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“No!” Julie screamed, and vaulted upright on
the bed. She grabbed her bathrobe and pulled herself up to stand.
Her head spun as the blood drained to her feet. She wiggled her
toes and heard his voice telling her
‘even your toes are
cute.’
It took her back to that happy day at the pond. He was
playful, loving, and carefree. It didn’t matter how many joyous
memories she had with him, she couldn’t deny it anymore. No matter
how desperately she tried to avoid the inevitable truth. Trucker
wasn’t the good guy. He wasn’t the prince. He was something she
didn’t quite understand, but he was
hers.

Taking her netbook out of the top drawer of
the bedside table, she slid down on the bed and opened it. She had
to know what she was up against. She logged on the Internet. In the
search engine, she typed: black eyes, extreme speed, inhumanly
beautiful, hard blazing skin, canine teeth. She scratched the
teeth. That was something in her dream, not anything she had
witness first hand. All she got was a list of sites on gods.
Trucker already said he was no god. Whatever he was, he was
something outside the possibility of rational thinking. Flustered,
she slung the netbook on the bed and got up to take a bath.

Trucker would be there shortly. That thought
sent shivers up and down her spine. It wasn’t the shivers a sane
person would have. It was shivers of pure unadulterated joy.
Against Julie’s better judgment, she was elated. Before climbing
into the bath, Julie checked her cellphone and saw a text flashing
on the screen. It was from Trucker
;
he’d sent it just a few
minutes before.

My sweet, sweet angel

words cannot express how much you

mean to me. Seeing you lay in my arms is the
most

beautiful thing my eyes have ever seen. I
never

wanted to hide anything from you.

I am not scared of telling you.

I am scared of losing you.

If I lose you, I lose everything!

You own me

Julie was not positive about much at that
moment, but she was positive, she was not going anywhere. Trucker
was what she wanted. She loved him. Her thumb stroked over the
phone’s keypad as she thought how she would reply to his most
recent text.

I don’t want to own you.

I want to love you.

I do love you.

Truck’s Girl <3

NO BABY, YOU CAN’T!!!

I’m not the kind of person

someone loves.

Too late.

I already do.

No more texts.

I will see you soon.

Truck’s Girl <3 (ALWAYS)

Julie switched her phone off and sunk down in
the tub. She couldn’t fathom why he would say that ‘
he was not
the kind of person you loved.’
He was exactly the kind of
person she wanted to love. He was kind, generous, and always put
her first. The beauty of his face though inconceivable had nothing
on the beauty of his heart. The depravity of his soul, however, was
marked and heartbreaking. How he could not see his worth was beyond
her. “
I love you, Truck and nothing you do or are can stop
me,”
Julie silently told herself. Pulling the stopper out of
the drain, Julie fought back tears. She wished there was a way to
drain Trucker of his grief. She gladly would fill him with all the
love she had in her.

She sat at her makeshift vanity wanting to
make a good impression on his mom. Julie felt a touch of resentment
to her. A small part of his unhappiness had to lay on his mom’s
shoulders. She was his mom. She should have showed him his
value.

Never the less, Trucker loved her and Julie
wanted to make him proud. She also wanted him to think she was
somewhat pretty. For the first time in her life, Julie decided to
dress up. Knowing Trucker’s favorite color was green, she wore a
kelly green wrap dress with black thong flip-flops. She raided her
mom’s jewelry box and picked out a simple pair of pearl stud
earrings that had belonged to her Grandma Emison. She topped off
her outfit with a powder blue shawl that reminded her of Trucker’s
eyes.

On cue the doorbell rang, if Trucker was
anything, it was punctual. Julie checked herself in the mirror one
more time before running toward the door to let him in. Trucker
smiled as Julie flung the door open a little too fervently. Julie’s
eyes traced over the unblemished planes of his face. The soft curve
of his lip, the straight slope of his nose, the hard square of his
jawline, the impeccable clarity of his eyes framed by a thick
fringe of black lashes, the chocolate hue of his tousled hair all
called out for her touch. She wondered if she would ever grow
immune to his perfection. He was wearing his customary linen
button-up shirt and blue jeans. She felt lightheaded.

“You’re a stunner,” Trucker whispered as he
bent down and ever so lightly kissed her forehead. “Inhale,” he
murmured against her skin with a small chuckle.

Julie realized she had forgotten to breathe
as she often did in his presence. She took a deep breath and smiled
at the friskiness in his mannerism.

He stormed the door and abruptly seized her.
“Wow, you really do look breathtaking.” The world might have viewed
her as ordinary, but he made her feel like she was everything but.
He slowly rubbed his hand down her side, and started lightly
trailing her neck with the most delicate of kisses.

“You’re too perfect,” she said in
embarrassment.

He laughed. “And I haven’t even released my
magic on you.”

“Then don’t.” If he hadn’t released his magic
on her yet, she could begin to imagine why her parents were so
crazy about him.

“I won’t. I want you to see the real me.” He
nibbled down the length of her jawbone. “Come on, its time you meet
the other two ladies in my life.”

Julie watched him effortlessly race down Main
Street. He drove one handed, his other hand was twined tightly
around hers. His eyes never left her face, her eyes, her lips, yet
the car never drifted from the center of the road. It still amazed
her how every task seemed to come easy and without thought to him.
She often wondered if there was anything he couldn’t do.

“Slow down?” Julie screamed as she realized
the speed they were going. No matter how infallible his driving
skills were, she didn’t want to chance becoming road kill.

“I got it, babe. I would never let a car hurt
you.” He winked and bit his tongue.

Hearing his suppressed laugh sent her over
the edge. She stuck her tongue out at him. She knew her unnatural
fear of traffic was absurd to him. A smile split his face whenever
her foot would slam on her imaginary brake, her hands would fly in
the air, or when she tried to hold back a scream when another car
pulled too close.

“Relax, Angel. We’re almost home,” Trucker
said as he lovingly stroked her hand. Julie wanted to reach over
and wipe the smirky smile off his face.

“You’re going a stinking hundred and six
miles an hour,” she said and pointed to his in-dash GPS; which
clearly stated his miles per hour.

“My reflexes are above normal.” He cocked his
head and smiled. “Furthermore, I don’t want to slow down. I find
your completely human reactions enduring,” he said and gave a smug
shrug of his shoulder. Julie crossed her arms and let out a deep
breath. She knew she had been defeated. She just prayed he didn’t
kill them.

Trucker’s phone vibrated noisily in his cup
holder. Julie clearly saw the name Emily light up across the
screen. He hastily snatched it up.

“Later,” he seethed, slamming the phone
down.

The phone sounded back off immediately,
Trucker quickly turned it off and chucked it in the backseat. Emily
meant something to him. More than that, Emily knew what he wouldn’t
tell Julie. That thought was depressing. His words came back to
her,
“No baby, you can’t. I’m not the kind of person someone
loves.”
Even more than his words, were Emily’s,
“Don’t
forget who you are, Trucker.”
Was he Emily’s first?

“Truck, is she,” Julie started to ask, and
shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Is Emily an ex or . . . even
current girlfriend?”

Trucker skidded to the side of the road and
slammed on his brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt. The
seatbelt tightened around Julie, crushing her into the seat.
Trucker moved toward Julie, she clamped her eyes shut as his scent
washed over her already weakened exterior. The close proximity was
excruciating. He moved his nose down her delectable neck. Julie
arched her head to give him access. His skin only centimeters from
hers never made contact.

“It’s only you, you’re all that matters.”

She tried pulling back, her body unwilling to
obey her frazzled brain. “Then why do you not want me loving
you?”

Trucker looked completely and utterly lost.
It was as if she sucker punched him. His eyes widen with pure,
undiluted horror. “Baby, you can’t . . . It will be hard enough
when you leave me as it is,” Trucker whispered, his eyes filled
with fear.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Julie replied.
Trucker didn’t speak. He switched on the radio as he sped off. His
stare was penetrating. The storm clouds in his bewitching eyes
finally swept down and blew through her heart leaving her
needing.

Still draped in silence they pulled up to a
set of enormous gates, Julie gathered they were finally there. The
entrance was ornate; his family name ‘Castleman’ was spelled out
overhead in iron. He rolled his window down and punched some
numbers into a little box. The gates opened up to a perfectly
manicured yard. Sitting on a hill was a massive house, more
ostentatious than the one they were building back in Promise
Land.

“It’s beautiful,” she said almost
flabbergasted. She saw what they were building back home, so why
was she so surprised about that stupendous home?

“I’m glad you like it,” he said with a
nervous laugh. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “It’ll be
ours one day.”

Her heart stuttered at what he said. It
wasn’t the house that put the smile on her face, but the fact he
was visioning a ‘them'. He pulled into the garage, where she
counted eight more cars, each as spectacular as his; if not more
so. They went into the side door of that stately home and walked
into an enormous kitchen. It was bright and cheery. The south wall
was entirely made of glass and overlooked an enchanting garden. The
island itself was bigger than her whole kitchen. On the massive
slab of granite were at least a dozen white roses if not more.
Trucker dropped her bags on the tile floor. Julie’s breathing got
heavy as it dawned on her that she was spending the weekend in that
home. Julie finally would get to meet his mom and see him clown
around with his sister. And if she were lucky, maybe, she would be
one step closer to solving the puzzle that was Trucker Douglas
Castleman. A woman walked in, yanking Julie out of her
contemplations. The lady struck Julie as being very beautiful, but
surprisingly not as beautiful as Trucker and his dad. Julie noticed
her eyes. They were the same shade of blue as Trucker’s, but they
were warm and soft. Her hair was blond, but a fake color blond. Her
face was very appealing and kind. Julie couldn’t see the malevolent
look that Trucker and his dad often had.

Trucker slowly turned. “Mom,” he said as he
flashed his marvelous award-winning smile. “This is my Julie.”

He walked toward her dragging Julie with him.
His mom offered him her cheek. Trucker kissed her lightly yet
sweetly. It was obvious that she adored Trucker and Julie could see
the love Trucker had for his mom. So she found it odd that they
didn’t touch.

“Julie, this is my mom, Catherine.”

Catherine beamed at Julie before reaching out
to hug her. Julie couldn’t help but smile, when she noticed the
difference in his mannerism with Catherine, than she witnessed the
night before with his dad.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Julie acknowledged,
stuffing her hands in her back pockets.

“It’s great to finally meet you. He never
quits talking about you.”

Julie cut her eyes over to Trucker and
noticed she wasn’t the only one capable of blushing.

“Thanks, mom,” he said, giving her his
adorable lopsided smile. “Where’s my little girl at?” Trucker asked
with a playful gleam to his eye. He grabbed a soda from the fridge
and threw one over to Julie.

“She’s asleep, don’t go waking her up.”
Catherine answered, pointing her finger at him. “I’m the one who
will have to see after her if she’s all cranky.”

“Who me? Never.” He pointed to himself and
laughed. Jumping up, he planted himself on the counter top, pulled
Julie between his legs, and popped a grape in his mouth.

Truck, I love you like this. Why are you
just now letting me meet your mom?

“Julie, Larry told me you were coming to our
little dinner party Saturday night?” Catherine said. Julie heard a
faint growl come from Trucker when Catherine mentioned the dinner
party. “Baby, it’ll be okay. I’ll help watch out for her.”
Catherine reassured him. Julie wondered if he hated for his family
to meet her or if he hated for her to meet his family. About that
time she heard a faint sound of ‘mommy’ come from Catherine’s pants
pocket. Catherine reached down and pulled out a baby monitor.

“She’s awake now,” Trucker said, excited.
“Come on, Angel. It’s time to meet your competition.”

He dragged her down a long hallway that led
to a grand staircase. Julie touched the banister at the bottom of
the stairs. It was made of a finely polished wood. Her fingers
easily glided over it. She was marveling at all the small but
exquisite details of the house, when Trucker easily threw her over
his shoulder and bolted up the stairs. He put her down when they
reached the top and slowly traced her waist with his fist. His
intense stare never left her eyes.