Friends vs. Family

by C. L. Stone

  “I was thinking of the chicken salad,” I said.

  “Get what you really want, Sang,” Victor said coolly without looking up from the menu.

  “How do you know that’s not what she wants?” Nathan asked, closing his menu and dropping it on the table.

  “She’s conveniently picked the lowest priced item on the menu that isn’t an appetizer.” He lifted his head. The fire in his eyes seemed amused as he faced me. “Sang?”

  I blushed and scanned the menu. “Tortelloni?”

  “Better,” he said. He folded his menu, placing it on the table.

  The waiter came back with our drinks. The smoothies were served in big green glasses with strawberry wedges around the brim. Nathan’s had two. Mine had six. Nathan’s eyes narrowed on my glass but he said nothing.

  “Have things been decided?” Cody asked. He looked intently at my face. I was confused and felt a finger fluttering up to my lip.

  “We’ll start with the zucchini fritte,” Victor said. “I’ll have the veal marsala. She’ll have the tortellini.” He paused, gazing at the others across the table.

  Nathan and Gabriel put in their orders but Cody kept glancing at me. “Anything else?” he asked, seemingly to the table in general but his gaze never left mine.

  “That’s it,” Victor said.

  Cody’s smile teased his lips, an almost smirk. “Call on me if you need anything. I’ll get these right out.”

  The air pressure around the table seemed to lift when he left.

  “I don’t like our waiter,” Gabriel said.

  The others mumbled their confirmation.

  “Did he do something wrong?” I asked, not completely understanding their displeasure.

  None of them seemed to want to answer so I focused on the strawberry smoothie. I picked up one of the strawberries from the brim and took a bite.

  Gabriel stretched in his seat. “Mmm... long morning,” he said. “We got a lot done, though. And Sang’s got a new wardrobe.” He wriggled his eyebrows at me. “Enough room in your closet?”

  “I don’t know how I’m going to get it all up to my room.” I absentmindedly rubbed at the hem of Kota’s shirt at my neck. “And I’m worried. I mean, what if Danielle comes back? And my parents might wonder...”

  “We’re taking care of that,” Nathan said. He snagged one of the strawberries off of my glass and popped it into his mouth. He’d already eaten his.

  “How?”

  He glanced at Victor. Victor only shrugged. Nathan turned back to me with a smile. “Don’t worry so much.”

  “Besides,” Gabriel said, “Danielle won’t be able to get her ass in your clothes now that you’ve got shit that fits. I saw her in your skirt. I’m surprised she didn’t rip it.”

  “I don’t understand why she wanted my things, anyway,” I said. “They weren’t exactly expensive or new.”

  “She was trying to get attention by wearing what you wear,” Victor said. His fingers slipped against the condensation on his drink. “A lot of the girls are doing that.”

  “Doing what?” I blushed.

  “They’re all wearing nicer things. I’ve seen the girls starting to wear skirts.” Victor’s eyes lifted to settle on my face. “Apparently you’re a trendsetter.”

  “Yeah well,” Gabriel said, sitting back and hanging an elbow over the back edge of the booth. His foot slid next to mine again, this time staying next to my foot. “They’re about to get their minds blown. She’s got a whole new look now.”

  “I don’t know, guys. I don’t want to stand out.”

  They all laughed.

  “You’re wearing skirts to school in the first place,” Gabriel said. “You started it.”

  I shrugged. “It was what everyone wore at my old school.”

  From under the table, Victor found my hand. His fingers interlocked mine, his thumb smoothed over my skin. I tried to feel calm about it but it set my heart speeding along. “What were they like? The kids at your old school? What did they wear?”

  “The clothes were a little nicer than what kids wear here, I suppose,” I said quietly. “They were a lot calmer. Quieter. There wasn’t as much fighting. The girls wore skirts and blouses most of the time. During the winter they might trade for nicer jeans.”

  His eyebrow rose and his thumb stopped. “Were you that different from them?”

  “Who?”

  “The other kids.”

  “Their clothes were nicer. Newer.”

  “You didn’t look like a monster in yours, so I don’t understand. And they still didn’t talk to you?”

  I shrugged, feeling cornered. “They weren’t mean to me. They just never said anything to me. After a while, I settled into a routine. I was usually reading at my own table. It wasn’t as crowded at my old school so I could find space for myself.”

  Gabriel smirked. “I think Kota was right. They were probably blown away by you and didn’t know how to approach you.”

  Heat radiated my face again.

  Nathan cleared his throat. “Anyway,” he said, his blue eyes on me. “Do we want to go help the guys when we get back or are we doing something else?”

  “Else,” Gabriel said. “We’re going to get roped into working at the diner soon enough. Might as well take the time off while we can get away with it.”

  “Want to swim, Sang?” Nathan asked.

  I brightened, nodding. I was grateful he was interrupting the others and redirecting the attention. “Sure.”

  “We’ll tell the guys when we get back that Sang wanted to swim so we have to stay behind.”

  When we had eaten the appetizer and the meals were delivered, Cody took special care to place the boys’ plates first.

  When he got to mine, he stopped halfway as if he was feeling awkward about reaching over everyone else. His eyes fell on me. I caught something in what he wanted and without thinking, I reached out to help, taking the plate from him. His rough hands traced over mine as he let go.

  “Thank you,” I said to be polite, even though I was confused. Why was he touching me?

  He flashed an amused grin. “Need anything else?” he asked, though his eyes were on me alone.

  “No,” Victor said shortly.

  Cody shot him a glare. He bowed his head at us and left the table.

  As we ate, the conversation turned to school. They started talking about the teachers, the homework we had and expectations about upcoming tests. It wasn’t long before I was feeling full and finally had to push my plate away.

  “Left room for dessert?” Victor asked me.

  I shook my head, covering my stomach with my hand and rubbing. “It’s too much.”

  “They’ve got a nice tiramisu here.”

  I slid over in the booth until I was leaning my shoulder against his. “What’s tiramisu?”

  He smiled, amused. “You’ll see.”

  “I like the strawberry cheesecake,” Nathan said, pushing his empty plate away.

  “I want chocolate,” Gabriel said. He speared some pasta from my plate and ate it. “There’s a chocolate cake thing here, right?”

  Cody came back and took our plates. This time Nathan ordered the strawberry cheesecake, chocolate cake and the tiramisu for the table.

  “And bring four spoons,” he said.

  Cody’s eyes once again landed on me. “Would you like anything else, sweetheart?”

  I flinched, not understanding why he kept asking me. “I’m fine.”

  He flashed another smile my way and turned from us, carrying the dishes back to the kitchen.

  “What the hell is he doing?” Gabriel said. “It’s like he’s waiting for us to punch him or something.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “He hasn’t stopped flirting with you since we got here,” he said.

  My mouth popped open and my hand fluttered to the base of my throat. “I thought he was just being nice.”

  “He’s being an ass,” Victor said.

 
I sighed, swallowed, and sat back again with my arms around my stomach. I didn’t understand flirting at all.

  Cody returned, and he placed the desserts in the middle of the table, spoons placed inside each one.

  He had a small bowl of vanilla ice cream, too, and positioned it in front of me. He held the spoon out for me to take from him. “Thought you might like some,” he said. “It’ll clean your palette.”

  I glanced quickly at the guys, who were glaring at Cody. Cody ignored them, intent on me. I slowly reached for the spoon. He turned his fingers to lightly brush at my hand, lingering longer than necessary for me to collect the spoon.

  “Thank you,” I said quietly, unsure of how to respond otherwise.

  He brightened, flashing a satisfied grin and walked away.

  “His tip is standing in the negative,” Victor said. “One more thing and I’m talking to the manager.”

  “What are you going to tell him?” Gabriel asked. “That he’s being too polite to a girl we’re with? It makes us look like jealous freaks.”

  Victor grabbed the spoon on the tiramisu plate.

  Nathan scooped at his cheesecake. “Don’t make it look like we’re bothered by it,” he said. He held his spoon filled with red swirled cheesecake out toward me. “Have a taste,” Nathan said.

  I steadied his hand with mine, bringing the spoon to my mouth. The cheesecake was heady with strawberries and something tangy I couldn’t place. I let go of him to put my fingers over my mouth as I swallowed, licking my lips. “It’s good.”

  Victor nudged the plate of tiramisu toward me. “Try this.”

  I picked up my spoon, taking a bite of the fluffy, creamy dessert. It tasted like cinnamon or chocolate and there was a soft after-bite. “What’s in this?”

  “Rum, I think,” Victor said, taking a bite of it himself and grinning. “It’s not bad.”

  “Okay now this one,” Gabriel said. He positioned his plate until it was between both of us.

  I took a spoonful of his cake and ate it. “Okay,” I said. “I can’t pick. They’re all really good.”

  Gabriel’s eyes lit up. He dabbed his spoon into the ice cream cup, scooped up a little and then dug out a corner of cake to eat both together. “I have to admit, the ice cream is perfect for this.”

  I took a bite of ice cream, too. Within minutes, the plates were empty. I felt like I was ready to roll out the door.

  Cody returned, dropping off the check and taking our plates. As Victor pulled his wallet out again, I pressed my cheek to his shoulder.

  He turned his head slightly to me and parted his lips to say something but I beat him to it.

  “Thank you, Victor,” I said softly.

  “You’re welcome, Sang.”

  When he signed the receipt, he scooted out of the booth. The others followed. I trailed behind them through the crowded restaurant.

  Cody materialized ahead of us and made his way along the same path, thanking us for coming.

  When he got to me, he held his hand out in a strange way like he wanted to shake my hand. Out of instinct to be polite more than anything else, my hand drifted up and he grasped it. I felt a piece of paper being pressed to my hand.

  He leaned in to me to whisper. “When you get tired of being bossed around by those losers, call me.”

  My eyes widened, my cheeks radiated. I shoved the paper back to him, without checking to see what it was. “My friends,” I said loud enough to draw the attention of the boys to turn and look, “are way nicer than you are.”

  Cody’s face reddened. He let the paper drop to the floor between us and turned away quickly, sulking.

  The guys laughed. Gabriel hooked an arm around my neck, his head touching mine as he walked beside me the rest of the way out the door. “That’s our girl.”

  Out in the car, I was leaning back in the seat, my head against the side of the door. Now in the warmth of the day and with the lull in the car and a super full belly, I was feeling sleepy.

  Nathan popped my seat belt until it was undone. He tugged lightly at my arm. “Come here.”

  I was confused but he pulled me over until my head was pillowed by his thigh. I stiffened, nervous. He rested his arm against my shoulder as he moved his fingers to my ear. He smoothed his thumb over my lobe.

  I was asleep in a minute.

  S ang the cheater

  I woke up as Victor made the turn onto Sunnyvale Court. I yawned, rubbing at my eyes and was surprised that I had actually fallen asleep.

  Nathan smiled at me as I sat up. “Are you going to want a nap or swim?”

  “Swim.”

  His face brightened in a way that made me blush.

  Victor parked in Nathan’s driveway. We got out and we took armloads of the bags into the house. Nathan pointed to the square kitchen table in the dining room and we dropped the bags on top of it. Collected together on the table, the pile was overwhelming.

  “I don’t think they will fit in my closet,” I said.

  “Will you quit worrying?” Gabriel asked. He chopped me on the head and fished out the bag that had the bathing suit in it. “Go put this on.”

  I started to second guess my choice in bathing suits. I hadn’t thought ahead enough to think of the guys seeing me in a bikini.

  Gabriel sensed my hesitation and shoved me toward the bathroom.

  When I was locked inside the bathroom, I washed my face to refresh myself after sleeping in the car. I borrowed some of Nathan’s toothpaste. I brushed my teeth with my finger. I folded the shorts I had worn and all my other things. I took extra care with Kota’s shirt.

  When I finished dressing, I stared at myself in the mirror. The suit appeared just as daring as I’d felt it was in the store. Was this me?

  A gentle knock sounded at the door. “Sang,” Gabriel called to me. “Stop being nervous.”

  With my cheeks flushed, I unlocked the door and opened it. Gabriel leaned on the doorway, his arm up on the frame and his head resting against his arm. He was already in his swimming shorts. His slim frame was cut, his abs defined, and a line of brown hair came up from his groin, through his abs above his belly button before the trail faded. Did I miss this part the day before yesterday in the woods? Maybe I was too distracted by nettle and my stung legs to notice. He was easily one of the slimmest guys in the group, but he was exquisite.

  His eyes drank me in again and the side of his mouth curled up. “Knock out,” he said quietly. He grabbed my hand, his slim fingers folding over my palm. He tugged me back into the kitchen.

  Nathan wore red swim trunks. Victor was still dressed, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the gray granite counter of the kitchen island. They talked in hushed voices. Gabriel stepped out of the way so they could see me. Their eyes widened and mouths popped open.

  This was worse than if they had said they didn’t like it. Heat tickled the crests of my cheeks.

  Gabriel lifted my hand above my head and twisted it slightly so I would spin. The hem of the miniskirt flew up around my waist.

  “Can I dress or what?” Gabriel asked.

  Nathan’s cheeks reddened, his eyes bouncing back and forth from my face to my legs to my breasts and everywhere. Victor’s fire eyes were blazing. His eyes slid very slowly to my legs and back up across my body.

  “Come on, Trouble,” Gabriel said, as he clasped my hand tight and led me toward the living room. “Let’s go try it out.”

  As we walked through the living room, Nathan’s voice floated to us. “That was so worth every penny.”

  Victor replied, “I don’t think I spent enough...”

  Outside, Gabriel insisted on spreading a thick layer of suntan lotion on my back and stomach.

  “Sunburns are not for you,” he said, as he dabbed my nose with a little lotion.

  It was Nathan who finally pulled me away from him. He picked me up into his arms. I laughed, wriggling against him as I knew what was coming. He didn’t stop at the pool’s edge. He simply continued walk
ing and we splashed together into the water.

  The clouds were wisps in the sky. Freshly mowed grass and an ocean breeze tickled my nose along with the chlorine. The day was perfect for this.

  Gabriel took a shallow dive from the edge, and popped up on the other side of the pool. He shook his head, his blond locks scrambled into the mix of his dark hair.

  Victor emerged from the house. He wore plain gray swimming shorts. The silver medallion still hung around his neck. His tapered shoulders and chest were just as toned as Gabriel’s. While Nathan beat them both in definition and mass, they were all fit, and prime examples of Academy students.

  Victor squatted down to sit on the edge of the pool and slipped into the water without a splash. He did a quick lap across the pool under the water and surfaced. Water slid across his trim abdomen. He raked his wavy brown hair out of his eyes. I couldn’t believe how beautiful he looked.

  “You know what this means now that we have Sang,” Nathan said, distracting me from watching Victor. “We’ve finally got even teams.”

  “For what?” I asked. I untangled my clip from my hair, twisting my hair against my head and putting the clip back to keep it out of my eyes.

  “Everything,” Nathan said. “There’s been seven of us for so long, we’ve always had uneven teams unless someone bowed out.”

  “So I am useful,” I said, grinning. The water re-energized me. I didn’t realize how down I’d been until that moment when my blood was pumping through my veins again. How long had I been sleep walking through life?

  He smirked, splashing at me. I laughed, pulling away to swim under the water to the other side of the pool. When I got there, Nathan was right behind me. He bumped into me on purpose and broke the surface, slapping the beige concrete patio. “Another race?”

  I nodded, flicking water away from my brow. “What do I get when I win?”

  He laughed, his hand pressed against his chest. “I guess you don’t want one of my shirts now that you’ve got your own.”

  “Maybe I do,” I said, as I fixed a wide open teasing stare at him. “I will steal all your clothes and then you’ll have to go out with Gabriel.”