As I began to come back into my body from the otherworldly experience, I felt my body continue to convulse around him and I giggled.
Tyler looked back at me and smiled.
I wasn’t sure why, but at that moment, I was assured that smile Tyler was giving me meant just a little bit more than what he was letting on.
Maybe he had heard me after all, I thought with glee.
Chapter 46
Tyler
Once we were finished, I was finally able to grab something to eat. I was absolutely starved, but since it was nearly three in the morning, the only options we had in walking distance was a diner or convenience stores.
It was a fairly shitty way to celebrate freedom, but I would have made the same choice. Between fucking and food, if it came right down to it and by the way that Ashley seemed to enjoy our time together, I imagined she felt the same way.
So we decided to stay the night together and see where the morning took us. It was too fucking late to try to get a ride out of town and I was beat, between screwing and eating, especially after the day we had, so I suggested we go back to the beach, hide under a lifeguard stand and try to get some sleep under the stars.
Ashley smiled at me when I made the suggestion, before she bumped herself solidly into me and said, “Sure. That sounds like a lot of fun. Do you think we’ll get caught?”
“How the hell should I know? I have no idea what kind of police they have out here.” When she looked worried though, I added, “But really, what is the worst they are going to do, if they see us? We’re just sleeping.”
She shrugged. “Yeah…I guess.”
“Besides, we’re not going to cause any trouble. If they ask us to leave, we’ll leave, but we should probably get to sleep soon, just in case.”
“What are we going to do after tonight?” she asked as we made our way onto the pathway between the dunes.
The two of us had automatically put our shoes in our hands and we were walking barefoot, hand in hand in the sand. If I didn’t know better, I would say we had stepped right out of a fucking postcard. I had never thought that I would ever be caught dead in a situation like this.
The moon shone brightly overhead, lighting the water and making a romantic silhouette dance across the waves. The whole scene was pretty fucking disgusting.
It was just my luck to finally settle down, after pushing my body so far past the limits that a policeman would come, just as we were getting to sleep to kick us out. However, then it would stop being so damn cute.
Still, I figured I didn’t want to chance it, so I just sat down next to an overturned lifeguards stand and crawled underneath it. “Tomorrow, we will find a hotel that takes cash and doesn’t ask any fucking questions, but tonight, I just want to go to sleep.”
“I hear you…” She answered as she climbed in next to me and cuddled up beside me.
The cool sea breeze was fairly chilly when the sun went down and so, I made it a point to wrap my arms around her tightly and pull her into me.
She laughed slightly, just as I was about to say a dick comment about how much I did today, as opposed to what she did, but realized before my mouth opened fully that she did have a point. Even though it wasn’t physical, she had gone through a hell of a lot of distress today. I didn’t say anything at all.
I just closed my eyes and tried to find the sleep that I knew my body so desperately needed.
Then, just as I was drifting off, I heard Ashley’s voice as she said, “It’s so beautiful here…”
I sighed and opened one eye to see the moon once again, streaming through the spaces in the boards of the lifeguard stand. Immediately, I heard the rustling of the waves and became overwhelmed with the picture perfect ambiance, which was something that I certainly wasn’t used to.
After relishing in it for a moment, instead of just brushing her observation off with an aggravating comment, I answered honestly, “Yeah…It really is.” Then I sighed and answered, “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Ashley, but could you please go the fuck to sleep?”
She laughed at this before she answered easily, “Yes, Tyler. I’m sorry…”
Within seconds, I was back in the glorious bosom of dreamland and thankfully, that was where I remained for the extent of the evening.
When the sunlight began to stream through the lifeguard stand, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before people started to arrive and that would probably be where we ran into issues. I shook Ashley awake.
“Good morning!” I exclaimed as I began to slide out from beneath the overturned lifeguard stand.
It took a moment for Ashley to understand her surroundings, but when she did, she yawned and answered, “Good morning.”
“We should probably get out of here… At least until some people show up and we can look like we are just people on the beach like everyone else.”
Ashley nodded as she made her way out from underneath the stand. “Where are we going?”
“Breakfast?” I asked, realizing that I was still starving. The fast convenience store food had done almost nothing for me and I felt as though I hadn’t eaten in a week.
Ashley’s stomach growled as she covered it and answered with a smile, “Yeah, breakfast sounds great.”
I took her hand and we began to make our way back up the hill between the dunes as I hoped we didn’t stink too fucking much. However, my first priority was breakfast, so we began to walk to a place that served a lot for very little, with quick service.
While we were walking, Ashley said to me, “Hey Tyler…” Her voice sounded very sheepish then, almost as though she was afraid of something.
Afraid of me? I thought. Shit!
“Yes?” I asked, trying to sound approachable.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Whatever you want.”
She smiled awkwardly before she said, “Besides your Dad…did you do anything…like illegal?”
“Why the fuck would you ask that?” I demanded before I could stop myself.
“I’m sorry…” she spoke quickly now. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories. It’s just that everywhere you go, people seem to fear you and since we’re going to be on this little adventure together, I would really like to know what I am getting myself into.”
At this, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Really? Are you scared of me?”
“No,” she said, this time solidly. In an instant, her persona changed and she eyed me with a hard look before she added, “I just want to know who you are, since you seem to be the only person I can rely on.”
I nodded, being able to respect that and thankful that she wasn’t actually afraid of me. “Fine. If you must know, the only reason that people have that perception of me is because I give off a, don’t fuck with me, vibe. I know how to handle myself, but I’m not into any shit.” I shrugged. “Honest to God, all I do is strongman competitions. Nothing else. Nothing shady and nothing illegal.”
She thought about this for a moment, before she smiled and answered cheerfully, “Thank you.”
I thought it was a little strange, but after the shock of her bluntness wore off, I realized that I kind of liked answering her questions. This was partially because I really wanted to be honest with her, but it was also partially because with everyone I had ever gone out with or been around, Ashley was the only one who cared enough to ask.
After breakfast, we headed back to the beach to hang out, just as we said we would and I was pleased.
There was something about spending another day on the beach that made me feel like we were coming full-fucking-circle. Usually, I would have cleared out long before this, but right now, it was feeling damn good to be the one who was sticking around.
Chapter 47
Ashley
“So, what do you want to do?” I asked Tyler as the beach day we shared once again was coming to a close and we were thinking about going somewhere to find a hotel for the night.
He shrugged. “I don�
��t have a fucking clue,” he answered as he put his arm around me. When I looked up at him, with eyes that inadvertently showed signs of nervousness, he laughed, pulled me tight against his body and added, “But hell, isn’t that the point of freedom?”
I smiled up at him and gazed down at the ocean while I thought for a moment. It was really strange to be free, especially in this sense. However, as I took in a deep breath before releasing it in its entirety, I answered him with an honesty that even surprised myself. “Yeah…I guess you’re right. I’ve never done anything like this before though.” At this, I looked up at him again and continued, “I’ve always been the good girl; the one who does what she is told, almost unquestioningly. I never thought I would do something like this, but it feels great!”
He smiled down at me. “You want to know something kind of crazy?”
“What?”
“With all of the shit that I have done throughout my life, this is actually a first for me as well.”
“You’ve never run away before?”
At this, Tyler looked at me as though slightly angry before he answered, “Do you really think this is what you are doing? Running away?”
I shrugged, not wanting to upset him, but not entirely sure what I did wrong. “Sort of…”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you not a fucking adult?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you not have reasons for doing what you did that you can explain in a logical fucking manner?”
I shrugged again, still nervous, but coming to realize that he was more trying to prove a point then he was actually angry. “Yes.”
“Then, you didn’t run away. You are paving your own path; living your own damn life,” he barked, then sighed before he said, “Running away is what whiny little bitches do when they don’t get their new Ferrari and that isn’t you. You are building your life, so don’t you dare insult yourself, or me for that matter, by describing what you did and what you are doing as a fucking temper tantrum.”
I nodded again, this time seeing his point. “I understand. You’re right. I am taking control of my own life. This isn’t just some stupid game. This is what I need to do in order to get my life back on track!”
“Exactly!” he exclaimed, as though trying to be ultra-supportive.
“Thanks…” I answered carefully and then fell into thought for a moment, before I looked back at him and asked a question that was burning inside of me, but also one that I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to. “Hey, when you said I was building my life…” He looked at me expectantly when I paused and I seriously considered stopping the conversation, but just sighed and continued on, knowing that I had to ask now. “Do you think that there is a possibility that could permanently include…you?”
I held my breath for the moment that it took him to answer, realizing how loaded that question was. I didn’t mean that he was positively stuck with me forever, but I did want to have someone that I knew with me on this strange journey. And he would be the most preferred person, since it was him that caused me to take this leap of faith in the first place.
Therefore, I figured it was appropriate.
“I’m still fucking here, aren’t I?” he asked and I smiled, knowing that was probably the best answer I was going to get from him at this time.
However, that was certainly better than nothing.
Chapter 48
Tyler
We had stayed at the hotel about two weeks. It was fucking fantastic!
I knew right away that we should have done this when we first started seeing each other. Since were in a beach town, we didn’t actually need a car for anything and with the funds I had saved up, we were doing pretty damn well.
I had won a lot of strongman competitions over the years and that had made a world of difference when it came to having money to burn.
Of course, I had spent a shitload of it on my car; I paid in cash, so I wouldn’t ever have to worry about anything and now the only matter that we had to address was how to get back to it.
Still, that wasn’t a big deal, I thought, since my mother and Ashley’s stupid ass father had probably not even noticed that we left. We figured they were living it up, fucking as much as possible, before my mother went off with the body builder I had found her with when Ashley’s father wasn’t looking in order to fuck some more.
Regardless, it was very possible that neither one of them even remembered that we were still on the same damn island, much less care whether we ever came back or not. They were probably just as happy, if not happier, without us.
And that was fucking fine with us. The less we were looked for, the happier I knew we would be.
So, I figured when we got tired of the island, or before Ashley returned to school, we would take a bus back to her father’s house and take the car. I would get Ashley back to school and after that, I planned to travel the country and fight in competitions, while she got a part-time job and went to school.
I knew that together we could do this and that was the first time that I was sure about including anyone in any of my future plans.
I had to admit that it felt pretty fucking cool.
However, I was concerned, slightly for Ashley. I knew women pretty well and the fact that she was not even interested in trying to talk to her father about what had happened bothered me slightly.
I had no idea what the hell there was to say. He was an ass all around, end of story, but I still thought that her sheer lack of interest in talking about him was a little odd.
I tried to bring it up over the course of the two weeks staying at the hotel, but she just changed the subject. I got that she didn’t want to talk about it, but I also didn’t know if shutting her father out completely was such a good idea.
When I made this suggestion, she was quick to shoot it down, telling me that my experience and her experience were two totally different situations. I didn’t press the matter.
Then one night, while Ashley was working on some school preparation stuff, I decided to go out for a run alone.
I was used to running alone. Even though we were enjoying our newfound freedom to just be ourselves, independent of any parental figure, neither one of us were the up the ass, overly gooey type and so, we liked to have our space.
The run for the first few miles went well. I ran along the beach and enjoyed the sand being kicked up between my toes for a little longer than I supposed I should have, because when I looked up, I noticed I was dangerously close to the back of Ashley’s father’s house.
I wasn’t scared of the asshole, but I also didn’t want to instigate anything. The last thing I needed was any kind of official police report written about my ass. So I decided to stay away.
It wasn’t that I was afraid of anything, but who the hell knew what the future would bring? I didn’t want to risk my name coming up too many times in the police reports.
After all, I did kill my father. Whether the court saw it that way or not, whether I did it on purpose or not, wasn’t the point. That was all technicality. The fact remained that if it wasn’t for me, driving that car at that time, down that road, my father would still be alive and therefore, I killed him.
I certainly didn’t need any kind of report with another father-figure.
However, as I realized that I was too close and began to turn around, I was met by a fist to the face.
It didn’t really hurt, despite the obvious intent, but it did catch me off guard. I stumbled backwards.
I caught my attacker just as he barreled into me during my misstep, which caused me to hit the ground. But once I had a solid hold on him, I was able to easily push him off of me.
“Dude, what that fuck?” I screamed, moving toward him, but stopped short when I realized that this was Ashley’s father. “Get the fuck away from me,” I warned, trying to once again resist the urge to beat his face in.
“You took everything from me, you dirty bastard!” Ashley’s father screamed.
&nb
sp; I couldn’t help but rear back and glare at him. “What are you talking about? I didn’t take anything from you. You did it to yourself.”
With a growl and a plunge forward, my former stepfather ran at me again in a fit of rage, but I just turned away from him and watched as he lost his balance on the sand.
When he was finished with his tumble, he turned around and spat, “I’ll tell you what I’m talking about you good-for-nothing little shit! You took my daughter away and then your whore of a mother left me for some beach bum…She’s living it up somewhere other than my beach house, just screwing her brains out, while I sit here and rot!”
“Well, if it’s any fucking consolation, at least she isn’t screwing her brains out with some beach bum in your beach house, because that’s what she did to the other assholes she married,” I answered, trying not to snicker. I knew I was being insensitive, but he was still a major dick and I really didn’t give a shit whether his feelings were hurt or not.
“What is wrong with you people?” he screamed, now on his knees, looking completely beaten. He glowered up at me with a hateful look in his eye, but I didn’t care. He could hate me all he wanted.
“I’m not my mother. Believe it or not, I love your daughter and I am going to be able to provide for her and help her better than your sorry ass could,” I answered sharply. “Sure, you’ve got money, but that’s all you’ve fucking got. I don’t know what you were like when your wife was alive, but shit, ever since she died, all you have ever cared about is yourself. Your daughter needed you, in her teenage years as well as this summer and you always had something else on your fucking mind.”
Once I got started, I was on a roll. As I was speaking, I realized the truth in everything I was saying and in a way, felt very bad for Ashley; but on the other, I was proud of myself for being able to be the one on this side of the argument, the man that she wanted, not the man she was tired of being disappointed by. “So, I didn’t take shit from you. Ashley was done with you long before I came along and my mother is her own person. She’s a bitch and I do believe every word you said, but in my opinion, it is exactly what you deserve.” I narrowed my eyes at him and answered, “And if you ever fucking touch me again, I will call the police. We’re two grown men and out of the two of us, I’m not the one who really should know better.”
Stepbrother Summer (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) Page 21