I was utterly silent. The sky was turning various shades of pinks and oranges as it set to the west in the Nevada sky. I was breathing as quietly as I could-not moving. Laying perfectly still in the far-too-high truck bed, hiding-remaining there silently as if my life depended on it. That freaky, buff bastard was still counting. But I was already hidden.
"Ready or not, here I come!" he called, sinisterly. I closed my eyes, my heart increasing from the anticipation of the game.
The world was silent. And my mind drifted.
I was playing with Ron Smith, also known as Ironhide by his comrades. The nickname was so perfectly suited to the soldier. He was massive-tall, and incredibly muscular. He had perfectly sculpted cheekbones, but a crooked nose that had clearly seen many fights and battles in it's poor lifetime. His naturally white hair was always slicked back in an tidy way, perfect for the Army rules. Long compared to some of his peers, but still short enough to not touch his collar when he was in uniform. I believe I have begun to digress. Apologies.
The name 'Ironhide' had been the first thing he'd been called when I met him, and it had stuck with me. He lived in the garage of adoptive parents and their toddler daughter. And at first, I'd been rather wary of the huge, very-scarred military man. But truthfully, he was a big softie, regardless of the name 'Ironhide'. I figured that name only applied in battle, because he was never too harsh with me. And, if I was being honest, I had developed a crush on him, sometime between the point when I had first met him-and been scared of him-and this very moment.
"GOT YOU!"
I gasped, lurching forward and cracking my head against his.
"Ah, god damn it, 'Hide! You peeked!" I cried, disgruntled at having been found so fast, my hand covering the aching spot on my head. He was usually pretty terrible at the game, but this time, he'd found me in seconds flat. He chuckled, rubbing at his very hard head. Maybe the name 'Ironhide' was literal. OW.
"Nah, you're just bad at this," he said. My eyebrows shot up.
"I'm bad at this? You're saying that I, winner-of-nearly-all-games-of-Hide-and-Seek, am bad at hiding? As if!" I cried, accusatorially. He just chuckled again, hopping down and stepping around to the tail-gate of the truck, pulling the lever.
"Come on, I'll help you down," he said, extending a hand. I scooted toward him, taking his hand and letting him catch me as I jumped from the Topkick, "How'd you even get up there, anyway, Ramona?"
"I climbed," I replied, a cheshire grin on my face. His booming laugh filled the evening air.
"You're so..." he began, but it seemed he wasn't able to find the right words.
"Nimble?" I offered, "Agile? Spry? Cat-like? I know." His massive, calloused and warm hand slid into mine, and at a glance, I noticed his expression had changed from cheerful and joking to something much more serious.
"I was thinking 'perfect' would be more suited to you," he offered. His other hand came up and caressed my cheek, sliding back into my hair, and then he brought his warm lips down on mine. Holy shit. Ron Smith...Ironhide was kissing me. It was my first real kiss. And wow...my eyes drifted closed, my arms going up around his broad shoulders, and I found myself kissing him back. Eventually, I had to pull back, as air was an unfortunate necessity to human life. I kept my eyes closed, even as I regained my breath. If by chance that had been a day-dream, I wanted to preserve it for as long as possible. But 'Hide had other ideas.
"Do you want to go for a ride?" he offered. I slowly opened my eyes and, to my pleasure, he was still standing there. It hadn't been a day dream. Hallelujah. It took me a moment to remember what he had said, but when I did, I immediately nodded. He smiled briefly at me, then walked me to the passenger side of the GMC Topkick. He reached over my shoulder and opened the door, giving me a hand to haul myself into the massive truck. I waited calmly as he rounded the front of the truck and pulled himself in, turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the Lennox's driveway.
