Page 12 of Voyeur

Chapter Ten

Stephen

Three months after the night that piece of scum Ben got arrested, Kylie and I were still going strong.

I had completely recovered from my knee injury, and the Howlers were wondering when I’d be back in town at my old stomping grounds.

I couldn’t wait to get back on a bike and see my friends again. I was so happy out in the woods with Kylie, though, that I was reluctant to return. In fact, my knee had been ready to ride for a while, but the only thing I’d been riding was, well, Kylie.

I was afraid. She knew my lifestyle and that I was Sergeant at Arms for the Howlers, and it didn’t thrill her. She, like my brother Jake, worried about the legality of it all. And she fussed about my injury, saying next time it could be my skull that shattered instead of my knee. But more than that, I think she was worried about getting herself involved in another potentially dangerous situation after the whole Ben thing, and I couldn’t blame her for feeling that way.

Ben continued to harass her, even from jail. Kylie had all her mail forwarded from the apartment to a PO box in town, and whenever we went to stock up on groceries and run other errands, she collected it. And every time, there was a stack of letters from Ben.

The guy was truly unhinged. Some of the letters were threatening, some were love notes, but mostly he whined about how he was getting his ass kicked on a nearly daily basis because he was such a little piece of shit and nobody in prison could stand him. Which was exactly what he deserved. At first, the letters worried her, but now she laughed them off.

But finally, it was time to face the music. I had to go back and do my job, otherwise the Howlers couldn’t keep supporting me financially. I hoped Kylie would understand.

On the night I decided to finally bring it up, I prepared a steak dinner for us, and while we were eating, I said quietly, “I think it’s time I went home and joined up with the Howlers again.”

Kylie put her fork down, eyes wide.

“So, what are you saying?” she asked, her lower lip trembling. “Are you…are you breaking up with me?”

“No!” I burst out laughing. How could she think that?

“Well, how are we supposed to keep seeing each other with you there, and me out here?”

That’s when I put my fork down, too, and reached across the table for her hand.

“I know you’ve been through a lot. And I would never rush you while you’re taking time to yourself to recover from things. But do you think you’re ready to go back to art school?”

“Oh, definitely,” she replied without hesitation. “I should’ve gone back right when Ben was arrested, but, well, mountain life has grown on me. And I guess you have, too,” she teased.

“Well, my house is near a university with a great art program. I already looked into it; you could transfer all your credits there. What if you enroll and come stay with me?”

I held my breath, waiting for her response. I didn’t know what I’d do if she refused.

“I’d love to,” Kylie said, leaping across the table to hug me. “All I want is to paint and be with you. I’ll miss the cabins, though,” she added sadly.

“We can always rent one out and come back,” I said.

“I know, but it won’t be the same.”

“You’re right…it will be better.” I grinned, covering her face with kisses.

Somehow, kissing turned into more, and our steaks were left abandoned on the table as we made our way to the bedroom.

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