In the Stars

by Joan Duszynski

  I give her a big hug. “Hey, since I cut our day short, how about you come eat dinner at Mom’s with me? I know she would love to see you. Mark and his son, Sam, are supposed to be there too. I want you to meet them. I am pretty sure Mark is becoming an important part of my mom’s life, so you have to meet him. Plus, you will have the chance to meet Sam. My really cute, maybe one day to be step brother.”

  Raleigh considers this for a moment. “Well, I guess it is your turn to help make me look good then. So hurry up, Caroline, and work some magic on me.” I roll my eyes at her. “You always look good, but I am more than happy to help you with anything.”

  WE FINALLY GET to my mom’s—thirty minutes later than planned. “You know Victoria is going to be mad at you. She always has been big on punctuality.”

  “Please Raleigh, my mother loves me. She hasn’t seen me in a couple weeks, so she is going to have nothing but love for me. Plus, if she says anything, I will just explain to her how it is your fault anyway.”

  I then get a smack in the arm. “Wow Caroline, how are you my best friend again? You are such a bitch.” We are both laughing as Mom is opening the door.

  “Well, if it isn’t my two most favorite girls on this earth. Glad to see you both so happy, as usual. Don’t you both look very pretty this evening. Did you have a big day?” We both reach in, giving Mom a big hug. “Caroline is the one that had a big day, Mrs. Reyes. She went out on a date with a very hot physical therapist.”

  I glare over at Raleigh and her big grin. Mom gives me a big smile. “So hot date, huh? I am guessing Raleigh’s appointment went even better than you mentioned yesterday? For the both of you that is.” Mom winks at us, and we all walk inside, toward the kitchen.

  Mark is sitting at the table, and Sam has his back to us, standing at the center island. They are talking, and stop when we enter the kitchen. Mark gets a big smile on his face, and stands to walk over to us. Sam turns slightly, looking in our direction. As soon as he sees us, he straightens up quickly and turns all the way; fully facing us now. I hear a very low gasp come from Raleigh, and she grabs at my wrist. Sam’s body seems to have gone stiff as he looks right at Raleigh. Well, that was easy.

  Mark leans in to give me a hug. “It is so good to see you again, Caroline. I know your mom has really missed you. You remember Samuel, right?” With that, Sam seems to snap out of his trance and starts to walk over to us as well.

  “Of course I remember Sam. It is good to see both of you again too, and I always love to see Mom.” I gesture over toward Raleigh with my hand. “This is my best friend, Raleigh Jefferson. Raleigh, this is my mom’s boyfriend, Mark, and his son Sam.”

  Mark extends his hand to shake Raleigh’s. “Well then, it is lovely to meet you, Raleigh. I have actually heard a lot about you.”

  She finally seems to recover her own composure back. “Very nice to meet you, as well. I hope everything you have heard about me didn’t all come from Caroline. She tends to try and make me the fault of all things wrong. Victoria knows better, though. So, if what you heard came from her, then I am sure it is true.”

  Mark laughs. “Oh, I like her; she is exactly what Caroline needs to keep her balanced.”

  I get a shocked look on my face, and put my hand to my chest. “Hey now, how did this turn into dog Caroline? This is still my house, too.” With that, everyone starts laughing. Everyone but me, that is.

  Mom takes my hand. “Oh Caroline, dear, you know everyone is just having fun. You would have said the same type of thing. This time Raleigh just beat you to it. How about we all have a seat?”

  As mom and Mark walk away, Sam finally speaks up. “Hey Caroline, good to see you again.”

  I go in for a quick hug. “Good to see you too, Sam. It has been a long time now. Glad you could make it for dinner.” He then extends his hand to Raleigh. She pauses for just a second before shaking it. “Hello Raleigh, very nice to meet you. You must be a real trooper in order to stay best friends with Caroline.” He gives me a big smile, and Raleigh laughs.

  “It truly is a challenge, but honestly I couldn’t live without her.”

  With that, I stomp my foot. “Seriously guys, all of you are in on it now? What the hell? I am not that bad!”

  Raleigh gives me a hug, and makes a scene of rubbing her hand up and down my back. “Poor Caroline; it’s ok, we all love you.”

  I pull away from her. “Yeah, I can tell. Maybe I should leave and head on back to school now. You guys can enjoy dinner without me.”

  Mom is getting plates and glasses down from the cabinets, and Mark is getting food out of the fridge. “Ok now everyone, that is enough picking on my daughter for one evening. I am very happy to have you all here in our home. Also, Mark and I really want to talk with you about something. So, let’s enjoy our evening.”

  Raleigh, Sam, and I all sit at the island. Mark has sat out some finger foods in front of us. Once mom has gotten us each our drink of choice, her and Mark go sit back at the table.

  We start loading our plates, casually chatting with each other. Then Mark clears his throat and stands. “It is very special to Victoria and I that both our children could be here tonight. It makes it even better now that you have joined us as well, Raleigh. We wanted to share with you some very wonderful news. I have asked Victoria to marry me.”

  Mom stands and takes his hand, looking him in the eyes. “I, of course, said yes.”

  I hop up quickly from my stool, followed by Raleigh. I give Mom a hug and kiss on the cheek, then do the same to Mark. Raleigh does the same to my mom, and then hugs Mark. “Oh wow, guys this is great news. My mom hasn’t seemed this happy in many years, Mark. I can’t tell you how good it feels to see her this way.”

  Mom is now crying, and Sam has walked over to us as well. He gives my mom a hug and wipes a tear from her cheek, before walking over to his dad and reaching for his hand. Mark pulls him in for a bear hug and pat on the back. “I really am happy for you two, as well. Victoria, you seem to be a wonderful woman, and Dad has always been a great man in my eyes. You both deserve true love and happiness.”

  I notice Sam and Raleigh catch each other’s eye again, and they both smile. Raleigh and I gush over Mom a little more, then we all go sit back down at the island.

  We all talk for a while, while eating our appetizers. Then they pull steaks and potatoes from the oven. The food is delicious. Mom asks me about my date, and I tell her about lunch with Kyle. She seems very impressed by the things I have told her. Again, I tell her what I feel she needs to know. A little more than what I told Raleigh’s mom, but still no full details.

  It is now late, and I have had a very long weekend. As I am talking to mom and Mark, telling them goodbye, I notice Raleigh and Sam standing off to the side talking. I know Raleigh’s type, and I knew she would think he was cute. It seems as though he might find her attractive as well—huh, that’s interesting.

  Once we are driving back so I can drop Raleigh off, she looks over at me with a big grin. “See, I told you Sam was cute, Raleigh.”

  Raleigh lets out a sigh. “He is not cute; he is hot, Caroline. Seems really nice and laid back too. You will have to plan something again that puts us all in the same room.”

  I give her hand a little squeeze. “Well, that sounds like a great plan. Before you know it, you and I will be going out on double dates again.”

  I drop Raleigh off in her drive, giving her a big hug goodbye. I wait until she is inside, before I drive off back toward school.

  IT IS A cold evening, so I have my trusty hoodie back on and the heat going. I feel loud music is in order for the drive back. The one good thing I did put into this Blazer was a nice radio. I have my IPod plugged in and playing loud.

  Once I pull into the lot, I take a quick moment to look up at the night sky before going to my room. I am beyond tired, and can’t wait to get my pajamas on and climb into bed. When I open the door, Piper is sitting on her bed with her laptop and book in front of her. Seeing this, reminds me th
at I have a paper I need to finish. My first class isn’t until eleven, though, so I will just get it done in the morning.

  She looks up at me, and then looks down to where I just dropped my bag on the floor, by my bed. I can see the irritation in her eyes at that. I could give a shit, though. “So Caroline, I haven’t seen you any. I was starting to think I had a room all to myself.” I am sure this disappoints her, knowing she can’t jump from bed to bed during her fun time. Then a shiver runs through me. What if she has done that before? Now that is a sick thought, which I don’t ever want to pop in my head again.

  “Sorry Piper, that isn’t the case. I had a busy weekend at home.” Piper just shrugs her shoulders, as if saying who cares. God I hate rooming with this girl.

  I pull out my phone to text Raleigh and Mom, saying I got in ok. I notice I have a received a text on my phone already. I send out my message, and then get ready for bed. I open up the received message. I don’t recognize the number, but as soon as I started reading, I know exactly who it was from.

  Tara: Thank u again, Caroline, for helping me. I really am sorry for my actions. Even though you saw some crazy sides of us, I promise the Wrights aren’t always like that. Would luv to meet up with u again soon. If ok, just let me know when.

  *Tara*

  I decide to send her back a quick message.

  Caroline: Tara, I have classes and work tmrw, but Tues. late afternoon would work.

  Maybe, same place for coffee around 3?

  I get an immediate response back.

  Tara: That would work great. See u there. Thnx again *Tara*

  I turn off the lamp by my bed, and am just closing my eyes when I suddenly start hearing Chuck Berry singing by my head. Damn that Raleigh, she really did set my ring tone. Oh, how I love her. Since My-Ding-A-Ling is the song playing, I know it is Kyle. I am laughing as I answer the phone. Piper glances over my way with her lips snarled up at me like I am the dumbest person in the world.

  “Hello Kyle.”

  “So, Caroline, you already recognize my number, which is good to know.”

  I have to laugh some more. “Well, Kyle, I guess you could say something like that.”

  “So this is funny? I am guessing that I probably am not going to get an answer as to why.”

  “Well, I guess we can just add that to the list of things you might discover. Wouldn’t want you to find out everything about me too fast and get bored, Kyle.”

  “Caroline, I don’t think there is any chance of me getting bored with you. I will add the humor of me calling to the discovery list, though.”

  “Oh, so you have officially made a list, huh?”

  “Well, you know I don’t want to fail any of your tests, so I need to make sure I stay on top of things.”

  With that, my mind wonders to me being the thing he is staying on top of. I let out a slight sigh. “Sounds like a good plan to me then.”

  “I have thought about you most of the day, Caroline. I really didn’t want to let you leave. I hope your dinner went well, though?”

  “Oh it went really good. I found out that Mark proposed to my mom. They are getting married. I really did enjoy everything about my day today. I am worn out, though. As a matter of fact, I am already in bed.”

  Piper shuts her laptop down and gets her things together for a shower. Before she walks out of the room, she looks over at me like I am completely boring her. She is such a bitch.

  “Ok, now I am picturing you in bed, Caroline, and it makes me want to be back near you even more. Don’t start giving me sleep wear descriptions, or I might just be forced to drive all the way there.”

  “Well, to be honest, I sleep in the nude.” I hear a grunt and then a loud thump through the phone. I think he just dropped it on the floor. What is it with me and the will to talk such smut with this guy already?

  “You are killing me here, Caroline. You know you are asking for trouble, right?”

  “Actually Kyle, I have a roommate so I don’t really sleep in the nude. Sorry about that little remark. As far as getting in trouble with you, though, it really doesn’t sound like such a bad thing.”

  “Wow, how many cold showers can a man take in one day? You really are something, Caroline. I just wanted to make sure you got back ok; I will let you get some sleep now. Can’t wait to get together with you again soon.”

  “I am looking forward to it too, Kyle. Good night, and sweet dreams.”

  “Good night, Caroline, and I have no doubt my dreams are going to be beyond sweet. Talk to you soon.”

  We hang up, and I feel a smile across my face from ear to ear. I roll over on my side and pull my blanket up tight to my chin. I am fast asleep in no time. Except, my dreams were not sweet; far from it.

  I was standing in a field, tugging on one end of a long rope. Strangely, though, it was me standing on the other end of the rope too. Then I realized there were two people standing in the middle of the rope. One being Eric, and the other being Kyle. I was playing tug of war against myself for these two men.

  WHEN I WAKE up, I have a headache. Dream confusion can do that to you I guess. After I take a couple aspirin and eat a few crackers, I get busy finishing my school paper. I send Raleigh a text, telling her congrats on accomplishing the ring tone switch. Of course I got back:

  Raleigh: LOL.

  Once I am ready and about to head out to my first class, I send Kyle a text.

  Caroline: Headed off to classes, and then work tonight. Just wanted to say hi, and let you know I would be busy. Have a great day!

  About ten minutes later I get a response back.

  Kyle: I am at work now myself. Hope you slept well, and if you feel up to it give me a call when you are off tonight. Would love to hear your voice again.

  I am looking down at my phone texting back, How could I resist? Will do, when suddenly I walk into someone.

  I am right outside the door to my class at this point, and students are everywhere. I really should be paying attention. Their book and my phone hit the ground. We are both looking down, reaching for our stuff now. “Oh shit, I am so sorry. Texting and walking is obviously really dangerous too.” When I straighten up I notice, I recognize my victim. He is Register Boy from mine and Tara’s Starbuck visit.

  “It actually is a dangerous act, but no harm done. I’m Adam.” We both turn back toward the door and start to walk in.

  “Well, sorry again about that, and I’m Caroline. I recognize you from Starbucks, right? You are in this class, too?”

  “Yes; I thought you looked familiar. It seemed you and your friend were having a rough morning, so I didn’t want to bring it up or anything.”

  I stop at my row of seats. “Rough morning for Tara yes; mine was just odd. Nice officially meeting you, though, Adam. I’m sure I will see you around.” He gives me a nod, and walks down further to his seat.

  My first class goes by quickly. I have time to grab a quick lunch, and then head to my next class of the day. This one, however, seems to drag, and I find my mind wondering.

  I start to think about Kyle and how sweet he is, yet his kiss could turn so primal. I am trying to work out a time in my head to meet up with him again. That way, I can see which side of Kyle I get behind closed doors. Maybe there are a lot of sides to Kyle, and I can have them all at once.

  A shudder runs through me at the thought of Kyle on top of, and behind, me. Possessing me and pleasuring me, while comforting me all at the same time. I can almost feel his lips on mine again, and find myself reaching up and placing my fingers there.

  Then, suddenly, the person beside me bumps my seat while reaching over to pick up something he dropped. When he straightens himself back up, he looks right at me with a very confused, yet excited expression.

  It is then that I realize I was just daydreaming during the middle of class about having erotic sex with Kyle. By the look of my neighbor here, I might have been making it a little obvious where my mind was wondering to. Shit, I have really got to fix this uncontaina
ble craving I seem to have, and very soon.

  When class is over, I notice I get another glance and smile from the guy sitting beside me. So I make sure to grab my things together as quickly as possible and get the hell out of dodge. I do believe I will be looking into finding a new seat for this class.

  As I am walking back to my room, I do the all so dangerous walk, and check my phone thing again. I have one text, and it is from Kyle.

  Kyle: Can’t seem to stop thinking about u. I now have a “things I want to do to u list” as well as the discover list. Hope classes went well so far.

  Damn, well why not give him something more to think about.

  Caroline: Classes r over now… headed back to get ready for work. I thought about u today as well, letting my mind wander during class. My actions seemed to catch the attention of the guy next to me during this certain day dream. So that gives u a clue how good it was.

  I get an immediate response back.

  Kyle: Caroline, I expect full details of this daydream. You choose whether u want to tell them to me, or show them to me instead. Don‘t like the fact that some other guy witnessed this and not me.

  Oh yeah, I like this side of Kyle talking now.

  Caroline: Ok, I will call u tnght after work and see what we can do about that. It will b late though, prob around 11.

  Kyle: I will be up don’t you worry.

  I might be in college, but this flirting through text stuff isn’t too bad. I have never been a very shy type girl, but I do believe this past weekend has brought out my erotica. I like it!

  WHEN I GET back to my room, Piper isn’t there, and I get busy on some homework. I take another shower and put on my work uniform. It consists of either tight black jeans, or shorts and a short sleeve tight fitting black shirt with a very low scoop neck line. On the rim area of the collar and bottom of the sleeves, it is green. My name is also stitched in green right over the left breast.