All the air left my lungs in a whoosh. “You always had a way with words,” I managed.
“A way?”
“Yes. You’re good with words.”
“Thank you. You are good with words, too.”
I read this study that if you stared at someone for four minutes, it brought your relationship to new heights. I didn’t know how long our eyes locked, but it wouldn’t matter if it was three seconds or a year with Deni.
If I moved an inch forward, or if he did…
“Deni, where’s Rema?”
He looked pained. “She’s not with me.”
“Obviously…but are you…married?”
I held my breath waiting for the answer.
“No,” he said.
My relief was so palpable, they probably heard it in Norway.
“Are you together?”
“No.”
Game changer.
“What happened?”
“I…will tell you another time. If that is okay?”
“It’s fine.” It was more than okay. I was curious, sure, but the relief that my runaway thoughts weren’t as inappropriate as I’d worried swamped me. Deni wasn’t married. And he wasn’t with Rema anymore.
“If I was with Rema, I wouldn’t be in here with you.”
The look he gave me then. The heart-shattering, pulse-pounding look.
In that moment, I was pretty sure I knew why Deni had come to California.
I couldn’t breathe.
The door pressed open, and there was my little brother looking at me like I was caught stealing a Lego.
“See-na?”
I jumped away from Deni. “Hey, buddy.”
Vera poked her head into the small space. “Oh, there you two are.” When it rains it pours. “Everyone wants to meet in the dining room.”
“Seena in the bathroom with him.” My brother jetted his thumb toward Deni who looked sheepishly amused.
“What? What were you doing standing in the bathroom?”
“Talking.”
“What?”
“I was…showing him the towels.”
Vera looked from me to Deni back to me.
“Well, show him ‘the towels’ another time. Everyone is waiting. And I called Jesse. He’s joining us for brunch, too.”
Oh great. There was no way that would end well.
I grabbed Deni’s arm, and it was as warm and smooth as I remembered. Swallowing back a bubble of air so dry I thought it might expand in my throat and explode, making a sick mess for Vera to mop up in her lemon-scented hallway, I headed out anyway.
Before it even began, brunch was a nightmare of epic proportions.
“Sienna, I solved your TP problem,” Spider said proudly. “I grabbed a twenty-four pack from Mom’s garage.”
Spider couldn’t even buy his own toilet paper, yet he wanted me to move in with him? I struggled to not compare him to Deni who figured out how to escape from a tsunami, and then, after learning two new languages, managed to earn a scholarship to college, make a film, and then enter it into a contest…and win the prize money to travel here, no less.
But yeah, Spider. Strong work stealing your mom’s TP. It was all I could do not to roll my eyes.
“Your mom didn’t mind?” I suggested wearily, already knowing the answer. Of course not. Spider was her prized prince. Anything he wanted, he got. He probably didn’t even thank her. No wonder it was driving him crazy that I hadn’t agreed to move in with him. Spider always got everything he wanted. He must be going crazy waiting to hear my answer. Spider looked above me toward Deni, who was sitting next to Tom at the table and talking quietly.
“How are things going with him?”
“Fine.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Fine. What do you mean?”
“I mean…you two looked awful cozy last night on the porch.”
“We weren’t cozy. We were catching up.” Change the subject. “Where’s Bev?” I asked. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with her.”
“With her ladylove, of course.”
His half smile almost made me forget about the guy in the other room. For half a moment, things were normal. Spider was unapologetically Spider.
“Ah. They do seem remarkably happy.”
“Yep. The two of them seem to enjoy co-habiting.” He looked at me meaningfully.
“Yeah. It seems to work for them…” But I was not Bev.
And I had plans for this summer. Big plans. That Spider didn’t seem to understand.
“Cool. Cool, whatever.” He kicked off his sandy flip-flops—Vera ran a shoe-free household, and Spider knew the rules. “So what are you and what’s-his-name going to do today?”
“You know his name. And I’m not sure. Probably just talk about the trip. Maybe watch his documentary. He just got here, so it’s not like we’ve made a ton of plans.”
Vera rounded the corner, a bowl in her hands. “Oh, hello, Jesse. Nice to see you!”
“Hey,” Spider greeted her back enthusiastically and peered into the bowl. “Mmm, that looks good.”
She scooped a little of whatever it was up and handed him the spoon. “I’m trying a new recipe for my spinach and sundried tomato quiche. I’m using fresh beef tomatoes from the garden. They’re huge! Wait till you see them.”
Spider swiped a glob of red liquid off the spoon and stuck it in his mouth, testing it. “Mmm. Ripe for the picking.”
“You approve?” Vera beamed.
Spider’s new interest was organic gardening and eating, whereas Dad and I didn’t really care as long as it was edible and/or warm.
“Might need another dash of salt,” he said.
Vera nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“Hello, Jesse.”
I turned to find Deni standing right behind me, much closer than necessary. He handed me a cup of coffee, then folded his arms behind his back and stared down Spider.
I knew that look. This wasn’t good.
Spider held his ground, staring at Deni. Sizing him up.
Deni, in turn, did the same back.
Spider’s mouth hardened. “Hello, Deni. When are you leaving, again? Sea didn’t say.”
I gasped. “Spider!”
“I’m here to show my film,” Deni said. “And then I will go.”
“Film?” Spider cocked an eyebrow, like “film” was some obscene word. The only other time I’d seen him mad like this was when a bunch of meth-heads from over the hill tried to violently take over their surf spot on the cove. Things got ugly. Spider took care of it. I hadn’t seen them since. For a sweet guy, Spider could be a badass when he felt threatened. Clearly, he felt threatened now because he looked even angrier than he had that day defending the cove.
Two thoughts sprung to mind.
1. This was worse than I thought.
2. I had been right to be worried.
And all I wanted to do was run, but I couldn’t. I had no idea what they’d do to each other if I did.
I looked to Dad to diffuse the situation. That was, after all, his job. And it was his wife’s fault Spider was here in the first place.
“Yes, the film I made about the tsunami,” Deni was saying. “Maybe it will interest you?”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Spider said. “So you’ll be heading back to Taiwan, then? I think that’s where I heard you came from.”
Came from. Like he was an alien or something. “Spider, I’m serious. Cut it out.” I grabbed their arms and tugged them toward the dining room. “How about we hang out with Tom and my dad? I’m sure whatever they’re talking about is fascinating—”
A ghost of a smile crossed Deni’s lips. “Actually,” he began, looking at me, “I might join Team Hope on their Cambodia trip.”
What?
Spider looked from Deni to me to confirm. “What?”
I dropped their arms and sank into a seat at the table. They’d invited Deni and didn’t tell me?
“We were talking over coff
ee,” Dad began as Spider and Deni settled into seats opposite each other. “It’s just an idea, of course.”
Spider chose the seat next to me, but Deni took the seat next to my dad. Somehow that felt like more of a challenge, and I was immediately transported back to that night Dad caught us alone together. How Deni had dismissed my father, claiming he was a man and I was a woman, free to do what we pleased. Good night, Doctor, he’d said, turning back to me. It had been insanely bold, saying something like that to the protective father of a teenaged daughter, but what did I expect from Deni?
“The way I see it, why wouldn’t Deni join the team in Cambodia?” my dad continued. “If he agrees, I may be able to lag back. Vera’s not super enthusiastic about me leaving her alone with Max, and with Deni along on the trip, Sienna and Tom would have a third person. Plus, I’d feel better about Sienna going with you both along to keep an eye on her.”
Deni. Joining us in place of Dad? Keeping an eye on me?
“I didn’t realize the trip was open to anyone,” Spider said carefully.
“Deni’s not really anyone,” Dad said matter-of-factly.
Deni held Spider’s eyes. “It is open to people who were invited.”
I gaped at him.
Tension stretched across the table like a hot fog.
“We are more alike than you think,” Deni said to Spider after a moment.
I braced myself for Deni’s words. He wasn’t one to mince them.
“How so?” Spider demanded.
“We both care about her.”
Spider held up his hands, visibly upset. “Okay, man. I mean I don’t know you at all, and I get that you knew her for two weeks, but she’s been back here with me for two years. And we’re planning on moving in together this summer, so…”
Spider put his arm around me, pulling me in too tight. Too protective. He never did that.
Deni was different, and Spider knew it.
It was about territory. Like defending his cove. And this new side of Spider pissed me off. I shook out of his grasp.
Tom looked between Spider and Deni, his eyebrows raised. “Maybe you oughta take this outside. There are women and children present.”
“How about we eat instead?” Dad said, scowling at the boys. “Silently.”
“Good idea,” Vera said with an even tone. “What would everyone like to drink? Water? Iced tea?”
“Water, please,” Deni said, finally breaking eye contact with Spider.
“I’ll have a beer,” Spider said.
“Spider, it’s ten a.m.,” I said.
“And unless you aged overnight, you’re not twenty-one,” Dad said.
Tom just laughed. “Give the kid a beer. Clearly he needs it.”
Spider ignored us all. “You want a beer, too, Deni?”
“No. I don’t drink beer,” Deni said calmly.
“Why?”
Deni didn’t answer, which made Spider’s ears turn red.
“Whatever, dude. I had friends who surfed in Bali, and they partied with the locals. Don’t you surf?”
“No.”
“Why not? You live on the ocean, right?”
I stopped him, pressing my fingers around his arm. “Spider.”
“What?”
“They don’t do that where Deni is from.” Then I leaned closer and whispered, “Why are you being such a jerk? You’re embarrassing me.”
“Just trying to make conversation.”
“Badly,” Tom noted.
“Well, try to be a little less offensive and a little more welcoming, would you, please? Deni is a stranger to this country.” I sounded like my dad. But it was true. We were a family that welcomed foreign visitors. And I wasn’t about to change that philosophy just because Spider was jealous.
“Oh, wow. Okay,” Spider said sarcastically. He pushed up from his seat and nodded to Vera. “I’ll help you get the drinks.”
“Sorry,” I said to Deni when he left. “He’s usually not like that. He’s usually really cool. I’m sorry if he offended you.”
“He loves you,” Deni said, leaning into me all matter-of-factly as if this summed it up and excused it.
Deni trying to understand the root of Spider’s anger and not hating him for it? That was impressive. But he didn’t know anything about my relationship with Spider.
“And he knows,” he said.
“Knows what?”
“That I love you, too.”
The words dropped like a bomb in the center of the table. Dad set down his fork a little too hard. Tom smothered a chuckled “aw, man.”
My body flushed with heat. If either of the two doctors in that room decided to take my temperature at that exact moment, I was positive it’d have been at least 102 degrees.
“There’s… That was a long time ago, Deni.”
He didn’t respond.
Instead he held my eyes and didn’t let go.
Chapter Six
Ever since I started reading romance-driven books, I’d adored love triangles. Two great guys fighting over one lucky girl? Who wouldn’t want that? That had to be the ultimate fantasy, especially if one was immortal and the other one could shift into a wolf and bite the head off your enemy in between bouts of motorcycle fixing. Or fighting over me in a dystopian landscape, where life and death is on the line daily.
In real life? Yeah. Not so much.
And it wasn’t like they were fighting over me, Deni and Spider, not yet anyway. Not really. But the tension between them was palpable, and I was fighting with myself as well. With this tangled web of fierce feelings so knotted and sticky and complex, I didn’t think I could break free without hurting someone.
And what about the trip?
I couldn’t believe Dad just casually invited Deni to join us on the trip without asking me first. Deni replacing Dad? Us traveling alone with only Big Dr. Tom (a.k.a. the chillest chaperone ever), and that was okay? My how the tides had changed. Vera must really not want him to go to Cambodia.
Either that, or she really didn’t want to be alone with my brother for two weeks.
“So. Miss Sienna Jones,” Tom said. “What do you think about Deni joining us?”
Vera and Spider filed back into the room, hands full of glasses. I sank lower in my seat. Here we go again.
“I think it’s a hundred percent up to him,” I answered.
“Deni?”
“It is a good offer,” he said. “I will think about it.”
“Great!” Tom smacked him on the back hard. “God, it’s good to see you, kid. I knew you were a WYSIWYG the first time we met.”
“Huh?” Spider asked.
“A WYSIWYG. It’s an acronym. A what-you-see-is-what-you-get.”
Wow. High praise from Big Dr. Tom.
“What can we do to get you onboard a hundred percent interested,” Tom pressed, oblivious to Spider and me and likely Deni’s obvious discomfort.
“I go where the sea takes me,” Deni said. “That’s the phrase, yes?” He glanced at me. My stomach flip-flopped, sticking the landing.
“It’s where the wind takes me, but I like your take on it,” Tom said, clapping his back again. “How’s your Khmer?”
“Strong,” Deni said. I grunt-laughed. His vernacular had improved exponentially. “I am kidding. I do not speak Khmer, but I can learn.”
“What if you get kidnapped?” Spider asked me. “Cambodia isn’t safe. Especially with all this sex trafficking going on.”
“I won’t. I’m sure I’ll be safe with Tom and…”
“Him?”
“If he goes. He knows how to get around.”
“That is true,” Deni said.
“I don’t doubt it,” Spider snorted, whatever that meant.
“It’s safe, Tom? Right?” I asked, keeping us on topic.
“Ish.” Tom shrugged his big rolling shoulders. Big as bowling balls. I half expected the ground to shake. “Is anything ‘safe’?”
Helpful, Tom. Helpful.
“Listen.” He turned to Spider. “This isn’t Indo, kid. Sienna’s a grown woman.” He sat back in his chair and regarded him coolly. “What I’m saying is, you’re sort of acting 1950s Mad Men right now, and I’m about to toss you into the ocean. Cut the caveman act and get back to the Spider I know.”
Spider recoiled, surprised.
“You’re welcome to come, too, kid,” he offered. “I’m thinking of extending the trip. Use the extra time to do some work up north.”
“Oh. Gee. Thanks,” Spider sneered. “Let me just drop everything and head off for an undetermined amount of time to a third-world country where I don’t speak the language. Sounds like a fantastic summer vacation.”
The table went quiet.
Dead quiet.
Now he’d offended my family’s life purpose. My dad’s work. My dead mom’s former passion. Mine.
Tom. Vera.
Deni.
He’d offended everyone at the table.
He didn’t seem to notice, or if he noticed, he didn’t seem to care.
He turned to me. “So I guess this means you aren’t moving in with me?”
“Spider.” I leaned into him. “Can you please drop it?”
“Drop it? Drop moving in with me?”
“Drop it all,” I said in a harsh tone, raising my eyebrow for affect. I’d been patient, and now I was pissed.
And Spider knew it. He didn’t dare utter another word. Instead he dramatically sighed.
Tom rolled his eyes. “Sack up, kid, it’s just a couple weeks of one summer.”
“A lot can happen in two weeks.” He flicked me a look. “Apparently.”
Deni wasn’t bothered by Spider. He was looking at me.
And I knew exactly what he was thinking:
Traveling.
Airplanes.
Hotels.
The two of us together.
Alone.
He couldn’t care less about Spider’s drama.
He wasn’t threatened in the least.
As far as he was concerned, we were getting our second chance.
Chapter Seven
After the awkward meal, Dad announced it was time to preview Deni’s documentary in the den. I was hoping Spider would excuse himself, but he probably sensed that, and stayed.
We squeezed into the too-small den, which was tight on a normal day, but hellishly so with that many people. I wound up smack between Spider and Deni on the loveseat.
Where the Sea Takes Me Page 5