Jolted (Conflicted Encounters #1) (10 page)

Ryder

After what seemed like the longest day of work ever, I finally stumbled in my apartment. I spent most of the day on the computer looking for an engine for Kallie's car. Not only was the car old, but it was also a special edition. It probably cost someone a small island when it came out. I found just a few, but they were overseas. Travis would never go for the shipping costs.

I would just keep looking. Kallie would eventually give up waiting for her car and go home. I needed her gone and out of my apartment. She had trouble written all over her too good body. Something about her made me want to know her. I wanted to know what was eating her up inside. No good would come from getting closer to her, and I needed to just stay away.

The apartment was quiet when I walked in and I was relieved for the alone time. I knew the girls would be back at some point to get ready for tonight. It was hard enough to deal with Scarlett, but dealing with another woman was too much. On my way to my bedroom, I heard music and voices coming from Scarlett's room. I sighed. So much for alone time.
 

I hurried and jumped in the shower to avoid the girls. I stood under the water longer than usual. I had a feeling tonight would be unlike most nights at Logan's. I would assume Scarlett would insist on bringing along Kallie. Tonight, I would not only have to keep on eye on my wild sister, but now, another girl I barely knew.
 

After I dried and got dressed, I decided to check on my sister. I knocked on the door and opened it when she called out. When I opened the door, I saw Kallie lying on her stomach on Scarlett's bed. Markers were lying all around her on the bed, and Scarlett sat on top of Kallie, drawing on her upper back.

I came in closer to see what she was drawing. A big red bow was drawn on the back of Kallie's neck. The bow was drawn with amazing detail, showing delicate lace, and the ends of the ribbon flowed down Kallie's back. Scarlett was filling in the shading with marker. The bow looked so realistic; it was like you could reach out and untie it from Kallie's body.
 

Scarlett was always an artist growing up. She would create beauty, whereas I would destroy. Scarlett was going to school for graphic design and worked at the tattoo shop in town on the weekends and during the summer. Every time I saw a piece of her work, I was always amazed. It didn't matter how often I saw her art, I was always blown away with her talent.

"What's going on?" I asked while looking around her mess of a room and trying hard not to think about the fact that Kallie was only in a bra and jeans.
 

"Test run," Scarlett said, not looking up from her canvas.

"It looks great," I told her. "What time do you think you'll be ready to go?"

"A couple hours. I just got to do our hair and makeup," she said. Growing up with her, I knew that could take hours. "How was work?"

"Fine," I said, taking her hint that she wanted to chat. I looked down at Kallie, who seemed to be in her own little world.

"Well, I'm done. Wanna see?" she asked, crawling off Kallie and grabbing her phone. She took a photo and handed the phone to Kallie.

"Oh, wow. It looks so real. And amazing. I love it," Kallie said, staring at the screen.

"Thanks," Scarlett said and started to pick up her art supplies from the bed.
 

"Is that what you want?" I asked Kallie. I had been wondering what she would get permanently put on her body since she brought it up the other night.

"I don't know, really," she answered. "I would have to think about it. I just told Scarlett to do whatever she felt like. Would this hurt?"

I laughed. "Yes. Some hurt worse than others, but they all hurt," I told her. Her eyes grew wide as she looked up at me. "General rule is, the closer to bone, the more pain. It hurts less if you have some meat on your bones."

She nodded. "I see. Did yours hurt?" she asked as she eyed my arms.

"My arms, not too bad. My back was worse," I said. I tried to keep my eyes on hers and ignore all her skin.
 

"Don't worry bout that yet, babe," Scarlett told her, handing her back her shirt. Kallie's eyes grew wide; apparently she'd forgotten she had no shirt on.
 

Scarlett gave me a look telling me to leave, so I nodded and left the girls alone. I went to my room and laid on my bed. I was dreading tonight and thought of every possible excuse I could to get out of this. The last night at Logan's turned into a disaster and tonight was on the track to be the same. I was out of character with the strange, new lost girl around.
 

I listened to the girls getting ready and their idle chatter. I heard no details about Kallie's life or what brought her here. She didn't share any personal details about herself at all. She basically listened to Scarlett talk and gave all the expected responses. I walked to the kitchen to listen better.

A phone on the counter was lighting up and buzzing around. I grabbed it just before it vibrated right off the counter. One look at the jeweled case told me it wasn't Scarlett's phone. I set it back down and opened the fridge to grab a beer. The phone started to buzz again, so I looked at the screen. The word "Home" was across the screen.

"Kallie, your phone," I shouted. The vibrating and the screen flashed 14 missed calls. "Kallie," I yelled louder.

"What?" she asked, coming into the kitchen. She wore tight jeans with rips on the legs, showing some skin, and a white halter top.

"Your phone was ringing," I said, pointing at it.

"Did you answer it?" she asked in a panic and grabbed her phone.

"No, why would I do that? I just saw it flashing," I told her. As if on cue, the phone went off again and she quickly hit ignore.

"Shh," she said just before the phone started vibrating again. "Hello."

She was quiet for a few moments while I heard noise on the other end. Kallie watched Scarlett's bedroom door while she listened. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and shot a quick text to my sister.

Quiet. K on phone - R

I watched her listen and thought about leaving her alone, but then realized this may be the only way I would find out anything about her.
 

"Yes, mother," she finally said into the phone. "I'm fine." Another pause. "I was just out taking a walk and I really need to get back to studying, so I will call you tomorrow. Goodbye." She quickly hung up and shut the phone down.

"Studying?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

She looked back at me, caught off guard. "Long story," she said while looking down at the floor.

"Well, Scarlett is doing her makeup, so I think we have time," I said, half-joking.

"No, I'm all done, your turn, doll," Scarlett said from her doorway. She gave me a knowing smile. She knew she had just busted my investigation.
 

Scarlett quickly escaped into the bedroom. I wondered if my sister knew her story and was protecting her. Scarlett was always fiercely protective of the ones she cared for. I just couldn't understand how Kallie won her over so quickly. I would have to ask her. She never could lie to me.
 

I paced the kitchen and waited for the girls impatiently. After several threats to leave without them, or not going at all, they finally emerged. Kallie's hair was pulled into a high ponytail. The bow Scarlett drew on her was completely visible with the halter top and her long blonde hair out of the way out.

Her eyelashes were dark and thick, emphasizing the blue of her eyes. She wore cowboy boots and jeans that would fit in perfectly at the party. Scarlett was in a black skirt with a purple corset top. Her hair was curled and excitement was written all over her face. I was in a lot of trouble tonight.

We went down to my truck. Kallie slid over to the middle and Scarlett took the window seat. I could almost feel the nerves rolling off Kallie. Scarlett chatted most of the way to the edge of town. She told Kallie about some of the notorious parties at Logan's and gave her a quick rundown of some of the people that would be there.

"It's been a while since his last one. There is probably so much to burn," Scarlett said, bouncing in her seat. Almost everyone in town knew to drop off any scrap wood to be burned at his place. Since the last party, Logan took a few weekends off. She was right, the wood was piling up.

We pulled up to the old farmhouse and the yard was already filled with cars and trucks. I could see the woodpile in the backyard, waiting to be lit. I got out of the truck and came over to the passenger side. I opened the door and helped the girls out of the truck. I held Kallie's hand as she tried to balance herself on the tall grass where she jumped down.

"Ready?" I asked her.

She looked back up at me. I could see how uncertain she was. "Yep," she lied.
 

I followed behind the girls back to the pile. Guys shouted at me and I waved back at my friends. If you came to a party here, you knew Logan and me. If you didn't know us, you had no business being here. I made my way through the dancing bodies and around the random coolers to find Logan waiting by the stack.

"Holy shit," I said to him as I patted him on the back and eyed the tallest pile I had ever seen there before.

"My thoughts exactly," he said, not sounding excited. "Ladies," he said, bowing down to the girls. He swooped Scarlett up into a hug. "Kallie, right?" he asked when he finally put my sister down.

She nodded and eyed the massive stack, like we were. "You guys are lighting that on fire?" she asked.

"That's the plan, darling," he told her. "Just been waiting for you guys. Ryder lights every single one. It's tradition. Let's get this started!" People around us cheered.
 

"You should move back," I whispered in Kallie's ear before walking away to grab the two cans of gasoline waiting for me and walking over to the pile.
 

I dumped the gasoline on the pallets and wood. I shook the cans to try to reach the top of the pile. When the cans were empty, I grabbed the blowtorch from Logan. The crowd moved back and cheered while I walked around, lighting parts of the pile. The flames quickly grew and I retreated back, away from the heat. We stood and watched the flames grow taller than I have ever seen them. When the bonfire was going strong, the crowd went back to partying.
 

"We're gonna get some drinks," Scarlett yelled at me as she pulled Kallie over to the keg. Logan watched them leave before looking over at me.

"Who the fuck is she, dude?" he asked with wide eyes.

"I can't even begin to explain. I have no idea," I told him, shaking my head.

"Is she, by chance, the hot blonde you were seen leaving Hank's with a few nights back?" he asked and gave me an evil grin. "She just couldn't get enough or what?"

"It's not like that," I told him, looking back to make sure they were still at the keg. "Her car broke down and you know Scar," I said.

"Sure," he told me. I could tell that he didn't believe me, but he wasn't going to keep prying.

"How you doing?" I asked him, trying to say more with my eyes.

"Fine," he said before Scarlett came busting in and interrupting.

"Here you go," she said, handing a red cup to Logan. He shook his head at her. " You don't want it?" she asked, shocked.
 

"Nope. Taking a break from drinking," he told her.
 

Kallie handed me a cup and took a drink from hers. I saw the flicker of disgust and forced myself not to laugh out loud.

"Okay, then," Scarlett said. "We are going to go mingle," she announced, pulling Kallie away.
 

I wandered around the large yard and talked to friends. After several beers, my worries and dread about tonight wore off. I was laughing with the guys and throwing more wood on the wall of fire. I would see Scarlett and Kallie around every now and then. They seemed to be keeping out of trouble… for now.
 

I watched as Kallie talked to people and drank her beer. It seemed the taste was finally growing on her. The bow on her back looked as real as a tattoo. The glow from the fire danced across her skin and I got stuck staring at her. She turned and found me in the crowd. Her blue eyes met mine and I quickly turned away and went into the house.
 

I eventually came out of the house with a pack of hot dogs to cook on the fire. They would just burn immediately, but it was always fun to try. I met back with Logan and another friend, Caleb. We tried to cook the hot dogs, but they would either catch on fire or we couldn't get close enough. We laughed as we grabbed more and kept trying.

"Hey, you," a voice came from behind me as fingers wrapped around my arm.

"Crystal," I said, looking down at her. I never could avoid her at these parties, but always hoped to.

"I've been looking all over for you, baby," she cooed, snaking her hands up my arms. Her top was low cut and her skirt almost showed her ass.

"Been around," I said, trying to wiggle out her grasp. She was another complication I didn't want to deal with tonight.

We all went to high school with Crystal and she slept with most of the guys we knew. She was usually good for a fun night, but I had too much on my mind tonight. Plus, I couldn't exactly take her back to my place with a houseguest staying on my couch. If I blew her off long enough, she’d move on to one of the other guys. I looked back at my friends for backup only to see they abandoned me. I was left all alone with her.
 

"I missed you," she said, pushing her body close to mine.
 

"It hasn't been that long," I told her while I searched the crowd for Logan or Caleb to help.
 

"Come dance with me," she whined. I looked down at her and sighed. Dancing was harmless enough. I didn't want to be a complete ass to her.
 

We walked over to a truck playing music and danced for a few songs. I drank some more while she danced around me and I enjoyed watching her move. She always had a great body and knew how to use it to her advantage. After I drank too much to be coordinated, I sat on the tailgate of the truck.