See Me

“I’m go

She grunted, falling asleep before I made it out the door.

The sky was brightening and birds were chirping as I walked up the worn path. Weariness overtook me and I couldn’t wait to get back to the room and sleep. At the corner of the fence, I picked up my basket and the small bucket used to scoop meal from the barrel. Something moved by the hen house and I looked up, heart accelerating.

McKale was leaning there with his arms crossed, waiting for me. My body reacted to the sight, heating and buzzing. I got my act together, gathering my things and moving toward him.

“Hey,” I said, feeling shy and self-conscious about the potato-sack apron that covered my shorts and t-shirt. “Is everything okay?”

He stared at me warmly for a minute without replying, and then he ran a hand through his red locks.

“Aye, all is well. I needed to see ye once more before I took to bed.”

“Oh,” I breathed. His voice sounded different. More confident and serious. The heat that began when I saw him now completely took over my body. Unlike when we’d first met, he didn’t try to avert his eyes from me. He was openly drinking me in with an inquisitive newness, unperturbed by my less-than-attractive clothing ensemble in the morning light. I set my basket on the thick fencepost.

We moved forward at the same time, not stopping until we were kissing again, his hands wrapping around my waist to pull me close while my fingers found his hair. It was just as passionate as our kiss on the dance floor, only this time we could hear one another’s shortened breaths and satisfying little sounds. A low moan rose up from his throat. Knowing I caused that pleasure from deep inside him gave me a strange taste of power.

A sudden snap from the path startled me and I pushed away from him. He kept a hand on my waist, protectively.

“’Tis alright,” he whispered.

Leilah and Rachelle stood at the opening of the path in their aprons and bo

“I’d best leave ye to yer work. Unless, er, perhaps ye’d like a hand since I frightened away the help?”

I smiled at his offer. I appreciated that he was willing to jeopardize his man card to help me, but I was perfectly capable of doing it on my own.

“It won’t take me long, McKale,” I told him. “You go get some sleep. I’ll see you this afternoon, right?”

He pulled me to him again and laid his lips gently against mine.

“I fancied it when ye called me Kale.”

A shiver slid down my back and I sighed. Who was this guy? Was this who’d been hiding under that shell all along? Because I liked him. A lot. He made me feel like a new and improved version of myself.

“Another date today, aye?” he said against my lips. “The two of us.”

“Okay,” I whispered. One more cute grin, and then he was walking away, down the path, standing taller than I’d ever seen him. I couldn’t bring myself to move until every trace of red hair disappeared into the village.

Mom came to our room and woke us with two plates of food at midday. We took the plates with slow, guilty movements.

“You girls must have stayed up too late last night.” She was sitting cross-legged on the woven throw rug while Cassidy and I sat on our beds. We nodded at her and chewed our food.

“So, where exactly did you take the car for six hours?”

The bite I’d just swallowed halted in my esophagus, and Cass turned as green as a pixie. For a moment I wondered if Mom was talented enough to give us both the Heimlich at the same time. She gave a halfhearted grin at our choking silence.

“You girls know I’m a light sleeper when I’m not exhausted. And I’ve been on my guard with everything going on lately. We would have let you go if you had asked, you know. You could have left sooner and had more time away.” She shifted her pointed gaze back and forth between the two of us. “Ah, well. What a shame.”

Cassidy and I looked at each other.

“Mom…,” I began. As the “mature and responsible” older sister, I felt the sting of blame from within. Saying sorry seemed so measly.

She put us out of our misery by shrugging and standing, brushing off her bottom and leaving us.

“Shitballs,” Cass said, around the mouthful of bread she’d yet to swallow. I nodded my head in agreement. Mom tried not to show it, but I knew she was hurt that we’d run off behind her back. I set my fork on the plate, not hungry anymore.

I couldn’t restrain the snark. “Told you we should have just asked.”

“Oh, shut up. You were having the time of your life, all, kiss me Leprechaun! Don’t act like you regret it.”

I whacked her head with a feather pillow and she whined. “I regret hurting Mom,” I clarified. “We need to go apologize.”

“And beg forgiveness,” Cass added, sounding grumpy. She threw the pillow back to my bed. “At least you can’t be grounded anymore. I might not have a life for the begi

We crawled out of bed and got ready to face the day. Cassidy grabbed my arm.

“Please tell me it was worth it,” she said.

I looked in her pretty brown eyes. “It was so worth it,” I admitted.

She gri

I felt embarrassed and tried not to smile, which made her poke me in the side.

“Tell me!” she said, tickling my waist.

“All right, yes!” I laughed. “Oh, my gosh. Just… yes.”

She stilled and eyed me with loving affection. I knew all of her expressions so well. She was happy for me, and sort of proud. But it was the kind of pride laced with sadness, like a parent whose child was growing up and preparing to leave them.

“Come on,” I whispered, afraid to get emotional.

Cassidy and I walked down to the clearing where people ate and played various games.

McKale sat with my parents. He looked pale when he saw us.

“Ah, girls!” Dad said. “McKale was just telling us all about the dance club.”

Oy. My stomach tightened. McKale gave us apologetic looks as we sat down in our usual places, slumping.

“Mom and Dad,” I said. “I’m sorry we took the car without asking.” My voice was somber, but the words still sounded lame.

“Yeah, we’re sorry.” Cassidy looked like she might cry again. The girl had an endless supply of tears at her disposal.

“If something had happened to you all…” Mom let the thought taper away as she closed her eyes and shook her head, imagining the worst.

We hung our heads in shame.

“You girls aren’t children anymore. We’re prepared to give you more freedoms if you act responsibly. Your mother and I are reasonable people, aren’t we?”

Cass and I nodded at him, barely raising our chins.

Dad exhaled a heavy sigh and went on. “You’re old enough now that we should be able to talk through things. Let’s just put last evening behind us for now and try to enjoy the rest of the summer. We can plan another trip out of the village at some point before we go, okay?” Again we nodded. “Alrighty then. What’s on your agendas for today?”

We were all quiet for a second, and then I decided to throw out some positive vibes.

“McKale and I are going on a date today. Right now if that’s okay.”

My parents perked up.

“Of course,” Mom cooed, taking Dad’s hand and smiling at us. I watched as McKale’s eyes took in my parent’s affectionate interaction with one another.

“Yeah. I think it’s time for the video and the bin.”

Cassidy gasped and Mom covered her heart.

“Oh, honey, I think that’s a wonderful idea.”