Starburst (8 page)

“Trevas?”
she spoke again with still no response.

He
shut the car off and got out and came to her side. “Get out,” he told her and
she looked up to him with a frown but did as she was told.

“What
are you doing?” she asked.

“Don’t
you ever do that again, promise me,” he demanded.

“I
promise,” she said as they looked at each other.

Trevas
grabbed her face, holding her by the back of her neck and placed his thumbs on
her jaw line. He took a deep breath and knew that he had to kiss her and did
just that. She moved her hand up and placed it on his and parted her lips for
him.

He
pulled away and stood beside her leaned up against his car. “You have got me so
fucked up girl,” he stated, running his hand through his hair.

“Trevas,
I was trying to tell you something the other day on the couch, when we were at
your apartment.”

“I
know what you were going to say Alley, and you can’t say it.

“Why,
because you can’t say it?”

“No,
I could say it, but it’s still not going to change the fact that in about three
or four more weeks, we are never going to see each other again.”

“Wait
for me Trevas,” she begged and kicked a bottle cap across the parking lot.

“Alley
I could wait until you’re thirty and your dad still wouldn’t let us be together
and you know it.”

“I
will be eighteen in a little over five months, and then he has no say in it.”

“I’m
not going to promise you that Alley, I can’t,” he added.

“Then
Promise me the next few weeks, until you leave.”

“I’m
afraid of what it will do to you when I do leave,” he admitted and wondered if
he was afraid of what it would do to her or him.

“It’s
not going to do anymore then it has the last couple of days.”

That
tugged at Trevas’s heart, and he moved back in front of her. “Why didn’t you tell
you were a virgin? Did you not think that I would find out?”

“I
knew you would, and I didn’t tell you because you didn’t ask.”

“I
just assumed with the pictures that I saw, and you being on the pill that you weren’t.

“And
I told you not to believe everything that you read standing in line at
Wal-Mart.”

Trevas
laughed. “Yes you did. I have to call your dad.”

“I
know,” she said quietly and watched him take his phone from his pocket.

“Fletcher,”
he answered, and Trevas could hear the crowd of people in the background.

“Hey
Fletcher, its Trevas, I’m just calling to let you know that I just dragged your
daughter out of the Breeze, and I will bring her home.”

“The
Breeze? What the hell is she doing there? I thought she was in her room.”

“That
I couldn’t tell you, I was there with some friends and spotted her on the dance
floor.”

“Son
of bitch, what about cameras?”

“I
don’t think so. She wasn’t there long before I saw her.”

“Thanks
Trevas, but I can send Simon after her. You go have fun with your friends.”

“That’s
okay. They have already moved on to the next club. I will bring her home, but
it will probably not be for an hour or so. I have to take a cab to pick up my
car,” he lied.

“Are
you sure?”

“Yeah
I’m sure, I will bring her.”

“Hey,
thanks a lot Trevas,” he added before hanging up and Trevas felt like he had
gained a little more respect from him and then felt guilty about it.

“Liar,”
Alley told him, and his phone rang.

“Hey
Chase.”

“What
the fuck was that Trevas?”

Trevas
knew exactly what he was talking about. “Sorry about that Chase, I just got
carried away. I won’t let it happen again.”

“Is
there something going on with you and that girl?” he asked.

“What?
No, why would say something like that?”

“Because
of the way you reacted and if there is Trevas you better stop it now.”

“There’s
not Chase, don’t worry. I will talk to you tomorrow.”

“What
are you going to do with me for an hour?” Alley wanted to know.

“Half
an hour,” he corrected her. “We have a half hour drive.”

“Okay,
what are you going to do with me for half an hour?”

“Talk,”
he replied and she moaned as he opened her door. She didn’t want to talk, she
wanted him to kiss her and pull her close to him.

They
sat in silence for a few minutes, and he turned to her and kissed her for a
long time.

“I
thought we were talking,” she said to his lips.

He
didn’t reply and forced his tongue in her mouth again and moved his hand under
her shirt.

“Trevas
you can’t do that anymore,” she told him to his lips again.

“Why?”
he asked but already knew the answer.

“Because
I can’t take it,” she told him honestly. “And if you are not going to make love
to me than you need to chill out.”

“I
do want to make love to you Alley, more than you could ever know, but it scares
the hell out of me.”

“Really?”
she asked with a doubting sarcastic tone.

“Yes
really,” he demanded.

“Why
did me being a virgin, upset you so much?”

“I
don’t know. I guess because it made me feel like I was taking something from
you,” he told her taking her hand.

“You
were, and I wanted you to take it, and you kind of did you just didn’t finish
it.”

“I’m
sorry Alley,” he said quietly, and she didn’t reply.

“I
missed you Trevas,” she said quietly.

“I
missed you too, and I can’t get you out of my head.”

“I
don’t want to be out of your head.”

“I
know Alley,” was all that he could think to say. What else was there to say? He
knew he couldn’t be with her as much as she knew it, and he had done nothing
but fuel her fire, and he felt like it was too late to put it out.

They
talked for a little bit longer, and he kissed her some more and then drove her
home. He stopped before they got to the gate and kissed her again.

“I
don’t want to be here without you,” she told him.

“I
can’t stay here and even if I did we couldn’t be together.”

“I
know,” she answered.

“Call
me,” he told her and held her hand as she got out of the car.

Alley
did call as soon as she took her lecture from her dad and was alone in her room.
She hung up long enough to take a shower and lay on her bed with his jacket
under her head and called him back. They talked until three in the morning and
then Trevas lay in bed, shaking his head and hating himself for falling for a
seventeen year old girl.

The
next day was long, and he couldn’t wait until Monday to get back to her. He did
finally go and meet with the auctioneer at his grandparent’s house and was glad
to have that out of the way. They talked or text each other several times, and
she told him about her dad being mad at her for going to the Breeze, and he
told her, he was mad at her for that too.

“What
time will you be here,” Alley wanted to know before they said goodnight.

“Seven,
I think your dad is leaving around eight.”

Trevas
arrived, Monday morning right before seven. He dropped his things in his room
and went into the kitchen and stirred up a bowl of eggs with cheese, onions,
mushrooms and green peppers and mixed up a batch of fresh biscuits.

“Hmm,
something smells good,” Fletcher said, entering the kitchen, tying his tie.

Trevas
turned and smiled,” coffee?” he asked, and poured him a cup. Fletcher sat at
the end of the table, and Trevas continued to cook and set the table with
butter, jelly and two plates, one for him and one for Alley if he could get her
to come down, he thought.

“It
is almost ready if you want to get Alley,” Trevas said as he put the biscuits
on a plate and the eggs in a bowl.

Fletcher
disappeared to retrieve his daughter and Trevas continued to put the food on
the table.

“She’s
fine,” Fletcher said, returning and mocking his daughter’s attitude.

“Of
course she is,” Trevas replied, and they laughed.

“I
wanted to run something by you Fletcher,” Trevas explained.

“Okay,
go ahead,” he beckoned for him to continue.

“This
is usually the week that I go to Utah with my family, and we stay at my
grandparent’s lake house. We usually stay for two weeks, and I was wondering if
I can talk your stubborn daughter into it if it would be okay if we went there.
We will only stay a few days, unless she likes it and enjoys herself, which I
doubt,” he joked.

Fletcher
laughed. “Trevas Evans, if you can talk my daughter into going to a lake for
one day let alone two weeks, I will give you a raise,” he joked.

“Yeah,
I know exactly where you are coming from.”

Trevas
walked back to the kitchen and took out his phone and text her.

“Get
your skinny ass down here.”

Alley
came down wearing white sweats and Trevas’s light blue t-shirt that he had made
her put on one night to keep her from walking around half naked. He watched her
descend the stairs with half a smile. She sat at the end beside her dad and
gave Trevas an annoyed look for making her join him for breakfast.

Simon
showed up and started loading his bags and Fletcher ate breakfast with his
daughter.

“Your
mother wasn’t very happy about you, not attending your own gradation,” he told
her. “This is very good,” he added taking another bite of the eggs.

“Yeah
I know, she already called me, but I don’t think she minded too much because
now she isn’t coming home next week. She is flying to the Caymans with some
friends.”

“Yeah,
she told me, she tried to get you to fly out and meet her. Why wouldn’t you
want to go to the Cayman Islands? It is beautiful, and you haven’t seen your
mom much lately.”

“That’s
not my fault. She is always working and why would I want to sit around and
watch her with her boyfriends?”

“What
do you mean her boyfriends?”

Alley
tilted her head to the side and looked at him with a frown. “Really dad?” she
asked, and he changed the subject knowing that his daughter was about to remind
him how she got there.

Fletcher
kissed her on the cheek and shook Trevas’s hand. He thanked him for going the
extra mile the other night and wished him luck as he turned and looked at his
daughter and she noticed.

“Good
luck on what?” was the first thing out of her mouth when her father was out of
site.

“Wait,”
he demanded.

“Wait
for what?”

“Wait
until I know your dad is down the road and not coming back for something.”

“He’s
not coming back,” she said, getting up from the table and coming to the kitchen
where Trevas was cleaning up the breakfast dishes. “Why is my dad wishing you
luck, Trevas?” she wanted to know again.

“How
would you like to get out of LA and go spend two weeks alone with me in a
rustic old lake house?”

“A
lake?” she said crossing her arms, “with bugs and fish and snakes?”

“And
me,” he smiled and couldn’t stand not to touch her for one more second and took
both of her hands and pulled her to him.

“Two
weeks?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“We
don’t have to stay two weeks. I just wanted to get it cleared with daddy for as
long as I could keep you.”

“You
asked my dad if you could take me to a lake house?”

“Yeah,
but I told him it was a family thing, and my family would be there too.”

“But
they won’t?”

“No,
but my mom lives there and we should stop and see her some.”

“And
where is this lake house at?”

“Allendale
Utah.”

“Are
we flying?”

“No,
it’s only about an eight hour drive. Let’s drive”

“When
did you want to leave?”

“We
can leave whenever we want. Do you want to go today or wait till the weekend,
or tomorrow, it doesn’t matter to me.”

“Let’s
go today,” she smiled and kissed him.

“Go
call your dad before he gets on the plane. Tell him the service isn’t the best
there but if he leaves a message you can call him back. Make it sound good,” he
added.

Alley
sat at the table and dialed her dad.

“Dad
did you give Trevas permission to take me to some bug infested lake? She asked
in her teenage attitude form and Trevas had to laugh.

“Yeah
I told him it was okay with me if it was okay with you.”

“Well
he just tricked me, and I think you should call him and tell him you don’t want
me to go there.”

“What
do you mean he tricked you?”

“He
asked me if I would like to go and made it sound all cool and there are going
to be girls my age and all the things that they do there, and I don’t want to
go there. I told him you would never let him take me to another state and then
he asked me if I would go if you said yes and I told him yes, but you would
never let me and he told me to go pack because he already asked you.”

Fletcher
laughed at what he thought was Trevas’s conniving ways. “I think you should go
Alley. Its summer go have some fun and get out of that bedroom. You might
actually have a good time.”

“Dad
there isn’t even any cellphone service; you won’t be able to get a hold of me
unless you leave a message first.”

“I’m
sure that if Trevas needs to get a hold of me, he will, and if I need to get a hold
of you then I will leave you a message, no big deal.”

Alley
groaned a fake groan. “I am not staying there for two weeks,” she demanded.

“Fine
stay a few days and you never know, you might want to stay longer.”

Trevas
wrote on a piece of paper and handed it to her.

“Oh,
Trevas wanted me to tell you that you owe him a raise,” she said and looked at
Trevas confused.

Fletcher
laughed. “You tell Trevas he’s got it. Go have fun for once Alley, enjoy yourself.
I will talk to you in a couple of days.”

Alley
hit the end button.

“You
are a damn good actor,” Trevas admitted.

“Why
does my dad owe you a raise?”

“Because
when I asked him if I could take you there he told me that if I could get you
to go to a lake house he would give me a raise.”

“Are
we really doing this?” she asked, not believing that she was going to go stay
in a cabin by a lake. She had never been to a lake, let alone a cabin.

“I
have one condition,” Trevas replied and took her hand.

“I
already know what it is, but go ahead, just in case I’m wrong.”

“We
don’t talk about feelings, or being together after this is all over. We are
going to go have a good time and as soon as your dad comes home, we walk away,
deal?”

“I
don’t make deals that I don’t know if I’m capable of controlling,” she said,
playing with the end of her t-shirt and not looking up at him.

“Then
maybe we shouldn’t go,” he said, mimicking her soft tone.

“Maybe
we shouldn’t,” she agreed and turned her eyes to his.

Trevas
leaned in and kissed her. “Stop being difficult, let’s do this.”

“I’m
only going because I like the idea of being alone with you in a cabin for two
weeks,” she answered, and kissed him back and left him to pack.

Trevas
and Alley went their separate ways to pack. “Should I take my laptop, are there
any internet services?” Alley stuck her head out and called downstairs.

Trevas
stuck his head out of his room and called upstairs. “Yes there is internet, you
can take the laptop but not the MP3 player,” he yelled, and she laughed.

They
had to stop by his place, and Alley stared at the bed, remembering their last encounter
there as Trevas packed a few things.

“Stop
it,” Trevas told her and kissed her, knowing what she was reflecting on and she
gave him a frail smile.

They
were on the rode by noon and Trevas ignored a call from Chase, afraid to tell
him what he was up to, but answered a couple of hours later.

“Where
the hell are you? I have been trying to call you all day?” Chase scolded.

“You
tried to call once, and I’m on my way to the cabin in Utah.”

“What
for? Where is your little client?”

“With
me,” he answered and waited for the storm.

“Trevas
you’re playing with fire,” he said and didn’t yell at all, which totally
shocked Trevas. “You are the one that is going to get burned, you do know that
don’t you?”

“I
haven’t done anything to get burned by Chase.”

“I
beg to differ and if you haven’t you will. Trevas you will not only, never get
another job around here, you will go to prison. Don’t forget who her parents
are.”

“I
know who her parents are Chase. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

Trevas
reached for Alleys hand and kissed her knuckles as they turned on to the
interstate. They drove until after three and stopped at a truck stop to get
something to eat.

Trevas
opened her door and held her hand.

“Trevas,
someone is going to see us,” Alley exclaimed nervously.

“Nobody
is looking for anything suspicious here Alley. These people have no idea who you
are. Trust me,” he pleaded and liked her being on his right side holding his
hand.

Alley
let out a short laugh but refrained from making the comment about trusting him
that she wanted too, and instead pressed her lips together and twisted them to
the side without Trevas noticing.

Trevas
was right. Not one of the burley truckers, travelers, or the waitress knew her
from anyone else. It was so refreshing to dine in a restaurant if that is what you
would call the small dive. Alley was sure she had never eaten in this low of an
establishment, ever in her life.

They
had a good time together as they traveled and laughed and talked for hours and
it made the trip go by rather quickly.

Trevas
called his mom and told her that he would be there around nine to get the keys
to the cabin, but he wasn’t going to visit, and would come over the next day.
He didn’t explain anything to her and told her they would talk about it
tomorrow.

His
mother was waiting at the door when he got there, and Alley waited in the car
and watched as his mother gave him a big hug.

“Who
are you taking there Trevas? I thought you told me, you had a six week or so job,
taking care of someone’s famous daughter,” she wanted to know.

“I
am mom, she is with me,” he nodded toward his car and Alley knew that he was
trying to explain her.

“I’m
confused Trevas, This girl is a teenager, right?”

“Yes
mom, don’t ask questions, alright?”

“Trevas
what the hell are you doing?”

Trevas
kissed her on the cheek and told her he would talk to her tomorrow with a look
that said mind your own business.

It
was almost dark when they arrived and drove down the long dirt road to the
middle of nowhere. Alley looked around anxiously and could see the lake straight
out in front of the cabin. She got out and looked around while Trevas carried
in their bags.

“Do
you know what I forgot about?” he called to her as she stepped up onto the dock
and jumped a little to make sure it was safe, and she wasn’t going to end up fish
bait.

“What?”
she called without turning around as she continued to walk cautiously out on
the dock.

“Food,
there is nothing to eat or drink here. We have to run back to town.”

“I
don’t mind,” she called, and he walked toward her to join her.

“It’s
nice, isn’t it?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the
back of her neck.

“Very,”
she agreed.

“Do
you want to go see the cabin or run back to town first?”

“Let’s
go to town first I’m kind of hungry.”

“Yeah,
another two or three hours and it will be your supper time,” he teased, and she
told him to shut up.

Alley
didn’t know how to act or what to think, being able to walk around in the store
without anyone tweeting where she was or worried who would see her and she didn’t
know how to relax and not worry about it. She kept expecting some idiot with a
camera to pop out of nowhere, but they didn’t.

Trevas
bought a whole cart full of food, beer, pop, snacks and charcoal for the grill.

Alley
carried one bag and explored the cabin while he got the rest. It was a rustic
cabin, and there was nothing elegant about it. The one queen sized bed was up
against the wall with a night stand on each side. The sofa was supposed to separate
the sleeping area from the living area and faced the front door. There was one
overstuffed chair, and an older television set on a stand that was full of old
VHS movies. The kitchen was small too, and the only table was a cherry red
restaurant booth. The bathroom wasn’t even really separate, and had a concrete
slab poured in a square with a ledge that you had to step over, and the door
was nothing but a white shower curtain. She moved the curtain to peek in and
saw the light bulb hanging from the ceiling with a silver chain to turn it on.