May 11, 2013
Ellie
I was having such a great dream about Bobby and me that I don’t want to get out of bed right now, but my morning run is calling my name. So without lack of groaning, I pull myself from the cheap little twin bed and pull on some shorts and a tank, not caring how my hair looks as I pull the short locks into a ponytail.
Since Bobby has moved in with Rhea and Chad, we’ve seen each other almost every day. We’ve gone on walks to the back of their property, sneaking away like teenagers to make out in the tall grass, fooling around but we haven’t had sex yet. Not that we haven’t wanted to, but we’ve decided to wait until the time seems right. We still want to get to know each other as much as possible.
Which is nice because there is just something about Bobby that makes me want to wait. I want it to be more than just two horny people getting it on. I want it to be about us and I want it to be significant enough and at the point in time when I know I’m strong enough to be what Bobby needs. When I know I can be strong enough to support him in the life he will be leading.
I don’t know what it is but that boy makes me feel like a school girl again. Even now, as I’m tying my sneakers I can’t help but smile and laugh quietly at the thought of us playing twenty questions while sitting out by Rhea’s fire-pit. We had gone over first loves, favorite music, favorite foods, favorite places to be and had found out we have a lot more in common than we first thought. We both love country and rock music, along with loving hamburgers piled high with pickles and onions, and being on a farm. He had thrown his arm around me and pulled me onto his lap, whispering in my ear that we might be made for each other. The smile on my face widens as his smooth voice plays over and over in my head while I put my ear-buds in, cranking up my iPod with some Luke Bryan.
Heading out of my trailer park I wave at Melody and Jude, sitting on Jude’s makeshift patio as they drink their morning coffee. I haven’t been as close with Melody lately as before our little incident at the Virginia Beach club, but I’m still cordial to her. No reason to be overly nasty.
I turn towards the edge of town. I haven’t run this way in a while and today seems like the perfect day to venture towards my old town of Waverly. Maybe I’ll even stop in at the Spring’s family farm and see my old friend Lady.
The gravel crunches under my feet as I keep a steady pace, hovering at the stop signs and intersections long enough to make sure nothing is coming and admiring the springtime warmth from the sun. Small daisies and tulips are starting to pop up on the side of the road as I near the town line, humming away to Volbeat as they drum onto my playlist.
Horns honk and I wave at the smiling faces that pass me slowly on the road, taking extra care to wave to the Wakefield sheriff and his deputy when they flash their lights at me as I jog by their speed trap hideout. They both tip their coffee cups to me as I smile, singing lowly to myself.
As I round a slight corner, nearing the Springtime Equine Farm, I immediately know there’s something wrong. There are horse trailers parked all along their driveway and a few along the road; more than they own. There aren’t any horses in the pastures and on a nice day like this, that is a red alert in my mind. I pick up my pace and by the time my feet hit the loose gravel of their driveway I’m sprinting, my breathing heavy and fast.
The youngest son, Bryan Spring, is the first I see and I wave at him, ripping the ear-buds out as I skid to a stop. I can see the sadness plain across the young boys face and as he gets closer, I notice the slight tears building on his lashes.
“What’s goin’ on?” I ask between heavy breaths, trying to relax before I overload on nerves and exertion. The boy turns his face up to me just as a few tears slip out from his big brown eyes and my heart starts to break, even not knowing the situation.
I had waved and talked to this boy almost every day while I lived in the Waverly trailer park, stopping and helping him feed the horses when his father was away getting groceries and supplies. I have watched him grow at least six inches in height and even now his pants don’t fit him quite correctly, being more high water skimmers than regular jeans. Now, seeing him torn up over something I can’t help but let it affect me, the tightness in my chest from running turning into nervousness and a little fear.
“We gotta sell the horses,” he sniffles, scraping the back of his dust covered hand across his face, smearing the tears and dirt in a path across his cheek.
“What?” I say, baffled. Huge equine farms like theirs usually do great in small towns like this and they are selling their form of profit? There must be something wrong. Just as I’m about to ask him what happened, I hear gruff voices coming from the barn followed by a string of distressing whinnies. With my mouth agape I follow Bryan’s stare as his gaze flits over to the barn.
His father, Kelley, is helping two men load three horses into a trailer and one of them is Lady. Before I realize what I’m doing, I’m sprinting to them, sloshing through mud puddles from last night’s rain and hopping over stray piles of manure. Sliding around the edge of the trailer I catch the reins of Lady’s lead, yanking them from the scruffy man’s hands.
“What are you doin’?” I almost scream, looking from the two strangers to Kelley Spring, watching him hand off his horse and scrape his hand back through his blonde hair. He looks worn down and as he makes his way towards me a wave of disappointment flows over me.
“Miss Ellie, how are you?” he whispers, wrapping his hand around my arm, trying to pull me free from Lady but I’m not letting go. She’s too good of a horse to let these two shady men make off with her and I’m standing my ground.
“What is happening here Kell?” I plead, tugging for Lady to come to me and she obliges. Her champagne coat is dirty and needs a good brushing as I run my hand over it, patting her lightly as she snorts and bumps her nose into my shoulder. She remembers me. Her eyes tell me she’s afraid and that she needs me.
“We need the money somethin’ awful,” he says, turning his eyes to the dirt and spitting off to the side. He’s a country boy through and through and it must be killing him to do this. “I’ve sold off all the horses and these men are here to pick up theirs.”
“All of them?” I can’t believe it. Their family has operated this farm for over sixty years, raising and training some of the best show horses and work horses in all of Virginia. This can’t be right.
“All of ‘em,” he nods, spitting again and giving me a sad look. Out of the corner of my eye I spot his wife in the bay window of the home with a baby on her hip. She waves and I wave back, trying to give her a smile but I know it’s strained. Now I know why this is happening.
“Now if you would,” Kelley tugs on the reins in my hand but I don’t hand them over, “these men would like to get a move on.”
“Not with Lady they aren’t,” I protest, shaking my head at him and the now laughing men. The Spring family should be able to keep her. She is their best show and work horse after all. She is beautiful and majestic and should be a beacon of hope. She doesn’t deserve to be handed off to these two questionable men to go only God knows where to probably be mistreated.
“Ellie, they already paid in cash,” Kelley pleads, tugging on the reins and ripping them from my grip as I try to scramble them back. Turning his back on me he starts to lead her into the trailer and my heart is breaking. I can’t let this gentle creature go. She’s been a symbol of hope for me since the beginning of this journey of mine and I can’t let her disappear now.
“I’ll double whatever they paid,” I yell, getting Kelley to stop in his tracks with his back still to me. The two men are looking at me with open mouths and wide eyes. One cracks up laughing as the silence hangs over us as the other just scratches his beard.
“Ellie you don’t have three grand to give me and even if you did,” Kelley says, turning his face only slightly to look at me over his shoulder.
“I’ll get you the money,” I plead feeling the hurt in my chest spread, starting to bring tears to my eyes. I fumble with the zipper pocket of my track jacket, almost dropping my cell phone as I pull it out and call Bobby. He’s the only one that I can think of at this point that can help me, plus he’s around Chad who I know will help.
I need them to come help me convince this good hearted man to keep this horse. They can certainly talk some sense into him, can’t they?
“Ellie.” Kelley turns and looks me full in the face while handing Lady’s reins to one of the guys. I’m cursing to myself as to why Bobby isn’t answering as the beaten down farmer walks up to me, placing his hands on my shoulders.
“They’ve already paid.” He whispers, patting one of my arms as a few tears slip out onto my cheeks. Hearing Bobby’s voicemail I press end and shove my phone back in my pocket, letting the anger I feel for Lady spill out. “I can’t afford to give them their money back.”
“But,” is all I can get out, my voice clipped by the sound of the shutting door to the trailer. My first symbol of hope in my new life is being shipped off, away from the loving family that took care of her and raised her since birth.
I watch as the guys shake hands with Kelley, accepting his apology on my behalf because I could really care less whether or not they are offended. I watch, my heart still in dismay, as the black cloud of exhaust rises up from their diesel stacks and as their tailgate disappears around the slight corner in the direction that I came from, with Lady and two of her companions tucked away in the back.
I feel deflated. My chest hurts with all the tears I’m holding in at seeing my equine friend sold off and as I look over at little Bryan, I’m pained by the tears he’s silently shedding. I can tell he’s trying to be a ‘man’, trying not to let the loss of something as tangible as a horse affect him but it is, I can tell. He was attached to every last one of the horses and it was evident in all the time I would catch him lying in the pasture with them, just staring up at the sky.
“Oh Bry,” I whisper, taking him in a one arm hug as his father returns to helping the other buyers with their new horses, loading them and brushing them down. The boy wraps his arms around my waist and rests his cheek on my chest, sobbing as silently as he can. I wish I could be doing the same, but I can’t. Not here at least.
I hug Bryan to my chest till the last horse is gone, letting him cry so that his father can help load up the last of his families prized horses and wave at the driver as the trailer disappeared. Kelley comes over and tells his son to go on in the house and with one last, tight hug, the boy tells me goodbye, leaving me to deal with the hurt in my own heart for the situation.
“I know it’s gonna be hard on the boy,” Kelley says, kicking at a stone with his worn out steel toes, sending it flying into his perfectly mowed grass. His statement makes me a bit mad but I nod, fumbling with my iPod and trying not to let the frustration pour over.
“Yeah, I know,” is all I say, turning and waving over my shoulder as I slam the ear-buds into place, ignoring the slight pain I cause myself and turning back towards home. I don’t take notice of my favorite tulips or the daisies; I just keep my eyes trained on the road and focus in on the music.
It’s Volbeat again, telling me that I’m the sinner in the “Sinner is You”. It pulls at the fragile state that my normal calming equine friends puts me in and I let a few tears roll over my lashes as I fail to hesitate at the stop signs. I could care less right now if I got hit. Yeah, it sounds stupid that I’m this torn up over a horse that wasn’t even mine, but the fact is, she was mine.
Lady was the first good thing that I saw when I lived in Waverly. My morning runs where always lit up by her presence and her meeting me at the fence. She listened as I talked to her; cried to her, and told her some of my darkest secrets. She never judged or belittled me. She never said that I was stupid or dumb, or that I was a whore or a slut. She just stood there with her big brown eyes watching me as I would run my fingers through her champagne coat and dark brown mane. She was my first source of hope until I found Rhea, but Lady still meant the world to me. And now she’s gone.
My legs are screaming at me but I don’t stop my quickened pace. I need to work all this tension out and before I get back to my trailer because if I don’t I’ll collapse like a worthless pile in the shower and cry my eyes out.
I don’t know if I’m more upset for little Bryan and the loss of his precious companions or for me and the loss of my morning distraction during my run. I realize now why sometimes they use horses in therapy with some children, because frankly they are amazing. There is this sense of calm and acceptance that comes with buddying up with this enormously powerful animal and having it rest it’s head on your shoulder. But now, all of that is gone for both me and Bryan.
As I round the last slight curve, now within sight of the trailer park, I let out a heavy sigh and try and immerse myself in humming a little Reba. I know I couldn’t have given Kelley the money he deserved for Lady, but it was worth a shot for Bryan’s sake and for mine. Watching that gate shut on the trailer was like having a piece of me slammed away with those three horses. Maybe, just maybe, it was for the better.
Turning into the drive and waving to Jude as he pulls out, I take a deep breath and push back the tears. Maybe seeing Lady being shipped off was a sign. Maybe it’s telling me that I need to move on and get over this hump of being scared to love someone again. Maybe I should take this experience and let go of my hesitant self to embrace my future.
Swinging open my front door, I slam it shut and lean back against it, closing my eyes. Ripping my iPod from my arm and tossing it blindly towards the direction of my ratty couch I listen to my ragged breathing. I don’t know if I’m totally ready to let go and with that I know that I am weak. I might be too weak for what Bobby needs in a girlfriend.
“No,” I tell myself, snapping my eyes open to stare at the fading floral wallpaper of my living room. “I will not go through this again. I will let things unfold as they will.” Letting out a loud and long sigh I toss my jacket over the chair and start stripping for a long, hot shower. I need it.
I crank on the water and step in after settling on something with myself. I will let things work out as they will, being myself and try not to let anyone get me down. I know it’s easier said than done, but right now that’s all I have to offer myself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jake
She doesn’t see my patrol car as she jogs by and turns into her trailer park drive, but I sure as hell see her. Her red track jacket, skin tight black jogging pants, bright sneakers on her feet and white ear-buds in her ears. Oh yeah, I definitely see Ellie Mae.
Just like that day back in high school when I first noticed her for real, as more than just another pretty little thing in the crowd. She was wearing her cheerleading practice booty shorts and grey t-shirt, tied in a knot at the back while exposing part of her stomach. It was a hot day and I was doing drills with the football team, pausing only when I caught a glimpse of her. Since that day, I’ve been hooked and she’s been mine.
Hell, she still is mine. At least she should be. Yeah, sure, when we lived in West Virginia I cheated, a lot, but I’m a man. I have needs.
“Can we get goin’ now man,” my partner Tom whines from the passenger seat, tossing his hat onto the dash and pitching his half empty coffee cup out the window into the grass. I just throw my middle finger up at him and keep my eyes on the run down trailer she disappeared into. I’d sit here all day if I could because I’ve done it before.
Ever since the night I woke up and found she had taken off, I’ve been desperate to get her back. She is my wife and she was carrying my child.
Was. Just thinking the word makes my fists ball up against the steering wheel. She killed our baby, not caring what I wanted. She only thought of herself. She is a bitch and I plan on showing her just how she should be treated because of it.
Since that night I’ve transferred over to the Virginia State Troopers, knowing she would have come to Wakefield in search of her family. Plus it pays more than the West Virginia Troopers.
I cornered her back in January in a bar, but her loud mouth friends and cousin stepped in and I had to hightail it out of there. Her complaints and claims fall on deaf ears because one of my superiors is my cousin, so he slides everything under the carpet. It is nice being above the law and being the law at the same time.
I can’t wait to bring her little world crashing down around her like she deserves. She doesn’t know that I know her little secret. That little Virginia Beach secret involving those two homos she likes to hang out with. Oh man I bet her Navy boy is going to love that one; I bet he’ll flip shit. The best part is going to be the look on Ellie’s face when I break the news to her friends and family.
“Your cousin, your friend, is not only a stripper and a whore, but she’s a baby killer too.” Oh it’ll break her little heart, just like she did mine.
“Come on man,” he whines again and I chuck my sunglasses at him, nailing him right between the eyes and he reels back, smacking his head on the closed window, causing me to burst out in laughter.
“You’re a fuckin’ asshole,” he growls, throwing the glasses back at me which I catch with little effort before they smash against the window. Tom and I have been friends since the academy and we’re cut from the same cloth. We were raised in the true Southern way where the man works and the woman cleans, cooks and takes care of the kids. Tom and his wife have three boys, all younger than four. I wouldn’t want another partner even if they doubled my salary.
He has helped me stake out her trailer park and that nasty club she strips at, taking photos and just watching her when I’m busy. Tom has been an awesome friend.
I’m reluctant to leave my stakeout, but hearing him grumble in his seat some more, I crank the engine to life pulling the cruiser hesitantly to the edge of the road to make sure none of these Wakefield trash crash into me. Little Ellie is lucky all of her neighbors are home right now or I’d be paying her a nice little visit.
“I’ll be back sweet thang,” I whisper and blow a kiss, pushing my aviators into place before spinning and squealing the tires heading the hell out of here. I’m not giving up that easy on her. My daddy didn’t raise no quitter with that belt of his.
She’s my wife, even if those papers sitting on my coffee table at home say she doesn’t want to be anymore. We said ‘till death do us part’ and God damn it, I mean it.
When I get my hands on her I’ll show her why she should’ve never left me in the first place, laying her in a world of hurt she never thought was possible. If she thought I was a ‘wife-beater’ before she’s in for a little treat.
Even her little Navy boyfriend can’t keep her safe; I’ll make sure of that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bobby
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR.
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR.
Chief’s rapid counting keeps the sweat flowing as I pound out the flutter kicks to his rhythm. It feels awesome to be working out with him again, even if it is just in his makeshift gym out in the garage. Just being around a fellow SEAL makes it real.
“Now pushups,” he yells, flipping over on his stomach right beside me as I match his movement smiling the entire time. I’m enjoying it because there is little pain in my leg. I’ve been fitted with three new prosthetics and I’m putting one of them through the wringer right now.
I replaced that normal old metal one with a curved spring leg for running and working out, taking a lot of the impact away from my leg and absorbing it. I also ordered two regular prosthetics, one just a plain black stainless steel and the other, hand painted by a buddy, with the American flag and eagle, because I have to be badass somehow right?
My therapist says I should be using my cane less and less now, so I’m trying to stick by that. We’ll see after this workout how well that plan sticks as I get to my feet to do some squat thrusts. Chief’s been doing a lot of his NCIS work from home so it’s been nice having him around to talk to and mess around with. You know the usual, normal guy shenanigans.
I’ve also been getting closer to Ellie with every passing day. We’ve snuck out of the house like Romeo and Juliet more than once, making our way to the back of the property to roll around in the tall grass. And I swear that girl’s lips can stop my heart. She’s almost got me tied around her pretty little finger and right now I wouldn’t mind.
I’ll admit, I am falling pretty hard for the girl and I take the ridicule and ribbing from Chad and Reno for it every night. They just don’t believe that a notorious playboy like me is going to try and settle down with a down to earth girl like Ellie, but right now it seems to be true. We seem to be heading in a great direction and it makes me feel awesome.
In the last week I haven’t had one nightmare. No waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and shaking from the sound of the grenade. No shaking from the fear that stays in my mind long after I’m awakened. I know the pain is still lingering there, but it’s nice to not have to fight it right now. I feel somewhat normal. I feel like Bobby again.
“Alright Bobby,” Chief pauses, bending over and breathing hard enough to make me laugh at him. Granted I’m sweating like a pig, but I’ve been in the hospital, I have a good reason. “I need a water break.”
“Okay ol’ man,” I say with a smile, getting a sharp look as he chugs a bottle of water. Taking a long drink from mine I take a look at my phone and see that I missed a call from Ellie about forty-five minutes ago.
“Hey what would Ellie be doin’ up so early?” I ask turning the face of my phone towards the Chief and letting him see that she had called. It’s only eight after eight and I know she worked at the bar last night so I would think she’d still be in bed.
“Prolly taking her morning run,” he breathes out, chucking the crushed and empty bottle into a bin in the corner and throwing his arms up above his head stretching.
Looking at my screen I’m not sure if I should call her back or not. Is there something wrong? Should I text her? I can see Chad still watching me out of the corner of my eye as I set the phone down, still staring at it as if it will do a trick.
“If there was somethin’ wrong she woulda called Rhea,” he says patting my shoulder. “Now let’s get back to it.” He smiles and I can’t help but laugh at my former teammate. As he cranks up the radio, currently playing Volbeat’s “Cape of our Hero”, I look back at my phone once more before taking the pull up bar.
Should I call her back? Maybe Chad is right.
I’m sure Chad is right, she would’ve called Rhea if something was wrong or she would’ve called more than once. Yeah, he’s right and I fall into the set of pull-ups he’s counting off, matching him move for move and also trying to show off. I might have lost part of my leg but my cocky attitude is firmly intact.
That attitude got me through BUD/S training and earned me my SEAL trident when everyone told me it was a stupid goal, one that I would never achieve because I wasn’t the right kind of guy. Well I showed those assholes. I received my Trident on a Friday morning standing out on a beach in California during morning roll call. The SEALs that were there proceeded to chase me down the beach, even at my best effort to outrun them, and toss me in the Pacific as per tradition. Then, standing soaked and caked with sand, I endured another SEAL tradition; the pounding of the Trident. One by one the SEALs came up to me and slapped my Trident into my chest as hard as they could, piercing my skin just above my heart over and over and it felt good. It felt good because after that I was part of a bigger family; a badass family.
About an hour later Chief and I are done with our workout and horsing around as we stumble into the kitchen, tripping over each other as we push and shove. Right off I see Ellie sitting with Rhea at the kitchen table. Her dark hair is still wet and she’s looking as cute as ever when she smiles at me.
“Well good mornin’ beautiful,” I smile making my way over to her and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She even smells enticing as a fruity scent flows over me, making me want to scoop her up and take her away right here and now.
“Mornin’ Bobby,” she smiles laying her hand gently on my cheek as her blue-green eyes run over my sweaty body. I nod to Rhea and she rolls her eyes at me, smiling at what she calls silly flirting between Ellie and me.
“I hope my husband didn’t kick your ass too much Timmons,” she laughs as Chad leans in and kisses her wildly, taking her face in his hands and rubbing his sweaty cheeks on her as she squirms and yells as him.
“Oh I think your husband is the one who got his ass kicked,” I laugh as Ellie and Rhea both complain to Chad about how gross his actions were. I just laugh some more as he gives me a shit eating grin, wiping his shirt across his face and leaning down to kiss her hard one more time.
“Don’t talk too much shit boy,” he warns turning his back to me to fix a cup of coffee. “I might have to put you in your place like I did in Afghanistan.”
“Oh, low blow Chief,” I fake a punch to the gut and plop down in the chair next to Ellie, flinging my arm over the back of hers while lightly running my hand over her back, making her shiver slightly.
I love how I affect her. I can give her goose-bumps with the slightest touch or make her blush with the silliest comment. It’s like her body is on edge waiting for me to make her tip over.
All the way through breakfast Chief and I recount stories of our missions, well at least parts that we can tell the girls while still keeping our oath of secrecy, no doubt boring the girls and baby Charlie but they sit and laugh along with us nonetheless. By the time Ellie and Rhea stand to do the dishes, my hand is entwined with hers resting on the side of her leg just underneath the table. It feels right and I give her a squeeze before letting her follow her cousin to the sink.
“Come on lover boy,” Chad laughs slapping me slightly on the side of the head while grabbing Charlie up and out of his highchair. “You could use a shower. You smell like shit.”
“Why thanks Chief,” I say while flipping him off, heading into my bedroom while he disappears up the stairs with his squirming son. Pulling a pair of jeans and a plaid button down from my drawers I fling my towel over my shoulder and head for the bathroom.
Winking at Ellie as she talks away with Rhea, I nod for her to join me and she blushes slightly turning her eyes back to drying the plates and making me laugh behind the shut door. I’m happy that I haven’t hurried to have sex with her and I know that sounds strange coming from a man, especially a self-pronounced man whore like me, but it’s true. With Ellie things are going to be different.
Chad was right; I do smell like shit so the shower feels great. Drying off I decided I’m going to try out my new black metal prosthetic and slide it on over the suspension sleeve, testing it out before pulling my jeans on. It feels like there is nothing there; no pain, no sleeve, no hard plastic or metal parts and it’s great.
Letting a cloud of steam out when I open the door I turn to see Ellie standing by the glass door, a cup of coffee moving slowly to her lips. Her perfect, plump, sin inducing lips and I immediately feel a need for her. She’s like a drug and I don’t think I’ll ever want to kick it.
“What are ya doin’ by your lonesome, pretty girl?” I ask, rubbing my towel through my hair and tossing it down the basement stairs to land on the washer. She doesn’t turn to face me; but a heart stopping smile creeps onto her lips as they rest on the rim of the mug.
“Nothin’ much. Just thinkin’ how nice the pond out back must be right now.” Oh man, the combination of her smile and thinking about her in a bathing suit make naughty little thoughts race through my mind and I can’t fight the smile from coming to my lips.
“It’s gonna get hot real quick today.” She grins again, this time turning to face me with the mug covering her lips. She takes a quick sip but her eyes never leave mine. Does she know what she’s doing to me?
“Oh yeah?” is all I can say, trying not to sound too excited even though I feel like a teenager after his girlfriend offers him a quickie under the bleachers. Is it just me, or is she sending me a signal?
“Yeah,” she smiles again, setting the mug down on the island and pulling the sliding glass door open. “Ya wanna come with me?”
“Hell yeah,” I try not to yell it as I scramble to button my shirt and find my baseball cap. In less than a minute I have my boots and shirt on, even if half the buttons are crooked, and I’m following Ellie’s fine little butt out into the back yard. She’s got on these little denim shorts and it is hard not to stare as she leads me out onto the trimmed trail leading out back.
“You remember that horse I was tellin’ ya about,” she says over her shoulder while weaving her way over the tire tracks, picking at the tall grass and twirling it between her fingers.
“Lady, right?” I ask, remembering only the snippets she has told me about the horse she liked to stop and see on her runs when she lived in Waverly. She has a soft spot for animals, like her cousin does, and she’s said a few times how she’d like to maybe own a few horses one day. That would be fine with me.
“Yeah.” She replies, but her tone turns sad and clipped and as I watch her walk her shoulders sag and her head tilts to watch her feet. She looks somewhat defeated so I take the few strides between us and wrap my arms around her waist, sinking my face into her hair as she gasps in surprise.
She laughs and swats at my arms, telling me I’m crazy and silently I agree with her. I am crazy. Crazy about her.
I put a halt to our slow walk and spin her around, pulling her to me and wrapping my arms around her shoulders as she tucks her face into my chest and encases my waist with her tiny pale arms. The feeling of her held tight to me is enough to drive any warm blooded human mad.
“They sold her,” she sighs out, turning her face to rest her chin on my chest looking directly up at me. There are tears on the edges of her lashes and it hurts my heart to see her sad. She shouldn’t ever be sad. I run the pad of my thumb just under her lashes and sweep away the moisture as it slowly seeps out, never moving my stare from hers and she sniffles slightly.
“Well did you get to say goodbye?” I know letting things go is hard, trust me I’m going through it right now, but sometimes when you get to say goodbye to it, it makes it a little easier. I know it would have made losing my parents at least a little easier.
She skirts her eyes to the side as my arms still hold her to me and she sucks her bottom lip in, biting it and looking so damn sexy that I have to restrain myself from pulling her up and covering her mouth with mine. I brush my fingertips along her cheek and push a stray lock of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her eyes close for a second and I can feel her relax in my arms, the slight action making a smile break out on my face.
“The boy was so broken hearted,” she whispers, resting her cheek on my sternum and tightening her grip around my waist. I can just about feel the pain flowing through her; her breathing shallow and quick, fighting the tears that still linger on her lashes. Hugging her tighter still, I lean down and kiss her hair letting my lips linger to let her know I’m here. I feel a few tears hit my forearm as we stand there but I say nothing, not because I don’t have anything to say but because I know she just wants to be held right now.
A light breeze seems to surround us as we stand there in the knee high grass, just holding each other. Her fingers start to move along my forearm and I can see her tracing the lines of my tattoo, her eyes trained on the black and grey pirate ship. I’ve had it since my first tour of duty in the Middle East.
“Why a pirate ship Bobby?” she asks, turning her beautifully pale face up to me while wiping the moisture from her cheeks with her fingertips. Her mascara is starting to run but it doesn’t matter to me. She’s just as beautiful with it smeared and smudged as she is without it at all.
Taking my eyes off of her for only a second, I look at my tattoo. The shades of black and grey tangled together in an angry high seas scene. The beaten and battered pirate ship with its tattered Jolly Roger flying high, being tossed around by raging waves with the words ‘Refuse to Sink’ displayed front and center on the bow. It represented a hell of a lot more right now at this point in my life than it had when I had gotten it inked on my skin in Norfolk.
“Like, I know why you have this,” she says pushing up my right sleeve and running her fingers along the tribal frog design with the number ten woven into it. The frog paid homage to the history of the SEALs and the number ten is my Team. As her fingers run along my warming skin my breathing speeds up, needing to get my heart beating to move the blood alone before I pass out from the excitement.
“The ship is just a reminder to me that when things get rough, there is always a break in the storm or a sunny port to look forward to.” Her eyes look into mine as one of her eyebrows rise in question. The look on her face makes me laugh and I lean down and kiss her lightly on the lips.
“See,” I say pointing to the inside of my arm and the only color in the entire tattoo. A peek at a clear blue sky and green grass on land through the raging storm is my pirate ships savior.
“Hmmm,” I can hear her mumble, “I never noticed the color before.” Her look moves up my chest and back into my eyes as a sleek smile plays across those pink lips of hers. I lean in ever so slowly, hoping to get a kiss from those delivery devices of pleasure but her palms on my chest stop me.
“What other surprises do you have?” she questions, giving me a flirty smile chuck full of attitude as she steps back and places her hand on her cocked hip. Oh the dirty things I could say to her right now that would knock that attitude down to blushing in no time, but no, I’ll keep those thoughts inside. For now at least.
As a grin starts to play across my face, Ellie surprises me as she turns and runs through the grass in the direction of the pond, giggling the entire way. “Oh don’t run from me little girl,” I yell after her as I take off, bounding through the tall grass and brush after her fleeting figure. I run and laugh, feeling no pain or soreness at all in my left leg as my new prosthetic does its job absorbing the shock and weight and my Timberland boots crunch through the fallen branches.
Rounding a curve in the trail I come to a dead stop, spotting something lying in the grass. Bending over I pick up a blue and white flip flop, turning it over like it’s something foreign to me. Is this for real? Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing? Is this a skinny dipping walk?
“Come on Bobby,” I hear her yell my name and it sends shocks right up through my spine.
Taking the flip flop with me I pause again to pick up its companion and break the tree line, heading for the pond. Inside the darker tree cover the humidity kicks up a level and tucking her shoes into the pocket of my jeans I start to unbutton my shirt, hearing Ellie still in front of me making her way through the weeds.
Out of the weeds and standing on the bank, I stop and take in the magnificent scene before me. Her shorts and panties are lying on a tree stump off to my left as her bra and tank top hang from a low lying branch.
Oh yeah, this is happening. Her back is to me as she wades waist deep into the pond and I can see the pair of pointe shoes tattooed on her back. She is so pale and dainty looking that I think I might break her in half when I get in the water.
“No take it easy Bobby,” I whisper to myself, getting the last button undone and throwing my shirt on top of Ellie’s clothing. Pulling my boots off I’m glad my new prosthetic came with a regular foot shape, because I would sink in the soft mud if it didn’t, and I toss them off with my pants and boxer briefs, turning to face the pond.
For a split second I think, “What the hell am I doin’ out in the middle of the woods butt-naked?”, but then I see her turn slightly with her arms covering her chest and the blush that runs over her skin answers my question. I’m here to be with her. The water is cool but it’s nice as I make my way in, not taking my eyes from her as she gets a bit deeper and leans down, swimming a few strokes further away from me.
“Are you gonna keep swimming away from me or are ya gonna come on over?” I say to her as the water comes up over my waist making my skin goose-bump from the temperature change. She turns back towards me and smiles, disappearing under the water leaving ripples in her wake.
“Oh, we want to play games?” I think to myself and smile sinking underneath the water easily with my eyes open. The water is somewhat clear and calm and I can spot her in a split second trying to sneak up behind me. I wait calmly, holding my breath is like a piece of cake since drown proofing in BUD/S, and I turn on her as I feel her near, grabbing her arms and wrapping her tight to my body bringing us up to the surface before she has the chance to swallow any water.
She’s squirming in my grip and playfully swatting at my arms. As I turn her around she’s wiping at her face and I get a good glimpse at her body.
God damn. She is more perfect than I could have wished for. The curve from her hips up to her breasts is like it’s never ending. She’s still laughing as I run my fingers along the curve of her waist just below her ribs and she stops, almost freezing, her eyes looking into mine.
“Bobby?” she whispers, resting her hands on my chest. Her touch seems to send vibrations all along my skin and I move my hands to her back, pulling her closer to me. This girl is going to break me, her finger tracing a small circle on my peck feels as if it is making my entire body tremble and I let out a ragged breath.
“Are you okay Bobby?” she whispers, her eyes following the path of her finger as it swirls away on my chest, moving from left to right. The water droplets are trickling slowly down her chest and I desperately want to follow them with my lips and tongue.
“Of course I am sweetheart,” I smile, lifting her chin with my fingers so her now turquoise eyes look into mine. I love the way they can change color with the light, it keeps me guessing. Leaning forward, brushing my lips just lightly along her jaw I whisper right into her ear, “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she says so softly that I can barely catch it even though I’m only inches away from her lips. Kissing her earlobe, I pull her closer to me as her arms wrap around my chest, her hands splaying out on my shoulder blades. Moving my hand to entangle in her hair as my other cradles her lower back, I move my lips from her ear along her jaw towards her mouth, lingering only a whisper above it.
Her eyes are half open with her dark lashes fluttering against her skin as it flushes to a sweet rosy color and she looks like an angel. My angel. As she squirms in my arms, her nails biting into my back, her stomach brushes against my very apparent need for her and she takes a sharp breath in gazing up at me.
“Tell me what you want sweetheart,” I smile rubbing my thumb along her bottom lip and her eyes flutter shut for a second, snapping open as her hands weave their way up my torso. She slowly rises up on her tip toes holding her body tight to mine, brushing her nose along mine.
“I want you Bobby,” she says, looking me right in the eye and in this second, I’m complete. Forget the war. Forget my leg. Right here, right now I’m absolutely fucking perfect and I don’t hold back, crushing my lips to hers and wrapping my arms under her butt while lifting her up and locking her legs around my waist.
~~~
Ellie
“Bobby,” I breathe out as our lips part from their frenzy, his moving down my neck with his teeth grazing the crux sending a ripple of desire through me.
“What is it sweetheart?” he murmurs moving his lips down my chest as I can’t help but lean back, letting him explore every inch of me like he never has before. His hands are supporting me with one at my back, splayed across my spine while the other is scooped under my butt. I squeeze my legs tighter around his waist, not wanting to ever let him go from this moment on.
I can feel his very ready need for me brush against my core and doubts flash through my mind. Should I be doing this?
Yes, this is the right thing. Feeling his fingers flex against my skin my heart skips and I know this is what I want. I want Bobby.
“Not here,” I get out of my fuzzy mind, but what I really want to say is “Now, please God Now!” The way his lips move along mine and across my skin is like nothing I’ve ever felt before and I need him to be mine in this stolen moment. Forgetting about my past; forgetting about my secrets and faults; forgetting about the world outside this beautiful backwoods paradise for a while with just the two of us as one.
Spinning us around, Bobby starts heading towards the bank as I take his lips with mine, my hands holding the sides of his face. The day old scruff on his cheeks is rough against my touch but I don’t mind, entangling my tongue with his and teasingly biting at his bottom lip, loving the way he grumbles at me and smiles after I release it.
He stumbles and I bring myself back to reality feeling stupid and looking him right in the eye. “Are you okay Bobby? I mean your leg? Do you need to set me down? I can walk if you need…”
My partly frantic rant is cut off by his lips as he claims my mouth, calming me and throwing me back into the pool of desire I’ve been drowning in for weeks. I can feel it when we reach the bank as he moves both of his hands to cup my butt, holding me tight to him as the water runs off us both, dripping to the grass below us.
“Where?” he asks, pulling my earlobe between his teeth and sucking it in between his soft lips causing me to arch my back into him with the sensation rolling through me. I absolutely love when he does that.
I could care less right now where we make love. Why didn’t I just stay in the water? Twisting to look over my shoulder I spot our clothes strewn over the tree stump and turn back to claim his lips again, scratching my fingers up through his short hair.
“On our clothes,” I say against his cheek, slowly squeezing myself along him and pulling my hips up, knowing it will drive him crazy. One of his hands shoots up my back and tangles in my hair, tugging my head back.
“You’re gonna get it sweetheart,” he almost growls, releasing my hair and kissing me hard while making it across the grass to our clothes in a flash.
I can feel him fumbling to toss them on the ground and I laugh into his neck, thinking of how silly we must look right now. Two passion driven, love sick idiots. He’s down on his knees and I’m on my back before I know it with Bobby starring down at me, his eyes roaming my bare skin making me feel a tiny bit insecure.
Moving my arms up to cover my chest his strong yet gentle hands stop me as his hazel eyes move up to my face. “Don’t do that,” he says slowly leaning down to cover me, his weight a welcome thing as his warmth sinks into my wet skin. “I like lookin’ at you,” he whispers.
Pushing him back with my hand on his shoulder, I run my fingers down from his collar bone to his hip, tracing every single defined line along the way, which there is plenty of. Looking into his eyes I can’t help myself and I bite my lip, moving my hand from his hip to wrap my fingers lightly around his shaft, feeling a shock of excitement run through my body just at its size. His eyes shut for a moment, snapping open to look at me with a whole other level of want.
“I like the way you look at me,” I whisper leaning up wanting him to kiss me but he holds back, smiling that crooked little smile he does so well. As he lays over me again, he slowly, painstakingly pushes against my core; the sensation making my hands shake as they grip his face.
“Please,” I whimper out into his ear, not able to help myself as the thought of him inside me causes my body to tremble underneath him. I need Bobby like the flowers blooming next to us need the sun.
“Sweetheart,” he whispers as he pushes slowly inside of me, stretching me as his hazel eyes keep contact with mine. “Tell me if I hurt you,” he kisses me sweetly as I nod, wrapping my arms under his and pulling him tight to my chest.
I want him as close as I can get him and as he slowly starts to move within me his lips never leave my skin. Whether they are covering mine or making a trail down my neck and across my chest, I’m loving every second that they are touching me. Moisture builds on my lashes as I look him in the eye again, but not from any pain.
“What’s wrong,” he whispers against my lips, running his thumb along my cheek as the heat starts to coil at my core.
“Nothin,” I gasp as my body reacts to my nearing climax, trembling while my hips rise and fall to meet his movements. My tears aren’t from something that hurts but from something that feels amazing. This something that makes me feel whole and that nothing bad will ever happen to me again. This something is Bobby.
The way he’s holding me with his arms just underneath me, propping me up gently to be in contact with every inch of his skin. The way he whispers my name with desire and emotion seeming to drip from every letter. The way his lips move over my skin and bring to life the sensitive flesh around my breasts, paying special attention to the spot on my neck that I told him about. He’s making me feel amazing and as my climax rolls throughout my body, I’m sure I scare more than a few birds from the trees.
“So beautiful,” he whispers, kissing my ear and then my cheek as I tighten the grip my legs have around his waist. I don’t want this to end and I kiss him frantically, pulling his face to mine and not letting go till we’re out of breath and sweating from the pace of our movements.
Drawing another climax from me with little effort, Bobby whispers “My beautiful sweetheart,” in my ear as he finishes. I hold him tight with my arms thrown over his neck, his cheek resting on my shoulder as our breathing is still heavy.
I can’t tell you how long we lay there for, it seems like days, but as he shifts and pulls me onto his chest I see that the sun is close to being high in the sky signaling noon is near. Lying full on top of him, both of us still naked, I rest my head on his shoulder tracing a nonsensical pattern along his chest with my finger.
He’s running his fingers through my hair and then trailing them down my spine, sending goose-bumps over my still sticky skin. I feel him take a deep breath in and release it, hugging me to him as he kisses my forehead.
“Never let me go,” I say, not really meaning to say it out loud so it comes out as a whisper, but I mean it. Hell, what I really mean is “Bobby, I love you. I know it’s soon but I really do. I need you every second of every day and it’s not because we just had crazy, wild, mind blowing sex in the woods, it’s because it’s true,” but I feel as if I said that right now he might run away calling me crazy, so I keep it in scared to let it out.
He turns my face to him with his fingers under my chin, as gentle as ever and his eyes roam over my face, a soft loving look on his face. He looks different right now. His eyes seem to be looking for something, moving from my eyes to my lips and back again. He leans his head forward sweetly placing his lips on mine and kissing me with such passion I think my heart will explode right this second.
“I’ll never let you go sweetheart,” he murmurs brushing his lips along mine again. “Never, Ellie. Never.”