The Devil's Fire Page 9

  He extended his thumb over his shoulder. “So, was that the guy?”

  I almost choked on my popcorn. He quickly cracked a bottle of water open for me and handed it over. I took a drink, then another one. The ice cold water felt so good going down. I lowered the bottle and tapped my nail on the side of it, swishing some water around in my mouth and gently nodding. I swallowed it and decided to clarify who he was.

  “No, that’s a friend of mine, that’s Sam, Sam Quinn. I went to school with him here.”

  He smiled and rubbed his neck as I looked over at him.

  “What?”

  “Red Mustang, Sam?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Good God, this town, I swear. Is nothing sacred?”

  “Oh no, that was your mom. She just thought I should know a little bit about you before we went out, I guess. She’s fun.”

  I took another drink from the bottle and arched my eyebrow. I swallowed. I rolled the bottle between my hands. “Oh yeah, she’s a riot. What else did she think that you should know about me?”

  He hesitated for a moment and then bit off a piece of licorice. I set the bottle down and he handed a piece to me.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “She cares about you, Abi. That’s all she told me, other than how you graduated with honors from school. That’s awesome by the way.”

  I bit my lip and dipped my hand back into the popcorn bucket. “Thank you. So, she didn’t mention the other guy, huh?” I took a small bite of the licorice and then shoved some popcorn into my mouth. I chewed, never taking my eyes off of him.

  “You mean Jack?”

  I looked down at my feet and let out an exasperated sigh. “So she did, great.”

  He tapped me on the leg, and I looked over at him. “No, she didn’t, you called me Jack when I called you earlier tonight. Remember?”

  I shook my head. “I’m so sorry. I had this bizarre dream and then I woke up and the phone was ringing.” I stopped talking. If I said anything else about the dream, or about Jack, then I would surely sound insane.

  He took another bite of the popcorn. His eyes lit up from the screen in front of us. He was cute, even more so under the full moon. He caught me looking at him, and I bit into my licorice. I chewed as I looked away from him. It was awkward, to say the least. He wasn’t my type at all, and I had to chalk it up to being lonely.

  Jack had left such a huge void in my life. Our short affair had been so intense that it left me with a passionate hangover. Any attention from just about any man would make me feel better. Any at all. I sort of craved it now, but I also knew that no one could make me feel like Jack had. No one. That was the underlying problem.

  Brad drew me out of my deep thoughts. “Listen, Abi. Have you ever dated for fun? I mean, just going out to experience new things and people?”

  I cleared my throat. “I—well.”

  He tilted his head. Then his facial expression changed. “You’re kidding me.”

  I looked up at the screen and chugged some water, my throat was dry. I set it down and looked at him. I hoped that my expression didn’t look cross, but it did make me feel uncomfortable to a certain degree. Then I decided to be honest, I mean why not? I had nothing to lose.

  “Listen, I went out with Sam to prom, before him, I wasn’t a big dater, or whatever—and when I went to New York, I focused on school. I wanted to graduate with honors and get my dream job, which I did, but then I quit—but anyway, no. I haven’t dated for fun. I’m not even sure that I know what it is.”

  “What about Jack? Was that fun?”

  I paused. What about Jack? How could I possibly explain him and what we did?

  “Oh. Well we, it wasn’t dating as much as it was—I don’t know what to call it.”

  “Casual sex?”

  I laughed, and it was way too loud. He studied my reaction.

  “I—no, not in the biblical sense of the word. Jack and I—well, it’s complicated. Really, really, complicated.”

  He leaned over toward me. “It’s okay, I’ve had sex with people before that I barely talked to, it happens.”

  I shoved more popcorn into my mouth. Anything to stop digging the hole any deeper. I chewed and swallowed, happy to see the movie pop up before I had to say another word.

  CHAPTER NINE

  SON, PUT THAT THING AWAY

  __________________________

  The movie had ended and before the second one started Brad asked me if I wanted to stay or go. I was kind of ready to go home, so we took off. I caught Sam looking at us from down the row. I paused, watching him with Liv. I wasn’t jealous, I was just happy—really happy to see him with someone. It didn’t have to be Liv. It could be anyone who genuinely cared about him. I believed that she did.

  Liv was leaning against him with her legs stretched out before her and feet crossed over. His arms were around her. I just hoped that he and Liv could make it work this time. Maybe with me out of the picture, they could. Sam seemed better, stronger. I wished that I felt the same, but I knew that someday I would again.

  We rode for a little while. I had my arms wrapped around Brad’s waist and the cold night air felt great against my skin. When I was young, I had fantasized about buying a motorcycle and riding across the country to see it all. That dream had faded when I shed the daredevil Abi for the sake of survival. There is nothing as dangerous as an uncoordinated person thinking that they can do it all. That was me.

  Brad slowed down and made a right onto a narrow dirt road, and it wasn’t until we reached the bridge that I remembered it, and the spot. It wasn’t the best memory, so I guess that I had buried it to a certain extent.

  Old Mill Bridge was a legend. It had been constructed soon after the town was founded back in the 1800s. It had been shut down due to disrepair, its planks rickety and iron rusting out.

  The town stopped using it when I was little, but it remained standing and became a hangout for adrenaline junkies who would jump off of it into the river below. I also knew that it could be used for more, you know—for people who wanted privacy.

  I had jumped off of it once, and once only. I had this incredible talent for drowning, of which I nearly did when I jumped off of it that day. If it hadn’t been for a man fishing on the bank below, then I wouldn’t be here. In fact, it was Sam’s dad who had saved me.

  I never even thought about that again until just this moment. It was so long ago, but I lingered on the memory for a while as we rolled up very slowly. The lights on the bike illuminated the entire bridge and it looked just as it had when I was little. Decrepit and frozen in time. The forest was still trying to reclaim it. Vines ran up each side, twisting and turning, wrapping themselves around every bit that they could reach. The deep green masking the dark orange rust that ran throughout.

  The motorcycle stopped. The engine hummed underneath us until Brad shut it off. He leaned the bike and kicked the stand out to the side, tilting the bike and dismounting from it like a pro. He turned and grabbed my waist with both hands, easily helping me up and off of the bike. He slowly put me down in front of him and removed my helmet, setting it off to the side on the black leather seat. He stared down at me. He wasn’t overly large, but large enough to make the girls swoon. I’m not so much into muscles as I am just into someone who takes care of themselves. And he did.

  Don’t get me wrong, he’s pretty, almost too pretty.

  “I think you’re cool, Abi.”

  I nodded to him, and he smiled. “Oh, well, I think you’re cool too.”

  He laughed and took my hand in his, he started to walk toward the bridge and then I stopped walking right before he made his way out onto it. I pulled my hand out of his light grip. He paused and looked back at me with a confused expression on his face.

  “Are you okay?”

  I sighed. “It’s just—it’s falling apart.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. The devious grin that followed was matched by the taunting tone of his voice. “I’ve jumped off of this thing a hundre
d times.”

  “How long have you lived in this town? Months?”

  He looked back and then turned to face me again. “We moved here seven months ago.”

  I held my hand out toward the bridge. “Hundreds of times may be an exaggeration then.”

  “Are you chicken?”

  I bit my lip. No one had accused me of that since childhood. “No. I’m not.”

  He reached down to the bottom of his shirt and started to pull it up over his head. It seemed slow and methodical. Almost movie-like.

  I must be reaching the desperate phase of my break-up, seriously. Get a grip, Abi!

  I cleared my throat as he tossed his shirt aside and stepped toward me. He stopped about two feet in front of me. The light of the full moon cascaded down over his hard chest and chiseled abs. It was ridiculous, to say the least. I rubbed my neck and looked down. He leaned down to try to make eye contact with me. I felt the heat on my face and neck. I couldn’t help it. He was Magic Mike level hot, not Channing Tatum level, that would have had my panties hitting the ground in a thud, but he was gorgeous.

  “If you don’t want to swim it’s totally fine, but we only live once, right?”

  I looked up at him. He unbuttoned his jeans and slid them off, now he was standing there in his tight boxer briefs. They looked black in the moonlight. I could die. Avery would be falling on the ground in dramatic fashion right about now using words like mercy and oh lord.

  He fingered at the top of his boxers. “I hope that you aren’t going to—”

  And he did it. He removed his boxers without hesitation. I looked everywhere, but at him. “I would appreciate it if you’d put your clothes back on, Brad.” I waved a hand, refusing to look.

  “Live a little, Abi. Loosen up.”

  I nervously rubbed the side of my neck as he turned to walk out onto the bridge away from me.

  “You need to be careful!” I yelled after him as the moon caught his back and perfectly shaped butt. I sighed. “Oh good God.”

  He stepped up to the side and then looked back at me. He held his hand out toward me and just as I was considering joining him the wood beneath him gave way, and he dropped off of the side and into the water below. I screamed and rushed out onto the bridge, I carefully made my way up the side and then looked down. I couldn’t see him anywhere.

  “Brad! Brad—Brad! Where are you?” I yelled. There was no reply. Oh my God.

  Great! One date and the man is dead, perfect.

  I could see my business cards now.

  Abi: hot manslayer at your service.

  Has a man pissed you off?

  Send them my way.

  It will be like they never existed at all.

  I bit my lip and jerked my shirt off along with my jeans. I left my underwear and bra on, even in a moment of crisis I wasn’t interested in jumping into the water completely naked.

  I stepped back and plugged my nose. I rushed toward the side and jumped off. I yelled out at the top of my lungs while furiously waving my arms as I dropped into the cold water below.

  I came back up fairly quick, spitting out water and shocked that I wasn’t in the midst of drowning. It was a first. I turned in the water, still calling out to him and then I spotted him on the side of the river bank, washed up on the sand and tall grass. I swam toward him as quickly as I could and fought my way out of the water. I rolled him over and leaned down, pressing the side of my head against his firm chest to try to hear his heart beat. I heard the loud thumping.

  “Brad?”

  I sat up, and he grabbed me and rolled until I was half under him. I looked up at him and smiled.

  “Not funny.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be funny. It knocked the wind out of me. You were right, that bridge is unsafe.”

  I stared deeply into his eyes as he held me there, and then he leaned in. His soft lips gently brushed against my own. I wanted to stop, but the kiss was a hidden treasure when all I had had to live on was empty promises and painful memories for weeks on end.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck as the kiss continued. I suddenly visualized Jack standing in my hallway and walking toward me. It excited me even more. Then Brad started to position himself on top of me, and I moaned. It wasn’t a sound of passion that escaped me, but one that said that I was uncomfortable with the situation. I pulled my lips back from his. Jack faded from my mind.

  “Oh, um, no. I’m sorry.” I tapped his firm chest. “Could you? Yeah—please get off of me.” He rolled off of me without a single complaint.

  I sat up and remembered that I was in my underwear, and he was naked and by the looks of it, hard.

  Very hard.

  I was momentarily paralyzed from the shock of it all. I finally decided to roll out with purpose. This had escalated into something I couldn’t do. Brad was a nice guy, he was cute, hot even, but even now I could only see flashes of Jack’s face in my mind. His thumb to his lip, his blue eyes burning a hole through me. It excited me more than I needed it to. It also infuriated me to no end. His sudden reappearance was torturing me when I had held his memory at bay since I arrived back home.

  I shook my head, pushing the thoughts of him to the back of my mind again.

  “I—this is bad.” I stood up and then lifted my head to look at the bridge that sat above us. “Oh man, my clothes are up there.”

  He stood up and placed his hands on his hips. His hard-on was big enough to dry some clothing on. I glanced at it and then crossed my arms over my chest. He grinned. If I had something that big at my disposal then I would be grinning too.

  “So are mine,” he added, pulling me back to reality.

  I refused to look at him again. “Oh, I know. We need to get back up there,” I added.

  He laughed. “Yep…come on.”

  He walked ahead of me. I tried to ignore his firm and perfectly shaped behind as the moonlight played off of him. The chill started to kick in and my nipples hardened. I raised my arms, crossing them over my chest to hide them while he turned back and winked at me.

  “Do you work out? Because you have a banging body, Abi.”

  I laughed. “If you call living on coffee and writing working out, then yes. I work out all of the time.”

  “I would suck at writing.”

  I stumbled over my words. “You don’t—I mean, you look nice…good, you look good.”

  He turned and walked backward in front of me. My eyes stayed locked on his. I think he still had an erection. How, I do not know. It was chilly, and we were soaking wet. I cleared my throat as I thought about how miraculous that was. I guess that the man could just stay hard with sheer willpower.

  “Thanks. I appreciate that, Abi.”

  I nodded to him just as we reached the top of the winding trail only to be hit with blinding lights. I heard the bullhorn beep and then a voice called out. I lifted my hand to try to block what felt like the sun.

  “Abigail Watson?”

  I narrowed my eyes as a man approached me in uniform. It was Sam’s dad, the town sheriff. Now I was ready to dig a hole and live in it for the rest of my life.

  “Mr. Quinn—Officer Quinn, hi.” I swallowed hard. I was mortified.

  He stopped as Brad stood there with his hands on his hips like Superman. His huge erection was pointing at Officer Quinn like a loaded gun. The smile on Brad’s face didn’t help one bit.

  “Son, put that thing away.”

  Brad looked down and laughed. “Oh man, sorry. I got excited.”

  Officer Quinn cleared his throat. “I can see that.”

  I held my hand up. “Oh no, it wasn’t because of me.” I pointed at Brad. “That’s all him.”

  Brad laughed. “Well, that kiss didn’t help, Abi.”

  “Oh my God,” I muttered to myself as Officer Quinn looked me over.

  “You seem to have lost your clothing.”

  I pointed at the bridge. “They’re over there.”

  “Come on.”

  I walked with
him as Brad lagged behind. He stopped and picked up his abandoned clothing that lay in the grass. Officer Quinn carefully stepped out onto the bridge. I would crap myself if he fell in, but he didn’t. He reached my clothes and turned, with the flashlight in his hand, as Brad was bending over and his man bits were facing us. The light lit up Brad’s backside. Officer Quinn grimaced. I turned to see what was going on and the regret quickly settled into the pit of my stomach. “Oh, that’s just…that’s wrong.” I said as I looked at Officer Quinn.

  He approached me with caution, holding my clothes out toward me. I felt horrible for him. I grabbed them from him and quickly put my shirt back on and then my pants. I slid my flats on and stood up straight, so glad to be covered back up again.

  I pointed behind me. “We weren’t—”

  He held his hand up. “Just go home and stay off of this bridge, it isn’t safe, Abi.”

  I turned and crossed my arms. I glanced over at Brad, he wasn’t fazed by any of it. He adjusted his shirt and finally his perfect body, along with his impressive erection, were covered back up.

  Officer Quinn pointed at Brad. “This is the last time I’m going to warn you, stop bringing girls here.”

  Brad nodded to him as he returned to his car and shut the blinding lights off. He got in and slowly drove away, giving both of us one last look of disapproval. I turned to face Brad, the look on my face was one of pure embarrassment.

  He rubbed his neck. “Should I—”

  I cut him off. “Yes, please. I would like to go home now.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE HERPS

  ____________________

  The motorcycle slowed down in my driveway. I barely waited for it to stop before I jumped off of it. I just wanted to get inside the house, slip on my comfy UGGS, favorite sweatpants, and a concert tee. I wanted normal, no bridge jumping, no hard erections and no overtly sexual dreams in which I lost my virginity to Jack.