Thursday, August 25, 2011

Father's Ty: Part 2

Father's Ty: Part 2
©2011 Mika Star

From the look on Tyler's face, the Mayor's secretary decided against her usual bubbly "Have a nice day," gesture and sat back following him with her eyes. He yanked open the lobby door ignoring the sunshine as it cascaded into his eyes.

He wrenched open his car door clasping into the seat. He beat on the steering wheel when the car wouldn't start right away. He choke passed the lump in his throat before letting tears free fall.

A man noticing Tyler's dilemma grabbed his set of jumper cables and hollered "You need a jump?"

"Um, yeah, that would be great." Tyler said with much less gratitude than what he felt.

He got out of the car to help hook up the cables then hopped back in to wait for the battery to charge. The man jumped into his own truck to rev the engine.

Just then, Tyler phone rang. He glanced at the caller I.D.; it was Jodie. "Not now!" he groaned. He tossed the phone in the passenger seat as the engine finally cranked to life.

"Thanks, man!" he called out from his seat.

"No problem. Been there."

Tyler hurried to help unhooked the cables and went their separate ways.

His phone sounded one more time as he climbed in again. He grabbed it off the seat. With tear stained cheeks, his hands trembled at the thought of listening to the message. For a split second, he thought of throwing the damn thing out the window. He had it in hand, all it would take is one flick of his arm to rid him of a little bit of pain. Reasoning kicked in, however. He not only would be out a phone, and have to buy another one, but he wouldn't be able to avoid Jodie and her family forever as long as he lived in Minden.

Another thought crossed his mind--he could leave. His mom wouldn't be home for hours and he hadn't found a job yet himself. He still had money in the bank from his last pay check and fifty dollars left of the money his mother had insisted on giving him for the Father's Day carnival. That's what he would do. Leave. For the week at least. He would pick up a battery for his car, swing by the house to pack some things and be gone before anyone realized.

                                                                  *    *    *

At the house, he ripped his clothes away from his sweaty skin. He dried off as best he could; knowing he was in too much of a hurry to take a shower. He shuffled about his room throwing clothes and other essentials into in a green duffel bag. He slipped into a clean pair of jeans while running into his bathroom to grab a couple razors and noticed his toothbrush and toothpaste, snatching them from the counter as well. He hurried back into his room; shoving the items in his bag. He smoothed a blue tee shirt over his torso, stepping back a moment, scanning the area, hoping he hadn't forgotten anything. He surveyed each room as he walked toward the front door. He stuck his feet in a pair of tennis. He had his hand on the door knob, then turned, grabbing for a pen and a piece of paper. He scribbled:

Mom,
I'm getting outta here for a while. 
I'll try be back Sunday night. 
Please don't to worry too much. I'll be all right.  
love you,
Ty

He stuck the note between the keys of her laptop.

With his bag in hand he headed to the front door hesitating for a moment before jarring the door open, a cool breeze met his face and skimmed throw his black curls. He If he could make it out of town without being noticed he would be free to set his own course before being mainstreamed into reality again.

He jogged to his hand-me-down Mazda slinging his duffel onto the backseat from the open window. He pulled his door open dropping into the seat all the while mouthing a prayer that the car would start; that, in fact, it had just been the battery.

The car fired up without a sputter. Tyler let out a pent up breath and said a silent "Thank you." Pulling out of the driveway, he made a mental note of the streets less traveled at that time of day.

 He was cruising along, windows down and the radio on low enough not to draw attention. He briefly stopped at a stop sign nervously drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel. Tyler look around to see Jodie coming up the sidewalk toward him. His heart thumped in his chest; his pulse quickened at the sight of her. She was the last person he wanted to see at the moment, but damn was she worth looking at. her hair, slightly longer than shoulder length, blew into her face as she tucked some of it behind her ears. Her sapphire eyes burned into his memory. The curves of her body stirred something in him he had been trying to suppress since seeing her yesterday morning.

Snapping out of his trance he remembered where he was and why he was there to begin with. Jodie...sister...she doesn't know... His first instinct was to peel away, leaving her in his dust. However, he knew that would only alarm her so he played it cool as she approached leaning her forearm in the window.

"Ty, I tried calling you earlier. I left a message."

"I'm sorry, I was having some car trouble and hadn't had a chance to call you back."

"It's okay. You're here now."

"So I am..." Tyler revved the engine with a sight impatience building in the pit of his stomach. "but I've got to go." His eyes darted from direct contact with her own. "I'll see you around."

Jodie was taken aback by his sudden urgency to leave she stepped away from the car. She waved him off as if what she had to say didn't matter. "Yeah, I'll see you around. Hey Ty--" He didn't give her a chance to finish her sentence before he sped off not wanting to expose anymore of himself to her then he might already have. He knew she had always had the ability to read him better than anyone else he knew even though it had been years since they had seen each other. She proved that to be true last night.

*    *    *

Last night...

Tyler and Jodie stayed together though out the evening and on into the night. After getting over the awkwardness of wanting to be close, but being unsure if the other wanted the same thing, they took every opportunity to touch and hold one another. When the festivities were coming to an end and it was clear people were beginning to disperse to their homes Jodie's mother found her and Tyler talking among themselves. "Hey, you two, have you guys been having a good time?"

Jodie smiled "Yes, mom, I think we have," trying to hide the stars in her eyes when she looked at Tyler for his agreement. This has been the best day of my life. 

"I'm glad to hear it," she beamed. She looked back and forth between them, "Your dad and I are heading home soon. I hope you two do the same. You both have an early morning ahead of you."

"We won't be too much longer, Mom." They exchanged wordless anticipation after Elizabeth turned away from them.

Taking the arm of her husband, Elizabeth and Phillip walked to their car, got in and Phillip waved to them as the car pulled away from the town square.

"Let's go," Tyler grinned taking Jodie by the hand. They dashed to the back of the bakery. "Since we only have a little while before we are expected home, I wanted to--." Jodie cut through his words with a kiss, just a peck, at first. Tyler returned the kiss before Jodie had time to wonder if that was, indeed, what he had been waiting for, as much as she had since they laid eyes on each other that morning.

The kiss intensified as Tyler opened his mouth inviting her tongue to play. She obliged exploring the wet heat she had only dreamed about before then. Sure, she had kissed and even gone a bit further than, perhaps, she should have with other guys, but kissing Tyler was different. She didn't feel pressured into anything. It hadn't been a dare or a ploy to keep a guy she liked from ditching her. No, this was Tyler and he wanted to be with her just because the sky was blue and the grass was green; because they had kept their bond of friendship even after years of being miles apart.

Their hands wandered freely and unjudged over clothes, under clothes and onto bare skin. Tyler's blood was already boiling and his breathing became sallower. In a rush of hormones, Tyler was about to lift her shirt up over her head when he snapped back into reality. What the hell am I thinking? What are we doing!

He stepped away from her dropping his hands to his sides.

Jodie felt herself come down from the clouds, she opened her eyes meeting Tyler's gaze full force. "I'm sorry, Jo I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have brought you back here. "

She looked at him with the same apprehension and shyness he saw in her that morning, then she spoke up, touching the sleeve of his shirt. "Ty, it takes two ya know. I wasn't thinking either."

Well, you're not some back ally whore. "You deserve better than this." He stared into her eyes feeling ashamed.

"I had been waiting all night for the perfect time to get you alone. I wasn't sure what else to do. I didn't want to go another day without being able to touch you, to feel the warmth of your skin and those lips." He tapped her kiss swollen mouth. "At least once..."

"Before God know what else happens to splits us up, again."

"Exactly."

"I understand. This morning when I realized who you were it took everything for me not to kiss you right then. That's part of why I had to make myself get back to work. I couldn't stand there looking at you and possibly making a fool of myself in case you didn't feel the same way. I've missed you so much."

"I've spent so many nights, the last few years, dreaming of  you." He moved to close the space between them again, cupping the side of her face with one hand. He kissed her gently again. "Okay, let's get you home before I start something else and forget to stop."

"One of these days I won't let you stop," Jodie teased leading him back to his car.

He opened the driver side door. "One of these days I won't have to," he said before ducking into the car.

"I'll call you tomorrow, maybe we can figure out something to do after work."

"I've got that meeting with your dad and afterward I have to start looking for a job."

"Okay," she tried hiding her disappointment behind a half smile.

"I didn't mean 'No', but if I don't pick up, leave a message; I'll call you back."

Tyler waited for Jodie to get into her PT Cruiser. He pulled out of the parking lot behind her following until they stopped in front of her house. He watched her walk up onto the porch noticing how well her pants complimented her ass. A "Damn" slipped passed his lips and he hoped she happened heard him.  She waved letting him know she would be okay.

The only memories he had of the rest of the night involved falling into bed and dreaming of Jodie and the day's events.

To be continued....