by NM Facile
“Good night, Ty. Thanks for tonight.” The door was slowly opening behind her.
“Sweet dreams, Mary.”
With a blink and a smile, she was gone. Ty stood there for a few moments after her door softly closed. He sensed her, still standing just on the other side. Reluctantly, he turned and walked away, content with the knowledge that he would see her again soon.
He lit a cigarette when he got into his car and saw the light come on in what could only be her window. Somewhere in his Mary-clouded mind, the questions from their song came back, leaving him to wonder if she’s the one.
Chapter 12 - A Taste
“Don’t you think it’s a little early for that song?” Faith called from her room.
Mary rolled her eyes and turned up the volume. Just to annoy her, Mary sang along with Mary Chapin Carpenter at the top her lungs.
“Seriously, Mary, don’t make me…Oh my God, are you going out with him again tonight?” Faith stood in Mary’s doorway with her hands on her hips, in full-on judgmental mode. “That will be every night this week!”
“Yes, I am. But we haven’t gone out every night, not Tuesday, Thursday or yesterday.”
“You did too see him, both Tuesday and Thursday.”
“Those didn’t count. I didn’t go out with him.” Faith raised her eyebrow at her roommate. “What? Stopping by when I’m leaving Safe Works to say goodnight doesn’t count.”
“It does when you ride home with him and it takes you five hours to get here.”
“Are you still mad about that?” Faith hadn’t been thrilled when Ty stopped by as they were leaving Thursday night, and Mary had ridden home with him instead of with Faith.
“I wasn’t mad.”
“Were, too,” she countered offhandedly, and went back to looking through her closet for her chocolate-colored wrap dress. It was probably buried in the back. The first and only time she wore it to school, she noticed with alarm that the male students were ogling her legs most of the day. She wouldn’t mind Ty ogling her legs, though. She smiled as she continued looking.
“I wasn’t mad. I was worried.”
Mary found the dress and turned around to face Faith, who was now sitting on Mary’s bed with her legs crossed. “You had no reason to worry, and we weren’t gone five hours. I was home about an hour after you.”
“Sitting in the car for an hour doing God knows what.” Faith was giving Mary the evil eye.
Mary smiled in memory. She told Faith they had been talking, and they had…mostly. Mary recalled some words being said when their mouths weren’t otherwise occupied. She had rambled on excitedly about the tickets Karen had given to her and Faith for the ballet the next week. Karen and her husband weren’t able to go, and the girls had jumped at the chance. She tossed the dress on the chair in front of her desk and joined Faith on the bed.
“Look, I know you’re concerned, but you have no reason to be. I know what I’m doing.”
“You’re going too fast. You still don’t even really know him.”
The girls had already discussed this twice this week, and Mary was getting sick of hearing it. She couldn’t seem to do anything to change Faith’s preconceived notions about Ty; she just wouldn’t trust him. Mary would have to have Ty over sometime when Faith was around so she could see that he wasn’t so bad.
“That’s the point of spending time with him. I’m getting to know him. He has been nothing but sweet and fun and…” Mary tried to come up with a word to sum up how she felt about Ty. A giddy buzz of excitement, optimism, and just plain need jolted through her; she couldn’t explain that to Faith. “There’s just something there. I can’t explain it. Someday you’ll know what I mean. Maybe with Jack?” Mary deflected, hoping to get her off the topic of Ty.
At the mention of Jack, Faith’s eyes lit up a little, and her lips curved into a hint of a smile. “Jack is just a coworker, nothing more.” Why she continued to fight it was still a mystery to Mary. It was all over her face how she felt about him, and Mary knew that he felt the same way about Faith.
“Just keep telling yourself that, and maybe one of these days you’ll actually believe it.” Mary patted her friend’s hand smugly.
Faith scrunched her nose up in disgust. She got off the bed and made her way to the door. “At least I can talk myself out of a bad decision.” Mary’s eyes widened and her feelings were slightly hurt, until Faith glanced over her shoulder and nodded towards the chair. “The neckline is too low on that dress to wear the white bra you have laid out. Wear the bronze set you bought last time we went shopping. It won’t be as noticeable.” Mary looked down at the plain white one peeking out from under the dress and agreed with her. The bronze satin would be less obvious, and it was way more appealing.
Ty had to work until nine and then wanted to stop home and change before he came over, so Mary had more time on her hands than she would have liked. After Faith left for work with one last warning to be careful, Mary took a long hot bath. She found herself daydreaming about Ty. The past week had been surreal. Mary had never been so consumed by anything quite like this before. It was like a demon swept in and stole her breath every time Ty entered a room. It wasn’t just because he was so strikingly handsome, with his strong jaw, his mysterious dark eyes, his wayward hair and his tall, taut frame. It was also the way her heart sped up, and a thrill raced through her with the thought that he wanted to spend time with her.
They had talked every night since their non-date at the cave, either over the phone or in person. The conversations flowed easily between them, although often when they were together, their mouths were too busy for something as simple as words.
Faith was right. They were moving fast. Mary could see that, yet she was powerless to stop it. The one question that gave her any doubt was, “Would I want my mom to meet him?” Ty’s past shouldn’t have mattered, but it did, and she felt horrible. It was something she struggled to overcome. When she was with him, she didn’t even think about it. Mary just saw him, all tousled dark tresses and heart-melting smiles. She wasn’t so blinded that she couldn’t see how her mom would react, and Mary didn’t want to burden her with any more worry, not in her condition. For now, he was still her little secret. So what was she doing with him, then? Was she just living out some dangerous fantasy? Was it nothing more than a walk on the wild side?
Before Ty Jaden, Mary’s life had been predictable: work, home, then, Safe Works. There was no giddy rush as his hands touched hers. No happy smiles when he showed up unexpectedly to say goodnight. No shivers of need when his lips brushed her own. No, her life without Ty would be empty. Maybe if she had never known his kiss, or even just the sound of his voice, she could have gone on with her life as it was. Having known him, though, there was no way she would ever be the same without him.
She finished her bath and was tying the side of her dress when she heard Ty’s knock. He was early. Mary smiled at the sight of Ty tapping on his phone when she opened the door. She rarely saw him with his phone in hand. He grinned at her and leaned in for a kiss as he slipped his phone back in his pocket. He took the jacket from her arms, holding it up for her to slip into.
“You’re early.”
“You’re beautiful.”
She playfully punched him in the arm, not knowing how to respond. “Why are you so early?”
He shrugged. “Why are you so beautiful?” His eyes glittered.
“Genetics, and you’re maddening.” Mary pouted.
He kissed those pouting lips. “Sorry, how I could I resist when I get such adorable results?”
“Did you just use the word ‘adorable’? The next thing you know, you’ll be leaving me notes that smell like strawberries…oh, wait.” She smirked back at him. “Seriously though, you’re here before nine. You weren’t even supposed to be done yet.”
“We were slow so I was able to leave early.”
She locked her door and they walked out to his car. “So what do you feel like doing tonight?” They had yet
to set any concrete plans beyond spending the time together.
He glanced over briefly at her with a brow quirked. “Hadn’t really thought about it; I figured you’d tell me.” He flashed that irredeemably sexy smile at her and she couldn’t even think of her name, let alone a place to go. Mary wondered if ‘her bed’ would be an appropriate answer. “You don’t have any idea either, do you?” He grinned at her. Evil bastard, he knew exactly what he did to her.
He opened the car door for her before going around to his side. Once he had the car started he turned to her. “Is that movie you wanted to see still playing? The one Faith didn’t want to see?”
Mary eyed him skeptically, trying to figure out what his game was. “I think so. Why?”
“We could go see that, if you want.”
“Really?”
“Why not?”
Mary just held her tongue. This was probably her only chance to see it unless she went on her own, which she probably wouldn’t. “Okay then. Let’s go. I think it’s still playing at the theater on Seventh,” she tossed out nonchalantly. It was there. She knew because she passed that theater twice a day on her commute.
Their drive was filled with chatter, both about his day and hers. He told her about working with Dylan. He tried to play it off, but she could hear the hints of pride or worry in his voice when he spoke of the kid. He sounded like an older brother. They were stopped at a light and a glimpse of blue- and purple-streaked hair caught her attention. She tried to get a better look out the window, but the girl was gone before she could get a look at her.
“What’s got your attention?” Ty was watching her with a crease in his brow.
“Nothing, really.” She sat back in the seat but glanced back at the sidewalk. “I just thought I recognized someone.” It was true. She’d thought she had seen Chloe, the young girl from Lora’s group at Safe Works. She was distracted as she answered him, so of course he pushed for more. “I thought it was a girl that was in Safe Works this week.” She didn’t know how much she was allowed to say, so she tried to keep it vague.
“And that concerns you because…” He motioned for her to continue.
“I don’t know. She’s just a kid, and this week she had a face full of nasty bruises. I don’t know how they got there. I just ache for her. I can’t imagine myself in her place, having to make the decisions she’s made that brought her to this point in life.” Mary’s throat constricted as she pictured Chloe as she had looked last week, her delicate features swollen and purple. She wouldn’t meet Mary’s eye when she handed her the bag. “I tried to ask Lora later, but Lora shook her head and refused to say anything. I wanted to know why she didn’t go to the police, but Lora told me to leave it alone. That it was her choice and until she could see that, there was no forcing her into it.”
Ty reached out and unbuckled her seat belt and pulled on her hand for her to move closer. She slid closer and he wrapped his arm around her, soothing her. The light turned green and he continued on down the street. Mary tried to look down the street Chloe had turned into, but there was nothing there. Ty drew her attention back to him.
“Hey, it’s all right. Lora is right. She needs to make her own decisions.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You didn’t see how broken she looked.” Mary snapped, and regretted it immediately. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I just wish there was something more I could do for Chloe.”
“Chloe?” Ty’s brow was creased again.
“Yeah, that’s her name.” Mary sighed. “Anyway, I didn’t mean to spoil our time together with this. Let’s move on to something else.” She tried to shake her thoughts of Chloe away and focus on Ty and the night ahead.
“So what is this movie about?” Ty was trying his best at redirection.
“It’s about a guy who meets a girl.” Mary attempted to be vague so she didn’t have to tell him about her massive crush on the actor.
“Sounds like a typical date movie.”
“Pretty much.”
Ty turned the corner up ahead and the sign for the theater shone brightly above the parking lot. The movie Mary wanted to see was listed, making her smile.
“I take it from the look on your face that it’s still showing.” Ty glanced at her as he drove through the lot.
“It is.”
She couldn’t see the show times listed, so Ty parked and they walked up to the window to check it out. Mary pulled out her phone to check the time only to realize they had missed the last showing by twenty minutes.
“There are previews. We could still go.” Ty offered.
“No, that’s okay. I would rather hang out with you anyway.” She gave the adorable actor on the poster one last fleeting glance, and a promise that she would be back there to see the movie before it was gone.
On the way back to the car, Ty pointed to a shop in the strip mall across the street.
“Ice cream?”
“That’s not just ice cream. That’s gelato.” Mary corrected him.
“What’s the difference?”
She feigned shock. “You don’t know the difference between ice cream and gelato? Are you kidding?”
“Don’t think I’ve ever had the stuff.”
“Oh, then we need to fix this.” She grabbed his hand and led him to the end of the block to cross. “Gelato is sooooo much better. There are way more flavors, too. Ty smiled at her excited rambling. The small shop was empty except for one table of people that looked as if they were about to leave. Mary led Ty up to the glass case where the rows of pans blossomed with color. She watched him as he looked over the lists of names, scrunching up his nose at some of the crazy flavors. She looked down into the case, skimming quickly over the names. Ty was unconvinced. “Some of these sound disgusting. Maple with Caramelized Bacon? I mean, bacon is good with just about anything. But ice cream?”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not ice cream…”
“Sorry, ge-la-to.” He pronounced the name one syllable at a time, mocking her. “Really though, Lime Chili Mango, or Black Pepper Olive Oil? Would you eat that for dessert? “
“Well, those last two are odder than most. But many of the flavors are really good.”
“Which one are you getting?”
She pointed to the one towards the middle of the last row. “I’m getting Red Apple Lemon Ginger. It’s my favorite.” He looked at it and then back at her.
“Isn’t ginger something you’d put in a stir-fry?” He looked suspicious.
“Yeah, but it’s also good in other stuff.”
“I think I’ll just get something normal. Maybe something with chocolate.”
“Oh, try the Chocolate Guinness. I wonder what that tastes like.” She looked at the creamy dark concoction in the far left of the case.
“Would you like to try it?” A silky voice from behind the counter asked. Mary hadn’t even noticed the girl standing there. She looked as if she was just out of high school, all blonde and blue eyed and sickeningly beautiful. She was speaking to Ty and looking him over as if he were on display in the cabinet.
“Yes, I would.” Mary broke in.
Ty chuckled. “You go ahead. I think I’m just going to stick with something I know I like.”
The girl tore her eyes away from Ty and grudgingly addressed Mary, “So can I get you a sample of the Chocolate Guinness?”
Mary smiled sweetly. “Yes, thank you. We also need a taste of the Maple Bacon and the Lime Chili Mango.” She figured now was as good a time as any to broaden Ty’s horizons.
The girl handed Mary the small plastic taster spoon with the Lime Chili Mango first. Mary held it up to Ty to test, but he clamped his lips shut and shook his head. She rolled her eyes at him again.
“Fine, I’ll test it first.” She took a tiny bite. She was surprised at how good it was. It had the bite of citrus, almost like a tea with just a hint of hot chili spice. She held the rest up to Ty. “See, it didn’t kill me. It’s actually pretty good.” His nose
was wrinkled up in disgust, like a little boy being forced to eat vegetables. She stepped up on her toes and leaned in close to him. She licked her lips and with the best seductive voice she could manage, she suggested, “Just a taste; one tiny little taste. I promise it’s delicious.” She smiled sweetly at him.
Ty smirked “I think I was wrong. You’re not an angel. You’re a devil.” He bent towards the spoon she held up to him and licked the last of the cool cream away.
Mary raised her eyebrow expectantly for his reaction.
“Not too bad.”
She smirked at him as she gloated internally. The girl behind the counter interrupted, “Here are the other two. Is there anything else you’d like to try?”
“Yes, how about the Caramel Apple and the Vanilla Lavender.” She pointed out two of her other favorites. She wanted Ty to try them. She took the two other taster spoons from the girl and held them up to Ty. He motioned for Mary to go first. “Coward,” she teased, and then tasted the Maple Bacon. It was sweet and salty, a little too salty for her taste. She held it up to Ty. She watched his tongue as it peeked out to take away the gelato.
He shook his head. “Not that one, too salty.”
She tried the Chocolate Guinness. It was similar to dark chocolate: bitter at first, but then the chocolate taste took over. She moaned a little from the rich flavor. Ty never took his eyes off her as he tasted it, too. “It’s good, isn’t it?” She smiled at him.
“Very good,” he agreed with a low voice. Oh, what that voice did to her. She held his gaze, melting under the piercing stare.
He reached over and took the last two spoons from the girl. He held the first up to Mary. She didn’t even look at it, just blindly tasted it. Caramel Apple. Ty took his taste and she briefly glanced at his lips before meeting his eyes again. They did the same with the Vanilla Lavender. They were lost in their own little spinning world.
“So have you made a decision?” The girl behind the counter knocked them off their axis and back to reality.