by A. J. Downey
I paused in my stretching at the flash of real fear in her eyes at the thought. My woman liked truth. It was one of the things I loved about her. She wasn’t into the pretty little lies. I couldn’t promise it would never happen because I’d promised her I would try not to make promises I couldn’t keep and no one knew what tomorrow would bring. I could die doing a tow for Christ’s sakes.
“I can’t promise it won’t happen,” I said finally, “What I can promise is that you and me, we can do whatever it takes to have a plan in place in case of that eventuality. You’re my Ol’ Lady Shelly. I love you and you were part of The Sacred Hearts long before I showed up and they will always be there for you. So let’s go for a run, and we’ll come home and we’ll sit down and talk and try to make some plans for a future together and try to leave some shit in the past. How does that sound?”
She smiled and it lit her up from the inside out. She leapt lightly to her feet and said, “Think you can keep up?” and I grinned.
“I’m always going to try.”
She laughed and I followed her out into the freezing December air. She may not believe it, but I was determined. I would always be right behind my girl in this life, or the next. No matter how much of a bitch she was to keep up with.
I shot off a text behind Shelly’s back and caught up with her and hoped that the guys would pull through for me on this one. Okay, I knew they would pull through. I was more hoping they could get in, get out and get gone before we got back to the house.
We ran and ran and ran some more until she finally came to a stop, jogging in place, “Turn back?” she asked, breath pluming the frigid air.
“You ready?” I asked, I know I was more than ready. The cold made my lungs burn and I just generally wasn’t a fan.
“Uh huh!” she nodded and breathlessly we turned and started back and I hoped it would be enough time. I felt my pulse throb in my temples more with a slight spike of adrenaline. They’d pulled it off. It was sitting on the back porch all shiny red and white with a big red bow on the handlebars. Shelly slowed just ahead of me and came to a stop.
She turned slowly, eyes wide and I smiled. She turned back to the porch and breaths pluming the air in measured puffs turned back to me. She pointed, her eyes wide and so blue it hurt.
“Did you..?” she asked. I nodded.
“I told you, Princess and I meant it. I’m here, I love you and I may have my moments where I fight with you, where I’m a total idiot wrapped in moron, dipped in dumb shit like with the whole Blue’s shirt thing, but I’m not going anywhere,” I said. She turned back to the back porch with its shiny red bicycle perched on it and turned back to me.
“I didn’t really want a shiny red bicycle Ghost!” she exclaimed and put a hand over her mouth and turned back to the sight.
“Does it make you happy?” I asked.
“Strangely yes!” she cried.
“Then that’s all that matters Princess.”
Shelly turned and launched herself into my arms and I held her tight. She was a little less tattered and I was a whole lot less torn but we both had an extremely long ways to go. A long road to travel before either of us could declare ourselves good or healed or whatever.
“I’m so sorry for what happened, Baby,” I murmured into her shoulder. She drew back to look at me.
“Don’t,” she said, “It was a big black ugly rock that dropped from the sky,” she said, “It’s only in our way for as long as it takes us to go around it and keep going. I want it behind us. I want to stop going at it over stupid shit neither of us had control over in the past and I want to move forward,” she pinned me with her gaze.
“I can do that,” I told her, “Whatever you want. Whatever you need. Just tell me and I’ll do it.”
She rested her forehead against my own. “Is that a promise?” she asked.
“Do you want it to be?”
“I need it to be,” she said.
“Then yes, it’s a promise and it’s one I can and will keep,” I told her. She kissed me and I held her tight against me in the cold December early afternoon. She shivered against me and pulled back.
“Take me home?” she asked and it was the meekest I’d ever heard her. I smiled and stooped lifting her up. She shrieked and laughed and I carried her up the back steps.
She took one lingering last look at the bicycle as we passed by, “Good thing I didn’t say ‘pony’ she murmured, and I laughed. I stooped and she twisted the knob on the kitchen door and I carried her across the threshold, kicking the door shut behind us.
We didn’t make it to the bedroom. I made love to her on our hallway floor just outside her office.
It was good to be whole.
Epilogue
Revelator…
I dropped into the open seat beside my mentor and VP, Dray. He turned and raised an eyebrow at me and took a sip of whatever he was drinkin’. Looked like Scotch. He looked me over with somber dark eyes and I took his measure right back. He wasn’t here with Everett, which usually meant she was hanging with Red, which was what I wanted to ask him about.
“Yes?” he drawled out.
“Question for you,” I snapped out and he set his glass down on the bar. One of the new guys, Blue, moved off to the other end from where he was wiping down the old worn wood surface to give us the illusion of privacy.
“I’m waiting, dude. Spit it the fuck out.” Dray’s look turned tempestuous and I couldn’t help but grin. Everybody thought Dray was a miserable fucker but I’d figured out a while ago he was just short on patience and wanted the short version of everything.
“Red single?” I asked.
“Oh, you thinkin’ you finally got some time for her?” he asked. I rubbed the back of my neck where it heated up with my embarrassment.
“More thinkin’ I’d better make some fucking time,” I muttered and it must have been the look on my face because whatever wicked smart assed remark Dray was about to let fly, died on his lips.
“Yeah man, she’s single,” he said and sighed, “Good luck with that though. Don’t think you’re going to make it past my girl. She watches over Mandy like a mama bear does her cub,” he grinned at that and I smiled. I remembered his mother. She’d been much the same way and I tilted my head to the side.
“You thinkin’ about rug rats of your own?” I asked.
“With Em? Shit yeah, eventually, not now but if I had to pick a mother for the fruit of my loins, she’s it!” he tossed back the rest of his drink and I shook my head laughing.
“Wouldn’t fucking let her catch you putting it that way,” I said with a grin.
Dray smirked, “Yeah no, I plan on having sex again this week, hell, tonight if I’m lucky. Em and Mandy went to catch a movie. She’s supposed to be dropping my girl off to me later,” his smirk turned into a grin, “Got a couple of hours yet.”
“Thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” I asked.
“Been a while since any of us cut lose, we’re just waiting on the Big Man and Reave,” Dray let out a gusty sigh, “Speak of the devil,” he said.
“You called!?” Reaver slapped me on the back of my cut as he and Trig came through the front door, a blast of cold damp air wafting in behind them.
“Going to Sugar’s you coming?” Trig grunted, putting his e-cig between his lips. I could see his hands just itching to go for a lighter out of habit but he refrained.
“Sunshine still hasn’t figured out that you ain’t quit the real thing?” I asked.
“I’m pretty sure she knows,” he sighed and gave me a dirty look. I put up my hands.
“All you dudes have women, fine women, what the Hell you going to the strip club for?” Disney asked from a nearby table where he sat across from his little mister Aaron, who was about to leave for some time on the west coast scoring some movie or some shit. Dis had been moping around the house fucking hardcore but Aaron didn’t have a clue how bad it was tearing my brother from another mother up inside.
“You like d
ick, you wouldn’t understand,” Reaver said but he was grinning like the maniac he was, taking any bite out of the remark. Aaron smirked but remained silent.
“Woah! Don’t ask don’t tell!” Dray threw his hands up. Disney scowled at our VP and Aaron laughed.
“I think my Ol’ Man is desensitized to it, but I’m not. I’ll explain it to him later,” Aaron winked at Dray who looked slightly uncomfortable until Aaron and Disney both started howling.
“Man fuck you guys,” Dray muttered under his breath.
“So we going or what?” Trig asked and I got off my stool.
“Shit, yeah, keep your panties on Partner.”
The guys all moved around finishing drinks and grabbing yet more guys asking who else wanted to come. By the time I got on the back of my bike out front I wasn’t saying much or laughing at their dumb assed jokes. My mind was firmly on a set of fiery red curls and these hazel eyes that reminded me of the turning of the leaves.
“Rev! You good man?” Trig asked, firing up his bike next to mine.
“Yeah! Yeah! I’m good!” I yelled back.
I’d be even better if I had clue one on how to get Red to give me a shot after things went south the last go around. I sighed. Not like I’d tried to really fix it, I was just tired of waiting and yeah, I knew what kind of a douche that made me.
I fell into line behind the other guys and let some stripper grind her ass over my crotch but my heart wasn’t in it. I wanted something much more innocent and much more pure, and no matter how much naked flesh I stared at in the strip joint, I couldn’t get my Red out of my friggin’ mind.
Damn it I had it bad for the girl. Worse than bad and I needed to get off my ass and do something about it or I was going to lose my God damned mind…
About the Author
A.J. Downey has been a resident of Seattle, WA her entire life, that being said she has lived in many different places and many different worlds through her imagination. She enjoys music, coffee, writing (obviously) and a bunch of other boring things that you probably don’t really care about. She is ever so grateful that you either picked up her writing or that you continue to read her stuff!
You can find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorajdowney