Stranded

by Chance Carter

  “Ella, this is my friend, Mark,” I say, trying to move the conversation on. “We went to college together.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Ella smiles politely. I can tell she knows it was his fault I was drunk the other night.

  “My pleasure,” Mark grins. “Joe, not sure if you’ve met Cam before,” he adds, introducing us.

  “No, I haven’t!” I shake her hand and she stares a little bit, like she’s just met a celebrity.

  “Hi,” she grins.

  “Come on, Cam, don’t be crazy!” Ella laughs. “You know I’ve been working for him,” she blushes a little.

  “I know!” Cam snaps, “Sorry, I just, I’ve read a lot about you in magazines,” she says, blushing furiously.

  “Oh well, it’s mostly made up, I’m sure.” Gosh, I hate those awful magazines. I don’t know why they fixate on me so much.

  I feel like Mark is getting a little jealous of his date talking to me, so when he ducked under the water and came up pulling her onto his shoulders, I wasn’t surprised.

  Cam screams a little and wobbles as she tries to stay up on Marks shoulders by clinging to his head.

  “Come on! It’ll be fun, we’ll have a competition!” Mark laughs.

  I look over to Ella who’s still hiding behind her hair, I shrug and smile, as she bites her lip, eventually nodding and letting me help her onto my shoulders.

  “Don’t drop me, okay!” she says, as she locks arms with Cam.

  They push and shove for a moment, but Mark is providing a stronger base than he looks capable of.

  I might actually lose this, mainly because I can’t focus on anything but the feel of Ella’s thighs against my cheeks.

  Ella and Cam have the same idea as they both try to twist each other in opposite directions, causing all of us to topple over at the same time, landing with a huge splash.

  “We won, I think?” Ella shouts giving me a big hug.

  “No, we did!” Cam shouts back.

  At that moment, Mark jumps up behind Cam and undoes her bikini top, thankfully I was not looking anywhere near her at the time.

  “Oh no, look what happened! Don’t worry I’ll save you!” Mark shouts as he covers Cam’s breasts with his hands.

  “You are such an embarrassment!” Cam laughs as she turns to kiss Mark and pushes him back under the water.

  “It’s fun guys, you should join us!” I shout over to Jeff and Michael.

  “No, we’re ok.” Michael shrugs.

  “Oh, come on!” Ella shouts, “You’ve just got to figure out who’d be the bottom!” her eyes widen in shock as she realizes what she’s just said.

  Everyone turns to look at Jeff and Michael who glance at each other and turn away in shock. Then, we all erupt in laughter at Ella’s accidental insinuation.

  She however goes bright red again, and I smile at her reassuringly.

  * * *

  As we cleaned up hours later, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Ella, still clad in her bikini with only a thin short dress. It was sheer dress, leaving little to the imagination. The guests had left and Marnie had long since gone to bed.

  “I think it went really well,” Ella said with a yawn. “Cam said she had a great time. She and the guys are going out for a few drinks.”

  “You really don’t have to stay and help if you’re tired.”

  I smile as I place the unused plates back into the cupboards.

  “No, it’s okay, I’ll stay.” she smiles back.

  “Alright. Well, I’m glad everyone had a good time.” I reply.

  “Yeah, we should do that more often! And I’m sorry if I was really heavy on your shoulders.”

  “You? Don’t be silly.” I roll my eyes at the thought. She was light as a feather.

  “Totally crazy about Cameron though, right? Did you know they were dating?” she asks.

  “No, I had no idea.” I laugh and shake my head. I can’t imagine it will last very long, although he’s never brought anyone else out. Maybe he does actually like someone for a change.

  After an awkward pause, we laugh a little and Ella yawns again.

  “You know what, I think I might actually head to bed now,” she says.

  “Alright, let me know if you need anything.”

  “I’ll be okay.”

  She goes to walk past me, but I accidentally step into her way, thinking she was going to walk the other way. We both reacted, but ended up moving the wrong way again, this time laughing about it.

  So, like an idiot I decide to grab her by the waist, lift her up and turn her around, placing her down on the other side of me.

  She giggles and blushes uncontrollably, “Suppose I should have tried that first.”

  “Sorry,” I laugh awkwardly, “Uh, goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” she says turning and walking away.

  She heads to the stairs and I can’t take my eyes off of her. Just before she hits the bottom step, she looks back at me and smiles before disappearing upstairs. I laugh to myself.

  She looked back.

  Chapter 18

  Ella

  “Thanks for taking me out again. This is really sweet of you, Joe. But I don’t get it. You don’t have to do this for me,” I say, as Joe and I look up over our plates.

  I can’t believe I’m at an even fancier restaurant, after another ride in his limo, and looking down at the city glowing beneath me. This is insane!

  “Oh not at all, I just wanted to thank you. Marnie has been doing really well at school and she’s fitting in nicely now. Thank you for giving her confidence,” he says.

  I can’t help blushing, “Aw that’s really sweet. Well I’m glad you’re happy and everything is working out.”

  “And besides, we’re friends aren’t we? Why can’t I take you out for a nice dinner?”

  “No complaints from me.” I grin like an idiot, glad that Marnie is staying over at a friend’s tonight. It makes me feel better about letting off a little steam. Maybe I should get a drink?

  “Are you alright? Can I get you anything?” he asks.

  “Uh, yeah actually I think I’ll go and get a drink.” I go to stand, “Do you want anything?”

  “No, that’s fine, do you want me to call the waiter?”

  “Oh, no it’s fine. It’s busy, I’ll just go to the bar. Plus, it’ll be nice to have a little look around here.”

  “Hmm, okay then, don’t be long! Your food will get cold,” he laughs.

  I turn and head to the bar, or at least where I think the bar should be. This place is so big! I’m surprised it fits up here in this tower. It looks so small from all the way down on the ground I guess. But up here everything else looks so tiny, and I feel so big, so confident and tall.

  I guess that’s what Joe makes me feel—like I’m somebody, like I matter. It’s a really great feeling since lately I’ve felt like I’ve been foundering, failing and fading away in my tiny little neighborhood.

  Yes! There’s the bar, maybe I’ll get a cocktail or something. This place is probably way too posh for a beer. I laugh to myself, they’d probably serve it in a tall glass with a weird shape or one that looks like a pear shaped woman.

  It’s a glass for heaven’s sake, it doesn’t need an ass.

  “Are you lost little girl?” an older man next to me says, accompanied by laughter from his friends.

  Just ignore him, come on. You’re better than him.

  “I’m sorry, I’m talking to you,” he says, more sternly this time.

  The bartender comes over to serve me, “Hey there, what can I get you?”

  Before I even open my mouth to speak, the guy chimes in.

  “I’ll have another scotch and she’ll have a vodka with lime and soda. That’s what you girls drink right?”

  “Actually, I was going to have a beer. Whichever one is the most expensive.”

  Fuck it, I’m not gonna put up with that. If I want a beer I’m going to have a damn beer.

  “Of course, I’ll put
it on Mr. Abercrombie’s tab,” she says, before turning to get my drink.

  “And how do you expect you’re going to pay for that, missy?” the guy asks, and again before I can reply, he speaks, “You on your sugar daddy’s tab or something?”

  “Excuse me?” I ask.

  “I’ve seen you over there. You like the older men don’t you? So why then, would you be so rude and ungrateful to me? I offered to buy you a drink, and not even a thank you?” His words are met with grumbles of agreement.

  I can’t believe it, even in a nice place like this you still get lecherous old men. This is why I hardly ever go out with Kat and Cam. It’s like I’m preyed upon by these guys. I hate it.

  The bartender comes back with my drink, and hands me a napkin.

  “Thanks,” I say hastily, trying to get away from this ass.

  “Oh, come on, there’s no need to be like that,” he says, putting his hand on my waist to pull me back.

  “I’m sorry. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snap at him. His pulling on me like that spilled some of my drink on my arm.

  “There’s no need to get mad, love. Buying you a drink is just paying you a compliment. Didn’t your mother ever teach you how to say thank you?”

  Ooh! This really gets me mad. I storm off to my table and the guy continues laughing with his friends. Why do some guys have to be such jerks?

  I get back to the table where Joe is waiting. He smiles and stands as I go to sit down. Okay, so maybe not all guys, sometimes you get one who is just impossibly amazing.

  “Something wrong?” he asks.

  “Nothing, it doesn’t matter,” I said, wiping the beer off of my arm with the napkin.

  “Are you sure? How did you spill that?” he asks, worried.

  “Really, it’s fine. It was just some jerk at the bar.”

  “Seriously? Here? Where is he?” He sits up straight now, a little angry.

  “Just that guy over there,” nodding at him as he and his buddies head out to the terrace for a smoke.

  “I’m going to go have a word with him,” he says, ready to stand.

  “No, Joe. Please. Don’t make a big deal out of this, it’s just some guy being stupid. I don’t care, let’s not let it ruin the evening, okay?”

  “Okay fine, if you wish. “ However, he doesn’t sit down.

  “Good.”

  “I’m just going to go to the men’s room,” he says, leaving the table.

  I sigh, I really didn’t want to cause any trouble. I slowly sip my drink, which tastes amazing. It is worth whatever it cost. I’m not even sure what it is, but it’s a shame that stupid dirt bag made me spill even a drop of it.

  At least the server gave me a napkin. Maybe she knew it was going to happen? I look down at my arm and see a bit of ink smudged on it. How’d that get there?

  I look at the napkin and see there’s a note written on it.

  Normally we’d throw out guys like him, but he owns the building. Sorry.

  Oh shoot, I really hope Joe doesn’t do anything—

  “You, get the hell out of here! And take your little girlfriend with you!” I hear someone shouting from outside. Crap.

  Joe runs in and grabs his coat. Then takes my arm and tries to pull me along.

  “Come on,” he says, “No time to explain!”

  I grab my coat and he whisks me away from the restaurant.

  We stand awkwardly in the elevator for a moment, then he turns to face me and I notice the bruise appearing on his left eye and the cut on his lip.

  “Oh my God, Joe! What happened?” I ask, stepping toward him.

  “I went to go talk to him and, well, I guess it got heated.”

  “What? I asked you not to.”

  “Well, I technically didn’t talk to him, I may have just gone over and…” he pauses.

  “Oh boy, what did you do?”

  “I may have punched him in the face,” he said, showing me the bruises on his knuckle.

  “Oh, Joe, why did you do that?” I ask, holding his hand and carefully checking it over.

  “Well,” he says as we exit the elevator, “He upset you, and I guess I lost control when I saw you weren’t smiling anymore.”

  “Oh Joe,” I smile. That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. No one has ever fought for my honor before. Or has even been punched on my behalf. I really don’t know what to say.

  * * *

  The ride home was pretty quiet, I don’t think either of us really knew what to do exactly. I mean, I’ve never been in this situation. I don’t know if he has either. His poor face, I should take care of him now that we’re back at his… ours? No, it’s his place, I just live there.

  I help Joe to his room and he drops back onto his bed. I stand there for a moment, wondering if it would be better for me to just leave or not.

  “Let me clean the cuts for you at least.” I head into his bathroom and grab a towel and a wash cloth and soak it with warm water.

  Heading back into his room, I find him on the edge of his bed looking worse for wear.

  “This might sting a little,” I say, as I take his hand.

  He breathes in sharply and tries to clench his fist, but can’t.

  “Come on, don’t do that,” I say.

  “You don’t have to do this, Ella. It was my stupid fault.”

  “It’s a little swollen, should I get you some ice?”

  “No, don’t,” he pulls his hand away, “Why are you doing this?”

  I look up at him from where I sat next to him on the bed.

  “No one has ever fought for me before.”

  He calms down a little, “You’re kidding, someone as beautiful and sweet as you? What about all those guys?”

  “You think I’m beautiful?” I can feel my cheeks going red again as he smiles up at me, it’s the most genuine smile I’ve ever seen. He flinches as his eye starts to hurt more.

  “Ouch,” he says.

  “Careful, here let me,” I hold his chin and carefully dab at the bruised part around his eye.

  Our eyes lock and I freeze for a moment, “Just let me get the blood… off your… uh… lips.”

  I drop the cloth and he pulls me forward, kissing me like he did on our last date. I try to be as gentle as I can, not wanting to hurt him, but struggling to keep myself under control.

  Then I start to think about everything. How I’ve lied to him, kept stuff from him, that he doesn’t know me, not really. He just likes the idea of me, this cheerful twenty-four year old.

  Oh God, now I’m crying! He’s definitely gonna notice that.

  “Ella, are you okay?” he asks.

  “I’m fine,” I say as I sniffle and wipe my eyes.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

  “No, it’s not that,” I stop him. “It’s me. I’ve not been straight with you. I’m not who you think I am.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There haven’t been loads of guys, or any guys for that matter. I… I’m sorry if I’ve led you on, but, I—I’m a virgin.” I hang my head a little.

  “Oh Ella, why would you be afraid to tell me that?”

  “I figured you would think that I was just some dumb kid.”

  “No, Ella. Not at all,” he smiles, placing his hand on my knee. “If anything it just makes you even more beautiful. It’s good that you waited, and I wouldn’t want to take your innocence from you. You should share that with someone special.”

  “That’s really sweet of you.” I place my hand on his, touched by his kind words.

  “So, if you don’t mind, what happened to the guy you were going to move in with?”

  Oh, why did you have to ask about him? I start to cry again and Joe holds me close.

  “You don’t have to say,” he says, stroking my hair.

  “No, it’s fine, you should know why I’m like this.” I can’t help pacing, I have to pace. I’m frazzled now, “So, it was my last semester at college and I w
as with a guy. We’d been together for most of senior year, so we were thinking about moving in together. It’s not like he never tried. He made lots of effort as well, setting stuff up for me, trying to be really romantic. But like, I didn’t ever feel up to it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve done some stuff. I know what everything looks like. But, one night, he got angry with me, like all this time he’d been storing it up, waiting and waiting for me to finally change my mind, and to decide that I was ready. But I never did. He told me to stop teasing him. He said I was leading him on and stuff like that. He told me that by now I owed it to him and he was going to take it from me.”

  I can see Joe getting angrier and angrier. Should I stop talking?

  “I managed to get away, but he broke a couple of my ribs in the fight, I’ve still got marks all over my body. It looks horrible. I managed to hit him in the face. Kat found him the next day and almost put him in the hospital. I’ve not really been the same since that night.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  Oh God, I’ve upset him, and he’s mad at me.

  “I was just trying to explain why I’m like this.”

  “You don’t need to explain anything to me, Ella.” Smiling, he gently takes my hands.

  “You are perfect just the way you are, and you don’t need to worry about this. It means so much to me that you would trust me with your story. But you shouldn’t have to tell me something like that to explain yourself. You don’t need to, and nothing you’re doing is wrong. I promise.”

  I needed to hear that. Ever since that event I’ve found it hard to trust people. I feel like they’re judging me for being shy, or worrying about social interactions, or getting too clingy or pushing people away. I feel like I need to reveal this huge part of my life to explain myself, but I’ve done nothing wrong.

  “Thanks,” I said with a smile.

  He looks deep into my eyes, and wipes a stray tear from my cheek. I look down at his bruised lips and begin to feel like everything is okay. I know he’d never try to hurt me, and he has shown that he would stand up for me—protect me. Suddenly things feel right, and I feel like I can take on anything.

  This is the moment.

  Chapter 19