Chapter Twenty-Three
Xavier
“Wow, where did you go?” Kenny asked as I made my way back to the stand.
“I just went for a walk. Why?”
“It looks like you went to take a happy pill or something. You walked away looking miserable and came back looking happy. What happened?”
I shrugged. “Nothing happened.”
“Hmm, so who were you talking to down by the lake then?”
I looked at him and laughed. “Are you spying on me or something?”
“So you and Holly made up I’m guessing?”
“I guess. I don’t know. She’s coming out with me tonight, so we’ll see.”
Kenny whistled. “No wonder you’re in a good mood. Hey, if things don’t work out between the two of you, you’re welcome to pass her on to me. I’ll happily look after her for you.”
I pushed him. “You will do no such thing. You have enough women going around and don’t need to take mine.”
“Oh, so she’s your woman now?” he teased.
“I have no idea what she is. I’m just glad we’re talking again. Anyway, enough talk about me. What’s been going on?”
The rest of the day was busy. So busy that I barely had any time to concentrate on the fact that I was seeing Holly that evening. She didn’t come back to the station, and neither did Rick, but every now and again I’d see one of them and get a strange flutter in my stomach. That flutter was one of either excitement or of guilt depending on who I was seeing. I tried not to think about the fact that I might be hurting Rick. Holly and I were just having a some fun. He didn’t ever have to find out, and it would be over before we knew it. We were just catching up on all the years that we had been apart. What was wrong with that?
Later that afternoon the crowd began to disperse, and Kenny told me that he would finish up without me.
“Without me? Why?”
“So you can get ready for your big date, obviously,” he said. “Holly and Rick have left, so I assume you’re dying to go home and get ready.”
“I don’t need time to get ready,” I said.
“Oh please. You can’t show up looking like that. Go on; it’s quiet now. I’ll pack up and leave in the next half an hour anyway.”
I saw a young woman hanging around nearby, and I chuckled.
“You just want some alone time with that girl, don’t you?”
“That’s part of the reason.”
I smiled. “Well, good luck. Not that you need it. I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Don’t remind me. I still can’t believe we have to work. I was hoping to go out this weekend. Anyway, let’s just try and have a good week. I’m sure you will,” he said. Then he looked at the girl and grinned. “And by the looks of things, I might too.”
I chuckled. “See you later, Ken.”
As I was leaving Stephanie came up to talk to me. I felt annoyed at her for spreading rumors about myself and Holly, but I didn’t want her to know how angry I was at her. If she knew I was mad, she would assume that something was definitely up between us. So I just smiled and tried to pretend like everything was okay.
“I better go,” I said to her.
“Oh,” she said and raised her eyebrows. “Why are you in such a rush?”
“I’m going to support my brother tonight. He’s a singer. The greatest country singer I know.”
She seemed surprised by my answer. “Country music, huh? Well, that’s nice. Wish him luck for me. Tell him to come to the church sometime. We never see him.”
And you never will, I thought to myself. “Sure, I’ll tell him,” I said instead and quickly hurried off before she had the chance to say anything else. I made a mental note to myself to stay as far away from Stephanie as possible.
I got home and jumped into the shower, changed, and then threw a few things into a bag for the night, including a condom. I packed more than one just in case. I wasn’t going to fool myself into thinking that nothing was going to happen with myself and Holly. That was obviously the reason why I had invited her out with me that night, and we both knew it. It would be silly not to pack a condom. I felt like a teenage boy as I got ready for the night, and when I hopped onto Norman, I felt a surge of adrenaline despite the fact that I wasn’t even driving fast. The adrenaline came from the idea of being with Holly again rather than the need to ride fast.
When I knocked on the door, I was disappointed to find Rick standing at the door instead of Holly. I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to talk to him at all. He smiled wearily at me.
“Holly is a bit delayed. We were supposed to come straight home, but we got side tracked on the way home as we needed to help Polly out with something. It took longer than expected. She’s hurried now to get ready and won’t be long. Take a seat. Can I get you a cup of tea?”
I didn’t want tea. I wanted a cold beer and his daughter. I shook my head. “No, that’s okay. Thanks so much Rick. So, today went well didn’t it? We had a good turnout. But then again, we always do.” I tried to keep my voice neutral. I wanted him to think that there was nothing out of the ordinary with me coming over to get Holly.
“Today went very well. I was very pleased with it all. It was good to see you there. You looked very busy. So, any luck with finding Holly a boyfriend?” he asked.
I looked at him in confusion. That was a very quick turn of events. Why was he so desperate to fob his daughter off with someone?
“Uh. Not yet. I’m looking, though. Kenny is kind of a player so I wouldn’t even go there. But I’m sure some of the guys will be there tonight. We’ll see how it goes,” I said. It wasn’t true at all. None of the guys would be there tonight.
“Oh really? Well, that’s good. It’s just . . . is something going on between you and Holly?” he asked and shifted in his seat. He could barely look me in the eye, and I knew it must’ve taken a lot for him to ask me that question.
“What? Holly is family,” I said. “I love her to bits. But like a sister. Like I said, hopefully we can find her someone tonight. But I wouldn’t worry, Rick. She’s a good girl, and she’ll find someone on her own. We don’t need to force it.”
Rick looked relieved, so I knew I had said the right thing even though I felt like complete shit for lying to him. He’d always been so good to me, and I had always wanted to make him happy. Now here I was, lying to his face. Was I protecting him? Or was I just protecting myself? I wasn’t sure.
“That’s good to know. You’re right; she is a good girl. And I know that God is going to find her a nice man. The right man,” he said with emphasis. “So, I hear you’re sleeping over tonight?”
“We sure are. I managed to get her a room too.” It wasn’t true. We were staying at a hotel, but I hadn’t booked another room for her. I had full intentions of having her stay with me.
“Oh, wonderful. That’s very nice of you Xavier.”
When Holly appeared, I tried not to stare at her. She looked absolutely beautiful. She was wearing tight leather pants with a white t-shirt and black boots. It was the sort of outfit that showed off her body beautifully without being too obvious.
“You look nice,” I said casually and hoped that Rick couldn’t see the look of desire in my eyes.
“Yes, you look great, darling. Well, have a good time. And say hello to Silas for me.”
I didn’t dare say anything to Holly even once we were making our way to the bike. I was worried that Rick would be listening. It was only when we got to the bike that I burst out laughing.
“What’s going on?”
I smiled. “I clearly thought I had everything planned out. I have my backpack with my spare clothes, but I didn’t think this through. Not sure where we’re going to put your bag.”
“Oh, uh, do you want me to grab something smaller? I suppose I don’t need everything in this bag.”
“Or we can take your car.”
“Take her car!” Rick yelled from the window. I was right; he had been watching us.
I laughed. “I think we should take the car,” I said to Holly. “I’ll drive, though.”
We chuckled as we made our way into the car and drove off. It was nice in a way as the laughter had broken the ice. The moment we were in the car and down the road, I glanced her way.
“Shit, Holly, you look incredible.”
“And you only tell me now?” she said, but I was pleased to see that she was smiling.
“Well, I wasn’t exactly going to tell you that in front of your father now was I. But trust, me, it’s all I’ve been thinking about since I saw you. You look amazing. Sexy.”
“Sexy? Wow, I never thought I’d hear you say that to me.”
I smiled. Already this was gearing up to be a good night. I wasn’t going to hold back. I was going to make the most out of every minute of it. I reached over and put a hand on her leg. The black leather was soft to touch and gave me an immediate thrill. I was glad that she didn’t push my hand away. Instead, she put her hand on top of mine and gently stroked me with her thumb.
“This is nice,” I said. “Thanks for coming with me, by the way.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
“I almost wish we weren’t even going to the bar. I just want to go straight to the hotel room with you.”
“Oh, I overheard you telling my father that I’d be sleeping in a separate room,” she teased. “I just want you to know how glad I am that you thought ahead. I mean, I definitely have no intentions of sleeping in the same room as you.”
I chuckled. “Oh, funny thing, they canceled your room not so long ago. Looks like there is nothing we can do but share a room together. Obviously, the hotel is fully booked, and there are no other open rooms in any other hotels in the town. I tried my best, but there is just nothing we can do.”
“Oh dear, what a pity. Well, at least you tried, Xavier,” she said.
When I looked at her, she was grinning from ear to ear. The rest of the drive was a combination of conversation, laughter, and flirting. It was absolutely wonderful. When we eventually arrived at the bar, we were both flushed from spending the time together. I couldn’t wait to spend more time with her. As we walked into the club together, I couldn’t help but feel proud to have her on my arm. She turned to smile at me, and I felt myself melt. I knew in that instance that I was in for a world of trouble because there was suddenly no doubt in my mind that I was absolutely in love with her. I knew then that I’d felt that way for a lot longer than I could ever have admitted to myself. I wasn’t sure if there was any way of turning back now.