by E. L. Todd
Slade came to her then leaned over the back of the couch. “You’re looking beautiful today.”
“Thanks.”
He kissed her hard on the mouth, his hand cupping her face.
I watched them, feeling sad.
“How do I look?” Slade pressed. “Hot? Sexy? Dark and mysterious?”
“Perfect,” she said.
He kissed the corner of her mouth. “I’ll take it.” When he pulled away, he turned to me. Disappointment flashed in his eyes and then annoyance. Growing up with Slade taught me how to read him. I knew what he was thinking even if he didn’t say it. Then he released a heavy sigh and hugged me. “Merry Christmas, Skye.”
I was caught off guard by the affection. He never hugged me. “Merry Christmas.”
He pulled away and gave me a sad look. “I think what you did to Cayson was wrong on so many levels. He didn’t deserve that. But…you’re my cousin and I’m here for you, no matter what. I’m not going to choose sides.”
His words made my eyes bubble with tears. “That means a lot to me.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and held me for a moment. Then he stood up and headed back to Trinity.
“Who’s the hot guy in the jacket?” Trinity asked.
“Excuse me?” Slade snapped.
“I mean, who’s that guy over there?”
Slade’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Silke’s boyfriend.”
“She has a boyfriend?” I blurted. For a moment, I forgot my pain and tuned in to the gossip.
Silke came over, holding his hand. He had dark brown hair that was almost black and bright-blue eyes. He was fit and toned, and he had a constant smirk in his eyes. His jacket fit his broad shoulders nicely, and he had an air of mischief to him.
“This is Arsen,” Silke announced. She smiled while she showed him off.
“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone,” Trinity snapped.
“Well, we were low-key,” Silke said.
“Or nonexistent,” Trinity said.
Silke gave her a knowing look. “You’re one to talk.”
Trinity’s cheeks reddened. “It’s nice to meet you, Arsen.”
“The pleasure is mine.” He shook hands with her. Then he came to me. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” I shook his hand.
“Is this your place?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“It’s really nice.” He gave me a smile before he returned to Silke.
Trinity leaned toward me. “Talk about wow.”
“I know, right?” I whispered.
Slade didn’t look amused. “I’m right here.”
“Is he an underwear model?” Trinity asked.
Slade growled. “I can hear you.”
Trinity turned back to him then rubbed his arm. “Of course you can, honey.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t check out other girls, so you should give me the same respect.”
Trinity burst out laughing. “Good one.”
“I don’t,” he snapped.
“Right,” I said.
He shot me a hateful look then turned back to Trinity. “I’m not lying.”
“Like you didn’t gawk at Conrad’s girlfriend—friend—whatever she is,” Trinity said.
Beatrice was the definition of beauty. She had the elegance of Katharine Hepburn and the beauty of Elizabeth Taylor. Her body was perfect, with the right curves in the right places, and she held herself with pride and respect. She’d turned everyone’s head once she walked inside. Even I was checking her out.
“I didn’t,” he said firmly. “You’re the only one who catches my eye.”
“Give it a rest.” Trinity brushed him off.
Slade snatched her wrist and forced her to look at him. His eyes were burning with seriousness. He was upset, almost enraged. “I don’t lie, Trinity. Never have and never will. If I were checking out some girl, I’d make it known. Now, when I say I don’t check out other women, I mean it. So, stop gawking at James Dean. It’s pissing me off.” His eyes drilled into hers.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He released his grip. “That’s more like it.”
Trinity stared into his face, and her expression changed. Her eyes softened and her lips parted. A million thoughts were reflected on her face, but I knew what she was feeling. She was falling in love with Slade even more. I only knew that because Cayson had given me that look countless times. It was something I wouldn’t forget as long as I lived.
Slade pulled her into his lap then crushed his mouth against hers. Their lips were stuck together, and I knew I was forgotten. I was so happy that my best friend had a man she loved more than life. But it just reminded me of what I’d lost. I got up and moved away.
Conrad and Roland were in the corner, laughing loudly. Beatrice was at his side, but she was quiet. Roland hadn’t stopped talking about seeing Conrad for the past week. He was excited to the point of insanity. Seeing them together made me smile, which was hard to do. I just felt bad Beatrice was the third wheel.
“Seriously, they act like girls sometimes.” Silke was at my side, wearing a leather jacket.
“This is cute,” I said. “Where did you get it?”
She beamed. “Arsen got it for me.” She eyed him across the room. He was talking to Uncle Ryan, and they were both laughing.
“How did you meet?”
“It’s a long story. But we met about a year ago.”
“You’ve been dating him this whole time?” I asked.
“Yeah, but we didn’t get serious until recently.” She couldn’t stop smiling.
“Well, I’m happy for you.” I thought it was odd she never mentioned him, but I wasn’t going to make the situation about me.
“Thank you.” Her smile faded, and sadness came into her eyes. “Are you doing okay?”
I took a deep breath, trying not to cry. Being around my family made me feel better. They showered me with love and support. But they also reminded me of what I was missing. “I’m taking it one day at a time.”
She nodded slightly. “I’m here if you need anything.”
“I know.”
She pulled me in for a hug and held me close. “Together or apart, I love you both.”
I stilled my breath so I wouldn’t cry. “Thank you.”
She pulled away and gave me a smile. “Now, let’s have fun and stop thinking about it.”
“That sounds nice.”
The front door opened, and Cayson’s family entered. Clementine was wearing a red dress with black stockings, and she looked beautiful like always. His parents looked the same as they always did. Monnique was beautiful and exotic, and Cortland still reminded me of an old movie star.
But Cayson wasn’t there.
I was relieved but sad at the same time.
Cortland eyed me with a sad expression. Then he came over to me. “It’s nice to see you.” He pulled me in for a hug. “You’re lovely, like always.”
It meant the world to me that he treated me the same even though I wasn’t seeing Cayson anymore. “Thank you. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.”
Monnique hugged me next. “Your hair looks nice. Did you do something to it?”
“I got a haircut a few days ago.” Actually, Trinity made me. And made me eat and bathe.
“You look like a million bucks.” She kissed my cheek then walked away.
Clementine came up to me, sadness in her eyes. “I’m really bummed you and Cayson couldn’t work it out.”
My eyes bubbled with tears. I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded.
She hugged me tightly. “It’ll be okay, Skye.”
I held on to her and stilled my emotions. “Why didn’t he come?”
She pulled away. “He said he had to study and finish his rotations…but we all know why.”
He didn’t come because of me. He didn’t want to see me.
He hated me.
Trinity
I left the bathroom and stopped when I reached a wall.
Slade was blocking my way, his height and size acting as a solid shadow.
“Were you listening to me pee?”
“What does it matter?” he asked. “I’ve seen you pee.”
There was no mystery to our relationship after my car accident. He saw everything that I wanted to hide. But it brought us closer together. “Why are you lurking outside the bathroom like a weirdo?”
“I wanted to talk in private.”
I knew where this was going. “I’m not having sex with you right now.” Our parents were in the house, laughing and drinking. It would be suicide.
“That’s not what I had in mind, but good to know where you’re at.”
“What do you want?” I leaned against the doorframe.
“I want to ditch this lame party and take you back to my place, have some alone time on Christmas.”
“I don’t think we’ll be able to pull that off.”
“I do,” he said. “Our parents are drunk off their asses. No one will know we’re gone. Besides, I want to give you a present.”
I smiled. “A Christmas present?”
He nodded.
“Ooh…I like the sound of that.”
His arm moved around my waist, and he kissed my neck gently. “Is that a yes?”
I closed my eyes and enjoyed his gentle kisses. My hands moved to his shoulders, and I gripped him tightly. “If you do this when we get there, yes.”
He moved his lips to my ear. “I know what my baby likes.”
“Well, let’s slip out and hope we aren’t noticed.”
“I’m a master at that.” He took my hand, and we snuck out the front door. Then we found his car in the snow and jumped inside. It was freezing cold, but the heater kicked in. and we were warm in a few minutes.
“Let’s head out.” Slade hit the road, and we drove back to New York.
We walked inside the apartment and enjoyed the silence.
“Nice, huh?” Slade asked. He was all over me the second the door was bolted and locked.
“Yeah…”
“I miss having our own space.” He pushed me against a wall and kissed my neck. “I miss kissing you and touching you whenever I want.”
“Me too.” I dug my fingers into his hair.
He guided me to his room and to his bed.
“I thought you didn’t want sex?” I asked.
He undid his belt. “That was before I kissed your neck and listened to you enjoy it.” He pulled the rest of his clothes off then yanked mine away.
“I always enjoy what you do to me.” I wrapped my legs around his waist as he found my entrance. He felt amazing the moment he slipped inside. “There is no present, is there?”
“Actually, there is.” He moved inside me completely. “But you get it when I’m finished.”
“It sounds like you’re paying me for sex in gifts.”
He rocked into me and looked into my eyes. “I pay you with love.”
We cuddled in bed, something we hadn’t done in a long time.
“This is the best Christmas ever.” He pressed his face into my neck and wrapped his leg around mine.
“Because you got sex?”
“Because I get to hold you. It’s been so long.” He kissed my neck then lay still.
Slade was the sweetest man I’d ever been with. I never would have suspected him to be the best boyfriend I ever had either. He gave me the attention I needed, but he gave me tough love when I deserved it. He balanced me and always satisfied me. “So…how about that gift?”
He chuckled then pulled away. He leaned over the bed and searched for something underneath. Then he pulled out a square package. It was terribly wrapped in reindeer wrapping paper. It was crinkled and lopsided.
I stared at it and tried not to laugh. “Nice wrapping.”
“Shut up,” he snapped. “It was hard.”
“You could have just used a bag…”
“I wanted to put the effort in and make it look like a real Christmas gift.”
“Real?” I asked. “That’s the word you’re going for?”
He snatched the gift away. “Forget it.”
“Whoa…hold on.”
He kept it out of reach. “No, you blew it.”
“I’m sure the gift inside is better than the crappy wrapping.”
“Crappy?” he snapped.
“I mean amateur.”
He still looked mad.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “You’re so cute.”
He softened up. “Really?”
“So cute.” I kissed his chin then his neck.
He lowered the hand holding the gift. “That’s better.”
“It’s adorable that you tried to wrap a gift for me.” I snatched the package out of his hand then ripped it open.
A book was in my hands, a hardback. When I turned it over, I recognized it. It was The Odyssey. But it was a cover I didn’t recognize. The pages were old and yellowed. When I opened it, the pages were a little dusty. I flipped to the front and looked at the date. “This is a first edition…” My heart stopped beating, and I froze.
Slade watched my reaction.
“How…how is that even possible?”
He continued to stare at me, his mouth shut.
I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. “How…how?”
“I spent six months tracking it down…and paid a small fortune for it.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “But I knew you would love it.”
Tears sprang to my eyes and fell. “I don’t know what to say…”
“I know it’s an epic novel about war, revenge, and adventure, but it’s also a story about love. No matter how long they’re apart, they come back to each other, even if they don’t recognize each other.”
I held the book in my hands and wiped my tears away so they wouldn’t stain the book. “I… Slade.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Seeing how much you love it is enough.” He rubbed the back of my neck then pressed his lips to my hairline.
“You’re so…wonderful. I didn’t think we’d make it because our relationship had such odd beginnings, but…we’re meant for each other.”
“You think so?” he whispered.
I nodded. “I do.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m starting to think it too.”
I left the book on the bed then circled my arms around him. My face moved to his chest, and I inhaled his scent. He was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me, the sweetest man in the world.
And I was so grateful he was mine.
109
Trinity
“You really should eat something.”
Skye stared out the window. Her eyes were glued to something only she could see. The sun was setting over the horizon, and the lights from Manhattan were starting to burn in all their glory.
“Skye?” I set the pizza box on the table. “I got your favorite.”
She didn’t look at me. “I’m not hungry right now.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and continued to look like a ghost.
“You haven’t eaten all day, and you didn’t eat yesterday… Come on. Just a few bites.”
She didn’t move. She sat on the floor and stared out her floor-to-ceiling windows. Skye was practically dead. She didn’t speak unless spoken to, and she walked around as if she didn’t understand where she was. She pretended she was fine around everyone else, especially her parents, but it was all an act. I’d known the breakup with Cayson would be hard, but months had come and gone, and she hadn’t improved. I could only imagine how Cayson felt.
I abandoned the pizza box then sat beside her on the floor. “Skye?”
“Hmm?” She finally turned to me like she noticed me.
“Why did you stay in California so long?” I kept my voice low so she wouldn’t get upset. Anything could set her o
ff.
She pondered my question for a long time before she looked away. Her hair was oily from not showering, and the weight had left her hips and legs quickly. She was starting to look less like the girl I knew. “He…he’s over me.”
I didn’t see how that was possible. “Did he say that?”
“Well, no.” She touched her hair again and stared at the hardwood floor.
“Then why do you think that?”
She closed her eyes as the tears started to bubble. When she opened them, the droplets slid down her face. “When I showed up at his apartment…some girl answered the door wearing one of his shirts…and nothing else.”
The words washed over me like a cold rain. They burned my skin and made me breathe hard. “But are you sure? There could have been another explanation.”
She shook her head. “Like what? His heater was broken, so it just kept going on full blast?” Bitterness was in her voice. “We’d only been apart for a few weeks, and he was with someone else. How could he do that?”
I tried to be gentle with her since she was so frail. “Skye, he thinks you cheated on him. He’s entitled to do what he wants…”
“But that’s not Cayson… He wouldn’t do that.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe he didn’t. There could be a reasonable explanation.”
She shook her head. “There isn’t.”
I hated seeing my best friend like this. She was a mess. Since she was the strongest woman I knew, it scared me. She’d completely fallen apart into a million pieces. She didn’t even work because she was so distressed. She had no reason to go on. She walked the earth like a ghost.
Her agony was killing me. “Skye, I think you should call Cayson and tell him the truth.”
“No.” Her words held her hostility. “Then this will all be for nothing. He belongs at Stanford…even if he isn’t with me.”
“But—”
“There is no but,” she snapped. “This is what I set out to do. I knew how much it would hurt before I did it. Now I have to see it through.”
“But you did change your mind,” I reminded her. “You did go back to him.”
A dark laugh escaped her lips. “And look where that got me…”