Crossroads (3 page)

I tried not to stare too
hard at the vision of female perfection which had arrived. She was
so goddamn beautiful
―a goddess.
I could have dropped to her feet in
worship.

“Hello Josh.” she said
coolly. Her expression was anything but perfect. She took in my
presence and the flowers and raised her eyebrows at me
suspiciously.

“How are you?” I asked
pleasantly.

“I'll leave you two
alone.” Her mom thoughtfully left the room, closing the
door.

I thrust the flowers in one hand and the
small card in the other, hoping to distract her and occupy her
hands, to keep them from slapping me, or worse still, landing a
punch, which her angry expression lead me to believe was very
possible.

“How am I? Let me see...
how does dirty, used, possibly pregnant... oh, and the letters STD
keep popping in my head. That's how I am.”

I didn't know what to say... she'd thrown
the whole barrel at me in one go.

“Real bad, would have
done. And I'm sorry..”

“You're sorry? Are you
really?”

“Yes, and it seems we have
some talking to do. Open the card and read it.”

“I don't want to. And you
can have your flowers back.” She threw them at me.

I caught them and placed them on the sofa.
Then I swiped the card from her hand and opened it and placed it
back in her hand, bringing it up to eye level. Her eyes scanned the
words. I saw a tiny thaw going on. It wasn't much to speak of but
it gave me hope.

“What d'you want me to
say? That it's okay, everything's fine?”

“You have no reason to
think you've been used or that I've slipped you an STD. I'm clean.
Like I told you, I'm choosy and very careful, normally. You caught
me at a weak moment.”

I immediately realized I'd said the wrong
thing. I should have kept the useless man-trap shut.

“Oh, I was a weak moment
was I? Wrong girl, wrong place. I'm sorry too...”

“Don't twist my words,
read the card. I've said it all there.”

“She read the card again.
Then looked up at me.

“What I see is you asking
to have sex with me again. Somewhere else.”

Damn my inability to communicate on a level
higher than my pants. But I was gonna try some more.

“No, I'm asking for a
chance to prove I'm better than that. I'm not what you think I
am.”

“Oh you're good. But I
know all about sweet talking guys. Words are just words. You've
said your piece, and rubbed out your guilt. You can go now. I'll
let you know if any tests prove positive.” She spat ice all over
me.

I baulked at the idea of her being pregnant.
It wasn't the best way to begin a relationship. But whatever fate
threw at me, I'd do the right thing. “I'd stand by you whatever
happened and whatever you chose to do.”

“Really? I find that hard
to believe.”

Her eyes held mine in a hard stare, but her
lip trembled. I could see a glassiness in her eyes. She was upset
more than angry. I tried once more, in my limited way, to appeal to
her.

“You don't know anything
about me. Why don't you try and learn a little before you make
judgments about things like that.” I moved toward her and picked up
her hand. I kissed it as the first tear rolled down her face. I
wiped it away with my finger and kissed the wet trace mark on her
cheek. I was feeling that pull, that need to hold and touch... I
needed to be very careful. “We'll talk about it tomorrow. I wanted
you to know I was sorry, that's all. For behaving that way. But I'm
not sorry we got intimate. It's all I've thought about since it
happened.”

“Josh, look...” she began,
with a heavy sigh.

“
No... listen up. I like
you. You may not like me at the moment but I hope you will. I'm
taking you out to tomorrow. Dress down, it's very casual. What you
have on will do fine. You look beautiful.” Another tear rolled down
her cheek. “Goddammit, you even cry beautiful.” I lost it for a
moment, held her close and kissed her like she was the whole reason
for my being. She started to respond and then suddenly pushed me
away.

“No more. No more kissing.
No more compliments and flattery. No more lies. Just no more,
Josh... please?”

I stood back raking my hands through my hair
in frustration.

“Give me a chance? One
date... that's all I ask.”

Her eyes held mine for a long moment. “One
date. That's all. But there's a condition.”

“What's that?”

“I'm bringing my sister
with me.”

I opened my eyes in surprise.

“I'm not sure that's a
good idea, considering what I have in mind.”

“Exactly. That's why I'm
bringing Philipa.”

“No... I wasn't planning
on a great seduction routine, I was gonna take you somewhere
special. It's a three mile ride on horseback.”

“I'm sure she can manage
it.”

“Okay. If you're
sure.”

“Philipa isn't physically
disabled. She's fit and healthy. Her chromosomal abnormality
doesn't restrict her from riding a goddamn horse.”

I smiled widely. “In that case it would be
my pleasure to have the both of you along for the ride.”

Her lips twitched into a smile. And she
looked even more beautiful than ever, her eyes crinkling up at the
corners.

“I'm sure one of us will
love it, anyway.”

“I hope the both of you
will. I'm fucking making sure of it.”

“No swearing in front of
my sister.”

“I'll do my best to
behave. Be ready at four. Is she okay on your bike?”

“She's been on my bike
dozens of times. She has her own helmet.”

“Cool. It's a date
then.”

I turned to go.

“Josh...?”

I turned back to her. “The flowers, they're
lovely. Thank you.” She looked at me coyly, with a little flutter
of her eyelashes and a lick of her soft lips.

“So are you. Real lovely.”
My heart lurched painfully. It was something unfamiliar. It wasn't
a thrill, any kind of excitement, or sexual desire... what it was I
couldn't say... but she was very much the reason for it.

I opened the door and left, smiling like a
stupid fucking bastard, saying goodbye to the other two blonde
bombshells, who were sitting waiting curiously in the kitchen.

“Bye y'all...nice to meet
you both, ladies.”

I made my way to the door. As their bye's
echoed in my ears I felt elated. Strangely so. My feet floating on
air.

That one little look.

That was all it took to wrap me around her
finger, so tight, I had no chance whatsoever of escaping. And for
once in my life, I didn't feel like I wanted to.

Kicker arrived just as we were leaving. I
gave him a look.

“Sorry, Cherry's alarm
didn't go off,” he said, passing us by and parking his bike in the
barn. I waved the others on and waited for him.

He saddled up his horse and five minutes
later we set off for the pick up in Daisy field. I don't have a
clue why it was called that, because there wasn't a daisy in
sight... kinda stupid...but whatever. That's where we were headed.
The dust was just settling on the trail, after the other guys who
were just head of us. I looked up at the sky. Bright blue and
cloudless. It was gonna be a hot day.

“How'd it go with
blondie?” he asked. I gave him a sideways look and took in the
grin. Kicker always had a grin on his face, like the whole world
was amusing. The only time he wasn't grinning and smiling was the
time he got kicked in the head by a really fucked off bull. Col had
declared that the scar on his forehead was a beaut, a hell of a
kicker, and the name stuck. And we all agreed, silently, it suited
him far better than Simon.

“Some good, some bad,” I
replied.

“What's that s'posed to
mean?” he probed. I was in two minds if I should tell him or
not.

“This is between me and
you, right?”

“Like I'm gonna tell
anyone. C'mon fess up, pal.”

“She's got under my skin.
Just a little bit.”

“Hell, no? It's a fuckin'
miracle! I'm gonna call CNN... Put a poster up in town. World
breaking news...” This was why I didn't tell Kicker much, he always
poked fun at me.

“Shut up,” I
snapped.

“Whoa...
s
orry
... kinda
touchy ain't ya? What happened?”

“I kinda screwed up...
real bad... we got acquainted on her mama's porch table... and it
was, ummm, fast and furious... and let's just say, we didn't stop
to think about the consequences.”

A deep belly laugh rumbled out of him. “Well
fuck! Sounds pretty damn hot to me.”

“It's not funny. She's
pissed, like really pissed, on account of my pushing her too fast.
But I have managed to persuade her out on a date tomorrow. I'm
taking her to the the creek for sunset. But her baby sister's
comin' along for the ride.”

“You can't have screwed up
that bad or she'd have kicked you in the balls, man. You'd never
have got her on a date if she wasn't interested.”

“I hope you're right. I
really like her; she's cute and hot... and she's real
smart.”

“Aww, dying for some more
sweet, smart pussy, are ya?” His tone was back to the usual fun
poking.

“Shut the fuck up...” But
I couldn't stop the smile, because... hell yeah... I was definitely
dying for some more of that pussy. Hardly a second passed by where
I didn't think of it. The way she felt... so tight, wet and hot.
But her effect on me went far deeper than that. I was kinda stuck
on her pretty face, the long legs, she'd wrapped tightly round me,
the smell of her hair, like apples, and the sweet sound of her
voice... and the way she made me feel inside. All fired up, wanting
and protective. I guess that's how guys were supposed to feel about
their girl. But that was something I wasn't about to discuss with
Kicker. Or anyone.

I rode off fast, leaving him in the wake of
my dust as punishment for being an annoying bastard.

A half hour later we reached the herd.

After a fair amount of persuasion, we
managed to get them rounded up and moving. Cattle could be hard to
handle some days. If they weren't in the mood to walk, they
wouldn't go very fast. It seemed to be one of those days.

By four we'd managed to coax them, with a
lot of frustration, to their new pasture. It was in the middle of
the estate. One side bordered the creek, the other our good
neighbor's property. They were as safe as they could get here.

We made camp and sat down, sorting out a
fire. Col got the coffee on and produced a bottle of JD Honey. We
all took a long slug of it, straight from the bottle. We were hot
and tired and hungry. But a half hour later we'd been fed and we
all found our place around the fire.

Pete was playing guitar and trying to sing.
If that was the proper word. God... he had a shit voice. He should
just stick to guitar, he was good at that. Not that I was gonna
tell him, his singing stunk. I lay back on my bedroll and lit a
cigarette. I inhaled deeply watching my smoke kisses rise into the
air.

I wondered what she was doing tonight. Then
I remembered, she was working at the bar. Hopefully that creepy
fucker Mickey wouldn't paw her too much. He was a real jerk. Most
of the Riders girls despised him. I'd sort him out when I next saw
him.

I'd given Mickey a lot of loose rope because
of my dad taking advantage of the Greens when they were down. But
it was time for the nice guy act to come to an end.

I should have done it a long while back, but
I'd felt guilty the way dad had had him over a barrel, buying him
out of the bar and his folks out of their garage and their house.
The two businesses had been poorly managed for years by Mickey and
his dad Reid. Dad had got all that for a steal, because they were
desperate... and in a whole load of debt.

But Mickey had been getting away with far
too much.

If my dad knew what was going on at the bar
he'd be royally pissed. He thought it was a decent bar, not a
fucking vice den. I'd seen him deal drugs... and use his position
to push the girls into things they didn't want to do.

And, according to Cherry, he regularly
'borrowed' cash from the takings for his own personal use. I'd call
that stealing myself.

And if he didn't like my new set of rules,
I'd find another bar manager. I didn't want my girl being hassled
by a pimp.

Shit...my girl?

Actually, that had a real nice ring to
it.

She
was
my girl. She just didn't know it
yet.

I liked the fact she had a good head on her
shoulders, and she wasn't afraid to throw shit at me.

I liked that a whole damn
lot. And I liked
her
more and more each time I thought of her.

“Want some more?” Col
passed the bottle of whiskey round the guys.

I took another long and fiery mouthful.

He looked up at the stars and pointed at
something, drawing a long W with his index finger.

“Cassiopeia... she kinda
rocks...”

“What's Cassiopeia?” I
asked. Col seemed to know about everything.