You Shouldn't Have Come Here(22)
Every time I blinked, I saw the ragged animal, the blood, the half-eaten guts, the frozen black eyes. Those same dark marbles were all around, hung up on the walls of the living room, staring down at me. I refocused my attention on the thriller I was reading, trying to silence my thoughts, but they were still there. I hadn’t read more than a few sentences since I had laid down over an hour ago. My mind kept going back to that feeling I had in the pit of my stomach—the one that tells you something is very wrong. To the lemon of a car sitting outside. The lack of cell phone service and Wi-Fi. The rotting pit of animals at the end of the driveway. The scream I heard last night. I heard it, right? I rubbed my forehead and hoped the thoughts would rub away too. It was odd. One moment, I found the ranch comforting, and the next, it terrified me.
Calvin had driven off in his truck, following Charlotte, hours ago. He didn’t even tell me he was leaving or where he was going or when he’d be back. I couldn’t believe he had just left me here. But perhaps he was giving me space. I was cold to him, and maybe I pushed him away too hard. He hadn’t really done anything wrong . . . that I knew of. I needed to get over the pit of dead animals—no matter how disgusting it was—because it wasn’t Calvin’s fault. He didn’t kill those animals, and he didn’t make me slip into it. And the rest of the issues—no cell phone service or Wi-Fi and my car acting up—were inconveniences I’d deal with eventually. But the scream? Well, I can’t be sure I even heard it. I was being paranoid. But deep down I knew that paranoia sometimes kept you safe.
The clock on the wall opposite the couch said it was after seven. I let out a sigh and flipped a page that I didn’t actually read. Headlights flooded the living room window, and the roar of a truck engine rumbled the house. Calvin’s footsteps clamored up the stairs, then across the porch. I heard him wrestle his boots off and drop them on the ground outside before the door squeaked open. I draped one leg over the other and propped my head up with my hand. When he entered the living room, he didn’t say anything, and I pretended I didn’t hear him. I felt his eyes scan over me—from my toes to my legs to my chest and then they stopped at my face.
“Hey,” he said.
I casually flipped a page of the book. “Where have you been?”
He wiped off his shirt the best he could and scratched the back of his neck.
“I was over at Charlotte’s helping her with her sink. Then, she had me help her with a window that wouldn’t open. Then, I fixed a cupboard door, and so on . . .”
“She kept you real busy.” I bit at my lower lip and ran my foot along my leg.
“Umm . . . yeah.” It was all he could manage to say. It was like all the energy in his body was going someplace else other than his brain. I knew then he hadn’t completely shut me out. I could salvage this and enjoy the rest of my time here. The most pleasurable things in life are temporary. Most people don’t understand that. They want to drag it out and make it last a lifetime. I could tell Calvin was like most people. He needed forever, but I just needed right now.
“You all right? Feeling any better?” He shuffled his feet.
I stood from the sofa, lowering my head slightly, and gazed up at him. “I will be after you settle your debt first.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Debt?”
Realization hit right away. His eyes went wide, and he cracked a grin as I walked to him. My fingers curled under the bottom of his shirt. I knew it was bold of me, but I also knew Calvin liked bold. He seemed to overthink and overanalyze everything, which was surprising for a country boy like himself. I pulled his shirt up over his head and dropped it on the floor beside him. I could practically see his heart pulsating in his chest. His breath quickened, and he quickly licked his lips like he was preparing for me to kiss him. But I wouldn’t, at least not yet. My eyes slithered up his stomach, to his chest, and then landed on his eyes. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bouncing up and down.
I patted his shoulder. “You have a river to jump in.”
Calvin let out a deep breath and chuckled as I walked to the back door.
I looked back at him with a smirk. “You coming?”
He playfully shook his head and grinned. “Grace Evans, you astound me.”
See? He liked bold.
The dewy grass felt refreshing beneath my bare feet. Calvin followed behind almost stumbling like Bambi learning how to walk. I think he was too stunned and too excited for his usual cool, country boy stroll.
At the riverbank, Calvin slid his jeans down and kicked them off. He bent down, slowly removing each sock. When he was finished, he stood in front of me wearing just a pair of navy blue boxers. At that point, I didn’t even really want him to jump in. I just wanted to watch him, to study him, to take in every muscle bulge and crevice, every scar, every freckle, every inch of his skin. But a bet was a bet.
“Boxers too.”
He looked down at himself and shuffled his feet. “Oh, come on.”
“You lost the bet, Calvin. It’s time to pay up.”
He huffed, but I knew it was just for show. He slid off his boxers and quickly covered himself before I could really see anything. Calvin looked at the dark, murky water, hesitating for a moment. The reflection from the moon and stars glimmered across it, creating a mirror of the sky. There was a small splash downstream, a fish, I presumed. I thought it would scare Calvin, and he’d refuse to jump in. But it didn’t. He was used to nature.