Free So Shall I Reap by Kathy-Lynn Cross Page A

and neck with it. Smooth pale skin became one color that blended in with the fire red hair strands. Then my best feature would go dry and that made it hard for me to spit the gritty words out. Tonight, I was proud to say, was not one of those nights. I started to feel prickly heat from the welts forming, but he was in my sights as I unhinged for rapid fire.
    Narrowing both eyes to black slits, like one of those angry Emoticons you use in text, I exploded. “What the hell, Tod? All I asked was where we were going. You had to be all 1950s and pull the little woman doesn’t need to know routine. Who and what makes you so superior to me anyway? I like you, Tod, I really do, but I think it’s time to call this what it is. You’re a Neener-Wad.” I completely failed at making up polite curse words because of trying to curb the cussing scale. Unfortunately, the words sounded like playground language at a preschool. “I would call you something else, but you’re not worth me lowering several I.Q. points to speak jock.” Oh, my goshness. Did I just do that? Wait? Did I threaten to no longer see him? Okay, maybe now I know why I can’t peel my tongue off the roof of my mouth in an argument. It’s the body’s way of making me shut up before something stupid comes out. Not thinking before you speak always comes back to haunt you, like the Internet, once it’s out there, you can never completely delete it.
    It wasn’t as if my heart had a one-way door, revolving was more like it. But I was nowhere near ready for a leash and collar. At school, the boys called me the Eight-Second Girl. If I didn’t throw you off while you tried to break me, I might stick around for a while. I knew Tod’s hands were getting chafed from the ride. The kisses were good but in all honesty, I was getting tired of trying to buck him off.
    We stopped at another red light. In the glow, he appeared to be concentrating on something as I watched him slowly nod to himself. This is it; I opened the door of opportunity. With Tod zoned out, the truck seemed to accelerate through the intersection on its own. Driving the speed limit, I seriously thought he was going to drop me off at the next corner. To my shock, he did something entirely out of character.
    Tod used the steering wheel to help shuck out of his letterman’s jacket, and he tossed it at me while clearing his throat. Both hands gripped the wheel until his knuckles were white. He stared out the windshield, sighing with a heaviness so palpable it vibrated throughout the cab. Tod really appeared vulnerable, setting off every worry sensor, mimicking that high-pitched, balloon ear squeal.
    “You really feel that way? Because I don’t. I was hoping you would start wearing my jacket tonight and make us official. But I didn’t want to ruin the mood by telling you where we were going right off. I already had a feeling you weren’t going to be excited about it. Unfortunately, now I know you’re really not going to like it.” He took his left hand off the steering wheel and massaged the back of his neck. Tod must have been feeling the onset of an Alexcia headache coming on.
    I found myself staring at him, similar to a deer’s disbelieving look just before a vehicle takes its legs out. Thank goodness, I was still sitting in the truck. Unspoken words floated in the air around me… intertwining with his. Did the insinuation of, we should stop seeing each other get lost in translation somehow?
    “Yeeesss…” was my only response as I stared at his jacket. It smelled of AXE body wash and spray. The frown deepened, shifting my gaze from his jacket to his eyes. Then, I remembered where I had stuffed patience. It was getting moldy sitting in the untouched morals box. I stopped the first of many responses before saying something I would regret.
    “Got a text from Scott tonight. He’s laid up with the flu. Party’s off.” He cleared his throat again. “We were invited to another party, but I had turned