Indeed, I Do

I first saw him upon entering the DMV. Well, I didn't see all of him but the back of his blonde and pink head. I rolled my eyes, what kind of weirdo puts pink highlights in his otherwise pretty blonde hair? While waiting in line for my ticket, he caught my attention once again and I noticed that the parent or guardian with him was not very impressive either. Old, dated clothing, frizzy hair held in a ponytail. The lady turned at that moment, to look behind her and our eyes met....ouch the glare was scalding and you guessed it she wore no makeup. GASP!

As we took our seats my mother shoved the drivers ed handbook in my hand and whispered through clenched teeth., "Study." I sighed loudly, crossed my legs, twirled my hair on one finger and started memorizing signs. Each time the buzzer went off I looked up to see who the lucky person was that was finally being beckoned forth to the awaiting station. Thirty minutes later, I glanced at my watch with a sigh, just in time for another lucky winner to be announced and I watched Mr. Pink Highlights stand slowly. I watched at he arched his back, stretched and then offered his hand to "glare" women to help her stand. He was tall, well, over six foot, his shoulders wider than his hips. He walked with his shoulders slightly slumped like he was embarrassed by his height. His skin was a golden tan, his arms smooth and slightly muscular. His clothes were nothing to look at, was that a wrestling t shirt and my word were those moccasins on his feet?? He had grown a very light bread just on his jaw line, like a chin strap beard, his hair hung to his shoulders almost covering his face but for his bangs I might have missed those eyes. His eyes were a light green, a shade I'm not sure I'd ever seen before or since. With a little work he would be beautiful. A diamond in the rough is what I was looking at, a Greek God in the before picture. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He had no idea how beautiful that he could be but if given the chance....I'd help him figure it all out.

I come from a very small beach town. We do have a Walmart and a Belk, thank you very much, and although I don't know everybody in town, my best friend....well, she does. Her father manages the local phone co-op, she works the payment window in the summer and therefore she's either met them or heard of them immediately upon their arrival into town.

Not only does she know them but they know her. She is a Barbee in last name and in person. Her whole family, all 6 of them are blonde headed, blue eyed, tanned, and well... beautiful. You know that Barbee townhouse that you can buy? Well, her home is way nicer than that, as it sits overlooking the intercoastal waterway in the latest golfing community. Brooke Barbee has the best of everything including boyfriends. Somehow she had managed to land Adam Taylor as her long time boyfriend. Nobody had ever managed that until Brooke came along. Adam was a playa, yo. From girl to girl he bounced until he looked into Brooke's eyes. So the story goes anyway. But with all that going for her I must say that she is truly nice to everybody, truly. She isn't perfect but not many people realize that. I know because I've been around awhile. She's the type of person that hides her imperfections better than most. She is a friend to everybody. You never know who you will see her riding around town in her little red sports car. Once, I saw her dropping Ole Lenny, the homeless guy, off at The Grille. It was funny watching him climb out of her nice and shiny car, she even waved and blew the horn at him as she left. So it was to her that I went in search of a name for Mr. Pinky.

When I pulled up to her house I caught her in the front yard shooting hoops with Adam. They were having a grand ole time, mostly her laughing while he guarded her a little too closely. As I got out of the car they both looked over and waved ,"Hey Shels!" Okay, before we go any further my name isn't Shels, it's Shelby but somehow over the years people got lazy about saying the whole word and it got shortened to Shel or Shels. I, myself, don't really care what they call me as long as they call me. Smile.

I heard Adam say, "Alright, babe, I'm going to hit the waves. I'll give ya a call." He kissed Brooke on the forehead then a funky like handshake between he and I and Adam was gone. Brooke dribbled the ball over to me, gave me a quick hug and said, "I see you passed your test sweetie! Tell me all about it!"

I wasn't interested in the new drivers license, I got it, finally, at 17, which was great. Yay me but I just wanted to know who Mr. Pink was. So I explained him to her in every detail I could think of as we walked inside. I said hello to her family on the way to her bedroom. Once in there, she shut the door and we plopped down on her bed. I couldn't help but admire her lime and purple room. It was just gorgeous but there was a new man to discover and who had time for a room discussion??

When I was finished she absently played with the fringe around a lime green decorative pillow. She looked up at me and said,"Shel, why are you looking for another "project"?"
I played all offended for a minute until she gave me her "I know you" look.
"Shel, these little "projects" of yours always end up getting you hurt! Let's take Matt for instance. I do believe he was your....hmmm....second diamond in the rough, right?" I looked away sheepishly knowing exactly where this conversation was going. "What happened? Six months you spent with him, "redoing" him and then poof he caught Sarah's eye and he was gone. Then there was Trent, Alex, and Oh yes, Kevin! Kevin, what a jerk. Now you just leave Kyle alone!" As she said his name she immediately covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes stared at me in horror. She jumped up and started squealing in anger at herself as I doubled over laughing. Kyle, my Greek God had a name....Kyle.

I ended up spending the night with her and getting a little information about Mr. Kyle Scott. She met him during a lunch break at, The Grill, where he worked. She said he was quiet but he had finally starting saying hello to her just recently. I begged her to invite him to the bonfire we were having this Friday night. She didn't think he'd go without a lot of pushing and prodding. I decided we'd both ask him. She finally agreed and actually called Adam to enlist his help. Not so much for me, I really think she did it for Kyle, I think she felt sorry for him, not that she would ever say why.


Friday night rolled around and I got ready at Brooke's house for the bonfire. We always had so much fun. It was just a bunch of kids, playing loud music and cutting up. The bon fire was held on an empty lot right on the river, in the middle of nowhere. Woods surrounded the place. It was a perfect place to have a party. A friend from school, his parent's owned it, there was even a dock that included a floating dock. That was my favorite place to hang out, that floating dock. I couldn't help but wonder if Kyle would go. Brooke and I had gone together and invited him. He had his hair pulled into a pony tail and I could see his eyes again. I imagined what he'd look like without the beard, shorter hair and my goodness please stand up straight! He surprised us both when he looked straight at me and said, "I will be there. If you want me to be." I know I turned red and that is unusual for me. What else is unusual is for a guy to notice me before he notices Brooke. That never happens. Not that I'm ugly, I'm just not beautiful or breathtaking and she is. So that in itself was a miracle. He even stared into my eyes for a few seconds and then he grinned at me revealing straight, white teeth as his gloriously deep voice said, "Yes, I will be there, as long as you are." With that he turned and walked away straight and tall for the first time. I was blown away. Brooke and I giggled all the way to the car. I'm not sure what was going on but I really couldn't help but wonder who had gotten to him first?


When we arrived the party was kickin and it seemed everybody was there. The music was loud, beer was flowing and the bodies were swaying. I saw Trent and his conquest for the night....if she only knew what a dork he used to be. I decided she could thank me later. I stopped just on the edge of the "party area" scanning the crowd for Kyle. I noticed Brooke and Adam walking over hand in hand to talk to some friends. My eyes scanned the crowd, I even tried standing on my tip toes to look for him, disappointed I sighed loudly and started to head into the thick of the crowd.

I had taken one step when Kevin bumped into me saying "Hey baby. You lookin good!" My nose wrinkled in disgust he reeked of beer and smoke.

"Kevin stop it! Not only are you acting like a pig but you smell like one too!", I said with disgust as I attempted to walk around him.
He grabbed me around the waist pulling me closer to him, as I shoved him as hard as I could.
"Kevin! Stop it!," I yelled loudly as I continued to struggle. It seemed the more I fought the more he attempted to touch, kiss and hold me tighter. He seemed to grow arms. As his arms tightened around me, the smell beer heavy on his breath, I started to panic. I could not get away. As he pushed me further into the woods, I started to scream, in full out panic mode now. He just laughed while I hit him, flailing and yelling. The music was too loud. Nobody heard me. I started to cry as he started kissing my neck. He pinned me against a tree, the bark scrapped my back, as I hit, scratched and pulled anything my hands came in contact with. My heart raced as well as my mind. Fear and adrenaline pulsed through my veins rapidly. As we struggled he bound my wrists in one hand and held them above my head, as he took his other hand and ripped my shirt off, I watched in horror as it hit the ground. All I could do was cry,"No, please" as he untied my bikini top and I shuddered as it too fell to the ground. I turned my face away as he stared at my bare chest revealed, he moaned and his hand fondled and groped me. I felt like I was going to throw up as he started lifting my skirt, as I heard him unzip his pants. I knew he was going to rape me and there was nothing I could do about it, the realization of that crippled me. The horror of it all. I was whimpering, "No, please, no" to deaf ears. His eyes were cruel as he glared at me, his mouth a snarl, his intent written plainly on his face...... but then he was falling with a moan to the ground at my feet. I just stood there screaming not really seeing anything or anybody. I hugged myself as I frantically tried to cover myself with my arms and hands, I couldn't stop crying and the panic wouldn't go away. Somebody wrapped a shirt around me, holding me as they whispered in my ear, "You are alright, you are safe now, I've got you, you are ok". My legs crumbled but I was lifted off the ground and I could feel myself being carried. I was trembling all over as I realized how close I had come to being raped by a former boyfriend within sight of all my friends. None of them knew, none of them heard, I squeezed my eyes shut and my teeth started chattering. I was laid down gently on the floating dock and arms went around me . "Are you cold?" a voice whispered. I shook my head, no, but my teeth just wouldn't stop chattering. I couldn't stop trembling and I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't need to know who my savior was, I was just thankful I had one. I heard laughing all around me and I heard his voice say, "Hey! Would you go find her a coke please?" A drunken laugh and somebody said, "Sure, anything for Shel!" I felt the gentle rise and fall of the dock, I felt his chest rising and falling, I felt his hands rubbing my back, I felt his breath on my ear and all I could feel was cold. Just cold and darkness. A voice, his voice, rang out above all the other's,"My head is bleeding! Does anybody know why my head is bleeding?!" Loud, obnoxious laughter followed and I scrambled trying to get up, trying to flee."Shhh, he doesn't see us, you are safe now. Be still.", my savior whispered calmly in my ear and I was. I was given a Coke to drink. I didn't want it, I just wanted this feeling to go away. This darkness to go away. This feeling of panic and dread. I just wanted to lay there with whoever this savior of mine was. I felt safe here in his warm arms.

Eventually I stopped trembling, chattering and I stopped crying. I finally got the courage to open my eyes and when I did all I saw was the most beautiful green I had ever seen before. He smiled down at me, pushing my hair out of my face gently and with a whisper said, "Hello, Angel."


"Kyle!", I said in horror scrambling to sit up, fix my hair and my clothes.
He chuckled, shook his head at me and said, "Shelby, I think we are past all that. Don't you?" His eyes twinkled in the fading sunlight and I suddenly felt shy looking into those beautiful eyes of his. I looked away, pulled my knees to my chest and slowly nodded my head to signal, yes, indeed we were. I sat beside him in silence starring at the dark water. The sun was sinking slowly. His feet dangled off the dock, deep in thought, he reached for my hand and held it firmly in his grasp. I realized what he must have seen when he walked up on Kevin and me, suddenly I was humiliated. Tears just started running again and I just closed my eyes again, my head on my knees. I was worried about messed up hair and he had seen me without a shirt on. He had seen my skirt pulled up around my waist. I covered my head with my hands and sank lower into this darkness swirling around me.

"Shelby.", he whispered in my ear, pulling me into his arms again. "I'm so sorry he did that to you. You didn't deserve that, Shelby. What do you need?"

What did I need? I needed to have not come tonight. I needed to turn back the clock. I needed to get away from here. I needed to forget. I needed to put it behind me. I needed to swim. I just wanted to get in that cold water and swim. I looked at him and said, "Let's swim."
He raised his eyebrows and said, "You sure?"
"Absolutely! Do you know what happened to my bikini top?"
He smiled at me, mused my hair and handed it to me. Now came the laughter. It all seemed so bizarre. I barely knew Kyle and he was handing me my bikini top. I was wearing his shirt which smelled wonderful, I might add. We both laughed and I said, "Well, this is awkward." which made me laugh even more because this whole night had been nothing but awkward. I looked over at him while I was laughing and he was smiling with sad eyes looking straight at me. My lips started to quiver in spite of myself, I covered my face with my hands and he pulled me close again and I started to cry, again. He rubbed my back and just held me while I cried.... again. I couldn't keep doing this I had to get it together. This night had been a huge bust so far. I wanted some fun!
I dried it up and said, "Ok, let me figure out a way to decently get my top back on and we'll go swimming." He stood up, helping me to my feet. He towered over me , he never took his eyes off me and I suddenly felt so grateful to this guy. I mean he saved me tonight! He showed up at the perfect time and then had spent the rest of the night trying to put me back together. He was a hero in my eyes. I hugged him and said,"Thank you Kyle. Thank you." He hugged me back.

He was my shield, once again, while I replaced my bikini top. I removed my skirt and jumped in the water. It felt wonderful, cold and refreshing. I came up in time to see him jump, in his boxers, into the water after me. We laughed and dove under the water, I grabbed his shoulders as he swam by me and held on. When we surfaced I was hanging on his back, my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist, "Man, I could get used to this!", he said with a laugh. I kissed his cheek and he went back under again. He came back up and threw me through the air off his back. It was fun. I went back for more. He swam away from me, laughing and spraying me with water. I began to forget and enjoy him. I watched him as he swam under and came back up, I loved the way he shook the water out of hair, a side swoosh thing and I liked it. I loved the way his eyes sparkled when he smiled, the lopsided smile he sometimes got, my favorite. I went under and swam up to him grabbing his leg under water. He pulled me out of the water and I put my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him,"Thank you." I whispered, it was barely audible I felt his arms encircle my waist pulling me closer against him. He just looked into my eyes and whispered, "Why would anyone want to hurt something so beautiful?" We were face to face and my heart started to speed up. I hoped he would kiss me and he did. It was sweet and tender and I felt it all the way to my toes.

We climbed back onto the floating dock exhausted from swimming and just lay there beside each other, holding hands and looking at the stars. He was pointing out the constellations when Brooke showed up with Adam, wanting to know if I was ready to go. I wasn't. I could have sat there with him all night. I realized that I felt safe with him. I found him easy to be with and I loved to hear him laugh. We held hands as he walked me to the car. He just hugged me, promising to call me which would have ended the night perfectly if I hadn't noticed Kevin, standing by the fire, glaring a hole right through us.



I did not tell Brooke what had happened with Kevin but I filled her in about my night with Kyle. I didn't want to talk about Kevin, I didn't want to remember, I wanted to pretend like it never happened.

"Where did your shirt go?" She asked with raised eyebrows, as she plumped a pillow.

"Oh that! I forgot it! I'll probably never find it again.", I said all nonchalantly not looking at her. We were just climbing under the covers when her phone rang at 1 am. She hurried to answer it and her face went through one shocked look after another. She finally hung up and looked at me in confusion with her head tilted to one side. "Kyle beat up Kevin tonight? Adam said Kevin was standing by the fire drinking, laughing having a good time when Kyle walked up beside him and just stood there starring at him. Kevin asked him what his problem was. Kyle said, "You. You are my problem." With that he punched him. It took four guys to pull them apart. They think Kevin's nose is broken, not a scratch on Kyle. Adam said Kyle said,"You ever do that again......and I WILL kill you, bud. That's a promise." What in the world have we missed?" She shook her head as she climbed under the covers. I lay with my back to her, smiling as I pulled the covers up to my chin. My hero, literally, strikes again.

The next morning I woke up early and left before Brooke woke up. I had noticed the bruises on my arm and knew I couldn't keep her from noticing. So I just left. I didn't go home until after 8 ensuring that my parents would be gone to work. I made sure all the doors and windows were locked before I jumped into the shower. As I showered I did a body inventory of my "scars" from last night's event. I had ugly bruises on my arms, between my thighs, under my breasts, both wrists and my back felt all scratched up. My thoughts turned to Kevin.

I had met him the previous summer after football practice. Brooke and I were meeting Adam and some of his friends for lunch. Kevin was one of the friends. I had known who Kevin was most of my school years. I knew enough to know that his father was an abusive alcoholic and his mother an aggressive workaholic. Kevin had always been very quiet and to himself. Kevin excelled at football though and was quickly excepted into our friend "network". It was at the beach that I noticed what a hottie little Kevin had turned into. He was tall, buff and tan. Dark brown hair, brown eyes and since he was so quiet, mysterious could also be used to describe him. Who doesn't love a good mystery? It took two weeks of flirting just to get him to ask me out but he finally did. Things were going ok. I liked him alright but at times he would get real quiet and would just sit there brooding. He made me nervous at times to be honest. If I interrupted him in those moments he would yell at me angrily and storm off. I wouldn't hear from him for a day or two and then he would call like nothing had happened. The problem started when Kevin started drinking. He never would accept alcohol of any kind. He hated it actually. He didn't talk about his dad but I saw bruises come and go and I wondered just how abusive that man was. But one night at the bon fire, he was in one of his "brooding" spells and he accepted the beer that was offered him. He was a heavy drinker after that and he became increasingly obnoxious when he drank. The end for us was one night when he got mad at me and slammed me into a tree, knocking the wind out of me and sending me home with a knot on my head. We were still friends but I wouldn't date him anymore, not that he cared. Girls were no longer a problem for him. When he drank though, I would catch him starring at me, no matter who he was with, he would stare a hole through me. I didn't understand why he was mad at me? We started to notice that Kevin was having black outs and not remembering things he had done. People laughed but his close friends were starting to worry. Kevin was a good guy, he just wasn't one when he drank and we didn't know how to help him. But I knew at this point I was done with Kevin. He had scared me too badly last night. My hands started shaking just thinking how helpless I felt. How degraded and useless. I started to scrub my skin, I felt so dirty, so unclean. Oh what if Kyle hadn't come when he did? I scrubbed harder. I wish I had found my shirt and gotten rid of it. I started to panic thinking maybe somebody might find it. What if Kyle told somebody? I didn't know him that well, what if.....what if....Ok I had to get a grip. I had to do like I did last night. I had to put it behind me and move on. I had to stay away from Kevin. No more bon fires for this girl. That was for sure.

After my shower I examined my back in the mirror. I had scrapes and cuts on my back but it wasn't as bad as it felt. For that I was glad. But with all the bruises I was no longer going to be able to wear a bathing suit without someone noticing for a while anyway. Brooke and I had made plans to go to the beach, she would never understand if I wore a cover-up the whole time. I would have to think of something to tell her. Sigh. I pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and went in search of something to eat. Finding some yogurt I went into the living room and turned on the television. Plopping in a chair I curled up to eat my yogurt. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement through the window. I turned my head and there was Kevin looking in the window at me. I jumped up dropping the yogurt all over the carpet. Mom's white carpet, she was going to kill me. My heart was slamming into my chest as he and I starred at each other. The back of my house was floor to ceiling windows, a patio door leading to the porch Kevin was standing on. No shades or curtains covered them. We lived on the waterway down a long dirt road with no neighbors. His hand reached for the handle of the door and I took off running toward the phone. I thought of my options. My mind screaming at me to leave. We had three patio doors on the back of the house that all lead to the porch he was standing on. A side door off the kitchen and the front door. My keys to my car were in my bedroom, as I ran in that direction I could hear him screaming,"Shelby where are you going?" I heard him knocking on the door, saying, "Shelby, it's just me, Kevin. Come back!"
My heart was racing, I didn't know what to do. My brain knew that he probably wasn't drunk anymore which meant he probably was harmless. Wanting to know why Kyle hit him. But I couldn't help it, I was petrified of him now. I knew how strong he was, I now knew how powerless I was compared to him and I just wanted him to leave. I went in the hallway and peeked around the corner to see him still standing there scratching his head. He looked harmless and when he saw me he became annoyed. He had a bandage on the back of his head and on his nose. He raised his eyebrows and his hands at me," Well, are you going to open the door or what?"

I just shook my head no. He through his hands up and turned to somebody I couldn't see and said, "She's right there but she won't open the door!" He was getting angry, the vein in his neck started to tick. I saw someone else coming up on the porch. It was Adam. He smiled at me and said, "Hey, you going to let us in?" Relief flooded through me. Adam was here. I ran to the door and pulled Adam inside and went to shut the door in Kevin's face but Adam stopped me. He looked at me with confusion on his face and said, "It's just Kevin, Shelby. He wouldn't hurt a fly."

They came in and sat on my couch. I sat in a nearby chair, arms crossed, my stomach in knots. Adam looked from Kevin to me and back again. Kevin just sat there starring at me with a look of confusion on his face. I was trying to keep my teeth from chattering when Kevin leaned forward to touch my knee and I jumped over the chair getting out of it, my eyes bugging and my heart speeding up. Adam and Kevin both looked at me like I had horns on my head.

Adam's eyes started to narrow and he looked from Kevin back to me. He cleared his throat and said, "Kevin, I think you'd better wait in the truck."

Kevin didn't like that and started to protest and Adam said, "NOW!"

Kevin stood and started to walk in my direction but Adam beat him to me and just put his arm around me leading me to my bedroom. He closed the door behind us and let me go. He let out his breath and started rubbing the back of his neck. He pulled something from his back pocket and said, "I guess that explains this then." He threw my torn shirt on my bed and looked at me with concern in his eyes.
"Shels, are you ok? My God, what did he do to you?"

I chewed on my lip and wouldn't look at him. He was being nice but I didn't want anybody to know, nobody, not even Brooke. I would not cry, I would not fall apart, I would not even look at that shirt. I grabbed it off the bed, wadded it up and threw it in the trash can.

I turned to look at him,"If it hadn't been for Kyle, it would have been really bad. But the good news is, Kyle was there, Kyle stopped it and all is well now. I do not want to talk about it with you or anybody else. Please don't tell Brooke. I ....can't.....talk... about it." My voice betrayed me and huge tears fell unwanted down my face. I wiped them away angrily. "Please take him away from my house and tell him that I can't be his friend anymore."

"Oh come on Shelby, you know Kevin couldn't hurt a fly! Was it really that bad?", Adam asked in disbelief.

I pulled my sleeve up exposing the nasty looking bruise, first one and then the other. I turned and showed him my back. I grabbed the shirt from the trash and threw it back to him. "Maybe he wouldn't hurt a fly but he hurt ME!" I shouted at him. I was really angry now. "There are more bruises, Adam, but it wouldn't be decent to show you! I'm glad Kyle bashed his head and I'm glad Kyle broke his nose! He deserved it!"

Adam ran his hand through his hair and just sat there. He looked up at me, shock on his face as he noticed the ugly bruises on my wrists. He grabbed my hands turning them over as the light clicked on in his head about what Kevin had done. "My God. He has no idea." He stood to leave and said,"You can't expect me not to tell Brooke, Shelby. That's not fair. I will tell Kevin to leave you alone." As he was walking out the door he turned to me and said," You know one of the saddest things about this is that he says he loves you. He says he wants you back, would do anything to get you back." With that he sighed and walked away.


After watching them drive away, I cleaned up the yogurt and thought about how I was going to tell Brooke. She wouldn't understand why I hadn't told her last night. She wouldn't understand why I had left her house so early. I was going to hurt her and I knew it but I couldn't talk about it yet. I wanted to pretend it never happened. If I talked about it like Adam had just forced me to do how could I forget it? Kevin wanted me back? Whatever!

I straightened up the house and about 10am the phone rang. I answered it and it heard,"Hey, Angel." His deep voice was like silk over the phone.
"Hey, you." I said with a smile.
"So, I have a surprise for you if you can leave today. You up for it?"
"Name the time and the place, I love surprises!"
"Give me ten minutes. Oh and tell me where you live?", He said with a laugh.

Finally the doorbell rang and I ran to the door. Through the glass door I could not believe my eyes! There he was grinning back at me. The pink was gone from his hair, his hair was cut to about his chin and speaking of chins his beard was gone as well. He wore khaki shorts and a t-shirt, docksiders on his feet, be still my beating heart! I opened the door and threw myself in his arms! He lifted me off my feet and he just held me there for a minute. He chuckled, "Wow, what a greeting! I haven't even shown you the surprise yet!"

I pulled back from him and squealed! I loved surprises. He put me down and led me to his jeep. He had taken the top down so I put my hair in a ponytail while he climbed into the drivers seat. We made small talk on the way to my "surprise" how he had quit The Grille and gotten a new job that he started on Monday.

"I wasn't making enough money at The Grille. I'll miss it but I'll make more money in the heat, swinging a hammer. Not to mention all the bikinis I'll get to see working on the roof of a house.", he gave me his best lopsided grin and raised his eyebrows at me. I laughed and lightly punched his arm. "Hey, don't hit me yet, my muscles aren't as developed as they will be after this summer. You just wait, you are going to be on the arm of a stub by summer's end!" I laughed at him and thought, have you seen yourself? I already am!

The top down on the Jeep made for a fun ride. He turned on Aerosmith and we flew down the highway.

"How about a hint?" I said putting my feet in the seat and turning towards him.
"No hints.", He said.
"Oh come on! Please?" I threw in a pout for good measure.
"Uh oh, good thing we're almost there because I'm going to be a sucker for that pout of yours. Yep, putty in your hands!"

He pulled off Seashore Road onto a narrow dirt road. We were suddenly enclosed in heavy woods. He had to go slowly because of the branches hitting the vehicle on each side. It seemed to go on forever before we came to a little clearing, like a cul de sac with an old clapboard house sitting behind it. The house was old with peeling paint, the woods were encroaching upon it slowly. It was so shady there yet you could see the waterway through the trees. The house was a rectangle with a porch around half of the front and down the side. It was neat and tidy. Welcoming in spite of the peeling paint. Somebody had been cleaning. I noticed a hammock and two rockers just begging for you to come have a seat. I looked at him quizzically. He grinned at me, helped me out of the jeep and said, "We have a quick stop to make before we head to your surprise." He led me up the stairs and through the front door. The television was on but nobody was watching it. I heard kids in the back and somebody humming to my right. As my eyes adjusted to the light I saw I was in the living room, I looked to my right and there in the kitchen humming was none other than "glare" woman. My heart sank. She noticed us and her face lit up with a smile.
"Welcome! Welcome! I'm Ruby. Come in, come in!" She kissed Kyle on the cheek and grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed my cheek too. She smelled like lemon.

"I am Kyle's mama. It's so nice to meet you...Shelby right? Would you like to have a seat?" She pointed to a chair.
"Mom, you know we aren't staying. I just came for the bag."
She laughed a smoker's laugh and shook her head. "That's right, that's right. Okay, what did I do with it? Ah! Here it is! Here it is!"
"Thanks mom. Ok, Shelby let's go." He put his hand on the small of my back to steer me out the door but she grabbed him by the arm and tried to whisper,"You treat her like a lady Kyle Scott! I mean it!" He just chuckled, shook his head, guiding me out the door. I yelled,"It's nice to meet you!" just before he slammed it. He tucked the bag under his arm and grabbed me by the hand leading me into the woods. I stopped. "The woods, Kyle, seriously?"
He looked back at me incredulously,"You would make your surprise wait because you are a chicken? What's in these woods that's gonna hurt you?"
"Tons of stuff like snakes, ticks, fleas, scary stuff!"
He rolled his eyes at me and said, "Quit being such a girl and come on!" He pulled me on, holding branches so they wouldn't hit me in the face. We finally made it to a trail and the going was much easier. He held my hand as we walked, the birds were chirping, a gentle breeze blowing the leaves, it was nice. We were alone, he had me a surprise and all was fantastic with the world.
He stopped at an area where the woods started again. "Ok, just have to make it through these little teeny briars and we'll be there. Man, I should have chopped them down. Hold on." Putting the bag down he pulled a knife from his pocket and proceeded to cut the briers out of the way. "Ok, now get ready to be totally amazed." He said smiling. He held the bushes as open as he could so I could pass through. A little climb and I had entered into an area that was completely enclosed with trees. It made like a little room, you could see the waterway peeking through an opening in the trees. It was like a room with a view and your own private beach. I oohed and ahhed. Wisteria was blooming, the purple blossoms making a beautiful ceiling. "What is this place?" I whispered in awe. Looking all around at the trunks of the oak trees and the bay trees. It was amazing.
"This, my dear girl, is my childhood playhouse. I discovered it when I was a dear lad and you are the first person to know of it's location. I'm afraid I didn't think it through, I always said that I would have to kill the person who found it." I laughed as my eyes came upon a blanket set up in the center of the hideaway with a cooler beside it. A vase holding a single wisteria bloom sat on the blanket. "What's all this?" I asked grinning.
"Picnic anyone?" He asked grinning back. He led me to the blanket and we sat down. He pulled drinks from the coolers. From the bag he pulled out homemade sausage and egg biscuits, strawberries and cheese danishes that appeared to be homemade as well. My stomach growled at just that moment, though embarrassing it made us laugh.
"Perfect timing sir!,"I said. We ate and it was delicious. The breeze off the water felt wonderful. I was so incredibly blown away by his kindness. Nobody had ever done anything like this for me. It was so romantic and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I loved the way his hair curled at the tips, his eyes with their long, thick lashes, the thickness of his neck, the large hands, the little blond hairs on his fingers...he was beautiful and I couldn't stop starring at him.
"Ah that was delicious but I can't eat another bite!," I said dramatically falling backwards my hand on my forehead. He chuckled at me and laid down beside me.
"The flowers are so beautiful. Kyle, this place is just beautiful! So you played here as a little boy?" I asked rolling toward him, propping my head on hand.
"Well, when we visited I did. This is my granddaddy's house and land. So when we came to visit I'd head straight here.You have no idea the damsels that have been saved here or the pirates that have been fought. Darth Vader showed up a time or two, that one was a close call!" We laughed. I rolled back to my back and just starred up at the flowers.
"So when did you move here or are you just visiting again?" I held my breath. I'm not sure I could handle it if I found out he was leaving right now. I realize it had just been a night and a day but still I would be crushed. We'd been through a ton of stuff already.
"Oh no, dear girl, I'm here, now, to stay. We moved here a couple of years ago."
"Well, thank goodness!" I said not caring to play any games with this guy. I liked him, alot and I wanted him to know.
"Are you saying that you're happy to be stuck with me?! Is that what I'm hearing?", he laughed and turned to look at me. "I'm really glad to hear that Shelby Pierce."
I rolled over on my stomach and traced his lips with my finger,"Surely, you knew that?" I looked at him laying there on his back, hands behind his head, his feet crossed and I fell in love. It was that moment. Yes, that was the moment I fell in love.
"So tell me about the pink hair?", I said running my fingers through his hair.
He laughed, "I could but you wouldn't believe me."
"Try me."
He looked at me with those beautiful green eyes and said, "I did it for you."
"For me?", I said all confused now.
"I heard you were only interested in boys unless you could fix them. Obviously this doesn't need any help so I created some and it worked I might add."
"Why you little....jerk!" I couldn't decide whether to be angry at him for saying that about me, yes it was true but I only thought Brooke knew that information. Then again he did go to all that trouble to get me. That did make me feel good, honestly.
"Hey don't be mad! A guys gotta do what a guys gotta do! When I saw you that first day I attended your school I said to my friend, I'm going to marry that girl someday. He didn't believe me, of course, but I knew. I tried to get your attention but you were too busy helping the unfortunate. I had to do something drastic and I did. Pink highlights, that terrible beard and slumped shoulders, nothing says help like that, am I right?"
I laughed in spite of myself, thinking about his words. Did he say he was going to marry me one day?
"Did I hear you speak of marriage? On the first date at that?"
"Well, I'm just telling you what I know. I knew when I saw you. I can't explain it but I said to myself, self, that beautiful girl is going to be my wife one day!"
I laughed, "Oh you did not!"
He did not laugh, he just shrugged his shoulders like believe me or not it's you choice. "Wait did you say beautiful?"
He looked at me in disbelief and said,"Of course. Oh come on! You know you're beautiful as well as I do!"
"Yeah right. Save it sport!"
"Here, I'll prove it to you beautiful! Come here!" He pulled me to my feet and dragged me to a nearby tree. Somebody had nailed a mirror to a tree years ago, the nails were rusty and you could tell it had been there a while. He wiped it with his shirt, stood behind me and pointed to the mirror.
"Let me introduce you to the most beautiful girl in the world, my future wife. Behold her hair of brown silk, sometimes it hangs straight to her shoulder blades, sometimes she wears it curly, some days if she's running late, which are my favorite days I might add, she pulls it into a ponytail. I like the ponytail because I can see her perfect little ears and flawless, slender neck better." For emphasis, he kissed my neck saying, "Don't distract me. Now onto her flawless golden, tanned skin, it's soft and smooth. Her eyes are the blue of the ocean on a a clear summers day, her cheeks a natural rose, she has the cutest little perky nose with just a dash of freckles and her lips are soft and full, at times they are pouty but they always begged to be kissed.", he adds a kiss. "Standing at around 5'6, I'd say, she has a petite frame with slender perfectly shaped arms, an ample....well, you know. A narrow waist and these hips, my my, but then we have the legs. Best looking lips and legs in town. Hands down!"
I laughed and said,"Whatever!"
He looked at me all confused in that moment,"You really don't know? How can you not see what is right in front of your face? Don't you know that every guy at that school dreams about you?"
"Kyle, please, they have Brooke and Shayna to dream about."
He laughed at that and looked at me like I was crazy. "Girl, I hate to break it to you but you are the one that is talked about in the locker room. You are the one they are all waiting to see run out in that little cheerleading outfit. Sure, Brooke is pretty but she's your classic pretty blonde haired, blue eyed girl that every town has. Granted she's nicer than most but still. And Shayna, although, not bad on the eyes, only gets dates like she does because she puts out."
"Well, they may talk about me but they never stay. They always leave. Why do they leave?"
"Oh my precious, sweet angel of a girl it's because you don't put out. And you open the door to every girl they've ever dreamed of. You make them seem worthy and the girls flock to them."
"So how long are planning to stay then?"
"Oh, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here til death do us part. You wait and see. I fell in love with those pretty blue eyes the day I saw them the first time. I finally got them to look in my green ones and honestly, I'm hooked. Head over heels, ready or not." he was so close to me and these words he just whispered. "Do you believe me Shelby? Will you walk down that aisle with me one day?"
"Honestly Kyle at this moment, I'd go anywhere you wanted me to." He kissed me then. A gentle, sweet kiss that quickly turned into something more passionate. Our arms were around each other, I held on to him tighter and I didn't want it to end. I wanted to stay in his arms. No I had never put out and they left. I didn't want him to leave. Did I believe he wouldn't? I was too scared to find out and he made me want to give myself completely to him. There was an electricity between us that I couldn't explain and I didn't want to explain, I wanted to see where it took us. We were breathing rapidly, my fingers were in his hair and I pressed against him. I could feel him against me and I moaned in spite of myself. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him, I pressed tighter against him. He laid me on the blanket and before I knew it I had taken my shirt off, I didn't think about it I just did it. He took his shirt off and I reached for him, his eyes were glazed over but suddenly he was shocked back to reality. He had seen my bruises.

He pulled his shirt back on. He took my arm in his hand and lifted it, His teeth clenched in anger, his jaw muscles working, then he noticed my wrists. He saw the hug bruise just below my bra and he stood pacing back and forth. His fists were balled up and he drew back like he was going to hit a tree. Scared, I screamed, "No!" He stopped, looking at me and shook his head as if to clear the anger. I stood up and turned my back on him to put my shirt back on suddenly feeling shy, taking my shirt of, what was I thinking. I heard the intake of his breath and I felt him behind me with a low, angry voice he said ,"Shelby your back is bleeding baby." He got something and wiped my back off. He hugged me to him as he said,"He'll never hurt you again as long as I'm breathing do you hear me?" We just stayed that way for awhile. Me, leaned against him, his head on my shoulder, me holding the arm that was draped across my chest for dear life. I believed him. I believed that he would do everything in his power to make sure Kevin never hurt me again. I felt safe in these arms of his. Eventually we parted and he helped me to put my shirt back on.

He cleared his throat, took my hand and with a wink said, "Come on Angel! I have something to show you." He lead me through the little archway that led to the beach. We emerged to a tiny sandy beach with two chairs waiting for us. The day was beautiful, the water blue and sparkling. The wind blew giving us a breeze. We sat and talked for hours. How he made me laugh! I could listen to him for days. He told me about his family. They had moved here from Myrtle Beach. His granddaddy had become too ill to stay alone and his mother Ruby took care of her daddy til he passed away 6 months later. His dad was the captain of his own shrimpboat, along with his older brother Kendall who was named after their dad. The person who held his heart seemed to be his mom, Ruby. He spoke of their financial difficulties and how they needed for nothing. Ruby made sure of it.She kept kids on the side trying to make extra money. When Kyle started working he would secretly put money in her money jar, trying to help out. He would always find it later, in his car, under his pillow, in his lunch and he always knew it was from her because she would attach a note with a heart on it. He had such respect for her and I loved to hear him talk about her.

I told him about my family or at least as much as I understood. I was an only child with two loving and adoring parents until last year. It was like they had decided to give up parenting. They went from over protective one day to gone the next day. I would go for days without seeing them. They would be gone when I woke up and wouldn't return until I was asleep. I never knew when they would or wouldn't be there. We never spoke hardly at all anymore. When they were home I either stayed in my bedroom or left. It was sad but the truth.

He took me home about 5:30. As he pulled into the circular drive in front of my house the dread grew. Nobody was home. All I could do was stare at that empty house, my stomach was in knots. Kevin knew where I lived and he knew my parents were never home. We were totally secluded down a long dirt road with only one other house on it. They came down for weekends only and I barely knew them. My home was accessible from the waterway and our floating dock made that even easier. What I used to love when I was having parties and living it up became my worst nightmare and I dreaded going in that house. I absently chewed my lip and just stared at the door.

"Shelby, you alright?", Kyle asked startling me. He took my hand, concern written all over his face. "Do you want me to stay until your parents get home?"

Of course, I did. I never wanted him to leave. Actually I wanted him to turn the jeep around and take me with him. Back to our hideout, back to safety. But that wouldn't be the way my parents needed to meet him. They would not have approved of a guy being in the house alone with me unless they approved of him. Ironically, they approved of Kevin. I sighed,"No, I'll be fine." Even I could hear the tremble in my voice.

He took me in and made sure I was alone and the doors were all locked. He hugged me and kissed me promising to call. I watched him drive away and my heart slammed into my chest. I practically ran to my room, slammed the door and locked it behind me.