Trouble Triangle (Tyler's Trouble Trilogy) (27 page)

I got on the crowded bus and managed to find a seat next to an unsavory character toward the back. He looked like he should be sharing a doorway with Otto, but he obviously had enough money for bus fare and the bottle in a brown paper bag.

The bus managed to hit every pothole in the road, rattling my bones and reminding me that I was still pretty hung-over. The drunk next to me kept unscrewing the cap and taking a drink. It smelled liked
Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill
wine and made me gag every time he undid the top and I got a whiff. I drank it when we used to shoplift it from stores when I was fifteen. Hardly a man's drink, but it served a purpose: To get drunk. Must have set him back close to two dollars if he didn't steal it. I looked around the bus to see if there was a vacant seat anywhere else. The smell of the guy and the cheap wine made me ill(
er
). Every other seat was occupied and knowing I was stuck with the guy made his stench even more unbearable.

Halfway to Honolulu, the drunk rang the bell to get off. I swung my legs in the aisle to let him pass. He stood, and cocked the wine bottle back, taking a departing drink. Suddenly, the bus jolted. The drunk lost his grip on the bottle and his cheap pink nectar made a substantially splash on my white shirt.

I looked down at my shirt, mortified. "Look what you did, you asshole." I stood with my arms spread so he could see the full magnitude of his clumsiness.

"Asshole?" His right hand came out of nowhere and connected with my eye. He packed one hell of a punch and knocked me to the floor. Then he ran off. Not that I could do much about it laying flat on my back.

Other passengers helped me to a seat. I held my throbbing eye as my head thumped away. A little while later, the bus pulled up to my designated stop. I got off an
d looked around, heavily dazed.

There was a restroom not far away. I went in and cleaned myself up as best I could. I walked down to the
Blaisdell
Center where Holly stood at the entrance waiting for me.

"What the hell happened to you?"

I was growing tired of her greeting me with those words. "Shouldn't cuss," I scolded her. "Some drunken dickhead spilled wine all down me on the bus, then punched me for wasting it."

She cast her head skyward. "All mighty kingdom." She dropped her gaze to look at me and put her hands on her hips. "Daddy wants us to sit on the stage while he preaches. You know, like showing that couples don't have to fornicate out of marriage."

"Holy shit. No one ever told me we were going to be on display as an angelic couple. I'm not doing it." I held my arms out. "Especially in this state."

"Language," she snapped. "Look at you. Black eye, wine soaked shirt, gash on the head." She wheeled me around. "Oh, for the love of Moses, look at your back. It's totally filthy. It looks like you've been rolling around in the dirt."

"I landed on my back on the bus floor when that fucking drunk decked me."

She slapped me. "Will you quit swearing? I promised Daddy we'd do it. He needs my support."

"Oh for fuck sake."

"Goddamn it, Tyler." She stomped her foot. "Stop swearing."

I wanted to tell her that goddamns were worse than fucks, name in vain and all, but I could see this really meant a lot to her. She wanted to charade as a twenty-one year old virgin and as her boyfriend, I felt obligat
ed to help her with her deceit.

We passed by a souvenir stand on our way backstage. Holly insisted I needed a new shirt, so she bought me a 'Knight is Right, God is Righteous' t-shirt. Reverend Knight's photo at the top of the shirt, and a cross emitting golden rays around it at the bottom. I threw away what had been my best shirt and slipped on the new one.

Holly flashed her backstage pass and security led us to Reverend Knight's dressing room. Another security guy checked her ID again before opening the door.

Mr. Knight smiled as we entered and waved off his make-up artist. Standing up, he extended his hand and locked my fingers in a vice-like grip again.

"Tyler, good to see you, son," his voice bounced off the walls and reminded me I still carried a delicate state. "Hey, I like the shirt." He play punched my shoulder. "I thought of that design and logo myself. You like it?" he asked.

"Sir, I threw away a five hundred dollar Gucci shirt to wear
this. I think it's brilliant."

I smiled. He smiled.

He cocked his head to one side. "What happened to your eye?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really." I gingerly touched it. "I was giving a hand to help a disabled person out of the back of one of the vans outside. You know, the vans that bus in the handicapped. I was wheeling this lady down the ramp, I slipped and fell, and caught my eye on the handle of her wheelchair."

"God bless you, Tyler. You're a good man. I'm ashamed to say, but I may have misjudged you, and I should know better." He looked toward the heavens, opening his arms to a full stretch. "Judge not, least ye be judged," he bellowed. "By the measure ye judge, so shall ye be judged." He pulled out his hanky, wiped his brow and returned to earth. He laid a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. "Son, will you forgive me?"

I briefly wondered what he would do if I said no. "I don't see anything you need to be forgiven for, sir. My nature has always been one of turning the other cheek." I thought I better throw in some Shakespeare for good measure. "The quality of mercy is not strained."

His glasses came off, the handkerchief came out, and he wiped his eyes. "You really do know your Shakespeare." He looked at Holly standing next to me. "Princess, you've done well. You got a keeper here." He stepped in and bear-hugged me, cracking my back in the process.

"Thank you, sir," I gasped, hoping he'd release me before the spinal colum
n snapped.

"Come on, kids. We got a show to do and souls to save." He sounded like an exuberant school kid and I admired his passion.

Holly and I sat on tan, metal folding chairs some ten feet behind the pulpit he pounded. His voice rose to that shaky preacher tone, "One does not have to enter the flesh," then spoke softly, "to appreciate the person." He screamed, praised, and got the hanky out every other minute. He damned
anyone
having sex without a marriage certificate, and blessed those in matrimonial
union.

I periodically looked at Holly throughout his sermon. Her head bowed, chin tucked into her chest, looking at the floor. A deadpan expression covered her pretty face. She looked deep in thought and I wondered if her next sexual escapade wouldn't be until after she wore a wedding band. His message that powerful; her guilt that great.

The sermon finished to great rounds of halleluiahs and
Amens
. He had a satisfied look, and the crowd seemed moved. We returned to his dressing room where he offered a prayer, asking for his message to take root with the sinners. Then he suggested we all go to Red Lobst
er to celebrate his success.

Holly and I sat together on one side of the booth, her father on the other. She looked sexy in her yellow sundress. Not having had sex with her for over a week drove me crazy. I knew the fine curves that dress concealed, and despite the Reverend's sermon, I found myself getting turned on and wanted desperately to do her right there…or in the restroom. I didn't care, I just wan
ted her.

After we ordered, Holly excused herself to go to the ladies' room. Having not been invited to join her, I remained at the table with her dad.

"So what're your plans for the future, son? You a career man?" He clasped his hands in front of him, resting them on the table.

I shrugged. "Not sure, sir. Sea time would mean being away from Holly, and that would sadden me." I really would miss her if I was away from her for months.

"You two really do make a fine couple. I think you're well suited to each other. What is it you like most about her?" He reached across the table and lightly tapped the side of my shoulder. His eyes searched my soul.

My mind scanned every part of her body. So many bits to choose from as to which was my favorite. Since he was under the impression I had never seen his daughter naked, I thought it best not to
mention her tits or
bibble
box.

"Most guys probably notice her good looks. I've been fortunate enough to have been exposed to her inner beauty. Her soft, caring side. And I admire her strong moral principles." I
leaned in and he did the same, like sharing a secret. "She didn't even let me kiss her till our tenth date." I leaned back.

He smiled and shook his head, moving back to sit upright. "
Ahhh
, that's my girl. I'm so pleased her moral compass is holding course, especially with the pressure of young men in the military who may not share her values." He dug in his pocket and pulled out his hanky. He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. "God bless you, Tyler." He finished wiping and put the hanky away. He leaned in again, smiling broadly. "Hey, what do you think of her cooking? Pretty good, huh?"

"Sir, if I was a chicken, I'd like nothing better than for Holly to smother me in an avocado sauce and shove walnuts up—."

The Reverend erupted in laughter before I could finish. Lucky for me. Holly returned to find her dad still laughing.

"What's so funny?"

Mr. Knight regained composure. "Princess, treat this guy like a diamond. He is forever."

I stood up to let Holly back in the booth.

"Glad you approve, Daddy." She leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Thanks for making such a good impression. It really means a lot. I owe you one."

The
waitress arrived with our food.

I watched Holly as she ate. She had a unique way of eating crab legs. After snapping them in half, she'd suck the meat out of the shell; no fork required. It must have been some suck action. As she sucked one, I was sure she slid it deep into her throat and let out a quiet moan. Mr. Knight was totally engrossed in his surf n' turf, oblivious to anything that may have been happening around him. He ate like he was at his last supper.

Reverend, Father, whatever…I couldn't help myself. I placed my hand on Holly's knee and slowly inched it toward her honey pot. She looked at me with a crab leg jutting out her mouth. She placed her hand under the table and slid it across my thigh, toward my crotch. I grew hard as her hand moved ever closer. Her hand cupped my balls. I smiled knowing she couldn't resist a little public action. Then she squeezed,
hard
. I yelped like a dog that had his tail stomped on.

Mr. Knight jumped and about choked in his lobster tail. "You okay, son?" He sputtered.

I sat doubled over. "Yes, sir. Just had a sharp pain. I think I'll be all right in a minute."

Holly popped the crab leg out of her mouth. "Are you sure you'll be okay, Tyler?" she asked in a concerned fashion. "It would be a shame if it got any worse. And, like, it could get much worse." Her voice had a menace about it and she gave me that look from the top of her eyes with her head lowered. I got the message and placed my hands above the table.

"No, I don't think it'll be coming back."

"Good." She smiled.

I needed a distraction, and it sat across from me. "That was a really good sermon, Mr. Knight. Holly and I feel much stronger in our vows to abstain from se—, well, you know, because of your words today."

"Thank you, Tyler. Glad to be able to offer some encouragement. I hope other youngsters got the message. I hate to see it." He shook his head. "Teenage pregnancies, single mothers, venereal diseases. All because people choose to have sex out of wedlock." He lightly rapped his knuckles on the table. "Damned be the wicked immoral fornicators, blessed be the husbands and wives."

"Matthew?" I asked.

"No, me." A smile spread across his face. "Pretty good, huh?"

"Wow. Sounded like scripture to me." Holly gave me a sideways kick.

After dinner, Mr. Knight wanted to walk around Honolulu. I suggested Waikiki, but he wanted to see the real downtown, not the tourist area. Said he wanted to feel the city, not the glitz. Holly parked and we got out to walk. He made remarks as we walked around town as to the amount of sinfulness he could feel looming in the air.

Mr. Knight and Holly walked together, a few paces in front of me. I was so caught up in watching her ass wiggle, even in a dress, I lost sight of where we were. All I could think about was shoving my hot co—

"Tyler. How
ya
doin
', buddy?"

Shit. The Pinnacle building. I didn't know how to play this one at first. Holly and her dad wheeled around to see Otto looking at me with outstretched arms. Since he called me Tyler, an unusual name as the Reverend pointed out, there didn't seem much point in denying his existence.

"Otto, buddy." I moved in and gave him a hug. He reeked of booze so I realized he may not be in his diplomatic mode. Stepping back, I grabbed him by the shoulders. "How
ya
doin
', pal?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Hey, how'd you get on with the head smacking preacher man? Manage to bullshit him with Shakespeare?"