by Zrinka Jelic
She scraped her unfinished dinner in the garbage under the sink. “Then tell me what’s going on. So I know what we’re dealing with here. It’s your rule after all. Never leave issues to fester.”
He rubbed his eyebrow. Something he did when bothered. “Okay, but please don’t get upset.”
“Jeez, now that you put it that way...” Coldness gathered around her heart with his words. She needed to try to stay composed. Maybe she should sit down for this. Great idea, she returned to her chair.
“Brook’s wants me back.” The kitchen chair scraped the floor under him as he turned to face her. “Her reason for it is insincere.”
“What? When did you see her?” Neri swallowed a fast forming lump in her throat, but it took uncomfortable residence in the pit of her stomach. He’d stepped out to meet his ex and getting the mail was just a pretense.
She never saw Brook, not even in a picture, but she could bet the woman must’ve looked gorgeous, and someone she could never compete with. What insincere reason could Brook have for wanting to get back together with Mark? Did she even want to know? Better not. She’d bet Brook found out he dated a woman she wouldn’t approve of and sought him out. Exes had come out of the woodwork in the past once their men showed interest in her. Her cousin Sandi had started going out with a guy she couldn’t spare a glance at until she found out Neri liked him. Truth was, the boy liked her first, until Sandi showed up at the family summer home and shoved her tits under his nose. Was it any wonder he when he dropped Neri like a hot potato? Her first disappointment, and one she would never forget. Ever since, her whole love life had been one bummer after the other. That was also the first time grandma berated Sandi for going out with a boy beneath her. Yes, Sandi was grandma’s princess who could do no wrong, yet Sandi couldn’t have bothered to attend grandma’s funeral.
“I dealt with her. She understood I moved on and she and I are no more.” He reached across the table and took Neri’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m yours and no one else’s.”
“Are you sure?”
His firm nod didn’t convince her. How could she not worry? Was he not happy with her? Not like him to stay with someone who brought him no joy. She forced a smile and ignored the panic brewing in the pit of her stomach. He said he’s only mine. Silly goose, you fell for the same line before. He might’ve said the same to a ton of girls. No, he didn’t strike her as a player, though someone played them. She would bet Ashley had a lot to do with it. The vile girl put up his ex to pretend she wanted to get back together with him only to split him with Neri. His thumb brushed over her knuckles and snapped her out of her musing. She locked glances with his. Those blue orbs mesmerized her. How lucky she was to have him, if only for a while. “What can I do to put a spark back in our night?”
“Is that your new violin you talked about? Play it for me. I’d love to listen to you.”
A smile tugged on her lips and butterflies rose in her stomach. Why would his request make her nervous? A soft whine and scratch drew both of their attention to poor Tag behind the glass door.
Neri’s heart broke. “Can I let him in? He looks so miserable.” She was already sliding the door open before Mark could say anything.
Tag took a beeline straight for his owner.
Mark patted his pet’s head and neck. “I’m sorry, bud, I’m so sorry. I lost my cool with you.” He pressed his forehead to the dog’s face and kissed him. “Forgive me?”
Neri stood there, observing the scene before her. The man and his dog shared a special bond. It made her feel fuzzy knowing Mark wasn’t the type to stay angry for long.
“Come love, join us in this forgive and forget moment.” Mark extended his arm to her.
She took it and he pulled her to sit on his leg, wrapping her with his free hand. Her arms instantly flew to his shoulders and she embraced him in a hug, with Tag squeezing in through the loop under her elbow.
“We smoothed this awkward moment, right?” Mark tickled her side, making her giggle and squirm. “No hard feelings?”
“None,” she whispered, pressing her forehead to his.
“You’re a part of me. I would never let you go for a hundred Brook’s. You and Tag are my family.” He cupped her cheek and lowered his lips on hers. “And hopefully someday, we’ll get blessed with more members.”
Ah, and there it was, his not so subtle hint for a baby. He was turning forty this year and time likely pressed upon him to become a dad. Perhaps he was one of those guys that always wanted to be a dad and watched his buddies getting married and having their kids, yet there he was stuck with a woman who wouldn’t give him what he craved. He could be making the same mistake with her. Time wasn’t on her side either. According to her mother and aunt, her eggs were expiring at an accelerated rate. Those two always made her feel like some human chicken.
Perhaps playing violin would take his mind off the expanding his family subject. Though both made her equally nervous, music would calm her down after a few notes. “Let me get set up for your concert.”
“By all means.” He released her from his hug, the warmth of his body leaving her. “Can I help?”
“You just get comfortable while I get my instrument.” She pointed toward the big sectional couch in the adjacent TV room where he’d made love to her for the first time. The sight of that sofa would forever send heat to her core.
By the time she returned, Mark already lounged propped with cushions.
“You look like you need a big bucket of popcorn.”
“M-m-m popcorn with extra butter melted over it.” He jumped off the couch. “I’ll pop a bag in the microwave. That’s the best I can do now, but all I have is a box of plain, flavorless.” His nose scrounged. “Not even salted.”
“Oh boy, living on the edge I see. Is that the extent of your indulgence?”
“I indulged earlier today, didn’t I?”A smug smile reached his narrowing eyes.
“Yes, best kind of splurging, that burns those pesky calories.” Her cheeks heated. She’d better steer clear of this convo or she’d be in for a different kind of performance. Not that she would mind it one bit. “We can always salt it and melt some butter over it. Let’s be bad, tonight calories don’t count.” Right, they’d go straight to her hips, but what the heck, she barely ate any dinner.
While the corn popped in the microwave, she did a few warmup practices. Mark returned, hugging a blue bowl and shoved a handful of popcorns in his mouth. “Like what I heard so far. Got more?”
“Lot’s more.” She scanned over the list of songs her cousin had sent and picked Counting Stars by One Republic. The tune had the most of the solo violin parts. Several long breaths failed to calm her down. Okay, she could do this. With shaky hands, she put the bow to the strings and produced a screechy sound that ripped her ears. Damnit, a beginner’s mistake. “Oops, sorry, let me try this again.”
“It’s only me, no need to be nervous.” Mark didn’t seem to notice the first few flat notes on her second trial, but she did.
Soon after the song’s intro, the music took her to another dimension and she knew she would start making faces people had told her she always did. It was an effort to keep the forced smile on, so she trained her gaze on him tapping his foot on the floor in rhythm with her playing. Still, she felt her eyebrows moving closer together with her concentration.
Focus on the melody. As soon as she completed her first song, she picked up with another, Demons by Imagine Dragons this time, not giving him time to clap or comment on her playing. The soft tempo had her sway and she forgot about her one member audience, if she didn’t count Tag.
The dog lay on the floor, his front paws crossed and his head cocked from side to side. By the middle of the song, he emitted a long and deep rumble from his throat, followed by equally long howl.
She had to stop as she burst out in a laughter.
“Oh, I forgot to mention he loves to sing.” A sheepish smile lit Mark’s face, and he scratched behind his ear, turning
to Tag. “Tag, no, quiet.”
“I need to take a break anyway.” She massaged fingertips of her left hand still sore from today’s unexpected performance. The nervousness had her pressing on the strings harder than she needed to and her calloused fingertips ached.
“Would you guys be okay to practice this weekend at my place? I’ve already invited a few buddies,” Mark called from the kitchen.
She hadn’t seen him leave as she cased her violin. “We better, if we’re to entertain ladies at your mom’s charity fundraising tea party.”
He returned with a plateful of the Chinese food, making her stomach growl. “Great. Many would want to book you for their parties, and they don’t mind paying. Just name the price.”
“You’re making me hungry.” She reached for a broccoli piece he pushed to the edge of his plate. Good to know someone was willing to pay. Everyone seemed to assume she’d play for free for their charity and fundraising events. While she understood the cause behind it, she also incurred out of pocket expenses to put up a good show, and organizers seemed appalled that she’d ask for reimbursement. So she’d stopped putting herself into a financial hole to please others.
Damn, that piece of vegetable only wetted her appetite, but she didn’t want to eat a full meal. Oh yeah, she brought a platter of fruit. “I’m getting a dessert. Want some?”
He stopped his fork loaded with Chinese noodles half way to his gaping mouth. “I was gonna give it to you, later, in bed. Wear your heels.”
His last words came out on a growl and stirred butterflies on her stomach. Oh, heck, yes, she’d wear those shoes to bed just for him. “Oh, that dessert.” So, the word had become a synonym for sex. It might be fun talking about it in front of the clueless others. “No, I put some fruit in the fridge.”
“I’m good with this.” He shoved his fork into the food on the plate he’d set on the coffee table.
She returned with the plate of her own loaded with slices of melons.
Mark pointed at the orange pieces. “A joker at the gym always asks us what that is when he sees us eating it. Than we say a cantaloupe and his reply is ‘that’s right, you can’t elope, you’re married’.”
“Oh I see.” She chuckled. “Cantaloupe and can’t elope, sounds kind of the same when pronounced. I love pun humor.”
“Yeah, we caught up on his jokes.” Mark’s smile dropped and he stared at her in total silence. “But we could, you know?”
She held the piece of cantaloupe pierced on her fork. Was that a question or a suggestion? “Could… what?”
“Elope.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Mark couldn’t take his eyes of Neri bouncing on her toes as the green station wagon rolled down the street toward his driveway. A week since he started her on his fitness program her legs and stomach firmed up, not to mention her already taut little tosh he loved watching in the gym and squeezing when no one was looking. She’d also dismissed his suggestion of eloping as nothing more but a joke. He left it hanging. The time wasn’t right, he knew, but while he had plenty of patience, time was slipping away. Their cousins’ wedding date was fast approaching and while she’d expressed her wish to continue their relationship after the big day, he feared she might change her mind. Maybe he’d misread her vibes, but she didn’t seem like someone who would demand a traditional white wedding, or wedding at all.
The cast on her nose had come off two days ago, but she still had to wear steri-strips, which she hated more since they stood out against her tanned face. As her new shape emerged, the wall she built around herself crumbled down, revealing more of her warm personality.
The car pulled up onto the driveway. Brass on the set of drums neatly packed on the roof rack shimmered in the sun. A man in faded jeans and black t-shirt eased out from the driver’s seat. His brown, receding hair and full lips bore no resemblance to Neri, but by the warm smile he directed at her, Mark sensed the guy was her cousin.
“Vince! It’s about time, I was beginning to fear you’d be a no show.” Neri shook her head at the hipster.
“Looking great, cousin.” He smiled, opening his arms to her. “Your new and improved nose makes all the difference.”
They kissed on each cheek once then once more on the left one.
Hmm, Europeans kissed twice, regardless of the gender, but Mark had not seen any nationalities do it three times.
“Third time is for luck.” Vince approached Mark, extending his hand. “No worries, I’ll reserve cheek kissing for us Euros. You already look a bit green around your gills.”
“Watch out! These guys love to kiss.” Another guy stretched, working the ties on the drums. “When Simon and Milos kissed in front of me, I was like, dudes, get a room. I’m Chris by the way.”
“Hey, man.” Mark chuckled, waiving to the drummer. Reminded of his first medical conference in Europe, as a clueless Canadian, he was caught off-guard every time someone leaned in for a kiss. After two weeks, the awkward feeling had only gotten worse, despite the reassurance that it would eventually become a second nature. He could see such scenario when it came to exchanging kisses with women, but not with men.
Mark graciously accepted Vince’s hand and they shook. “You guys had trouble finding my place?”
Vince tapped Neri’s shoulder. “She said it was just about twenty minutes up the road.”
“I never said that.” She smacked her cousin’s arm. “You know it takes longer just getting out of Toronto.”
“No, your reliable GPS took us on a scenic route.” Another’s man voice cut through.
“Simon.” Neri flew to a slimmer guy about Vince’s age. “Wow! How many years since we last saw one another?”
“Too many to count.” Simon exchanged cheek kisses with her then offered his hand to Mark. “We can finally put a face to a name we heard of for months.”
Mark extended his hand to Simon. “Nice to meet you too. I hear you’re a master of sound effects.”
“What? No kiss? Kidding.” Simon shook Mark’s hand. “On keyboards, yes, you heard correctly.”
“Hi, Neri.” A woman’s sultry voice reached Mark as he shook his hands with Simon.
He leaned to see who stood behind Simon. A younger girl hugged Neri and blew an air kiss. The red highlights in her hair that hung to her mid-back matched the lacy roses on the low cut bodice of her black, flowy gown. Underneath all her dark heavy makeup and multiple piercings, she was in her mid to late twenties. A Goth chick, cool. Somehow, she exuded an old age beauty that reminded him of the famous painting of Lady of Shallot in her little boat floating down the river.
“Eilla, finally get to meet you in person.” Neri turned to Mark. “This is Eilla, the one I’ve been face timing with. We had some fun playing.”
Eilla waived to Mark. “Great to meet you, by the way, you’re all Neri talks about. Lucky man, to score such a beautiful girl. Sorry for keeping your girl busy, and I’m about to have her all to myself. I can’t wait. She’s a great violinist.”
Mark smiled, yes he was lucky to find a girl who was a hopeless romantic with a dirty mind. Neri not only knew how to turn him on, but also how to treat him right.
Eilla was about to hug Neri again, when Chris called her, “Eilla, some help unloading the car.”
“Coming, Chris.” She blew out a long breath. “Be with you soon, hon.”
Mark’s eyebrow twitched, an involuntary reaction as Eilla’s words struck him in a funny way. Could the Goth girl be trying to tell him something? Before he could process this thought, Neri took his hand and tugged him toward the vehicle. “We can help.”
“No, we got this. You know how sensitive instruments can be.” Simon popped open the trunk and extracted a big black case. “My new keyboard. This thing means I’m back in business. Can you close the trunk? My hands are full.”
“I didn’t know you ever left.” Neri lowered the lid.
“For a brief time. Wife number one wanted me to find a ‘real’ job. That’s why there was a
need for a wife number two. Before you ask, no, she didn’t come. Our baby hadn’t had all of the vaccinations so doctor said it’s not safe to travel.” Simon nodded to Vince and Chris. “We’ll have to make couple of trips to get everything.”
Still holding onto Mark’s hand, Neri led the small group into the backyard. She turned to them. “I thought we set up there by the pool. What’s everyone think?”
“Pool? You didn’t tell us there would be a pool here. We didn’t bring our swim stuff.” Vince mopped sweat off his brow. “I sure would love to go for a dip.”
“We all would.” Chris puffed, hauling the rack for the electric drum-set. He stared at the beach ball lazily circling on the surface. “Good thing I only brought three-piece set or I’d have more shit to schlep.”
“Um…I’ve just learned—” Neri turned to Mark.
He squeezed her hand hard.
She was about to say how she learned of a pool yesterday, that would reveal their lie. They’d fooled their families into thinking the two of them dated for months. The pool wasn’t visible from his bedroom window and he wouldn’t let her venture out of his bed.
“Oh, right.” She cleared her throat. “I forgot to mention to bring swim shorts, could you…?”
Mark scanned the expectant faces of the three guys. “What? Lend them mine?”
“If you have three extra pairs.” Neri flashed a tight lipped smile.
“Let me see what I can muster, but I don’t have ladies’ bathing suits.”
“That’s okay. My underwear could pass for a swimsuit.” Eilla removed the cello in its case off her back. “This is a good spot to set up, at least it’s shady. How many people are you expecting?”
“Around forty.” Mark turned his head toward the yard’s gate at the sound of car door slamming. “I think they’re starting to arrive. You guys set up and I’m going to greet them. Someone may have extra swim shorts.”
By the time he returned with couple of his buddies and their wives in tow, the group was almost set up for their performance.
Eilla sat on the pool’s edge, the skirt of her dress gathered around her hips, her super white legs exposed as she dipped her toes in the water. Her wink directed at him rubbed him the wrong way. “What’s a girl has to do around here to get a drink?”