TAINTED

Chapter 21

IVY

A day of sun tanning, drinking, and barbequing did not interest Rhys. He looked distant for most of the afternoon. I had no idea why he decided to come to Duke Falls if he would be a dark cloud. Even though he spent his day drinking whisky and fly fishing with the guys, something seemed off. His eyes always seemed to find mine, but we kept our distance. He may have saved my life, but being alone with him wouldn't happen again.

Missy and I hung out around our campsite, drinking fruity drinks, basking in the sun, and reading girly magazines all day. Once the sun went down, Grayson started a fire. I spoke to a few people sitting around the fire and then found an empty seat beside Missy and far away from Rhys. He was standing on the opposite side near the barbeques, surrounded by girls laughing at whatever came out of his mouth. On the other hand, I made a point of putting the safety of the fire between us. When I looked over, Rhys stared at me with a husky gleam I wasn't used to seeing.

"Play something for us, Rhys," Grayson nodded to Rhys's guitar leaning against a lawn chair.

"Nah, I'd rather not." Rhys put a marshmallow at the end of a stick, crouched near the fire and turned it slowly.

"Come on, Rhys," Grayson continued. "I'll take some requests; what do you guys want to hear?" he said to everyone sitting around the campfire.

"Play Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks," someone shouted.

"How about Where the Blacktop Ends by Keith Urban," another person called out.

Rhys just laughed and shook his head.

"Come on. We're sitting around a campfire drinking beer. You brought your guitar. Play us something." Charlie chimed in.

Rhys casually popped a roasted marshmallow into his mouth.

I took a steadying breath as I watched him walk around the fire, grab his guitar, and sit in the empty chair beside me. He was too close in proximity to my body.

Everyone cheered and started chanting at Rhys to play a song while he tuned his guitar.

"Okay, okay. Relax. I'll play something," he chuckled. He reached into his back pocket, pulled a guitar pick, and looked at me. "Before I get into the mainstream crap, I'd like to play an original. I wrote this one a few weeks ago. It's still a work in progress."

I swallowed hard and turned away from his penetrating blue eyes. I tried to forget all the times I had been so fascinated by him when he jammed on his guitar in our garage with Eddie, or when he played a set at Jones's Tavern, or when he strummed out a song on the tailgate of his pickup truck in the high school parking lot. Before I could think too hard, Rhys's velvety voice touched my ears. It made me lightheaded. I saw everyone sitting around the campfire, captivated by his voice. My ears tuned into his lyrics, and his voice sent chills all over my body.

The loneliness will stay with me and hold me till I fall asleep.

You're the one who understands me, but I have to set you free.

He will always be better than me.

Hold him tight.

Keep him warm at night.

Hold me there in your sweet memory.

Because that's all we can ever be.

When the song ended, everyone started clapping and shouting out more requests. Grayson asked him to play an upbeat country song. Rhys effortlessly started to play Kenny Chesney's American Kids like he hadn't just swept me off my feet.