Trsyt

by Shaniel Watson

  Sitting on the back terrace, I look up at the sky. The sliding door behind me squeaks, and Callie stands next to me, leaning on the railing.

  “Tired of Elena’s matchmaking?”

  I smile at her. She looks the same as when we were together with her blunt haircut. She's an artist, eclectic as the gallery she owns. She's a free spirit at heart; I believe that's what drew me to her when we were together. “She's our number one fan.”

  “I know.” She smiles nudging my shoulder with hers. “Would it be so bad if we tried to give us another chance? I have fond memories of our time.”

  “Those times were good. But turning my engagement down, then finding out you cheated, wasn't.”

  “I've always been sorry for that.”

  “I know.” Didn't make it hurt any less.

  “I was young and stupid. I wasn't sure what I wanted. Things change.”

  “They do.” I stand facing her.

  “You said you forgave me a long time ago. I'm different. What if we gave it another go?”

  “I don't think so, Callie. Some things you just can't come back from.”

  “Okay. But kiss me first.”

  “Callie—no.”

  “Why not? To see if the sparks are still there. You're not with anyone are you?” she says, and I shake my head. “Neither am I. Come on, one last time. We can call it the final closure if there's nothing, and Elena can stop.” She moves in close.

  I sigh blowing out all the air in my lungs. I look at the woman I was once ready to spend my life with. Holding my face in her hands, she pulls my head down. I close my eyes as her tongue brushes against the seams of my lips, coaxing it to open. Our tongues meet, sliding over each other repeatedly, and there's nothing. No spark, no twinge of excitement. Nothing for this woman I once loved.

  There's a noise, I look over at the door, but I don't see anything. Callie draws my attention back to her. “Well?” she says.

  “Nothing, sorry. I didn't feel anything.”

  “You don't need to be sorry for that.” She looks up at me through her lashes. “I’m going to say goodnight to my sister.”

  “I'll walk you out after I say good night to everyone. It's time for me to leave as well.”

  I get home and think about Jade. How much I want her to be with me. How the kiss with Callie reminded me how much I feel for Jade every time we kiss. How young she still is, but how many ways she's different from Callie.

  After an entire night of tossing and turning, I think maybe we can try and give this thing a chance. How bad can a long-distance relationship be? She's not Callie. We were in the same city, and she cheated on me. Jade’s not running from commitment. She wants it, with me. As for Alan…I’ll figure it out.

  Bright and early, I'm in the office. Nervous as fuck. Ready to lay it all out for the girl whose heart I broke days ago. I'm hoping she doesn't tell me to go fuck myself. She's an hour late, and Jenny informs me Jade called in sick.

  I pick up my phone and call her. No answer. I leave a message. And call back four more times during the day. Worried I call her father. “Hey, Alan, Jade called in sick today. I wanted to make sure she's okay, nothing serious?”

  “I'm sure she's fine. When I left this morning, she was asleep. You know these young people. Probably wanted a day. She'll be in tomorrow.”

  “Sure.” Jade doesn't take days off just because. Maybe she needed a day away from me. The tension between us has been enough to choke a horse.

  The next day is the same. I slam my hand on my office door, then open it. “Jenny, she's an hour late, again. Get her on the phone for me, please. Use your cell.” If she calls from the office, Jade'll probably ignore it.

  She fidgets nervously with the keyboard on the desk. “About that…Jade quit.”

  “She what?” I say in disbelief. “She has another week left.”

  “I saw her crying in the bathroom on Monday after she came back from lunch. I don't want to gossip, but I think she was dating someone in the office, maybe Gary and it ended badly. She’s going back to LA.”

  I walk away dazed and sink into my chair to do some serious thinking. What the hell will I do now?

  I can't pack my bags without thinking about Ian. He was kissing her. I walked out of there as fast as I could. I couldn't even stop when my mother called after me.

  “Jade, may I come in?” my mother asks from the door.

  “Sure.” I stop folding my clothes. “What's up?”

  “What’s the real reason you’re leaving early? It's not because you miss your friends and want a jump on the new semester. Don't tell that lie to me again.” Her accent comes out with the concern I hear in her voice. “You may have fooled your dad with that this morning, but not me.” She sits on the bed.

  “I'm sure I don't want to discuss this with you.” I sit next to her lying back on the bed.

  “I'm sure you don't. But you'll have to, before you leave this house, if you want your tuition paid.”

  “You're resorting to blackmail?” I stare at the ceiling, not threatened in the least.

  “Of course. It's the best way.” She smiles, and I roll my eyes.

  “It may have something to do with a guy. A guy I liked more than I should have.”

  “You more than liked, if you're leaving and quitting your job.”

  “Maybe.” I shut my eyes trying to block out his face along with the pain that accompanies it every time I think of him and the way he dismissed me—as if I were a child whose feelings were inconsequential. It was a blinding pain that cut deeply.

  “You know what else I think?” my mother says, reminding me of her presence. “I think the guy's names is Ian.”

  I shoot up ready to deny it—but I can't in my surprise. “How'd you know?”

  “I put the pieces together after you walked by me and didn't answer when I called you over the other night. I could tell you were upset. I saw Callie and Ian coming from the same direction.” She takes my hand in hers. “Then I thought about it, why his eyes drifted more toward you than Tandy, his lovely date I hand-picked. I know she was exactly his type, gorgeous sophisticated and worldly. For some reason, his eyes were more preoccupied with my twenty-year-old daughter. The intern he sees every day. And you, mi dulce niña, you couldn't look at him.”

  “Did you tell Dad?”

  “Not my place. If Ian wants you, he has to step up and be a man about it, and deal with the consequences.” She arches a brow at me. “He helped himself to more than he was supposed to, in and out of the office.”

  I'm not going to tell her he dumped me breaking my heart. Not yet. “Are you disappointed in me?”

  “For playing Bill and Monica?”

  “Ugh, Mom!”

  “Honey as long as there wasn't a blue dress fiasco on our hands, and he's not married, I'm fine.”

  How embarrassing. I flop back on the bed covering my face.

  “I'm not as much of a prude as you think, Jade. I know what you kids do these days. I hope the number you're doing it with is a small amount, though.”

  “Mom, please stop talking!”

  She sighs. “Jade, darling, some people thought the age difference between me and your father was too much. Mainly your grandfather. It didn't matter to us. What mattered was he loved me. If Ian loves you, and you are worth loving, he'll stand up and tell your father.”

  “I'm not as certain about it, Mom. I don't know if he thinks I'm worth it.”

  “Even if it ruins a friendship and business association, you're worth it. Anything else will work itself out.”

  “Your sure you're not upset or disappointed with me for getting involved with him?”

  “Again, is he married? Is he related to you? Has he committed unspeakable acts against humanity?”

  “No.” I smile, but think the last maybe—against me.

  “Then why should I be disappointed?”

  “I thought you wanted Callie and him together.”

  “I did, but it's not going to
happen. She said as much the other night after she left.”

  The kiss the other night said otherwise. It was as intimate as it gets. “I'm not sorry it happened. I'm only sorry for the way it's ending. He broke my heart, but both of us pursued this.”

  She wraps her arm around me in a hug. “I am also a woman of the world. I know things happen, especially when you put two single attractive people together. Almost every day, for hours at a time. I know how these things work sometime. I hope it works out for you. You're worth it.”

  She kisses me on the head, and I don't have the heart to tell her I'm certain how they work out—with me sweeping up what's left of my heart.

  I'm scrolling through flights on my iPad while sitting on my bed in college shorts and a tank top. There’s a knock on the door. I've been waiting all day for this. My father. My mother said she wouldn't say anything, but this is important. She's not going to flat out lie to him if he asks the right questions. I keep my eyes on the screen. “Come in.”

  “Is this the way we're doing things now? You weren't going to say goodbye?”

  My nostrils flare at his cool tone. Why the hell is he here? I'm humiliated enough as it is. “You made it this way. Your decision, not mine.” I keep looking at my screen, but I haven't seen a damn thing since hearing his voice.

  “I made a decision I thought was best for you.” He closes the door with a click of the lock and stands by my bed.

  “Who asked you to do that? Tell me, so I can tell them I make my own damn decisions. Whatever they are, good or bad.”

  “You’re right.”

  I grip my iPad. “That doesn't make me feel any better.”

  “We need to talk.”

  He pulls the iPad from my hands and sets it on the bed. I keep my head down in an act of defiance. Not giving him what he wants. Why should he get anything he wants from me? It was his choice to end this thing between us, not mine.

  “Dammit, Jade look at me.” His voice booms with the authoritative crack I hate.

  My head snaps up before I think to tell him where he can shove it. Oh my god! I climb off the bed. “What happened to your eye?”

  “Your dad.”

  “My dad hit you?” Why would he do that? “He isn't a fighter.” My eyes open wide. “Oh no. You didn't?”

  “I did, and deserved it.”

  “You didn't hit him did you?” I say in whispered astonishment.

  “Of course not. What would it look like engaging in a fist fight with my girlfriend's dad?”

  I shake my head believing I've heard wrong. “Girlfriend?”

  “Yes.”

  “If I were your girlfriend, you wouldn't have stomped on my heart and broken it after I told you I loved you.” I step closer to him jabbing my finger at him. “If I were your girlfriend, you wouldn't kiss Callie.”

  “Shit.” He wipes his hand over his face.

  “Yeah, shit.”

  “The squeak of the door, that was you?”

  I nod trying to keep the rest of my emotions in check. I'll save my breakdown for after he leaves because seeing him, standing so close to me, is breaking my composure. “I saw the way she touched you. You didn't stop it. You were a willing participant.” My voice breaks. I turn away so he can't see how much he's hurting me.

  “Jade.” He touches my shoulder, and I can't bear it. I move away, but he's hot on my heels. He puts his hands around me, and it's too much. My hands cover my face, as his arms hold me to him. His lips skim my ears, and I'm forced to listen when I don't want to.

  “Listen—you are what I want.”

  “You're lying.” I shake my head in my hands.

  “No. What you saw were two people saying goodbye for the last time. Callie and I don't belong together, but you and I do.”

  “How can you say that? You were sure we didn't. What's changed?” I say in disbelief.

  “I was scared.” He presses his lips against my ear.

  I turn in his arms looking into his eyes. “Scared of what? This summer has been the best time of my life with you. I know you felt it too. So what the hell could you have possibly been scared of… Being happy?”

  “You leaving me. Waking up one day realizing I'm not what you wanted. It's one thing when you’re here with me, but when you’re thousands of miles away with people your age, you'll realize you have more in common with them than you do with someone my age.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? I know what I want. It's you. This is not a, ‘one crazy summer thing!’ I love you. That’s not changing.”

  His forehead creases and there's that unsure look again. That drives me crazy as hell with him.

  “Don't look at me like that,” I snap. “I know people fall in and out of love every day. But you have to be willing to take a chance to know if it will work. I'm willing to take that chance with you, with all the good, and all the bad.”

  There is a glint of sadness in his eyes. He puts his hand against my cheek. This is more than our age difference. More than his business and personal relationship with my father. “Where is this coming from, Ian?”

  “When I proposed to Callie, and she turned me down, she said, ‘Before I marry you, I need you to know I cheated.’ She said she couldn't accept with that lie still between us.”

  Oh my god. She cheated on him. Dammit, Aunt Callie. “She—” I start, but he stops my wide-eyed angry reaction.

  “She was young and unsure if she was ready. We were too serious for her at the time. She was older than you are now. Sometimes I see the similarities in you two. If she didn't know, how could you?”

  “I'm not some flighty young girl who doesn't know what she wants.” I push my fist against his chest. “I know.” I hold his hand against my cheek, unclench my fist, and cup his cheek. I say it again, so he knows I mean it. “I know.”

  We pull each other together and kiss. A slow and tender kiss where he wraps his arms around me. Holding his face I revel in the moment with his head pressed against mine, and our lips still touching. He says, “I love you.“ Those words bring tears to my eyes and an overwhelming feeling of joy and content.

  “I'm glad you finally realized it.” I smile.

  “I'm sorry I've been such an idiot. Ignoring and fighting it. Assuming I knew what was best for you without asking you.”

  “Don't be sorry. Do better, Uncle Ian.”

  His head pulls back, and I see him cringe. “Don't ruin the moment.”

  I laugh kissing his chin.

  “You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?” he asks.

  “You bet your ass I'm not.”

  I take a deep breath as he lays me down and we kiss. Every tear I cried before this moment, was worth it.

  I lean up against the building waiting for my girl. Damn, I’ve missed her. The last time I saw her was two months ago when I flew out here, to sunny LA, to visit her. I could only spend a weekend, so we spent the entire time in my hotel room, in bed with me helping her study in between breaks. I was bad for her concentration.

  She flies out in two days for Thanksgiving break, but I couldn't wait to see her. Two months is a long time to be away from the one you love. One of the many reasons I hate long-distance relationships. I keep it all in perspective by reminding myself this is her last year. When she graduates, I'll be front and center, cheering the loudest with the biggest gift.

  Which I'm sure Alan will have something to say about. He's still not happy with me, but he's learning to cope. He’d better because I'm not going anywhere.

  “Hey, shouldn't you be in class young lady,” I say as she walks by me in a sundress that makes me want to pull her behind the bushes and show her exactly how much I've missed her.

  “Oh my god! What are you doing here?” She squeals crashing into my arms.

  “I came for you. I missed you so damn much I couldn't wait to see you in New York.”

  She makes the cutest pouty face. “I have to get to class. I can't miss this one today.”

  �
�Go ahead, I'll walk around. When you're done, I'll be waiting over there in that car.” I point to my hot brand-spanking-new rental.

  She arches a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and smirks. “A drop top convertible?”

  “It's Los Angeles. And it's forty-nine degrees in New York. Let me get a little glitz and glamour in the City of Angels with my slice of heaven.”

  She smiles and kisses me.

  After her class, I show her the car. On the drive, she holds my hand. She’s radiant with her sun-kissed skin, which already had a natural tan. “I missed you,” she says.

  I rub the back of her hand with my thumb. I missed her too. “FaceTime sex is not doing it, babe.”

  “It's not.” She sighs.

  “I'm glad this is your last semester. My frequent flyer miles would be crazy, and you'd get sick of seeing me.”

  “Never. I can't wait to spend the night with you. Too bad my roommate is in our room now.”

  “Who said we can only reach heaven at night? We can do anything we want.”

  “You’re right, Mr. Fox.”

  “Besides, my dorm days are way behind me. I had a better idea for our sleeping arrangements than a hotel.”

  “Where?”

  “You'll see.”

  “Don't tell me you found another Victorian?”

  I look over at her and smile. We pull up to the curb, and she gets out of the car. I throw the keys to her, and she runs up the steps. As soon as she opens the door, she smiles broad holding out her arms. I can tell she's fallen in love with it.

  “The best one so far,” she says.

  “I know.” I hug her in the middle of the room and kiss her until she's breathless, the way I always do, and the way I plan on doing for a long time to come.

  “The dream is yours, but every day can last more than one night this time around. If you want it to.” I brush her hair behind her ear.

  “Of course I do.” She kisses my lips. “I told you all I needed was one night.”

  “So you did.”

  “Forever’s even better. I'll take it.”