Blind Love (Sulfur Heights Series) (10 page)

He sits and observes the random guys playing
, watching their moves, the angles they favor and singling out the weakest. Then Jake swoops in like a hawk, daring the guy to challenge him and they do! Either these guys are idiots or have problems with their ego because it’s impossible for them to say no. I’m surprised he doesn’t trash talk or try to psyche out his opponent; he only has stone-cold, intense focus as he sinks the balls in the pockets, shot after shot. It’s quite entertaining. I even let myself get involved in one round, playing some old guy with gross teeth. I used my pageant skills to win this guy over by smiling politely and bending over at just the right angle. Not exposing myself or anything, but making it interesting.

The one t
hing that truly stinks is what happened to my Mini Cooper. Jerks! I can’t believe what they did to my car. It was stripped of all its pieces. Everything on it was missing—doors, mirrors, seats
—
all of it, gone.

It was a hot
, sunny morning as I walked out the back door, getting ready to go to the shelter, when I saw the Mini Cooper was nothing except an empty shell. Only the frame was left sitting in the street. I was so angry and ready to lie down on the dirty street and cry. I ran back into the house and down to the basement, barging into Jake’s room, which was pitch black at eight o’clock in the morning. When I flipped on the light I was expecting I’d be tripping over crap or it would smell like stale booze and dirty socks, but to my surprise it was the complete opposite.

R
unning to his bed, I slapped his arm until he stirred awake.

“Hey! What the hell, D?” Jake
startled, sat up and ran his hands over his face.

“Someone destroyed my car!” I yell
ed at the top of my lungs, trying desperately to get air back into them.

Jake roll
ed his body over and placed his bare feet on the floor. Expelling a deep breath, he said, “Jesus, D, I just went to bed two hours ago, and what do you mean your car is destroyed? It was fine when I came home at three.”

“It’s not rocket science
, Jake! Someone dismantled my car! It is literally missing every piece. It’s only a hollow shell! What am I going to do now?” I leaned against the wall, trying to keep myself from falling over. Tears pricked my eyes knowing my mother was going to kill me, not to mention Emerson. He’d been itching to get me to come home since the day I arrived. This would surely send him over the edge and onto the first plane to Michigan.

“Awe, someone stripped it. Yeah
, that happens around here sometimes, but why the hell would they strip a Mini Cooper? Those cars aren’t exactly popular.”

“I can’t believe this!”
I was so upset , and he was acting like it was no big deal.

Jake
was obviously not in any hurry. He finally stood, stretching his muscled arms over his head when my eyes snapped to his manhood grown huge in his boxer briefs. He wasn’t exposed, however it definitely showed how obscenely large he is. Oh, my sweet baby Jesus. This… this… was not okay. My virgin eyes should only look at my future husband’s privates and I was most certain that would be Emerson. Oh, my God. What did I do? I couldn’t look away.

Why
couldn’t I look away?

I
was a taken woman, but I couldn’t look away. Was that really what they did? Although, I couldn’t see it in the flesh, it looked like it could rip a woman in half. Yikes!

My curiosity
got the better of me until Jake’s eyes met mine. I was mortified. He’d totally caught me ogling his package. I turned my body away from him, knowing my face was as red as a tomato.

“See something you like
, cupcake?”

I
was beyond embarrassed. Jake would never let me live this down, and for the last couple of weeks I was here I was sure he would be talking about it incessantly.

“Shut up! Just get dressed and come look at my car.” I storm
ed upstairs, knowing it was going to suck looking into his eyes.

When I think about it now, it makes me smile because I am such a virgin. Most girls would not get embarrassed about seeing a guy’s giant wiener
going all Big Top in this boxers, but I was completely unprepared for it.

Later
, Jake explained it was his morning wood and it happens to every guy. To save face, I acted like I already knew what he was talking about, but inwardly, I knew I should have paid better attention in sex-ed. class.

The sound of my door creaking open breaks my mind from wandering thoughts as Jake’s head peaks
in and then he tip toes over to my bed. I’m irritated, he’s probably drunk walking again. I get out of bed to avoid him waking Presley.

“Hey,
it’s two o’clock in the morning; get out of here,” I whisper shout to him.

“Come on. It’s your last
J&D adventure before you leave us for good.” Jake’s eyes are intense as always, but not glossy, and the stench of whiskey is not present at all on his breath. Miracles happen every day because Jake is completely sober.

“Where are we going at this time of the morning?” I ask
, knowing he’s not going to tell me.

“That’s for you to find out
. Come on.” He’s growing impatient with me when I notice what he’s wearing.

“I’ve never seen you in shorts before and now I know why. Your legs are practically see through
they’re so white.” I cover my mouth to suppress my giggle.

“Shut up. Are you in or what?”

Nodding my head yes, I say what I always say when he invites me on these little adventures,  “Count me in.”

“Good!”

I glare at him and snap my head to Presley, hoping he didn’t wake her up.

He giggles to himself. “Come on. Put on some shorts and bring an extra change of clothes. You have one minute to get your ass outside.” He slips out of the room as qu
ietly as he came in while I move to my suitcase, throwing on a tank top and cotton workout shorts. I grab spare clothes, shove them in a bag and head out the door.

Jake is leaning against the Challenger, arms across his chest and a devilish smile on his face. Oh
, great, what in the Sam-hell am I getting myself into?

Jake

Delilah looks like she’s ready to go kick boxing at the gym as she tromps down the stairs in her tight shorts
, tank and sneakers. I am quite certain this woman’s goal in life is to kill me because everything she wears sends an electrical shot straight to my dick and it immediately stands at attention.

I open the Challenger car door and climb behind the
steering wheel before she sees what one look at her gorgeous body does to me. I know I’ve declared my summer goal is to make Delilah my friend, but I seem to be having a hard time with that lately because, for the last week, all I can think about is nailing her. I’m sure it’s my sick head’s way of proving to me that I will never be able to have a woman like Delilah. My body wants her, though I’m not sure my conscience can follow through with it. Since the night of her first drag race experience she’s been setting up shop in my mind and I find myself actually listening to what she has to say. Meaning, I actually care about what she’s saying. I’ve never cared what another woman has to say, my mother included.

Delilah climbs in
the passenger seat and I peel down the driveway, heading up to Old Miller’s Road. The night air is perfect for where we are going and I can’t wait to show her. It’s a childhood spot that has only good memories for me and I’m truly looking forward to sharing it with her.

Another twinge of appreciation strikes me when I think of Delilah being the only person outside of Jeremy who’s seen where we’re going. Damn! What the hell is wrong with me? I shake my head of its foreign thoughts and look over at her.
I can tell she’s anxious yet excited. When her ocean-blue eyes meet with mine they are dancing with anticipation.

I pull off Old Miller’s Road and take the Challenger down a very small dirt road surrounded by overgrown trees. Branches are s
lapping the sides of the car as I slowly make my way down to the spot. Jeremy is going to blow a gasket the minute he sees the scratches on his car, but I told him where I was going, so he shouldn’t be surprised. Fuck it, I’ll deal with him later. Tonight, it’s about Delilah and giving her a great last memory of Sulfur Heights before she returns to her mansion in Memphis.

I don’t know if I will ever see
her again; I’m thinking I will. Nevertheless, if for some reason I don’t, I want this night to be the last, best memory of her time spent here. Again, the fact that I care is throwing me and really pissing me off.

We finally arrive at a safe place to park, but we need to walk through the trees a little bit to get
to where I want to go, so I put the car in park and turn it off. Delilah looks at me completely confused and a little worried. I say nothing to her as I exit the car and go to the back, getting a rope and backpack from the trunk. That gets her attention real quick.

“Ah…
red flags going up all over the place,” she says, locking her arms around her body.

“Red what?”

“Red. Flags. You’ve driven me to an unknown destination surrounded by trees and away from any civilization pulling a long rope from your trunk. If this isn’t the definition of a red flag alert, I don’t know what is.”

I move from the back of the car and come
around to stand in front of her body. Goosebumps have formed across her tanned skin and she looks like she’s ready to kick me in the balls and scream bloody murder.

“Give me a break. Do you think I would actually do anything to hurt you?” Just the audacity of her assuming I would harm her in any
way begins to piss me off. I’ve done nothing of the kind. Actually, I’ve been the exact opposite and have protected her from danger. “Well, cupcake, you’re going to have to trust me.”

“That’s the scary part
, Jake. From the moment I met you I’ve been seeing red flags all over the place, but there’s this little voice in my head that gets louder every time you’re around, telling me it’s okay to trust you. It’s unnerving that I can’t ignore it.” Delilah pulls her hair up into a floppy bun on her head and expels a deep breath. I can tell she’s really bothered by this, but it only makes me smile because it means she’s finally recognizing what it’s like to truly live.

I hold out my hand for her to take and she does. “It’s okay. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. No
w stop pouting so we can have a little fun.”

I get her classic roll of the eyes and return it with my trademark smirk
before we begin to make our way through the tall grass, walking about twenty feet. When we clear the trees, the full moon shines down on a small lake, making thousands of tiny diamonds dance on the water.

Letting go of her hand, I drop the backpack and make
my way over to the large tree with its limbs hanging over the water. Using my best climbing skills, I ascend the tree, securing the rope around the thick bark of the limb.

When I get back to Delilah
, she’s still staring at the water, memorized by the calmness it brings. I open the backpack, pull out a couple of big towels and lay them on the grass.

She meets my gaze and whispers, “What is this place?”

“Well, since you’re going home tomorrow I wanted to save the best part of Sulfur Heights for last. Welcome to my swimming hole. Come on.” I shed my shirt and then take her hand, bringing her over to the tree where I just tied the rope.

“
Now, you can jump off the small hill to get in the water, but I suggest using the rope. I would leave your shoes on; God knows what’s on the bottom of the lake, but this is so much fun. Watch.” I let go of her hand and walk backwards up a hill. Securing the rope around my hands, I run forward, allowing the tension in the rope to glide me through the air and I drop. The water is cold as hell as I plunge underneath its dark depths, but it feels amazing.

I look over to Delilah staring at me like
I’ve asked her to eat dirt and shout, “Come on!”

Delilah says nothing as she grabs the rope in her tiny hands and marches herself up the steep hill.
She releases her waist length blonde hair and shakes it out to flow down her back. Damn! You only see that shit in the movies. I’m glad I’m in the water because my dick is once again misbehaving.

“So I just run and land in the water? This doesn’t seem very
audacious, plus you have no idea what kind of bacteria is growing in there. I could come out of there with a flesh eating disease making all my skin fall off and—”

“
Shut up! That’s the adventure, cupcake!” I taunt and she stiffens. “Now stop being a chicken-shit and launch your sweet ass into this water.”

“Fine!
Don’t call me cupcake!”

I let out a huge laugh as I wade in the water
, keeping myself upright. Then I hear a squeal as Delilah swings through the air and lands in the water.

When her head surfaces
, she screams to me as she swims over in my direction. “The water is freezing!”