Gage, Ronna - The Search is Over (Siren Publishing Classic) (14 page)

He gave her a simple grin. Her smile grew larger. “Would you like water or a beer?”

She looked at her watch. “It’s a little early for a beer, but I would love a rain check if that’s all right.”

“Sure, I’m not going too far. Shout when you’re ready.”

“I will. Hey, I’m going over to my chair and do some more reading. Come on over if you get bored.” She turned to Jack and Jesse. “It’s nice to meet you. Have fun.”

The two chums watched her walk away. Jack looked back at him and bobbed his eyebrows in a knowing male gesture. “I think I’ll get a snack.”

Rafe laughed.

“Where did you meet
her
?” Jesse asked, salivating at the mouth.

“She came into the shop with her car. A Mustang, I think.”

“Dude, you have the pick of the litter out here,” Jesse shouted. “Why are you standing around here?”

Rafe looked at him steadily and then took a drink of his cold beer. “Playing the game, dude.” He shrugged off the real reason. “The more you ignore them, the more they want you.”

Jesse stood before Rafe with his arm across his chest. “Why don’t you stop the bullshit?”

Jesse’s defiant stance ignited Rafe’s anger. “All right.” Rafe stood away from the truck. In one step, he stood face-to-face with Jesse. His chest bowed up, undeterred by Jesse’s size. “What do you want from Candi?”

“Candi?” Jesse immediately went on the defensive. “I don’t want anything from her. I have a girlfriend in
Ohio
.”

“Great. Then you won’t mind if she and I start dating.”

Jesse tried to show indifference. “No, like I said, I have a girlfriend.”

Rafe nodded. “I want to make it clear, to get it right. You have a girlfriend in another state?”

The question obviously caught Jesse off guard by the way he shifted from one foot to the other. “Yes.”

“You’re out here today to find a piece of ass to tide you over.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jesse smiled wolfishly as he looked at Samantha. He licked his lips.

Rafe lifted his sunglasses off his face and set them on his head. He looked Jesse in the eyes, and his expression went from inquisitive to serious. “Good. I think you need to leave
Texas
and head on to that Stephanie chick. If you come around Candi again and cause her any more confusion or pain, I will kick you so hard you’ll fall on your ass.” Rafe stood his place. He didn’t show a single gleam of jesting as he stared down his opponent.

The boldfaced threat forced a wave of shock to widen Jesse’s eyes. He looked Rafe over once. “I won’t tolerate a little, wimpy-ass, cocksucker like you to make idle threats.”

“What does the badass Marine not like? Having lessons taught to him?” Rafe asked his voice low.

“I would like to see you try to kick me and knock me on my ass,” Jesse challenged.

In one swift move, Rafe made a 360-degree circle in the air and kicked Jesse on the left cheek with his right foot, knocking him to the ground.

* * * *

In the distance, Jack watched his two friends square off.
I’d like to be a fly on the wall and hear what those two were saying
. He didn’t have to imagine what they were talking about. The body language spoke volumes to the level of intensity around them.
Brawn against brains
. Jesse did have the muscles, but what Rafe had that Jesse didn’t have was agility. Jack heard of his ability to twist his body to get out of a hold. As if Rafe read Jack’s mind, he made a roundhouse kick and connected one foot to his opponent’s face. Jack could feel the sting of the slap from where he stood.

“Ahhhh, man!” Jack turned to the two girls he escorted back to his camp. “Ladies, would you give me a minute?”

The two girls looked as Rafe stood over Jesse, and then with a white-toothed smile, they turned to Jack. Each girl kissed him on the cheek. “We’ll be waiting at the concession stand.”

“I’ll be right there.” A soft giggle gave him the answer he anticipated. He watched the two girls walk away, their firm buttocks swaying with each step.

I love the playground equipment at the lake.

Turning to the two people he came with, he stalked over and pulled Jesse up onto his feet. A small trickle of blood oozed out of the corner of his mouth. He spit a big wad of it onto the ground. “I can’t leave you two alone for five minutes, can I?”

“Just getting a few things straight.” Jesse looked at Rafe. “No hard feelings?”

“None at all.” Rafe kept the harsh expression on his face and continued to stare Jesse down with a leveling glare. The tone of his voice whispered in grated anger. “Just as long as we have an understanding?”

“Understood.” Jesse dug into the cooler and grabbed a beer. He popped the top. “Better you than me, that’s all I have to say.” He raised the opened beer to Rafe in submission and then took a long drink.

“I’m not kidding, Jesse. I gave you a chance to come clean. If you said you still wanted her, I would’ve backed off.”

Jack and Jesse looked back at him, surprised by his statement. “Are you going to give her to me now?” Jesse asked.

Rafe shook his head. “No, you had that chance and told me you had a girlfriend. I made sure those were your true feelings. I still mean what I said. She’s mine now.”

“Like I said, better you than me.”

Jesse turned to Jack, wiped the beer from his swollen lip. “So, where have you been?”

Jack eyed Rafe and Jesse carefully. Certain no more drama would erupt between them, he looked toward the snack shack. “See those two blondes in blue suits?” Jack pointed to the two girls that turned and waved at him.

“Yes!” Jesse returned the wave.

“Well, they want to play with our equipment,” Jack said, voicing his earlier thought. “They have a terrific swing set in back and a tunnel of love in front. Interested?”

Jesse clapped his hands together in greedy anticipation. “Which attractions should I try first?”

“Take the one on the left.” Jesse took a step and then turned back to Rafe. “You interested?”

Rafe smiled but shook his head. “Did you forget? I’m sort of interested in someone else.” He sat in a lounge chair.

Jack shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“I am.”

Rafe fished in the cooler until he found a beer.

“You guys go on. I will be fine.” He looked at his watch. 10:30. “It’s going to be a long day.”

Jack laughed. “Can’t wait to get back to your girl?”

“Nope, you better go on, before I forget our friendship and leave your ass here.”

“You won’t leave me here to fend for myself. What kind of roommate would that make you?”

“One who has a girl waiting for him.”

Jack had nothing else to say. He simply left Rafe alone and went in search of his own girl-for-the-day.

* * * *

“I talked to Jesse this afternoon,” Rafe announced when he met Candi at the door.

“And?” She scraped her bottom lip with her upper teeth.

“He’s informed me that we have his blessing. He won’t bother you anymore.”

Relieved of the stress, Candi threw herself into his arms. “What does that mean?”

He set her away from him and looked into her eyes. “We are free to build on the
exclusive
relationship we started.”

“You mean simple building blocks, greeting one another every day and showing interest in each other’s work.”

“Okay, we can start there. I figured we could start today.”

Candi didn’t understand. “Did you want to go out?”

“Nope, I figure we could work on your homework.”

“Oh, that would be awesome. You were so helpful to me the other day.” She paused. “I thought about that day just this morning and wanted your help again.”

“Here I am! What do you need help with?”

She handed him her anatomy homework. “This.”

He looked at it.
Reproductive System.
“Honey, can’t you tell a boy from a girl?”

She grinned and looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Don’t go there.”

He laughed. There seemed to be a lilt in his voice. Her stomach fluttered with excitement. “How about I cook something for us to eat?”

He stepped closer. “Sounds good.” He swallowed hard. His Adam’s apple moved. “I’ll look this chapter over and make a few notes to the points of interest.”

Her chin notched upward at this choice of words.

“No pun intended,” he defended with a quiet laugh.

“That’s better.

After dinner, they sat and talked for hours. Studying the guide for her class, he applied the hints he learned in the military to make the connection from her class work to real life usage. They enjoyed one another’s company, happy to be free to date and not wonder about the possibility of hurting anyone else.

Jesse walked into the door, interrupting their break. “Oh, how cozy.”

Neither of them said anything. They watched Jesse pick up the phone, take it to the back room, and leave them in peace.

“Has he harassed you since we got back from the lake?”

“Nope.” She looked at him. “What did you and he talk about anyway?”

Rafe squeezed her hand. “Let’s just say we came to an understanding.”

“You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”

“Candi, there’s no need to worry you. It’s been taken care of. If he does bother you again, tell me.”

“Okay, but you said ya’ll came to an understanding.”

“We did, but…just tell me if he does something stupid.”

Candi settled closer to him. “I will.” She reached up and brushed her lips to his. “I’m tired of studying. Let’s go watch TV at your place.”

He rose up from the couch, set out his hand, and helped her up. “I have a new movie I want to see.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“
Chucky
!”

“That scary one?”

“Yes.”

Candi froze.

“What’s wrong?”

“I hate scary movies.”

“Oh. We can watch a funny movie instead.”

“I can do that.” Candi followed him to his house.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rafe sat on the couch in deep thought. He felt the peaceful calm of the day slip over him and he relaxed with the joy of Candi’s image floating in his mind.

“I meant to ask, how are you and Jesse getting along these days?” Jack asked from the other end of the couch.

Rafe shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, I guess. Since our quote unquote understanding, we tolerate one another when we happen to be in the same place.”

“How long has it been now?”

“Two weeks.”

“How is he treating Candi?”

“According to her, he hasn’t been harassing her since that day at the lake.”

“What did you tell her about that day?”

“Just that Jesse and I had a talk. I figure the less she knew about the whole incident, the better.”

Since that day, Rafe and Candi built a solid foundation for their relationship. They shared the status of their days. Any thoughts they had on how to make the bad days better for the future. And on their days off they were inseparable. Candi looked happy, and he’d never seen her look more beautiful. Most nights they left one another hot and bothered by the heavy petting. That seemed to be the only downfall to their relationship.
What were we thinking when we made that pact to wait?
The promise to wait sounded easy enough, but that decision put a heavy strain on both of their nerves. They left one another on edge and cranky. They were like a couple with an addiction. And as with any drug, chemical or other, if they didn’t make love soon and feed that addiction the restlessness grew.

If I don’t make love to her soon, I may just punch Jesse in the face out of spite.

“Rafe, I think you and Candi need some private time together,” Jack said, stating his observance.

“And how are we supposed to do that?”

“Well, I have a date tonight. Why don’t the two of you meet over here? It will be quiet, and you won’t have to worry about me coming in.”

“Where will you be?”

He grinned. “I am planning some private time for myself.”

Rafe nodded. “All right, I think I’ll take advantage of your being out. What if your date is, uh, unwilling to welcome you for the night, then what?”

Jack and he looked at one another, contemplating the thought.

“Nah!” both said in unison.

“But if for some reason she does get all prudish on me, I’ll find somewhere else to crash.”

“Thanks, man, I really appreciate this.”

“No worries.”

Rafe picked up his phone and dialed Candi’s work number. “When you come home, come over here. I have a special night planned.”

“Okay. See you in later this evening. Let’s say about an hour?”