Take My Breath Away

by Wendy L. Wilson

  “Maybe. . . .” I say after pulling away from his lips.

  Judd rolls his eyes and laughs as he opens the passenger side door for me.

  On the drive back to his apartment, we tease back and forth, giggling and laughing trying to get each other to give up what was uttered in our heads before our coins dipped into the well.

  We end up getting back to his apartment less than two hours before the party starts. Although this day has been beyond anything I could ever imagine for a first date, I really wish we had just a bit more time to be alone.

  As soon as we are inside, it is no secret that he wishes the same. He insists we have plenty of time and makes an event of trying to get me into the bedroom. The one thing we do agree on is that we both need a shower after walking through the weeds, and since we are limited on time; why not merge it into one. That would be the more frugal thing to do seeing as we will save time and water. Besides, we are both more than a little addicted to taking showers together.

  In no time, we are both out of our clothes and soaking wet. So much for saving time!

  I lean my back against Judd’s chest as he runs my bright pink loofah sponge over my chest and shoulders. He has the entire front of my body all lathered up, but insists that my chest needs a little further attention. What the hell; clean away.

  Shortly after he rinses all the suds from his body and mine, my phone chirps with a new text message. On the off chance that it may be about my dad, I slip my hand out of the shower, pat it on a towel and then grab my phone off the wall shelf beside the shower.

  Bethany: Already done decorating and I already have all the food out! We are ready! I’m going to get dressed and I’ll see you later! Thanks for doing the running!

  She also includes a picture of the apartment all set up. Ugh! I mentally cringe when I see the sheets tacked to the walls and splattered with streaks of fake blood and bloody hand prints. Good grief, our apartment looks like a slaughter house or a scene from a zombie apocalypse. I guess we’ll just get the carpets steam cleaned later.

  Me: The apartment looks great! Looks like there was a brutal murder that took place there! Lol! Since you don’t need help, I’ll probably get there just a bit before the party starts. K?

  Bethany: Sounds good! C-ya then!

  Judd turns off the water, breaking my trance and wraps a towel around my shoulders.

  “What is it?” he asks with a hopeful tone in his voice as I resituate the towel around my body.

  I giggle knowing what he is thinking, “It was Bethany letting us know that we don’t have to rush.”

  Judd’s face lights up and within seconds he has me flung over his shoulder, drips of water flinging through the air from my drenched hair.

  I laugh and squirm in his arms as he fumbles with the door knob.

  “We have a whole extra hour. We are damn well making good use of that time.” I can hear the smile in his playful tone as his hand slaps across my bare ass.

  “Ooooww,” I laugh out loud as he swings the door open.

  Not even one step out the door and Judd rushes backwards. A sharp slamming noise echoes in the small room as he lowers my feet to the floor, abruptly. I clasp the towel around my chest and turn to face Judd. He has his body braced against the door with his hand held over his face.

  “What the hell, dude!” He yells at the door and I am beyond confused.

  A loud howl reverberates from the other side of the door and I’m immediately aware that Evan was more than likely the recipient of seeing my bare ass up in the air.

  My jaw hits the floor and I really hope my rear end is the only thing that was visible.

  “Why the hell are you home?” Judd yells out.

  Evan keeps laughing hysterically and for a moment I think we may have to go out there and do CPR.

  “Evan, you better not have seen a damn thing!” Judd hollers with his forehead pressed against the door.

  Finally, Evan calms his laughter enough to speak.

  “Oh yeah, I definitely got an eyeful! I think my retinas are actually on fire! Either that or I might be horny! I haven’t decided yet! How are you?”

  Evan cracks up and a thumping sound catches my attention that I assume is him stomping his feet or fists; he is loving this.

  Judd hits his fist against the door with his eyes shut tightly as if he is in pain.

  “I am going to kick your ass, man! You live for this shit! Seriously, is there ever going to be a time that you don’t interrupt us?”

  I reach down and grab a towel for Judd while Evan defends himself between laughter.

  “Hey, easy now on the accusations, I was out here all defenseless and you two come busting in here, getting all crazy like you own the place. So technically, you walked in on me this time!”

  Judd shakes his head and wraps the towel around his waist.

  “Wait in here till I can get you some clothes.”

  No problem! I’m ok with not giving Evan another eyeful.

  Judd opens and then closes the door behind him and I soon hear them both laughing.

  Evan is definitely a pain in the ass, but life would be pretty boring without his sense of humor and practical jokes.

  Judd returns within minutes and hands me my clothes.

  Fully dressed, I head out of the bathroom behind Judd and can barely make eye contact with Evan.

  Of course when I do, he stays true to his teasing self by pointing to his behind and mouthing “Nice ass, Alyssa.”

  I turn ten shades of red, but decide to throw a little sass his way, “Hey Evan, kiss it,” I silently mouth.

  Evan grabs his stomach and cracks up.

  “I just love her! She never puts up with my shit!” He cries out between laughter.

  Judd grabs the remote on our way through the living room and tosses it at Evan to get him to shut up.

  “Hey . . . What?!” Evan says innocently.

  I giggle and escape to the bedroom with Judd. It doesn’t take long to know that Evan’s sudden company has not deterred Judd’s agenda to make use of the extra hour we have.

  I’m just thankful that he finally got a lock on his door a couple weeks ago.

  Forty five minutes later, both of us are dressed in ear to ear grins and getting ready for the party. Judd opts to wear a long sleeve shirt and jeans, leaving the dressing up to me.

  “You need some help?” he asks as I slide on my costume.

  His suggestion makes my heart race, knowing full well that if we didn’t have plans tonight that we would stay in bed, wrapped up in each other.

  “No, go hang out with Evan while I get ready. I want my end look to be a surprise.” I laugh some more, feeling like a bride about to reveal her wedding dress to her groom for the first time.

  “Ok.” Giving one quick peck on the lips, he turns and slips out the door.

  A sudden crash from the doorway has me spinning around only to see the door shut behind him. What on earth was that? My ears perk up, but after quickly hearing an eruption of laughter and conversation from the next room, I get busy dousing my face with makeup in front of the dresser mirror. I double check my reflection and run through a mental check list of details before heading out to model for the guys.

  Once I enter the room, Judd’s mouth drops open and Evan lets out a loud whistle. Proudly, I twirl around once, careful to not let the short white empress dress fly up and show off my white lace panties. I think Evan has got enough of a view already!

  “Holy shit, you look good,” Judd says, his wide eyes saying he is ten seconds away from hauling me back in the bedroom.

  “I second that, although the first view I had today even tops this outfit.” Evan’s comment and laughter gets an evil glare from Judd and has my face blazing in mortification.

  “I’m telling you now, man . . . you better wipe that image out of your mind,” Judd orders and then swings his eyes back to me.

  “I’ll work on that,” Evan mutters under his breath. “Seriously, you’re smoking in th
at outfit, Alyssa.”

  “Thanks,” I tell Evan, appreciating his sincerity. “Are you joining us?” I ask after remembering that he was supposed to be out of town tonight.

  “Yeah, some drama kind of got stirred up between me and my brother and I figured I would hang out here instead of going to the cabin this weekend.”

  Sweet memories filter through my mind at the mention of the word cabin.

  “I told him he should join us.” Judd looks at me hesitantly, seemingly checking to make sure I am ok with this.

  “Yes, you should totally come. It’s going to be a blast. You can even dress up if you want.”

  Evan spits out a laugh, “No thanks on the dressing up, but I will tag along.”

  “Sounds great. You guys ready?” I excitedly say, grabbing my purse.

  They both stand and make their way to the door, Judd grabbing my hand in the process.

  “Maybe you should change and save that outfit for later tonight,” he whispers with a playful gleam in his eyes.

  I giggle and jab my elbow into his side. He may stay pretty close to my side tonight and that is absolutely fine by me.

  So far this has been the best day of my life; by far the best first date I’ve ever experienced and definitely a date I will always remember.

  TWENTY MINUTES LATER WE PARK at my apartment, ready to have a blast. Just as I am opening my door, Judd reaches over and stops me.

  “Lyssa, I need to talk to you. I should have told you this last night, but I didn’t want to ruin the time we had alone. Plus, I know it will upset you. About Bethany . . .” I start to tense up, wondering what on earth he could sound this solemn about.

  Once he brings up Bethany’s name, I know he wants to talk about how uncomfortable he has been around her. There has to be a way for my boyfriend and roommate to get along eventually. Bethany can be super overbearing at times and quite determined when she sets her mind to it, but I know she is past it, I just wish he was.

  I lean forward to stop him mid-sentence, “I know you still feel a little uneasy around her. Trust me, I can tell, but Judd, I am 100% positive she is past everything. Plus, it does not bother me anymore either. At first, I was insecure, knowing she had feelings for you and had tried to get you in bed, but then I told myself that I have you and everything else doesn’t matter. So stop stressing; it is all water under the bridge.” I smile and look at him with complete certainty in my eyes.

  “No, that’s not it. Actually she does make me uneasy, but it’s because . . .”

  We both flinch at a loud thud and see Evan peering in the driver’s side window with an irritated look on his face. Judd ends the conversation and opens his door.

  “Hey guys are we going to stay in the parking lot talking all night or are we going inside?” Evan says with a devilish grin.

  On the way to my apartment door, Judd pulls me aside. “Babe, we still need to talk,” he tells me quietly, “I just don’t want to ruin your night.”

  I can tell how bad this is bothering him by the urgency in his tone, but I don’t understand why this is still weighing so heavily on his mind. I really hope his level of discomfort isn’t enough for him to want me to stay away from my own roommate. That thought has my stomach rolling with nerves and my body tensing up with anxiety.

  I calmly place my hands on his broad shoulders then run my fingertips up his neck to his rigid jawline. The crease between his eyebrows and tightness of his jaw has me tempted to suggest that we leave and go talk, but honestly, maybe tonight can break through that bit of uneasiness that he still feels around Bethany.

  “Let’s just talk about it in the morning.”

  He nods his head with a troubled look on his face.

  “Just try to have fun, ok? I promise there is nothing for you to worry about. Let’s just go in and relax, mingle, laugh . . .” I giggle and wrap my arms around his neck in an effort to pull him closer.

  Judd’s tenseness gives way to a gentle smile as he bends to place a kiss on my lips.

  “ . . . and then just the two of us can escape somewhere quiet. I promise we will talk.”

  Judd’s smile grows and his slack arms snake around my waist so that we are sealed together.

  “Oh, please. Hello, I’m still here.” Judd and I laugh at Evan’s sarcastic tone a few feet behind us, but we keep our eyes glued to one another.

  “Ok. I’m holding out for the part of that whole idea where we get to escape somewhere alone.” Wiggling his eyebrows with a playful grin, for now all his worries have melted away.

  It doesn’t take long for our apartment to be jam-packed with numerous bodies dressed anywhere from a vampire and zombie to a fireman stripper and a French maid. There is even one guy dressed as a long neck beer bottle with a tin foil hat.

  Abby and Piper finally walk in, looking like absolute knockouts.

  “Holy shit,” Evan mumbles, staring at Piper with a look of wonderment.

  I glance back her way as she walks across the room, dressed in a tight all black cat-woman-like costume with her long dark locks in spiral curls, her eyes outlined in heavy black liner, a splash of black on the tip of her nose and three delicate lines drawn across each of her cheeks as whiskers. Her grip tightens on the black leather whip she holds in her hand as she sees Evan and for a second, I think she may break it in half.

  “Great,” she sarcastically mouths to Abby.

  Abby nods her head and then flashes me a huge smile, rushing up to my side. She is dressed in a cute little Go-Go costume with a bright, psychedelic dress cinched at the waist with a tight belt and topped off with knee-high red boots.

  As soon as they join us near the drink station in the kitchen, Piper fixes Evan with a harsh stare. He immediately pulls her to the side.

  “So, what’s there to drink?” Abby asks.

  I point over my shoulder at the collection of alcohol that has been compiled tonight. Abby leans across the counter and quickly fills up a couple of shot glasses. She hands one to me and one to Piper.

  “Let’s get this party started then, girls,” I laugh and indulge in one shot. This may be my max for the night.

  “How is Dad?” I ask as Judd moves closer so he can join in on the conversation.

  “He seems really good. He has a bit of a cough, but seemed in good spirits and excited about spending the evening with Mom,” Abby explains.

  “So where’s Tristan? All these short skirts and skin tight costumes seem right up his alley.” Abby looks at Judd and all amusement leaves his face.

  He and Evan share a strange look before he answers. “He’s been a little preoccupied lately to mess with that sort of stuff.”

  Judd rarely talks about Tristan and I haven’t seen him since the lake. In the past month that we have been together, aside from most weekends that we spend at my parents, we have carved out time to go to some of Jake’s football games and even met him for lunch a few times. Tristan, however, has kept himself scarce except for a few tense and heated calls between him and Judd.

  “I heard through the grapevine that he dropped out of college. Is he transferring or just done with college all together?” Abby continues her line of questions and with each one Judd seems to get a little more uneasy.

  Luckily, Piper and Evan’s voices kick up a notch, distracting us all from our current conversation.

  “Would you just detract your damn claws for one night? I’m here to have a good time.” Evan’s cool and playful personality that he usually exhibits turns harsh and spiteful as he speaks to Piper.

  “Well, I really don’t care to waltz down memory lane tonight!” she declares, standing with her arms folded and a hateful scowl on her face. “And FYI, I’d love to have a good time tonight, too, Evan, but should I worry about anything I say or any poor judgment I make tonight being broadcast to the world tomorrow!” she spits out.

  Abby grabs Piper’s arm, trying to coerce her away from the escalating situation. She finally relents and they disappear into the living room where seve
ral people are bumping and grinding to booming music.

  “I’m outta here! I am not going to stay here and let her punish me for something I can’t change! See ya later, Alyssa.” Evan pushes his way past Judd and storms towards the door, looking back at Piper with a gloomy expression on his face.

  “I’ll be right back.” Judd follows him out.

  Kyle and Chris stroll up to the counter and go for a cup each, grabbing the keg nozzle to fill them with beer.

  “Drama already?” Kyle tilts his head in the direction of Judd and Evan.

  “Huh? Oh . . . no. Well, actually I’m not sure what happened.” I’m sure Abby and Judd know more about the circumstances of the argument, but I’m just sorry that Evan felt he had to leave because of it.

  I talk to Kyle for only a second longer, making sure to be on the opposite side of the room when Judd returns.

  After making my way out to the dance floor, I huddle in between a crowd of sweaty bodies hopping to music pouring out of the speaker as I lift my arms in the air and swing my hips from side to side.

  It doesn’t take long before my dress is clinging to my body and beads of sweat are rolling down my back. Piper has affixed herself to Chris and Abby is cheek-to-cheek with Hayden, a guy from Kyle’s fraternity.

  The music winds down to a semi slower song and I decide it is best if I exit before Kyle asks me to dance. Before I can turn to leave, strong hands grip my hips and a hard chest presses against my back.

  “Were you leaving before I could dance with you?” Judd whispers in my ear.

  I flip around to face him and his arms naturally wrap around my waist like that is the only place they have ever belonged.

  “More like, I was going to find you and drag your butt out here with me,” I giggle as I clasp my hands behind his neck and start to sway with him.

  “So, how much more of an appearance do we need to make before we can turn this into a private party?” My knees go weak from the thought of us being alone.

  We enjoy a few more songs engulfed in each other’s arms before Abby jumps in between us.

  “Get your ass over here and dance with me.”