Left Behind

by Vi Keeland

  Dusk has fallen into night by the time we both break away, breathless. I take a deep breath, trying to regain my wits, but it’s no use. Zack’s eyes smolder as he runs his knuckles along my cheek and looks into my eyes. His breath is labored and it makes me feel good that he’s as affected as I am. He doesn’t say a word; instead, he smiles, a real, full-mouth smile, his sexy, deep dimples telling me more than words can say. Again, without words, this boy has taken my breath away, and maybe even a little piece of my heart.

  Time seems to fly by the rest of the night. The kiss relieved some of the tension that’s been weighing him down, because Zack’s lighter, happier. I’ve seen bits and pieces of this side of him, in small glimpses, but it’s never lasted very long. Until tonight. We laugh through dinner and fight over music as he drives me home.

  “Wonder if we’ll have an audience soon,” Zack says as he turns off the engine in front of Aunt Claire’s house.

  “Not tonight. My Aunt is working the overnight shift at the hospital.”

  Grinning widely, Zack pulls me across the bench seat onto his lap. I yelp in surprise, but there’s no place else I’d rather be.

  “So that means I can kiss you as long as I want tonight?” He says with a devilish smile on his face. His hand, casually wrapped around my bare leg, caresses the outside of my thigh. I wonder if he has any idea what the simple stroke of his fingers on my skin does to me. It sets my body on fire and turns my brain to mush.

  “I’m supposed to be home at midnight,” I whisper, wishing it wasn’t true.

  Zack kisses my lips once, his mouth still lightly pressed against mine as he speaks, so I can feel each syllable as I hear it. “You are home.”

  “I guess I am.” I smile. “She did say I had to be home. She wasn’t specific about being inside.” I wrap my hands around his neck.

  The corners of Zack’s mouth curl up. “Now you’re talking.”

  I don’t look at the time when I finally leave the car, but the windows are completely fogged. We both groan a bit and I can tell that it won’t be long before our kisses become something more. We can’t keep our hands off of each other. The things he makes me feel scare the hell out of me, but excite me even more.

  Zack insists on walking me to the door this time. He kisses me a few more times, and then hands me a folded-up paper before he walks away with just a smile. Leaning up against the inside of the door, I wait to open the note until I can no longer hear the rumble of his car as he pulls away. I had a great time tonight is scribbled on the piece of paper. The smile is still on my face when I fall asleep an hour later.

  ***

  I wake to Aunt Claire knocking gently on my door. When I don’t answer, she opens the door ever so slightly to check if I’m inside. As I hear the door open I notice Zack’s note half on my pillow and half stuck to my cheek by sleep drool. How attractive.

  I quickly fold the note and stuff it under my pillow as I see Aunt Claire’s eyes peer in through the cracked door. “Wanted to check on you. I just got home.” Obviously she’s worried about how far my date went last night.

  “How was your date with Zack?” she asks as she slides her head in just a little bit farther. I feel bad about making her beg for information, so I sit up and welcome her into my space. She truly has been great about giving me privacy and a beautiful bedroom. She hasn’t even complained about my boxes. I never had anything as special and private in my life and I worry that I haven’t thanked her enough.

  “Come in. You don’t have to stand in the hall,” I say with a smile.

  Still in her hospital whites, Aunt Claire sits on my bed. She never had children of her own and she’s still trying to figure out her role in our newfound relationship.

  “So, did you have a nice not-go-to-the-dance date?”

  I know I’m beaming, the flush of my cheeks telling more than my words. “It was really great.” I stop short without saying anything else, suddenly remembering sitting on Zack’s lap in the Charger long beyond midnight. She’s a really cool Aunt, but I’m not too sure that would be cool with her.

  “Great? Well, that’s great, I guess.”

  I sense the disappointment my limited response evokes, but I also think I spot some concern in her voice. I want to assure her everything is fine. More than fine actually.

  “It was a great date, Aunt Claire.” I tell her how Zack surprised me by taking me to a lighthouse because I’d mentioned I had never seen one up close before. Sounds harmless enough, right? Thank goodness she doesn’t know that, minutes ago, I was dreaming about the feeling of Zack’s hard body against mine as we shared our first kiss at the lighthouse.

  Feeling like I should give her a little more, but not yet ready to reveal the change in my and Zack’s relationship, I let her in on my idea.

  “Zack runs too,” I say. “He’s actually really fast. I was thinking about running by his house to pick him up for a run this morning.” I don’t tell her it was actually Ash’s idea during our 1 a.m. phone call where she pried for details of how far I went with Zack in the Charger.

  Concern wrinkles her face. Does she think it’s a bad idea? Is she just worried I’m moving too fast? “It’s a hot day, Nikki. I’m not sure a run in this kind of heat is safe.”

  “The heat here is so much more bearable than in Texas!” I’m out of bed and grabbing clean running shorts from one of my boxes. “You can’t even imagine the difference. I’ve run miles in way hotter weather than this. My body is used to it.” I pause, and then add, “I think nursing makes you a perpetual worrier, Aunt Claire. I guess it’s a hazard of the job,” I smile attempting to lighten the suddenly serious mood. “

  Aunt Claire, still holding onto a look of fear and concern, only says, “Go slow, Nikki.”

  Chapter 26

  Zack

  “Zack? Zack, honey, you have company. Can you come down, please?” Mom sounds nervous.

  I have company? The only person who ever comes by anymore is Keller and Keller hasn’t seen ten on a Sunday once in the twelve years I’ve known him.

  I throw on a t-shirt and grab my Dodgers hat. A few steps down the stairs, I hear Mom mid conversation with another woman. I thought she said the company was for me?

  From the top of the stairs, I catch a glimpse of a ponytail. Her back is to the steps, but I’d know that laugh anywhere…and the image of that ass is permanently scorched into my brain. Nikki is in my house, talking to Mom.

  The creak of my footsteps on the wooden stairs alerts Nikki to my presence and she turns before I hit the landing. “Hi Zack,” she says, with energy that usually only comes from a bag of Swedish fish chased by a Red Bull. I spot her nervous smile as she speaks.

  “I was out for a run and thought you might want to join me. It’s beautiful out,” she talks fast.

  Mom is smiling even broader than Nikki. She looks like the sun just came out after a thunderstorm. I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I saw Mom light up with real happiness. I savor the moment.

  “You want to race me again? I let you win last time. Don’t think I’m doing it twice,” I say with a grin.

  She turns to my mom, her face full of innocence. “Zack didn’t let me win, Mrs. Martin. He’s trying to rewrite history to cope with the fact that he was beaten by a girl.” She turns to me. “Did you get a good night’s sleep?” Nikki arches an eyebrow and attempts to conceal her smirk. “You sure you’re up for a rematch? I don’t want you to have any excuses when I beat you again.”

  After the hours in the car last night, she knows I didn’t get a good night sleep. I look to see if Mom picks up on her flirting. It’s a side of Nikki I’ve only seen just a glimpse of before, but I like it. A lot. It does something to me when she’s bold, pushing past her limit even though it scares her.

  Mom doesn’t catch the meaning of our exchange since she doesn’t know about our date last night. I’m sure she assumed I was out with Keller— he’s the only person I’ve been out with anywhere since Emily. But Mom is obvious
ly pleased with Nikki’s light-hearted and happy way because she beams from ear to ear.

  “A rematch? You sure you know what you’re asking for?” I catch her eye and her cheeks immediately turn a glowing pink. I love that I can do that to her with only eye contact and some words with hidden meaning.

  “I’m sure. Unless you’re scared to go up against me again?”

  “I’ll change into running clothes,” I say. I take the stairs two at a time to change into shorts and sneakers.

  Nikki’s laughter wafts up the stairs as I change. Mom’s follows it. Damn, it’s a good sound.

  ***

  When I come back downstairs Mom is humming to a Billy Joel song softly playing on the kitchen satellite radio as she’s pureeing veggies in her juicer. “She’s stretching on the front porch. I like her, Zack.” Mom’s face is full of hope.

  “Me too, Mom. Me too.”

  A tear pools in Mom’s eye. “Aw, don’t, Mom… just don’t. Guys don’t do the happy tears thing. Please.”

  She nods and waves me off with a laugh. “You’re impossible. Go for your run. Have a great time. You deserve to have fun. You really do, sweetheart.”

  “Hope you didn’t pull anything stretching.” Earbuds in, Nikki doesn’t hear me come out. She’s surprised at my appearance, her thoughts obviously off somewhere else. I hope she’s stuck in the same place I’ve been for the last nine hours.

  “Zack, who is that man?” She’s staring across the street at Mr. Bennett, who’s working in his flowerbed.

  I hesitate. “It’s Mr. Bennett…Emily’s father. He spends a lot of time gardening since Emily…”

  Nikki’s hand reaches out to touch my arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. He just looks so familiar to me.”

  I look over in Mr. Bennett’s direction, where Nikki’s eyes are fixed. A male voice calls out from the house, “Dad, phone for you. It’s the hospital. I think you need to take it.” Mr. Bennett sets down his spade and strips his hands of gloves before heading back to the house.

  Nikki turns to me. “Is someone in the hospital?”

  “No. Mr. Bennett works at Long Beach University Hospital. He’s a psychiatrist.”

  “Really? That’s where Aunt Claire works. I wonder if they know each other. Is it a big place?”

  “Biggest in Long Beach.” I shrug.

  “The guy calling him Dad… Emily has a brother? Does he go to our school?”

  I clear my throat to ease the knot that’s caught there. I suppose it’s only normal for Nikki to be curious, but the conversation makes me uncomfortable nonetheless. “Yes, Brent. He comes home to visit every few weeks now. He never did that before. He’s older than us— I think he was fifteen or sixteen already when Emily was born. The Bennetts were already in their forties when Emily came along. I don’t know him very well. He lives in New York. A writer, I think.”

  Before she can ask another question, I start down the driveway. “I’ll give you a head start. Come on.”

  “Head start?” she says, insulted at the notion. “I don’t need a head start. I’m faster than you think, Zack. Don’t underestimate me.” She blows by me, sprinting down the street.

  “I’d never underestimate you, Nikki,” I call as I breeze past her with a grin.

  ***

  Nearly two miles later, with Nikki not far behind me, I direct our run into Dover Park. Mom used to take me for long walks in my stroller here. It still makes me feel like a kid, running through the trails.

  When we get into the center of the path, I slow down and head to the bench area alongside the flower gardens. There’s a water fountain between the benches and Nikki reaches me just as I’m splashing water on my face.

  “You only stopped because you knew I was going to pass you. Admit it,” Nikki taunts, flat out of breath from our little sprint.

  “You’re breathing a little heavy. That always happens when women run behind me,” I tease.

  She finishes her drink from the fountain and turns to me with a cocked eyebrow. “I seem to remember it’s you who likes the view when I’m in the front.”

  Well, she’s not wrong there. The sight is goddamn spectacular. Why didn’t I slow down and let her pass me? My competiveness just cost me ten minutes of heaven’s view.

  “Aunt Claire asked me to go brunch with some friends of hers from college.” Nikki glances around as we settle down on a bench under a large, shade-bearing oak tree. “She worries that she doesn’t spend enough time with me because of her long hours at the hospital.”

  “It’s nice that she cares so much. I can’t imagine how hard it is to lose a parent, but at least you had an Aunt that you were close to and weren’t alone.”

  Nikki looks off into the distance. “To be honest, I didn’t even know I had an aunt until Mom died. They didn’t speak. My mom…meant well, but she kept a lot of secrets. She always thought she was protecting me. She was very sick.” Shadows from the past cloud her face.

  But today I want only sunshine. “Not everyone would bounce back so quickly. You’re strong,” I say, lightly bumping her shoulder with mine and resisting the urge to add my own confessions. I jump to my feet. “But not strong enough to beat me. First one back to my house has to make the loser a fruit smoothie.”

  I shoot past Nikki, but push my competitiveness aside after a minute in favor of the great view all the way home.

  ***

  I throw a towel from the kitchen cabinet at Nikki. Not that her dripping sweat bothers me at all. In fact, there’s nothing I’d rather do at the moment than trace the beads of perspiration sliding behind her tank top between her heaving cleavage.

  “Thanks, I’m ready for my smoothie,” she proudly orders not realizing the real prize was letting her stay ten feet ahead of me for two miles.

  “Do you like cantaloupe?” I ask, digging through the fruit shelf in our refrigerator. “Mom is a fruit smoothie junkie, so if you prefer something else, I’m sure we have it.” I toss a cantaloupe to Nikki.

  She catches it and examines it. “Never had one.”

  I’m surprised, but she’s not joking. I’ve only just started to scratch the surface of Nikki’s past. Fresh fruit and family picnics probably weren’t the norm.

  “Then cantaloupe and melon smoothies it is. They’re my specialty anyway.”

  Nikki watches me with a smile on her face as I slice the fruit. I think a guy making her something in the kitchen is a first.

  “Here, taste,” I move closer to feed her a piece of fresh sliced cantaloupe from my hand. My eyes are glued to her lips as she bites. A drop of cantaloupe juice glistens on the corner of her mouth and I use my tongue to wipe it off. Jesus, I just can’t help myself around this girl.

  A soft sigh slips from her lips when I move my mouth to her warm neck, my hard-on quickly growing against her stomach as I lean in. My entire body ignites when I feel her tremble from my kiss. The memory of that tremble woke me up more than once last night.

  “Zack, what if your mom comes in?” she asks, breathless, as my kisses move further up her neck.

  “She won’t. She’s out at the Farmer’s Market,” I whisper into her ear. Another shudder runs through her body. “Eleven. Every Sunday,” I breathe. “Thankfully, she never misses it.”

  Trying my hardest to slow things down, afraid I’ll scare her by pressing her up against the kitchen wall, which is only about two seconds away from happening, I lean back. “You taste like cantaloupe,” I say. “I can’t help it…I really, really, like cantaloupe.”

  Nikki laughs. “Guess I do too now.”

  I finish making our smoothies and the cool drink helps to turn down the heat in the kitchen. A little, at least. Trying to get the last bit out of the deep glass, Nikki spills the remainder of hers onto her tank top.

  “God, I’m a klutz.” She laughs, totally unselfconsciously.

  “I can give you a t-shirt if you want.” I grin. “In fact, I think I really like the idea of you in my
t-shirt.”

  Nikki blushes as our eyes meet.

  “Come on up and pick one.” I start up the stairs so she doesn’t have time to consider not following.

  Upstairs in my room, I pull open my drawer to reveal dozens of impeccably pressed and folded t-shirts. My mother definitely has issues.

  “Wow, it looks like someone dumped a whole table from Abercrombie,” Nikki arches her right eyebrow towards my t-shirt drawer.

  “Cute. You too, huh? Keller likes to take pictures and post them on Instagram to try and embarrass me. His drawers are the polar opposite. Crap sticking out all over the place. I found a half-eaten cheeseburger in one of his drawers last year.” Even a two-minute stay in my room turns to twenty minutes of him busting my balls over how neat it is. “My mother is an organization freak.”

  “I’m afraid to touch one and disturb the artful presentation,” Nikki teases.

  I grab the smallest t-shirt I can find, hoping it will be tight in all the right places, and toss it at her.

  “Great, thanks.” She turns.

  “Leaving with my shirt?” I ask.

  “I was just going to look for the bathroom to change.” The pink sting is back in her cheeks as she awkwardly tries to figure out if I really expected her to undress in the middle of my room.

  As much as I’d love to watch her take off her shirt, and the pink in her cheeks certainly stirs something inside me, I let her off the hook. Kissing her chastely on the lips, I say, “Change right here. I’m going to take a quick shower anyway. I have a feeling you’re being polite and not mentioning what I smell like.”

  “I did make you sweat pretty hard,” she smiles.

  I know she means the race but I walk over to her and say, “Yes, you really make me sweat.” She laughs and pushes me towards the door.

  ***

  Five minutes later I find Nikki in my room with that old t-shirt of mine on. It’s as tight as I expected, a perfect fit for my liking.