Beyond the Cherry Trees: The Cook Brothers Series

by Heather D'Agostino

  “Nice to see you, squirt.” Taylor gave me a side hug before he eyed his brother with a weird look and disappeared in what I assumed was the direction of the kitchen.

  “Everything ok?” I turned toward Ty. He was shaking his head as he stared at Taylor’s retreating form. “Hey,” I pushed on his shoulder. “Is everything ok?”

  “I’m fine,” he mumbled before he started helping me to get my coat off. “Shit Mia. No wonder you were cold,” he hissed as he took the coat from my hands. I’d dressed myself in a green sweater, but it was a lightweight cashmere one. It was more for style than warmth.

  “What?” I played dumb as I looked down the front of me. My dark jeans molded to my body, and the sweater clung to my upper half like cling wrap. I’d left my hair down, and it cascaded over my shoulders in soft waves down my back.

  “Don’t play dumb with me.” He grinned as his eyes trailed over the green fabric, pausing at my chest. “Remember the first party you and I went to?” His grin began to spread as I felt my cheeks heat. I nodded and bit the inside of my cheek. “Were you thinking about that when you got dressed tonight?” I shook my head no as he wrapped his arm around my waist and lowered his mouth to right beside my ear.

  “All I can I think about right now is dragging you up to the room I’m staying in and peeling those jeans off with my teeth. I wanna bury myself so deep inside you that you feel me for days. I know I shouldn’t be saying these things to you right now, Mia, but I can’t fucking help it. You’re killing me here.” The hand at my waist slid down to my hip, giving it a gentle squeeze before he released me to walk in the direction Taylor had gone, leaving me standing there. If I wasn’t turned on enough earlier, Ty had just taken it to a whole new level.

  I DECIDED TO head in the opposite direction, hoping to find Morgan. At least I could talk to her and not have to worry about my past drowning me. Morgan had fought against her past back in the summer, and fortunately for Taylor, she’d lost.

  As soon as I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I spotted the door to the sun porch. Even though I knew it would be chilly sitting out there, I slipped through and headed for one of the couches on the opposite end. As I sunk down into the cushions, I couldn’t help but let my mind drift back to the party that Tyler had brought up. So many of my firsts happened with him, and that night was no exception.

  “I’m glad you came,” Ty smiled as we stood awkwardly in the doorway of his parent’s house. They were having a Christmas party, and Ty had finally invited me when we were leaving school this afternoon. We’d been friends for years, but last week, he’d kissed me and changed all that. I wasn’t sure if he really liked me that way, or if he was just trying to keep up with his brothers. Taylor had been dating Morgan, and Trevor was engaged to Sharron, but at fourteen, Ty seemed to think that he needed to be doing the same things his brothers were.

  “Why wouldn’t I come?” I kicked at the edge of the doorframe, knocking snow off my boots.

  “I just thought,” he mumbled before he glanced back over his shoulder. When he looked back at me, he wrapped his fingers around my arm and tugged me inside.

  “Where are we going?” I laughed as he stormed through the family room, offering the guests a mere wave before tugging me up the steps to the second floor. “Ty?” I stopped and pulled him to a halt. “What’s going on?”

  “I wanna show you something.” He smiled as his eyes roved over my body. I was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a light blue sweater. I never thought of myself as attractive because I’d been fawning over Tyler Cook for as long as I could remember and he hadn’t been reciprocating. We’d always been friends, and as we grew up, I figured it would always stay that way. “In here,” he tipped his head to the side toward the door to what I thought could be his bedroom. I’d never been in there, and the idea of seeing where he slept each night intrigued me.

  “What’s in there?” I asked curiously.

  “My room,” he murmured as he paused at the door. It was as if he was frozen, and unsure of himself. “Don’t be mad. Ok?” He glanced over his shoulder.

  “Why would I be…” The words died on my lips as he moved us into the room, and I let my eyes roam. I wasn’t sure what to think, and when I saw the candles on the nightstand, and the flowers sitting on the bed, I almost bolted from the nerves. “How did you? Why did you?” I fumbled for the words as I spun to face him. He was standing in the doorway gripping its frame as he leaned in.

  “Taylor helped me,” he lifted a shoulder. “Are you mad?” I shook my head slowly as my heart raced in my chest. “Scared?” He stepped through the door and slowly closed it. When I heard the lock click, I jumped. “We can go back downstairs if you want.” He stepped closer and swallowed when he stopped in front of me. When I didn’t say anything, he placed a hand on my hip and leaned closer. “What is it, Mia?”

  “I’m worried,” I whispered. “Your parent’s are down there. What if they come up here?” I nibbled my lip as I looked away from him. I wasn’t sure what I was seeing in his eyes. Was he thinking about the same things I was?

  “They don’t know I did this. They’ve been busy, and… they trust me. Besides,” he paused as a grin started to form. “They’ve been drinking wine for a while. When Morgan showed up pregnant, they kinda stopped hounding me and concentrated more on Taylor.”

  By this point he’d moved even closer and my chest was brushing against his abs. He lifted a hand and gripped my chin between his thumb and index finger before leaning closer. “I like you Mia. I like you more than friends, but you don’t seem to like me back. Why?” He brushed his mouth over mine, and every muscle in my body tensed. Electricity zinged between us, and my heart began racing as the blood rushed in my ears. How did he not know that I’d been pining for him for years?

  I swallowed as I pulled back and blinked a few times. “I do like you, but.”

  “But what? Don’t you want to kiss me?” He smirked as he stepped into my space once again. This time the kiss was more powerful, more meaningful, and full of lust. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me closer as his head dipped down, and he claimed my mouth. He groaned as his tongue slowly attempted to slip between my lips.

  “What are we doing?” I gasped as I pulled back. My feet got caught on the carpet and I stumbled slightly.

  “Don’t you like me?” He looked concerned, but we’d never talked about this. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, and the idea of Tyler using me to gain whatever props he thought he might get from his brothers hurt.

  “I just,” I stuttered as I refused to make eye contact. The feelings that were pulsing through me were foreign, and as much as I thought I wanted this, I wasn’t sure what the right response was.

  “Just what?” He stepped forward, causing me to move back until the backs of my knees hit the bed. I swallowed as I blinked up at him. Curiosity, fear, lust, they were all waging a battle in my brain, and as much as I wanted to throw everything out the window and re-enact one of the scenes I’d only seen in movies, I wasn’t sure I could. I’d never really had a boyfriend. I’d never kissed anyone other than a few pecks during a game of Spin the Bottle that I participated in at summer camp a few years back. No boy had ever touched me, and with the way Tyler was staring at me, I kinda thought he wanted to do more than that.

  “Here. Sit.” He motioned to the bed as he moved over to where his TV was sitting on his dresser. “Wanna watch a movie?” He sounded a little panicked as he rummaged through a drawer. “Oh, this will work.” He grinned as he popped a DVD into the player. Before I knew it, the screen began to fill with a bunch of hotrods and one of my favorite actors, Paul Walker.

  “What made you pick this?” I smiled as he moved to sit beside me. “I mean, I like it, but what made you pick it?”

  “Like you said, you like it,” he shrugged as he leaned back, making himself comfortable and completely changing the atmosphere in the room. He crossed his ankles as he shifted against several pillows before turning to look over at me. “Ple
ase?” He pouted as his eyes softened.

  I rolled mine as I laughed nervously before giving into him. I knew he was trying to make me comfortable by turning on the movie, but all it made me wonder was why he was giving up so easily. “So you like me, huh?” I refused to look him in the eyes as I stared at the car chase happening on the screen.

  “I do.” His body went rigid beside me.

  “Then why did you stop?” I whispered as I started to roll so I could look at his face.

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed before shifting onto his side. He lifted his hand and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear before he continued. “Mia,” he closed his eyes as if he was gathering his courage. “You’re my best friend. I’ve known you forever. That means something to me. I don’t wanna make you do anything you don’t want to do, and you obviously don’t want to do what we were doing.”

  “That’s not true,” I mumbled as I bit down on my lip. “It’s just I’ve never...” I swallowed as I looked away breaking our connection.

  “Shit, Mia,” he hissed as he cupped my cheek. He leaned closer, and before I knew it, he was pressing his lips to mine once again. The kiss was slow this time. He was taking his time with me, and when his tongue swiped along my lower lip, I parted my mouth for him. His hand moved from my cheek to slide down my neck, pausing at my shoulder before moving to my hip. He squeezed it a few times before he pulled away. “You can’t say something like that and expect me to not want to do this stuff. Tell me to stop if you don’t want this.” He leaned back in and when his mouth connected with mine, he groaned.

  His body started shifting on the bed as he leaned me back, and rolled to hover partially over me. One leg was draped across mine, the knee bent and supporting his weight between my thighs. He was holding his chest up by resting on an elbow that was bent right next to my ear. His other hand was brushing the hairs off my face as his lips moved slowly over mine.

  The longer we stayed that way, the braver I became. I stopped worrying that Tyler was going to do something that I didn’t like. He only touched my hip, shoulder, and face. His kisses went from soft and light, to deep and probing. I often wondered if he’d kissed many girls. We’d never talked about that, but I had hoped that the number was low. We were fourteen after all, but he was a guy.

  “Is this ok?” he whispered as he shifted. The hardness in his jeans was pressing against my thigh, and I silently wondered what he felt like. Did I want to know? Would he ever let me? My mouth went dry as my heart raced faster. Would I let him touch me? Did he even want to? “What’s going on in there?” He tapped my forehead as his eyes darted back and forth.

  “Nothing,” I slowly shook my head. “Can we do more of this?” I craned my neck up and pressed my mouth to his again. It felt nice, and as the hours ticked away, I silently wondered how late I could stay. I didn’t want the night to end, and Tyler didn’t seem to either.

  WHEN I LOOKED UP at the TV and noticed the credits rolling for the end of the movie, I knew we needed to stop. From what I knew about boys, it could get pretty painful for them to make out like this. I also knew that my parents would be showing up at Tyler’s door any minute to pick me up. “I need to go soon.” I pressed my palm against his chest as I tried to sit up.

  “Ok,” he sighed. “I’ll walk you out.” He sat up and stared at the wall for a few minutes as he took a few deep breaths. After what felt like forever, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He tried to adjust himself as he tugged at his jeans, but the bulge he was sporting was hard to hide. I flushed when I thought about the size that I’d felt against my thigh, and what it would feel like whenever we got to that point. Would he even fit?

  “What?” He wrinkled his forehead before he saw where I was staring. He smirked as he wagged his brows, and then he rounded the end of the bed and reached for my hand to walk me downstairs.

  As we stood on the front steps saying goodbye, I couldn’t help but wonder what we were doing here. We weren’t dating, so what was I to him? “Hey, Ty?” I swallowed with determination before I looked up at him. “What are we doing?”

  “Having fun,” he grinned.

  I shoved his arm. “I mean what is this,” I waved my hand between us.

  “You mean this?” He leaned in and pressed his mouth to mine. “You wanna know what this is?” he mumbled against my lips.

  “Mmm hmm,” I hummed as my body started to come back to life. The few minutes it took to come downstairs and walk outdoors had done nothing to cool me off.

  “I was kinda hoping that you might want to be my girlfriend. I mean I have had my tongue down your throat most of the night.” He winked as he pulled back just enough for me to see his eyes.

  “You’re such a guy,” I chided as I smacked him on the chest.

  “I sure am.” His brow wagged again as his smirk turned into a full megawatt smile. “So?”

  “So what?” I played dumb.

  “You suck at the dumb girl act. What do you say? Will you be my girlfriend… officially?” He reached for my hand and laced our fingers together.

  “Ok,” I grinned up at him just as a set of headlights came shining from behind me effectively ending our time together.

  “What are you doing out here?” Ty stepped onto the sun porch, ending my trip down memory lane. That was the first party that I’d hung out with him alone. We’d been spending time together for years, but we always had friends with us. I look back now and figure he’d been planning to ask me out for the entire week after kissing me.

  “Just needed a little air,” I murmured as I stared out into the dark back yard. The tree in the corner of the porch was lit up with small white bulbs, making it look like tiny crystals were covering it, and I wondered if the orchard looked the same only darker.

  “We just spent the entire night outside. How much air could you need?” His forehead wrinkled as he moved to stand right in front of me. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Not at all,” I shifted my leg to give him space, but as soon as he sat down, he picked up my foot and placed it in his lap. He turned his head and smiled as he leaned back on the wicker couch we were now sharing.

  “So what are you really doing out here?” he lowered his voice as he turned his head to face me. “I’ve seen this face many times. I know you Mia. You’re worrying about something.”

  I sucked in a deep breath, deciding that I needed to be honest with Tyler if I wanted whatever seemed to be growing between us to continue. “I was thinking about our first Christmas party alone. The one you were reminding me about? Do you remember taking me up to your room?” I smiled as the memory fresh on my mind came rushing back, bringing with it the feelings that I’d explored that night. “What are we doing here Ty? What’s going on between us?”

  He sighed as he rubbed his hands down his face. “I’d like to say that I know where this is going, but I don’t. We’re different people now, Mia. I’d like to think that we’ve grown up and that we can be together without the past haunting us. I’d like to be able to promise you that we could be us again if you’d let it happen, but I can’t. I don’t know what tomorrow holds for us, but I do know that I’ve had some of my best moments these past few days I’ve spent with you.”

  “Ty...” I stopped when he held his hand up.

  “Just let me finish,” he swallowed. “I’ve got a lot of shit going on in my life right now. Stuff that I can’t even begin to tell you about. You’re going back to New York in a few more weeks, and our lives are going to be pulling us in different directions. Can you fight the outside world and make time for me? If I let whatever this is happen between us, can you promise that you’re going to give it an honest chance and not push me away?”

  “Yes,” I whispered the word and watched his face for a reaction. When I didn’t get one, I pushed on. “Walking away from you was the stupidest thing I ever did. I didn’t think I could have both you and dance. I’m not throwing a second chance away.”

  He grinn
ed before he reached beside where we were sitting and grabbed something. I hadn’t even noticed him bringing something into the room. His smirk grew when he held out his hand to show me what he had. A sprig of mistletoe was pinched between his fingers. “I wanted some privacy for this,” he winked before he leaned closer. “Good thing we practiced earlier. This could have been awkward,” he mumbled before closing the distance and placing a kiss to my lips that would be seared onto my heart for as long as I lived. The last little piece of me that was holding up the wall between us crumbled as his thumb brushed the apple of my cheek while his tongue danced with mine. Tyler Cook owned me, he always had. He owned every part of my soul. He had staked his claim when were just kids, and I’ve been a goner ever since.

  WHEN I DROPPed Mia off after the party, I couldn’t help but feel a little lighter on my feet. She was finally giving in to what had been growing between us since I saw her dancing on the sidewalk all those months ago. I knew that if I made her remember us, she wouldn’t have a choice but to feel again. When we were younger, the connection we had was so strong that you could practically feel it when you were around us. Our friends would tell us all the time how we were the perfect couple, and we’d better invite them to the wedding. Mia would laugh when it happened, but I knew they were right. If she hadn’t walked out of my life all those years ago I have faith we’d be married now. I had already bought a ring, and had been waiting to land the perfect job. When the law firm hired me, I knew we were heading in the right direction. It’s funny how when things finally fell into place, she was the one to blow it all up. Things always seem to happen that way; I prayed this time would be different.

  When I got back to Taylor’s that night and climbed the stairs, my phone dinged, alerting me of a text.

  BallerinaGirl: I had fun tonight. Thank you.

  I smiled as I stripped down and climbed into bed.