by Marie Wathen
“It’s been eight hours since you left me here. Are you going to tell me why?” Tightly crossing my arms, I wait for her smartass retort. She doesn’t fail me with her smartass comments.
“It looks like you’ve been entertained in my absence so what’s the problem?”
Her eyebrows draw into a tight pinch on her face - a highly unusual move for her. A long silence ensues and we’re both too stubborn to budge. Finally, she gives, breaking the silence and I giggle at her annoyed grunt.
“Oh heck, Breesan, I know better than to push you on this issue - with Marcus or anything for that matter. I know you won’t talk about this now but let me just say I’m glad you’re with him. Marcus is a good guy. He’s perfect for you - you’re perfect for each other. Secretly I was really hoping that you would pick him. I pushed Morgan on you because he wasn’t your type, at all, making him safe in the non-boyfriend way. There’s no way to tame that player and you need someone who isn’t so experienced. But I think Morgan will be a good friend for you and whether you like it or not, you need friends in life Breesan.”
Pausing, she laughs while pressing lips together. She sighs, “Mygod you are the most stubborn person I’ve ever known. Honestly, you and Marcus are so well matched I actually thought it was never going to happen because neither of you would budge.” She shakes her head dramatically. “If you want to talk about it, please promise you’ll come to me. You don’t need to do this alone, I’m here for you and I always will be.”
Tears burning the back of my lids, threatens to expose my sensitivity to her words. Needing a shoulder at the moment would be helpful, but for now I must face this alone. I catch my breath, nod and notice her advance tentatively, like she wants a hug. She stops short, instinctively knowing that I’ll react by stepping away. Continuing to take deep, meditating breaths, I get through the overwhelming urge to cry.
“I don’t think tonight is the best time to talk about it anyway so can I get a rain check?” I say hopeful.
She’s not stupid and she knows very well that my delays usually end with that being the final word on the subject. But I have a feeling she’s not letting this one go. Stepping away from me, her mood becomes radiant instantly.
“We’ll do it your way. Besides, we have other stuff to do, but are you sure you’re okay with everything that happened here - whatever that may be?” Nodding slightly, I refuse to give in to her new approach on gaining information. “Fine.” She smirks taking my hand she leads me to the door.
“Hey, slow down. Where’s the fire?” I shout.
Opening the door she reveals a very sexy man standing across the hall. He rests his back against the wall, one leg bent with his foot on the wall, and his hands are shoved deep in his pockets. The tension rolling off his body in heavy waves fade the moment his eyes scan over me, confirming that I’m fine. I stand there in silence until Anna’s laughter startles me and he moves in, pulling me close to his body. He’s cashing in on his payment for waiting. Lifting my face to him, I watch one corner of his mouth twitch in amusement. I look sideways at him, uncertain of what could ignite his humor.
“She didn’t have time to spade you so I guess you two worked things out,” he jokes.
“I would never!” Anna shrieks, causing us to laugh heartily.
“No, we’re good.” Looking back, I see Anna smiling and wildly agreeing with my observation. “I think someone mentioned a party outside. Shouldn’t we get back out there?” I laugh but before I can walk through the door leading out to the backyard, Anna stops me.
“Wait, I want to give your gift to you inside away from everyone.” Reaching under the bar adjacent to the dining area, she pulls out a package. I flash a look of annoyance at her. Clearly she’s disregarding my specific request for no gifts this year.
“Before you start in on me about not giving you a present I need to say something. This is the first year I’ve gotten to celebrate your birthday with you. You can’t deny me this one thing.”
I’m not surprised but with the mention of my birthday I suddenly can’t look at Marcus. I’m not sure how I feel about him knowing it’s my birthday today. Anna’s given me presents for every birthday, but she’s correct about this being the first one we’ve spent together since I was five. Needing a second to breathe, I nod my head and glance down at the packages. It’s obviously important that I accept these without argument.
Going against my gut feeling to refuse, I pick the smaller package up, but she quickly takes it back, swapping it for the larger one. Taking a few seconds to get the bow that’s twisted around it off, I successful untie it and toss it at her. She giggles then bites on the skin beside her thumbnail. This is Anna’s biggest telltale sign when she’s nervous. My reaction and acceptance of her gift is important to her.
Sliding my fingernail along the edge, I carefully cut through the tape and slowly lift up an edge of the paper. With the first panel of paper pulled back, I see it’s a leather bound book. Removing the remainder of the paper I flip the book over. I look up at Anna and I’m shocked into silence when I notice the streams of tears racing down her pink cheeks.
“It’s for this summer.” Sniffing, she clears her throat and averts her eyes while shaking her head. “Um, you don’t have one picture of us.” Now struggling against the emotions thick in her voice, she swallows several times, picks at an invisible string on her dress, and stutters through the explanation. “There’s not one framed photograph of you in your house.” Her chin quivers and she manically swipes both cheeks at the relentless tears.
Feeling like a vice is cinched tightly around my heart, squeezing so hard that I might pass out; I struggle to keep my shit together. While releasing a loud ragged breath, I feel the tears slip from my closed eyes. She pulls the album from my hands and places it on the bar. Reaching a hand toward me, she expects to comfort me, but I’m still too frightened to give in so I just stare at it. Long, slender fingers stretch out in expectation until I finally accept them. Staring at the unfamiliar connection, I sniff back the onslaught of pain as she laces her fingers through mine and squeezes. I look up to face her just as the words roll out of her mouth.
“I love you,” she professes. Melancholy tear-soaked, brown eyes bore into mine.
What was an impenetrable barrier mere weeks ago recently began cracking, but now here I stand watching as an implosion turns thirteen years of gut wrenching, emotional labor from a crackle to a crumble. Uncertain how it happened, but fully aware that my perfectly crafted and solid wall, that I’ve desperately depended on as my only true friend for so many years, just fell to my feet in a sprinkling of ash; there’s nothing left.
Having no protection from the assault of emotions, I am bombarded and rocked as she replaces holding my hand with an encompassing hug, and I reciprocate eagerly. We’ve never had this form of contact in the past. She respects the boundaries I’ve forced on her until now. She trembles along with me in the most beautifully expressed form of love I’ve ever experienced. A wordless exchange passes between us in this brief moment in time, though it feels like a lifetime to me.
Stepping out of our embrace, I catch the tears dripping off my chin with the back of my hand. I offer a weak smile and mouth the words “thank you” to her. Her smile is a genuine brilliance, one that I’ve never witnessed so bright before on her beautiful face; my acceptance pleases her. Doing what no one has even tried to do before our surface friendship is a now full-blown consumption of my heart.
I’m still feeling the heaviness of our exchange, but like a switch, she flips her somber attitude to a contagious laugh.
“Seriously girl, how do you not have one silly duck-lip or over dramatic pose on your cell?” Reaching down, she squeezes my forearm, gaining my attention again. “Breesan, really I want you to fill it before we leave for school. I have a matching one at home and I plan on practically assaulting you with the flash on my camera at every opportunity. At the end of summer our memories will be captured and bound together for us to pull
out when the distance between us becomes too much.”
“Tristan told me today that there are a few changes to your plans. He said you want to tell me what’s changed.” Watching her face shift, I see a sadness I’ve never seen before. Glancing from me to her hands, she bites on the inside of her cheek.
“I have some exciting news. Tristan and I are working out how we’ll deal with everything later, but I’m moving to Paris in September.”
An unusual sadness moves in, chilling me to the bone and I freeze. This is not what I expected. Knowing she would leave me and go to California for school, I had accepted it, but I was never prepared for her moving to another country. Searching her face, I see how happy she is about her plans.
“I’ll stay with my aunt and intern at one of the top fashion houses in France. It’s what I have been dreaming of all of my life and it’s really going to happen.”
She beams with joy and excitement of her future. I’m happy for her, because I know it is something she’s wanted since we were children. Every spring break she stays in Paris with her aunt and when she returns home she talks for weeks about what fashion show she attended and what famous designer she met.
“That is amazing news Anna. I’m really happy for you. So, it really is okay with you being away from Tristan for so long and so far apart?” I’m concerned for both of them because they’ve always had each other and I’m not sure how well this will turn out. Something tells me it could be bad.
“Of course we have reservations about the separation, but he’s happy for me. And I’m so freaking happy that he’s going to school with you. That is the best part of all of the new changes. You won’t be alone,” she states happily.
“Okay, but you’ve been together practically a lifetime and I just don’t want anything to come between you.” Looking into her eyes, I wait for her to reassure me once again that this is best for everyone.
“We love each other and nothing will ever change that fact. Even if I’m on the other side of the world Tristan will be the love of my life. And I think he’s kind of crazy about me too.” Winking at me, she means every bit of it and I nod knowing it’s true.
“Here.” She hands me the other gift.
This time I don’t give it the nice handling that I did on the previous wrapping. Shredding the paper, I see a box with a picture of a camera on the side. Lifting my eyes back to see her face she displays confidence. She’s not guilty about spending an insane amount of money on this gift. Trying to downplay the magnitude and importance these items offer, she begins clearing away the mess of paper and bows.
“Thank you Anna. It means so much that you did this for me.”
Popping open the box, I slide out the expensive black and silver, top of the line digital camera. I let out an exasperated breath and rather than getting upset, I let it go. Flipping off the lens cap, I swiftly power it up. I snap two quick Anna pictures: one extremely close duck lips shot, and the other, her hand resting on her forehead eyes cast upward displaying her perfected over-dramatic pose. Scanning back through the shots, we laugh together. In a maneuver I wasn’t prepared for, she twists the camera out of my hands and with her free hand she waves, indicating she wants me to move close to Marcus.
Marcus.
Still standing behind me, he remained silent through our emotional meltdown and I hadn’t been brave enough to look at him. Until she waved me toward him, I had hoped he would feel weird about our moment and decide to leave us; not a chance. In fact, he was the sole witness to an event never before experienced. At the commanding flip of her wrist, he moves close behind me, wrapping both of his arms through mine and securing them by locking his fingers at my waist. I gasp in a quick breath at the comfort his arms offer.
“I don’t mind watching all the sweetness between you two, but this is not going to lead to a naughty photo shoot Marcus.” Joking she winks at him, causing my cheeks to burn hot.
After snapping a few shots, she flips through the pictures and I smile seeing her so happy. Marcus’ face lowers next to mine. Turning, my cheek brushes his and I feel the familiar zapping run along my sensitive skin. He feels it too, but thankfully chooses not to acknowledge it in Anna’s presence. He does, however, place a soft kiss on the point of contact then nuzzles my neck. Sighing, I have no control over my own damn body anymore when he touches me.
Sliding his nose up and down my neck, he causes gooseflesh to rush all over my body. Heavy pounding in my ears alert me that I’m getting aroused, and that’s not acceptable in front of anyone, but especially not in front of Anna. Pulling away, my uneasiness elicits a deep laugh from him. I lightly shove him on the arm but give in and laugh along with him. Grabbing me he roughly, pulls me back against him.
“I wish I would have known it was your birthday baby. Happy birthday,” he whispers near my cheek. “I hope the gift I gave you earlier will be enough for you until I can give you the real present later.” He winks seductively. Jerking my head around, I see Anna’s mouth hanging open and she is literally, for the first time in all the years I’ve known her, speechless.
“He’s kidding!” I shrill, but catatonic Anna doesn’t even flinch. “Dammit, look at what you did to her.”
Pointing to her, I elbow his arm. He roars with laughter causing her to finally regain consciousness. An uncontrollable laugh possesses me for the next solid minute as she moves her head looking between us completely dumbfounded, expecting an explanation. I slide the empty camera box and photo album across the bar against the wall and out of the way. Alert once again, she yanks me by the hand and starts out the back door, where the party is definitely louder than before I left Morgan.
Dammit. I need to find Morgan. He’ll see me with Marcus and know that we are …together. I really want to be the one to tell him, it’s only fair.
“OK you two. Follow me to the DJ booth.”
She barks out orders as we get separated from the large mass of bouncing bodies gyrating to the techno rhythms. Holding hands lightly as we work through the crowd, my hand is suddenly ripped from him. Startled I come face to face with a tall exotic woman who smiles momentarily. Staring curiously between me and Marcus, she quickly continues on past us.
Grabbing me quickly, Marcus hold is now a death grip pulling me along, until he suddenly stops. Turning around to face me, he steps within millimeters looking down at me with smoldering emerald eyes. He is a big man towering over my petite frame by nearly a foot. There absolutely cannot be a sexier man in existence.
His short, dark brown hair is velvety soft to the touch. Lifting my hand, I force my fingers in it, aggressively gripping the strands. Feeling my desire heat up, my face betrays me as the color darkens to the deepest shade possible. He groans deep in his chest at my fierce strength. Or is it because of my embarrassment?
“Mygod when your skin turns that red I want to place my lips right here.” Laying his palm down on my chest, he rubs his thumb in the dip at the front of my neck and stares completely entranced. Turning his hand over, he so achingly slow drags the back of his fingers across the tops of my breast then down my arm. In his travels, he lightly brushes against the edge of my breast and the sensation completely rocks me.
Shuddering, I lean into him. He pulls me to him with his free hand while the other continues to travel down the side of my body. Both hands land hard on my ass, forcing my hip into his. Now I can feel his hardness press into my stomach. We sway to the gyrating beats. Our demanding contact seals two severely frustrated bodies together.
“Oh fuck baby.” Groaning low, he squeezes my ass harder.
His words and movement forces a rather loud and raspy “Yes” from me.
Noticing how dry my mouth is from the excitement I lick my lips, an obvious invitation for him to follow suit. Lightly licking my top lip, he tenderly slides along the edge to the bottom then he gently grabs it between his teeth and growls playfully. He smiles, still holding my lip prisoner. Apparently, I need to refrain from that gesture when he’s around, at least
while we’re in public. These copycat moves could get embarrassing. Looking deep into my eyes, he begins moving our bodies again. Lowering his face down, he places warm, wet lips on my shoulder then kisses upwards to my ear. He breaks through the intensity of our moment with a hardy laugh.
“Damn girl you make me want to be naughty. I seriously want to grab the closest person to us and tell them about the pen-pit in the bottom of your purse, just so you’ll punish me with those bad things you threatened that night in my truck.” He sears me with a wicked grin and hooded eyes.
Even though he’s playfully using the private story I told him the night of the big storms to try and break the tension between us, it’s not helping me at all. I want him, but then again, when do I not want him? Grinning down smugly at me, he strokes his nose lightly over mine. Apparently this is his favorite display of affection. I must admit, I think I love it.
Love?
Chapter 23
Marcus
(Graduation Party, present time)
“There’s Tristan by the DJ booth. As much as I’d rather stay right here and hold you all night like this we should go over.” She groans in protest. I kiss the tip of her pouting bottom lip and she smiles. “Come on, before Anna stalks back over here and tosses you over her shoulder.” Laughing together we know that is exactly something Anna would do if she could. Taking my hand, Breesan nods and we walk over to join them.
Walking up, we see Tristan, Anna, and a few other people huddled around the DJ booth. Tristan’s laughter carries loudly across the backyard indicating he’s over the shit with his dad from earlier. Glad he’s not letting Beck’s selfishness ruin their party, I slap him on the shoulder and he nods, signifying that all is well.