and turned to Rudy.

  “Rudy, I need you to take over,” he said. “It’s fairly simple from here on. You just toss in a couple of that powder when the greens softens, pour in some stock and then wait for it to thicken. Once that’s done, you turn the stove off. You got that?”

  Rudy stared at him in a daze of perplexity. “Yes… but… but where are you going?”

  “To get your sister,” Lorenzo announced before storming out in absolute ferocity.

  He moved swiftly towards the vacant lot.

  As he neared it, he heard their loud jibes and chortle pierce the quiet night. There weren’t as many rowdy youngsters as he had feared they would be. But a group of fifteen hormone infested youths were still a lot to handle alone. His mind skimmed quickly for a strategic scheme. He wanted her and him both out of there without getting hurt. At least not as much, he corrected, considering the danger involved.

  He changed his pace to a deliberate lazy stroll. His pulse raced within him though and despite the cool air, his palms began to sweat. He put them into his pocket in an attempt to disguise his nervousness.

  As he entered the site, he saw her sitting on the hood of an abandoned, burnt out car next to two other scantily dressed young girls. He could tell that the gang had become curious about him, after all wasn’t he crashing their party? Their cheers and laughter dropped as they began questioning his attendance.

  He scanned the group quickly, trying to identify the leader of the pack. There always was one and he prayed it wasn’t Craig.

  A large, brawny teenager stepped before him. He flipped his burnt out cigarette into a drum of burning flames.

  “Lorenzo,” he drawled. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “Trey?” Lorenzo asked, recognizing the heavy, bass voice.

  “Yeah, man,” Trey replied. “Who else? How come you here?”

  “I just came by to collect someone,” Lorenzo nodded towards Libby. “I don’t want any trouble, Trey. Just want the girl.”

  Trey lifted his head to the side and glanced at Libby. He gave it a moment’s thought and then nodded his head.

  A boy rushed forward threateningly, almost prepared to wrestle with Lorenzo. “What do you mean ‘want the girl’? That’s my girl!”

  “Yeah?” Lorenzo challenged. “And the one that’s sitting there with an idiotic look in the bang middle of those three chicas is mine.”

  His powerful shoulders flared, his fist clenched in his pockets as he surveyed the strength of his opponent. He rapidly scanned the others for any interest to interfere, but they held back.

  A flash of red and blue light lit behind him and he noticed that a police car crawled slowly by the site.

  Trey put a restricting hand on the boy’s arm. “Easy there, Craig.” He nodded towards Lorenzo, giving him his approval.

  Lorenzo started to move forward but Libby leapt off the hood of the car.

  “Stop right there!” she shouted. “Don’t you dare come any closer! Who do you think you are coming to fetch me like this?! Stay away from me! Craig!” She looked at the boy for help but it was obvious he was already doing his frustrating best to stand back, his eyes furiously pinned on Lorenzo.

  “A lover’s tiff?” Trey smirked. “Don’t want no business in that.”

  “Are you going to come with me quietly?” Lorenzo whispered firmly to Libby.

  “Stay away!”

  “Stop making a fuss, Libby. You’re embarrassing the both of us.”

  “How dare you? No I dare you. You just try… just try…” She didn’t finish her sentence. She found herself lifted up and onto his shoulders in a fireman’s lift.

  She screamed loudly, beating onto Lorenzo’s back as she struggled to free herself from his tight grip. But with his hands firmly braced onto her legs and the rest of her body dangling behind him, she soon discovered there was very little she could do.

  Trey chortled. “That’s a feisty one, Lorenzo.”

  Lorenzo grinned. “Thanks man. I’ll see you around.”

  A short distance away from the site, Libby groaned loudly.

  “Will you get me down now? All my blood’s rushing to my head.”

  “You perhaps need some there, after the way you thoughtlessly raced to a place like that,” he snarled back.

  “You know what, I don’t see it any of your business where I go. And what was that about me being your girl?”

  Lorenzo stopped. “I’m gonna put you down now only because your ass is too big. And for an airhead, you’re quiet heavy in the head.” He dumped her onto her feet. “I need my back for work tomorrow.”

  “I didn’t ask you to carry me now, did I?” she retorted sharply, hurt by his comment on her butt size and her brains.

  “You ask too many questions. You should spend more time thinking about what you’ve done.”

  “And who made you boss?”

  Lorenzo groaned. “Again the questions. Kate. Happy? And I will make it my business to make sure you stay safe until she gets back. And after she does come back, I will have to make certain you don’t give her any trouble again.”

  She stared after him speechlessly. “Rudy has been talking to you, hasn’t he? I’ll get that loudmouth…”

  “And you will do nothing,” he warned, holding her arm firmly. “If there is anyone in your family watching your backs, it is Rudy. He’s a good kid, Libby. You could learn something from him.”

  She pulled her arm away angrily. “And what would I learn from Rudy? Do you know how much I’ve sacrificed for my family? You don’t even know the entire story so don’t go making half-assed assumptions.”

  “Maybe I don’t need to know. Maybe all I’ve seen is enough.” Lorenzo sighed and stood to face Libby.

  A gentle wind caressed her face, loosening a golden lock. He stood mesmerized by the soft, waving strand. He lifted a finger and tucked the stray tress behind her ear. “Libby, I…” He stopped, a frustrating pulse throbbing in his temples.

  Turning away, he started walking swiftly back to their apartment building. “We need to go home,” he said. “Rudy and Bridget must be worried about you.”

  Libby paced hesitantly behind him, taken aback by Lorenzo’s surprising gesture of tenderness. She was flushed from his touch. She had never expected she ever would respond to him like that. Until that moment, she had despised him.

  But her body had warmed the moment his finger caressed her cheeks, betraying her thoughts. She bit her lips, trying to revert to her feelings of hate for him. However, no matter how much she tried, they seemed to have died.

  “Do you know Trey?” she asked trying to break their sudden awkward silence, hoping some conversation would revive the pleasurable dislike that she not too long ago had for him.

  “You know I do.”

  “I mean, do you know him well? He didn’t seem to put much of a fight when you walked uninvited into his territory.”

  “He probably didn’t think you were worth it,” he replied succinctly.

  She snorted. She should have been pleased that his curt response had evoked some annoya
nce in her but she was infuriated with herself for not being able to hate him as she once did. “And yet you thought I was worth it in order for you to risk yourself?”

  He paused briefly in his stride. “It’s getting late,” he said and then increased his pace, leaving her to catch up to his long legged gait.

  *****

  The birds chirped in the trees above them. Fresh ocean breeze fluttered her long dark hair.

  Kate breathed heavily, panting as she trailed behind Clayton. “How much further is it going to be?”

  He stopped, turning towards her. “Just a little more,” he grinned.

  “Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

  “Are you kidding me? You aren’t thinking we’ll get lost, are you?”

  Kate shrugged. “We could.”

  “Kate, the island’s only ten acres in size. How in the world would we get lost? It’s almost impossible.”

  “Nooks and crannies, Clayton. Or do you control that as well?”

  He grinned. “No, I don’t. But I know exactly where they are. And if you’re not careful, you’re gonna step right into one now.”

  He eased her away, pointing at her feet. It was then she noticed the weed covered hollow. Had she erroneously put her foot into it, she definitely would have sprained her ankle.

  “Thanks,” she said, her skin heating from the mere touch of him. She was amazed that her body could still react so responsively to his despite all their passionate lovemaking in the last four days on the island.

  As they clambered further up the hillside, the woods thinned out, opening into a small meadow of flowery shrubs of sorts.

  Kate beamed with held breath, soaking in the beauty of the island’s wilderness. In her days on the island, she had only seen and admired the stylish Reid gardens. She had never ventured too far into the woods surrounding the property. She never imagined there could be anything beyond it other than the other side of the island, its rocky coast and the sea. Never would she have believed that such beauty existed even if Clayton would have told her. Somehow she was glad he hadn’t. Because seeing it for herself, she realized, was an experience she relished more.

  “It’s… beautiful,” she whispered, as if afraid she was intruding into its serenity.

  Wild flowers adorned the little brow on the hill. The ground was covered with long, pink dangling flowers. They were Western Columbines, she remembered the florist in Sitka tell her during her visit to the town.

  She picked up a starry white flower at her feet. “Do you know what they’re called?” she asked, looking at him with interest.

  She was surprised that he had brought her here. According to Leah, it was a place he treasured. She had called it Scrawny’s Hill.

  When he disappeared each morning for his jog, she had often wondered where he went. Until one morning, as she sat gazing at him thin out into the woods, did Leah reveal his secret nook on the island.

  “Don’t look so worried,” she had said. “It’s not like he runs to another woman.”

  Kate had blushed. Her feelings for him were becoming more apparent to the women and she feared it could become a complication once her contract as his fiancée was over by the end of the week. More than that, she wondered if she was as obvious to Clayton himself. She didn’t want him to think she would be a liability to him.

  She had finally decided she would enjoy the rest of the days on the island as his lover, and then leave. Although her dream to be his real fiancée would never come true, she at least had come close to living it.

  “I wasn’t worried,” she had muttered, shyly.

  Leah dragged a chair beside her with a cup of steaming black coffee.

  “It’s called Scrawny’s Hill. It was named after a cat, Scrawny,” she explained, sipping down her hot drink.

  Kate stifled a chuckle, afraid she might disrespect her in some way. However, her amused face gave her away.

  “It’s alright,” Leah giggled. “You can laugh it out. Everyone has once they know how important the cat was to the family to have a hill named after her.” She leant back into her chair. “She was supposedly my great, great grandfather’s cat. She was a wild, scrawny little thing, and not much to look at, hence the name. But my grandfather loved her just the same. It was said she lived up to twenty years. But in those twenty years, she was known to run away frequently. And each time when my grandfather went out looking for her, he would find her on that hill. I think she simply enjoyed getting back to her feral roots, hunting like a wild cat.”

  She suddenly grew quiet, delving into some deep thought. “When we were young, Clayton often got himself into trouble. If we were living in some urban neighborhood, he probably would have resorted to his friends or escaped into the arcades. But on an island, there were relatively very few places he could hideaway in. He soon discovered that Scrawny’s Hill was an ideal nook to escape to. It was way up high on the island and you needed to muster quite a bit of strength to reach it.” She sighed, signaling an end to her tale. “And that’s how he started to run.”

  There was more to the tale, Kate thought, noticing the way in which Leah had abruptly concluded the story.

  She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Clayton’s troubles in his family hovered about her like an elephant in the room. What troubles was she referring to? Were those the same troubles that affected his relationship with his father? Was it why he kept running away each day to Scrawny’s Hill, returning late into the morning, when he knew his father would be engaged in the matters of his business, far too busy then to converse with him at all?

  “I know that’s a shooting star you have in your hand,” Clayton said, enthralled by her fluttering dark tresses in the ocean breeze. He tore his eyes away. He was well aware how she drew out his imperfections, his lack of self-control whenever she was around him. He didn’t want to appear like a sex crazed lover, taking her wherever and whenever his sexual urges called upon him. “The others I’m not too certain about.”

  “Leah told me about this place,” she said, twirling the little white flower. “Scrawny’s Hill. I just never imagined it would be so beautiful up here.”

  He looked a little hurt. “I guess my surprise wasn’t a surprise after all.”

  “Of course it was,” Kate said, hastily. “Leah never mentioned how beautiful it was. All she said was…” She paused, biting her lower lip. “She said it was where you jogged to every morning. She only mentioned it when she caught me wondering about it.”

  He strolled closer to the cliff edge. In the distance, the ocean sounded against the rocks bordering the island.

  “I loved this place. It has a life of its own. Flowers just grow and bloom on their own accord. No one dictates them. I’d see the occasional loon, grebe or albatross perch on those trees. If I was lucky, I’d be able to catch a herd of whales migrate through the gulf.” He gave a throaty chuckle as he reminisced his childhood days. “I used to always keep a pair of binoculars and telescope under those overhanging rocks.” He pointed towards a cluster of naturally sculptured boulders. “I used to pretend this was my very own lighthouse, keeping watch on everyone that left the island or came close to it.” He grew momentarily quiet. “I had a distinct view of the pier. I’d watch my father leave the island each day, precisely at nine in the morning. I suppose nothing much has changed in all those years.” He looked down at his watch.

  Kate caught sight of the family yacht skim over the waters as it headed towards the city.

  She put an assuring hand over his shoulder. “If it helps, I grew up in the middle of a bustling city, and it was just as lonely. I wish I could have had at least some birds or whales to watch to while away my time. It’s no fun observing gangs cause trouble on the front street or police sirens screech through your dreams.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “I’m sorry. I must sound like a total self-centered brat. Of course, I loved living on the island. It’s just that there were some things I think I missed out on.”

  Kate s
miled. There were a lot of things she missed out on too, like a mother, money and almost close to an education had her father not worked through three jobs to put her into college.

  “You never really told me about your life,” he asked, carefully, trying to sound as casual as possible.

  Kate shrugged. “There isn’t much to tell.” She moved closer to him and put her arms around his neck. “Have you ever brought a girl to Scrawny’s Hill?” she asked, curiously.

  “No.”

  “Then you never really did it here then?” she teased.

  He smiled. “No.”

  She ran her fingers seductively down his torso. “You think anyone really did it here?”

  “I don’t know,” he said thickly. “Kate…”

  “Hmmm…,” she muttered as her fingers tugged at his tee-shirt, in a fevered consumption to touch his skin.

  He tugged a fistful of hair, throwing her head back roughly. “Don’t tease me, Kate,” he begged huskily.

  She smiled and pushed him back onto the ground of thick, matted grass. She pulled off his shirt, kissing him at the base of his throat.

  Her fingers fiddled clumsily on his zipper. Even through his thick, chinos, she could feel his hardness.

  Finally, in his eagerness to take her, Clayton impatiently helped her with his pants, pulling it open only slightly to allow her access.

  She wrapped her small palm around his warm, velvety length, as she traced his body with her lips.

  Clayton gasped. He had never seen her so bold with him and he was beginning to enjoy it.

  The rising sun of the Sitka sky glared above them. Clayton closed his eyes, his senses attuned only to the heat coursing through his body. He reached out in fervent helplessness to cup Kate’s full breasts. Her nipples were peaked and hard as he desperately wished to take them into his mouth. He wanted to feel the flesh of her areola against his tongue. He moaned in a feeble protest.

  Instead she ignored him, placing her mouth on where once her palm had heated his hot turgid length. He groaned, winding his fingers into her hair.