Little Conversations (17 page)

Devin closely examined the items before her. 

A napkin from prom, the silver scrolling letters on the deep
blue background that spoke of remembering forever.  Her thumb brushed across
the words as she thought of that particular night.  A sweet kiss from Jake on
the dance floor.  The feel of her satiny dress as it swished around her legs. 
The songs played by the DJ and the flash of his lights.  The way Jake had
appeared in his tux that night, standing at her front door and holding a
corsage that he’d slipped onto her wrist.  And then the inevitable fight. 
There was always a fight.

She watched her hand hypnotically as it slowly clenched the
napkin, drawing it into a little ball.  The sensation was freeing, and she
continued to squeeze and clench it, savoring the liberation it gave.  Then she
dropped it into the garbage can by her dresser. 

Then there were the pictures.  The first was of her and Jake
together.  Jake was laughing as he stood with his arm around her.  Devin
looked… sad.  Funny, because whenever she had looked at this picture before,
she had thought she exuded more of a sweet, demure air.  Now, looking closely
at the expression in her eyes?  That was definitely sadness.  And this oddly
made her smile a bit.  It empowered her to have this moment of clarity.  She
breathed a chortle. 
Why?  Why had she held onto something for so long that
had made her feel so worthless?
  She crushed the picture into her palm,
dropping it into the garbage can, too.  One by one, the rest of the photos
followed, as did the ticket stubs, the cards, a receipt. 

Finally, she picked up the necklace.  A small heart made of
Black Hills gold—leaves and a rosebud in the green and pink shades, typical of
the metal’s design.  At the time Jake had given it to her, she had been
elated.  Tears had filled eyes and she had clutched it to her as though he had
given her the Hope diamond.  It had been her proof that he loved her.  Because
he loved her, really truly loved her, he had bought this little gold heart to
place around her neck.  She had worn it every day, just to feel the closeness. 

She looked at it now, deliberating on what to do with it. 
It was pretty, even though, as she stared at it now, she realized that she had
read entirely too much into it at the time.  It was far from unique.  They were
sort of a dime a dozen.  If you saw one of these, you’d see a million at the
little touristy shops along the highways of Montana.  She’d even seen similar
little bits of jewelry in gas stations around town.  Nicer gas stations with
little gift shops that catered to vacationers, but, nonetheless… gas stations. 
Jake had probably picked it up as an afterthought while filling up his truck.  He’d
actually likely spent more on the gas than the necklace.

Her fingertips gradually straightened and she watched as the
necklace slipped out of her hand into the trash can.  She looked at it for a
split second, lying on the crumpled remains of what had been her whole life
over the past few years. 

And she felt free.

The heat was excruciating, at least for Montana.  The
weatherman said it was ninety-six degrees in the shade.  Hotter than blazes.  It
was a perfect day to escape the burning pavement of town.  Back in the mountains,
in the trees, to the cool water of the reservoir. 

Devin sat between Ronin and Joe as they bumped along the dusty
road heading up past the dam.  Amy had slipped in with Matt, a real shocker,
and was in his Jeep in front of them.  Devin could tell by the movement of Amy’s
hands that she was talking a mile a minute, and every so often, Matt would look
over at her with a huge grin on his face.  They had a couple others in the back
seat of the Jeep that Devin recognized from get-togethers at Ronin’s, but she didn’t
know either very well. 

Joanie was perched on a couple inner tubes in the back of
Ronin’s pickup with Boring Greg the Accountant, who she’d gone out with a time
or two since the Bar IX.  He wasn’t the most exciting guy in the world.  The
man could about put a person to sleep once he got started talking about tax
laws, but he was awfully pretty.  And he was rather gentlemanly, too, which
pleased Joanie to no end.  Fortunately, the night they’d locked him into his
car, it actually had been his house, and he’d slept like a baby there, right
through the torrential downpour that soaked Devin and Ronin on their walk
home. 

Bringing up the rear was Shane, pulling his dad’s speedboat
behind his truck.  A few other regulars crammed in the extended cab of his pickup,
and a huge cooler of beer and booze, including Devin’s special request for
Coconut Sake and tequila to shake up some Island Margaritas.  As he and Joe had
left for the liquor store that morning, Ronin couldn’t help but laugh when she
put in her order. 

“Do you want me to pick up some little umbrellas, too?” he
had teased against her lips as he kissed her goodbye. 

They pulled into a large camping spot on the water right
next to the boat ramp.  The gritty granite underlying the surrounding terrain created
a fine, pebbly sand.  Shane backed the boat trailer into the water and Joe jumped
out of the passenger seat to release the boat.  Before long, the inner tubes
were tied up behind it, and Joe and Matt each hopped on one to have Shane drag
them around the lake. 

Ronin carried the cooler over beside his truck and set it on
the ground, lowering the tailgate to create a makeshift bar with the cooler
positioned in the shade underneath.  Devin grabbed the pitcher she’d brought, together
with some of those infamous red Solo cups, and followed the recipe she’d bookmarked
on her iPhone.  She handed the first margarita to Joanie who was bouncing
beside her with excitement waiting to try this new treat. 

Music poured out of the open top of Matt’s Jeep, and the
warm sun glittered on the ripples in the water.  There was not a cloud in the
sky, and everything just felt sort of…
perfect
.

After a raucous ride around the lake, Shane pulled the boat
up near the shore, dropping the anchor, and then he jumped out into the water near
Joe and Matt.  They guys splashed and yelped and acted like a couple little
kids before they headed to the beach. 

“Okay, where’s the Mountain Dew?  It’s hotter than fuck out
there!” Shane demanded, digging through the cooler. 

“Really?  No beer, Shane?” asked Greg.

“Are you kidding me!?” Shane laughed as he pulled an icy can
from the bottom of the cooler.  “My dad will kick my ass if I bring his boat
home with even the slightest scratch!  I’ve gotta stay sober today.  He loves
that thing more than he loves both Amy and I combined, I swear.”

Devin, Joanie, and Amy laid out with their drinks, little
umbrellas and all, on a blanket they had spread out on the beach.  The sky was
a bright clear blue, and the girls soaked in the warm sunshine, slowly sipping
the sweet and tart and rather potent concoction. 

Devin watched a few pelicans fly down to the lake to float
in the water. 

“See, Ronin?  Pelicans.  That is why you cut those little
plastic thingies!”

Ronin laughed as Devin closed her eyes to lie back.  Shane,
always the big brother, grabbed a few icy bottles of water and stood over the
girls, dropping one on each girl.  Squeals and shrieks filled the air as they
jumped up to escape the dripping chill. 

“Shane!  You ass,” Amy hollered. 

“Just making sure you girls aren’t getting dehydrated,” he
laughed.  “Drink some damn water with your girlie shit, or you’ll end up with
sunstroke.”

“Yes, Dad,” Devin responded with a surly scowl as she opened
the water bottle and took a long drink.  Tossing the half-empty bottle back
onto the blanket, she tip-toed across the sand down to the lake.  She eased
herself in, feeling the bite of the cool sensation as it slowly climbed up her
body.  Then she lifted her arms and plunged forward, swimming under the water
for a moment. 

Devin surfaced and rolled to her back to float, her eyes catching
sight of Ronin striding into the water after her.  Her feet lowered to tread
water and watch him.  He really was
fucking beautiful
.  The sunlight
absorbed into his broad, defined chest, bringing a little more color to the
lightly tanned skin.  His eyes focused on her as the water level hit his hips, and
he swept forward with large strokes of his arms, quickly swimming up to her. 
His arms encircled her waist under the water, and her hands fell onto his
shoulders naturally.  She couldn’t touch the bottom here, even with her tippy
toes.  But Ronin could and he held her steady.

“Hi, baby,” he murmured, his lips brushing hers softly as he
lifted her up a little in the water.  She braced herself against him, with her
legs wrapping around his hips, and her fingers combed through the closely
cropped hair on the back of his head. 

“Hi,” Devin responded as her mouth dipped back to his, more
firmly, a light brush of her tongue against his lips before they parted.  One
of his hands slowly crept up her back, wrapping around the base of her neck, cradling
her head as he kissed her more deeply.  Devin moaned softly and her breath
began to grow shaky.  His skin.  His lips.  Her thoughts began to fade, only able
to focus on what he was doing to her, physically and emotionally.  The hand at
her waist slipped lower, cupping her ass and pulling her tight against him, squeezing
with a strong grip. 

Suddenly, there was a torrent of splashing and laughter, and
water rained down over them.  Shane surfaced a few feet away, laughing as Joe
ran towards them.  He leapt through the water as it grew deeper, finally using
every bit of surface area he could conjure up to splat down into the lake,
throwing a spray to cool their ardor.    

“Not in front of the children,” Joe chided, causing Devin to
blush slightly.

She looked back into Ronin’s laughing eyes and bit her lip
to keep the giggles at bay.  Her arms wrapped securely around his neck and held
on to him tightly, enjoying the sensation of his bare skin, the security of his
strong arms, and the tickle of the ripples in the water.  

The few clouds that stretched across the sky began to tint
with a light pink, slowly growing deeper in color and blending with a rich
golden tone.  The image in the sky reflected onto the water below, mirroring
the glow in the ripples of the lake. 

Devin sat curled up in the passenger seat of the boat with
her feet up to the side as Ronin guided it through the water with Shane and Joe
skipping along behind them on the tubes.  She watched his hands as he worked
the mechanics of the boat, and her thoughts strayed to remember the tender
touch of those hands on her skin.  A sudden surge of warmth filtered through
her. 

Ronin laughed as he looked behind them to see Shane flying
off the tube.  He began to turn the boat, glancing at Devin as she intently
focused on his hands gripping the boat’s wheel.  Feeling his eyes on her, she
looked up at him and practically combusted by the undeniable heat in his gaze,
the magnetic pull that took her breath away.  It was as though neither one of
them could look away.

“Ronin!  What the fuck!?” Shane began to yell as he treaded
water while the boat cut into a huge arc around him, nowhere near close enough
for him to grab the tube. 

Shane’s frustrated shout seemed to jar Ronin from a stupor,
and he shook his head and looked away from Devin.  “Damn, baby,” he chuckled
under his breath and looked over at Shane, guiding the boat closer so his friend
could climb back onto the inner tube.  “I’m done, guys.  Someone else gets a
turn to drive,” he called out as he directed the boat back to shore. 

Devin chewed her lip as they got closer to the shore, aching
to have Ronin’s arms wrapped around her as the swiftly cooling air raised
goosebumps on her skin.  She hastened another glance at his profile in the
slowly fading light.  She became aware of every pulse of blood through her
body, every little goosebump that rose on her skin.  Ronin glanced over at her
to see her once again looking up at him in the golden early evening light.  He jerked
his gaze towards the shore again, softly speaking.  “Gotta concentrate, honey,”
he smiled, then glanced at her with a wink.  “And you looking at me the way you’re
looking at me really is
not
helping.”