My Wish for You

by Destiny Webb

  His voice broke at the end. I propped myself up onto my elbow so I could see his face clearly. There were tears building up in his eyes and he was looking away from me.

  There was definitely a different side of him that I was seeing tonight. He had never been so vulnerable in front of me before. I hadn’t even seen him really sad like this. He was always so happy. And while it stung a little to hear him talk about her like that, I wanted to protect him and wipe away all his pain. A few tears spilled over the brim of his eyes and ran down his cheek. I lifted my hand and gently wiped them away. He looked back towards me and smiled slightly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I tried to smile back. I wanted to say I was sorry that I brought it up, but truly, I wasn’t.

  “Well, I should get going. It’s getting late.” I glanced over at the clock on Brian’s nightstand. “Actually, it’s getting early.” He smiled a real smile. Leaning down, I gave him one more soft kiss. He buried his hands in my hair and pulled me in closer. His cheeks were still wet from his tears.

  I pulled away unwillingly. I wanted nothing more than to stay there with him, but Brian would be home soon. Not that I worried about him knowing; Sean or I would tell him eventually. But, Brian wasn’t exactly quiet about sneaking around. I had been caught sneaking in and out with him on more than one occasion. This was the last place I should be if he was going to be making noise when he came in.

  “Get some rest, please. You look exhausted.” I stroked his cheek once more and stood up. He just nodded and watched me as I walked out of the room.

  I stood outside his door, letting my eyes adjust to the dark. My legs felt heavy as I walked away. As I made my way back to my room, I was careful not to step on the loose floorboard. When I reached the end of the hall, I prayed that Cassie and Sarah were fast asleep. The lights weren’t showing in the crack at the bottom of the door. That was a good sign. Still, I really did not want to explain why I was just getting back to the room. Slowly, I turned the door and peeked my head in. It was dark, but it looked like they were both asleep.

  Cautiously, I slipped in and shut the door behind me. I made my way over to my bed, stepping over anything that was a hazard to my stealthiness. Finally, I made it to my bed and crawled into it. So much was clearer now. I could see why it was difficult for him to leave her, even though he wanted to.

  I yawned and curled into my blankets. The fact that it felt right for him too made me feel extremely content. Happily, I replayed our kiss over and over in my head until I finally fell asleep.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Over the next few days, Sean and I were practically inseparable. Everything was flawless. We went on hikes. We went swimming. We went to a few parties. The only times we could ever be pulled away from each other was when Brian and Jonathon or Sarah and Cara managed to separate us from each other. From the moment we woke up til the moment we went to bed, we were together.

  Now, Sarah and I were getting ready for our weekly family lunch, proper attire required.

  I slipped on my new powder blue dress and glanced at myself in the mirror. I’d hated the dress when I bought it…or rather, when Sarah and Cara made me buy it. I hadn’t liked the empire waist or the tie in the back. But, I had to admit, it kind of flattered me. My dark hair contrasted with it nicely, and the shade brought out the color in my eyes.

  “You want me to do something with your hair?”

  “Uhh….” I glanced at my simple looking hair. I had let it go natural and just curl, but now it just looked lifeless. “Yeah, sure, I guess.”

  Sarah weaved my hair into a chiffon bun at the nape of my neck, leaving a few curls to stray loose.

  “Stay here,” she instructed. While waiting, I finished getting ready, putting on a light layer of makeup. I was brushing on some mascara when she returned, white orchid in hand.

  “What’s that for?” I asked.

  “Finishing touches.” She looked at me in the mirror as she walked behind me and placed the orchid in the bun. “There.”

  She took a step back and I spun for her.

  “He’ll never be able to keep his eyes off you.”

  Blushing, I rolled my eyes at her and departed the bathroom to find Cassie staring up at me, accusation in her eyes.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “Oh…nothing.”

  She smirked at me and I rolled my eyes at her as I turned away from her, muttering a quick, “Whatever,” under my breath.

  Practically skipping, I made my way down the hallway to Sean and Brian’s room. I knocked daintily and waited for an answer. Brian opened the door and looked at me up and down.

  “Oh man, he’ll never be able to keep his eyes off of you.”

  “So I’ve heard,” I laughed. “Is he ready?”

  He turned towards the bathroom and called out, “Hey loverboy! You ready?”

  The bathroom door opened up and out stormed Sean, shirt unbuttoned, toothbrush in mouth. “Do I wook weady?” He stopped mid-step when he saw me. Dropping his jaw, his toothbrush fell out of his mouth. Stammering, he quickly bent to pick up the toothbrush.

  “Errm. You wook—wow,” was all that he managed to articulate through his mouthful of toothpaste.

  “That would be a no,” Brian chuckled, stepping aside to let me in. I sat on the edge of his bed and smoothed out the skirt of my dress while I waited for Sean.

  “So, Brian. Is there something you want for your birthday?”

  “Nope. You?”

  “Ha. Of course not,” I snorted.

  “So, we’re sticking do the deal?”

  “Indeed we are,” I agreed.

  Every year we had this conversation, and every year it went the same. We never got anything for each other for our birthday. It was like a weird ritual of ours. I couldn’t even remember when it actually started…somewhere around the time when we started getting allowance instead of having our parents buy our gifts for people. Our parents were rather offended by it, but it was just our thing.

  “Do I hear Samantha actually admitting that she has a birthday?” Sean mocked as he walked out of the bathroom, buttoning up his shirt, hiding his well-sculpted abs. I shook that thought out of my head and looked up at him with big innocent eyes.

  “Who? Me?”

  He walked over to me and bent down to kiss me lightly on the lips.

  “Yes, you.”

  “I was admitting nothing of the sort,” I smiled, standing up beside him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Brian grinning and giving me a thumbs up. I giggled at him and rolled my eyes. Sean looked down at me curiously.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” I shook my head. “You ready?”

  “I am.” He put his hand on the small of my back and motioned towards the door. “Shall we?”

  Leisurely, we made our way down to the back porch.

  “You look really beautiful, Sammy.” He gazed down at me and smiled softly. “I can barely keep my eyes off you.”

  I blushed and looked out on to the porch. Mom and Mrs. W were setting the table on the screened in porch. At the same time, they both looked up, taking in the sight of Sean and me, Sean’s arm wrapped around me. The two of them shared a knowing smile before going back to prepping for lunch.

  Sean held my chair for me as I sat down, then sat in the chair to my right. We were soon accompanied by the rest of the family. Dad and Mr. W brought out the barbequed steaks, and Mom and Mrs. W brought out the array of side dishes. Everyone was silent for a few minutes as they dug into their plates of food. Slowly, the conversations started and the table began to buzz with chatter.

  “So,” Sean whispered under his breath to me as I cut a piece of steak slowly.

  “So?” I repeated, sticking the piece in my mouth. I tried to ignore the fact that Cassie was watching us, but it was slightly creepy.

  “There’s a party tonight. I don’t know who’s hosting, but Jonathon got the invite. Do you want to go?”

  I choked on the piece of steak as I tried to sw
allow it. Coughing caused everyone to turn their attention to us. Grimacing, I finally caught my breath and took a drink of my water.

  “How’s Tasha, Sean?” Cassie inquired loudly.

  I coughed, spitting my water across the table. Somehow, I even managed to hit Cassie in the process. She made a disgusted face at me before looking back to Sean.

  “Cassie, don’t.” Mrs. W warned. Cassie merely rolled her eyes.

  “Well?”

  “I don’t know actually.” Sean’s voice was polite, yet steely. I sat my hand on his thigh and Cassie’s eyes narrowed.

  “And why is that Sean? I mean, she is your girlfriend, right?”

  “We’re taking a break. I haven’t talked to her all week.”

  “Cassandra,” Mrs. W began.

  “Oh. Well, I talked to her today, and she seems really torn up.” She glared straight at me. “She’s been crying and—”

  “Cassandra, that is quite enough.” Mr. W cut her off sternly, leaving the table quiet. Suddenly having lost my appetite, I looked down at my plate and set my hands in my lap. At least I knew what Cassie’s problem with me was now. The awkward tension was thick in the air when Dad’s phone rang.

  “You said that you wouldn’t bring that stupid phone to the dinner table anymore.”

  “It’s work; I have to take it.”

  And with that, he departed the table, leaving his napkin sitting on his plate. Fearing some kind of breakdown, I played with my own napkin nervously.

  “Who was that?” Sean asked quietly.

  I glanced up at Brian, whose face bore the same worries mine did.

  “I’ll give you three guesses,” I started.

  “She’s got long legs.” Brian rolled his eyes.

  “She’s blonde,” I offered.

  “And she’s got fake boobs,” Brian finished.

  “Your dad’s secretary?” Sean speculated.

  “The one and only,” I muttered sarcastically.

  Sean put his hand on my back and rubbed it lightly. Gently, I shrugged it off and subtly shook my head. Smugly, Cassie watched quietly with a smirk on her face.

  “Okay. So, Brian, Sam,” Mrs. W cheerily said. “What do the two of you want for your birthday dinner?”

  Brian and I glanced at each other and almost laughed out loud at the twisted humor that we were being asked what we wanted for dinner for our birthday, an occasion we would probably ignore, especially in the middle of a potential family crisis.

  “Umm….” I started. Looking over to Brian, I shrugged, letting him know that I didn’t care and it was up to him.

  “Can we do, like, hamburgers and hot dogs? Is that alright? I don’t really want anything too fancy.”

  “Is that okay with you, Sam?”

  “Oh yeah, sure. Maybe some mac n’ cheese and corn too?”

  “Well, that sounds extremely reasonable. You kids feel like making a trip to the store?”

  “Yeah, sure Mom,” Sean jumped in. Slightly startled, I looked up at him quizzically. Under his breath he said, “Jonathon and I were planning on it anyway.” Then he looked up. “Just make a list Mom.”

  After dinner we all changed and waited for Jonathon. From behind closed doors, it sounded like a war was raging.

  “Does she not understand that you have a family Charles? That you have a life outside of the office?!”

  “You’re threatened by her, aren’t you? That’s what this is about.”

  My mother snorted, “It most definitely is not.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “You don’t have time for your family anymore! You’re on vacation for Christ’s sake! And what are you doing? Answering phone calls from her like she’s your mother.”

  Jonathon came up then and we headed toward Sean’s truck. Brian ended up coming along with us. So, we sat in the back and I listened to all their boy talk. I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Sean alone since dinner. The drive was extremely boring and Sean kept glancing back at me. He could probably tell I was not enjoying myself. He looked worried. My attitude probably didn’t help, but I just rolled my eyes and looked out the window. The twenty-minute drive to the store felt like hours rather than minutes. Silently, I wished to myself that I had just stayed home.

  “Why don’t you guys go ahead and get started? We’ll meet you inside in just a minute,” Sean suggested as he pulled into an open spot. I looked up to see who he was talking to, but before I could make any conclusions he was in the back of the truck with me. We stared at each other in silence, waiting for the other to break it.

  “What’s wrong Sammy?” he asked after I pulled away from his hand sweeping a strand of fallen hair out of my face.

  “You’re gonna pick her,” I concluded.

  “What?”

  “Tasha. You’re going to pick her.”

  He chuckled and I glared at him incredulously.

  “Sammy, Sammy, Sammy.”

  He pulled me close, put his hand on the side of my face, and kissed me sweetly. “Samantha. Do you realize how very wonderful you are, and how much I adore you? You’ve really made me think about what I truly want. You’re making me rethink everything.”

  “Yeah, and how’s that coming for you?” I asked bitterly.

  “I don’t exactly have it all figured out yet,” he admitted.

  My heart sank and I felt deflated, my head drooping slightly.

  “But right now,” he tilted my chin up. “I’m here with you. Only you. And I only want to be right here, right now, with you. And Samantha, no matter what, I adore you, and I would really like us to be more than friends. And I would really, really like to kiss you.”

  I gazed up at him and feared for my lovesick heart. I wanted to hold back, to run the other way, but I knew that I wouldn’t, that I couldn’t.

  “So, kiss me,” I conceded, sighing.

  We met each other’s lips quickly and everything was suddenly a little brighter. It was as if we were the sun in each other’s universe and that we fed off of each other’s energy. Each other’s feelings. Each other’s passion.

  Holding me so I was laying on top of his chest, Sean stretched us out across the back seat of the truck. We were lost in the moment; that is, until Sean’s phone vibrated.

  “How long have we been missing?” I asked, slightly out of breath.

  “Does it matter?”

  “Mm. No? But they seem to be missing us,” I mumbled against his lips as his phone vibrated again. “Should we go find them?”

  “Most definitely not. They’re big boys. They can take care of themselves.” He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me close so I couldn’t pull away from him. Then he kissed me in a way that made me speechless and made me lose any will power I had against him.

  Relaxing, we ignored the next vibration, and the next. But then they wouldn’t stop and they were getting more frequent.

  “Sean?”

  “Hmm.”

  “Your phone.”

  “What about it?” he asked between kisses.

  “It’s bugging me. Check it.”

  He sighed.

  “Fine.”

  Continuing to kiss me, Sean pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it out of the corner of his eye for a second. Confusion, then anger, crossed his face as he pulled away from my lips.

  “Oh. You have got to be kidding me.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “What?”

  I was playing with his hair absentmindedly. When he didn’t answer, I tried to look at the screen. He had already hit reply though.

  “Tasha’s here,” Sean grumbled. I felt my jaw drop. Despite my attempt to keep it together, I was shocked. I watched him as he typed.

  Tell her I’m not here.

  He looked at my face and tried to give me a reassuring smile. When that didn’t work, he just gave me a light kiss. “It’s alright Sammy.”

  His phone vibrated again and I watched as he slid it open. I guiltlessly leaned over and
read his conversation.

  She saw your truck–Jonboy.

  So?

  I slid away from him so I wasn’t lying on top of him anymore, more for the simple fact that, if he wasn’t holding onto me, he couldn’t kiss any reason out of me. I knew eventually she would run into him, or us. Better now than later, right?

  “What did he say?” I asked, slightly apathetically, as he slid his phone open again.

  “That ‘she isn’t backing down,’” he quoted.

  “Come on, Sean. Let’s go.”

  “Sam. I don’t want to see her. I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t want anything to do with her right now.”

  “She’s not going to drop it, Sean. We both know that. Might as well get it over with,” I reasoned.

  “Yeah….”

  I leaned over, kissed him, and returned his words of comfort. “It’ll be alright Sean.”

  Interlocking our fingers, I grabbed his hand and pulled him from the car. We walked silently down the lane of the parking lot. I didn’t have a good feeling about this, but I could do nothing to prevent it.

  As we walked through the doors, I took a deep breath and sighed. Gently, I pulled my hand from Sean’s when we saw Tasha talking to Jonathon. I peered up at Sean only to see his jaw clenched tightly.

  “Samantha, it’s good to see you. It’s been so long,” Tasha chorused like we were the best of friends. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” I said coldly.

  Tasha smirked at me and looked up at Sean as if she had just noticed his appearance. “Hey you,” she cooed before going up and kissing him fully on the lips. Despite him not kissing her back, jealously coursed through my blood.

  “Sammy. Jonny. Why don’t you two help Brian finish the grocery shopping? Tasha and I need to have a talk.”