Nice Shootin' Tex

by Cyndia Rios-Myers

  "Because you are an easy target, Texas."

  He didn't have any sort of magical insights on how to handle the situation better, but it felt good to talk about it with him. We talked about other things such as the work we had to do and other familial demands as well.

  "My mom apologized to me. She also told me to apologize to you on her behalf for what she said yesterday evening."

  I half smiled at that. Daniel's tone suggested that he wasn't sold on the apology. Still, I thanked him for it and told him to thank her as well. After I told him how I would be spending the evening (painting and heading to my pa's for dinner) and he told me how he would be spending his (working and having dinner at Paul's), we ended the call. In a great mood, I went to my guest room/studio and began to paint. I painted a small canvas with fuchsia, pink and red colors which was my interpretation of the colors of crushes and of growing affection. I then painted a picture of a sunset over barren terrain. The sky was blue, yellow, white and other golden tones - my interpretation of the colors of life, hope and rebirth; everything that I was feeling.

  Chapter 22

  Tim and I were walking together a couple of nights later, going down a trail after a hog and two of our dogs.

  "That stuff with Mara is quite the mess, Lauren," he said.

  I sighed.

  "I know it. I feel bad for Arnold. I feel bad for me. I even feel a bit bad for her."

  Tim said nothing for a while; he flashed his flashlight in the direction the dogs pointed their noses to, trying to find hogs.

  "We were pregnant. Laura and I," he said after a while.

  I sighed as I looked at him. He didn't look like he was upset or anything. He looked like...himself.

  "I know," I said with a sad sigh.

  That got his attention. "What? Did Laura tell you?"

  "No. But for a few weeks there, I saw that she was avoiding alcohol. Then all of a sudden, she started drinking coffee and wine again."

  Tim nodded at that.

  "I didn't want to pry," I said in an apologetic tone.

  "No, I know." He said.

  "Have you guys gone to see any professionals about it?"

  He sighed.

  "Yeah. We are headed to Dallas to see a fertility specialist next week. We really want kids," he said.

  "I know," I said with a smile. "And when you guys do have a kid, that kid is going to be the luckiest kid ever."

  He smiled at that.

  "Thanks, Lauren."

  He spoke to me again a few minutes later.

  "So how are things going with that Daniel fellow?"

  I blushed as I tried to hide a small smile.

  "They are going well."

  He nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. His wanting to spend so much time around you and us is pretty honorable."

  My eyes welled up in pride.

  "I know, Timmy."

  "When are you going to tell him about Trevor?"

  I gulped.

  "The next time I see him," I whispered.

  "It might be hard, but it's the right thing to do, Lauren."

  "I know."

  Conversation died away as the dogs started barking and yipping like crazy. Back to work, it was.

  Thursday afternoon arrived and I was giddy. I was happy, I was excited, and I was nervous. I checked my outfit out in the mirror for the fifth time. I looked good. I had a peach silk blouse on, black pants and black kitten heels. I hide tiny pearl earrings on and light makeup. I left my hair down. I looked pretty. I looked ladylike. Lord, I hope he approved. Seconds later, I heard the doorbell. Nervously, I walked to the door and answered it.

  It was Daniel. Oh, Lord he looked handsome. So darned handsome. He had a blue shirt on and jeans too. He had black boots on. He beamed as soon as he saw me. I smiled back and nervously opened the screen door. He kept smiling as he closed the doors behind us.

  "You are a vision," he said to me.

  "Thank you. You look very good yourself," I said with a bashful smile.

  He then put his hands on either one of my arms. Lord, he felt so warm.

  "Can I kiss you?" he asked me in a warm voice.

  "Yes," I whispered back.

  Time stopped as his mouth reached mine. I vaguely remembered raising my arms to his shoulders. I vaguely recalled his hands settling on my hips as he pulled me closer. What I did recall was the feeling in my belly and in my lower regions as his mouth gently parted mine. The feeling of his tongue gently touching mine was a memorable one too. So was his taste; he tasted of mint and of water, if water had a flavor.

  It was so wonderful and intimate to kiss him in my home. No one would enter or come knocking on my door at that time. It was just Daniel and me.

  He pulled back a couple of minutes later and smiled as he took a deep breath.

  "We have to slow that down, Lauren."

  I blushed as I nodded in agreement.

  "Would you like a tour of my home?" I asked him.

  "I would love that."

  The tour of my living room, kitchen and dining area was a short one. My bedroom tour was an abbreviated one too. We went outside where we lingered as we watched the sun reflect beautiful colors on the pond. My back was to his chest as his hands gently rested on my shoulders. It was no longer just me, I knew. It was the most peaceful thought ever.

  Once it grew dark, we went back inside where I showed him my paintings. He laughed as he gazed at them.

  "My Lord, Lauren. These are wonderful."

  "Thank you, Daniel," I whispered back.

  He saw the paintings of my mom, of hogs, of sunsets and sunrises.

  "I'll have to commission something for my office."

  I smiled.

  "I wouldn't charge you," I responded.

  "What if I want more than one?" he asked with a smile.

  I laughed.

  "Then we would have to talk about that."

  That made him laugh, too.

  "Should we go and have dinner?" He asked.

  "Yes. Let's."

  We then left my house holding each other's hands. I pointed out my brother's house at the end of the road. Further on into town, I pointed out the high school I'd gone to growing up. I pointed out our church. I pointed out the graveyard where my mother was buried. He squeezed my hand as we drove by that. Finally, we arrived at the steak house. He ordered the rare steak and I ordered a well done one. He teased me about not being adventurous when I told him I'd never eaten a rare steak before. I caved and had a bite of his. It was good. He took credit for it and I let him. We had a couple of glasses of wine before heading to the movie theater. We held hands and smiled as we debated on watching a horror movie or a romantic comedy. He then played the "I drove seven hours for this date" card so I gave in. It was an awfully scary movie - the type with zombies in it. Daniel laughed as I turned my head towards his shoulder to avoid seeing the screen during the worst parts. When it was safe, I ate popcorn and shared some of his soda. At one point, he lied to me about when it was safe to look and I almost let a scream out.

  "Daniel!" I quietly whined as I tucked my head on his shoulder. "I trusted you."

  Gently, he pulled my head off of his shoulder and looked into my eyes. All humor had disappeared from his expression.

  "You can trust me, sweetheart."

  He then brought his head to mine and kissed me ever so gently. Suddenly, I forgot all about the stupid zombies. Until I saw his face turn away and laugh, though.

  "Don't look now. It's getting messy and the zombies are having fun."

  "Ew," I said, looking at his face.

  "Come on. Hide your face again," he said in an indulgent tone. I did just that.

  Too soon, his truck pulled up in front of my house. He had told me that he wasn't driving back to Mescalero tonight, but had business in Fort Worth to attend to, so he would just get a hotel room out there. Nervously, I stared at his glove compartment. I knew that I had to speak then.

  "Daniel, this is the single best date I have ev
er been on."

  He smiled at me.

  "That's sweet."

  "Please let me finish," I said in a scared tone.

  His smile disappeared. "Go on," he skeptically said.

  "But there is something in my past I have to tell you about. I'd almost rather not tell you, but I don't want there to be any mistrust or lies in our relationship."

  "Keep talking," he gravely said as his brow furrowed.

  "Remember that I told you that my heart was broken a few months past?"

  "Yes."

  I licked my lips before I continued.

  "It was Trevor Garrett. I...was in a relationship with Garrett for the duration of the competition."

  His mouth dropped open in shock at that.

  "What?" he said in a nearly irate voice a few seconds later.

  "You heard me," I said with tears in my eyes and in my voice. "I was in a relationship with Trevor Garrett during the competition. It ended the day I left. I haven't spoken to him since that day. I haven't sought him out. I am over him." I added.

  He didn't appear to have heard the last part though. He straightened in his seat and faced me.

  "You mean you were in a sexual relationship with Trevor? The host?!"

  My tears dropped as I nodded. "Yes, I was."

  His face shut down on me then. He was serious and quiet.

  "Wow, Lauren. I didn't think you were that kind of girl," he said with a scary finality.

  My tears dropped onto my silk blouse and slacks as I felt the weight of his disapproval. After a minute, he shook his head.

  "I gotta tell you; this was not the way I thought our first date would end. Not in a million years."

  A soft sob escaped my mouth then. "I feel nothing for him, Daniel."

  He didn't listen, but leaned over me and opened my door.

  "Good night, Lauren," he said in a stiff voice.

  I stared at him in surprise and shock for a full ten seconds.

  "That's it?" I asked in a cracking voice.

  He wouldn't look at me.

  "For tonight? Yes. For the future? I have no idea."

  I sobbed a little bit before grabbing my sweater and my purse. Once I stepped out of his truck, I turned to face him.

  "Thank you for tonight, Daniel."

  He took a deep breath but wouldn't look at me.

  "Good night, Lauren."

  Dejected, I closed his door and slowly walked up my driveway and into my house. I heard him drive off as soon as I closed my door. I let my sobs come out as I dropped my purse and sweater. I then sat on my couch in my dark living room and wondered what was wrong with me as a person.

  I should not have dated Trevor. I should not have been intimate so soon. Those two things alone had probably just driven away the only man I would ever want. Not knowing what else to do, I quietly got off the couch and went to my bedroom making small sounds in my lonely little house.

  Chapter 23

  I woke up to the sound of knocking on my door. Confused, I looked at my nightstand. It read two a.m.; I'd gone to bed about three hours ago. I then heard the knocking again. Quickly, I threw on my knee length robe to cover my tank top and underwear and went to my front door. Looking through the peephole, I saw that it was Daniel. Even though his face looked unhappy, my heart soared at seeing him. Quickly, I unlocked the door and let him in.

  He stepped in, closing the door behind him and then locking it. He then turned on a light in the living room and then looked at my legs. He swallowed.

  "Is that all you have on?" he asked in a tone.

  "In my house in the middle of night? Yes," I replied without an ounce of apology in my voice.

  He stared at me for the longest time.

  "You came back," I whispered.

  "I have to hear it. All of it," he said in a grave tone.

  "Why?" I asked.

  "Because I have to know," he angrily replied.

  I then sat down on the couch. He did the same.

  "But first tell me this. Why? Why the hell would you...date," he spat the word out, "such a smarmy, pretty-boy vain person? Why?"

  "Because he liked me," I softly replied.

  "Is that all it took?" he yelled. "I liked you!"

  Remembering our first conversation at the competition, my brow furrowed.

  "You wait a minute. When I first saw you, I didn't even see him. I was so taken by you that I didn't even see anyone else. But you gave me no indication that you wanted to see me in a personal level after the show."

  "I took your business card!" he angrily argued.

  He then pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and produced said card. Holding it to my face, he spoke.

  "For months, I looked at this card. Every time I saw your name, I would picture your face. I couldn't wait to see you again, Lauren."

  I was floored by his confession. I had no idea.

  "You said you had a hog problem. I thought that was why you would call me back," I said in a smaller voice.

  "There are ten different hogging firms between Olney and Mescalero alone! Why would I travel seven hours when I could travel seventeen minutes?" he said in a passionate voice.

  "You gave me no indication, Daniel. You could have asked me for a date. You could have told me to look you up. I would have done nothing at all if I'd only known that you were interested in me."

  "But because I didn't, you ran into Trevor's arms, didn't you?" he disdainfully said.

  "Now you wait just one minute! You encouraged me to see Trevor," I spat back.

  His eyes widened in shock and anger.

  "What in the hell are you talking about?"

  "You said that Trevor was trouble and that I should stay away," he looked like he wanted to cut me off, but I held up a finger to stop him. "But then you added that if I liked trouble that maybe I should go and have fun."

  His eyes had not shrunken in size. He then went from staring at me to staring at the picture less TV in front of the couch.

  "I didn't say that, did I?" he asked in a low voice.

  My own fury dying down, I sighed.

  "You did, Daniel," I softly added.

  He sighed. "Fuck," he softly said. He then added another F-bomb before punching my wooden coffee table with his fist, hard. Shocked, I nervously sat back before looking at his slightly bloodied knuckles. Concerned over the stupid, proud man, I sat next to him and grabbed his hand. He allowed me to do so. He'd been staring at me while I made my cursory inspection. Determining that his hand was alright, I set it down on my lap and looked at his face.

  "Why did you say that, Daniel?"

  He groaned and used his other hand to run it through his short black hair.

  "I don't know. Maybe I was trying to be funny. Maybe I was just nervous."

  I thought about throwing it in his face that that was what pushed me towards Trevor. Instead I sighed.

  "It confused me."

  He groaned again and then sat back on the couch.

  "I am such an idiot," he muttered.

  I agreed, but stayed silent.

  "Are you still mad at me?" I asked after a minute.

  "At you? No. At me? Yes. At the fact that that letch touched your body for three weeks? Hell yes," he growled.

  I said nothing for a while.

  "Did you love him?"

  I looked deep into his deep brown eyes and took my time before answering him. I shook my head.

  "I thought I did. I am not in love with him. I do not miss him." I took breath and sighed before continuing. "I'm in love with someone else who is so much more worthy of it."

  He continued to stare at me, but I felt something warm in the depths of his eyes.

  "Why did it end?" he asked.

  "He didn't want anything long term. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I didn't want it to continue - at the time," I clarified, "I did. He wasn't unkind; but he simply said that I didn't fit into his life after the show."

  He shook his head at that. "So you gave yourself to a
less than deserving man, huh?"

  My face flushed in shame at that. "I did, Daniel and I'm sorry I did that. But I can't change the past."

  He said nothing for a while, but stared at the blank TV. I nervously swallowed.

  "Do you still want me, Daniel?"

  He looked at me with a sigh.

  "Of course I do," he gently replied.

  I sighed in relief at that.

  "Come here," he added.

  I scooted across the couch and buried my face in his neck as my arms went around his chest. He put his arms around me and held me tight. I hadn't lost him at all; the realization felt so good. After a minute of just sitting in his arms, I looked up at his face and saw him looking down at me. Gently I kissed him. He kissed me back. Seconds later I was in his lap as he pulled me in closer for this kiss. The heat between us increased in no time at all. My breathing went heavy as I recalled how much little fabric covered my hardening nipples and my warming lower regions.

  Daniel had one hand on the back of my head and the other on my back as he pulled me closer to him. He dropped his hands to my thighs then, prying them apart. I moaned a little bit as he pulled my body against his and all of my soft parts touched his hard ones. His breathing quickened and he pulled back from me.

  "Oh, Lauren. I want you."

  My face flushed. "Me too," I whispered.

  "But it is way too soon."

  He then gently removed me from his body and set me down next to him. Demurely, I pulled the sides of my short robe around me. After catching his breath, he sighed and looked at me.

  "It will be a while before I take you, Lauren. I want to be sure that you are truly mine before I have you."

  But I was his. Still, I smiled and nodded. "That's fine. I'm happy to wait."

  "Happy to wait? Are you that aroused by me?" he said on a laugh.

  I laughed back.

  "Oh, no, Daniel. I fantasize about you...and me a lot," I said with a blush.

  He groaned at that. "Then please keep those thoughts to yourself. I'm working really hard on being a gentleman here."

  "Okay," I smiled.

  He then sighed and stood up. "I have to get back to Fort Worth now."

  That surprised me and I stood up. "You mean you made it all the way over there?"