by L. M. Reed
Chapter 6
Dear Diary,
Will this day never end?!!!
CeeCee
Hours later, and still the last of the stragglers lingered. Felicia and her parents had left about fifteen minutes earlier, trying to help us out by making a big production of it in order to give others the hint, but, honestly, some people had no clue. I’d had more than enough, and needed to escape.
On the one hand, I felt badly about leaving Mom and Mark to handle the rest of the guests, on the other hand, if I had stayed down there one more second, I would have screamed bloody murder.
Granted, that was a most effective way to clear a room, but I didn’t relish the thought of spending time in a straight jacket locked in my own private, padded cell. My family didn’t need anymore reason to think I was losing, or had already lost it, than I already had given them. There was plenty of evidence around to support that theory without my deliberately adding to it.
Throwing myself on the bed, I picked up my MP3 player, put my headphones on, cranked up the sound, and closed my eyes.
A short time later, I awoke with a start to find a pair of golden brown eyes watching me. Taking off my headphones, I sat up quickly. Nick was sitting on the edge of my bed and I didn’t need three guesses to figure out what he wanted. I was about to be raked over the coals.
Seeing how easily he interacted with all of the guests downstairs, I noted that he certainly wasn’t shy about approaching people. Although he had been the soul of kindness on the phone when I told him about Dad, he obviously knew more about my past sins than my comfort zone allowed.
I’d spent the whole time downstairs trying to avoid him, but every time I looked around, he was making a beeline for me.
By that point, it was fairly obvious that I was Mark’s sister and not Felicia. For the most part, I had managed to evade him, but I noticed him casting speculative glances at me all afternoon. Assuming the worst, I decided that he was trying to figure out how to get me alone to take me to task for past—and possibly present—behavior.
Belligerently, I’d returned his glances with defiant glares of my own, not planning on being an easy target. Let him deal with that.
“What are you doing in here?”
“Your brother sent me to check on you,” Nick answered amusedly.
“Ever heard of knocking?”
“Ever heard of answering?” he matched my question with a question. At my confused look he continued, “I did knock, but you had your headphones on, sound asleep. I decided not to disturb your beauty rest.”
“Very funny,” he was definitely beginning to irritate, “you’ve checked on me, I’m obviously still alive and kicking,” or about to, I added silently, “So you can leave now.”
“Not very hospitable,” Nick reproached me. “Your mother would be horrified at your manners, or lack thereof.”
“I doubt she would be surprised. I doubt that you are surprised,” I returned smartly. He was really starting to tick me off. “Now if you don’t mind…” I looked pointedly at the door.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you. Since you were determined to evade me downstairs, now seems like a good time.”
Oh great, I thought sarcastically, here it comes.
“Well, since I’m having no luck getting rid of you, you might as well go ahead and get it off your chest. I await with bated breath.”
I scooted back to lean against my headboard, drew up my knees, and locked my arms around my legs pretending avid interest. Since I tended to reveal too much when I was ‘over the top’ angry, I was determined to stay calm and not let him get to me. I had a feeling that he could easily put me there.
Nick’s eyes held mine for about a minute, as if searching for something, then seemed to make up his mind.
“So, I hear you have a wicked right cross,” he began with an amused look.
That was the last thing I expected him to say. My surprise must have shown on my face.
He continued, “Do you always react that way when a guy tries to kiss you?”
“Do you always believe everything you hear?” I asked in turn, deciding suddenly to answer his questions with a question hoping to put him on the defensive instead allowing him to force me into a defensive stance.
“Are you denying it?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Hmm…interesting, we were both doing the question thing.
“Does it really matter?”
And ball in your court, I thought smugly.
“You answer my questions and I’ll answer yours,” he replied.
Aw rats, he changed the game. Guess he realized it wasn’t going to get him anywhere.
“But I am only asking my questions to keep from answering yours. I couldn’t care less about your answers,” I replied a little nastily.
“You do have quite a temper. Poor guy, just wanting a little kiss, and gets a broken nose instead. You are definitely a danger to all mankind,” he finished, shaking his head.
“He wasn’t trying to kiss me; he was trying to undress me!” I snapped. “But you are certainly welcome to believe whatever you want,” then muttered, “everyone else did.”
Shoot! And I was going to stay all calm, cool, and collected and ignore the jerk. I had to get my temper under control.
“So why does everyone, including your family, think that you just overreacted to a goodnight kiss?” he asked, intrigued.
“Because that is what I do, overreact to everything, and because when the odds are five against one, people tend to believe the five,” I replied truculently. “I’ve answered your original question, now go away and leave me alone.”
“I would like to know one more thing.”
“Sorry, I’m all out of answers for the night.”
“Well, it’s not really in the form of a question, although it might be considered one I suppose,” he said as leaned toward me. “It’s really more of an experiment.”
Placing his hand on the nape of my neck and pulling me gently forward, his lips brushed mine in a featherlike kiss. My eyes closed involuntarily and I could feel my lips quivering.
“Hmm, very nice, and no broken nose,” he murmured softly from barely an inch away.
By the time I recovered from the shock and opened my eyes, he was out of the room and the door was already closing behind him.
What was that?
I touched my lips with my fingers gently, wonderingly. There were strange feelings floating around inside of me. As his lips touched mine, every nerve ending in my body had…screamed. I hadn’t even known that I was in possession of that many nerve endings. Then, immediately afterwards, my stomach seemed to disappear, like riding in a car and unexpectedly hitting a huge dip in the road.
I sat in shocked wonder for at least a minute, then without conscious thought, jumped off the bed and ran to the door. I yanked it open just in time to hear Mom saying, “Bye Nick, thanks for coming. Be careful going back.”
Gone…groaning quietly, I slowly shut the door and leaned against it, drained as if I had run a marathon. I sank to the floor and stayed there, replaying the kiss over and over in my mind. I had never felt like that before…ever. It was scary and thrilling all at the same time.
I wouldn’t allow myself to wonder why he did it or what it meant, that might ruin the whole effect for me, I just wanted to remember it, savor it, dream about it…it…my first kiss.
I compared it to the neck nibbling that Craig the jerk-face had subjected me to that night almost a year ago, but there was no comparison. Craig had just been an irritating annoyance, much like a mosquito buzzing around, landing, and biting, then buzzing around again. I had to swat him.
Thankfully, he’d never made it to my lips.
Nick, on the other hand, had annoyed and angered me verbally, but physically…against my will, I had to admit that I was extremely attracted to him, another reason he had so easily made me angry an
d my true motive for avoiding him all day.
According to Mark, Nick was around twenty-five or so and in his last year of Veterinarian school at Texas A&M doing clinic stuff—whatever that meant—in Austin. I knew he was way too old for me, and I didn’t want to develop a schoolgirl crush on him.
Felicia and I always made fun of the girls at school who had unrealistic crushes on people like movie and music stars, and having a crush on someone like Nick would have been just as unrealistic. I was nothing if not practical.
Startled out of my thoughts by a knock on the door, I jumped up as if I’d been stung. Taking a few deep, steadying breaths, I opened the door.
“Can I come in?” Mark asked.
“Sure. Is everyone finally gone?”
“Well…there were a few who wouldn’t leave, so I chopped them up in little pieces and hid them in the freezer,” he grinned wickedly. “Snack for later.”
I laughed, just as he meant for me to, and rubbed my tummy, “Yum.”
Mark could always make me laugh; he just hadn’t been around much in recent years to make sure that I got my daily dose.
The realization that he would have to leave again soon propelled me into his arms.
“Whoa!” Mark exclaimed, surprised.
His arms automatically went around me squeezing me tightly and, smoothing my hair with his hand, he asked, “Not that I object, but what brought this on?”
Burying my face in his neck I mumbled, “It just hit me that you have to leave soon. I’ll be miserable without you.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” he said, gently taking my face in his hands and pulling my head back where he could see me. “We still have tomorrow and part of Sunday, and I promise I will be back for your eighteenth birthday in a couple of weeks.”
“Then I hope the time flies,” I said fervently.
“It will,” Mark assured me, “in the mean time, I need you to keep an eye on Mom. She seems to be handling things well on the surface, but you know Mom, she always projects that image. You and I both know she’s going to have a rough time. Oh and there’s another thing I was going to tell you, here,” he held out a small black object, “take this.”
“A cell phone…?” I asked incredulously, “How did you get Mom to spring for a cell phone?”
I had been begging for one for years, well at least one year, but Mom wouldn’t budge. There was no money in the budget for luxuries.
“Mom didn’t, I did,” Mark said abruptly, “I got her one, too. She didn’t want to take it, but I finally convinced her. The phones were free, they aren’t anything fancy, I just have to pay a monthly fee for the service, and we are on a plan that allows us free cell phone to cell phone calling.”
“You mean I can talk to you as much as I want?” I asked enthusiastically.
Laughing at the look on my face, Mark nodded, “That’s the idea,” Then added soberly, “with great discretion of course. I don’t want to get a phone call in the middle of class unless it’s an emergency. I’ll give you my fall schedule as soon as I sign up for my classes, along with my work schedule as soon as I figure out my hours. How does that sound?”
I nodded, too excited to speak.
“I’ve already programmed my cell phone number into your phone, as well as Nick’s, in case something urgent pops up and you can’t get a hold of me.”
I hoped Mark didn’t hear my sudden sharp intake of breath at the mention of Nick’s name. That was going to get embarrassing, reacting like that every time Nick came up in conversation…and frustrating.
“Thanks, Mark,” I reached up and gave him a peck on the check. “You’re the best!”
“I know, modest, too! See, I’m blushing,” he teased and then added in a more serious tone, “Be sure that you take that phone whenever you’re out running. Your little disappearing act from the hospital the other day is how I convinced Mom to take the cell phone.”
“Again, sorry,” I hung my head in chagrin. “I don’t suppose you would want to go running with me tonight?”
He’d turned me down the past couple of nights saying he was too busy.
“As long as you slow down your pace a bit, I wouldn’t mind a good run,” Mark agreed.
“No problem, I’ll meet you downstairs in ten minutes.”
Mark was already headed thru the connecting bathroom to his room when I added, “Be sure and bring your cane and have your rocking chair and afghan ready for when you get back, old man.”
“Very funny,” I heard him mutter as he shut the door.