Totem Page 10

  “He is gone,” responds Ty blankly.

  “Was there a wolf?” I ask

  Surprise registers across Ty’s face at my question. I drop my eyes down to my shirt. The last thing I need is to shock my hero. That is when I notice that I am no longer in my clothes from the night before. In its place is a baggy shirt.

  Did Ty change my clothes?!

  Panic rises up in me at my thoughts. I tug on the old T-shirt. Across the chest is Crescent City Classic 1999. The shirt itself is a few sizes too big. Slowly I pull up the blanket so I can look at what I am wearing as bottoms. I become quickly mortified at the sight of Men’s boxers replacing my blue jeans. My eyes widen. I look up at Ty. He looks back at me inquisitively. He cannot read my expression.

  “My clothes,” I say. “Did you undress me last night?”

  Ty waves his hands vehemently as a crooked smile crosses his face.

  “No no no. It was Sarah. She was the one who changed your clothes. I wasn’t even in the room when she was doing it. Your clothes were dirty from getting knocked to the ground last night and needed to be cleaned. My only contribution is getting you the actual clothes that you are wearing now.”

  Relief washes over me and I physically slump down into a relaxing pose in the bed. I like Ty. The thought of him changing me is more than I can take right now. His sister is almost as bad, but she is a nurse and probably used to it. My mini crisis is averted.

  “There is some Tylenol on the tray for you to take as well,” replies Ty. “I imagine you have a head ache.”

  I look at the Tylenol and nod appreciatively. I open the packet and pop both pills in my mouth. Then I take a swig of juice. I stay silent the rest of the time I eat. Ty watches me intently taking in every mannerism. His intense stare causes me to be even more aware of myself as I eat, but how can you tell the person who saved you not to watch. I take a bite of toast making sure I chew with my mouth tightly closed. As I swallow, I feel a dull pain in my throat. My hand automatically touches the spot on my skin where the internal pain is located. Immediately I regret grabbing my throat as even more pain shoots across my neck.

  “You have a nice bruise forming there,” states Ty.

  Worry creases his face as he watches me slowly rub it. I look at him. Had it not been for him, I am sure it would be more than just a bruise. I drop the toast on the plate deciding not to eat any more. I will eat later when the Tylenol kicks in. I look around the room more thoroughly taking in my surroundings for the first time. The room is sparsely decorated with the only furniture being the bed I am in, a night stand and a dresser. On the wall opposite the bed is a sliding door that must be a closet. The walls are an off shade of white and the blue blankets I am wrapped in match the blue sky outside.

  “Where are we?”

  “I brought you to my house. I live in the marina only about five minutes away from campus.”

  “Does your sister live with you?” I ask

  “Yes,” replies Ty.

  “Is this one of those boathouses where you park the boat underneath?”

  “Yes.”

  Ty smiles at my question. It is a silly question, but the idea of a house being on stilts with a boat underneath is a new concept to me and thus intrigues me to no end.

  “Do you have a boat?”

  “Yes. We have a few boats.”

  There he is again with the word a few as if alluding to a fleet of boats all at his disposal. I finish off the juice and begin on the water. The pounding in my head is slowly going away. I hear a tiny knock at the door and turn around. In the door way is a small woman with a big smile. Her eyes and skin are the same color as Ty’s. Her long hair cascades down in layers. It would have been completely the same color as Ty’s hair had it not been for the grey streaks in front framing her face.

  “Hi, how is our little patient?”

  Her voice is kind. I can tell she is a gentle person by her tone. Perhaps years of being a nurse made her that way. I smile back at her. Her smile grows causing crinkles to form around her eyes.

  “I’m doing fine,” I respond. “I have a bit of a head ache, but the Tylenol seems to be helping.”

  “That’s to be expected with a mild concussion,” she replies looking me over really well. “I have your clothes in the dryer. They should be ready in a half an hour.”

  With those words and a kind smile, she disappears closing the door behind her. I look back at Ty. He looks at me blankly as if his eyes never left me. The thought of Ty watching me so intently makes my head swoon even more than it did last night. I smile at him as my heart begins to race and the butterflies in my stomach take flight. As if answering the call of my beating heart, he smiles.

  “What are you thinking about?” asks Ty.

  “Nothing,” I respond.

  The real answer is I am thinking about him, but it is not something that should be spoken out loud. My cheeks blush forcing me to remove my gaze from him. I look down. He is so beautiful. Not only did I find him attractive, but now I owe him my life. He is my own hero. How could I ever thank him?

  “If you are up for it, I can take you on a little tour around my house while we wait,” states Ty.

  “I would like that,” I respond feeling my heart leap.

  I rise up out of bed careful not to flash him my panties in his oversized boxers. I thank Sarah secretly for leaving my undergarments on. I am not comfortable walking around without a bra in front of guys I barely know. Ty rises from his seat and walks around the bed. He reaches for my hand sending the butterflies scattering in my stomach. I smile at the feel of his touch and my heart beats faster again. Ty looks at me inquisitively. Then he smiles pulling me through the door and into the hallway.

  “This is the upstairs,” states Ty. “You were sleeping in the guest room. Over there is Sarah’s room. This is the hall bathroom. And through that door is my room.”

  “Can we go into your room?”

  My curiosity is getting the best of me as I wonder what type of room a guy like Ty has. He shoots me one of his brilliant full smiles as he pulls me toward the door. Ty opens the door revealing not a bedroom like I expected but a huge walk in closet. I say closet but in all actuality, it wasn’t much smaller than the guest room I was just in. In the middle of the room framed in clothes is a spiral staircase. Absent mindedly, I run my fingers across the row of t-shirts to the right of me. They are soft to the touch.

  There must be over a hundred shirts here and one of every color, I think to myself.

  “I have a weakness for Banana Republic t-shirts,” Ty rubs the back of his head gauging my reaction.

  “I like you in them,” I say with a smile. “So where is your actual room?”

  “It’s up the stairs. Originally this was a room, but we converted the attic into my room and this into a closet. It is a bit unorthodox, but I kind of like it.”

  Ty smiles and tugs my hand as he heads towards the stairs. We begin walking up in a circle. As we reach the top, I am amazed at the room. It is huge and one side still held the shape of an attic sloping downward leaving only enough room for a long desk. The side opposite jutted out further allowing for a normal size wall. This wall was completely made up of ceiling to floor window that opens onto a deck. The view overlooked the harbor and is beyond spectacular this sunny Saturday morning. His king sized bed framed the wall in front of us. A huge picture of the swamp rests above it adding color to the room.

  “This is my room and this is my bathroom.”

  I look over to the corner of the room I had not noticed yet. The glass walls blended into the ones leading outside causing my eyes to initially allow me to think it is part of the wall thus skipping over it. As I look closer, I notice that a distinct corner of the room is taken up by a separate smaller room. He slides open the glass door revealing a luxurious bathroom. Everything is sleek black. Ty steps into the bathroom and presses a button. My mouth drops as I watch the foggy white tempered glass that surrounds the room turn clear revealing a panoramic
view of the marina. My mind drifts to the thought of taking a shower with the waterfall shower head looking out to views of Lake Pontchartrain.

  “That’s amazing,” I reply breathless.

  “I like showers.”

  Ty shrugs his shoulders as he cocks a half crooked smile. I knew exactly how he felt about showers. They are a favorite part of my day now that I moved down in to the Louisiana heat. I stare at one of the most amazing showers I have ever seen in person.

  “Does anyone ever see you taking a shower?”

  “You can’t see in if you take a shower during the day. At night, I turn on the tempered glass,” replies Ty. “But if anybody has seen me, they have not said anything.”

  I wouldn’t say anything either in hopes you would do it again.

  We finish upstairs and find our way down to the main level. It is simple enough. Large tile floors in an open space with no walls serve as the main living area. The living room opens up onto the kitchen with a bar separating them which in turn opens up onto a balcony with a hot tub. To the side of the space sits a small office and half bath. I take in every inch. My eyes, however, hover on the fireplace which is framed with items that I recognize to be Native American. I am not skilled enough to know the tribes they come from but I admire them all the same. Pictures of people in traditional attire sit on the mantle as wood carvings of various things speckle around.

  The one thing that amazed me the most though, is the tall four foot wood piece that sat in the corner only feet away from the fire place. It stood alone in its space. Intricately carved figures dance up and down the pole like object. It is a totem pole. I begin to pick out the animals that I can recognize. An eagle stood on top with outstretched wings. A stag is next with antlers that balance the eagle. Then the animals swirl around the pillar. I see a dolphin, wolf, bear, buffalo and some type of cat. My eyes gaze at it getting lost in the artistry.

  “Do you want to go see the boats?”

  My attention shoots back to Ty as he tugs on my hand. I look up into his face. He is smiling from ear to ear. It seems sharing his life with someone excites him. I smile back and nod my head. He pulls me down another flight of stairs to the ground level where two sets of doors lie. I look through the glass of the one leading to the front and see Ty’s familiar bronco in a covered parking spot. Before I can look more, he pulls me through the other door. Immediately the solid floor gives way to planks as we stand on a dock over the water.

  “We have a few canoes and a pontoon,” states Ty pointing to the storage area under his house, “My motor boat is docked on the north shore, but this is the boat I like the most.”

  I look in the water at the sleek cream colored boat sitting in front of me. It is what I consider to be a mini yacht. My eyes draw to the name on the front of the boat and I say it out loud.

  “Lilly.”

  “I named her after my mom,” states Ty. “Care to come aboard?”

  I nod my head. Ty steps on board first then helps me. Cream leather seats frame the open deck on the boat as a special chair sits apart from the rest with a steering wheel in front of it. Ty opens up a small door and walks into the hole. I follow completely amazed that at what seems like such a small boat outside could have such a huge cabin space. A small kitchen on the right with a table on the left then the whole room opens up to a giant bed with small stool like seats in front of it.

  “It’s not much as far as boats go, but I like it. It gets me from place to place while still offering some home comforts.”

  “I love it.”

  It is true. It is not as big as other boats, but it is bold yet cozy. You couldn’t help but feel secure in it. It’s exactly how I felt in Ty’s arms last night. Quickly I throw the thought out of my head. Ty places his hand on the small of my back. I look up at him and blush when I realize he has been watching me the whole time. I throw my attention back on the bed then blush even more.

  “Hello.”

  I hear Sarah’s voice call down from the steps on the main floor. I look in the direction of the door. Before I can move, Ty is already at the boat’s door waving at Sarah.

  “Oh there you are,” says Sarah. “Can you tell Kimber that her clothes are dry?”

  “Sure thing,” replies Ty.

  “Thank you.”

  Ty walks back over to me as he places his hand on the small of my back again. I feel my heart racing. Ty is so young compared to his sister. I wonder how that could be.

  “How old is your sister?”

  “Good question,” ponders Ty. “I think she is 48?”

  “Your parent’s had you late in life huh?”

  “Yea,” responds Ty hesitantly.

  I can tell the topic made him uncomfortable so I drop it. We stand on the boat for a while with the egg like cocoon structure encircling us causing us to get lost in the space together. I close my eyes feeling the slight motion of the water rocking the boat. I open them up feeling all too dizzy. It must be the concussion.

  “It’s a lovely boat,” I state, “but do you mind if we get off? I think the waves rocking mixed with my head trauma is making me dizzy.”

  Ty nods and then heads out. I step out and wait for Ty to close and latch the door. He hops off of the boat then helps me out. We walk up the stairs. My clothes are sitting on the kitchen counter neatly folded. I nod to Ty and thank Sarah as I head upstairs to change.

  Before changing, I make the bed. They are so hospitable to me that I did not want to seem like more of a burden than I already was. I look down at my all too revealing shirt from the night before neatly folded. It is way too inappropriate to wear during the day. I leave on Ty’s big shirt hoping it will be okay for me to wear it home. I slide off the boxers and hop into my jeans. I neatly fold and place Ty’s boxers on the corner of the bed after I am done changing. I take one look at myself in the mirror. The bruise is fresh but quickly darkening. I lightly touch the area as I remember the eyes of the attacker the night before. He looked unreal. The qualities that define people as human were absent from this man’s face. Slowly my mind begins to think up fantastical thoughts as it flushes over all the details. He had red eyes and long fangs. He was attacking a woman’s neck. Then he lunged at mine. Could he be a vampire? Quickly I dispel the thought from my mind. Vampires are not real. There is no way they could be. I shrug off the thought as I adjust the hair hanging down from my ponytail around my neck hopefully hiding the forming bruises.

  I notice my phone and wallet sitting on the dresser. I pick up my phone and my heart drops. It is filled with texts. Quickly I scroll through them. Most of them were Michelle wondering where I was. A few were from Andrew apologizing and wondering how I was doing. From the tones of the texts, the two of them had not seen each other yet. Otherwise, Michelle would seem even more worried than she was. I hear a knock on the door as I place my phone and wallet in my pockets.

  “Everything ok?” asks Ty

  I open the door and smile at him. His beautiful brown eyes meet mine and I feel myself melting under his gaze.

  “Yea,” I respond. “I hope you don’t mind if I borrow your t-shirt. My dress shirt seems silly to wear during the day.”

  “That is fine.” He has a bemused smile on his face. “Do you want a ride home?”

  “That would be great.”

  I take one more look around the room I crashed in before closing the door. Ty has already made his way down the stairs. I take a second to regain myself as I walk down the stairs. My muscles are sore and tight. It is something I did not notice earlier walking with Ty. I take each step slowly. Ty appears at the bottom of the steps swinging his keys around his finger.

  “Are you sure you’re ok?” He asks caustically.

  I nod not at all too happy with his tone. I feel like a child as I take the steps slowly. I get down to the bottom and am in the living room. I glance one more time at the elaborate wooden totem in the corner before facing the next set of steps. This time Ty helps me.

  “So which car are we t
aking this time?” I ask jokingly.

  “The mustang,” replies Ty casually.

  He opens the door and we walk out into the brilliant Saturday sun. I squint as my eyes become accustomed to the light. We walk down a few more steps and are on a paved front yard. There hiding behind the Bronco is a brand new black mustang. Excitement rises up in me at the chance to ride in it. He opens the door. The tan leather interior beckons me to sit. I wait for Ty to close the door, but he hovers. I look up into his eyes. They stare at me. There was something going on in that beautiful mind hidden behind the face of this gorgeous man, but I cannot put my finger on it. I look up waiting for him to speak.

  “What are you doing the rest of the day?”

  “Recovering from last night.” I reply.

  Ty laughs. I look at him and smile. He bends down almost sitting on his heels. His brilliant eyes are level with mine. Eagerly he searches my face sending my heart racing. My heart beat seems to be the response needed to push Ty forward.

  “Have a late lunch with me.”

  I feel my inner self jumping for joy at this unexpected date offer. It is not really a question he is asking but a statement. As if somehow he knows my answer is yes. It is as if my body gives him queues to what I want. I search his face trying to decide if this is real or not. He is right. It did not matter the question. The only answer I will ever give him is yes. I am putty in his hands. He can mold me however he wants. A tingle creeps along my spine as I think about Ty molding me. His hands touching me, shaping me makes my breath hitch and I briefly have to close my eyes.

  “Say yes.”

  I open my eyes to see Ty smiling. His face closer than it was before I closed them. I smell the scent of his cologne as his proximity brings it wafting to my nose. Does he know how much sexuality oozes from him?

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  I nod my head giving him two positive responses just in case he didn’t notice the first. A brilliant smile crosses Ty’s face. Satisfied with the answer, he stands up and closes the door leaving me swooning. I watch him walk around the car. Once in the car, he hands me a few packets of Tylenol.