Walk (Gentry Boys) (7 page)

STONE

Saturday was full of work and I was glad.  Early in the morning we had to be over at the university to set up for some crusty faculty brunch thing.  Then as soon as we were done there we headed to another east valley wedding that needed some chairs.

Unfortunately that wedding didn’t feature a nice girl waiting around for someone to dance with her in the moonlight.  I kept thinking about Evie in ways that were both sinful and sweet. 

I wanted to fuck her. 

I wanted to hold her hand. 

I wanted to take her to a movie and share buttered popcorn with her.

I wanted to put my mouth on every inch of her body and demand she return the favor. 

I wanted to kiss her softly and hold her protectively against my chest.   

Nuts, all of it. I know. 

But that’s what happened when a guy spent four years without doing any of those things.   Five minutes in the company of a decent girl and she became fucking mythical. 

Bash kept pushing me toward some cheap fun instead. It was tempting.  Last night after we got home he went out for an hour and returned with a pair of giggling coeds who were all long legs and suntanned sex. I’d been sitting in an armchair finishing the final chapters of
A Tale of Two Cities
when the girls busted into my space and started making offers.   

Bash already had his hand all over the tits of one of them while the other one stuck out her chest and licked her lips as she looked me over.   

“Come here,” she pleaded, pulling the left strap of her tank top down. 

I wanted to.  I was so goddamn hard already it was practically a health crisis and I knew once I got a taste of that I wouldn’t be able to stop.  I could go all goddamn night, using this girl and exhausting every fantasy fuck that had tortured me for four deprived years.  

The girl – named Mara or Tara or something – made an impatient face when I didn’t budge.  She stood up.  “All right then,” she purred.  “I’ll come over there.” 

With one practiced move she dropped her shorts and showed off the flimsy red thong underneath. It was nice to look at.  It would be even nicer to find out was underneath.

“You’ll have to excuse me,” I said as I stood stiffly.  “Got an early morning tomorrow.”

It was a lie.  All I had going on tomorrow was an afternoon family barbecue at my cousin’s house.  My excuse sounded artificial even to my own ears.  Plus everyone in the room could probably tell that my cock was just about popping out of my shorts.

Mara or Tara had her mouth stuck in a little ‘O’ of shock.  This wasn’t a girl who was used to being turned down.  I almost wanted to apologize to her.  She was young and she was hot and she was looking for a good time.  Nothing wrong with that.  The Stone Gentry who’d lived four years ago would have already dropped his pants, spread her out and started hammering away until he got what he needed.  But I was no longer that free spirited boy who took and used and took some more.  Apparently I’d lost something besides years in lockup.

“Gentry!” Bash howled with disbelief. 

He took his hands off the perky tits he’d been exploring and shook his head in disgust.  “Forgive my roommate,” he told the women. “Stone’s got a few personality issues that need sorting out before he can be useful.” Then he beckoned to the rejected girl with a wink.  “Come on over here, sweetheart, and I’ll make it up to you.” 

I retreated to my room and turned on music to drown out the noise of Bash enjoying a raunchy three way on the living room couch.  That didn’t do much to ease the ache in my own balls though so I stripped, kneeled down and beat off with a fury that left me panting and spent and wondering how it would feel to slide into cute little Evie.  I decided it would feel pretty fucking good. 

When I woke up in the morning the girls were gone and Bash was curled up around a couch pillow with his bare, hairy ass in the air.  I didn’t feel obligated to keep the noise down so I banged around the kitchen quite a bit while cooking up a few omelets and starting a pot of coffee. 

Eventually Bash climbed out of his post-coital nap, scratched his wild mane of black hair and mercifully found his way into a pair of pants. 

“You missed one hell of a ride,” he yawned as he sat down at the table. 

“I’ll have to live with that.” 

Bash groaned as he bit into the egg and cheese omelet.  “Damn, but you can cook.  You know, if you had a pussy I might fucking marry you.”   

I snorted and threw a damp dishtowel at him.  “No plans to grow one so it’s not an option.” 

Bash talked with his mouth full.  “Fine. I bet you wouldn’t be much fun no matter what fucking equipment you came with.” 

Despite all Bash’s crudity, he was still a good boy who drove downtown every Sunday morning to escort his eighty-year-old grandma to church.  Then he always stuck around to do yard work or whatever else she needed. 

“Tell Mr. Gentry his favorite ex-student says hello,” Bash called on his way out the door.  To him, my cousin Chase would always be the revered ‘Mr. Gentry’.  I couldn’t really blame him for the awe though.  Chase was always near the top of my list of the best people on earth. 

There were still several hours remaining until I was expected to show up at Cord’s house so I spent some time cleaning the apartment.  It was nice, having a place that was starting to feel like a real home. Plus, being active helped calm my mind. 

I wasn’t having any luck tracking Con down.  I’d even enlisted Bash’s help to see if his motley circle of friends knew anything.  Conway had no recent social media presence and moved around constantly.  Bash had confirmed that one of his buddies knew about a large street racing circuit that operated locally and Con was known to be involved. When I talked to Deck yesterday he said that I should keep calm and focus on getting my life back on track.  He said Conway would surface sooner or later. Even though I trusted Deck more than just about anyone I felt a little more helpless with each passing day. 

As I mopped the kitchen floor I cheered up a little over the idea of seeing my cousins and their families today.  They were all planning to be there; wives, kids and all.  I had to hope there was a small chance that Conway would show up too. 

When the floors were sparkling and the counters immaculate I jumped in the shower to get ready.  It wasn’t even close to a formal event but I still felt like I wanted to make a good impression on everyone so I dressed in a clean pair of dark jeans and a gray short sleeve button down shirt that had been a gift from Deck’s wife, Jenny.  Apparently the Gentry women had gotten together and made it their business to outfit me properly.  Since my release I’d received wardrobe donations from each of them.  It was nice.  There was some solace that came from knowing there were women around who cared about you. 

Sometimes I thought about trying to make contact with my mother down in Florida but I knew in my heart she wouldn’t want to hear from me. That was stress I didn’t need.  It was hard enough trying to piece together a new life while I puzzled out how to reunite with my brother.  Conway was the one person I wouldn’t give up on, not ever.

I’d just zipped my fly when the doorbell rang.  I took my time getting to the door, figuring it was probably one of Bash’s friends, or maybe someone offering to sell me a stack of holy books. My parole officer had just stopped by for an unannounced visit two days ago and it wasn’t likely he’d return so soon, let alone on a Sunday afternoon.  The caller had just rung the bell for the third time when I reached the doorknob. 

“Jesus,” I grumbled, flinging the door open.  “A little fucking patience-“

The words died a quick death on my lips when I saw Evie standing there.  Her face was rapidly turning red.  She had one of those complexions that blushed with ease. 

“I’m sorry,” she stammered and cleared her throat.  “I was just over there, just taking care of the cat and I didn’t want to bother you but your door was here and now you’re here and shit, I sound like a lunatic.”  She stamped her foot over the last few words, all cherry-faced and adorable.    

“I’m glad you’re here,” I told her and could feel myself smiling so wide I probably looked like a lunatic myself. 

She pressed her lips together, trying to hide her grin.  “Sorry for the word jumble.  What I meant to say is that I was tasked with looking after my friend Briana’s cat while she’s on her honeymoon.  Since I knew that you lived right here I took a chance that you were around.” 

“I
am
around.” 

She blinked.  “I see that.” 

I opened the door the rest of the way and backed up. 

“Come on in,” I said easily, pretending it was completely usual for me to open a door and ask a woman to step through it. 

Evie hesitated.  She was pleased.  I could see that much.  But then a doubtful shadow crossed her face.  “You can tell me if I’m barging in.” 

“If you were really barging in then believe me, I
would
tell you.” 

She cocked her head and then nodded slowly.  “You would, wouldn’t you, Stone?”

I didn’t know how to answer that but it seemed like a question she didn’t really expect an answer to.  She smiled and walked inside and as I caught a whiff of that strawberry-scented shampoo my dick woke right up. 

Evie was looking around with curiosity.  While she was doing that I looked at her.  The soft blue sundress she was wearing fell modestly to her knees but the fabric hugged her body enough so that I could see more of her figure than I’d seen the other night.  She was small, barely scraping five feet, with pert little breasts and narrow hips. Her hair was a gently waved light brown that parted in the middle and rested just below her shoulders. She didn’t wear much makeup and didn’t need to. 

Evie was staring at me and I realized she’d turned and asked me a question while I was busy judging her body.   

“Sorry.  What?”  I shook myself to attention but I could tell by the amused curl to her lip that she wasn’t fooled. 

“I asked if you had any roommates.” 

“One.  His name’s Bash.  He knows one of my cousins.  We only met a few weeks ago when I moved in but we get along all right.” 

“A few weeks ago,” Evie echoed and nodded, probably remembering how I’d told her I’d just gotten out of prison.  Then she suddenly grinned.  A charming dimple appeared on her left cheek.  “Well, I have to give you props.  It’s the tidiest man cave I’ve ever seen.  Do you have a girlfriend, Stone?”

It jolted me a little the way she leapt from one topic to the next.  I looked her straight in the eye.  “No girlfriend of any kind. Women don’t tend to cling to ex-convicts.” 

I almost winced when I said the words.  I didn’t mean to sound self-pitying.  I just wanted this girl to remember who she was dealing with.  If she backed away from me now I’d be able to handle it.  But if she kept crossing my path and giving me reasons to keep thinking about her, then it might hurt if she got scared off. 

Evie was no fool for pity though.  She raised an arch eyebrow.  “Is that even true? I’ve heard there are a lot of women who are really into that.” 

“Oh, well then let’s just say I’m not into the women who are into that.” 

“So what
are
you into?”  I got the feeling she didn’t mean to blurt out the question.  She blushed again.  This Evie girl was more interesting every minute; a disarming mix of candor and sweetness.  I had no idea what she was going to say next.  If she’d embarrassed herself by the question it didn’t matter because she stood her ground, waiting for my answer. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve thought about it,” I told her.  “Honesty, I guess.  That’s not something that can be traded.  Humor.  Because it’s nice to laugh a little when life fucks with you in a thousand small ways.” 

She was nodding approvingly over my answer so I took a chance.  I moved closer.  The door was still open.  If she felt uneasy and wanted to run out I wouldn’t stop her.   We were almost touching.  Almost. 

Evie had to tip her head back to meet my gaze.   Her eyes were different colors.  One blue and one green.  She didn’t look as if she had any intention of backing away from me now matter how close I came.

“But most of all,” I said quietly. “I’m into pretty girls in dresses who will dance with you in the dark and then show up unexpectedly at your apartment.” 

She closed her eyes for longer than a blink. 

“Stone.”  She opened her eyes and said my name like my existence puzzled her.  “Who are you?”

Who are you?

Hadn’t I asked myself that every single morning as I scratched another day of my life off on an old piece of paper? 

The only thing I had to offer her was the truth as I saw it. 

“Evie, I’m the guy who’s made some mistakes. I might not be done paying for them.  But people manage to live decent lives every day and all I want is the chance to do the same.” 

Evie kissed me.  I was so blown away with shock that I didn’t even react.  I just stood there like an asshole as she rose on her tiptoes and gently touched her lips to mine.  She didn’t linger there and a few seconds later I was still dumbfounded and asking myself whether it had even happened.