My Last(14)

Other girls in high school had tried to get close to him, unsuccessfully. And then, in his adult, life he’d had a couple of fairly serious relationships. The women he had been involved with had done everything they could to break down, climb over, go around, or even walk right through the high walls he had put up around his inner life. But none had even come close to breaching that front.

None except for Rachelle Thomas, his best friend Eddie’s little sister. The good girl. The one girl that someone like him should stay as far away from as possible.

She was sweet and funny. She was smart and had a good head on her shoulders. She always saw the good in people, no matter what others saw or said. Everyone liked her, and she liked everyone. Including him. Hell, maybe even especially him.

He had seen the looks she had given him. Had always felt that she might have had a crush on him. But he knew better than to ever pursue it.

He had tried to stay away from her, had intentionally treated her like Eddie did, like she was just an annoyance. But the problem was - he was always drawn to her. Chelle was one of the only people that didn’t look at him with disgust, or worse yet pity, whenever the subject of his family, or more specifically his Mom, had come up. She had never acted like she was afraid of him when he would get in stupid fights, or disappointed in him when he and Eddie would get in trouble with the law.

She had always talked to him like he was just…Riley. Not a mischievous trouble maker. Not a dangerous bad boy. Just Riley. Thinking back now, Riley thought that maybe the reason she didn’t treat him like he fit any of those stereotypes was because, around her, he didn't.

He had always felt like he could be himself around her. He never felt the need to be anything he wasn’t. He never felt like he had to prove, or disprove, anything to her.

On top of all of that, he had always been attracted to her. He had tried not to be, and he had obviously never acted on it. But, God...she was so beautiful. Her big brown almond shaped eyes, her long silky chestnut brown hair, her gorgeous olive-toned skin, her petite figure...they were all perfection. But all of those things, even put together, didn't begin to compare to her smile.

Her smile had always made his heart feel like it was going to explode. When Chelle smiled, it was the closest thing Riley ever felt to pure unadulterated love. When she smiled, everything was right in the world. He still dreamt about that smile.

He hadn’t seen her since the day he left for basic training, but he had seen some pictures that Eddie had tagged her in on Facebook, and, well...damn. From what he could tell, she had only gotten better with age. She was still thin, but had curves in all the right places. Just thinking of her curves now, Riley's jeans were getting a little snug.

Man, he really had to shut that kind of thinking down. Riley shouldn’t be letting his mind wander when it came to Chelle, that would only get him in trouble. He would be seeing her in just a few hours, and who knew what state she would be in? He just needed to make sure she was good, see if she needed anything, and be on his way.

Hell, she might not even be happy to see him. With everything she had just gone through, she probably just wanted some time alone. If anyone could understand that it was him.

He just needed to get visual and verbal confirmation of her well-being, report back to Jason, and get out of there as quickly as possible.



--- ~ ---



Riley made good time getting to San Francisco, partly due to the fact that he hadn’t hit much traffic. Also, he had cut over to Highway 5 instead of taking the scenic route so that he could cut about an hour off of the trip. Now, as he drove across the Bay Bridge, it barely even registered how amazing the city looked at sunset. All he could think about was that, in a few minutes, he would be seeing Chelle.

All of his extensive military training had apparently not prepared him for this mission. His mind was racing, his palms were sweaty, and he felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. Riley couldn’t believe he was having such a strong physical reaction to Chelle before he had even laid eyes on her.

Maybe, Riley reasoned, this was just the result of pent up anxiety, stemming from the fact that he had built her up in his mind as this “perfect creature” over the years. But, the truth was, he hadn’t seen her. Once he saw her, once the fantasy he had built up was disproven by reality, then he would be able to get past all of these overwhelming emotions.

That knowledge did not, however, change the fact that he was feeling like a nervous teenage boy, not a grown man.

He just needed to remain calm, stay focused and - with any luck - he would be on a plane tonight headed to Illinois, where he planned on staying for a few weeks before making his way to his new life in Louisiana.