The Straight Crimes by Matt Juhl Read Free Book Online Page A

right.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    FOUR
     
     
    T he heat of Harper’s troubled glare could have melted an iceberg. Feeling confused, her gaze wandered towards the vastly overpopulated lake on that scalding hot afternoon.
    From his lounge chair, Nik asked, “Are you all right?”
    “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
    “You’re spacing out, and you’ve hardly said two words to me.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah, what’s going on?”
    “I’ve just got some stuff on my mind. It’s nothin’.”
    “You know you can talk to me about anything.”
    “I know,” she said, looking back towards the lake.
    Ever since Nik and Harper’s passionate kiss on the shore, she’d thought about him incessantly. Although she’d surrendered to their desires and found Nik undeniably sexy, the uncertainty lingered in her mind.
    Between the moments of fear, Harper found herself tossing and turning in the night’s heat, lost in fantasy. She’d spent the entire summer desperately aching for him. If she thought about it long enough, the tears of anticipation overwhelmed her senses to a point where she was paralyzed with ecstasy. And after having a real taste of him, she wanted more.
    Harper desperately tried to imagine a life with Nik, free of discrimination, but as long as they were together, such an existence seemed inevitable.
    Suddenly, the bright skies were overtaken by gloomy clouds and strong winds. The air temperature seemed to drop significantly as if a storm was coming.
    “Wow, it’s getting dark. Look at all those white caps coming in.” Nik pointed to the waves.
    She didn’t respond.
    “Harper?” He sat up in his chair and pulled his sunglasses off.
    Without realizing it, she had drifted off into a deep sleep.
    As he stood over her, Nik noticed goosebumps on her arms from the chilled air. All she had on was a hot pink bikini over her delicate skin.
    Nik pulled the oversized towel from his chair and covered her shivering body. Then he sat on the edge of the chair and warmed her shoulders with his strong hands.
    While she slept, Nik adoringly watched Harper, captivated by her undeniable beauty. All he could think about was how incredible it had felt to hold her in his muscular arms…and how he wished he could do it again.
    Nik couldn’t get her off his mind. There was an unspeakable ache shouting at him to chase her. It didn’t matter what anyone thought. He wanted Harper so badly he couldn’t stand it.
     
    After an hour nap, she was awoken by unsettling banter.
    “Nik?” Harper quickly sat up after noticing his unoccupied chair.
    “Get off me!” he cried.
    “What the hell are ya gonna do about it?” a heavily intoxicated voice mumbled.
    Harper immediately recognized the unintelligent ramblings of Ricky Wiley. Until that point, she’d evaded him since their first altercation at the schoolyard. Sooner or later, she knew they’d meet again.
    After untangling herself from her beach towel, she fell out of her lounger and raced to Nik’s aid.
    “Man, come on,” he pleaded.
    “Shut up.” Ricky slammed his fist into the side of Nik’s head, knocking him to the ground.
    "Get your fat ass off him." Harper dug her nails into Ricky’s pale skin and tugged his arm back.
    With his free hand, he reached around, restrained her by the shoulders, and looked back to Nik. "Oh look, it’s the other queer.”
    While shaking his head, Nik struggled to hear Ricky’s words over the ringing in his ears.
    "Back off, he ain’t done nothin’ to you.”
    His yellow eyes glowed. “I didn’t think you were stupid enough to come looking for trouble.”
    “Trust me, we weren’t. Who the hell would wanna see your ugly face if they didn’t have to?”
    “Real funny. I warned you to stay outta my damn way, little girl.”
    “I guess we were askin’ for it huh?” she mocked him.
    “Yeah, now you’re both dead.”
    Harper wa ved her hands sarcastically. “I’m real scared.”
    “You should be.”
    “We’ve been here all day.