by Lanie Jacobs
“Do I detect a streak of jealously, Love?” he shot back, his feisty words wiping the smirk off of her face.
Nervously, Khalida began to twirl her hair with her fingers, trying unsuccessfully to avoid his comment. The sound of his soft laugh with a hint of gloating in his voice fueled her to challenge him.
“Do you do that on purpose?” she dared him.
“What? Try to make you jealous?” he pushed the gas pedal, jerking them both back as he drove forward.
“What else would I be talking about, Lucas?”
“Role reversal sucks doesn’t it, Khally?” his words were seemingly sharp and hurtful, “I stood in the background for months watching you with Carey and it never dawned on you once how it made me feel.”
“You pushed me away! What did you expect me to do?” the words coming out suddenly with real demand in her question.
“Oh, I don’t know, not hook up with the first asshole that came around the corner,” he spat angrily.
Khalida sat there, wowed by the words Luke had spoken. Still not knowing what to say, she never thought being with Carey or anyone else would hurt him.
“I regret being with him, but you can’t expect me to wait for you forever, Luke, not when you push me aside and ignore me like I’m nothing. You treat me like I’m something on the bottom of your shoe, there for your discarding at your convenience,” she said, forcing the words out of her mouth.
Ugh, I didn’t want to throw that in his face, not now when we might actually begin to go somewhere…wait. Screw that. He did treat me like crap, and I shouldn’t have to tip-toe around that. He needs to know he hurt me.
“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that,” he sighed quietly and pulled the car over to the side of the road. They sat in silence for what seemed like a lifetime before he turned to face Khalida. Rubbing the back of his hand along the side of her cheek, he spoke softly.
“It killed me to see you with someone else. To answer your question, you were supposed to wait for me. You and me, we will never be done, Khally. You are mine. Do you see that? I know it’s hard for you to understand that right now, but I had to push you away. You weren’t ready for me.”
Her inner self went soaring.
I’m his!
“And I am now?” she replied stubbornly, trying not to let him know he just sent her on a rocking roller-coaster, flying around corners and reeling through the wind.
Luke laughed as he pulled Khalida toward him, knowing she wouldn’t fight him.
She couldn’t resist him. Not then, not now, not ever.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear. Hope sprung throughout her body wishing he would kiss her as she could feel the flutter of butterflies returning.
“Now stop being a pain in my ass. You could start with telling me that you love me back. Then maybe we can continue to my house before the kickback is over.”
Khalida laughed looking up at him as he grazed his lips across hers, giving into her unspoken wish.
“Let’s just see where this is going to go, Luke. I mean, let’s be realistic with all this; chances are you’ll bolt at the first sign of my love for you, not that I do love you…” she said, refusing to surrender to him.
“I know you love me, and you will tell me by the end of the night. Now can we put this little dispute behind us and have a good time?”
“Whoa, first of all, what in the world makes you think that?”
“I’m just confident in my abilities to bring out the best in people.”
“Well, you and your abilities can kiss my butt. Now go before I change my mind,” she giggled as they pulled back on the road.
Luke
One look at her sitting beside him in his car and he lost his breath. He could tell she was nervous by the smile on her face and the way she fumbled with her hair. He laughed to himself. If she only knew the affect she had on him, then she wouldn’t be nervous at all since his own nerves were on the edge of coming unhinged. His stomach took flight with every subtle move she made. He couldn’t help but think of her being so close when all he wanted to do was kiss her. He knew it was too soon for him to be making moves like that just yet. He would have to ease into that with her or she might bolt.
Khalida always got to him even if she was across the room, but in the last few weeks, everything was more intense for him. He could tell many things were about to change, he could feel it in his bones. She was the one. She was his and his alone, and not only did he know it, somehow he believed Khalida knew it, too. She was just too darn stubborn for her own good, sometimes.
“You look beautiful, Stubborn Ass,” he mumbled as he tried to steady his ragged breathing, trying to conceal how nervous he actually was.
She looked at him with unusual piercing pale green eyes. It was all he could do to control himself from pulling her to him and dropping yet another kiss on her soft full set of lips.
“Thank you,” she laughed nervously, “how can you make me feel good but insult me at the same time?”
He loved to listen to her laugh.
“I only say what’s on my mind, Khally. For as beautiful as you are, you are equally hardheaded.”
She leaned over and wrapped herself around his arm. Tensing with her sudden movement, he expected her to throat punch him and, oh, how that would hurt. Instead, she just leaned into him, content to finally be near the calming place he had always been to her.
He kissed the top of her head, gently. He adored the way her hair smelled of a musky floral scent, and he couldn’t help but hold her close, longer than he should have to catch one last breath of her scent, all while reveling in the knowledge that she was his. He knew that she was still wary of him from all the times he had to push her away because she was getting too close. She just didn’t realize that she wasn’t ready for him, and he just didn’t realize he was pushing her into the arms of Carey, but all that could be over now. She was ready for him, and he knew it.
“Are you ready for tonight?” he asked her anxiously.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she said as she gently pinched the side of his stomach.
“Watch it, girl, you might get yourself into trouble. Instead of doing that, why don’t you start practicing,” he said as he turned his car to the road leading to his house.
“Practicing what?” she said, dumbfounded.
“Saying ‘I love you’. Come on. I know you have it in you. Let me hear it,” his eyes danced at the sounds of annoyance huffing out of her.
Luke laughed as they pulled into the circular drive, watching Khalida closely as she stared at the property’s Willow trees that surrounded the land and the perimeter of the house. Luke reached over and swiftly took her hand, softly caressing the palm. All he wanted to do was pause time, to be here with her in the closeness and privacy of his car and not worry about anything or anyone else, but he knew deep down time wasn’t on their side. He didn’t know if he had what it took to protect her from the wrath of hell that was coming their way. One thing he did know was that with everything he had, with every fiber of his being, he would die trying. Luke got out of his car and casually walked around to open her door and help her out. He took her hand, softly letting her slide into the crook of his arm as he led her up the sidewalk to his house.
Luke always thought his house resembled an old rustic church. If it were not so well maintained, the old house would have an eerie, foreboding look. It was two stories high and had a Victorian beauty to it. The back of the house had two enormous bay windows and a small panoramic view of the amazing lake behind it. Inside, the house had a monstrous fireplace with rustic molding in the living room along with smaller ones in every bedroom. Everything in the house was over-sized, from the furniture to the appliances. As they entered the kitchen, his mom was in the process of baking and talking on her phone. The smell of freshly baked cookies filled the room. As they made thei
r way to Josephine, she started pulling out the bar chairs that sat directly in front of where his mother fidgeted to get off the phone, as if they just interrupted an important conversation.
“Let me call you back,” she said to whoever was on the other end of the phone as she closed her phone shut.
“Well, isn’t this a surprise,” his mother smiled brightly, “I’m glad you’re here, Khalida. We’ve missed you around this house, girl,” she said, looking back at Luke, “I’ve missed you around here.”
“Thank you, Josephine. It’s been awhile. It’s good to be back. I’ve always enjoyed it here. I like what you have done with everything, and it looks like you finally got settled in after the move. It’s really nice,” Khalida replied shyly.
“It’s much larger than our last home, but you know this property has been in our family for generations, so I just figured it was time we actually did something with it,” Josephine replied as she came around the counter and walked up to Khalida, giving her a tight hug.
“Really, Mom? You don’t hug me like that,” Luke laughed.
“I see you all the time, son, and jealousy really doesn’t suit that handsome face of yours. Hey, here’s a thought. This time, why don’t you try keeping her around?” Josephine said as she winked at her son.
“Glad you got jokes tonight, Mom. Is everyone already down by the docks?”
“Yes, and I want you all to behave and try not to have the cops called on us like the last time, please.”
“Sure thing, mom,” he chuckled as he led Khalida through the living room out to the back. When they stepped outside, Luke could see the glare of flames from the bonfire already burning in the distance.
Following the path around the small pond in the backyard, he kept her hand in his as he led the way down to the lake that was just about a quarter mile away from his house. After a few minutes of walking in silence, they finally arrived at the docks. Luke’s little brother Crevan was standing guard over the stereo, taking requests from other guests. Crevan was a tall boy for his age and had the same dark hair as his older brother. He wasn’t blessed with the electrifying blue eyes Luke had but had a set of emeralds that were just as intense instead.
It’s a good thing he has good taste in music.
Luke noticed a crowd of girls forming in the middle of the gathering. He caught sight of a friendly face and knew what the fuss was all about. Luke’s Ride or Die, Razi, the equivalent of Khalida’s “bestie” looked bored with the females surrounding him. Their eyes met and Razi nodded his head with an approving gleam in his eyes. He returned the nod with a sly smile before glancing around at everyone else. There were people from school that Luke recognized by face but didn’t really know. He felt the tension in Khalida as she noticed how everyone stopped to look at them as they approached hand in hand. He couldn’t help but smile as she leaned into him, gripping his hand a little tighter.
“Is it just me or is everyone staring?” she asked
“It’s because they are not used to seeing me with such a smart, intelligent beauty.”
“OH…. that’s right,” she beamed, “they are used to seeing you with dumb skuzzy twits. That’s it. They’re all in shock,” she said, laughing along with a hint of sarcasm within her tone.
Suddenly coming alive with amusement dancing across his face, Luke said, “You got jokes too, huh?”
“Shut up and dance with me,” Khalida smiled sweetly.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he exhaled raggedly, knowing the thought of her in his arms would just torture him further.
Slowly, the eyes that were on them started to look away as he carried her towards the crowd of couples that were dancing on the dock by the lake, still covered in old Christmas lights left from last year. When they reached the dock, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist as tightly as he could so she would know the want that burned in his every move. She buried her head into his chest as he breathed in her scent, the wind softly tasseling her loose curls.
He wanted her like this. Always. Close. Perfect.
Distracting her by dancing a few more songs, he decided to break the hold he had on her, pulling her over to the bonfire where Razi was entertaining the crowd, telling stories of cop chases and drunken stupors.
After a few laughs with everyone, Khalida nervously spawned an idea to change things up. She was unsure of what she was really expecting to happen, but she knew she wanted to be alone with Luke.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said, tugging at his shirt, leading him away from the crowd.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. It’s dark. What if you try to take advantage of me and no one can hear my calls for help?” Luke said as a mischievous grin tilted at the edges of his lips.
Khalida’s body started to shake with laughter, “Right, you don’t honestly think a poor little ‘ole thing like me can overpower you, do you? Make you do things you don’t want to do? Force you over to the dark side with my cookies?”
“Hmm, cookies, yes,” he mumbled, “sounds like a plan, let’s go,” he pulled her to him, sweeping his arm around her shoulders as they walked away from the crowd.
They walked until the voices of laughter and music faded away into the background. Luke stopped under one of the bigger trees and pulled Khalida to him. Taking her chin into his hands, his lips found hers as he began kissing her, gently at first, and then greedily taking her in. His kisses became more urgent, overcome with the need to be in her. He pushed her lips apart with his tongue and felt her immediate response as she started to melt into him.
She was the one that pulled back.
“If you think you can walk me a few hundred yards and have your way with me, you would be wrong,” she said softly, breathlessly.
The smallest laugh escaped her lips, but it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard.
He loved her.
“What can I say? I warned you. I have the worse intentions,” he said as he pulled his cap off to run his hand through his dark hair before replacing the cap back on his head.
He sat down on the ground beside Khalida as he leaned against the old tree. Taking her hand, he pulled her down to him on the soft grass. She landed in his lap, and he spread his legs just enough for her to slip through to sit on the ground where she could lean back on his chest, exactly where he wanted her. He sat there holding her with one arm, gently caressing her hair with the other.
“What do you want for your birthday?” he said smoothly into her ear.
“You remember my birthday?”
“June twenty-second, just three short weeks after graduation.”
“I’m impressed you didn’t get it mixed up with one of the local mutts you kept around,” she turned in his arms and playfully pulled his cap to the side away from his face so she could kiss him.
“From now on, the only mutt I’ll keep hanging around me is you, okay?” he laughed as she elbowed him in the chest.
“Easy there, Toot. I don’t want you to hurt yourself hitting something so hard.”
“Toot? What in the hell is that kind of name?” Khalida laughed at the new nickname but was unimpressed with his creativeness.
“You don’t like ‘Toot’?” his eyes narrowed in on her as he contemplated his next move.
“No, I don’t like being called a fart, a silent assassin with possibilities of making you gag. What are you trying to say?” irritation flared in her voice.
“Then, ‘Toot’ it is,” he laughed, ignoring the pouty face that spread across her features.
Carefully avoiding anymore conversation, he trapped her hands in front of her and pressed a nimble kiss to her neck. Luke realized something as they sat in the quiet moment, eerily intense.
One month.
One month is all he had left, and from the feelings that were stirring deep inside him, it just might be
less than that. Luke wanted to take her far away to a place where no one could find her, where no one would ever think to look, but he knew as soon as her transformation took place, Khalida would be a flame in the dark and they would come for her, if they didn’t already sense her. They would be able to find her no matter where he hid her. Either way, he already knew they would come for her.
“What are you thinking?” she said.
“I’m thinking about what I want to do with you right here, right now,” he said, wrapping his hand in her hair and warily pulling her to him until their lips met, taunting her with his kiss.
Khalida responding in a way that took him by surprise, turning around in his lap, wrapping her legs around him. He should have known better but the deep hunger he tried to keep hidden was sparked alive as his desire took over, pushing all doubts out of his mind. He kissed her hungrily, taking in the softness of her skin and the sweet scent that flowed through his nose. He held tightly to the length of her hair, gently wrapped in his hand, and drew her closer by the small of her back. He might have had the strength to break away from the inevitable, but she let out the softest sigh of pleasure and he was a goner.