by MC Webb
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” I said, as we skidded off the road.
When we stopped, she leaped from the car like a scolded dog. I looked out the window, and watched her stop fifteen feet from the car and look back at me, breathing heavy. It was the sad girl from the party.
Her chest was heaving, and panic was on her beautiful face. I opened the door and exited the way a person being arrested would, hands in the air.
“It’s okay! It’s just me, Ryan.” She took no comfort in the words. “From the party?”
She placed a hand over her heart as if to steady it
“What the hell are you doing?” she said.
I put my hands down, not used to anyone but Viola speaking to me this harshly.
“What am I doing? What are you doing, stealing a car?” I yelled back.
She knitted her brows together and almost laughed at this. I tried not to notice she was beautiful even when doing this.
“I didn’t steal anything. What are you doing in the backseat?” she asked, a little less angry.
“I was knitting a sweater. What do you think I was doing? I was trying to get some sleep.” I turned and kicked the door shut. I was mad, but had no idea why. “Where are we anyway?” I demanded, looking around.
The sky was black. My internal clock gave me no indication of what time it was. I wasn’t sure I even cared. When the girl didn’t answer, I looked back at her. She seemed to be thinking.
“I was going to the shore to watch the sunrise. I wanted to be alone. Get away,” she stated simply.
I blew out a heavy breath and looked around again for something to do. There was no traffic, and we were on a road without lines. There was vegetation around, but not much.
I decided we were not far from the coast, but definitely far from anywhere I was familiar with. I’m not sure what made me do it, but I thought I’d play along.
“Well, you’re just going to have to take me with you.”
I gave her my best camera smile.
She looked at me with sarcasm in her dark eyes.
“I don’t know you. You could be a murderer,” she said.
I put my hand to my chest and acted injured.
“I should be hurt you don’t know me, but I’m not. This time next year, everyone will know me,” I said in mock arrogance. Sheldon would be proud. “For now, I’m just Ryan, and you are?”
I held a hand out for her to come forward and shake. Honestly, I just wanted a reason to touch her.
Something came over her eyes just then, as if she were slipping into to a character herself.
“Livia,” she said, taking a few steps forward, and shaking my hand lightly.
Electricity ran through me at her touch. I smiled politely, as if nothing had passed. I wasn’t sure if she was being honest, but I nodded.
“Nice to meet you,” with a bow. “Now Livia, may I drive us to the shore to watch the sunrise, or shall we return to that dreadful party?”
Livia looked down the road, deciding.
“Come on. Time’s wasting,” I said, with a smile.
I had the feeling I was getting creepy with it now, but I wanted nothing more than to be alone with this girl. I needed to make a decent second impression.
Finally, she just tossed me the keys and got in the car, making sure not to brush me as she did. I caught a whiff of sweet perfume, laced with a hint of flowers. It was intoxicating. Light-headed I got behind the wheel, a little self-consciously. I wasn’t a great driver, and now I had my nerves to deal with.
“Where to, love?” I asked looking over at her, truly lost. It was dark, but I could see her delicate features turn sad in the dashboard lighting. “You okay?” I asked, genuinely concerned.
“I’m fine,” she said softly. “Just straight ahead till we reach the shore. It’s not far.”
We drove maybe a half hour. I talked mostly, and Livia stayed tight-lipped. She was not cold, and I knew this was an act. I sensed she was fragile in most ways, but there was a hard exterior about her, keeping her from relaxing with me.
She wore no wedding band, and when I asked, she said she had no boyfriend. She sat in stony silence, hands pushed tight between her thighs as if I was going to rip one from her body at any second.
I stopped at a gas station, and bought a dozen beef jerky, chips, water, cheap beer, and a dollar ninety-nine rose. This got me a small laugh. She took it from my hand, as I held it up to her.
“I love roses,” she said.
She held it to her nose, eyes closed, smelling the fragrance.
I drank her in. There was a childlike quality, innocence, about her as she did this, as if she’d never smelled a rose before. It left my head buzzing.
We arrived at a deserted beach in the middle of nowhere. I parked the car and got out. The air was nice and clean. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was hypnotizing.
I walked to the front of the car and looked around to see if we were alone. There was nothing as far as my eyes could see.
When Livia did not follow, I walked around and tapped on the half-open window.
“Is this what you wanted?” I asked, a little confused.
She looked at me, then the surroundings, then back at me. I thought she looked scared.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she told me.
I sighed, bewildered.
“But don’t you want to be here?”
She twisted her hands nervously, and I opened the door, taking her silence as a yes.
“Isn’t this where you are supposed to be?” I asked.
She grinned and unfolded her long body from the car.
When she stood and looked at me, I guessed she must be five-nine, or five-ten, judging by the models I had dated.
“Hey, you’re not a model are you?” I asked, teasing.
She didn’t laugh.
“No. I’m nobody,” she whispered.
This struck me as odd. People normally did not reply in this way. She walked to the trunk and got out a blanket.
“I’m afraid to think what and who has been on this, but it’s what we have,” she said, apologetically, then strode past me to find a place to sit.
She moved like fluid. Delicate and graceful. I watched her with my hands in my pockets as she spread the blanket and sat cross-legged, waiting for the sun. I turned off the headlights, tossed my shoes in the back, and walked to join her. We sat in silence as the sun rose.
The sky turned different shades of dark blue, then light. The water was dancing to the dawn, putting on a show for its audience of two strangers.
It was majestic and beautiful. I sat a little behind Livia, just so I could watch her and not be noticed. I couldn’t guess her age, but she was young. Her face was like porcelain, smooth and lineless, except a thin scar just under her right eye.
Her profile was perfect, the strong line from the bridge of her nose to her pouty lips all in perfect proportion. When the sun was fully up, a tear threatened to fall from the corner of her eye, but she quickly wiped it away. I touched her shoulder.
“You okay?” I asked softly.
She jumped at my touch.
“Sorry,” I said.
Livia wiped her eyes.
“I’m fine.”
I knew that was a lie. This girl was anything but fine. She obviously had the weight of the world on her. I knew I had to seize the opportunity in front of me. I did not want to go back to the apartment complex just yet. I wanted to keep her here, and find out more about her, see if I could maybe get her to like me. I stood and started to undress. She looked up at me, shocked.
“What are you doing?”
I unbuttoned my jeans, and she looked away blushing.
“You ever skinny-dip?” I said, unashamed of my body, knowing the workouts and diet I’d been following were paying off.
“No. I mean, yes, when I was a child and foolish,” she said, looking down the beach so she wouldn’t see me.
I began walking to the water, and when I was waist-deep, I turn
ed to her, throwing my hands up.
“This is life, Livia. Don’t you want to live it?” I asked as if I knew the secrets to life and this was one of them.
I thought she would get up huffy and mad. I thought she would demand we go back now. I did not expect her to stand and begin undressing. I stood still, watching her. Waves tried to knock me down, but I stood perfectly still, soaking up both the new sun on my back and the stranger before me.
I was taking in every movement, the elegance of her arms and legs, then the roundness of her breasts and hips. The soft places in between.
She walked, knowing I was watching her. I was focused on her beauty. Her hair flew playfully in the wind. Her nipples rose hard and alert as her feet hit the water.
I had the desire to reach out and take her. I didn’t. She dove like a swan into the salty drink. I followed. When we surfaced, we laughed like kids, swimming here and there.
“This is crazy,” she said, breathless and happy.
“You’re beautiful,” I said stupidly.
She grinned at me, embarrassed. I wasn’t sure, but I could almost feel the wrappings holding her together loosen. She said nothing, but turned to swim further out. I stayed within arm’s reach of her, feeling like any given moment she would disappear, and I would wake up in the back seat of Nathan’s car, stiff and hung over.
“Got any beef jerky left? I’m starving!” she asked, flashing me gorgeous white teeth.
I grinned.
“Yeah, about a dozen. I bought all they had!”
We made our way back to the blanket after a few minutes of swimming. I tried to be respectful and not stare. I wanted to look at her and melt into her. I just knew she would dress, and I wouldn’t see her flesh again today. I made my way to the car and grabbed the goods along with the now warm beer. When I turned to walk back to the blanket, Livia surprised me again. She was lying on her back with her arms on her forehead, still nude.
I had seen many women naked. I had never seen anything as beautiful as this woman. She was slightly too thin, like she worked too hard or was sickly, but that was her only flaw. I drank her in as I slowly walked toward her. I stood looking at her in the sun.
Her arms were over her closed eyes. She reminded me of a bird, or some small animal warming in the sun. She had goose bumps from the wet. Her nipples were hard and standing.
She had a small pool of water in her belly button. I fought the desire to bend over and suck it out. There was a deep scar just above her trimmed pubic hair. There were small scars on her torso here and there that reminded me of cat scratches.
I drank her in like old wine, savoring every inch of her. I stood erect and in awe. She must have felt my presence, because she moved her arm to look at me.
“What?” she asked innocently.
I cleared my throat, hoping the bag hid my obvious mood.
“Nothing,” I lied easily, just as innocent.
I was drunk, but hadn’t had a drink in hours. I knelt on the blanket, and began to sift through the bag. Livia propped herself up on her elbow and looked in the bag with me.
When I looked up, saying something about the warm beer, I met her eyes. Damn. I was falling hard and fast through deep rivers of chocolate. She didn’t look away.
She drank in my face and licked her lips absently. I swallowed nervously. I was never nervous with women. What was wrong with me? Wasn’t I immune to naked, beautiful women by now? But here I was, acting like a schoolboy being examined by a hot teacher. I forgot the bag and put my hand to her face, leaning close to her wet lips.
“May I?” I asked in a hoarse whisper, every breath breathing deeper into hers.
She did not protest, and I bent to kiss her.
I found her breast with my free hand, and ran my other through her long hair. I laid her back on the blanket, not wanting to go too fast, but unable to control the now raging desire I felt running through my body. I pulled away from her mouth with great difficulty.
I began to kiss, lick, and softly bite her collarbone, then her breasts. Small seductive noises came from her throat. I made my way down until her legs were parted and my mouth on her. She shook under my probing tongue, making soft, incoherent sounds of pleasure.
After she shook from her release, I made my way back up her body, pausing for only a moment at her breasts. Her hands were all over me, crazed as much as I was.
When I entered her she bit at my wrist, which only fueled me further. I kissed her frantically. I did not want to stop. Her legs tightened around my waist, I arched my back, and pounded her into the sand. Making beastly sounds of my own, finally I collapsed in exhaustion on top of her.
I could feel her heartbeat, and I’m sure she could feel mine. After I caught my breath, I rolled over beside her. We lay in the sun for a long moment breathing heavy.
I was not drunk. I was not high. I was fully in the moment with one of the most beautiful women I’d ever met. I wanted to soak it up and never leave this spot. The movie be damned. The world be damned. I had found bliss on earth. Frenzied and crazy as it was, I couldn’t wait to do it again.
We slept intertwined in the morning sun. When we woke, we made love again, then ate our convenience-store goods, then swam the day away. We lay on the blanket, talking quietly to one another, exhausted from sex and the sea. When she dozed with her back to me, I looked for what I’d felt in the water. When I saw the roughly healed scar on her left upper shoulder blade, about six inches long, I thought it odd.
It was a bad injury, and it had healed poorly. I traced it with my fingers, wishing to smooth its surface, knowing whatever made this scar must have caused her great pain. I hadn’t noticed her open eyes and was caught off guard when she spoke.
“It was a burn,” she said, and offered no further explanation.
I bent my head and brushed the scar lightly with my lips. I held her and did not want to push the subject now, not while we were drunk on each other. I would ask later. I ran my fingers down the curves of her body, tracing her ribs. There were light bruises there, and a faded black bruise on her hip. It was unspoken, but I knew in my heart someone had put these on her purposefully and probably the burn scar as well.
She lay silently, watching the fading light as the sun set, and allowed me to touch her. I laid my head on hers, and watched the last sliver of orange disappear from the sky.
We packed silently and drove in silence, not wanting to spoil the air with idle, meaningless chatter. I was paranoid about love, so I’d never known what it was. Was this love, or merely a deeper form of lust? I looked over at Livia. She was looking out the window. I could see a reflection of sadness on her face when we passed under a streetlight. I pulled her to me and kissed her hair. This was not lust.
Yes, I was overly attracted to her, but beyond the physical elements, there was a magnetic pull toward her, an energy I’d never known, and I was nearly certain I would never feel it again.
Livia curled up like a cat beside me as we drove to the apartment complex. I stopped and parked where the car had been the night before.
“Nathan will probably have called the car in stolen by now,” I said, and Livia smiled.
“I’m due on set at three in the morning,” I told her. “Can I see you when the shoot is done?”
Livia looked up at me and reached to kiss me.
“Meet here at the car, or if Nathan takes it, here in this spot, agreed? At six this evening?”
I noticed I sounded like I was begging, but I didn’t care.
Livia nodded. There was a distance in her eyes that made me weary. I wrapped my arms around her middle, inhaling deeply the sweet perfume and salt of her hair.
I spotted Viola’s rented Pontiac in front of my apartment.
“Great,” I said sardonically, allowing my unwilling arms to release her.
“What?” Livia said, following my gaze.
I shook my head.
“My pain-in-the-ass handler is here.” I put my eyes back to hers. “Here? At six?
”
Livia nodded.
I kissed her again, and watched her go in the opposite direction. When I could no longer see her frame in the dim lights, I made my way to the unit I was staying in. We would be leaving in three days, and I planned on spending every one of my breaks with this beautiful and mysterious woman. I looked back to where she had left me. A ghost in the night.
chapter eighteen
I looked to see which direction Livia had gone, dumbfounded that I hadn’t asked where she was staying. I would find out, and I could always ask Nathan or Lana. When I got inside the apartment, Viola started on me without warning.
“Where the hell have you been? You think you can just disappear for twenty-four hours? You do not have a life when a studio owns you. If there are any drunken bar fights in the tabloids tomorrow, I will personally kick your ass.”
I shut my eyes and shook my head.
“Jesus, Viola,” I started, but this didn’t help her mood.
“Don’t you bring Jesus into this. He has nothing to do with anything we are talking about,” and on and on she went.
It lasted at least ten minutes. All the while Sheldon sat, still in makeup from filming earlier, smiling at me.
When Viola had appeared to be finished with me, he said, “Sure you want this life?”
Viola shot him a nasty look.
“Don’t you add to this. You, with your tiny bits in movies. You could’ve won an Oscar by now, but no, Mr. I-Don’t-Want-To. You’re wasting my time and energy. Did you wrap today?” she added for clarity.
“Sure did. Two takes, and done,” he told her, grinning
Viola nodded, returning to her professional self.
“Now,” she said when she saw me narrowing my eyes at Sheldon. “You will be on set in an hour. They have bumped our flights to Mexico for early afternoon…”
I held up my hand.
“Wait, what?” I demanded.
Viola turned an icy stare on me.
“Did I not speak English?”
I stared back just as hard.
“We don’t start filming Mexico for another four days,” I said, pissed off now.
Viola closed her heavily lidded eyes with what I thought was annoyance, but her voice was like speaking to a child about how yes, one plus one does equal two.