210
“What’s wrong?” Charlize asked.
“I don’t like how it made me feel,” he said looking away.
“How did it make you feel-” Chloe began.
“I didn’t feel anything!” Kyle snapped. “I felt nothing. I hit him. I kicked him. He was laying in a pool of his own blood… and I felt… completely detached.” His thoughts turned inwards once more as he recalled his conversation with Fiona on the beach. He shuddered. “It’s over. Let’s move on.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. I could have dealt with them on my own. I’ve done it before. It was just nice to have someone running interference for me for once,” Charlize apologized.
“I’m glad Kyle stood up for us. I freeze when confronted by aggressive men,” Chloe admitted timidly. Kyle gave her a small smile then they turned to their menus.
While he was getting envious looks and the women had their share of distant admirers, they were left alone. The word had gotten out. The ladies were taken.
A harried waitress rushed by and took their orders. While they waited Charlize told them stories of her previous visits to the roadhouse with other riders and the mischief they got into. Kyle let his earlier unease fade as he enjoyed the tales.
The food was basic but good and they made small talk until they finished. Kyle picked up the bill as part of his share of the camping gear. They made their way back to their bikes and once more Charlize led the way once they were on the road. This time the women stayed close and soon enough they were pulling into the campground.
It was actually fairly busy with a large number of motorcycles parked in the larger campsites but they got a site towards the back, away from the louder groups. Their neighbors proved to be an older couple with a big old sedan on the left and three young women with a VW van on their right. The girls looked like they were just barely in their twenties but they seemed the quiet type. There was a good amount of space between the campsites this far back but Kyle felt eyes on him from both directions as he set up their one tent. It didn’t help that Charlize and Chloe were giggling and carrying on while he worked. He finally managed to get them to help him set up the tent before they wandered off to say hello to their younger neighbors.
Once it was ready, he put the three sleeping bags inside and saw they had a fair amount of space left. He moved their duffle bags inside so they’d have access to their stuff. When he came back out of the tent, the sun had dipped down over the edge of the ridgeline casting the entire park into shadow.
He saw Charlize and Chloe sitting next to the firepit with the young women sitting on its opposite side. Charlize waved at him to join them. With a glance back at the older couple who seemed to be reading while wearing headlights, Kyle walked over to sit with the ladies.
“Kyle, this is Ginny Spencer, Stephie Wallace, and Celeste Tillsbury. Ladies, this is Kyle MacDenny,” Charlize said, making the introductions. “They’re all going to Berkeley this fall and have been on a road trip to celebrate. It’s their last night.”
He smiled and nodded to them. “Hello! Nice to meet you.” He got smiles in return.
While it was difficult to tell true colors in the firelight, Ginny was likely raven haired while her friends had much lighter hair, likely blondes. All were pretty but Ginny wasn’t rail slim like her friends. Stephie and Celeste looked like they needed a few extra meals while Ginny had meat on her bones.
Charlize continued. “Kyle is celebrating too! He just escaped from a bad relationship, quit his job and drove all the way from Canada to… visit… a friend of mine.” They all caught her emphasis and eyes turned in his direction. Again, the firelight did a good job of hiding the color flushing his cheeks.
“Quitting your job and leaving the country seems like a rather extreme reaction to a bad break-up!” Stephie gasped with a fascinated gleam in her eye. Kyle thought she might like the implied ‘drama’.
“Extreme. Don’t listen to her. She threatened to set fire to her last boyfriend’s house when she caught him sleeping around,” Celeste dished and Ginny laughed.
Stephie squealed in shocked outrage. “Jesse promised I was the only one!”
“Only one that night,” Ginny said with a grin.
“Did you-”
“No! No, I didn’t have sex with Jesse. Ewww.” Ginny said with a grimace.
Stephie looked at her friend in shock. “How could you say that about Jesse! He was dreamie! All hard muscles and a thick-”
“STEPHIE!” Celeste squealed to shut her friend up. She glanced across the firepit in embarrassment.
“What areas of study are you taking at Berkeley?” Kyle asked to defuse the situation.
“Bioengineering,” Ginny offered with a happy smile.
“Psychology,” Celeste said.
“I’m taking Business Administration,” Stephie said as she looked at her friends.
“Radically different courses. You might not get to see much of each other once you begin.” Kyle said with a sad smile.
Ginny nodded. “Yeah, that’s why we’re spending this time together now.”
“What do- what did you do, Kyle that made it possible for you to afford to do this?” Celeste asked.
Kyle smiled self-consciously as eyes turned his way. “I was an investment manager.”
“A good one, obviously,” Stephie concluded.
He grinned. “Yeah. I do ok.”
“Do ok? I thought you said you quit the job,” Chloe asked in confusion.
He turned to look at her. “I still invest for myself. I just don’t do it for others, professionally.”
“So, you’re living off your investments?” Celeste asked, curious.
He nodded. “If you maintain a modest lifestyle, it’s possible.”
“If you have rich girl friends who insist on paying your way while you visit them, that also helps.” Charlize said with a grin.
Kyle frowned at her. “I’m not sponging off of Fiona!”
Charlize’s expression immediately dropped. “Oh! I’m sorry! I never meant to imply you were!”
Kyle nodded and rolled his shoulders to make them relax.
“Girl friend?” Chloe asked as she gaped at him.
His eyes locked on hers. He saw the confusion in them. And hurt? Where did that come from?NôvelDrama.Org © content.
“Fiona is my friend. We’re just… good friends,” he explained.
“With benefits,” Charlize insisted.
His eyes moved to hers but he could only nod at that as to deny it felt… wrong.
He looked towards the fire and saw eyes watching him across the flames.