“You’re impossible.”
It’s not like she’s in danger with me, at least not in the traditional sense.
We stop in the middle of the woods, where a natural grassy area thrives surrounded by birch trees. It’s a blissfully secluded plot of land that I bought just days after I returned to Blue Hills Grove. In the center of the clearing, I’ve set up bales of hay ten feet apart, with targets stuck to wooden branches.
“Tanner?”
“Time to leave your old self behind, Sweet Bee. Lesson one starts now.”
Chapter Twelve
Berkleigh
“Why do you have a shooting range all set up in the woods? You know this is creepy, right?” My question comes as Tanner places me on a tree stump like fine china after carrying me from his truck.
“Are you going to ask questions all afternoon? You know that’s tiring as fuck, right?” The corners of his lips turn up into that trademark smirk as he raises his brows. Without waiting for an answer, he heads back to his truck, pulling a dark brown briefcase-sized bag from the trunk.
Hidden among the trees, there’s no direct sunlight and I can feel the chill now that we’re out here. I’m not entirely sure my suit jacket is going to be enough for whatever it is we’re doing. It’s pretty though, the way the trees sway lightly in the wind, a few amber leaves falling to the ground, twisting and turning with the breeze. We’re surrounded, with what seems to be only one main way inside, which is where the truck is currently parked.
The highway isn’t far away, but it feels like we’re in a whole other world. No buzz from the general hubbub of day-to-day living. Just us and nature.
I know beautiful places like this exist, and it reminds me of the walks I used to take around the wooded areas on campus when I was in college. Of course, I’d always be alone because my peers were generally out drinking or partying and my invitation was always non-existent, thanks to Taylor Frey. She was a mean girl in high-school, and continued to be so in college, spreading rumors about me from something as ridiculous as shitting myself while getting fucked up the ass, to as serious as me not being able to take no for an answer. She made my life hell. It was my terrible luck that she ended up in the same college as me, even worse luck when they decided to make us next door neighbors in our Freshman dorms.
She was just one of the many to make having any kind of social life impossible for me, but she was by far the worst. So, again, I concentrated on my academics, spending my spare time exploring by myself or holed up in my room studying. Fun times.
I have never taken the time to explore Blue Hills, though, and I know exactly why. I have learned enough about my own psyche to understand I should absolutely see a therapist because I have issues a plenty. But I’m the only one in town and my nights out dancing are my therapy. It’s a comfort zone thing. I stick to the places I know I won’t find those blasts from the past, to the routine I know will only involve some verbal sparring with Tanner…because it’s safe.
Well, until now.
“Hey.” Tanner is suddenly blocking my view, his hand sprawled across my neck and cheek as he wipes beneath my eye with his thumb. Pulling his hand away, his deep brown eyes remain locked on mine and he sucks his thumb into his mouth. “You’re beautiful when you cry.”
Am I crying?
He takes his time wiping the other side, both hands cupping my face, and he doesn’t move them away as he leans forward tolick my tears off of his other thumb. His entire focus is on me, his eyes watching me as if he’s ready to pounce at the slightest movement I make.
“Have you always been this intense?” As I speak, trying to lighten the mood, my lips brush against his hands and it’s really fucking hard not to poke my tongue out and lick him.
A smirk is his response and he backs off, picking up the bag he took out of the trunk.
“Ooh, toys to play with?” Getting myself comfortable on the stump, I completely shove aside any and all negative emotions and shuffle back a little so he can place the bag beside me.
He continues to not speak as he unzips the bag with a steady hand and opens it up. Inside are several very sharp looking daggers, some leather things that could be straps, maybe…? There are also a couple of fancy cases. He pulls one of them out and unclips it before lifting the lid, and inside is something I never thought I’d hold in my hands. I won’t lie, I’ve always been a little curious, but I pushed that aside because why would I need one of these?
Well…silly me, I guess.
My nerves are beginning to surface because my heart is practically pounding out of my chest. Am I really going to do this?
Up until this point, the conversations with Tanner about this whole Karma thing haven’t truly registered as reality. It has all felt like silly ramblings that you just simply talk about and never actually follow through with. Like when you replay the thing you should have done over and over in your mind but you know you would never have acted in such a way.
But we are following through…
Because here we are, in the middle of the woods, and Tanner is loading a gun.
“I’m going to shoot first, but I want you to feel it. Spread your legs.” The way he is waving the gun around has me doing exactly what he says, but my eyes are wide and I can’t tell if I’m scared out of my mind or completely turned on.
Turning to face the targets, his back is to me, he sits on the edge of the stump, between my now-open legs.
“Put your arms around me, reach for my wrists.”
