Different Roads (7 page)

            From
what I gathered by what she told me, every time I woke up I would either be
stoic or I'd throw a fit and beat on anything and everything within reach. I
tried more than once to hurt myself and for awhile, Shelley said she wondered
if I had become possessed and was going to start spewing pea soup like Linda
Blair in the
Exorcist
. 

            "Jaq
I was so scared. Once you made it all the way out to the street before we found
you walking to who knows where," she said with a vacant stare. "We had
to take turns sitting with you after that."

            "Seth
is probably convinced I'm another psycho woman to steer clear from," I
sighed.

            Shelley
snorted, "Please. He's been here every day to make sure you're okay.
Though I'm sure he wondered after you pounded on him for trying to calm you
down. More than once."

            I
felt the blood rush in to paint my cheeks, "Great. Just freaking
great."

            Shelley
patted my hand and pushed away from the table. She walked over to the counter
and retrieved a small scrap of paper. Handing it to me, she said, "Here,
this is for you."

            There
was a phone number written on it and I narrowed my eyes in confusion,
"What's this?"

            "Um?
Phone number? Hello?" She laughed and knocked gently on my head.
"Anybody home? It's Seth's phone number. He wants you to call him when
you're up to it."

            I
chewed on my bottom lip and contemplated the number. She scooted my cell phone
across the table under my nose causing me to stare up at her, "I can't
call him. You crazy?"

            I
swore her green eyes began to sparkle, "Okay fine." She snatched the
phone and the number away from me. "I'll call him for you then."

            My
mouth snapped open, "You wouldn't dare!" But I knew she would and in
fact was already pressing in his number.

            "Hey
Seth. This is Shelley. Jaq wanted me to call and let you know she's feeling
much better today and would like for you to give her a call sometime.
Soon," she said. She disconnected the call and tossed me the phone with a
smug grin on her face, "Here keep this close. You'll need it."

With
everything that had happened in the past couple of weeks, I hadn't gotten a
chance to unpack all of my things. So I spent what was left of the morning and
part of the afternoon doing laundry and emptying boxes. Shelley had managed to
get her stuff moved in a little at a time without my even being aware of her
doing so.

            While
I tried to get my room more organized there were so many different thoughts flashing
through my head, things I tried not to focus on for too long. My heart hollowed
when I thought about the last words Brad and I had spoken to each other. They were
so tense, to say the least. Part of me wanted to hate Damon Blackwell for what
had happened, but in reality I knew it wasn't his fault. I guess I was just looking
for someone besides myself to blame. 

Then there was Seth Thomas. It was kind
of crazy how meeting Seth caused me to doubt my relationship with Rick. Then
the next time we meet, he wound up saving my neck by offering me a ride home.
Brad was supposed to have been my ride home from the party that night and by
all rights, I could very well have been riding in his truck with him when he
crashed. How was it that I'd never even kissed Seth Thomas and yet he'd already
managed come to my rescue? Twice?

            "Is
there even a floor under there?" Shelley said as she leaned against the
door frame and grinned. I frowned and she shoved my cell phone at me. She
mouthed the name "Seth."  

            After
the call ended I couldn't remember much of the conversation. To be honest, he
lost me at: "Do you want to hang out with me tonight?" I only hoped I
hadn't sounded like a complete moron or worse yet, a love-struck fourteen-year-old.
Because, I'm not gonna lie, that's pretty much how he made me feel.

            "So,
I take it that went well?" Shelley beamed when I slid into the kitchen
with a mile-wide grin snaking across my face.

            "It
was okay," I feigned nonchalance with a shrug. "We're going out
tonight."

            Shelley
flew off her chair, nearly toppling it over in her excitement and let out a
squeal. We hugged and jumped up and down. Okay,
that
was how love-struck
fourteen-year-olds were supposed to act when the hottest guy ever asked them
out.

            "Where's
he taking you?" She asked.

            If
possible, I smiled even wider, "Hell if I know!
Have you seen him
?
Because I'm pretty sure right now, I don't care if he buys me a Happy Meal at
McDonald's." We laughed until tears rolled down our faces -- or maybe we
finally stopped when Tim walked into the room and shook his head at us as
though we had both lost our minds.

            "You
better go start getting ready," she said. She planted her hands on my
shoulders and turned me toward my room. "You can't go out for a Happy Meal
looking like that."

            "It's
not even four o'clock yet, Shell. He's not coming to pick me up until six,"
I protested weakly.  

            Going
out with Seth would be the first real date I'd been on in a long time. Not to
mention it was the first one I ever remembered causing butterflies in my
stomach. I tried to keep a handle on my feelings but I wasn't sure that was
possible. I had a feeling that the walls I'd built around my heart were about
to crumble into dust and I don't think I even cared.

            "Let
me help you with your makeup," Shelley offered as she looked over my
shoulder in the bathroom mirror. I started to pull my thick hair back into a
knot at the base of my neck and she swatted my hands. "Leave your hair
down. Trust me on this."

            I
twisted my mouth into a half frown, "Okay. I think."

            By
the time Shelley had worked her magic; she'd managed to erase the dark smudges
of purple from beneath my eyes and had given my pale cheeks a boost of color. She'd
even been able to coerce my hair into something manageable that we mutually
agreed upon. I let her have her way with the makeup and hair, but when she
suggested I wear the short jean skirt she held out to me, I crossed my arms in
front of me and told her under no uncertain terms would I leave the house
wearing
that
thing. I brushed past her and slipped into my favorite pair
of faded jeans instead. She only pouted for a little while. 

            Seth
arrived right on time and when I walked into the kitchen where he waited I
think I almost swallowed my tongue. Hot didn't even begin to describe the fine
specimen of the male species that he was. His piercing blue eyes widened
beneath a fringe of sandy blonde hair when I entered. His mouth tipped into a
crooked smile and two deep dimples carved into his cheeks, "Hi Jaq,"
he said softly. "You look great."

            While
trying to find my voice, I stared into his eyes. I had never seen two more amazingly
expressive eyes in my entire life. They were bright blue and had a dark, nearly
black, ring encircling them. His lashes were long and fair, matching the color
of his hair. "Hi, thanks," I managed to say. My inner funny girl wondered:
boxers or briefs tonight
?

              Our
date was completely unconventional. Yes, we
did
go through a drive -thru
to grab something to eat, but I didn't care because it gave us a chance to talk
as we sat in his truck and ate.

"I have to be honest with you, Jaq.
When Shelley called, I'd sort of already promised the guys I'd meet them at Cemetery
Hill Road and go four-wheelin'," he said. Stealing a glance sideways at me,
he added, "But if you don't want to, we can do something else."

"Seriously? Cemetery Hill Road is
the
best place to do it," I said, immediately feeling my cheeks heat into a
nice shade of stop sign red. "I mean the best place to go
four-wheelin'."

His dimples showed up again and he said,
"I knew I liked you. Let's do it then."

We finished the rest of our food and
headed south out of the city to meet up with several of Seth's friends. Cemetery
Hill Road was a rutted, low maintenance gravel road that dead ended at the
entrance to an old graveyard perched on top of a plateau surrounded by steep
hills that just begged to be climbed.

We
were behind some guy in a Toyota going up the side of Cemetery Hill when, for some
stupid reason, the dumbass decided to stop right in front of us and Seth had to
jam on the brakes to keep from rear-ending him.

"Who is that idiot?" I asked.

            "You
mean what we call him or his real name?" Seth answered. Before I could
respond, he continued, "His real name is Andy Miller. But everyone calls
him Tool. Among other things. For obvious reasons."

            I
snickered, "Apparently he doesn't have a clue what he's doing."

            "That
would be Andy. Clueless," Seth muttered and rolled down the window. He
stuck his head out to yell at Andy, who had just hopped out to walk around
behind his truck. "What the hell are you doing Tool? Leave it to you to
get stuck in two inches of mud."

            Four-wheelin'
was especially fun if someone got stuck or when something broke. It wasn't
brain surgery: start at the bottom and don't let off the gas until you hit the
plateau at the top. Stopping halfway up was never a good idea, because even
with what little mud there was, it was still greasy beneath the tires and
getting started again would be tricky.

Seth muttered a few choice words about
Andy's lack of intelligence and tried to back up his truck so we could get
around Tool. The wheels spun as he gunned the engine and the next thing I knew,
smoke had started to pour out from under the hood. "Dammit!" Seth
scowled and pounded his hand hard against the steering wheel. He peered
sideways at me apologetically. "Sorry. This might take awhile."

"No problem. I'll go wait with the
other girls," I told him. I cautiously made my way through the mud to where
several others were standing around. We joked about Tool's total lack of brain
matter and waited while the guys tried to figure out what the problem was with
Seth's truck and whether or not he'd be able to drive it back to town. 

While the guys debated the best plan of
action, we started to smell gas. A steady stream had begun to pour out the back
end of Seth's pickup. I pointed it out to him and they gave up the idea of trying
to get the truck running that night and decided to tow it back to the shop
instead.

When we were all ready to head back to
town, Seth walked over to where I'd been waiting with the others and asked,
"So are you going to ride back in the truck with me?"

"Of course," I said and
smiled.

His blue eyes sparkled and when he
reached out to swipe his thumb across my cheek he had to have been deaf not to
hear my heart as it hammered against my ribs. "You had a little mud there on
your face," he said.

I shrugged and said, "A little mud
never hurt anyone, it's all good."

On the way back to town he apologized
for the way the night had turned out. I smiled at him and let him know that
although the apology wasn't necessary, it was appreciated.

When he pulled me closer to his side in
a one-armed hug and pressed his lips to mine I thought
Holy mother of God
.
The kiss completely took my breath away and erased every coherent thought in my
head.  As though he somehow managed to read my mind, he grinned down at me while
I was momentarily dumbfounded and completely lost in his eyes. 

"I wish I could take credit for the
way the night turned out," he said, leaning in to kiss me again. "The
good part, I mean. Like being with you."

We got back to the garage and he told
the guys not to worry about fixing the truck until the next day. He took my
hand and pulled me in the direction of an old white Camaro parked alongside the
garage. After he opened the passenger door to let me in, I stared at his ass
all the way around the front of the car. I swore he knew I was checking him out
and walked slower on purpose to give me an eyeful. The inside of the car reeked
of mildew and mothballs, but I didn't mind. Hell I wouldn't have minded sitting
on an upside down plastic milk crate at that point if it meant breathing the
same air as Seth.

He drove me home and walked me to the house.
When we got to the front door, he squeezed my hand and pulled me around to face
him. The wall I'd previously built around my heart blasted to smithereens when
he put his hands on either side of my face and leaned close for a kiss. My
hands clasped behind his neck as I shamelessly pressed the length of my body
against him.  The sweet, gentle kisses stolen in the pickup earlier gave way to
more urgent, passionate ones as we held on to one another.

Too soon, he pulled away and rested his
chin on my head, "You'd better go inside before you make me forget where
we are," he breathed.

The sex-starved goddess inside of me
threw a temper tantrum while the more rational side of my personality agreed. I
didn't want the night to end but reluctantly said goodnight.