Loverboy

by Jaszczak, Trista

  Her cheeks flush as she slowly lets down her arms. “I just feel like sometimes I should just wear sweats all the time.”

  I shake my head. “Don’t ever think that. Wear what you used to wear; don’t change your life for anything or anyone.”

  She glances down at her arms and chest as she runs her finger over one of the red marks on her arm. “You can see my marks.”

  “Remember, they only show just how incredibly strong you are.”

  She finally smiles. “I did pay an unholy amount for this top; might as well wear it.”

  “And, you really do look,” I pause, looking her up and down. “I mean, wow, I don’t think I’ve seen you in anything like this before.” I take a breath. “You look beautiful.”

  She laughs softly, lifting my head up. I didn’t realize I was looking down in the first place. “Nick, are you blushing?”

  I simply nod.

  She lets out a soft laugh. “Why? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush. Well, any guy for that matter.”

  “I know I see you every day, I’m fully aware that you’re,” I pause. “Well, I mean you’re certainly not lacking in any department.” I can feel my cheeks heat up even more than they were before.

  “Oh please,” she says. “I’m short and stout.”

  “Five-foot-seven is a very respectable height,” I tell her. “And, please don’t tell me for one second that you think you’re fat.”

  She shakes her head., “No, but I am short.”

  “More like,” I pause. “Fun sized.”

  She laughs. “You don’t do well with the compliments, huh?”

  “You are very beautiful,” I say, looking at her. “And I admit, sometimes I don’t know how to say something, since I’ve never been able to give someone compliments like you.”

  Her cheeks flush as she moves in to stand on her toes to press her lips to mine., “Thank you.”

  I smile, wrapping my arms around her waist.

  “You should finish getting ready.” She smiles. “If we’re really going to this party.”

  I smile and nod. “We’re really going, even though I wouldn’t oppose keeping you here to myself.”

  She blushes for a moment, pushing herself away. She reaches for a few pieces of jewelry and a pair of brown heels. “Will I be okay doing this?” She asks. “I mean, can I do this?”

  “You know you can do anything,” I tell you. “You’ll be okay, don’t worry.”

  “I’m just scared,” she admits, slipping the first shoe onto her foot.

  “I know,” I say, “and it’s normal to be.”

  “Is it normal to feel like I’m going to have a panic attack?” She asks, sliding into the other shoe.

  “It’s even normal if you do have a panic attack.”

  She takes a deep breath and swallows. “Well, we better go before I change my mind and hide in my closet.”

  I smile and take her hand as she reaches for a white jacket. If anything, having her arms a little covered will ease her mind a little more. She relaxes in the seat after clicking on her seat belt and hands me the piece of paper with the address. It’s a ways upstate, but the drive with Charlie should be nice. She lets out a long breath and pushes a few tufts of hair from her face. Since I ask her more often than not, I fight the urge to question if she’s alright, and, instead, grab for her hand. She happily squeezes mine, and I feel her begin to relax. Maybe being close to me really is her best comfort right now.

  * * * * * *

  I was told that the party was being held in a little house. But, when we finally pull up in front of the “little” house, I’m surprised to see that massive house is a much better description. I’m not surprised, however, to see cars parked everywhere. Some new, some old, some parked perfect, and others parked lop-sided. I find a spot off to the side to pull in my truck, and Charlie takes one last glance at me. “Do I really want to do this?”

  “You did before anything bad happened,” I tell her. “You even bought that top for the occasion.”

  She lets out a comforting breath. “You’re right. I can’t stop living my life. Can I?”

  I shake my head.

  “Well, then,” she says. “Let’s do this.”

  I smile and climb from my seat and meet her just as she opens her door. I take her hand, helping her down, and lock both doors behind us.

  “So, what can I expect at a party like this?” I ask.

  “Anything wild usually goes,” she admits. “I only go for Maggie; she was my first real friend when I moved here. She would do anything for me, and I would do anything for her.”

  We’re not even ten feet from the front door, and I can already hear a loud crowd and the blaring music. Charlie takes a breath as we head up the cobblestone steps to the large red, front door. She glances over at me, and I give her a little nudge as she rings the doorbell.

  Within a few seconds, a guy about Charlie’s age was at the door. “Charlie!” He yells, the beer smell obviously making Charlie feel a little ill.

  “Hi, Derek,” she says. “Maggie here?”

  He nods, taking a gulp from the red plastic cup in his hand. “She’s in the back, been asking about you,” he tells her. “You know she’s been worried.”

  “Thanks,” Charlie says, giving his shoulder a pat as she begins pushing past him, still holding onto my hand as she leads the way through the noisy, college student filled house.

  It’s packed from shoulder-to-shoulder as we both wiggle and dodge our way through, but when a crowd of people realize that Charlie is there, it becomes more overwhelming than she can take. They all quickly embrace her without stopping to think that she may need distance. They begin asking question after question in such a way that Charlie doesn’t know how to cope. She looks flustered and panicked by the time I push my way to her.

  I hold up my hands. “Look, she’s been through a lot, best to give her some space,” I holler above the music as Charlie lets out a sigh of relief. They apologize and she accepts as I reach for her hand. She gives it another tight squeeze in appreciation as she and I begin heading for the back portion of the house. Her cheeks are a tad pink now, and for some reason I do get the feeling that she is dazed with the party. There seems to be a lot more people here than either of us really bargained for. When we both hear a sudden screaming sound, we turn, and I see a blonde girl much shorter than Charlie run up to embrace her I am sure we’ve found Maggie.

  She begins jumping excitedly. “You actually made it,” she says over the music. “I’m so happy you’re doing okay.”

  Charlie nods. “Thank you.”

  She glances at me and back to Charlie. “Who’s the hunky?”

  Charlie smiles. “This is Nick,” she says. “Nick, this is Maggie,” she tells me. “Maggie, this is Nick, my…”

  “Her boyfriend.” I smile, extending my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  Her eyes widen. “Wow, Charlie, I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.” She eyes me up and down for a moment. “I’d say he’s a keeper.”

  Charlie laughs softly. “Thank you.”

  “By the way, Professor Montoya has been wondering when you’ll be back in class,” she says. “He has no one to correct him in class, which means, he has no one to fight with.”

  Charlie laughs again. “Baby steps for me, Mags.”

  She smiles, leaning in to hug Charlie once more. “I know; please call me if you need anything. I miss you, and I worry about you.”

  Charlie nods. “I’m sorry. I know. I should call more.”

  “Yes, you should,” Maggie tells her. “We can talk anytime; you know that.”

  Charlie nods.

  “Help yourself to anything,” she says. “And Charlie, don’t forget you owe me a dance.” She grins. “I’m going to go find Chris.”

  Charlie nods, waving her off.

  I lean next to her ear. “How you doing?”

  She shrugs. “I’m still deciding.”

  The screaming distracts us
as we both turn to see an extremely inebriated young guy run past us completely naked. Charlie rolls her eyes, making a disgusted sound as I begin laughing.

  She looks at me, shaking her head. “I am so sorry.” She laughs. “I told you this wasn’t a good idea.”

  I laugh. “It’s okay,” I tell her. “I kind of figured it would be like this.”

  “Well, we’re here,” she says. “Now what?”

  I glance around and notice the kitchen is the next room over. “C’mere,” I say, taking her hand. “Do you drink beer at all?”

  “Not as much as these people do,” she says. “Just one.” She glances down as she steps over piles of red and blue plastic cups.

  “Same here,” I tell her, heading for the refrigerator and opening the door. I pull out two bottles of beer. “Here, want to find a quiet spot?”

  She nods and glances around. “Please.”

  I smile as we trek back into the rest of the house, finding a flight of stairs. We head up them, and I open the first door to find a couple a tad too comfortable with one another on the bed to have not locked the door. Charlie covers her mouth laughing as I slam the door shut.

  “Well, next room,” I say. “Shall we?” I laugh.

  We find that whoever is occupying the next few rooms was actually smart enough to lock the door. Especially if that had the same plans as the first couple we had found. As we came to the end of the hallway, we swing open the last door, which seems to lead to a guest bedroom. It’s dark and quiet with no one in sight. I have one last look around the corner before leading her inside, where she turns on the dim overhead light.

  I sigh. “You weren’t kidding.”

  She shakes her head. “Told you.” She walks over, having a seat on a large hope chest at the foot of the bed. She takes a few breaths. “I didn’t think I’d actually come here tonight.”

  I crack open the two beers and place their tops in my pocket. “One step at a time,” I tell her, sitting next to her as I hand her a drink. “And, even if you’re not mingling with,” I pause. “Well, what’s downstairs, you’re still out.”

  She nods. “You’re absolutely right. And, as crazy as it is down there,” she tells me, “I’m glad you had me come tonight. If anything, to see Maggie. I’ve really missed her.”

  I take a sip of the beer I’m holding and smile. “See? It’s nice to see friends.”

  “Especially ones like Maggie,” she tells me, bringing the long neck bottle up to her lips.

  For the first time in my life I have a brief moment where I want to be that bottle, if anything to feel her lips again. I snap out of it to smile. “She’s been really good to you,” I say. “Hasn’t she?”

  She nods. “I knew absolutely no one when I got here. She helped me get my apartment and get my first job up here. Even though it wasn’t the most,” she pauses. “Ugh, the nicest job, it paid the rent and bills until the studio picked me up.”

  “Then it’s a good thing you came to see her tonight,” I tell her. “Some friends are worth doing anything for.”

  She nods and smiles. “And, that would be Maggie.” She glances around and makes a rather strange face. “We’re in someone’s house, in their spare bedroom, with two stolen beers from the fridge, and we have no idea who they are.” She laughs.

  “Do you really think they’re going to miss two single beers with that mess down stairs?” I ask.

  She laughs. “You know, I do believe you’ve committed a crime, officer. Isn’t that theft?” She winks.

  “And, that would make you my accomplice,” I tell her.

  “Oh, ouch,” she says. “That truly hurt.” She brings the bottle up to her mouth and has another drink.

  “Stolen beers taste better, don’t they?” I ask, making her laugh so hard she needs to cover her mouth.

  “You’re the one who gave it to me.”

  I laugh softly and move in closer to her. “You know, if there’s one thing I never did at parties,” I say, “It would be this. Apparently as you saw from two doors down, it’s all the rage.”

  She giggles softly. “Until someone pops in.”

  I laugh. “Well, not my fault; there’s locks,” I say. “So, here I am, in this room, alone with a beautiful woman who has completely stolen my heart.” I push her hair back showing off her face. “I should have you arrested.”

  “For drinking stolen beer, or stealing your heart?” She asks.

  “Both.” I smile. “This is okay, right?” I ask, realizing that I am very close to her, and if there is one thing I don’t want to do, it’s make her panic.

  She smiles and leans in closer to me, pressing her lips softly to mine. I take this as it’s perfectly fine, and I bring a hand up to her face. She smells like vanilla, and despite the taste of beer on her mouth, it’s the sweetest kiss I’ve had in a long time. I hear her let out a little sigh as she wraps her arms around me. I repeat her action and feel her body relax as I do. It’s not long before a loud banging at the door makes her jump. She gives me a funny look, but manages to shrug it off. I lean in for another kiss as the loud banging continues. I take a long breath in before sitting my beer down to go answer the knocking. I’m surprised to see the same scruffy kid from her apartment; Jason.

  I turn back to glance at Charlie, who’s dropped her head and is holding her face in her hands. “What do you want, Jason?”

  “Maggie said you came with your boyfriend. Is this guy your boyfriend?” He looks directly at me. “The cop who’s supposed to be guarding you.”

  She nods. “He is. It’s a long story, and one that I’m sure as hell not telling you.”

  “What the hell, Charlie?” He says, taking a few steps toward her.

  I extend my arm across his chest and look down at him. “After hearing about you, you obviously have no right to even look at her, let alone think twice about her,” I tell him.

  “And just what did little-miss-perfect tell you?” He mocks. “If it was that time I slept with Nicole...”

  Charlie looks up. “You slept with Nicole, too?” She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, what does that bring your total to?”

  He looks up at me. “You’re a man,” he begins. “You have to understand from the get go Charlie isn’t exactly the type who just runs and jumps in the sack,” he explains. “And, if you’re not getting it from home you get it from somewhere else.”

  I shake my head. “No, I wouldn’t understand,” I tell him., “If I had her waiting on me at home, I sure as hell wouldn’t be digging up something off the street,” I growl. “And furthermore, I’d be happy to have a woman who respects herself like Charlie does.”

  “You think she respects herself?” Jason laughs. “Guess you never told him about working at Hooters.”

  I turn to see Charlie’s head drop completely. “It was a job. It was just a job. One that Maggie helped me get, so I could have some income, especially after you cleaned me of all my savings!” She yells.

  “Oh yes,” he says. “Boo-hoo about it why don’t you.” He inches toward her to be blocked quickly by me. “I needed the money.”

  “For a prostitute!” She screams. “You told me it was for your grandmother.”

  He looks up at me with a serious face. “Strippers are not prostitutes.”

  At that very moment I want nothing more than to punch him in the face. Would serve him right. For a moment I can feel my fist beginning to tighten as Jason pushes closer. I block him again, this time harder. I’m quite infuriated that he’s even thinking about her after what he’s done to her. I don’t know the kid, but I can honestly say that I don’t like him.

  I hear Charlie sigh, and I turn to see her look up at him. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

  “Because we should fix things.” He smiles wide. “Don’t you believe in second chances?”

  “Sounds like you had one too many second chances,” I snarl. “And it sounds like she’s very much too good for you,” I grumble. “I think you need to get the hell out of her
e.”

  “You’re not exactly tough without your uniform,” he shoots.

  “I don’t need a uniform to kick your ass,” I say roughly.

  Within a split second he is out the door for me to shut and lock it again. I head for the hope chest to sit next to her. She looks up at me, and I can tell tears are straining against her eyes. I push her hair from her face, letting it fall down her back.

  She lets out an awkward laugh. “Hooters.” She licks her lips. “The job Maggie got me when I first got here. I needed a job,” she says. “I just don’t like to admit having a job there to anyone. I mean, guys go there for the wings, right?”

  I smile wide and take her hand in mine. “Guys just go there for the wings,” I tell her.

  “It’s embarrassing.”

  “You needed a job,” I say. “A job is a job. It paid, right?”

  She nods. “But still embarrassing. I’m not really that type of person.”

  I press my finger to her lips. “Shh.”

  “Nick,” she starts.

  I shake my head., “Shh.”

  “But, Nick...” she begins again.

  I laugh and shake my head. “Charlie, just shh. Close your eyes.”

  She hesitates, but finally listens and closes her eyes.

  “Charlie the past is exactly that, it’s in the past,” I tell her softly. “Don’t think about it. Think about you and me. We’re starting something brand new.” I can see her body beginning to relax as I speak. “We’re starting something amazing for us.” I press my lips to her cheekbone and then her eye lids. “Nothing is going to hurt you anymore.” I press my lips to hers, and she immediately loops her arms around me. I pull her close to my body and run my hands down her back. I pull back slowly. “Please don’t let that idiot hurt you.” I cup her face in my hands. “Open your eyes.”

  She opens them slowly and looks right into my eyes. Her bright blue-green eyes no longer fight tears as the dim lighting makes them glimmer from all angles. She smiles wide. “Thank you.”

  “I’m sorry tonight ended up being a dud,” I tell her.