Chapter 9

Madelyn walked over to put her arms around Alice and Courtney. Alice turned to look at me, and waved me over.

“Mickey, Courtney is going to call her Mom and ask if she can spend the night with us. I want to take her to put in an application for a job at UPS today. I know where the distribution center is, and it’s only 2:00.”

“Courtney, give me a hug. I may not see you until tomorrow, but if you get a chance, text or call and let me know how your job application goes.”

“I will, and thank you so much for coming to meet me. I would never have come over to meet Ms. Alice and Madelyn like this if it wasn’t for you.”

“Good luck. I hope to see you tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be working Thursday through Saturday but I’ll be off Sundays.”

She hugged my neck and pressed her body against me until I loosened my arms and she backed up. She smiled and I almost kissed her.

I was nearing my cabin when I looked up to see Kayla step around from behind my pickup. She’s wearing silky shorts and what looks like one of my undershirts. She waved and came out to meet me when I stopped.

“I saw your truck here when I came home. I hurried inside to put some shorts and a shirt on. I knocked on your door, but I should have known you would be on your new ATV.”

“Hop on and we’ll take a ride around the trail. I put posting paint around the south and east perimeter and put up some No Trespassing signs back there too.”

“Do I have to sit in that seat up there?”

“No, I would rather you sit close behind me so we can talk. You’re home early, aren’t you?”

“Yes, we weren’t that busy and one of the girls came in early for her shift, so I clocked out. I was hoping I’d get to see you.”

She’s sitting behind me with her body pressed against me, her arms loose around my waist.

“Were you really? Or were you teasing?”

“I did want to see you. I knew you would have your new ATV by now and I wanted to ride with you.”

“Have you ever ridden an ATV?”

“No, but I love this. I get to sit close to you and put my hands on you too.”

“If you like, I can show you all about it and you can drive so I can sit behind you.”

“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”

“No. It’s easy to handle, with power steering.”

“I have a confession to make.”

“Really? About what?”

“When I knocked and you didn’t answer, I opened your door and called your name. I saw this undershirt on the back of a chair, and put it on.”

“I thought it looked familiar. It sure looks good on you, but you need to be careful how you press your body against my back with it on.”

“I’ve never done anything like this before in my life. I went to sleep thinking about you last night. I called Geri before going to bed and asked her what she thinks of you. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by saying the wrong thing about you.”

“Are you not dating?”

“No, though I’ve had many offers, I have not had one date in the four years I’ve been at the hospital.”

“I would have guessed you’d have at least three men wanting to date you.”

“There has been, but I refuse to even talk to them or give them my phone number during working hours...

“I wasn’t allowed to date the same boy twice during all my years at home. Mom and Dad were really strict about that, though they spoiled the heck out of me otherwise. I had to obey their rules or I wouldn’t even be allowed to go out with my friends to a ballgame or a movie.”

“How long have you been a nurse?”

“Almost four years. During my junior and senior years in high school, I took all the classes I could at the Vo-Tech, and when I graduated from high school, I was halfway home to becoming a nurse. My mom was a nurse and that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be. I’m so glad she got to see me get my nursing license.”

We were at the southwest corner of Alice’s property and I pointed out the purple corner marker, and the No Trespassing sign nearby.

I turned the ignition off and stood so I could swing my right leg over the gas tank, and sit sideways on the seat in front of her. When I did, she started to get off the ATV.

“You don’t have to move. I just wanted to sit sideways like this so I can look at you while we talk.”

“I’m embarrassed because I know you can see my nipples.”

“No need to be embarrassed. I felt them against my back.”

“This has never happened to me before. I wish I had kept my t-shirt and bra on now.”

“Did you leave them in my cabin?”

“Yes, and I’m so embarrassed. Don’t look at my ... Don’t look at me.”

“You can have my t-shirt to put on over your undershirt if you feel that embarrassed in front of me.”

“That’s just it. I don’t want to cover them. But when you look at me, they poke out even more.”

“You were really brave last evening when we were all together.”

“I know, and I’ve never been so brave as I was with you. I didn’t want to go inside, but I was afraid I’d make a fool of myself. You excite me, Mickey ... There - I finally told you.”

“You excite me too, Kayla. So much, I had to ask Alice about you.”

“What did you ask her?”

“I told her I really like you, and Geri too, and that I would like to get to know both of you better. She told me that Geri is still messed up about her broken engagement, but she’s a good person who needs to get on with her life and find love.”

“What did she tell you about me?”

She smiled when she asked that and I reached out to take her hand in my left hand. She didn’t pull away, she even opened her legs wider so she could scoot forward a few inches closer to me on the seat.

“She told me that I could talk to you and you would tell me straight up, how you feel. She told me you have no hangups and you love what you do for a living ... That you love life and you’re not afraid to show it. That makes me wonder about you being so nervous with me out here this afternoon.”

“Well, since Alice told you those personal things about me, I’ll tell you the rest. When I first saw your pickup parked at the cabin yesterday, I was hoping there would be a handsome young single guy close to my age living there, instead of someone like that grouchy old woman who lived there before.

“When I saw you, I knew my wish had come true. Then, I learned you live alone and the more we talked, the more I wanted you to like me. I have never felt like this about anyone, and though I was excited about meeting you, I was scared too.

“Scared? Of me?”

“No, but I could tell Geri likes you too and though she’s still messed up about her engagement, I know it’s time for her to get on with her life. I care about Geri and I want her to be happy, but each time I looked at you, I wanted you already...

“I’ve never even let a boy or man even touch me or see my body, yet there I was, wanting you.”

“Can I tell you about me now, and you still like me?”

“Sure you can. I’m sure you’ve had other lovers and I’m almost positive you’ve been with both Alice and Madelyn. That doesn’t bother me. You are a very handsome, very likable man. I like you - so why would I not think someone else wouldn’t like you? Please, tell me about your lovers. You won’t embarrass me, but I may want to know more details than you’re willing to tell.”

“Okay, here goes and I want to tell you this first. I really, really do like you. I mean a lot, even though we just met. But I’m not ready to stake my claim on you, or anyone else at this time. I want to know you as a best friend first, then we can go wherever our friendship leads us after that...

“Now that I’ve told you that about me, I want you to know also, I don’t want to fall in love and find out later that it was all wrong, like Geri did. I do want to find true love, and I love making love to a woman who isn’t setting a trap. I’ve only had two lovers - before I came here ... You can read between the lines if you want to, but I’ll never tell you more about me - or my time here.”

“Will you tell me about your first two lovers? I know it’s none of my business, but I know nothing about that kind of love. I mean, I know what sex is and I know if it’s the right person, no matter who, then sex can be good between two people. If you tell me, I promise I won’t judge you. Though I may want to know more details - just as I told you.”

“Okay, here we go, and I want to tell you on the front end, I hope one day you will at least love me as a best friend. Now that I have that out of the way I can tell you about my past...

“You’re not going to give me a chance to respond to that remark?”

“No, and stop interrupting. By the time I get through, you may not even want to ride back with me.”

“I love your smile, even when you’re trying to be so firm in your statements.”

“I love your smile too. You are so damn tempting, Kayla...

“Okay, here we go - one more time. When I first went to work with UPS, I was eighteen years old, fresh out of high school and working in the UPS shipping department in West Tennessee. I was there maybe two weeks when this older woman started talking to me. I mean, she could be Alice made over, she looks that good.

“At first, I wanted to believe that we just happened to meet, and hit it off, then I realized later she must have singled me out to be her lover - Next lover, more than likely - I realized that, much later also.

“She asked me to have lunch with her one day, and since we brought our lunches, we ate together away from the others. By the time we put our sandwich wrappers in the garbage, we were ready to go somewhere and uh ... get it on.”