Tucker:

Something doesn’t feel right. Muffled yelling drifts through the air from the nearby campsite, and it’s not the usual jovial insult hurling I’ve come to accept from my crew. I just laid down, and my body definitely isn’t trying to get back up again, but my mind is racing.

Trouble is brewing on the mountain and I need to go lend a hand. These people saved me, and now it’s my responsibility to be there for them.

“What’s going on?” I ask the men, who are standing around with their heads down. Mitch is dragging a safe from the supply shelter. He slaps it up on the table and begins unlocking it.

“Moss is in jail,” Forrest, the lanky redhead with the missing front teeth says solemnly. “Got picked up on an old warrant.”

“Oh shit. What do we do?”

“We get him the fuck out right now,” Luna says, storming from her tent. Her hair is disheveled and she looks like she did about as much sleeping as I did last night. “Where’s the money, Mitch?”

She’s usually so calm and collected, but I can tell she’s near her breaking point right now.

Mitch pries open the safe and pulls out a leather satchel full of bills.

“It’s looking a little lean, kids.” He frowns, shaking his head.

“We need seven grand,” Stone says.

“Well, we’re probably better off baking a shiv into a cake,” Mitch growls.

“What does that even mean?” Luna asks, on the verge of tears.

“It means the only way Moss is getting out of there anytime soon is if he breaks out himself,” Mitch says. “I have three thousand here.”

“What about a bond?” I ask.

Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy.

“A bond?” Luna squeals, her eyes lighting up with rage. “Sounds brilliant. You got fucking ID?”

“Knock it off, woman,” Mitch says. “How’s he supposed to know? He’s just trying to help.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just… this is all my fault.” Her eyes well up with tears and she sits down on a stump, dry heaving into her hands.

“Stop,” Mitch says. “No sense in getting all worked up.”

“I might know someone who can help us,” I say, and immediately want to put my foot in my mouth. I can’t believe I would even suggest such a thing, but I hate the way everyone is acting and it’s stressing me out.

“Who do you know?” Luna wails. “You don’t even know yourself!”

“She’s a writer. She has connections. She said she would help me find out who I was. Maybe she can help Moss at least get a bond or something.”

“Connections and sharp teeth,” Mitch laughs.

“Well what are we waiting for?” Luna asks. “Let’s go down there and talk to her. Moss needs out today. He doesn’t do well in places like that.”

“We can’t just roll up on her and start asking for money and making wild demands,” I say. “Let me talk to her and see what she suggests. Who knows, she might not even be at the campground when I get back. She might not even want to talk to me. I’m not trying to get your hopes up.”

“You already did, Tucker,” Luna says, an angry glare in her eyes. “After all we did for you.”

“You’re out of control, Luna,” Mitch barks at her. “Go sit in your tent and let the grown-ups talk.”

She storms off with a huff, but not before shouting over her shoulder at me, “He saved your fucking life, Tucker. Be a man!”

“I understand if you don’t want to,” Mitch says. “No harm, no foul. We’ll figure something out.”

The rest of the crew pipes in with similar sentiments, and I realize that even if I have a slight chance of getting Moss out of jail, it’s worth a shot. These guys are my brothers, and I know they’d do the same for me.

Plus, I’m already dying to see her again. I shouldn’t have left her alone last night.

“I’ll do it,” I say.

“You sure?” Mitch asks.

I nod. As much as I hate the idea of having to ask her for a favor, as much as I hate the idea that she might think I’m just trying to use her, I’m kind of thrilled by the thought that I get to see Molly, and hopefully touch her and kiss her and be with her again.

“You better get yourself cleaned up,” he urges. “She’s not gonna want to come within ten feet of you looking and smelling like that.”

“Alright,” I smile. “I’m going.”

“Take the four-wheeler,” Forrest urges. The men cheer, and morale is right back where it needs to be. I only hope I can make good on my promise without making a bigger mess out of my chances with the girl I want to be with more than anyone in the world.

I’m exhausted. My mind is being pulled in a million directions. I can’t wait to see her again and it’s been less than twelve hours, but I have a feeling she’s not going to be thrilled to have me.

Walking out on her in the middle of the night might have been a dick move, but it was for her own good.

And now, my clan, my crew, my family, expects me to go crawling back to her like a beggar looking for some sort of handout. I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t slam the door in my face and send me packing.

Still, it could be worth it. Worth it for the chance to get one look at her again, worth it for the opportunity to smell her hair, look into her eyes, soak in that feeling of home that she elicits inside of me, even if it’s just for one last time.

I know I look good in my tight black t-shirt and jeans, and I even trimmed up the beard a little bit. If you were to see me walking down the street, you’d have no idea where I came from. I’m barreling down the mountain on a four-wheeler, dust flying through the air, spinning my tires in gravel.

I park at the entrance of the campground, my heart beating through my shirt the whole time. I don’t know what I’m going to say to her. I haven’t got that far yet.

I can’t tell if she’s home or not, and I figure I’ll sit outside for a minute in the camping chair and try to gather my thoughts. I was supposed to do that on the ride down, but all I could think about was the way her voice drifts into some high-pitched squeal to scream my name while I’m thrusting inside her.

Tell her you’re sorry, I think. Ask her how her ankle is feeling. Keep it light.

My thoughts are interrupted by the shrill bark of Dolly, and I hear Molly’s voice soothing her through the open window.

“Calm down, babydoll,” she coos. “There’s nobody out there.”

Right.

I hunch down in the chair and put my head in my hands. I really, really shouldn’t be here. These two are fine and happy without me complicating things.

Dolly’s barks don’t stop, and soon they turn into desperate howls. I hear the dog’s paws pitter-patter back and forth across the laminate floor.

“You wanna go see?” she asks. “Come on.”

The door swings open and the pinscher comes running at me, full speed, nubby tail wagging, mouth open, like she just spotted her best friend. At least one of them is happy to see me, I think. She leaps into my lap, nudging my hand with her snout, begging for attention.

“Jesus, Tucker,” Molly gasps when she spots me. She sets her pistol down on the steps and stands there with her hands in the air, mouth wide open. Her cutoff denim shorts show off those luscious thighs of hers and her long hair is wet, wild, like she just got out of the shower. No makeup, no frills, and she’s still the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

“You gonna shoot me in broad daylight?” I tease. “I don’t blame you if you want to.”

“Why are you here?” she asks.

“I’m sorry, Molly. I swear.” I set the dog down on the ground and walk over to her. I cup her chin in my hand and gaze into her eyes. “It was really rude of me to skip out last night. I should’ve stuck around to make sure you were ok.”

“No,” she says.

“No?” I repeat, pulling her face close to mine. Seeing her irritated like this is having the opposite effect on me that it should. It doesn’t repel me.

It makes me want her even more.

“You don’t have to stick around to make sure I’m ok. I’m always ok. Yesterday was a fluke and I am eternally grateful for your help. But Dolly and I can hold our own,” she screams in my face.

“Understood.” I shrug, and her scowl softens into something more similar to a vague look of confusion. “I should’ve stuck around and kissed your thighs until you begged me to fuck you again?”

She’s melting in my hand but trying not to let it show. I can feel her breath on my face, I can feel the sparks between us. Maybe she only likes me for the way I make her scream, but I’ll take it for now. As I press my lips to hers, overpowering her, letting her know I’m not going to go until I get what I want, I start to lose track of why I’m here to begin with.

I’m not going to go until I make her cum so hard she needs a mop to clean up the mess.