A Simple Life: Chapter 123 (Patreon)

As I zoom past the town limits and out onto the open road I suddenly realize that I am FREEZING!  In just a thin white undershirt, socks, and jeans I was ill prepared for the strong Pacific wind.  Making matters ten times worse was the frigid sea spray whipping in from the ocean slowly wetting my exposed skin and making my undershirt begin to stick.  Without even a helmet on, a pricey ticket just waiting to happen, my blond hair flaps and twirls in the buffeting gusts.  I tell myself that I was being silly.  That Winona would never really hurt anybody on my account.  That this trip out here was totally unnecessary and at the very least I could have taken the time to at least grab a jacket and shoes on my way out the door.  Despite all of these assurances I tell myself…it is full throttle all the way.

As I get near the garage I squint against the fading evening light then let out a hard breath of relief when I spot the tailgate of Winona’s truck parked in her stall.  Thank goodness!  Knowing that she was here eases the panicked urgency of intercepting her before she could get to Briar so I cut my engine and let momentum carry me the rest of the way.  I wasn’t trying to be sneaky, I simply wanted some time to collect myself before confronting her.  She didn’t want me here tonight.  She might even get angry with me.  Or, I should say, even more angry at me than she already was.  We’d had disagreements and even an argument already but her anger being directed squarely on me was going to be something new for both of us.  As I drift alongside the garage I prepare myself for the worst.  I didn’t think that she would hit me or anything, but if she did I promise myself that I wouldn’t hold it against her.  It wouldn’t be her fault.  She did warn me to stay away after all.  And besides, better me than Briar.

Silently I lean my bike into its kickstand then walk on tender sock feet across the cold biting gravel to peer around the back of the building.  The light to the suite was on and I could just make out the slow beat of country blues.  Thankful to step up onto the cement pad I creep forward.  There was no door directly into the suite from the outside so I was going to have to knock on the window.  Even from this sharp angle I could see the curtains were closed.  Taking one last fortifying breath I walk to the window to give it a knock.  What I hear pauses my hand.

“Aw, Johnny.  What’s she got that I don’t?  Huh?  What!?”  She lets out a forlorn sigh loud enough to be heard out here.  “I mean sure, she’s sweet and pretty and funny and…normal.  She’s normal.  But…I thought he liked that about me.”  There comes a sniffle.  “Oh yeah, she’s real smart too.  Her and that fucking Meadow.  Probably be a millionaire someday.  He wouldn’t have to work or nothin.  She could look after him like he deserves.  What the fuck do I have to offer?  Huh?  A fuckin old smelly room at the back of a fucking garage?  He’s beautiful!  A real fucking Lady!  He’s perfect!  What the fuck was I thinking?”

I stand stunned at what I am hearing.  I’d come ready to hear her vent her anger at Briar or myself.  Hearing her tear herself apart like this instead was heartbreaking!

“I mean, just because they’re cute and small and quiet and they both like tea and both are white.  Just because they are absolutely made for each other in every possible way…  Fuck!”  Thump!  Something gets kicked.  “How could I be so stupid?  Again!?  Right in front of my face.”  There’s a long pause before she says, her voice low.  “Look at them, Johnny.  A perfect match.  Look at how happy he is.  Look at him.”  A shuddering breath and a sniffle follow.  “But…why’d he have to play me?  I don’t understand.  I really…thought…I thought he was my June.  Every god damn bone in my body told me that he was the One.  Why?  Why!?”

The question demanded an answer and spurs my arm into motion.  Her voice cuts off instantly as I knock on the glass.

“W-W-Winona?”

“What the fu…”  The curtains are thrown apart and suddenly I am face to face, with a pane of glass between us, with my girlfriend.  A dozen emotions cross her face.  Confusion, hurt, surprise, and anger.  So much anger.  She wore just a sports bra and sweats, a style that her long powerful physique was made for, but all I could see were her puffy eyes and reddened nostrils.  She had been crying.  And it was all my fault.  I wanted to cry too!  She heaves open the window and snaps at me in a sharp voice.  “What are you doing here!?  How long have you been listening!?  I told you not to come here!  Why are you here!?”

“Mmm.”

“Answer me!”

At her command I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.  “I’m…c-c-c-cold.”

“You’re…!?”  I leave her speechless for a moment with my unexpected reply.  Leaning closer she looks me up and down and sees me a shivering mess in soggy socks and a wet transparent paper thin t shirt clinging to my torso.  “Where’s your jacket?”

“I f-forgot it.”

“You forg…”  She shakes your head.  “You forgot your shoes too!?”

“I’m s-s-sorry.”  I wrap my pale, shaking arms around my body.  “I love youuuu!”

Again I throw her for a loop.  She stands there staring at me at a loss as to what to do…before my pathetic state makes her take pity.

“Aw Sprout.”  She reaches through and takes me by the arms and pulls me through inside.  “What are you doin?”

“It’s n-n-not wh-what you think.”  I say as she closes the window behind me and leads me to the nearby dining room chair.  She sits me down and rubs my arms.  “B-B-Briar and I are j-just friends.”

Rage flashes across her face.  Through years of ingrained habit I close my eyes so I don’t have watch the blow land.  The blow, of course, does not come.  And I feel wretched for ever thinking such things about her.  When I open my eyes again the anger was gone, but the hurt was still right there on the surface.  Reaching up she caresses my cheek in the palm of her hand as tender as a fallen rose petal.

“So you figured out why I was mad at you.  A guilty conscience perhaps?”  With sad sigh she kneels at my side.  Looking up at me she whispers.  “When were you going to tell me?”  Followed by the question truly plaguing her jealous heart.  Her eyes glimmering she asks.  “Why?”

“I d-don’t know wh-what you h-heard…”

In response she turns and reaches across the table.  When she pulls her phone closer I can see on the screen a photo of Briar and I walking through the campus hand in hand.  The picture was from behind and slightly to the side.  We were facing each other.  Briar had her head down with a demure grin and slightly blushing as I looked back at her with a shining smile.  It had been taken just moments after our handhold, when we were both still a bit flushed and awkward but happy to be breaking convention.  Those emotions however came through the screen in a much different way.  To a neutral observer it looked plain as day that we were a young couple in love.  Hell, I was there and even I had to confess that it looked bad.

Winona looks back up at me, anger and anguish tearing her in two, and says again.  “Why?  Why, baby?”

I shrink into myself as I stare at the incriminating photo.  What could I say?  What words could I use to make Winona disbelieve her own eyes?  With nowhere else to go I turn to the only thing I had on my side.  The truth.

Gazing down into her beautiful hazel eyes I say in a soft voice.  “I w-was going ask permission.  Tonight.  I thought y-you wouldn’t m-mind just that one t-t-time.  I was wrong.  I was wrong and I’m s-sorry.”

“Permission?”

“To h-h-hold hands with Briar.”  I shiver.  “I was g-going to see Grandpa.  He w-was singing there.  We b-bumped into each other.”  I swallow hard, doing my best to contain my emotions.  Now was not the time for my blubbering.  I had to be strong for her.  For us.  “She s-s-said her best friend b-back home and her used to h-hold hands.  It made her happy.  S-So I did it.  I w-wanted her to be happy.  B-But I was wrong.  I was wrong to d-do it.  I’m y-your man.  I b-b-belong to you.”

“I’m not your owner, baby.”  Pulling my hands apart she slips her warm hands around my near one.

“If y-you want me…I’ll b-be yours.  I w-won’t d-do anything you don’t want me to.  I’ll b-be good.”

“Baby, don’t say that.”  She kisses my hand.  “You’re not my prisoner.”

“I was g-gonna tell you.  I even t-told her so.”  I say.  “She likes K-Kayla.  And my heart b-belongs to you.  Only you.”

“Aw Sprout.”  She lays her head on my lap and holds my hand tight.  “I want to believe you.”  With my free hand I gently pet her soft hair.  “Why’d you kiss her, Avery?”

“Kiss?  W-We never kissed.”

She sighs and closes her eyes, her body pulling tight to my legs.  “I want to believe you so bad.”

I pet her long, silky black hair, my heart bursting with love.  “Becca and K-Kimmy used to bully me.”

Her eyes open again.

“Me and all the other m-misfits in school.  Them and all the other c-cool kids.  Except K-Kayla.”  I swallow.  “They called m-me K-Kayla’s pet f-femboy.  And worse.  They t-teased Lauren terribly for being with m-me.  C-Called her Pity Lay Laurie.  I d-don’t th-think they’re very nice people.”  Another deep breath.  “The k-kiss was a lie.  But for the rest, it’s n-not their fault they misinterpreted wh-what they saw.  That was my f-fault.  But…I’m j-just sayin that I think th-they were only t-too happy to let you know.”  Gripping her hands back I say.  “I would never do that to you.  I w-would never cheat on you.  I want this…to b-be forever.”

She lifts her head and gazes deeply into my eyes.  And there, with a country ballad playing softly in the background, we stay for a long, quiet time.  I couldn’t have maintained eye contact like this with anybody else.  But for Winona…I open my soul.

“Tell me you love me.”

“I l-love you.”

Plumbing the depths of my gaze she searches for the truth.

“I love you.”  I whisper again with all my heart.

With those three little words all the anger balled up inside of her melts away.  She lets out a little gasp and smiles.  “I believe you, Avery.”  Springing up into me she wraps me up in a one of her big encompassing hugs.

“Oh!”  And…then the tears flow.  Weeping and shivering I may be, but in my woman’s strong arms I am SOARING once more!

Chapter 124