Talia's Torment

Chapter 20: Gearing up and going out.

                Talia was amazed at all the equipment they were able to purchase without even batting an eye.  They had gone to a website online and ordered practically everything they needed for their upcoming mission.  Who knew that outdoor adventurists and nighttime surveillance had so much in common?  The few items they couldn’t find on the site they were able to get from a whole in the wall army surplus store that was a couple towns away from them.  It was kind of exciting and scary to realize that all of these items had been available so readily.

                She was currently putting on a vest that Tanner had purchased for her to “ensure it fit properly.”  Tanner said he had to be sure it would protect her and if it didn’t fit right it wouldn’t do the job it was supposed to do.  Go figure.  Instead of feeling like she was prepping to stop a monster she felt more like she was shopping with her mom for school.  Once again trying on item after item and none of them were particularly making her jump for joy.  Talia looked over as Tanner absentmindedly handed her another item to try on.  Great, yet another vest, only this one had Kevlar written on the little tag near the base of the vest.  They all looked about the same but according to him they were as different as night and day.  Whatever.  All she knew was that the smell of stale mothballs combined with what could only be described as new frying pans was starting to give her a headache.  She needed a break.

                Talia walked out onto the porch to sit on the swing and watch the birds in the nearby tree.  She vaguely remembered that the tree was called a Jacaranda.  It had the prettiest purple flowers on it that kind of looked like tiny trumpets.  She thought back to when Tanner told her what it was, she had thought it was some kind of fern because the leaves looked more like ferns that were hanging from the branches rather than leaves.  She was not used to seeing such beautiful and unusual trees back where she had grown up.  She loved sitting here and watching it sway in the warm breeze.  It always seemed to calm her, she needed that now.

                She had thought that she would be excited or at least relieved that they now were moving forward with her plan.  She knew it had to be done or countless others would suffer and eventually meet their end because of Laurent.  He needed to be stopped, she didn’t want to think of how many women he had probably snared while she was recovering and preparing herself for her “reunion” with him.  She couldn’t let herself think about that, if she did she would never be able to live with herself.  It would make her curl up into a ball and never come out again.  That couldn’t happen, so here she was trying to calm her mind while watching humming birds of all things.

                Tanner chuckled under his breath upon finding her in the swing.  She supposed she did look funny.  She was wearing a Kevlar vest, army boots, pants with so many pockets she was sure she could lose everything she owned, and to top it all off she was using the night vision goggles that had a day time sensor.  Tanner said that was the best thing about them.  They could sense the level of light around you and would adjust to that light so that they would come out of night vision and you wouldn’t be blinded by daylight by being in night mode.  At least that was the jest of it, there was so much jargon tossed into the actual explanation she had been given that she had started to feel like she needed a translator.  He had been like a kid in a candy store, practically drooling over the entire tech display they had seen in the surplus store.  It had been comical actually; she had just about told him that if he was good he could have a lollipop later.

                “You do know that you can see the hummingbirds without binoculars right?”  Tanner had a smile on his face and you could hear the laughter in his voice.

                “Yes, but this way they know I am watching them, and it feels more official.”  Talia gave him a firm nod as if to make herself look more professional.

                “I am just trying to get into the mood; ya know trying out the feel of being an observer.”  She gave him a crooked grin and he laughed at her humor and quirky smile.

                “Well I am pretty sure the whole point is not to be observed while you are observing.”  He whispered in her ear.

                His hot breath tickled her neck and made the wisps of hair that had escaped her bun sway in the breeze his words had made.  She stilled her motions as the heat from his body reached her and made her want to lean into him.  Looking up she saw that he had noticed her change in mood from quirky to mildly turned on.  He just smiled at her and gave her a wink.  Then Tanner just turned and walked away, stopping in the door frame to look back at her.

                “You are going to need to change out of that get up.”  He walked further into the cabin.

                Talia called back over her shoulder, “Why do I need to change, are the birds going to tell the other birds?”

                “No but it kind of makes it hard to hold you close and kiss you with all that gear.”

                Talia scrambled off the porch swing, getting thunked in the butt for her trouble and nearly twisting an ankle trying to avoid a second swat.  She swore it was trying to get her, giving it the evil eye she warily avoided a third swipe and made it into the cabin.  Seeing her face and hearing her mumble under her breath about attach swings Tanner burst into a full bodied laugh.  The sound sent tingles down her spine and color to her cheeks almost instantly.  He was definitely claiming a large chunk of her heart.

                Talia had gotten out of the recon gear in record time and was staring at the few pieces of clothing she did have that were not work out gear.  To say that it was dismal was a sever understatement.  She literally had her pajamas and a couple of laundry day sweats.  Other than that it was all t-shirts and work out shorts or pants.  Realizing that you had prepared for rebuilding your body and strength and had not thought about rebuilding a life kind of puts someone into the dumps.  She just chucked her meager clothing options back into the two drawers that they occupied in Tanner’s dresser and sat on the bed in defeat.

                “What’s taking so long?” Tanner was calling her from the kitchen.

                She had heard him making dinner and wanted to dress up special for him, she had wanted to make an impression.  Now she was just wondering if she could claim she didn’t feel well and sneak off into bed early.  He would never know she had been so misguided in thinking she had nice clothes in her options.  He hadn’t known she was going to dress up in the first place so she could just go in her usual tee and jeans, but having wanted to dress up now she just felt deflated.  Yeah, she knew it didn’t make sense, but neither did most of the emotions she found herself warring with lately.

                She heard a quiet knock on the door frame and looked up to see Tanner staring at her with a look of complete love in his eyes.  He was also holding something behind his back and it piqued her interest immediately.  She was unconsciously trying to look around him and see what it was while he kept adjusting to block her view.  Huffing she gave up and looked back into his smiling face.

                “What’s that?”  Talia figured she would just ask him what it was instead of trying to look through him, looking wasn’t working anyway.

                “I don’t know what you are talking about.”  Tanner joked with her pretending he didn’t have an ominous box behind his back.

                “That box ya big ape!”  Talia practically was trying to reach around him now as he chuckled and held the box away from her.

                “Well it is part of a surprise for you, but it is going to cost you.”  Tanner now was looking at her with a smile on his face and his eyes were darkening with arousal.

                “What kind of p*****t are we talking here?”  Talia now was looking at him from under her lashes, giving him a seductive smile, she liked where this was going.

                “Well, for starters a kiss will do.”  Tanner wrapped an arm around her waist and when she reached for the box he held it just out of reach of her fingertips.  She could just barely touch the box but couldn’t gain purchase on it.

                “I think that could be arranged.”  Talia leaned into Tanner’s chest and in a soft whisper of a touch brushed her lips against his.  “Now give me.”

                Tanner laughed, the vibration traveling from his chest into her smaller frame and sending tingles everywhere.  “Not so fast.”  He said as he leaned in and took possession of her mouth.  He pressed his lips to hers and nibbled her bottom lip, giving it a light tug that also made her knees go weak.  Then breaking away from her almost as quickly as he had stolen her breath he set her back onto he own feet.  She felt dazed and the world took a minute to right itself.  Seeing the look of desire in his eyes she felt herself blush for the second time in less than two hours.  If this kept up she was going to have to invest in some heavy duty concealer.  This man was starting to make her feel like she was having hot flashes with all the blushing he was causing, it was a bit dizzying to be honest.  All that blood rushing to her head all the time couldn’t be healthy, it just couldn’t.

                Tanner handed her the box and stepped back.  “I’ll meet you out on the porch in twenty minutes.”  With that he walked away. 

Perplexed she stared at the empty space he had been and absentmindedly opened the box.  “What happens in twenty minutes?”  She asked him knowing he would still be able to hear her.

                “We are going on our first date.”  Tanner’s words had her heart melting as she looked down into the box he had given her.  Behind a piece of tissue paper sat the most beautiful dress she had ever seen.  It was a shimmery midnight blue with crimson edging.  It also looked like it would fit like a glove and came with the prettiest pair of flats she had ever seen to match.  She once again blushed as she giggled; she was going on a date with Tanner.  He was taking her out and he had given her the perfect gear for it.