Falling In

by Stark, Avery

  Audrey struggled to remember the name of the place that she was earlier that day, hoping by chance that it would be the same one so that they would have something new to talk about.

  “The Island Hotel, right?”

  Raising one of his full eyebrows, he replied, “No. That distinction lies with this guy.”

  Liam’s inked hand left her longing for more and clamped around the shoulder of a man whose back was to them. Before he even turned around, Audrey recognized the silvery halo of hair that surrounded his head.

  “This is-”

  Audrey exclaimed, “Arthur.”

  The old man turned around with a smile so wide that he looked like he was in the middle of delivering a joke.

  “Hello there again, ma’am.”

  She shook his hand.

  “Please, Audrey is fine.”

  “You know Mr. McBride, here?”

  “Yep,” Arthur responded. “We just met this morning.”

  “Right before I met you,” Audrey added and then directed her voice to Arthur. “But you didn’t tell me that you owned the place.”

  “I don’t often find that I need to.”

  From across the dock, an older, graying woman called out to Liam, “Hey, can we get your help over here?”

  He glanced over in Audrey’s direction with a little look that said he didn’t want to go, but needed to. Even with his lips pursed and brow furrowed, Audrey couldn’t help the attraction to him that started to build. She did her best to shake the feeling but quickly found that it was easier said than done. Something about being the center of his attention was intoxicating.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  “Sure,” Audrey smiled. “No problem.”

  She watched him jog off and carefully eyed the wax that the muscles on his upper arms rippled and flexed with every swing. When he was out of sight, she turned back to her new friend.

  “Arthur,” she said and patted the faded linen sleeve that stopped just above his elbow. “Long time no see.”

  “Ah,” he laughed. “I told you that I would be seeing you again, young lady.”

  Audrey killed the last of her beer and heaved it into a nearby trashcan.

  “Here,” Arthur said and handed her a brand new one, seemingly out of nowhere. “This has probably been a long day for you.”

  His comment made Audrey glance down at her bandaged wrist.

  “It’s actually been okay. I got a nice little nap earlier.” She moved the conversation in another direction, “So how long have you owned that place?”

  “How long,” he guffawed. “Why, the land’s been in my family since before the hurricane in 1896.”

  Audrey thought back to their earlier conversation, but found that the beautiful mural that was partially hidden by bottle necks occupied her thoughts.

  “And those paintings you have all over the place?”

  “Most of them have been there as long as the building has.”

  Without thinking, Audrey answered, “I painted for years when I was younger.”

  While it was true, it was the first time that Audrey was actually able to reflect on how much she changed over the years--how much her marriage to Max influenced who she was, even almost a decade later. It was only weeks after the wedding when the two of them packed up all of her painting supplies and shoved them into the garage to make room for an office. That marked the start of her new life, a life that Max’s likes and dislikes essentially dictated.

  “Is that so?”

  “Yeah.” She added, “But it was a long time ago.”

  Arthur’s face lit up like he had a brilliant idea.

  “Hey, why don’t you stop back by the hotel tomorrow? I have something that I want you to look at.”

  Just then, Liam appeared again. His hair had been pulled back into a short, stubby ponytail.

  “Can you make it?”

  Audrey forced her stare back to Arthur and responded, “Sure. I have nothing but time anyway.”

  “Great,” he said as Liam reached where they stood. “See you then.”

  “I leave for five minutes and you’re already making plans without me?”

  A slender man, who just happened to be passing by, replied, “That’s what happens when you leave a woman with Arthur.”

  Everyone in the vicinity roared with drunken laughter while Liam reached out and playfully popped him on the shoulder.

  “You silver fox! Have you no shame?”

  Arthur shrugged and turned back to his previous conversation with a grin, leaving Liam and Audrey alone, relatively speaking. The harmless, airy banter quickly started to raise her spirits.

  “Are you hungry? The food’s almost ready.”

  She motioned for him to lead the way with her beer. Though she hadn’t consumed a ton, the small bit of alcohol running through her body worked fast, lowering the conscious wall that she tried to keep between them. She didn’t attempt to hide the bandages anymore; didn’t worry about the judgment of the people around her. Instead, she let herself simply fall into the moment.

  The two of them joined a mass exodus from the dock that was already in progress. Just to the right--at the peak of a small hill--bellowing clouds of smoke rolled off of a busy grill. Nearby, dozens of blankets were spread out, dotted with a mish-mash of different beach chairs. Coolers, purses and even more buckets of beer also punctuated the hillside.

  “Come on,” Liam said and finally went back to the bare spot on her back. “My blanket’s near the top.”

  Soft dirt gave way to a lush spread of silky grass as the two marched to the precipice of the hill and sank down onto the gray sheet that was laid out. It’s high thread-count--and the soft grass below it--made Audrey feel like she was sinking into a cloud. She kicked off her sandals and pressed her bare feet into the supple blades, letting them slip between her toes.

  Just below them, the hundred or so residents in attendance filed like ants to wherever they left their things.

  “It’s not so bad here.”

  Audrey polished off her second beer and laid the bottle down into the grass.

  “Who said it was?”

  “Well, nobody I guess,” he said and sank down next to her. “It’s just that I always bring people here and no one seems to understand why I like it so much. Am I way off base or something?”

  On the back of a gust of wind, the fragrant scent of burgers and fresh corn cooking on the grill swept by. Audrey closed her eyes for a second and mulled over his question. There was a relative quiet that settled over the densely-populated area as the residents started to eat more and talk less, allowing the subtle, soothing sound of water lapping up against the dock below to reach where they sat.

  When she opened her eyes again, she looked out to the last tiny sliver of the sun as it dipped down and disappeared in a flash.

  “No,” she finally responded. “This really is paradise, isn’t it?”

  Two plates of food abruptly appeared between them.

  “Eat up, kids,” a random, middle-aged woman said before she forced the meals into their hands and scurried off.

  Audrey stared greedily at her dinner and said, “Who could say no to that?”

  Without reservation, she dug into it. The first thing that she went after was the burger, followed closely by big bites of potato salad, charred corn and biscuits that had been cracked open and drizzled with honey so sweet that it made her teeth hurt.

  “Either I was about to die from starvation,” she said through a mouthful, “or this is the best damn food I’ve ever tasted.”

  Liam, who was only about a quarter of the way in, set his plate down.

  “Do you want another beer?”

  Though her head was already swimming, Audrey decided to let herself enjoy the night, whether that meant three beers or thirteen. After nodding, she swallowed the bite in her mouth and responded, “I can get it.”

  Liam shook his head and hopped up. When he did, he barely grazed her rosy cheek with one
of his fingers.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be right back.”

  Her plate of food thoroughly obliterated, Audrey fell back onto the grass with her arms and legs splayed out, sure that her stomach was going to explode. She eyed the first twinkling stars of the night. It was still early in the evening and she could already see more of them than she ever saw in Chicago. They peeked out through the passing clouds, which were more and more infrequent and moved by at a brisk pace.

  “Did I lose you?”

  Audrey tilted her head back and replied, “Not yet.”

  Liam smiled and set two open beers onto the lid of a small cooler to keep them from tipping over. When that was done, he laid down a foot or two away and put both arms behind his head.

  “So tell me,” Audrey said. “How did a guy like you end up living in a place like this?”

  She could feel his leg scoot just a hair closer, making her stomach twist around her dinner like a snake.

  “I made some lucky investments with my music royalties before the housing bubble finally popped. With the money I made, I was able to come down here and set up shop.”

  Audrey was even more intrigued.

  “You were in a band?”

  “For a few years. We got to travel a bit, so that was pretty cool.”

  Though she couldn’t see it, handfuls of party-goers started to break away and leave as the night went on. Overhead, the bright wash of glowing stars intensified against the silky black skies. The view was so good that Audrey could spot the cloudy arm of the Milky Way as it stretched all the way across, from one horizon to the other.

  After a little while, Liam sat back up and kicked off his shoes.

  “What about you?”

  The obvious question made Audrey suddenly tense up.

  “What do you want to know?”

  Liam grabbed a beer and swallowed down a big, powerful swig before he responded, “I want to know what kind of kick-ass job you have where you can just up and leave for two weeks at a time.”

  The mention of her job--and everything that she lost soon after--threatened to temper her good mood.

  “I actually got laid off right before I came down,” she said as plainly as she could.

  “Oh, sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I needed a break anyway.” She turned over on her side and looked down the hill. Almost everyone was gone, with only a few stragglers that hung back. It wasn’t too late, but the town’s average age was heavily skewed toward the high end, which made for a lot of folks turning in well before midnight. “So what instrument did you play?”

  “Oh,” he said and reached over her. “This bad boy.”

  He set a guitar case between them and popped it open. When he did, the powerful scent of good, skunky weed hit her like a wall. It was a smell that brought back many memories of when she and Max were young and in love.

  “Do you smoke?”

  She finally sat up and stretched out the cramped muscles in her back.

  “I do today.”

  Liam smirked and pulled a battered acoustic guitar out. After setting it over his crossed legs, he went back in and dug around for a minute, eventually pulling out a small joint and a black lighter. When he flicked the latter to life, it only exaggerated his chiseled features, leaving behind an almost artistic spattering of shadows.

  He puffed on the joint a few times, sending up a wall of smoke that nearly obscured him. It wasn’t until he exhaled and blew the haze away that Audrey could see his gorgeous features again.

  “Be careful,” he said and extended it to her. “This stuff will knock you on your ass.”

  Audrey eyed it suspiciously.

  “What?” Liam pushed the case out of the way and slid in closer, with his performance-worn guitar cradled comfortably in his lap. “You don’t have to. I can put it away if you want.”

  Audrey grabbed his arm as he started to withdraw it.

  “No, it’s fine. I just don’t want to embarrass myself.”

  Liam chuckled and pushed up next to her. “Here,” he said and slipped his hand around the back of her neck. “I’ll help you out.”

  He took a long, deep drag off of the joint. They were so close together that its burning red tip glowed bright near Audrey’s nose. She could feel the throbbing heat as it radiated out onto her skin, which glistened from the moisture-laden air around them. Before she even knew what was happening, Liam’s lips grazed against hers and he exhaled the heavy smoke into her lungs. When she couldn’t take much more, she pulled back slightly but his tight grip kept her close.

  Audrey held the sweet, delicious fog in for as long as she could before exhaling a massive, billowing cloud between them. She wasn’t even done before Liam pulled her in again--this time for a kiss--and forced whatever smoke remained to seep out of her nose in tenuous, white tendrils that wafted up and disappeared into the glittering sky.

  When their lips met, she closed her eyes and let herself melt into the handsome stranger as he smashed the joint into the ground and used both hands to pull her closer. Between their massaging tongues, the lingering notes of marijuana skipped and danced over her taste buds. Hard chills raced through her spine and made her quiver under Liam’s powerful grip.

  By the time they finally separated, Audrey didn’t know what to say. The storm brewing in her head was so ferocious that she couldn’t even form a thought, let alone an intelligent statement that would diffuse the situation.

  “I, uh,” she said through quick breaths and opened her eyes. “I need to be getting back home soon. I’m really tired.”

  Though she wanted to stay right there in his arms until the sun came back up, it wasn’t far from the truth. There was also the small issue of her husband, which she already struggled with. But it felt so good when Liam kissed her; so unlike anything she ever felt before.

  Should I feel like this?

  “I’m sorry.” He finally let go of her and put his guitar aside. “I didn’t meant to-”

  Audrey didn’t want him to feel bad.

  “Please don’t apologize,” she said and ran her thumb over the coarse stubble on his cheek.

  Liam smiled and jumped up. Once on his feet, he helped Audrey up and flung the guitar case’s strap across his broad chest.

  “Let’s get you home.”

  In silence, they walked down to where they first met that night. When they arrived, Audrey grabbed the bike, rolled it toward her and threw her body onto the creaky seat. As soon as she started to push the pedal down, her dirty sandal slipped off and her body was thrust forward. She stumbled sloppily for the second time that night and--like he did before--Liam grabbed her just in time.

  “Look, you can’t tell me that you’re fine,” he said though small fits of laughter. “I’ve never been to Kim’s place. How far away is it?”

  Her face felt like it was on fire with embarrassment as she answered softly, “It’s only like a mile away.” She pointed a wobbling finger in a general direction, “That way.”

  “Get off there. I’ll walk both of you home.”

  Liam took her arm and removed her from the bike. When she got both feet on the ground safely, one important piece of her outfit was missing: the bandage. Audrey’s heart sank but she knew that there was no sense in trying to hide it again.

  He lifted her arm up to better position it in the light. Staring back at both of them were the scattered, small wounds that started to scab over but were still red and puffy around the edges. There were so many that her entire wrist was still a bit larger than the other.

  “What the hell happened to you?”

  Audrey’s tongue felt tied. She didn’t want to lie anymore, but she also didn’t want to scare Liam away. Even though she knew that she was still married to Max--and in spite of the fact that the man holding her hand was still a stranger--she needed to know why she was so helplessly drawn to him. It wasn’t a feeling that she was willing to sweep under the rug.

  She turned and swept away the damp hai
r that clung to her face.

  “Would you accept it if I said I didn’t want to talk about it?”

  “Of course, but I’m going to get it out of you eventually,” he teased.

  Audrey’s shoulders sank with relief and she puffed out a heavy sigh.

  Her handsome companion jabbed her with his elbow and said, “Now come on, you lush.”

  Audrey’s feet started to move forward with Liam at the lead, but they felt like they were encased in concrete. With every step and bump in the road, she thought it might be her last.

  She paused and asked, “What about your stuff?”

  He shook his head and squeezed her hand.

  “This is Cedar Key, not Compton. I’ll get it tomorrow.”

  Under the sparking stars, Audrey complied with his guidance forward. She clung tightly to his warm, rough hand the entire way. Neither one said much, though neither let their tight grip on the other go slack, either.

  The pair made their final turn onto the property, though they walked slower the closer that they got. Now that the home’s slanting roof was in view, their pace decreased to a crawl. Despite their efforts, they arrived at the base of the stairs at almost 1 in the morning.

  A quarter moon hung high over their heads as Liam propped the bike up against the railing and shifted the guitar case on his back.

  “Consider yourself delivered.”

  Audrey pulled him in for a long hug and took in his earthy, spicy scent.

  “Thanks. Do you want to crash on the couch?”

  He pulled back and finally released her hand. Without him, it suddenly felt cold and lonely.

  “My house actually isn’t far.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Liam flashed his toothy smile and responded, “Of course.”

  There was a brief moment of silence as the two of them wrestled with the evening’s events.

  “Can I call you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah,” Audrey said and started up the stairs. “Maybe you should.”

  He simply nodded and watched until the front door shut behind her. Once inside of the house, Audrey raced up the stairs and took her turn watching as he moseyed off of the property and disappeared into the night.

  She lowered down into the oversized sill, which was conveniently stocked with different sizes and colors of pillows and sat at one end of the short hall. Her shoes dropped to the floor with a thud as she kicked them off and climbed in to the small nook.