Once outside, Shilah lit a cigarette. He looked up, his expression apologetic. “I’m trying to quit.”
She shrugged and held her hand out for one. He gave her one and lit it for her.
“I didn’t figure you were a smoker. You seem to have a lot of … stamina.”
Avery hid a smile with her cigarette.
“I’m a runner. And I only have one on special occasions.”
“So this is a special occasion?”
They stood in silence, their sights fixed on one another. It seemed like he was looking into her somehow, and instead of feeling violated, she felt eager. Shilah closed the distance between them. She was sure he would kiss her and her chest heaved as she tried to steady her breathing. She anxiously tilted her head back as he took her face in his hands, when a voice cried out in the night. They both froze and looked in the direction of the house.
“Nicole,” Avery gasped. Shilah released her and took off running, with Avery right on his heels.
When Nicole emerged from her hiding spot in the bushes, she realized a moment too late that she’d waited too long. She was face to face with Jason.
“There you are.” He gave her a lopsided grin and advanced toward her. Her head was still spinning from the scene she’d just witnessed and the hours of drinking on a mostly empty stomach.
“Jason…” Tired of his crap, Nicole backed away. She stopped as she ran into something. Looking over her shoulder, she realized she’d backed up to a tree trunk. Further retreat wasn’t an option.
“Alone at last,” Jason slurred. The day of steady liquor consumption was finally catching up to him. She suspected he’d had a couple more shots since she’d left the barn.
“Look. Avery’s not here to watch you hit on me. What do you say we go have some barbeque?” She reached for his arm and he pulled it away, placing it on the tree trunk for support.
“And miss my chance to finally get you alone? No way.” Suddenly on high alert, Nic hadn’t expected Jason to actually attempt to seduce her. She’d assumed he’d been caught up in the game, trying to piss Avery off. He pressed his body against hers and she winced at the rough, prickly surface of the tree trunk through her clothes. His face was an inch from hers and she smelled the stench of whiskey on his breath. She considered his aggressiveness from their school days, and something Avery had once told her after she ended their engagement: Jason could be a dangerous drunk.
She opened her mouth to talk him down, and as she stumbled for what to say, he brought his lips down hard on hers. She felt teeth scrape her lip and she could taste her own blood. Panic gripped her and she struggled to push him away, but Jason had always been remarkably strong. He had one hand in her hair and the other fondled her breast. She tried to push him off several times, but it just seemed to get him more aroused. Finally, in desperation, she bit his tongue. He winced and yanked his face away from hers.
“Stop it, Jason! Get off of me.”
“Now you’re gonna play hard to get? Come on, Nic. I remember how much you like this.” The mouth was on her neck and his hand gripped her hair tighter, as his other hand moved past the button of her jeans.
“No, Jason! I said no.” Nicole’s voice was harsh as she batted at his hand. In response, he pulled her hair roughly, bringing tears of pain to her eyes. She cried out and his gaze went from her zipper back to her eyes. His grip on her softened and his eyes looked almost tender.
“Hey … it’s okay to be nervous.” He stroked her cheek. “It’s probably been a long time for you … I’ll try to be more gentle.”
At that instant, she saw movement in her peripheral vision, as something large sent Jason sprawling to the ground, taking several pieces of her hair with him. Nicole blinked in pain and shock to see Aaron looming over him, his hackles up, ready to fly into a rage.
“She said no.” Aaron’s voice was quiet, with a scary quality. Nicole knew that voice and that stance. Aaron was in full battle mode, and if she didn’t intercede, he would pummel Jason to a bloody pulp.
“Come on, Aaron. Let’s go back inside.” Nicole’s voice was forcibly calm, as if talking to a wild animal. Jason was on his feet and glaring at Aaron; they were squaring off.
Fortunately, Shilah and Avery appeared and their arrival caused Jason to stop looking at Aaron, transferring his attention to Avery. Shilah stepped between Jason and Aaron, his focus on Aaron, as he gestured for him to stay back. Unflinching, Aaron didn’t even seem to see Shilah.
“What the hell, guys?” Shilah’s tone was level. Avery moved toward Nicole, but Nicole shook her head once. Avery froze in her tracks, a look of comprehension on her face.
Seizing the moment, Nicole found her voice again.
“Aaron?”
“Yeah?” His voice still had an alarming tone, and he didn’t look at her.
“Can you drive?” She hadn’t seen him drink in a while and hoped he was sober.
“Yeah.” His sights still seemed pinned on Jason, who spit what she assumed to be blood onto the ground.
“Can you give me a ride home?” She reached out and took his wrist carefully. She felt him stiffen at her touch and held her breath. A moment later she saw his shoulders relax as he turned to her.
“Yeah.” He eyes were on her face, but seemed to look through her, his jaw set in a dangerous manner. She pulled him by the wrist and led him off toward the makeshift parking lot.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Avery watching after them.
“What the hell was that about?” Shilah asked Jason.
“Aaron’s always had a hard-on for Nicole. He’s just pissed she’s been with me all night,” Jason slurred as he brushed grass off his clothes. He spit onto the ground again. He wiped his mouth and Avery wondered if he was bleeding, but in the dim light she just couldn’t tell.
“Are you all right?” Avery asked cautiously.
“Since when do you care? Why don’t you go off and live in a teepee with Crazy Horse here and have little red babies?”
Avery gaped at Jason in horror, but Shilah didn’t miss a beat.
“Navajo don’t live in teepees, asshole. Read a book.” He held Jason’s gaze, until Jason looked away with a laugh and a shrug.
“Dude, it was a joke. God, everybody’s so uptight tonight.” He staggered off toward the party.
“Shilah, I’m sorry. He’s such a jackass.” Jason’s racist rant stung. Avery wanted to express this and fumbled for the right words. He took her hand and kissed it, taking her completely off guard.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Avery.” In the dim light she could see sincerity in his sensuous eyes, and it melted her. He confidently closed the distance between them. This time she could actually feel his lips before chaos stopped them in their tracks.
“I said get the hell off my property, you stupid ho!” Lauren’s voice raged in the distance. Shilah and Avery looked at each other and smiled.
“We’d better go see who she’s after now.” Avery sighed and they headed in the direction of the barn.
The silence was deafening as Aaron and Nicole rode into town in his truck. Aaron felt his pulse steadily slowing, as he tried to focus on the girl to his right and not the guy he’d left behind. He’d heard enough of their conversation to know that Nicole had told Jason no more than once. He wondered if he’d made a mistake not putting him out of his misery, but he’d wanted her out of harm’s way.
He could see her shaking in his peripheral vision and tried to ignore it and keep his eyes on the road. He knew if she started to cry, he would turn the truck around and finish what he’d started. Desperate to distract himself, he turned the radio on in a vain attempt to clear his mind and that was when Nicole spoke.
“Aaron?”
It took a lot of fortitude to look at her. When he did, he could see the fear in her eyes and realized it wasn’t Jason that had her scared.
“It’s gonna be okay.” His voice sounded surprisingly steady, considering how much he wanted to snap Jas
on’s neck. Reaching over to place his hand on hers, he felt it trembling. He pulled into the driveway behind her house and put the truck in park. He realized he’d entwined his fingers with hers but couldn’t let go. They sat in silence for a minute or two, both looking straight ahead.
“Thanks for the ride.” He could feel her looking at him and forced himself to turn to her again, but she had pulled her hand away and opened the door.
“Let me walk you inside.” He turned off the truck. They climbed out and he followed her to the back door. She fumbled with the lock a couple of times and sighed, turning to him.
“I’m sorry. My hands are shaking too much…” She sounded frustrated and embarrassed. He took the keys from her and opened the door.
“Do you want to come in for a little bit?”
“I’d better not, Nic.” He looked away and stood his ground.
She sighed deeply and shrugged. “Thanks again, Aaron.”
As she moved in and hugged him, he stood stoic for a minute. Feeling her warmth and softness against him, his defenses collapsed and he put his arms around her. They embraced for a long moment. He could smell the delicious, citrus scent of her hair. On instinct, his face was in her hair and he kissed the top of her head. She tilted her head to look up at him and his lips were on hers before he could stop himself. She opened her mouth in response, encouraging him to taste her more deeply. As their tongues intertwined, a moan escaped him and he felt himself harden against her.
No one had ever gotten to him like Nicole, and years of repressed sexual frustration made it impossible for him to contain himself. He wondered if she felt the same when her arms came around his neck, and she pulled him insistently into the kiss. His hands traveled past the small of her back and he hoisted her up onto him, feeling her legs cinch around him. He pushed open the back door and stumbled with her to the washer and dryer. He sat her down as her hands gripped his hair and pulled his mouth to hers, urging him on. He shrugged off his jacket as they pawed at each other like horny teenagers. She tasted amazing, just like he remembered. He waged an internal battle between wanting to see her and wanting more kisses. She grinded against him, and he felt a frustrated growl escape his throat. She pulled herself away from him long enough to whip off her shirt. The sight of her in just a white lacy bra brought him back to reality. He froze, taking in the beauty of her skin, and he knew if he went one step further, he would never be able to recover. He paused and saw her eyes narrow doubtfully. She looked down at her breasts self-consciously and back up at him.
“What’s wrong?” The question hung ominously between them. He looked away. He knew he should turn and walk out immediately, but his hands were still on her thighs.
“I have to go.” He groaned and pulled away from her, trying to catch his breath. Unable to look at her for fear of throwing caution to the wind, he averted his eyes.
She inhaled sharply and exhaled a long slow breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her pull her shirt on over her head and slide slowly off the dryer. She walked to the door and opened it. He finally forced himself to look at her face. With obvious hurt in her eyes, she regarded him tiredly.
“Nicki…” He wanted to say a million things; so many unformed thoughts tumbled over each other in his mind like items in a dryer.
“Just go, Aaron. I’m sure Joy’s wondering where you are.” She looked at the floor. He was out the door and in his truck before he could change his mind.
After she prevented Lauren from committing assault, Avery had to distract her by doing a couple of shots with her. She vaguely remembered throwing up not long after, and Lauren falling into her bathtub while getting a toothbrush and mouthwash from a high cupboard in her bathroom. After laughing so hard they nearly peed their pants, Avery had crashed in Lauren’s camper. Sunday she awoke at sunrise with a hangover. The weather had finally turned and she was freezing her ass off.
Shilah slept beside her fully clothed and some friend of Jack’s was in the bunk across from them, snoring loudly. For a moment, she felt panicky and couldn’t remember if they’d had sex. Racking her addled brain, the last thing she could remember was rambling to him about Jason, and listing off all the reasons they had been incompatible. Embarrassed, she decided to leave before they had to have an awkward conversation. She managed to sneak out of the camper without waking either of the men.
Chilled to the bone, she grabbed her leather jacket from the trunk. As she climbed into her car, she noticed Jason’s parked not far from hers. She headed home relieved that he'd had the brains not to drive.
She took a long bath, ate a big breakfast and forced herself to drink a ton of water. When it was finally a reasonable hour, she called Nicole. Her phone rang and rang. No answer.
She decided to take a hike in the trail in the woods in lieu of her normal morning run. In an effort to avoid being shot by a poacher, she wore neon yellow workout gear with Under Armor to keep her warm. As she traversed the uneven terrain, she listened to the calming sound of the river. Though she tried to clear her mind, her thoughts continued to return to Shilah. His chivalry had her impressed. He seemed perfect, and in her experience, if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was. Common sense told her she needed to proceed with caution. She didn’t want a transitional guy. Battling with herself as she hiked, she finally came to the conclusion that she just didn’t have enough information to make a judgment call.
Back at the house, she jumped in the shower once more. Busying herself with a few household tasks, she headed out the door to get groceries and tried to call Nicole again. As the phone rang, she’d glanced at the clock. It was now 11:00 A.M. Nicole answered on the third ring.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Avery asked.
“Cold. I just picked up Ike from your parents’ and I’m heading home.” Nicole’s voice sounded off somehow, but Avery couldn’t put her finger on it.
“What were Jason and Aaron fighting about last night?”
“I really don’t want to talk about Jason … or Aaron today, Avery. I have to go.”
Avery opened her mouth to object when the line went dead.
“What the…” She looked at her phone in disbelief. Not one to be easily deterred, she drove to Nicole’s and trotted up to the door.
Nicole opened the door and waved her in without a word. She was wearing sweats, a flannel shirt, and slippers. Her eyes seemed puffy and her color was rosy. The look on her face was troubling.
“All right, Nic what the f—” she started and Nicole shushed her, pointing to Ike who was asleep on the couch.
“Okay, are you going to tell me what happened with Aaron last night?” Unable to contain herself, she blurted out a loud whisper.
“Jason was wasted and being stupid. Aaron gave me a ride home. “
“He never came back after he left with you. Joy was stranded there and pissed. I think she spent the night on Lauren’s couch.”
Nicole seemed to take a while to process that bit of information.
“So he didn’t spend the night?” Avery tried to act casual as she asked.
“No. He wasn’t even here ten minutes,” Nicole snapped as she busied herself with kitchen tasks.
“All right. I think it’s time you tell me what the story is with Aaron. It’s obvious to everyone that you two are into each other.”
“I have no idea what to think.” Nicole looked genuinely disappointed.
Avery sighed and rolled her eyes. “Bullshit. Tell me what happened between him and Ryan.”
Nicole threw her towel on the counter and looked at Avery with a hand on her hip.
Avery looked back at her expectantly, and Nicole sat on the barstool next to her with a sigh.
“Do you remember when Ryan was attacked by that psych patient and ended up with a broken nose?”
“Yeah. The guy kicked the crap out of him and bruised his ribs. What about it?”
Nicole had looked at her as if she were an imbecile.
“There wa
s no patient, Avery. That’s how he came home from the Vikings game in Minneapolis.”
“Did they get into a fight at the game? A bar fight? What?” Avery shook her head. Nicole sighed and rolled her eyes. She took a drink of her coffee.
“Aaron did it.”
“Aaron … beat Ryan up? Why the hell would he do that?” Avery had stared at Nicole in disbelief.
“I don’t know. When Ry got home, he was a train wreck. All he would say was that they were no longer friends.” Nicole was playing with her ponytail and staring into her coffee cup. Avery stared at her, mouth hanging open. Finally, she found her voice.
“But you have suspicions…” She watched Nicole’s body language closely.
“Are you sure you want to hear this, Avery?” Nicole’s tone was calm, but something about her demeanor had Avery startled.
“Try me.”
“Ryan had a mistress in the Twin Cities. He thought I didn’t know, but I did.”
Avery felt as if Nicole had kicked her in the chest. She’d opened her mouth to say something and closed it again. She sat in silence.
“I’m pretty sure she wasn’t the first. I think she was the last, but who knows?” Nicole continued.
Avery felt like she’d knocked the wind out of her. She wanted to scream at her to shut up, but she was speechless.
“About a month after Ryan and Aaron’s fight, I found her thong in my bedroom when I came back from a design show in Boston. I flipped. I told him I’d had enough and that I was leaving him. We fought for hours. I had just taken a pregnancy test the day before. I’d been so sick. I told him I was keeping the baby, but that it would never know him.” A single tear streamed down Nic’s cheek. She stopped talking for a full minute and looked out the window. Avery got chills.
The Perpetual Quest for the Perfect Life Page 8