The Space In Between

by Melyssa Winchester

  “Chris, I’ve been thinking about that.” He says rising from the chair. “We’ve got more than enough food in the place now. Why not make yourself something to eat?”

  “Okay, I wasn’t going to say anything, but who the hell are you and what have you done with my dad?” I joke. “Since when are you about cooking dinner?”

  “Since now.”

  I know what that means. It’s obvious with the way his face contorts into a crooked smile that a lot of the changes I’m seeing in him, this one especially, is because of the lady he’s been seeing. Rosie. The single mom that with the way he looks sometimes when he thinks I’m not looking, is putting life back into someone I started to think was just as lost to the world as my mom.

  “Tell Rosie I said thanks when you see her.”

  “Yeah, Yeah.”

  As he starts making his way out of the living room, what’s going to happen tonight hits me and I call out and stop him.

  “Yeah, Chris?”

  “That box in the closet. The puzzles you packed up and pretty much locked away without telling me, I was thinking of pulling a few out tonight. Is that alright?”

  “Of course it is. I wasn’t hiding them. I just wasn’t sure how you felt about me keeping them given that it was your thing with your mom.”

  Well, that answers that.

  “I asked someone to come hang out and do them with me.”

  “And this someone wouldn’t happen to be a girl, would it?”

  “How astute of you, Dad. Yeah, it’s a girl.”

  “And how serious is it with this girl?”

  “Not sure, but if you say I can have her over while you’re out, I might be able to give you a better answer when you get home.”

  “Chris, I know I don’t need to have this talk with you again, but having a girl over—”

  “I know, Dad. Treat her with respect, make sure she’s home early, and no doing anything that would embarrass myself or you.”

  “I knew I didn’t have to say it. I’m good if you want to have the girl over. Just remember the rules and clean up after yourself.”

  Nodding with the promise that I understand and I’ll do everything he wants, I let him leave and the second he turns the corner and is completely out of visual range, I pull up my phone and just like before, seeing her texts, grin like an idiot and put words together like he said before hitting send.

  My dad’s taking a shower and heading out. We’re good for six.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Emery

  “This sounded like such a good idea when I suggested it.” Christian admits, pounding his fist down on the table and making a bunch of the pieces on the table pop up into the air before scattering around us.

  Leaning over his shoulder, seeing the perfect match to the front end of the boat he thought would be easy to do, and recognizing where it goes, I rub his shoulder before picking it up and pressing it down.

  “How do you do that? Are you some sort of puzzle ninja?”

  “Oh yeah. Didn’t I tell you?” I point to my chest. “Queen of Puzzles, 2011 to 2013.”

  Attempting to choke back a laugh that somehow manages to escape in the form of a snort, I pick up another piece and figuring out exactly how it needs to sit and placing it, I plant a soft kiss on his cheek before heading back to my seat.

  We’ve been doing this for a little over two hours now, and all we’ve got to show for it is the entire outline, plus the left hand side, which with the two pieces I just added, complete that portion.

  Three cans of soda, two bags of popcorn and a whole lot of frustration and curse words have taken up the span of those two hours, and despite knowing that he probably regrets suggesting this idea, I’m enjoying myself.

  “It doesn’t look this hard on the box.”

  “It’s also a complete picture on the cover, so of course it looked easy.”

  “Em, it’s a freaking boat. How hard can it be?”

  “I don’t know. Take a look at the clumps of hair you’ve accumulated under your chair and tell me.”

  “You hate this, right?”

  About to stand up and make my way over to him again, I decide better of it and just lean over the table, reaching out with my hand and tipping his face up to meet mine.

  “I love this. It’s like the first day we worked together all over again.”

  “Very funny,” He pouts and determined to shake up his bad mood, especially if we plan on continuing with the puzzle, I pull my hand away, and bringing both to my mouth, jam both forefingers into the sides and pull it open, while rolling my eyes back into my head and attempting to talk through it, letting my tongue hang out.

  Looking up and catching my obvious intent to act like a complete idiot in order to make him laugh, he rewards me two fold, first as his eyes go soft as he laughs, and then as he lifts himself out of the chair and over the table, planting a kiss on my still wide open mouth.

  “Okay, okay. I get it. I need to chill.”

  “Really? I never would have guessed.” I joke as he pulls back and focuses his attention back on the puzzle again, this time his features more relaxed. “There’s my polar bear.”

  “You did not just compare me to a polar bear.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t. I called you a polar bear. I can’t compare the two of you since polar bears are way more chill than you.”

  “I think we should have started with something smaller.”

  Call it all the time I spend hanging with Johnny, or just my mind being dirtier than most, but the way he means it and the way I take it are two totally different things. Trying to hold back and failing, the giggling starts, which added to the confused look he throws me once I do it, makes it worse, until it’s hard to breathe.

  “Please—stop looking at me—like that.” I manage to get out before covering my face with my hands to try and gain control of my breathing.

  “Looking at you like what? Like you’re a crazy person? Sorry, Ems, don’t think I can do that.”

  Creating a slit of space between my fingers and sneaking a peak through proves detrimental to my ability to breathe when I catch him copying my look from earlier and making faces at me.

  “Could you be any more red right now?”

  “What? Tomato red happens to be the new peach.”

  “You wanna try saying that again without having your hands muffling it?”

  Lowering my hands and sucking in the deepest breath I can manage, I shake my head and look down at the puzzle in front of us.

  We really should have done what he said and started with something smaller.

  “Next time we do this, I think I’ll pick up a couple of 24 piece ones from the store.”

  “I would totally rock it, but only if it’s Dora.”

  “Mikey, don’t you know anything? Dora is so last year. It’s all about Elsa and Anna now.”

  Shoving the puzzle across the table, he leans back in the chair and shakes his head emphatically. “You did not just bring Frozen into this.”

  “Come on, Mikey! You gotta let whatever your issue is with Frozen go.”

  Jumping out of the chair and making his way across the kitchen to the fridge, he opens the door to the freezer and grabs something out, using his arm to shut the door before placing it down on the counter.

  “I don’t think I can be with you anymore.”

  “Well good.” I play along. “Because I don’t think I can be with someone who doesn’t wanna build a snowman. I mean, you could learn a thing or two from Elsa.”

  “Oh yeah? Care to share what I could possibly learn from a Disney character?”

  “She’s as cold as ice, obviously. Forget what I said about you being my polar bear. If you could learn how to chill, you could totally be my Elsa.”

  “Just what I aspire to be.” He grumbles more to himself than me. “Hot fudge or caramel?”

  “That depends how it’s being used. Are we talking on you or with ice cream?”

  This gets h
is attention. Turning away from his place at the counter, his eyes find mine and as expected, they’ve gone bug eyed. The only thing missing to complete the look of absolute surprise would be his mouth falling open.

  “Is on me even an option?”

  “Again, that depends.”

  “On?”

  “Whether you’ll be my Elsa or not, of course.”

  “In that case, I’m talking about ice cream. Now, hot fudge or caramel?”

  “Fudge, but for the record, you-are-no-fun. A fun ruiner is what you are.”

  “I think I can handle that.”

  Pulling the bottle of hot fudge down from the cupboard above his head and following it up by grabbing down two bowls, he tips it upside down and pours it into the bowl. Watching him work, he fills both bowls with three scoops of vanilla each before running the bottle of chocolate over the top again, grabbing out two spoons from the drawer before making his way over and placing it down in front of me.

  “Dinner is served.”

  “Best dinner ever.”

  “I agree.”

  Pulling the spoon out of the bowl and running it around the ice cream, pushing it down and moving it around until it begins to turn creamy, I take a scoop and slide it into my mouth, making sure as I do to close my eyes and moan in delight, which he rewards me for when he clears his throat.

  “So does this mean puzzle night is over?” I ask once I’ve swallowed the freezing cold goodness, about to dive in for another scoop.

  “Yeah, but only because I have a better idea.’

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Taking this to my room,” he points to the bowl in front of him. “And letting you go through my DVD collection, so we can spend the next few hours cuddling in bed.”

  I’ve got no experience with first dates, but spending the night in bed seems kind of fast.

  Oh, who am I kidding? It’s got nothing to do with being alone in his room without any adult supervision or even my lack of dating experience. It’s just fear, plain and simple.

  I’m scared at the thought of being alone with Christian and what he might expect to happen. How far he’s thinking things are going to go tonight.

  Kissing, hugging and being close to him. All of those things are easy. It’s what comes after that I’m having issues with. The last person I cuddled with was my best friend and that wasn’t entirely by choice. I’d fallen asleep on him randomly during one of our movie nights and he moved his arm before it could go numb and I’d ended up curled into him.

  There won’t be anything accidental about being in Christian’s arms.

  God. I can’t believe how stupid I’m acting right now. Since when did I change from being this self-assured seventeen year old into an insecure preteen?

  “If that’s too much we can just keep doing the puzzle, Emery.”

  “No. It’s not too much. It sounds perfect.” I lie, hoping like hell he won’t be able to see through it.

  “You’ve had your spoon in the same position since I brought it up, and you haven’t so much as blinked either. Are you sure it’s perfect?”

  Screw it. I can’t lie and pretend that I’m not a big huge bundle of nervous right now.

  “I’m scared.”

  Getting up from the chair, thinking that he’s going to make another beeline for the kitchen, I wait him out. Freezing up completely when he makes his way around to where I’m sitting, his shadow looming over the table and his breath hot on my ear.

  “What are you scared of?”

  “Being alone in your room. On your bed.”

  Gripping the edges of the chair, he lifts and turns it until it’s facing away from the table and slipping down onto his knees, he smiles up at me. “What if I told you that all I want to do in my room is cuddle?”

  “I wouldn’t believe it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Loads of reasons, but the biggest one being how it felt at your locker earlier.”

  A pained expression crosses over his face before he lifts his hand and rubs the bridge of his nose.

  “I’m not gonna lie, Emery. I turn into a total guy when I’m around you, but I would never push you to do something you’re not ready for, or better yet, something I’m not even ready for.”

  “You really mean that?”

  Holding up three fingers tightly pressed together, he smiles softly. “Scouts Honor. Even if I’ve never been one.”

  “That’s reassuring.” I joke and taking both of my hands in his and kissing them softly before releasing them, he soothes my nerves.

  “I don’t know about the other guys at school and what you’re used to or whatever, but I do know that all I want to do with the prettiest girl I know, is get comfortable on something not as painful as these kitchen chairs and watch a movie or two.”

  Well. When he puts it like that…

  “Compliments will get you—”

  “If you say everywhere, I’m sending you home. I might not want to do anything to freak you out, but I’m still a guy, and the thought of making out with you and maybe even going even further can still drive me crazy.”

  “I was going to say nowhere…”

  “Why do I have a hard time believing that?”

  “Because you know me?”

  “That must be it. So Ems, will you stay and watch a movie with me?”

  Placing a hand on the arm of the chair and lifting himself up from his place on the floor, he pulls me up, and giving him the most comfortable smile I can, I motion down the hall to where I know his bedroom awaits.

  “What are you waiting for? Let’s get our movie on.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Christian

  Infinity signifies no limitations and never ending possibilities. The infinity tattoo design signifies there being no boundaries. Everything is infinite.

  It’s perfect.

  This research I’m doing, it started last night. I was searching for a Christmas present for Emery and eventually it took on a mind of its own, leading me away from jewelry until it became permanently marking my body with a tattoo.

  “What the hell, Cayne?!”

  So absorbed in what I was reading that I wasn’t paying attention to anything going on around me, I turn to see Jonah standing behind me with a full view of what’s on my screen.

  Slamming the lid to the laptop down even though I’m pretty sure he’d seen more than enough to quiz me on, he comes around the table, climbs in and not giving me a chance to explain, starts in on me.

  “You’re not seriously thinking about getting a tat!” He hisses.

  Looking from him to the laptop, I shrug before reaching into my bag and bringing out my lunch, hoping to hell that whatever my dad made is enough to stuff my face with so I won’t have to answer him.

  “You realize that even if you do manage to snag your dad’s permission, Coach is gonna freak if you show up to practice sporting it.”

  Coach. A guy I never thought I’d have in my life, but that had been a godsend during those weeks when Emery wouldn’t talk to me. Letting me join the soccer team and get my frustrations out on the field instead of drowning in them the way I had been.

  “Yeah, Dad. I’m aware.”

  “So what the hell?”

  “I was just reading something about the symbol. No big deal.”

  He doesn’t need to know that for a split second after I’d read the definition, I’d been pretty positive I wanted it. He’s already freaking over my reading something. Telling him that it was more than just a passing thought would send him through the roof.

  The same way it would do to my actual dad if he ever found out.

  “Okay, that’s cool, but now you gotta tell me why you’re looking at infinity symbols.”

  “Do I really need to answer that?”

  We don’t exactly get into it, but I’m pretty damn sure he’s aware of how I feel about Emery. So he has to already know the answer to his question.

  There’s people that don’t even kno
w me at all—only seeing me in class and around campus—that know how Emery and I are without even asking, so Jonah’s knowledge, being my friend and someone that once upon a time knew her pretty damn well, has to be able to write the book on us.

  “Does she know that you’re looking into permanently messing with your body?”

  “No, and if you wanna keep breathing, you’re not gonna say a word. Like I said, I was just reading up on the symbol. It just happened to take me to a tattoo site.”

  “Sure it did. Haven’t you ever heard of a thing called Wikipedia?”

  “Yeah, man, I have, but you know that it’s pointless to go there if you want actual information. It’s edited by people like us. You know…ones that don’t know shit?”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure that if all you were after was a bit of basic infinity information, you could have gotten it there. Or I don’t know, asked me.”

  “Since when did you become an encyclopedia?”

  “Since my best friend decided he wanted to be a complete moron and get a tattoo.”

  “Who’s getting a tattoo?” Emery asks coming up behind us and wrapping her arms around my neck before kissing my cheek.

  “The bonehead you’re dating.” Jonah blurts and shooting him a look a death, I immediately start shaking my head.

  “Don’t listen to him. I was looking something up online that happened to take me to a tattoo site and he walked up and caught me reading.”

  Moving around and sliding in beside me, she taps her fingers on the top of the laptop. “Show me?”

  “Sorry, no can do. I shut it down when this idiot started in on me.”

  Please don’t see through the lie.

  This all started because I wanted to come up with something original that would fit her for Christmas. The last thing I want right now is to have to spill that truth out because Jonah couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.

  Moving my bag out of the way as she slides hers off her shoulders, I pick the laptop up with my other hand and slide it in, knotting the strings before laying it down on the ground, content that even if she doesn’t believe a word I just said, taking the smoking gun off the table has at least bought me some time.