by Lucy Ivey
I sat with Gray at lunch. I asked her about the girl, but she didn’t know much.
“I didn’t know her. She was a few years older. Hot. Total snob. But it was still kinda sad.”
Her cold response pissed me off. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”
She shrugged her shoulders, unconcerned about her response or mine. She was too busy looking around for Joe.
“Why are they here today?” I asked, thinking she might know more than I did. “I mean, why a few weeks after she died are they just now coming here?”
“They’ve been here off and on since she died,” she said still looking around. “Who knows about reporters. They’re fucking weird. Invasive. They lie about a lot of shit, too.”
I turned my head in time to see Bill walking across the room toward the elevators. He had determination in his step. Worry in his eyes. He was being followed by a plump little sheriff who was struggling to keep up with his rapid pace and several other police officers and men in thousand-dollar suits. Watching him disappear behind the golden elevator doors, I felt sorry for Bill knowing he had to deal with this time and time again.
“Oh, hey! You have to mention the movie tonight as soon as he sits down.” I sighed and took a sip of my coffee when she squealed quietly, “Okay, here he comes! As soon as he sits down! Okay?”
“What? Where is he?” I turned my head from side to side quickly in search of him. I wish I hadn’t. The smirk on his face explained he expected it from me. I hoped he would walk past us to another table. He didn’t.
“Hey, Joe!” she said scooting over to give him room to sit beside her.
He acknowledged her greeting with a quick, uninterested upward nod before his cool eyes settled on me.
Asshole.
He appreciated my thought.
I rolled my eyes and inhaled deeply, looking away. Why did he have such a hold on me? I couldn’t look back at him. It would give him even more pleasure.
Smug asshole.
Thankfully, Justin was walking toward the table. I motioned for him to come to our table and looked at Joe with my own cool stare. His coy grin spread. Gray didn’t notice. She was too busy staring at me with wide eyes—my cue to mention the movies.
When Justin sat down, he kissed my cheek. He greeted his brother. Joe nodded the way he had with Gray and continued eating his chili.
“How’s your day going?” Justin asked. I told him good. “And yours, Gray?”
“Good,” she replied quickly. Unable to wait any longer, she brought up the movie. “So are you guys going?”
“Going where?” Joe asked without looking at her.
“To the movie tonight. Didn’t Karley mention it to you?”
What the hell? She knew I hadn’t. I glared at her with wide eyes. She gave me a “just play along with me” pleading stare. I did.
“No, not yet,” I whispered.
Justin was staring at me when he asked his question.
“Who’s all going?”
I didn’t know if it was for me or her. Thankfully, she answered.
“Um, the usual. Me, Beth, Jess, Paul, Ryan.”
When she mentioned Ryan, Justin raised his brow at me.
“Well, do you guys wanna go?” She was oblivious to the look both boys were giving me. “It’s a few people from work. We’re gonna go see the new thriller that just came out.”
Joe wasn’t interested in why I hadn’t mentioned it to him. He probably already knew the reason. Justin continued to look at me. He was upset.
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
His voice was cold.
“Are you kidding me?” She could barely contain her excitement. “We want you to come with us.”
“Do you, Karley?” he asked apathetically.
“Of course I do.”
I reached for his arm but he pulled it away.
“And I want you to go.” She was looking at Joe. He was still looking at me. What she wanted didn’t matter to him. The fact that I didn’t want him to go did.
His demeanor toward her changed suddenly, as it had with the girls at the bar that night. He immediately became interested in her invitation.
“All right,” he said giving a smile that almost seemed calculated, “since you want me to go, I’ll go. But only if it’s okay with Karley.”
Total asshole.
“I don’t care if you go, Joe.” My emotions swirled from Justin’s stare. “You’re gonna go, too, Justin, aren’t you?”
He avoided my question as he gathered the garbage on his tray and stood up.
“What time?”
This time it was obvious he was talking to her and not me.
“Seven.” A smile exploded across her flawless freckled face. “Karley knows all the details.”
He walked away without saying another word to anyone. She followed him to the garbage can before waving good-bye and skipping around the corner. The smell of jasmine lingered in the air after she left.
Joe was still sitting across the table, staring at me.
“What?”
His eyes were slightly narrowed and it looked like he wanted to say something, something to upset me or piss me off, no doubt. I didn’t give him the opportunity to get close to me again.
“Whatever, Joe.”
I stood up and he grabbed my hand.
“Karley, if you don’t want me to go I won’t.”
The smile on his face was thirsting for me to tell him I wanted him to go. It was so hard to tell if he was being truthful or calculating his next move. He was still holding my hand when I sat back down at the table and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Oh, come on Joe,” I whispered narrowing my eyes in the sarcastic way he was doing. “We both know if you don’t go, Justin won’t go, and I really want Justin to go. So yes, you can tag along.”
His pursed lips curled up immediately placing a perfectly satisfied smile on his face.
He enjoyed my sarcasm.
“Still going to act like it’s all about Justin?”
“It is.”
He said nothing. Our eyes held. He wouldn’t break our stare. It would be my move to make. I jerked my hand away and refused to look back at him as I walked away.
Throughout the day, Justin and Joe would come in from the cold for a hot chocolate or a coffee. The instructors were allotted more breaks than the inside employees due to the freezing temperatures outside. Each time Justin came in, he would come over to my register and order his drink. Every time, Sarah would flirt with him.
I tried to act like it didn’t bother me when he would talk to her with the smile on his face that he gave to me. I wondered if he was trying to make me jealous or if it was something I was doing to myself. Whatever the reason, after the third time I’d had enough.
“Here, Sarah,” I said stepping back from my register. “Why don’t you take his order? That way the two of you can talk without any interruption.”
Exiting the concession stand, I ignored his stare. He called out my name but I ignored that too and continued walking.
I hurried to the bathroom and shut the door to the sound of his voice following me, continuing to call out my name.
“I’m not going to let you go, Karley, so I’ll be here whenever you come out,” he said from the other side of the bathroom door.
Several women walked in and out of the bathroom as they stared at me before using the restroom, while they washed their hands, and before they left.
A few minutes later, I heard the door open again and I tried hiding my face as I bent forward over the sink until whoever it was entered her stall. The person stood beside me. And when I raised my head, my eyes met his.
“Get out of here!” I said, straightening up and looking around, hoping no one else was in here.
“No one else is here.” He was good at making sure we were alone. “Karley, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Yes, you did.” My eyes were red and my voice trembling. I did
n’t care. “You were letting her flirt with you right in front of me and you knew it bothered me.”
“I was being nice.”
“Justin, give me a break! Every time you came up she was flirting with you. Just admit it. You liked it. I mean she’s prettier, she’s your age, and I’m sure the two of you have been flirting every season long before I came into the picture, so don’t let me stop you!”
“Karley, you’re being silly.”
The small grin on his face pissed me off even more.
“Silly? Do you think I’m like fucking twelve years old? I know what flirting is, Justin … I’ve been doing it for a long time. And she was flirting with you and you fucking liked it!”
He crossed his arms and tensed his body as he stood next to me.
“Well, why didn’t you tell me about the movie tonight?”
So, he was pissed about the movie.
“I was going to, Justin, but I completely forgot!”
“How could you forget?” he asked, now the one looking in disbelief. “Is it because Ryan is going? Is that why you forgot to ask me to go?”
“What?” Ryan? I was angry at his insinuation. “No. I forgot to ask you because I had other things on my mind this morning.”
“Like what?”
We both turned to see the door shaking from someone trying to get in from the other side. Justin stepped over to the door, unlocked it, and opened it quickly.
“Fuck off!” he yelled to the person on the other side before slamming the door closed and locking it again. I’d never seen him this angry. As far as he was concerned, whoever was outside the door wasn’t important.
“Like what?” he repeated as if the interruption never occurred, crossing his arms over his chest again.
The knocking continued.
He ignored it. I tried.
“Like us. Last night! Justin, last night was really important to me, a lot more important than going to the stupid movies with some friends.”
The anger in his eyes disappeared. He uncrossed his arms and relaxed his body. “Karley, you know it was special to me, too.” He looked down at the floor as he spoke. “I guess I thought you didn’t think that much about it since you waited to the last minute to come down this morning. Then you rushed out of the truck when we got here and didn’t even mention the movie thing tonight.”
“Justin,” I said putting my face below his and looking in his eyes, “I was really nervous this morning. I told you! I’ve never done that before, and this morning Joe was in the truck and then all those reporters were here. I just forgot.”
“Karley, don’t you think I’m the good guy?”
Why would he say that?
I already knew he was a good guy.
An argument between us wouldn’t change my mind.
“Yes! I know you’re a good guy, Justin. It’s the situation and not knowing you for very long and sneaking around with our parents in the house and here at work where every girl that sees you is … fucking … in love with you instantly! It’s just a lot to take in!”
“All right already! Open the door!”
Whoever was on the other side of the door was still waiting and wanting to interrupt us. Rage lit his irises to a blazing blue as he looked over at the door. I looked away to avoid crying again.
“There’s only one girl I care about … you!” He placed his hand under my chin turning my face toward him. “I don’t care about any other girl or what they think about me. I only care what you think about me.”
I looked into his eyes and couldn’t help but smile from the way he was looking at me with total truth, total honesty, and total commitment.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered reaching up to kiss his lips. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say you’re sorry, Karley,” he whispered back. The corner of his mouth turned up as he bent forward and began kissing me. He lifted my body and sat me on the counter near the sinks. His hands were wrestling through my hair as he gently grabbed a handful and tilted my head back. His lips began kissing my neck and I could feel the warmth of his breath against my skin.
The person on the other side was still knocking—practically banging—trying to get inside the bathroom. I nervously hopped down off the counter.
“Justin,” I said quietly. “We have to go.”
His eyes still glazed over and he turned my body around so I was facing the mirrors. He pushed my hair away from the back of my neck and pushed his body up against mine as my hands touched the mirror to steady myself. He traced his lips on the back of my neck while he wrapped one of his hands around the front of it. Pushing his body against mine, he slid his other hand down the front of my jeans.
I closed my eyes and gave into the painful entering touch of his fingers. I didn’t want him to stop, but the door shaking in the background reminded me we couldn’t do this here.
“Justin,” I whispered. “We can’t. Not here.”
“Ssshh,” he whispered without stopping. He locked his stare on mine in the reflection of the mirror. “I want you so bad right now.”
Determination filled his eyes. Excitement filled my body as he continued touching me. All I had to do was give in to the feeling. I couldn’t.
“Justin, please.”
He didn’t stop.
“Justin.”
I pushed his hand from me and struggled to balance myself as I quickly turned around to face him.
“I don’t know how much longer I can wait for you.” He was breathless running his hands through his thick hair. The look on his face was filled with frustration.
“Well, we can’t here.”
“Why?”
Was he serious?
“Because we’ll get caught!”
“I’ll never get caught.”
I laughed at his presumptuous thought as I tucked my shirt back into my jeans.
“Yes, you will. And I will. And we’ll both get fired!”
He put his hands behind his neck and bent forward desperately trying to compose his breathing before standing back up. It was a struggle for him. The waiting. For me, too. But I couldn’t. Not here. Not now.
“Later.” I giggled straightening my apron. “I promise.”
He took one more deep breath in before taking my hand and leading me to the door. The knocking had stopped and I hoped whoever had been outside knocking was gone.
She wasn’t.
He led me past her as if she meant nothing to him.
The hurt in Sarah’s eyes revealed she had meant something to him at one time.
When we met up with everyone at the movie, Justin and I walked up holding hands. The wide-eyed stares and open mouths revealed that it came as a surprise to everyone. Justin held my hand tighter the closer we got to them. Everyone was surprised. Shocked.
The heat rushed to my cheeks and a smile exploded across my face until my eyes met Ryan’s. Seeing the confusion in his stare followed by the disappointment erased all of my happiness. I didn’t want him to find out this way. Hurting him was the last thing I’d wanted to do. He turned and pulled one of the double doors open and walked inside. I wanted to follow him and explain, maybe even apologize, but I was distracted by the bright-orange hair racing toward us.
Gray was waving her long thin arms wildly. Her huge blinding smile stretched across her blushing face.
“I already bought your tickets because you’re late. But it’s okay.” Taking her eyes off Joe would be nearly impossible for her tonight. He was wearing dark jeans and another form-fitting sweater. Green was definitely his color. The smell floating off him was an aphrodisiacal aroma. It had been a challenge for me to stop closing my eyes with each provocative breath I inhaled riding next to him in the truck.
“Sorry,” I said taking the tickets in my hand.
“No worries.” She giggled grabbing Joe’s hand. “Come on.”
He didn’t resist her pull and followed beside her as she held his hand walking into the movie theater.
Inside
the theater two guys from the resort were sitting on opposite ends of a row, saving seats for the rest of us. I knew our group would take up the entire row. I wasn’t sure where Joe would end up but I assumed it would be near Gray. She would have planned it that way. And as my unfortunate luck would have it, I sat in the seat between Ryan and Justin.
Ryan gave me a fragile smile as I sat down. I began to introduce the two of them but he stopped me.
“We’ve actually met several times, and we hung out last year at the resort. After hours.”
Justin confirmed with a simple nod before leaning back into his seat.
I didn’t know they knew each other. The day Justin got home for Christmas break he acted like he’d never seen Ryan before. Immediately, I began to wonder why Justin hadn’t mentioned it. I turned to him, hoping he would give me an explanation. Instead, he took a long drink of soda with his eyes focused ahead on the screen.
Two seats to his left, Sarah’s eyes starved for his attention. He pretended not to notice and didn’t feed her hungry stare. When her eyes met mine, she immediately looked away.
The movie was absolutely terrifying. At one point, I’d had enough of the blood and the guts. I lied and told Justin I had to go to the bathroom.
“You’re gonna miss the best part,” he said as I got up.
“What? When he kills another girl?”
“Yeah!” He laughed. “She doesn’t even see it coming.”
I rolled my eyes to his quiet laughter, walking past him and the others. Once I was out in the lobby I walked around checking out posters of the coming attractions and the movies that were now showing until I heard a familiar voice behind me.
“Not your type of movie?”
Ryan had his hands in his coat pockets.
“Not really,” I confessed walking up to him. “I’m more of a romantic comedy–type girl.”
A playful smile stretched across his handsome face.
“Do you wanna sneak into another movie with me?” He pointed over his shoulder and tilted his head in the direction of the features showing in the opposite hallway. “I think one of those just started in number two.”
“It’s tempting but I think everyone would wonder where we went.”
“Well, I know someone that would wonder where you went.”