A Shadow's Light BK 2 (3 page)

“Now wait a minute, mister. Are you saying that I’m a bad driver?” asked Enrique.

Feeling a rush of awkwardness come over him, Test replied. “No sir, I would never say that. I guess I mean that it’s a good thing that deer don’t swerve all over the road too, otherwise you might have been in trouble.”

The group began to laugh as Enrique reached out and playfully put his hands around Test’s neck. He shook him for a couple of seconds and then replied in jest. “Mr. Johnston, you’re lucky I like you.”

Alyssa was now staring at Test without regard to the fact that anyone might be watching her. She felt an absolute attraction to him, and every action that he made. Every word spoken solidified that fact.

“Okay everyone lets get going before it’s pitch black in here,” said Enrique.

“Yeah, load up you guys,” barked Rob as if he was in some sort of a leadership role.

James looked to Test and rolled his eyes. “Dang, I guess we’d better get going huh?”

Test grinned and looked at the ground. James, Jordan, and Test followed Rob back to their truck. He waited for the other three to climb into the bed first and, as he waited, glanced back over his shoulder. He could see Alyssa staring at him through the space between her opened door and the cab of the truck.

Enrique sat behind the steering wheel, waiting on Alyssa for only a moment before losing his patience. “Come on, Alyssa. Let’s get goin’.”

Alyssa didn’t move. Enrique followed her eyes forward to see Test quickly turn away from them and climb into the back of the other truck. Suddenly he had a fantastic idea. He opened his door and put one foot to the ground. Placing his head between the door and the cab, he yelled.

“Hey, Chance! Come here a minute.”

Test turned and squinted into the darkness. The light had nearly gone, making it difficult to see even several feet away.

“Chance, come here,” yelled Enrique once more.

As the words came from his mouth, Alyssa flew into the truck and slammed her door shut.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she slapped the seat with an open hand.

Enrique sat silently and waited for the boy to come.

Test knew that it was Enrique that had called for him, though the reason was unknown. Suddenly he became very nervous and his pulse began to quicken. He looked to his palms, fearful that there would be a glow, but saw nothing. Even so, he rubbed them on his thighs and made an attempt to calm himself. Reluctantly, he stood and jumped over the tailgate of the truck.

“What’d you do now?” asked Rob, hollering from the cab of the truck. “Let’s see some hustle going there! We don’t have all night.”

Test didn’t pay any attention to Rob, and walked at his own pace to Enrique’s window.

“What do you need, boss?” he asked.

“Hey,” said Enrique as he glanced back to Alyssa. “What do you have planned for supper tonight?”

Test was thoroughly confused. He looked past Enrique to Alyssa. She sat silently with her eyes focused straight ahead, her left leg bouncing nervously.

“I guess I didn’t have any plans,” he replied. “Just to go home and get a shower.”

With an enormous smile on his face, Enrique asked with a twisted pleasure. “How about I’ll drop you off at your place to get cleaned up, and then I’ll come back to pick you up? I’ll take you out to supper--my treat.”

Test was still confused. He ran his hand through his hair and then rested it on the door. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

“No, no. I just wanted to talk to you,” replied Enrique.

“Well…” Test paused for a second. “Okay then. I guess that sounds good.”

Enrique’s smile grew larger and he began to chuckle. “Good, it’s settled then. Climb into the back,” he motioned with his thumb.

Test walked to the back of the truck, stepped up on the bumper, and climbed into the bed. As soon as he sat, Enrique started the truck and pulled off past the others. Test looked to James as they drove by. There the foreman stood at attention in the back of Rob’s truck, giving him a salute. Test couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. It felt good. It felt normal.

Chapter 3

Eric didn’t say a word to Test the entire way home, and Test didn’t say anything to him. He made Test nervous. If it weren’t for him thinking so much about Enrique asking him to supper, it would have been a long ride home.

With the motel’s sign shining bright against the now black sky, Enrique pulled into the parking lot. Rolling down his window he yelled to Test, “What number?”

“Nine!” replied Test.

Enrique drove across the parking lot and parked in the stall directly in front of the room. Test stood and jumped over the driver’s side wall of the bed and landed tall on the black top. As he walked up to Enrique’s window, he put his right hand on the bed of the truck.

“Okay, Chance, I’ll be back in an hour or so. Does that give you enough time to get cleaned up?” asked Enrique.

“Yeah, I think so,” replied Test.

“Okay then. We’ll see you in an hour.”

“We?” asked Test quickly.

“Well yeah. Me, Julie, and Alyssa; is that not alright?” replied Enrique.

Test looked to Alyssa. She was looking at him nervously, but with a brightly shining smile on her face, anxiously awaiting his response. Her hair was now out of the ponytail and hanging long and straight over her shoulders and down her chest.

My God, she is beautiful,
he thought.

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Test replied, his voice echoing the anxiety of the moment. “I guess I’ll see you in a little bit then.”

“See you then,” replied Alyssa bashfully.

Test looked into her beautiful brown eyes and nodded his head. He slapped his hand on Enrique’s door, unable to prevent the smile on his face. With a wink from Enrique, he walked away filled with excitement. His pulse was racing, and his mind flipped through the mental pictures of Alyssa that he had collected over the course of the day. As if on auto-pilot, he inserted his card key into the door and entered his room.

Everything was as he’d left it. He tried to keep his space clean and organized, which wasn’t difficult since he didn’t own much of anything. The cleaning service took care of taking out the trash and making the bed everyday, so he really didn’t have to worry about much in the way of housekeeping. It was a pretty typical hotel room, nothing fancy. It had one queen sized bed with a nightstand on each side, and there was a television placed on top of a dresser that was across from the foot of the bed. The wallpaper was a tan floral pattern with a dark green border going around the top of the walls. It had a wash room with a small refrigerator that was directly off of the bathroom. With the exception of the bathroom, which was done in sterile white tile lined with mildewed caulk, the room was floored in short gray carpeting that was stained in spots. Test tried not to think about what the stains could be, or where they came from. There were dark brown curtains covering the windows, and an air conditioner/heater combo directly underneath them.

Test sat on the edge of his bed with a smile on his face. He had feelings that he hadn’t felt for some time; feelings that he didn’t think that he’d ever be able to have again. Leaving Nicole was the hardest thing that he’d ever had to do. She dominated his thoughts day and night, until today that is. The moment that he had seen Alyssa, it was as if someone had wiped the slate clean. He found himself feeling like a person again as opposed to a freak. He stood up, walked to the washroom, and leaned onto the counter while staring at himself in the mirror.

“Well, Test….” He paused and began to laugh. “Well, Chance….” He paused once again, only this time he dropped his head. With his hair hanging over his face he looked back into the mirror. “Who are you kidding? You can’t even tell her your real name.” His face began to distort with frustration. He clinched his teeth and closed his eyes. He raised his right hand and let his furnace burn. Slowly his hand began to glow. He opened his eyes and looked at his reflection once more. “How can you possibly expect anyone to understand this?” he said with one glowing hand raised. “You are out of your mind if you think that beautiful girl would be with you! Especially after….”

In a moment of rage he threw his open palm to the mirror and watched it shatter in front of him. Now breathing heavily, he pulled his hair out of his face and turned back to the living area to look at the clock on his nightstand.

It’s too late to back out now
, he thought to himself.

He walked to his dresser and pulled out his only good pair of jeans. In the washroom was a closet without doors that held his shirts. Hanging inside was a limited selection of t-shirts with stains and holes, a few decent long sleeve shirts, and a couple of dress shirts. While he still wore t-shirts to work, he had found himself always wanting to wear the collared button up shirts with the pearl snaps, like the one Nicole had given him on their last day together. It was a way for him to stay connected to her. For this night he had chosen the black one with vertical silver stripes.

Within minutes, he was finished with his shower and was dressed. He was now trying to give himself a quick shave, which was no easy task now that his mirror was shattered. With the last stroke of the razor came a knock at the door. Test put down the razor and grabbed at his towel to wipe his face. The knock came again, only louder this time.

“I’m coming!” yelled Test as he rushed to the door.

With a deep breath to center himself, he opened the door and found Alyssa standing on the other side. The sight of her sucked the air from his lungs. The words wouldn’t come to his lips, so the two of them shared a brief moment of admiration.

“Hey,” said Alyssa. “You look great. Are you ready to go?”

Test nodded his head as his brain cells slowly began to come back on line. “Yeah, I’m all set.” He stood silent once more, and then winced to himself for not returning her compliment right away. “You--you look great too.”

She was wearing a long summer dress with thin straps and open toed sandals. Her tanned shoulders looked soft, yet toned, and her hair laid over them like silk curtains. As she looked at Test, she nervously pushed her hair behind her ears. He found the irony in her wearing a summer dress, which made him think of Nicole, but the thought was fleeting.

“You really do look great,” said Test with a little more confidence now that he’d caught his breath.

Alyssa smiled and replied. “Thank you.”

From behind her, Enrique honked the horn. With his head sticking out the window, he prodded. “Let’s go you two. It’s getting late.”

The young couple looked to Enrique and then back to each other.

“Uncle E isn’t the most patient person in the world, but you probably already knew that, huh?” said Alyssa as she peered over Test’s shoulder. She noticed the broken mirror in the washroom, but didn’t say anything.

Test looked around her and, with a nod to his boss, replied. “No doubt; let me get my keys and we can get going.”

He walked to the washroom and picked his keys up off of the counter. He then noticed the mirror.

Oh, I’ll bet that looks great
, he thought to himself.

Quickly, he turned off the light in hopes that she hadn’t seen it and then walked back to the front door.

“All set,” he said with a smile.

Alyssa turned and walked back to her uncle’s car. Test closed the door behind him and followed her. In the passenger seat of the car was Enrique’s wife, Julie. She was a nice looking woman, a little on the heavier side, with long straight blonde hair.

Test walked quickly to catch up with Alyssa and opened her door for her.

“Oh, a gentleman,” said Julie as she smacked her husband’s shoulder. “Why don’t you open the door for me?”

“I don’t need to suck up, I already landed you,” said Enrique with a laugh. “Thanks though, Chance. You’re making me look bad.”

“Sorry boss,” replied Test.

“We’re not at work, you can call me Enrique.”

Alyssa didn’t look at him as she climbed into the car, but gently laid her hand on his as it rested on the door. He inhaled her scent deeply. It was soft and intoxicating. As he gently closed the door behind her, he caught a glimpse of Julie as she shot Alyssa a big grin. Coming around to the passenger side, he reached for his door handle and took a deep breath.
Just relax
, he thought to himself.
It’s just one night
. He opened the door and climbed in.

“How have you been, Chance?” asked Julie. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I’ve been good,” replied Test. “It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Franco.”

“Please call me Julie. Mrs. Franco makes me feel old.”

“Got it,” replied Test with a nod of his head. “So, where are we going tonight?” he asked.

“We’re going to go to the Warm Springs Café. You ever been?” asked Enrique.

“No sir, I haven’t been out to eat since I came to Saratoga,” replied Test.

Enrique looked back over his shoulder with a strange look on his face. “Seriously?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” replied Test. He looked over to Alyssa feeling somewhat embarrassed. She still had her smile.

She continued to push her hair behind her ears, and speaking in an anxious voice, she answered. “There’s nothing wrong with that, Uncle E. I don’t eat out much either.”

Enrique turned to Julie with his eyebrows raised.

Julie whispered to him. “Just shut up and drive.” Then turning to the backseat, she spoke softly to Test with her hand covering her mouth from Enrique’s view. “With the wages Enrique pays, I can’t say as I blame you.”

Even more embarrassed now than before, Test ran his hands through his hair and replied. “That’s not it at….”

“Don’t argue with a woman, young Mr. Johnston. You can’t win,” interrupted Enrique.

Shaking his head, he started the car and backed out of the parking stall.

*****

The café was dimly lit in an attempt to provide a romantic atmosphere, but the lighting was contradictory to a staff that was full of energy and wit. Table after table of people seemed to be enjoying themselves at a volume not conducive to romance, and that was actually okay with Test. He didn’t want romance. He was scared to death that life would repeat itself and that Lincoln would happen all over again.