Bari?”
She laughed
and splashed water in his face, guiding his attention. Shaking his head like a
wet dog, he pushed off the floor with his feet and swam toward her, letting the
cool brush of water caress his heated skin. As he rounded her, he flipped over
to his back and treaded water.
“Nothing.” He
cleared his throat to get the gruffness out, hoping like hell she hadn’t
noticed how his voice changed. One look at her bright, laughing eyes said she
did. She opened her mouth to speak, but he jumped in. “Mac … did you decide if
you were going to prom with Scary Jerry?” He smirked at her scowl, the nickname
of one of their friends always setting her off. Jerry had been infatuated with
Mackenzie for years, and while it never bothered him before, now, a surge of
protectiveness, a resounding “mine” screamed through his skull.
She rolled
her eyes and shook her head. It was almost enough.
“Don’t.” The
gruff command caused both their eyes to widen. He rushed on. “That is, if you
don’t want to, of course. But I have a better plan. Let’s forgo the entire
ordeal and skip prom. Come out with me.” He sounded like a fool in his own
ears, and silence ticked by. With each passing second, his nerves frayed,
threatened to unravel. Just as he was about to say never mind, she glanced
over, tilting her head slightly and said one word, forever changing them
thereafter. “Okay.”
They did go
out that night, driving for what seemed like an endless time on his Harley.
Mackenzie’s body pressed against his in a way he wouldn’t deem sisterly at all.
It was his best memory and yet had caused the biggest fear inside him all at
once. They stopped at a lake nested near the center of the island, hidden deep
in the woods. Their own private spot, one he knew even as a kid he’d never
forget.
That night,
she gave herself to him, gifted him with her innocence, the pleasure of
learning about both their bodies. She’d taken what he demanded, given him even
more. With the silver moon shining high above, her body, illuminated for his
perusal, rocked with him in pleasure.
When he
eventually went home, the smile on his face faded with a single shift.
Something inside of him stirred for the first time, and the beautiful evening
washed away as fear rose sharp and fast like a volcano spewing lava. He fought
against the knowledge, refused to believe it was who he would come to be. After
a long night of restless hours, he went to the recruiter the next day and
enlisted with the United States Army. It was the only way he knew to protect
the one who filled his heart. The only way to make sure she didn’t end up like
his dead mother.
Bari shifted in the bed, wrapped in the
dream, the fog so hazy he could barely see through it. The action changed in
his mind, the frown on his face centering on what was coming. Gone, the sweet
memories of Mackenzie and something darker stained the beautiful memory. He
frowned as the dream pulled at him. He wanted to fight it but lost his way.
There was something nearby, something he hadn’t seen before, something waiting…
These raids were getting on his last nerve. For the past few days they
hadn’t found shit, the tip offs received being nothing but bullshit. The need
to stop the arms race into Iraq drove him forward when all his body wanted to
do was stop. To top it off, he battled with a case of insomnia, his tired body
screaming for relief, but his mind and the drive to finish this telling his
body to fuck off. Tired minds and exhausted bodies led to mistakes. Being out
in the middle of Bumfuck Egypt, surrounded by the insurgents fighting for their
cause, he understood he couldn’t afford to make one.
As they moved
up on the house and entered, once again irritation struck as they looked around
and Bari realized there really wasn’t a whole lot here. Nor did it look like
anything had been there in a while. The only inhabitants in the house included
maggots crawling out of a bowl on
She laughed
and splashed water in his face, guiding his attention. Shaking his head like a
wet dog, he pushed off the floor with his feet and swam toward her, letting the
cool brush of water caress his heated skin. As he rounded her, he flipped over
to his back and treaded water.
“Nothing.” He
cleared his throat to get the gruffness out, hoping like hell she hadn’t
noticed how his voice changed. One look at her bright, laughing eyes said she
did. She opened her mouth to speak, but he jumped in. “Mac … did you decide if
you were going to prom with Scary Jerry?” He smirked at her scowl, the nickname
of one of their friends always setting her off. Jerry had been infatuated with
Mackenzie for years, and while it never bothered him before, now, a surge of
protectiveness, a resounding “mine” screamed through his skull.
She rolled
her eyes and shook her head. It was almost enough.
“Don’t.” The
gruff command caused both their eyes to widen. He rushed on. “That is, if you
don’t want to, of course. But I have a better plan. Let’s forgo the entire
ordeal and skip prom. Come out with me.” He sounded like a fool in his own
ears, and silence ticked by. With each passing second, his nerves frayed,
threatened to unravel. Just as he was about to say never mind, she glanced
over, tilting her head slightly and said one word, forever changing them
thereafter. “Okay.”
They did go
out that night, driving for what seemed like an endless time on his Harley.
Mackenzie’s body pressed against his in a way he wouldn’t deem sisterly at all.
It was his best memory and yet had caused the biggest fear inside him all at
once. They stopped at a lake nested near the center of the island, hidden deep
in the woods. Their own private spot, one he knew even as a kid he’d never
forget.
That night,
she gave herself to him, gifted him with her innocence, the pleasure of
learning about both their bodies. She’d taken what he demanded, given him even
more. With the silver moon shining high above, her body, illuminated for his
perusal, rocked with him in pleasure.
When he
eventually went home, the smile on his face faded with a single shift.
Something inside of him stirred for the first time, and the beautiful evening
washed away as fear rose sharp and fast like a volcano spewing lava. He fought
against the knowledge, refused to believe it was who he would come to be. After
a long night of restless hours, he went to the recruiter the next day and
enlisted with the United States Army. It was the only way he knew to protect
the one who filled his heart. The only way to make sure she didn’t end up like
his dead mother.
Bari shifted in the bed, wrapped in the
dream, the fog so hazy he could barely see through it. The action changed in
his mind, the frown on his face centering on what was coming. Gone, the sweet
memories of Mackenzie and something darker stained the beautiful memory. He
frowned as the dream pulled at him. He wanted to fight it but lost his way.
There was something nearby, something he hadn’t seen before, something waiting…
These raids were getting on his last nerve. For the past few days they
hadn’t found shit, the tip offs received being nothing but bullshit. The need
to stop the arms race into Iraq drove him forward when all his body wanted to
do was stop. To top it off, he battled with a case of insomnia, his tired body
screaming for relief, but his mind and the drive to finish this telling his
body to fuck off. Tired minds and exhausted bodies led to mistakes. Being out
in the middle of Bumfuck Egypt, surrounded by the insurgents fighting for their
cause, he understood he couldn’t afford to make one.
As they moved
up on the house and entered, once again irritation struck as they looked around
and Bari realized there really wasn’t a whole lot here. Nor did it look like
anything had been there in a while. The only inhabitants in the house included
maggots crawling out of a bowl on