Chapter Twenty Six - Hybrid Moments
"It was awesome," Seth said as I sub-consciously scooted just a bit closer to his side. "Hey, that one looks like a wolf!"
I shielded my eyes as I gazed at the clouds drifting by overhead. "Looks more like a sickly bulldog to me," I teased.
"Close enough," he shrugged before leaning down on his elbow to peck me on the cheek.
I smiled at how subtle he could be - it had a strangely powerful effect on me. Most guys were more into showing me off.
I kind of liked getting to show Seth off; the fact of his beauty was unavoidable.
Darrell strolled over to us, propping his fishing pole against a tree on the way. "Can I have a beer, Legs?"
"Yeah, of course," I murmured, barely paying attention. My mind was busy, daydreaming about Seth. Though, today was going so well that I didn't need to dream about much.
Darrell took my nonchalance as a cue to start apologizing to Seth again for last night. We'd both forgiven him already, but when he realized that he actually liked Seth, he started to feel really shitty about what he'd done.
"D," I said quickly, drawing him away from his words. "He's not mad at you, just fucking let it go," I snapped. "No harm no foul."
"I just wish you would let me make it up to you somehow," he mumbled as his eyes darted down nervously.
"You gave me some L, you brought us out here to relax all day, you promised me another party tonight..." I ticked on my fingers. "What else could you do?"
"I could get rid of everything for you, probably all tonight."
His offer piqued my interest, but then I remembered my whole deal with Ana.
"She's got it, she's getting all the money." I shielded my eyes again and looked back towards his face. He was smiling brightly.
"I'd do it for free, and you could still give all the flow to her."
I looked over at Ana, wrapped up in Vince's arms a few dozen feet away from me. She had on her favorite deep purple bikini and her hair was in dark, dripping waves, cascading down her back as she stood in the shallow water. She looked strikingly beautiful, even more so now that she seemed to be the happiest in her life.
Who would have thought we could both ever get here at all, especially at the same time? Happiness had evaded the both of us for the entire duration of our existences.
"We'll see," I mumbled, my thoughts again straying to the wonderfully warm and gorgeous man beside of me.
"We should probably go now..." Darrell said quietly, distracted by something I didn't care enough to ask about.
Seth got to his feet swiftly, then leaned forward over me to help me off the ground as well. He started packing up our cooler and grabbing our wet towels as I brushed some sand and dirt from my skin. I caught Darrell watching me intently as I swiped at my bottom, and I glared because I could see where his mind was going. He swallowed loudly and turned away.
"Ana Banana!" I yelled, catching both her and Vince off guard. "We have to go!"
She pouted for a second before jogging towards us, Vince being pulled behind.
"Time to go to Eric's already?" she asked, sounding annoyed while the smile on her face said otherwise.
"Don't get too upset." I rolled my eyes.
An hour later, I sat in Eric's driveway with Seth, combing through my now dry - and perfectly straight - hair. It was always a bitch getting all the river brine out of it and off of my skin.
"If you come in, don't act all nice to them or anything. Try to stay quiet - look like you're only there to protect me, since that's what you're doing anyways."
"So... look like a body guard, then?" He visibly rearranged his face to look harder.
"These people aren't my friends, okay? They're dangerous, just like any other ciminal. If you look soft or like you don't belong around this kind of stuff, that's how they're going to treat you. Just be cautious."
I stepped out of the car with Seth in tow and took the five steps necessary before knocking on the door.
"Come in!" Someone inside responded.
I pushed the door open and followed the voices until I reached the kitchen.
"Legs!" Eric greeted me joyfully. He noticed Seth out of the corner of his eye and apparaised him slowly, his expression shifting from joy to surprise to apprehension. "You brought protection?" He asked me, his eyebrow raised though his gaze never left Seth.
"Don't worry about him," I covered quickly. "He's with me."
His eyes snapped back to me as a slow smile spread across his features. "With you, with you?"
"Yeah."
"Good luck, buddy."
I sighed, exasperated. Why did everyone and their fucking cousin have to make comments like that all the time?
"I guess you really do have a thing for big dudes," Eric joked further, elbowing me in the arm. "I thought everyone was just joking, but this guy..." He held a hand towards Seth, shaking his head as he took in his form again.
"Can we bypass the making fun of me part? Please?"
"Sure," he grinned. "Wouldn't want to piss off Squanto over here." He snorted at his own dumb joke.
My eyes noticed a glint of metal sticking out of the top of his jeans. I scanned it quickly, not wanting him to see that I noticed.
Ruger, nine millimeter. I'd love to take that motherfucker out to the range. But I'd hate to catch one from it, especially now that everything was going alright for me. It would be fitting, I suppose.
"So, I'm guessing you'd like to get your shit so that you can head out of here," Eric said sharply, looking down at a bag near his feet.
"Sounds good to me," I replied, just as cuttingly. He liked to play games, and I wasn't into it. Never had been.
He snatched the bag up and tossed it to me. I unzipped it and examined the contents as he left the room. Seth moved closer to me, and I whispered without looking his way.
"Watch him, he's got a pistol."
Seth stopped mid-step and spun on his heel, waiting for Eric to come back to the kitchen. I could hear footsteps approaching, but they sounded too soft, too light to be Eric's military issued boots.
"Legs!" A high pitched squeal had me wheeling around.
"Cruz!" I squealed back in delight. He gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek.
"Cruz, this is Seth," I told him excitedly. His face went into shock mode when he took in the man that was currently mine.
"Oh, my," he said, fanning himself with his hand. "Why are all the good looking ones straighter than arrows?"
"That's not true, you're good looking and you're gayer than a two dollar bill," I told him with an eye roll.
"Yeah, I'm good looking to twelve year olds, maybe," he pouted. He was really small, only my height and maybe twenty pounds more than me.
"They know you're not that young," I made an attempt at comforting him. "You've got tattoos."
"I shouldn't complain so much," he said with a smile and a flip of his hand. "I've got my own new toy to play with."
I was laughing when Eric came back into the room, his arms full of random, shabby-looking luggage. I'd taught him well.
He started loading Seth down like a pack mule, even strapping a backpack around his shoulders for him. I wondered briefly if Eric was Cruz's new toy.
"We're going," I said as soon as he was finished. I wanted the fuck out of here.
"Good day," Eric said snidely as he handed me an envelope, which I stashed in my purse.
"Later sweetheart," Cruz whispered as he handed me the first bag I'd left lying on the kitchen table. I hugged him before making my escape.
When we were back in the car, I hadn't even had the chance to stick my key into the ignition when Seth gripped the sides of my face with his hands, his eyes burning intensely into my own.
"I love you," he said, his words more sure and definite than I would have expected.
"I love you," I whispered as his hands scorched into my skin. He loosened his grip enough so that I could easily move my face, but something in his eyes kept me from looking away.
His expression softened and his thumb began to stroke my cheek. Adoration was seeping out of him, and I was in awe yet again at the fact that this lovely being wanted me.
He came closer, slowly, gauging my reaction until our lips were pressed against eachother's. Then he was pulling tighter, and I was dragging myself across the seat to get closer to him. I needed more...
"Let's go," he murmured against my mouth.
Twenty minutes after that, I was pulling him through the door of my old bedroom, silently thanking my luck that my mother wasn't home. Seth stopped me before I could reach the bed, pulling me backwards and into his warm embrace.
"You're sure about this, baby?" His lips ran up and down my neck, leaving the hairs on end.
I felt... scared? Vulnerable. Things I'd mostly killed out of myself before I was even a teenager. But the negativity was overshadowed by a want, a need, a lustful hunger that had been building up inside of me for awhile now. There was no stopping this.
"I'm sure. I love you," I told him strongly.
He pulled me down to the bed gently, throwing caution to the wind so that we could finally share the desire we had for one another.