Up All Night Long: From Lust to Love (Romance Anthology)

by Ali Parker

  "Good," Kari responded before Lisa took the conversation back.

  "There are little cobbled streets everywhere and the shopping is just fantastic. Small places to dip in and out of and there are a few wineries, though I'm not at all sure where they get their grapes from."

  "Italy, where all wine comes from." Sicily shrugged, starting to clean up their small plates as Keith showed up with their dinner. He set everything down and checked to make sure everything was good.

  Sicily prayed over the food for everyone and Lisa snagged a French fry off Kari's plate. "The people there were so authentic, Kari. You're going to love them. No more cut-throat bullshit."

  "But is there anyone our age? I mean, it looks and sounds perfect, but what about finding someone to date? To love? To marry?" Kari asked, working to get her burger just perfect.

  "There are tons of great guys there. It's an older community, but these grandparents have kids and they have kids, and mostly everyone who was born there stays." Lisa looked over at Kari and reached over to squeeze her leg. "You're going to find him. I just know it."

  "I hope so. I miss him and I don't even know him yet." Kari smiled sadly, letting her thoughts go and drowning in the deliciousness of the meal before her.

  Chapter 7

  Fitful dreams had plagued her all night, the scene before her filled with Frank and his unfaithfulness. She woke up emotional and crabby, the smell of bacon helping a little. She slipped out of the extra bedroom, the house packed into boxes all around her. Someone was humming something, and as she moved into the kitchen, the sight of her little brother working on breakfast caused her heart to swell.

  He was player - a turd - but he was hers and she would forever love him. She would be the one to make sure he finally got somewhere in life, and when their parents were gone, she would be the one to remind him that he would eventually get it together and that he was worth more than gold no matter who he became.

  She leaned against the doorframe, her white robe wrapped tightly around her as she watched him enjoy himself. He was simplistic and deserved a good woman who would expect very little and yet receive so much. Her eyes filled with tears, a smile playing on her lips as he danced and flipped the bacon, the song playing only in his head. He spun around and stopped mid-spin, the spatula in his hand. He gasped like a woman caught in adultery.

  She laughed, and he did too. He put the spatula down and walked to pull her into a hug. "I got here at two this morning. Thanks for leaving the key under the mat. I thought I might have to sleep in old blue."

  "Your truck has no heat in it, Marc. Silly thing." Kari pushed at his chest, his T-shirt loose and sleeping pants making him look like a little boy again. She reached up and rustled his hair, rolling her eyes at him and moving to the coffee pot. She pulled out a small towel and wiped at her watering eyes before busying herself with creating the only fuel that would get her through their trip.

  "You all right? You look emotional." Marc moved back to the stove and worked on pulling up the bacon.

  "I'm good. Just know how much I'll miss you and mom. I haven't ever lived anywhere else, so I'm just feeling the unease of that I guess."

  "You'll do great. There's nothing that you haven't conquered and done so successfully. This will be no different." He paused and moved to the small yellow bowl filled with pancake batter, cracking an egg into it and whipping it as he picked up the bowl and turned toward her. "Just make sure to enjoy yourself. Stop rushing forward to grab the world's attention and just let them come to you. Let him come to you."

  Kari pulled the pot out from the maker, slipping her cup under the dripping liquid as the burner hissed with angst. "Who's him?"

  "The guy who's going to steal your heart." Her brother spoke very matter-of-factly.

  "And you're sure he's up there?" she asked, moving to get the powdered creamer and sugar from the box on the table.

  "I'm pretty sure, sis."

  "Well, well... I think you're after the wrong friend, Marc." Sicily walked into the kitchen, her black T-shirt and sleeping shorts cute on her petite figure. She pointed to his pancake whipping. "I'm the baker in the group. You and I could learn to make muffins together."

  The all laughed together as Lisa walked in, her hair a mess, her nightgown nothing more than a small tank top and panties. Marc set the bowl down and turned to lean against the counter, his eyes wide and a smile on his mouth.

  "I'm not sure muffins are my thing, though I think I might have found what is though." He winked at Sicily as Lisa came to and realized that Marc was there.

  "Oh hey, handsome." She waved and walked to the fridge, leaning over and showing her perfect butt to the world. Marc stared and Kari swatted at him.

  "Hey, dude... You're burning the pancakes."

  "Yeah, don't care." He laughed and turned back to the stove as Kari moved over to usher Lisa back out of the kitchen.

  "Go put some clothes on. No one has time for the two of you to turn into horny kids. We have a long trip today," Kari grumbled, pushing at Lisa.

  "Yeah, whatever. Get me some coffee or I'll strip and really cause a ruckus."

  "Fine. Just go get dressed." Kari pushed one more time before Lisa turned and pretended like she was going to tackle her. Kari yelped and ran for the kitchen, slowing as she walked in to see her brother stacking a plate of pancakes for Sicily.

  "You eating those this morning?" Kari asked in surprise. Sicily rarely ate anything that wasn't completely healthy.

  "Yeah. Hell, why not? I've been this size for the last six years. Might as well enjoy myself for a few days and then get back to it." She shrugged and set the plate down on the edge of the table, pushing at a large box filled with canned goods. She poured syrup on the plate, licking at her fingers and the utensil. "God I love good food."

  "That's why you're a baker," Marc responded, flipping the next round of cakes. "Sis, you're up next. Get your coffee cup before it overflows, and a plate."

  "Oh crap!" Kari ran toward the coffee pot, pulling her cup out as it started to spill. She slipped the pot back under the drip and worked to clean it up before taking her plate to Marc.

  "Where is my promised coffee? I'm stripping." Lisa's voice reached them as she turned to see her friend walking in with a cute yellow top and sweats on, her feet bare.

  Marc whirled around like the room was suddenly on fire, the disappointed look on his handsome features causing all of them to laugh. Kari wiped down the cup she'd been holding and handed it to Lisa, reaching to get her plate instead. The coffee could wait, but the pancakes needed to be eaten hot.

  *

  They ate breakfast all hovered around the kitchen, and then worked to finish packing up the house together. It was an hour before lunch when they finally got on the road, Marc and Lisa driving the U-Haul as it dragged Sicily's car. Sicily and Kari were in her small Honda together. Kari had agreed to drive the first couple of hours to get them through New York traffic. Sicily would pick up the last two to three, the total trip only taking five hours or so.

  Kari turned up the radio as Sicily buckled up and leaned back, closing her eyes. It had been a long two weeks of packing and saying goodbye. Kari was more than ready for the change ahead of them. Her mom had spent almost every night at her place and would be up the next weekend to see everything and visit. She was close to her mother, but things had been different since her parents’ divorce. If there was one thing she prayed most for, it was that she'd never end up divorced after being with someone so long.

  "I need to take a quick nap. I haven't had carbs in years." Sicily stretched and looked over at Kari, her eyes heavy, her gaze fading.

  Kari laughed and turned the radio down a little. "I don't mind. I feel good, so rest and I'll get you up in an hour or so when I need someone to talk to me."

  Sicily agreed and leaned back, the soft sound of her subtle snoring causing Kari to smile. This new life was going to be so good for all of them. Sicily would have her bakery and Kari would get a job at the loca
l paper. She'd gotten a text from Steve a few days back that the paper in Bar Harbor was looking for a local reporter. Even though she had no clue of anything local, he assured her that she'd be great. It was a small town gig, but she would learn to love simplicity.

  Her phone buzzed in the cup holder it sat in, Frank's face popping up on the screen. She groaned softly and reached for it, not wanting to talk with him and yet knowing he'd keep calling until she did. She looked over at Sicily and waited to see if the buzzing would wake her. Nope - she was dead to the world.

  Kari pressed the button and lifted the phone to her face. "What?"

  "I heard you were leaving town."

  "And?" she whispered with as much menace as she could.

  "And I wanted to say goodbye. We were together for four years, Kari. Does all that time mean nothing to you? I have all this wedding shit sitting around my house in hopes that you'll change your mind."

  "You really should get rid of it. There's no reason to hang onto the past, not when the future is bright and ready to give you everything you never knew you wanted."

  He sighed softly, the silence hanging between them.

  "I have to go," she whispered, hating how much she wished things hadn't gone the way they had. Sure, she needed to know that he was a bastard before they tied the knot, but finding out in the way she did destroyed something inside of her. A part of her wanted so badly to be jaded toward every man she ever encountered and yet she knew that was just the hurt.

  "Wait... can I see you before you leave? Let me give you back some of your stuff you left over here. I have old wedding albums from your folks and some of your baby pictures and such. I know you want this stuff back and I just need to see you."

  "Send it to my mother's address. I've already left and I don't give a shit what you need to do. You needed something more than I could give, so... yeah." She moved the phone from her ear and ended the call, not really caring what he might respond with.

  Sicily turned over in the seat next to her, the long strands of her hair splayed across her tanned skin. Kari smiled, her heart hurting, but her will set on moving forward no matter what the cost might be. She would find love again and would belong to someone, it might just take a while to learn to trust him.

  Hope he's willing to stay the course.

  *

  Kari reached over after a few hours and shook her friend, her own eyes growing heavy with sleepiness as the road seemed to stretch on forever. Marc and Lisa pulled the U-Haul into a large gas station and had already gotten out to start filling up the large metal beast. Sicily stretched and looked over and smiled.

  "We there yet?"

  Kari laughed and reached to open her door. "No, we're about halfway, though. Your turn to drive and we've stopped to get gas in the U-Haul. Let's get a quick soda and a bag of chips or something while we're here."

  They got out and Sicily stretched again, yawning loudly. "Not sure why being in the car always puts me to sleep, but it does every time. My folks use to throw me in the backseat and drive around the block when I wouldn't shut up crying when I was a baby."

  "Noted," Kari responded, jerking out of the way of Sicily playfully swinging at her. Marc and Lisa joined them in the store, everyone getting something to snack on.

  "You guys want to change up the cars or what?" Marc asked, looking at Kari.

  "No, we're good if you guys are. Sicily had a quick nap, so she's up to drive and I figured I would pepper her with questions about Bar Harbor." Kari pushed her Mt. Dew up on the counter with all of her friends’ drinks and snacks. She laid down her credit card for the purchase and helped the teller bag everything up before thanking him.

  They walked out into the chilly early afternoon, the wind picking up and blowing her dark hair all over the place. "Mom's coming to visit on Friday. How long are you staying with us?"

  Marc reached over and got his soda from the bag. "What's today, Sunday?"

  "Yes, genius." Kari rolled her eyes and pulled out Lisa's drink and snack, handing it to him as well.

  "I'll help you guys unpack tonight and tomorrow and probably stay until Wednesday. I need to get back to study for a mid-term next week." He took the drinks and nodded. "Love you. Be careful. We'll be there soon."

  "Love you, too. Don't let Lisa distract you." Kari shook her head as Lisa feigned innocence.

  "Me? Never." Lisa reached for her soda, pressing herself to the front of Marc as she smiled up at him. He grinned like a small boy. Kari just chuckled and moved back to find Sicily already in the driver’s seat, checking out her nails.

  She slipped into the passenger side and handed her friend her soda, dropping the bag on the floorboard and opening hers to take a quick sip. The familiar flavor slipped over her tongue and down her throat, her chest tightening at the sudden sensation. She touched her chest and winced, Sicily reaching over with concern on her face.

  "You okay? What's wrong? Your heart okay?"

  Sicily had lost her mother earlier that year to a heart attack. The warning symptoms were nothing more than what appeared to be heartburn. It had taken a huge toll on Sicily and she'd yet to move past the horror of losing the person she loved most. Kari covered her friend’s hand with hers and smiled at her.

  "I'm good. No worries at all." She squeezed her friend’s hand and then leaned back and pointed toward the large U-Haul in front of them. "They're pulling out. My brother drives like a bat outta hell, so make sure you stay close behind him if you can. If not, we'll lose them."

  "How in the world do you lose a U-Haul?" Sicily started the car and pulled out behind Marc and Lisa. "I can't image driving that big bastard. Your brother is too cool for coming with us."

  Kari laughed and reached to turn the heater up, rubbing her hands together in front of the vent. "Yeah, well I'm sure he came because he's interested in Lisa."

  Sicily shook her head, looking over her shoulder before switching lanes. "Wrong. He likes Lisa, sure, but he's here because he adores you. I can see it all over him. Hero envy."

  Kari smiled. "Yeah... we've always been close."

  "Me and my brother, Johnny are like that, but he's older. He's my hero. He helped me get through momma's death mostly."

  Kari turned in her seat, reaching out to touch Sicily's shoulder. "Are you still hurting from all of that?"

  Sicily's expression faded into a haunted look. "I'm not sure I'll ever get over it. I was the only one there when she hit the floor. I pray like hell that this new life will ease the ache of loss from my old one."

  Kari didn't know how to respond so she said the only thing that came to mind. "It will. We'll make sure of it."

  Chapter 8

  Kari spent the next two hours in idle chat with Sicily, the topic of their families, their upbringing, and the sharing of a few dreams came up. An hour outside of Bar Harbor they hit traffic, but the scenery around them shifted drastically. Kari rolled down her window, her eyes scanning the beautiful villages and stretches of bare trees with small white buds on them.

  "This is beautiful. It almost looks like a picture of the country," Kari murmured.

  Sicily breathed in loudly and let the air out in a long sigh. "Can you smell the water? The ocean is close and the saltiness of it makes me hungry."

  Kari turned to look at her. "Oh no. We didn't have lunch, did we?"

  Sicily held up an empty bag of Cheetos. "Not sure about you, but I had the lunch of champions."

  Kari laughed and stretched, rolling up the window and looking out the front of the car as the sun sat heavy on the far side of the sky. "Do you think we're setting ourselves up for failure by wanting this place to be everything we need it to?"

  Sicily sat quiet for a minute, Kari finally turning toward her to make sure she heard the question.

  "Yes and no, I guess. I mean if we never hoped for something better or demanded something new, then what would that say about our sense of adventure? I think taking on something like this - a move across the country into a place so crazy different
than we're used to is the perfect way to shake things up a little."

  "Do you think we'll stay here forever or move back home in a few years?" Kari asked, pulling her legs into the seat with her as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

  "I think that depends on who we meet and what our new jobs look like."

  "Are you excited about your bakery?" Kari asked, a smile lifting her lips as Sicily smiled in unison.

  "It's always been a dream of mine. I've worked in several bakeries, but never owned anything of my own. I want to try out a hundred different recipes on my customers." She beamed and Kari couldn't help but smile harder.

  "I'm so excited for you."

  "I'm excited for you. You get to try all of my good stuff and you get to pick the color palate for the shop. I need you to design me a logo and take pictures of my creations for my website." Sicily's voice sped up, her excitement almost palatable.

  "Whoa... slow down. You had me at being your chief taste tester, but colors and graphics?" Kari pulled air in quickly between her teeth, the soft whistle causing Sicily to frown.

  "I know we didn't go to school together when we were younger, but I've heard Lisa talk about your talent. Why did you let it go?"

  Kari shrugged. "I guess I just thought it was a silly waste of time. I had to figure out how to make a living and painting wasn't it. Photography isn't much better, but I guess moving toward being a reporter will help."

  Sicily turned on the blinker, pulling off the freeway on their exit behind Marc. She glanced over at Kari. "You don't want to be a reporter?"

  Kari shook her head. "No, not at all. I hate asking people questions and interviewing random strangers. I'd rather take pictures or even paint them. Half the fun is pulling people's heart strings because you've created something that seems impossible simply because of the beauty it inspires."

  Sicily smiled and nodded. "I'm going to help you see the possibility of doing just that."

  Kari laughed. "That would be great, but I have an interview at the paper tomorrow at lunch. I'm thinking a reporter is where I'm headed."