“Hey, Lace, uh…I brought someone very special with me today. You might remember her because you knew her before I did. This is Mrs. D’s niece, Selene.” I swallow before continuing. “You were right, there is something special about her.”
It takes me a few seconds before I face Selene. She is standing wide-eyed, tears rolling down her cheeks as she stares at me. I feel an overwhelming urge to take her in my arms. Fuck, my heart is pushing me in a direction I’ve been trying to avoid, and I’m not sure I can change its course. I’m pretty sure things just went from awkward to complicated.
Selene
HE JUST INTRODUCED ME TO his sister. A sister I was once sort of friends with during the summers. A sister who is now dead. It isn’t that Drake introduced me to someone who isn’t here that is making me freak out a little. It’s the meaning of his actions. A meaning I’m not quite sure I get.
What does special mean? I don’t know exactly what he meant, but I feel a warm sensation coursing through my body. I want to run away because I feel afraid, yet I want to stay because the thought of leaving makes me even more scared.
Before I have time to react either way, Drake makes my decision for me. He reaches out and wipes the tears away from my cheeks with his slightly calloused thumbs. I can’t do anything but stare back into his eyes. He reaches for my hand. I don’t say anything as he leads me once again.
Slowly he lowers himself to the ground and pulls me with him. Leaning his back against the headstone, Drake keeps his hand in mine while he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a book. A book? Surely he isn’t about to—
Before I can finish my thought, he gives me that crooked smile I love so much. “So, Lacey sort of loved romance novels, and I read to her when I come here.” His cheeks seem to redden a little, and it tugs at my heart to see. “I know it sounds crazy, but it helps me feel close to her.”
Shaking my head, I whisper as I lean forward and place a kiss on his cheek. “No, not crazy at all. Actually, I completely get it.” I don’t want to ask, but I wonder if I might be intruding. “Are you sure you don’t want me to leave?”
His look fades. “No, I want you here. Please don’t go.”
I lean into him, making myself comfortable. “Good, I didn’t want to leave.”
I can feel his relief before he places a kiss on top of it. “Good, because I need someone to explain why the girls and guys in these books always have to let these silly miscommunications come between them,” he says, and I want to laugh at the serious tone of his voice.
“Sorry, I’ve never been the kind of girl to believe in love, so you might be asking the wrong person,” I say.
I feel him tense a little, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he begins explains to me what has been happening so far so I know what is going on in the story, and then he begins where he left off. As he starts to read, I close my eyes and let the words float through my mind.
All uncomfortable feelings are gone, and now a new feeling begins to take over. A sense of security and comfort. Two things I have only truly felt with one other person in my life, and she is no longer here.
Drake
EVER SINCE THAT DAY IN the cemetery, Selene and I have been more relaxed around one another. It’s like the strange awkwardness of that day never happened. We haven’t discussed Abby, Selene’s confession, or our shared moment at Lacey’s gravesite. We just continue on as if we never missed a step.
I’m okay with that, but I can feel whatever brought us together in the first place tugging hard on my emotions, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it. It’s getting to be more of a struggle to ignore how I feel about her. It’s so natural to touch her and be around her. Even Selene seems to be more at ease with me. I can literally count the times she has reminded me I’m not acting as a friend would act in certain situations. She has initiated handholding and affection nearly as much as I have, and I think this is part of my inability to continue to put our relationship in the friend corner.
I look up when I hear the door open. Mrs. Durham is standing on the other side of the screen, smiling at me.
“Hello, Drake Thomas. Have you come to take another piece of my niece’s heart?”
A light expression spreads wide across my face. “No, ma’am, I came to let her steal another piece of mine.” Cheesy, I know, but I realize Mrs. Durham loves this kind of honesty. Plus, she was trying to take me off guard with her own comment, and I can’t let her think she wins.
An exuberant bubble escapes her lips. It’s a rare sound coming from the older woman, who is usually full of quiet emotion. She opens the door and stands to the side, allowing me in. I wink at her as I pass. Of course, I should have known her sweetness wouldn’t last too long, because she smacks me on the back of the head.
“That is just a reminder to not try and use that charm on me again. I got your number, Drake Thomas.” Her eyes sparkle before she heads toward the kitchen, leaving me standing in the entryway.
“Selene, your friend is here.” I hear another chortle escape her lips before she disappears behind the swinging kitchen door.
As I turn back to where I know Selene will be coming from, I realize I hear the sound of a guitar. I make my way toward the sound and quietly walk up the steps. Reaching the top of the landing, I stop in front of Selene’s room and listen. She must not have heard Mrs. D, because her door is only slightly open, and she is in the middle of playing something. I’ve never heard it before, so it must be a song that she wrote.
I realize she is singing softly, and it takes me back to the first day I saw her beneath the trees along the river. I’m just as mesmerized by her voice today as I was then. I want to knock, but as I listen I’m struck by the words and stop my fisted hand just before I interrupt. Her voice and words float around me.
But my mind says no, so I say just friends
I can see you struggle too
But you keep that smile on before I can see the real truth
And you say just friends
Yet we never really let go, and then you need me…
I think my heart stops beating, or maybe it’s beating so fast I can’t feel it anymore. Either way, I’m frozen by her words. Did she write this? Who is she singing about? Part of me wants it to be me, but another part of me is so scared it is. And that frightens me for us—for her. Yet I feel a slight burn of jealousy at the thought of it being about someone else.
I drop my hand and take a step back. I can’t let her know I might have heard her playing, so I silently make my way back downstairs and into the kitchen. Mrs. D looks up with a smile, but it falters a bit.
“Drake, you look like you have seen a ghost.” She walks toward me, and all I can think is, Do I? “There is not any ghost in my house. That is just a rumor, and you know it.” She attempts to hide her delight at her own joke.
I try to mask the emotions on my face. “No…no, I’m fine. I just don’t think Selene heard you.” She gives me a strange look and then pushes the door open and begins to shout. “Sel—oh, good, there you are. Drake is here waiting for you.”
I freeze, keeping my back toward her until I can compose myself. I want to turn around and ask her if she means it. I want to ask her if she really wishes to be more than friends, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I misunderstood, so I just keep my mouth shut because frankly, I’m not sure what I would do about it. We are friends, and I don’t want anything to taint or change that. Ever.
“I thought I heard you two down here.” She walks up behind me and nudges me with her hip. “So what is on our agenda tonight, Sir Thomas?”
I look over at her, and she is smiling up at me. All nervousness leaves me because just being near her makes everything right.
“Sir Thomas?” I ask with mirth in my voice.
Her smile widens, and she changes her voice to her best British accent. “Yes, you are the knight in shining armor who is rescuing me from the utter despair of a lonely Saturday night, are you not?”
I can’t help myself when I lean forward and place a kiss on her cheek. “You are ridiculous. You know that, right?”
I offer her my arm as she says, “I have no idea what you mean.” Since I can’t resist Selene when she is so adorable, I smirk at her.
“Well, my fair lady, we are going to a movie. Is that to your liking?” I decide to join in on the act. She looks up at me like I’m crazy.
“Why are you talking like that, you weirdo?” Then she cracks herself up like she just said the funniest thing ever. I shake my head at her.
“Oh, yeah, I’m the weirdo. Let’s go, Chandler.”
I suddenly realize Mrs. D is still in the room with us and watching our entire interaction. We make eye contact, and she shakes her head at me for at least the fourth time since I walked through the door.
“I think you’re both pretty strange.”
Selene glances over at her, looking as if she just remembered she was there too. “I think we’re leaving. I will be back later and on time,” she says as she leans in and gives the petite, older woman a kiss on the cheek.
We leave Mrs. D in the kitchen and make our way to the truck. This isn’t the first Saturday night I’ve picked Selene up, but something definitely feels different from every other time.
Selene
IT’S AN UNUSUALLY COOL NIGHT as we lie along the shore beneath the cypress trees in the dark. I can feel my heart trying to find a place for him as my mind tells me to keep my distance. If I could just let him in, I think it’s possible I could still feel safe. I’m trying to be brave and open up to him more than I already have.
We came out here to our spot along the river after the movie because neither of us wanted to go home. It was like we both couldn’t bear to leave one another. Drake has done everything he can to gain my trust. While I’ve let him in more than any other person before him, I’ve still been holding back.
There is something about tonight, though. Something is different; things feel right. He feels exactly right. Drake trusts me, and I trust him. I feel like this comfort and trust between us will never change. Anything I had known before this moment is a distant memory.
“I like it here,” I whisper against his chest. I can feel the rhythm of his heart in tune with my own, and this only solidifies my feelings of trust.
“Yeah, this has always been my favorite spot,” he says softly. I hear the peacefulness in his voice.
A breath escapes my lips. “No, I mean—yes, I like it here. It’s special for me too, but I meant here…in your arms.” I can feel my cheeks flush.
It’s the first real confession like this I have spoken out loud. Sure, I admitted to being jealous once, but this is different. Suddenly, it feels like Drake has stopped breathing.
Everything is quiet except for the crickets and the running water of the river. I wonder if I made a mistake. Maybe I'm too forward with my feelings. Shit. Shit. Shit. Just as I’m about to try and cover up my intimate confession, I feel him relax.
“Thank you,” he whispers in an unsteady rush of breath. “I like you being here too.” His embrace tightens a little. I love the way it feels.
I can’t help myself. I let a quiet smile spread across my face and bury myself further into his side. I have a bad habit of letting honest affection make me uncomfortable, but not this time. I’m changing. I can’t even explain what I find so funny at a moment like this. I just feel so happy.
“Hey, why are you laughing? I’m serious!”
He is trying his hardest to sound offended but is failing miserably. He pulls me beneath his body and stares into my eyes. I instantly stop when I see the look on his face.
“Selene, I’m serious. I’ve been waiting for you to let me in. It has been killing me, and I know how hard it is for you to say those words.”
A tear slips down my cheek. He wipes my tear away, leans down, and kisses my cheek as he says between the brush of his lips against my skin, “Please—please don’t cry. I’m sorry if I said too much.”
I begin shaking my head. “No—no, you didn’t say too much. It’s just I have never felt so safe to just be me. I only have that with you. I should be thanking you, Drake. Not the other way around.”
He leans down to kiss my cheek again. I’m not sure when this became so routine between the two of us. Friends. Isn’t that what we are? As his lips touch my skin, I feel that familiar tingle run up my spine. I have become a natural at hiding my reaction to his touch. I mean, it hasn’t changed anything between us, after all. We are just friends. The kind of friends who spend nearly every waking moment together. The kind of friends who hold hands and occasionally give and accept kisses on the cheek from one another. In the beginning, I would tense every time Drake touched me or showed any sort of affection. It was something I just wasn’t used to, and he usually caught me off guard, but gradually I’ve relaxed. I’ve come to expect it and, to my surprise, enjoy it. If I’m truly honest, I crave it.
The only thing that hasn’t changed is our friend status. Maybe it’s time for that to change too. I just don’t know if I’m brave enough tonight to admit it out loud. I think he feels the same, but I still can’t bring myself to release us from the hold we have on allowing our feelings to move beyond the very confusing crossroads we have reached.
I look up into his beautiful green eyes, and I know I’m in trouble. Because there is no denying it. I think I love him.
Drake
WE TOOK A STEP IN a new direction. I can feel it, and I know she can too. She doesn’t seem afraid though. She seems unsure, but not afraid. I’m a bit uncertain, too. This feeling is one I’ve wanted deep down and for longer than I’ll ever admit to myself.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid. Afraid of what will happen if I allow my real feelings for Selene out. Afraid of what will happen if I don’t. Jared still hasn’t stopped with his incessant flirting, and Selene seems oblivious to his intentions. This only makes me more nervous and more aware of my emotions.
We finish putting everything in the back of my truck, and Selene gives me one of her devious smiles as she tosses the keys at me.
“Think fast!” She giggles as I fumble with the keys and they drop to the ground. “I guess I know better than to listen to rumors.” I can tell she is holding back another bout of hysteria as she pushes her tongue into the side of her cheek.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask, already regretting I acknowledged her statement, knowing she is baiting me for something. She pats me on the shoulder as she leans up and whispers in my ear.
“That you have the best hands in the state.” She tries to run off before I can catch her, but I grip her belt loop before she can get away and pull her back to me.
“You think you’re funny, don’t ya, Chandler?”
She finds this so funny that her whole body is shaking. I’m struck by the fact I haven’t seen her laugh this hard in all the time I’ve known her. I pull her against me tighter. I can’t help loving the way she feels when she’s this close to my body. Fuck. I need to get a grip on myself. I’m going scare her away again.
“You have no idea how good I really am,” Pushing her forward and giving her a swat on the butt, I smirk at the squeak that escapes her lips. “Now get your rear in the truck so I can get you home before Mrs. D sends a search party out for you.” She shoots me a dirty look, but I can see the humor in her eyes.
As we pull away, she slips off her shoes and puts her feet up on the dashboard. She looks relaxed and comfortable sitting next to me.
“Hey, can we put the windows down? The night is so beautiful. I want to let the fresh air in.” Selene pulls her light cardigan sweater off.
Without answering, I roll the windows down. She reaches over and switches the radio on.
“I love this song!” she shouts above the wind blowing through the truck. I love seeing her this way. So happy. I can’t help but feel like I’ve had some part in making this happen. I can only watch her, fighting the urge to pull the car over and be
g her to give me a chance at something more.
I watch her laughing and singing Bruno Mars from the passenger side of my truck. The wind is blowing through her hair and whipping gently against her cheeks. The grin on her face makes her eyes sparkle, even though it’s dark outside and I can’t see the color. I know them. They are in my every thought, my every dream. I suck in a sudden breath. I’m struck by the fact I have never felt so…so happy. I know then I love her. Yeah, maybe she is my friend, but she is more too. She will always be more. And I love her.
Selene
I CAN SEE HIM WATCHING me from the corner of his eye as I reach over to turn the music up. It feels so natural being with him. It always has, but tonight something is definitely different. The longer the night goes on, the more confident I am about how I’m feeling.
I want to say something. I want to. I do. I guess it’s more of a question of whether I can work up enough nerve to do it. As I belt out the song playing on the radio, I notice a slow smile spread across Drake’s face. He’s happy. My heart soars as we continue down the road.
When we are pulling into my driveway, I turn the music back down. I don’t want to risk waking Aunt Violette up. I pick my shoes up as the truck pulls to a stop.
Before I lose my nerve, I say, “Drake, I had a nice time tonight. Do you think we can talk a minute?” I lift my eyes to his and find him staring back at me. We sit like this for what seems like an eternity before he answers me.
“Yeah, I’ll walk you to the door.” He seems as nervous as I feel.
He leans over me to open the door, and I inhale his scent. His smell is just one more thing I love about him. We both get out of the truck and meet in the middle. He takes my hand and links our fingers together. I look down at them and love how they look made to fit together.
When Destinies Collide Page 13