3 Minutes Out: Chapter One

Chapter One

Four Years Earlier

She noticed him immediately as he pushed his wheelchair bound friend to a table in her section. He had dark wavy hair and the most gorgeous green eyes she had ever seen. His jaw was firm and strong but he appeared the gentle giant to her. He was tall, muscular, and best of all he didn’t look as if he was from around town. Detailed tattoos covered his arms from his wrist to under his shirtsleeves. She wondered idly if his whole body was covered in the blacks, greens, and blues of the ink. The idea of verifying this with her own eyes made her stomach tie into nervous knots. His hair was kept skin short on the sides and allowed a bit more growth at the top, what the military boys called a ‘high-n-tight’, or so she’d heard anyway. He was wearing a tight shirt that showed off the massive muscles surrounding his shoulders and flowing down his arms. His chest was large and his stomach was flat with only a hint of the six-pack he sported underneath the shirt. The perfected image of a soldier she guessed. He was chatting and laughing loudly as he took a seat next to his friend. She didn’t recognize him but his friend in the chair was Sam Carson.

She and Sam had gone to high school together. He had joined the Navy right after graduation and a few months ago, had been in an accidental explosion that killed four other sailors. Sam had suffered extensive damage to both of his legs and the doctors were forced to amputate them just below the knee. His homecoming was kept silent for months until he decided it was time to make an appearance in town once in awhile. She guessed this was one of those times.

Sam always came into the bar around six and did not leave again until closing. He ordered the same thing each time, double rum and coke, large fries, and a strawberry milk shake. He never drank the rum and coke; he said it was for his lost friends, a sort of tribute to them. Sam chatted with the other patrons often and accepted the typical ‘thank-you-for-your-service’ statements with grace. Today was no different only it was just before the lunch rush and he had brought a friend. It has been a long time since she has seen him smile like that.

She gathered her thoughts, straightened her red and white shirt, and pulled the skimpy blue shorts down as far as they could go. She had always hated the stupid, smutty, uniforms the girls were always supposed to wear. She felt like a fat Hooters girl in the stupid thing. The boss insisted it helped with their tips but since this bar happened to be frequented by old men and farm hands…it didn’t. It generally just got her a couple of gropes and grabs on Friday nights as she passed by the male patrons. She had only taken the job there because he would work with her school schedule, which no one else in town was willing to do. Paying for school was fine since she was on scholarship but she liked having the extra spending money.

“Hey Sam, what can I get for you and your friend?” She said with her usual smile as she approached the table. Never needing a note pad to write anything down she stood with her hands on her hips.

“Hey Kyra, the usual for me please, Jon?” Sam said looking at his friend. Kyra followed Sam’s eyes to Jon and waited, still smiling and of course hoping he would look at her with those green eyes.

“Uh, well, I…I’m not sure…” He sputtered as he flipped through the menu. Sam punched him in the shoulder playfully but hard. Jon flinched a bit, coughed, and pretended nothing happened while rubbing his shoulder. “I will have the double burger and a strawberry milkshake, large.” Without looking up Jon returned the punch with equal force, which sent Sam leaning back in his chair.

“Alright boys, be right out.” She said shaking her head at their play. She picked up the menus and walked off, glancing over her shoulder at Jon. He was still rubbing his shoulder and didn’t even look up in her direction. She sighed, made her way to the order window behind the counter, and quickly jotted down the items on an order slip to hang in the chef’s window.

“Well?” A female voice asked from behind her as Kyra hung the slip on the turnstile for the cook and began making the two shakes for her order. She poured the milk and the fresh strawberries into the tall metal container. She then added the ice cream from the soft serve machine. She purposefully ignored the eyes that were burrowing their way into the back of her skull as she used the mixer to combine the ingredients, making more noise than anything else. When she finished she turned and put her hands on her hips to warm them, they always tended to freeze to the cup when she made shakes.

“Well, what Face?” Kyra replied finally.

“Who is Mr. Adorable hanging out with?” She said hopping onto the counter beside the chef’s window. Brittany had always loved Sam and even though he never knew it, she was convinced he was her one true love. They dated for just over a week in high school but when Sam left for boot camp, they had broken it off. She had never gotten over him and Kyra doubted that she ever would.

“Hand me the cream over there?” Kyra said as she pointed to the can. Brittany held it out for her but jerked it away before she could get her fingers around it. “His name is Jon something, Sam didn’t say from where or how he knew him but apparently they have been friends for awhile.” She snatched the can out of her friends grasp with a yank.

“That’s it? He was looking at you like the boss man looks at fresh meat from the butcher.” She said smiling mischievously.

“Ya,” Kyra said scrunching her nose in disgust, “that’s not exactly how I want to be looked at and he was not. He barely looked up from the table long enough to know I was there.”

The girls both laughed and Brittany pushed herself off her perch. While she went about her business of wiping down the already clean counter, Kyra poured each shake into a plastic cup and topped them both with whipped cream and a cherry. Satisfied with her little creation she jammed a long silver spoon into each one, tossed the metal mixing cups into the sink, and took the shakes to Sam and Jon. They were chuckling to themselves as she approached. Jon looked up at her and then excused himself from the table. She smiled and nodded to him.

“Here you go.” She said as she set the shakes on the table, “sorry about the drink though Sam, it’s Sunday and all, you know. Anything else I can get for you?”

“Nah…thanks though.” Sam said with a forgiving smile.

The bars were not allowed to serve any alcohol before noon on a Sunday and the stores couldn’t sell beer either. She always thought that was strange, but it was better than Georgia she guessed. They were completely dry on Sunday’s so the drinkers had to cross state lines instead. She started to walk away when Sam called out from behind her, “Hey Kyra?”

“Ya?”

“Would you be willing to accompany Jon and me to the movies tonight?” He asked, his eyes pleading with her to say yes.

“Um…what’s in it for me?” She said teasingly as she turned around to face him.

“Nothing…well…shit…I mean...” Kyra never saw Sam at such a loss for words and it made her smile. She came over to him and dropped down to sit in the chair next to him. She put her hand on his shoulder and he brought his gaze up to hers.

“Sam, I was just kidding. If you want me to go to the movies tonight with you, I totally can okay? I just need you to pick me up here because I get off at eight and my car is at home.” She said with a reassuring smile.

He sighed, “That’s not what I meant.” She tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion.

“You want me to go or not?”

“Yes, but I don’t want you to go with ME. I want you to go with Jon.” He said looking at his hands.

“Oh,” well wasn’t that a brilliant thing to say? Now it was her turn to stare at her hands like a fool.

“Oh?” He asked and looked at her expectantly.

“I don’t know him at all and you just told me his name. Besides, he isn’t the one asking anyway, are you sure he even wants to go?”

“Do you trust me?” Sam said with his usual confidence.

“Of course I do.”

“Let me worry about him. You just worry about what you are wearing to the movies.”          

She thought about it for a little over a minute knowing full well that she was going to say yes but not wanting to give away anything to Sam. Glancing out the front window of the dining area, she could see Jon with his cell phone to his ear. The set of his firm jaw line and the way his mouth moved made her stomach flip. Why am I looking at his mouth? She wondered.
“Its not like we just met or anything, we have been friends since we went to boot camp together. He has no friends outside of his base or family so on his leave he decided to come see me. I just want him to have a good time while he is here.” Sam said.
“So setting him up with another old friend seemed like a good idea to you? I don’t date military boys, you know that!” She countered. He shrugged and pulled a puppy face that she has never been able to say no to. “Shit.” She said under her breath as she looked back out the window.

Jon was sitting on the small concrete ledge of the curb with his elbow resting on his knee while his other hand ran through his short hair. How could she resist? “Alright, I will, but on one condition.”

A great sigh of relief escaped Sam’s lips, “anything, name it.”

“I bring Brittany along and she’s your date.” She smiled sweetly at him, rose from the chair, and walked away. She could hear him sputtering and pleading with her as she left. He knew he had lost this battle and resigned himself to sipping on his shake instead.

Now is a good time for a break, Kyra thought. The back of the building always smelled like stale booze and garbage but as she walked past the dumpster, the smell began to fade. She made her way across the street to sit on the small bench under the old oak tree. Looking around guiltily she put her foot up on the bench, pulled out a wrinkled pack of cigarettes from her sock, and tapped one out. She stepped up onto the bench and sat on the backrest. She was supposed to quit smoking, she had promised Brittany over a month ago. It was a habit she had picked up in high school and only once in awhile did she still light up.

She would be graduating college soon and she could finally leave this god-forsaken town. It broke her heart to know that she would be leaving her best friend behind in this dump but she just had to get out. All the good boys had been married off already or had gone off to war only to come home broken men as Sam did. She really had no reason to stay anymore.

She checked her watch, flicked the butt of the cigarette to her right, and quickly made her way back across the street. She made it in the back door just in time to grab the food from the window. Carefully she balanced the heavy tray in one hand. She placed Sam’s down first then moved around the table to set down Jon’s. The unthinkable happened right at that very moment. As if in slow motion, her hand tilted the tray slightly to the right and the food began to slide down to the tray towards the floor. Gravity began to take over but Kyra grabbed the edge of the tray with her free hand and was able to stop the food from falling to the floor. In the process of this circus act, she knocked the still full milkshake off the table and directly into Jon’s lap.

~********~

“But why do I have to go?” Brittany whined as she pulled the tank top over her head and adjusted her womanly parts.

“Because, I said that you would and besides, Sam is going to be there.” Kyra replied, pulling on a change of shorts she always brought with her. She hated wearing her uniform anywhere let alone outside of the workplace.

She tossed her work uniform into the small locker and slammed the door. “It’s not fair you know. You are the one who dumped an entire milk shake in his lap, so why am I being punished for it? You know I am supposed to love Sam from far away and watch over him. Not sit in his freakin’ lap at the movies!”

Heat flashed to Kyra’s cheeks, remembering the slow motion shake drop. “Oh stop it. You love the idea of being close to him again. And I am sure that if you were sitting in his lap, watching a movie would be the least of your worries.” She said with a devilish smile as she tied the laces on her Keds.

“You are so dirty Kyra!” Brittany screeched and whipped a towel at her, making the end snap sharply in the air.

Kyra slowly made her way to the door and sang, “Brittany and Sam, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” Brittany lunged for Kyra, but she wasn’t fast enough. Kyra was able to slip out of the way, “first comes love,” she leaped over the wooden bench in the break room with Brittany fast on her heels, “then comes marriage,” she burst out the swinging door and smacked face first into a brick wall, effectively knocking the air out of her lungs. Brittany slammed into her backside a half second later.

Kyra realized that she was not against a brick wall when a wonderful male scent hit her nose. Afraid to look up and meet his eyes, her fingers decided it was a good time to take a vacation from her brain. They splayed themselves on his chest rejoicing in the feel of the muscles that twitched slightly beneath her touch. They made their way up, over his shoulders, and down his massive arms to his hands. Her brain came alive with a shock as Brittany took a step back and pulled Kyra with her. Kyra suddenly felt cold where their body parts were no longer touching. The warmth leaked out of her body and she could feel the dread rise to her face in a deep crimson blush as she realized whom she just rammed her body into. Jon simply smiled down at her.

“Oh…um…excuse us!” Brittany said excitedly finally yanking Kyra back a step. “We were just…”

“Are you Brittany?” The deep and gravelly male voice asked cutting her off. “Sam sent me back here to see if you gals were ready to go? He said the movie starts at nine?”

“Yes. You must be Jon.” Brittany said thrusting her hand past Kyra and taking Jon’s hand to shake it firmly. Kyra let out a low possessive growl and glared at her, which was odd. Why had she done that?

Oh perfect, not only have I dumped ice cream in his lap but now I just molested him in the hallway of a stanky bar, Kyra thought, just perfect.

Kyra refused to lift her eyes to meet his as Brittany introduced them, “I’m Brittany, and this is Kyra.”

“I got that when she was bent over me mopping up the shake from my lap a couple hours ago.” He grinned brightly and looked over at Kyra. His green eyes flickered playfully.

Shit, I have molested him twice! Kyra thought to herself.

Kyra’s blush came back to her face with force. Dear God, why had I insisted on cleaning him up? She realized that her nametag, which was securely pinned to the left breast of her shirt, was literally in his face as she frantically wiped the spill from his lap. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“We’ll be there in a sec ok?” Said Brittany as she took a few more steps back dragging Kyra with her.

When Jon finally took his eyes off Kyra, he nodded and turned to walk back down the hallway to Sam who was waiting at the front door. Brittany waved to him as she shoved Kyra back into the break room.

“Kyra? What’s wrong?” Brittany asked as soon as she saw the look of despair on her face.

“Uh…other than I practically raped that poor man?”

Brittany giggled, “I doubt he would have a problem with you in any manner of speaking. From the look on his face, he was happy to have you so close just now. And did you see his eyes? Yummy, yummy.” She said as she rubbed her flat stomach in circles as if she could devour him on site.

“Ya, whatever…lets just go ok?” She said solemnly.

“Ya, ok.” Said Brittany as she put her arm around her shoulders. “You know I love your face right?”

Kyra smiled, “Yes, I know.” Kyra hugged her and pushed the door open. She started to make her way to the front, Brittany followed close behind.

It appeared that Sam and Jon were already outside waiting by the truck; Jon was chatting with Sam, who was fidgeting in his seat. It was Jon’s truck obviously, since Sam’s had special equipment to help him get in and out of it. The truck was a bright cherry red, the kind you see on sports cars and hotrods. It was clean and shiny as if it had just been waxed. Kyra smiled as she realized it was a Ford, her favorite. It looked like a 2004 or 2005. Would he be impressed that I know a little something about vehicles? She thought as she pushed the glass front door. Uh, no Kyra, do NOT think like that, you have no one to impress. Her conscience reminded her. The bell rang loudly enough to bring the attention of the boys in her direction. Kyra smiled and met Jon’s eyes for the first time. The emerald green of them astounded her and made her stomach do those damned flip-flops again. She was sure that he knew exactly what those eyes did to every woman he happened to gaze upon. She determined that making eye contact with him was going to continue to be a bad idea. Knowing full well what a fast talking, good looking man could do to a girl like herself, she was not about to be put in that position again.

“Ready to go girls?” Sam asked happily.

“Sure are! What are we seeing?” Exclaimed Brittany as she hopped into the back seat.

“Uh…I’m not really sure. I guess we will figure that out when we get there.” Sam said. Kyra caught the wink he sent to Jon but she decided not to say anything about it. He owed her for this little favor so he had better not be setting her up for some kind of failure. She shot a glare at him as she climbed her way next to Brittany and he just smiled and raised a brow in innocence.

Jon helped Sam into the front passenger seat. He easily lifted Sam out of his chair, placed him gently into the truck, and tossed the chair effortlessly into the truck bed. Not quite knowing what to say Kyra cleared her throat and glanced over at Brittany who was staring out the side window. She was watching Jon carefully as if to judge his every move. Kyra could tell that she was now in her protective best friend mood so talking to her would only result in silence.

Jon made his way back to the drivers’ side and hopped in, his green eyes flicked to the rearview mirror making contact with Kyra’s. Damn it, he’s doing it again, she thought. He winked at her and turned the key to start the truck. She forced herself to look away and stare out her window instead.

The truck jumped to life with a rumble that shook her insides. She was sure that the sound startled the sleeping cats in the alley since she saw at least three of them dart away. Jon pulled away from the curb carefully and they made their way towards the edge of town.

The town was old time. It had been here since before the War Between the States, otherwise known as the Civil War. Locals referred to it this way since there was nothing civil about the war. The buildings held this feeling of familiarity that all small towns tended to have. The memories of generations of families seeped from the cracks in the walls. The dusty sidewalks and brown tinted paints on the newer side buildings made them look older than they really were. The historical society didn’t allow any upgrades to the old buildings or new buildings to be built, unless it was done with the approved materials from that period. The younger generation of people like Kyra felt a resounding need to leave the backwater and find their place in the big city with more modern superstructures. Most of them came back a few years later beaten and bloodied by the world. This is why Kyra had decided to stay and go to college first. Others married their high school sweethearts and stayed forever. Kyra refused to be one of those beaten nor did she want to stay here forever.

She had almost married her high school sweetheart though, and at one point, she wouldn’t have hesitated to stay in this town for the rest of her natural life. She would have been barefoot and pregnant all the rest of her days raising her children the way her mother had raised her. She would have done anything in the world for him but he destroyed that part of her heart when he was caught red handed with her once best friend Megan. Trust was a thing of the past according to Kyra, and love that would never be her downfall again.

Megan. Just thinking of her made Kyra want to punch the back of the seat where Sam sat until her knuckles bled. She knew, absolutely knew, that Megan had only done what she did because Kyra was in love with him. She wanted him only because Kyra already had him. He was smooth too. Smooth enough to get away with the sneaking around for months until Kyra caught them in Megan’s apartment on the couch. Granted, Kyra wasn’t supposed to show up for another couple of hours but she had gotten off work early and had wanted to see her friend. When she opened the door with the spare key that Megan had always kept by the window, Kyra got an eyeful of naked skin and disregarded clothing.

At first, she did not recognize the two until Megan and he looked up at her at the same time. Embarrassed and in shock Kyra had backed out the door as quickly as she could, leaving the spare key in the door, and running back to her car.

The tears did not come that day or the next. It wasn’t until a week later when Kyra realized that Megan had only used him and he now was pleading with Kyra to come back to him. It was a mistake, he told her. He was drunk, holding himself up on the doorframe with his shoulder. He smelled of week old booze and cigarette smoke. He never meant to hurt her, would she please forgive him, and he promises never to do anything like that again, he pleaded with her. Her heart had already hardened towards him. She couldn’t go back, not on any terms. She left him standing there at her front door as she said no, shaking her head, and closed the door slowly. She had leaned her back against the door and slid down to the floor. The tears came then, flowing freely as she let go of her love, her hurt, and her trust. Her heart felt as if it was being ripped from her chest. The air had caught in her lungs making her cough. Never again, she had vowed. Never again would she fall in love so deeply, never again would she trust so completely.

Kyra realized that she had been deep in her own brain as she noticed that they had already made the twenty-minute trip. Jon finally started to make the right turn towards the drive in. So that’s where we are going, good call Sam, she thought. Something outdoors was not as intimidating as being in the dark sitting next to someone you just met. Jon paid the person standing at the front and he gave them the ‘enjoy your movie and the station to tune to is 96.7’ speech. Sam immediately started fiddling with Jon’s stereo trying to find the station. It played oldies, from the fifties and sixties, one of her favorite genres of music. Kyra hummed along as they found a spot right in front of the snack bar. Jon rolled his window down and hung his elbow on the edge of the door. The cool breeze made its way through the truck making Kyra shiver a bit. Brittany fidgeted in her seat obviously looking for an excuse to get out. No one had said anything since they had been driving, mostly because the noise of the beastly truck tended to force one to yell.

“Brittany and I are going to go up to the snack bar. You guys want anything?” Kyra asked as she opened the back door.

“Sure babe, Dr. Pepper, and popcorn.” Sam said as he dug into his wallet and handed Brittany a ten. “Get yourself something nice.” He said with a grin.

“Oh ya, like this is going to cover anything I want.” Brittany shot back as she snatched the money out of his hand and jumped down from her seat to the ground and slammed the door behind her. Kyra followed suit and found that Jon was a few steps behind her.

“I’ll come with, I don’t know what they have,” He said awkwardly.

“Uh, okay sure.” Kyra said nervously and looked towards Brittany who was apparently no help at all since she just kept on walking completely oblivious to the fact that Kyra had been assigned escort duty. Jon was walking a bit more slowly than Kyra would have liked but she kept pace with him anyway.

“So Sam tells me you and him have been friends since high school?” He asked.

“Pretty much. Actually our parents introduced us hoping that we would hook up I guess, but it wasn’t what either of us was looking for and we just stayed friends. Brittany was always the one for him.” She said and jerked her head towards Brittany at the counter.

“But you never found yours?” He asked gently.

Kyra had to laugh at that. “Nah, there’s no one for me in this town. Not anymore at least.”

Jon just smiled and nodded as if he understood what she meant completely. That smile was amazing. She could look at that all day, she decided. She smiled back at him as they walked the few remaining steps to the snack bar together. Brittany was already on her way back out to the truck and Kyra glared at her as she passed. All she got in return was Brittany’s signature shit-eating grin. Jon stopped at the far end of the counter while Kyra decided to peruse the candy window instead.

“Good evening! What can I get for ya?” The female clerk asked, a little too perky for Kyra’s taste.

“Large Dr. Pepper with extra ice please?” Kyra asked.

“I’ll have the same and a large popcorn.” Jon said. Kyra’s look of disgust got her a confused look from Jon.

“I don’t like popcorn.” She said flatly.

Jon cocked a brow in surprise as Kyra waited for him to tell her something like it was un-American or she was a terrorist like all her friends did. He said none of those things, which made her smile and look back at the candy.

“Ten even.” The clerk replied with a sexy smile at Jon that sent Kyra into some sort of possessive convulsions and her stomach tied into knots of rage.

“Jesus! Seriously?” Jon exclaimed, “I remember when a candy bar was just a nickel and milk was fifty cents!” he said in an old man voice. This made Kyra laugh and the knots in her stomach loosened as he smiled back at her and not the cashier.

Kyra reached into her pocket to pull out some of her tip money to pay for the drinks and popcorn but Jon put his hand on hers effectively stopping her heart in mid-beat. Breathe Kyra, she thought to herself.

“I’ll get it.” He said simply. He left his hand on hers as he handed the clerk a twenty. While he waited for his change he never took his eyes off her, she reached for her drink with her free hand and took a large swallow. The cold soda burned her throat as it went down and she had to scrunch her face to clear the pain.

“Thanks.” She choked out.

Jon chuckled, put the change into his pocket, grabbed his popcorn and drink, and gestured for her to go first. The clerk obviously disheartened at his rejection sat on her little stool by the window and pouted.

“Oh a gentleman,” Kyra said as he held the door open for her.

“Is there any other way to be?” He asked.

“You must be one of the very few.”

“I’m a terrible romantic, but I do try.”

As they approached the truck, she noticed immediately that Brittany was in the front seat next to Sam. This meant that Jon was now going to be seated next to her for the remainder of the evening, just perfect. Hopefully she could get through the night without spilling anything or tripping over her own damn feet. Jon opened the back door to the truck and helped her inside.

Sam and Brittany chatted away and enjoyed their shared popcorn while Kyra stayed in the back brooding over the betrayal of her friend. She had expected Brittany would pull a stunt like that though. With them in front, Jon and Kyra were unable to see the movie screen without scooting closer to the middle. Jon sacrificed his view of the screen and allowed her enough space to sit without their legs touching. Which Kyra wouldn’t have minded but it was sweet anyway.

“What do you say Face?” Brittany asked over her shoulder.

“Huh?” Kyra said stupidly now that she was caught obviously not paying attention.

“After the movie we should go to the bluffs.” Sam said as he shifted himself in the seat to look at Jon. “It’s this great place with an awesome view. You can see like six states from there on a clear day.”

“But it will be night.” Said Brittany sarcastically.

“Okay so we could see the lights instead.” Countered Sam as he tossed a piece of popcorn at her.

Kyra shrugged and look at Jon, he seemed as if he wanted to see the place and told them only if Kyra felt like going, which made her uncomfortable with the idea of being so close to him that whole time.

“Ya I guess we can go. We don’t have to work tomorrow.” She said finally. Mostly she didn’t want to disappoint them all and be the biggest loser ever for interrupting Brittany’s time with Sam. This was the longest amount of time those two had spent together since high school and she knew Brittany was actually looking forward to it.

“That’s my Face!” Brittany exclaimed excitedly and flipped back to face the movie screen.

The movie began with the usual old-fashioned count down on the screen. Brittany made herself comfortable by stretching out along the front seat with her feet crossed at the ankles and resting on Sam's lap, her back against the door. Sam was smiling, he was so happy to be right there in that moment that apparently he forgot his friends were in the back seat. He removed her shoes and began rubbing her socked feet, which made her relax even more, and Kyra was jealous. What she wouldn’t give for a foot rub too.

Jon leaned back and stretched his long legs under the seat as best he could. Kyra thought he must be around six feet since he towered over her and her five foot nothing. This couldn’t have been the most comfortable place for him. He threw his right arm over her head to rest on the seat back behind them and placed the popcorn between them. Kyra slouched a little and pulled her left ankle under her right knee sipping quietly from her soda.

Kyra watched the movie flicker across the screen. She knew she hadn’t been paying attention to it since she was not able to follow what exactly had happened. She didn’t care for this movie anyway since it was the new Nicholas Sparks one, and all they seemed to do was make her cry for no reason. She did love his books though, which also made her cry for no reason.          

After a while, Kyra began to feel the beginnings of her foot falling asleep. The tingling sensation of the numbness started to work its way up her ankle and she tried to ignore it but eventually it got to be too much for her. Knowing that as soon as the pressure was released her foot was going to be in that weird, agonizing pain. She lifted the offending leg off her foot and cringed when the blood started to rush back to its place. She wiggled her toes in her shoe hoping that the prickly sensation would stop soon but this just made it hurt more.

“You okay?” Jon asked noticing her fidgeting in the seat.

“Shhh...” came Brittany’s irritation from the front seat, which made them both whisper an apology.

“Ya, my foot fell asleep.” Kyra whispered.

“Here.” Jon held out his hand as if he expected her to just whip her foot up over the seat. I don’t think so homey, she said to herself.

“Uh, no it’s okay; I just have to move it around a bit.” Kyra said as she opened the door to get out. She needed to walk it off but putting weight onto the affected foot sent a ricochet of pins through her skin. She slowly lowered herself to the ground, careful not to put her snoozing foot down too hard since she didn’t have actual feeling in it yet.

Jon got out of his side of the truck quickly and made it around to her side. He took her hand to steady her as she started to put her foot down. The pain that shot through her entire leg was excruciating and she could not wait until it was over. She limped a couple steps before Jon closed the door behind her and she whimpered to herself. When she stood upright, Jon put his free arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. She liked the feel of his strong arms around her and he just smelled so, so male. Not covered in cologne, but a nice, just showered scent, he just smelled clean. She liked that. Her stomach started doing summersaults from his closeness and she looked up at him. He was smiling down at her but she couldn’t seem to drag her eyes away from his mouth. Stop it, stop it, stop it, she screamed in her head. He had to know that he was drop dead gorgeous, right? Why on God’s green earth would he want anything to do with the geeky, apparently clumsy, friend of a friend?

She suddenly realized that maybe this was all done for Sam to have an excuse to get back with Brittany and perhaps both she and Jon were being used. Jon, being the perfect gentleman that he was, would never say a word to that affect she assumed. Yes, this had to be the reason. There was no other logical reason for a man like him to even think about a girl like her. She leaned onto him and used the strength of his arm as she hobbled her way up to deck of the snack bar, might as well take advantage of his generosity while she had the chance.

“Thanks.” She said stupidly as the pain receded from her foot and the feeling started to come back.

“You’re welcome.” He said and gestured to the worn out picnic table with his free hand. “Wanna sit?”

“Sure. It has to be better out here than in the back seat huh?” She asked.

“What? You didn’t think I was comfortable?” He said playfully.

“No way.” She smiled.

“I’m not one to complain but did Brittany have to take over the WHOLE front seat?”

“Ya she does that. The world is her lazy boy.”

Jon laughed which made his eyes light up so much that she felt as is her face was illuminated by them. She decided that his laugh was a wonderful sound that she could probably get used to hearing often. Seriously? Shut up brain! She cursed at herself, He is just going to leave in a week or whatever, and I will never hear from him again so what’s the big deal? She argued with herself.

“Can you do that again?” She asked.

“Uh…do what again?” Jon said confused.

“Laugh.”

“I’m not sure. Did you say something funny?”

“Nope.”

Jon just grinned and shook his head completely confused. “I’m pretty sure you would have to say something funny, then I would laugh, then you would smile back at me with that beautiful smile you have and then we both could be very happy.”

Kyra didn’t say anything, he had effectively shocked her into silence. He thought she had a beautiful smile. No one had ever told her that before. She suddenly had this incredible urge to kiss him. Right there sitting on a crappy picnic table in a crappy drive-in movie theater. I must be going insane, she thought. I must not have eaten today or something.

“How’s the foot?” He asked oblivious to the crazy thoughts that were currently running through her mind.

Snapping out of her stupor she said, “Uh, good. At least it seems to be now.”

“Good.”

She could have just turned and watched the movie but they had missed so much of it that she didn’t think it was worth trying to get back into it. The silence between them was killing her.

“So…I guess you are in the Navy since Sam said you went to boot camp together?” She asked.

“Ya, we also served on the same ship for a long time then I was selected to go to Seal training and we went our separate ways for awhile. We have always met up at the same time each year when we can and this time it was my turn to come here.”

“So what do you think of our little town?” She asked.

“Oh, it’s a great place to visit.”

“But you wouldn’t want to live here?”

He smiled, “Nah, small towns are not something that I…well let’s just say they don’t get along with me. Unless of course I had a good reason to, like Sam does.”

“Sam has all the reason in the world to stay here.” She agreed, “He has Brittany to watch over him and his whole family is from here. He’s got money and a nice house, and people who care about him.”

“What’s keeping you here?” Jon asked.

“School for now. After that, I am out of here.”

“Where will you go?”

“Anywhere that doesn’t roll up its sidewalks at six and has stop lights. Stop lights are awesome.”

Jon chuckled, “Well, if that isn’t the perfect reason to live somewhere, I don’t know what is.”

They finished the movie in that same place, neither wanting to leave but knowing it was inevitable. Kyra knew that she would have to get up eventually but she just wanted a few moments longer with him in this place. Their simple conversation had her thinking that she could let him have his fun and then go back to wherever it is that he came from and she would never have to hear from him again. Why not have fun herself before graduation, and why couldn’t she do it with someone as attractive as Jon?

Those tattoos of his will soon be the talk of the town, she could hear the little old ladies already blessing his heart and asking what a nice girl like her was doing with a boy like that. She was always the good girl, the one all the moms wanted dating their sons. She never attended dorm parties with her classmates; she was always studying or working. She barely went to the movies, and that was usually with just Brittany. She deserved a little fun in her life. Why not? Brittany had been telling her for months she needed a little excitement.

“Let’s go.” She said as she started to get up as the credits started rolling on the big screen. “Face will start to get worried.”

Jon nodded and stretched his arms over his head. Kyra couldn’t help but watch the muscles in his arms and back rippled under his tight shirt. Oh how she wanted to be that shirt right at this very moment. Was it normal to be jealous of a man’s shirt? He took her hand when he stood which seemed like the most natural thing in the world. A shock wave rippled through her arm and down her spine giving her a tingle in her stomach. If she didn’t stop acting like this, she was afraid she would never be able to eat again. She was actually looking forward to the drive to the bluffs. She was a little disappointed that she would have to sit in the back without him near her though.

“Why do you call her ‘face’?” he asked as they walked.

“It’s just what we have called each other since forever. You can’t live without your face.” She replied.

As they made their way to the truck, the other vehicles began to leave. Headlights started shining and cars were starting, parents called for their children to stop playing around and get in the car. It was the perfect picture of a hometown Friday night. She probably should have been working since all of the people without children would be making their way to the bar but she had switched shifts with one of the other girls who are always eager to take a big tip night.

Jon dropped her hand, went to the passenger door, and opened it. “Sam, you’re gonna have to move buddy. Sam? Hey, Sam?” Jon flicked Sam’s ear.

Sam jerked awake and quickly wiped the small amount of drool that was making its way down his chin. “Wha...what happened?”

“It’s time to go buddy, movies over. You just want to go home? You look beat.” Said Jon.

“No, no... I was just…uh…resting my eyes.”

“Uh huh…sure.” Said Brittany, “he was snoring so loud I couldn’t hear the movie anymore so I just turned it off. Where did you two run off to anyway?” She asked waggling her brows at Kyra.

“My foot fell asleep and Jon isn’t too keen on sitting in the backseat of his own truck so we just went to the table by the snack bar.” Kyra said and stuck her tongue out at her.

“Sorry.” Brittany said without the apologetic tone and winked at Kyra.

Kyra rolled her eyes and jumped into the back seat.

“Oh no you don’t young lady.” Jon said.

“Excuse me?” asked Kyra.

“Hop out, my man Sam is sitting back there with Brittany and you are riding up front with me. I would rather not get lost trying to find this place and I feel like you have a better idea of where it is than he does.”

“One time!” Sam exclaimed, “one frickin’ time I got us lost and you have yet to forget it.”

“That’s because somehow we ended up over the border in Mexico and you left your ID at the hotel so we couldn’t get back into the states without calling Senior to come and get us.”

“Why did you go to Mexico?” Brittany asked.

“We were supposed to be going to Utah,” Jon said, “He kept saying ‘were only three minutes out, three minutes out I swear. Yes, this is what the desserts of Utah look like.’ Four hours later, I wake up and we have already crossed the border into Mexico and we had been there for a while.” Jon explained as he maneuvered Sam into the back seat.

“I finally pull out my GPS unit and we aren’t even on the map. We’re on some dusty back road that Sam swore was a short cut. As it turns out he was right about one thing, it was a short cut. The Mexican Coyotes use it to bring illegals over to the states. We were busted by border patrol and I had to be the one to call Senior, our boss.”

Kyra and Brittany were laughing by the time they all got into their seats as Jon told his story. Tears streamed down Brittany’s face and she was barely making a sound with the exception of the squeaking breaths she was taking. Once they all started to breathe normal, again Sam spoke up.

“And by the way,” he obviously felt the need to explain, “The desserts of Utah look exactly the same as the desserts of Mexico.” One second of silence fell upon the truck as they all realized how serious Sam was. This sent them all on another bout of laughter at the same time.