Part 03: Devon - Fallen Touch

"No," I said. "It's not that. Your voice."

"Is it that bad?"

I laughed. "No. It's beautiful. I didn't know you could sing."

"Most people don't," she replied. "It's not something I brag about."

I smiled and took her hand into mine. "You should."

When we got to my house, Tamara followed me to the front door. "It's so pretty out here."

"Yeah. I guess I probably take it for granted."

She followed me into the kitchen. I took an ice pack from the freezer and held it to my fist. She looked at me for a moment.

"What happened back there?"

I looked at her. "I punched Ronnie."

"You what?" she said, coming closer.

"Yeah. I've never hit anyone before. I shouldn't have done that," I said, suddenly feeling guilty.

"It's all my fault," she said.

"No," I said. I put the ice pack on the counter and pulled her close to me. "It isn't your fault. It's mine. I should've just kept walking."

She laid her head on my shoulder and I kissed her hair. She pulled away from me and looked into my eyes. "I love you," she said, her voice so low that I almost didn't hear her.

I smiled at her. I looked at her for the longest time and then I kissed her lips, pressing my lips to hers demandingly. I took her hand and led her to my bedroom. Entering the room, we were both so nervous that we couldn't speak. Standing in front if her, I pulled my shirt up over my head, dropping it on my desk chair. I saw Tamara's fingers went to her blouse and she undid each button. Slowly, she took off her blouse and let it drop beside mine on the chair. I smiled and stepped forward to kiss her, my hands moving behind her back to undo her bra.

My heart was pounding.

I undid my pants and sat on the bed to take off my shoes and socks. She watched me with wide eyes as I removed my pants and folded them over the back of the chair. She unzipped her skirt, slipped it down her legs, and placed it over my pants. Then she took off her sandals and I stood to embrace her. We kissed, and again, it was a long demanding kiss that almost took our breath away.

"Tamara," I whispered.

There was storm rolling it. I could hear the thunder, see the lighting through the curtain on my window, but all I really heard was the beating of my own heart and I could feel Tamara's heart pounding when we touched.

I moved my hands to my waist. She kept her eyes closed as I stepped out of my shorts and then gently lowered her panties, savoring the sight of her. She stepped out of them as if she were stepping into a tub of warm water.

In just a few minutes, we were in bed and my lips were on her stomach. I worked my way up, between her breasts, over them and then to her mouth as I moved between her legs.

"Devon," she said, almost too weakly for me to hear.

"Don't worry," I whispered. "I'm prepared."

I entered her body, slowly, pressing forward, burying myself deep inside her. She moaned, she cried, she grasped my hair so hard that I should have been in pain, but I didn't resist or complain. When I felt tears streaming down her cheeks, I kissed them away.

When it was over, we lay there, still entwined, both of us breathing hard. Several minutes passed before either of us moved. When I rose up, she opened her eyes and looked up at me.

Then she gazed down and saw the blood on the bed sheet.

"Oh, no, look," she said.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of that." I started to smile.

She pulled away from me, spinning around and pressing her face to the pillow.

"Tamara," I said, pressing the palm of my hand to her back. "Tamara, I love you." She was quiet for several minutes and I could sense that something was wrong. "Tamara, what's wrong?" I asked, softly.

"I don't know what came over me. Why...how..."

"We didn't do anything wrong. Don't start feeling guilty."

"Why shouldn't I feel guilty, Devon?" she snapped and got up to gather her clothes. "This is exactly what everyone would have thought would happen if I came here and spent the evening alone with you."

"But we didn't do anything wrong."

"I just feel like we went too far," she said. "Maybe you'd better take me home."

"Tamara..."

"Please, Devon. I just want to go home."

"You're punishing yourself unfairly," I said, rising. I started to dress.

Tamara dressed quickly and went downstairs before I finished dressing. When I went downstairs, Tamara was standing by the back door, watching the horses in the field. I pulled her into my arms and held her, stroking her hair.

"Tamara..." I began. "If I thought I'd made you unhappy..."

"I'm all right," she said, straightening. "Just take me home. I'll feel better after I get some sleep."

"That's right. Things always look better in the morning, don't they?"

"Not always," she responded.

We drove to her house in silence. When I stopped in front of her house, Tamara climbed out of the van and ran across the yard, not even giving me the change to walk her to the door. I sighed heavily and pulled away from the curb.

I drove back to my house in silence. I didn't know what to think. My mind was racing. I couldn't believe that I messed up so badly.

I was about fifteen minutes away from Montgomery Town when my head began to spin. I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to focus. Then my van came to a sudden stop and I was jolted forward, smacking my head off the steering wheel.

I hot something, I thought. I shook my head to keep from blacking out. I sat there for a few minutes, waiting for my head to stop spinning.

Several minutes passed before I climbed out of the van. I closed the door and leaned back against the vehicle for a moment. I saw headlights approaching and I turned to see a pickup truck stopping behind my van. Someone got out and walked toward me.

"Devon?" It was Lance. "Are you all right?"

"Um...I think so," I replied, straightening up. "I think I hit something."

"It looks like you've hit a tree," he told me. "Your head is bleeding."

"It is?" I asked a little confused.

Lance was staring at me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm just a little, uh, confused."

"You must've hit your head pretty hard," he said.

"What happened?" Billy asked, coming up behind Lance. Dalton and Ronnie was there, too.

"I don't know," I replied. "My head started to spin and the next thing I knew..." I felt dizzy again and fell back against the van, holding both hands on my head, as if to stop it from spinning.

"We should call an ambulance," Lance suggested, rushing forward to steady me.

"No," I said. "I'm fine. Just take me home."

Ronnie climbed into the van and tried to start it, but it wouldn't turn over. "we'll have to tow it back to your house tomorrow," he told me.

I looked at him for a moment. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you."

He put his hand up and shook his head. "I shouldn't have said what I said. It's okay."

"No, it's not. I shouldn't have done that."

"Forget it, Devon."

"Let's get you home," Billy told me.