Cheyenne: The Art of Love and Jealousy

Chapter Seventeen: Raspberry Bonfire

The week went by rather slowly for Cheyenne. By the time Friday came, she was all worn out and tired. She brought a cup of tea with her in her Mason jar and downed it right after her last test. She was glad it was over. She thought her brain was going to explode after all those numbers. They were giving her a literal headache. It didn't help that she was also getting mentally ready for that evening when her mom's boyfriend would meet William. She had that gut feeling something was going to make her mad.

Then, just to tease William, Cheyenne had spent the week in t-shirts and flip-flops with her hair up and no makeup so when she got dressed up tonight, William wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off of her. The school day ended and Cheyenne rushed home as fast as she could. First, she needed to rejuvenate herself. She had had a long week and she was going to be up late, so she crawled in her bed, set her alarm to wake her up in an hour and a half, and fell asleep.

She jumped up when her alarm went off. She rushed to the bathroom and showered quickly. She hopped out of the shower, French braided her hair, and blow-dried her braided hair upside-down do her hair would have some lift to it. Cheyenne crossed the hall to her room and grabbed her cut off denim shorts, black cowboy boots, and her black leather jacket. The surprise she had for William was a light blue floral corset top that made her chest look bigger than it was. She put on the chain with William's class ring and it drew more attention to her bust line. Cheyenne put on her makeup and took her hair out of its braid. It fell over her shoulders in voluminous waves. Cheyenne looked like a model on the cover of a magazine and she smelled like freshly picked raspberries.

Cheyenne was putting in her gold chandelier earrings when heard the doorbell ring. She knew that it was Mike. Cheyenne told William to be ten minutes late as Mike was always fifteen minutes early. She was going to stay up in her room until William got there. She grabbed her large satchel and packed for overnight just in case she went home with William. She stuffed in her overnight toothbrush, deodorant, and mouthwash. She also packed her Jack Daniel's t-shirt and camo shorts.

She heard the loud sound of a motorcycle roar down the street. She heard Mike say something about people making too much noise. Cheyenne just chuckled. She peeked out her window and she felt her stomach do a flip. William was in a white t-shirt tight enough to show off his chest muscles, his black cowboy hat, and... black cowboy boots! He'd even gone a week without shaving so his full beard was starting to grow in.

She ran to the top of the stairs so she could watch Mike's reaction to William. He reacted much the way she thought he would. He opened the door and looked at William in disgust, and said, "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong house," and he shut the door in William's face. William just rang the doorbell again. Cheyenne could tell by the way he was ringing continually, he was enjoying messing with this guy. Cheyenne had to do everything she could to not burst out laughing. Eventually, Mike threw open the door again.

"I'm here for dinner with Cheyenne and Sarah," said William politely.

Mike looked like his eyes were going to bulge out of his head. Cheyenne found this amusing. Mike had known her for two weeks, and he thought he had a say in her life. This was aggravating, but tonight, with William, it was time to make his true colors come out. The hope was that her mother would see what a jerk he really was, and dump him. William walked into the house, going around Mike, whose face currently shared a resemblance to a prune.

Cheyenne walked slowly down the steps, keeping her eyes on William as she descended. He saw her and his jaw hit the floor. She could see his chest rise and fall as his breathing got harder. Cheyenne approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into her so he could smell the raspberry she was wearing. She could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest. That was the reaction she wanted.