Tan Lines Chapter 6

He laughed. “Oh come on, Shirley Temple, I'm not that bad. If memory serves correct, you were calling me a sex God.”

A few people turned around and stared at them. Mailee coughed and narrowed her eyes at him. “Can you say that again a little louder? Because I don't think everyone heard you!”

He smiled and then he reached over and took her hand. She looked up at him as he cocked his head to one side. “You know, I didn't want to part at all. I like having you around.”

Mailee smiled, touched by his words. “That's nice to hear, Neng. I thought for sure you'd go running in the opposite once you had me.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Once I had you? Haven't you heard? Once I have someone like you, I aim to make it forever.”

Mailee sighed deeply and removed her hand from his girp. “Neng, I told you that I'm not ready to make that kind of commitment, at least not with you. I'm not sure I want to go through marriage and divorce again.”

“Who says we would get a divorce? I'm one of those “I don't believe in divorces,” type.”

“Well, I still do, and mine was ugly as hell. I'm not ready to go through another one. Just give me some time.”

Mailee reached for the sugar just as she heard the car screech outside. A loud boom exploded and screams were heard as the front of an SUV came crashing through the cafe window. Mailee screamed as Neng grabbed her and pushed her down on the ground, covering her with his body. Screams echoed throughout the cafe as everyone rushed outside. Neng stood up and helped her as the owner of the cafe stood emotionless.

“Are you ok?” Neng asked.

Mailee nodded. “I think so. I'm not hurt anywhere.”

“Stay here. I'm going to check out the driver.”

Mailee sighed and rubbed her arms as she watched Neng walk through the shattered glass to the SUV. The hood was bent and smoke was rising from front. The airbag had deployed and she couldn't see the person sitting behind the wheel. She gulped down as Neng reached the car door and then suddenly a hand holding a gun came out of the window. Mailee screamed as the man fired and it hit Neng in the shoulder.

“Neng!” Mailee screamed.

Neng ducked down as the door to the SUV opened and a man all bloodied in the face fell out. Neng wrestled him down and kicked the gun away from him. Although hurt, Neng had as much power as when he wasn't. In a second, he had the man pinned down and had thrown handcuffs on him. When the man was cuffed and brought to a standing position, cop cars came wailing outside. When Neng's deputies entered, he handed the man and the gun over to them.

“Sherburne county had just released a BOLO on this vehicle. This driver had escaped a hit and run,” Billy explained. Then he saw Neng's shoulder. “You ok? You need medical attention?”

Neng felt his arm and groaned. “It's just a graze. The bullet missed me. I'll check in later. You just bring that douchebag in and get him settled. I'll call Sherburne county.”

“Ok, sounds good.”

When Billy left, Mailee walked up to Neng and took his arm. He turned around, surprised to see her there, for some reason. She felt her heart thundering as she saw his blood spill down his arm. Shaking her head, she suddenly felt scared; scared about losing him, about being alone, and about not having him in her life. Tears dropped from her eyes and Neng caught her chin, bringing her to look at him.

“Please don't tell me you're crying for me?” he asked.

“You scared me. I thought I'd lost you.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Baby, it's going to take a lot more than a little bullet to get rid of me.”

“But-”

He closed the distance between them and kissed her lips deeply. The kiss melted the cold around her heart and warmth settled in. When he pulled away, a bit too soon, she stared at him and he smiled as he caressed her cheek. She felt her stomach do flips and her body respond...violently.

“I'm telling you, Mailee, marry me. We shouldn't have to deny this. We shouldn't have to hide. I want to wake up with you in my bed and know that you'll be there every night and nowhere else. I want to be the only one who knows how you sound when you whimper out my name because you need me.”

In a shocking herself and him, she replied, “Where's the ring?”

Night had fallen outside and Mailee was standing in the kitchen stirring her cup of coffee. Neng was sleeping upstairs from his pain medicine. He went to the hospital and had four stitches put in. She stood and watched in horror as she saw gauze after gauze filled with blood. It finally hit her how much she wanted him in her life and when she had agreed to marry him, she never thought she'd find herself in a state of contentment. She smiled and brought the cup of coffee to her lips. She sipped it and heard the doorbell ring. Assuming it was Billy coming by to check on Neng, she opened it without asking who it was. The man standing before her sent her to shock and back. Randall Jones, her ex-husband, stood there wearing an old wrinkled shirt and a pair of washed out jeans. His eyes were blood shot and his hair looked like it had suffered his fingers too many times. The greeting on her lips died and she stood there, unable to move, as he continued staring at her with his dark eyes. She found her hands were gripping the door so hard her knuckles hurt.

“Randall, what are you doing here?” Mailee asked.

He swallowed and then he pointed inside the house. She hesitated for a moment before she stepped aside and he walked in. She closed the door and turned to look up the stairs, hoping Neng wouldn't wake yet. She found Randall wandering through the living room, picking up objects and putting them back down again. She didn't know what he wanted and seeing him here scared her.

“You made this into your home,” he said as he turned around to face her.

Ignoring his question, she asked, “What do you want?”

He looked at her blankly and then he walked toward her. “I...I came to say I'm sorry, Mailee. I made a mistake. I don't know what I was thinking.”

She frowned and took a step back when he came forward. “Stay where you are, Randall. Do not come any closer to me, you hear? You're the one who decided I wasn't good enough.”

“But I was wrong.”

“And now suddenly you're right? What makes you think you can come here and just decide you want back into my life? When you asked me to marry you, I did and I supported you through your career. Then when you got ahead in life, you left me behind! How do you think that made me feel? I was your wife and you saw other women more worthy than me!”

He nodded and raised his hands in surrender. “You're right, Mailee. You're right in everything. I was wrong and I am here to make it up.”

She felt the tears fill her eyes even though she had promised herself she would never let him hurt her again. She looked up at him and she shook her head. “No, Randall, I need you to leave. You came here to make it up, but I'm not going to allow you to. I'm done with you and your ways. I'm worth more than that and you will never know because you broke me in the first place.”

He fell to his knees and brought up his hands in a praying form. “Please Mailee, I know that I hurt you, but can't you just forgive me? It's so easy to forgive.”

She felt sick to her stomach. “Look at you, Randall, and your pathetic act of trying to wiggle yourself back into my life. Yes, it's easy to forgive, isn't it? But it's harder to forget. And I'll never forget what you've done to me. The feeling of being small is forever engrained in my mind when I think of you. You've managed to destroy everything I worked for and now that I am free, I will not let you trap me again. Please leave.”

He grabbed her hands and pulled her. “Please!”

“I believe the lady asked you to leave,” Neng said from behind.

Mailee pulled her hand free from Randall as they both turned to find Neng walking down the stairs. He wasn't wearing a shirt and a bandage covered his left bicep. To any onlooker, he looked huge and could kill at any moment. The moment Randall saw him, he got off of his knees and his gaze jerked to Mailee. The look on his face said it all and it wasn't surprising when he blurted it out.

“No wonder you won't forgive me. There's another man in your life, isn't there?”

Mailee sighed and suddenly felt exhausted. “Just leave, Randall, it's over between us.”

When Randall made no movement, Neng stepped closer to him. “Please respect Mailee's wishes.”

Randall laughed. “What are you going to do? Arrest me?”

“If I have to.”

“What are you? The sheriff?”

Neng smiled. “In fact, I am.”

Randall's smile faded and he turned to gaze at Mailee. “I'm not through, Mailee.”

When Randall had gone through the door, Mailee let out the breath she'd been holding. She turned to find Neng gazing at her. She swallowed and turned away when he grabbed her arm. He swung her around and she caught the fire in his eyes. He ran his hand up her arm and when his hands reached her neck, she shuddered.

“Tell me the truth,” he said.

She felt as if she was walking on ice, afraid she'd fall at any moment. She looked into his eyes and then she took a deep breath. “It's over and that's the way it'll remain. You are my future.”