I look down, still half asleep. I’m dressed in the tiny white camisole and thin cotton boy shorts I went to sleep in.
“Where’re my pants?” I slur, looking blearily around the room.
“I don’t know babe, where do you keep ‘em?” His voice sounds strangled, like he’s trying not to laugh again.
“Here.” A pair of blue jeans hits me in the face. “Get dressed and get out. I still have a few hours to sleep and you two are keeping me from it.” Her job done, Olivia turns her back to us and pulls the covers up over her head.
Sebastian finds a sweater and helps me into it while I sip my warm, caffeine laden drink, trying to wake up a few brain cells. What’s going on? Did everyone just decide to sneak into my house in the early hours of the morning?
“Where are you taking me?” I finally ask as he opens my front door and begins leading me to his car.
“You’re birthday surprise, remember?”
“Birthday surprise? But... you said 5:30?”
“It is 5:30. Hurry up, before we miss it,” he says grinning. His enthusiasm would be charming if I were awake enough to enjoy it.
“5:30 A.M.? You could’ve specified Seb!” I huff as I climb through the car door he’s holding open for me. Buckling myself in, I drain the last of my coffee.
“Ugh, I didn’t even get to brush my teeth!”
“Don’t worry about it, I have some gum.”
I groan. “Gum is so not an alternative to dental hygiene...”
“Did you just use the words ‘dental hygiene’? I guess you’re waking up after all.”
After handing me some mint flavored gum, he pulls away. It’s not long before he’s slowing down to take the exit toward the Long Island Sound.
“The Sound? Why are we going there?”
“When’s the last time you went to the beach?”
“Um, a few months ago. With you and Olivia, remember?”
“Yeah,” he laughs. “I remember. But when’s the last time you went to the beach to watch the sunrise?”
“Ah, your big surprise, huh? Very romantic Seb.”
He smiles mischievously. “I planned on taking you here last night and camping out until dawn, but, well, this’ll be almost as good.”
“You thought I was going to spend all night with you on a beach? Very optimistic of you... And what was I going to tell my dad? I don’t think he’d really be on board with that plan.” I briefly wonder if my dad came home last night or if he spent the night at his office.
“If he noticed, which, let’s face it, he probably wouldn’t, you’d just tell him you were at Olivia’s. It’s not like you’ve never used that one before.” He raises a knowing eyebrow.
“True,” I grimace. “But it was also down pouring yesterday, remember? What were you planning on doing about that?”
He makes a face. “Yeah, well it’s not like they’re short on motels around here...”
He pulls the Mustang into a deserted parking lot just as the sky is lightening to a rich purple. Sebastian gets out, rustles around in the trunk for a minute, and pulls out a red plaid blanket. Without a second glance, he walks to the concrete steps leading to the beach below.
I get out slowly and stand next to the car, watching him. He stops at the top of the stairs and turns to face me, his blue eyes shining gold in the dim morning light.
“Come on Em! What are you waiting for?” He shouts to be heard over the roar of wind and waves, grinning like a maniac. A strong gust blows in from off the water, pressing his clothing tight against his body. The blanket whips around violently, like a scarlet flag caught in a storm. I study him for a moment, his head thrown back, eyes sparkling in delight.
There’s a wild excitement to him. It’s vibrating in every muscle, every fiber. He’s beautiful. It’s this, I think. This primitive and untamed energy of his that first drew me to him to begin with.
I promised myself that I’d try harder, give him a fair shot. He deserves better than how I’ve been treating him lately. I push away all the anxiety I’ve been carrying around. I try to forget about Caiden and Caroline and the fight with my dad last night. Right now I’m taking Olivia’s advice and just living in the present.
A slow smile spreading over my face, I jog to catch up with him. He takes my hand and we race down the stone steps and onto the beach.
* * *
We watch the sun come up over the Sound, cuddling and kissing, stretched out on the soft red blanket. The sunrise is spectacular. Pale lavender and rosy pink, changing to dusky orange. Ribbons of clouds streaking the sky in gold, and then the whole thing finally transforming to a clear blue.
“Hey,” I say remembering. “How’s your hand?” I reach to out to take a look at it, but he pulls it away.
“It’s fine. Barely a scratch.”
“Oh come on, Mr. Tough Guy,” I laugh, grabbing his hand. “I saw the gash. I’m surprised it didn’t need stitches–” I freeze, staring at his palm in disbelief. “How is that possible? It only happened two days ago...” All that’s left of the deep slice I saw is a faint pink line.
“I told you,” he says, yanking his hand back. “It was barely a scratch.”
“No, I saw it–”
He leans down and kisses me, effectively shutting me up. “Forget about it.” He leans over me, his dark blue eyes looking deep into mine. I stretch up toward him, but just before his lips touch mine, he swoops me up and runs down the beach toward the surf, tossing me over his shoulder.
“Don’t you dare throw me in that water!” I shriek at him, clawing to get away. From my upside down position, I grab his waist and sink my teeth into the strong muscles of his lower back.
“Ow!” He wrestles me to the ground. “You like to bite, huh?”
Laughing so hard I can barely breathe, I squirm underneath him, but he weighs a ton – I can’t budge him.
“Well, there’s only one thing to do with you...” He snatches me up again, this time cradling me in front of him, my arms around his neck and my legs kicking out frantically over his arm.
“I think you need to cool down a bit.” He laughs and I shriek again.
“No way! It’s too cold! I’m gonna get hypothermia!” I’m fighting for all I’m worth, but it’s no use.
He reaches the edge of the water and runs straight into the waves, soaking both of us. He drops my legs but his warm arms stay wrapped tight around my waist. The waves crash down over us, taking my legs out from under me.
He tightens his hold and lifts me up even higher so I can wrap my legs around his waist. I laugh up into his sparkling blue eyes, his lashes spiky from the water. He leans down and gently captures my lips with his. He kisses me softly, his mouth moving over mine slowly, languidly, before raising his head to look at me again.
A mischievous twinkle in his eyes is my only warning before he tosses me up in the air like I weigh nothing. I shriek as I splash back down into the icy water. Resurfacing, I start after him, bent on revenge.
We wrestle in the water, dunking me each other and laughing like maniacs until my hands are shriveled and we both turn blue from the frigid water. By the time we get back to the car, we’re both out of breath and shaking so badly from the cold we can barely talk. My face hurts from laughing so much.
“Let’s go get some breakfast.” He pulls me into his arms and kisses me sweetly again. “There’s a great place down the road from here.”
“We’re going to breakfast like this?” I look down at my sopping wet jeans. He takes off his shirt and wrings it out the best he can. I take a moment to admire his strong chest, water droplets still clinging to him, messy blond hair sticking up all over, and that wild excitement still glowing in his eyes.
“Of course not; I came prepared.” He opens the trunk, distracting me from my ogling, and tosses me one of his flannel shirts and a pair of my own jeans.
“Um, where did you get these?” I hold up the jeans in question.
“I had Olivia steal them for me.” He
winks. So that’s why she was ransacking my closet Friday, that sly little...
“I figured you’d want a change of clothes,” he continues. “Get in the car and get dressed; I can see you shivering from over here.”
I climb in and dress as quickly as I can. It really is cold out there. October in Connecticut is not the best time to take a dip in the ocean. Only a lunatic like Sebastian would think this was a good idea... I smile as I pull on my jeans.
He gets in the driver’s side and hands me a brush before changing himself. Wow, he really did come prepared. I wonder what else is in that trunk of his... The fact that he had originally arranged for this to be a romantic overnight trip leads me to suspect he had quite a different plan in mind than simply hanging out on the beach.
We’ve talked about sex a few times, but we haven’t actually done it yet. Olivia thinks it’s funny that I’ve been dating him for a year and I’m still a virgin, but the timing just never felt right. And now, with the promise ring and Seb’s whole speech about ‘taking the next step’, well, I guess he’s hoping that the next step will include sex. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I only just decided to give him a serious chance. It’s sweet that he would go to such lengths to make my first time so memorable, but I just don’t want to have to make that decision quite yet.
Sebastian finishes getting dressed and we drive down the road to a small cafe. It’s a square, whitewashed building with an enclosed porch area out back, overlooking the Sound. We walk up hand in hand and are led to a table on the porch with a breathtaking view. The sky is a uniform blue now, only a few fluffy clouds scattered here and there.
The restaurant is surprisingly busy this early in the morning. A family of four, complete with two squalling children, one of which is still in a high chair, are seated a few tables to our right. I watch them, shaking my head. Despite the noise the little ones are making, the young mother seems entirely content, alternately soothing them and carrying on a conversation with the man next to her, presumably her husband. I try to think back to my childhood, but I don’t remember it being that sort of happy chaos.
My mom was always very quiet, contained. But sometimes there was an edginess to her. A restlessness. She would get more and more agitated, until finally, she would pack us up and move us somewhere else. We moved to six different houses by the time I was twelve. Our final move here, to Haven Hollow, happened just before my fourteenth birthday. Always after moving, my mom would be calmer, happier for a time. Like a weight had been lifted off her chest. Except when we moved here...
The waitress returns with my coffee, breaking me out of my thoughts. I take a sip to distract myself and glance at Sebastian. His attention seems focused on the small family as well, but he’s not watching them with the indulgent half smile I was. His eyes are narrowed, jaw clenched tight. I follow his gaze and notice a large man at the table next to the family.
He looks to be in his early fifties, with dark black hair silvering at the temples. Across from him sits another man, equally large, but a little younger, with brown hair. He looks familiar, and when he turns his head to look at us, I realize why.
“Hey, isn’t that Olivia’s dad?”
“Yeah.” Sebastian’s attention stays fixed on them.
“Who’s that with him?”
When I ask this, both the men turn toward us, watching us and whispering. I look back at Sebastian, waiting for him to answer me, but he just keeps staring across the room, his face a hard mask.
Movement catches my eye and I watch as the men stand up and make their way over to us.
“Sebastian.” The older man inclines his head.
Seb stands up and nods in return, his eyes focused on a spot just over the man’s shoulder. Sebastian’s hands are clenched into fists, and there’s a feeling of barely leashed aggression. As large as Sebastian is, these men are taller than him by a good six inches, and even their suit jackets can’t disguise how heavily muscled they are.
The older man stares down at Sebastian, unblinking. After a few tense seconds, Sebastian sits back down, still stiff, but less aggressive than before.
Wanting to defuse the tense atmosphere, I smile up at Olivia’s father.
“Hi, Mr. Scott. How are you doing?”
He smiles stiffly back. “I’m just fine, Emerson. How are you?”
“Good.” I smile again, uncomfortable.
The older man continues watching me, his brows furrowed.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Sebastian?” He asks, not taking his eyes from me.
“James, this is Emerson. Emerson, James,” Sebastian says flatly, not meeting James’s eyes.
“A pleasure to meet you.” James takes my hand and bends over it, brushing his lips across the top in an old fashioned gesture. I could swear I hear him sniff. I take my hand back as quickly as I can. This is getting weird.
James smiles broadly, but it looks more like a baring of teeth as he turns back to Sebastian. “Well, I’ll leave you two to your breakfast. Don’t forget about tomorrow night.”
I wait until the two of them are far enough away before asking, “Um, who was that?”
“No one. Just a friend of my dad’s.” He’s looking anywhere but at me, the playful mood from earlier gone.
“And you’re hanging out with a friend of your dad’s tomorrow?” I raise my eyebrows at him.
“He’s coming over to our house for dinner.”
“Is Olivia’s dad going too?”
“Probably. Our fathers are friends.” By the tone of his voice, I know he wants me to drop it. Fine. I have enough weirdness going on in my life without adding his to it.
We finish eating and drive back to my house in silence. Sebastian’s been in a strange mood since James and I don’t know how to snap him out if it. Before I go inside, I reach over to him, placing my hand on his muscular thigh.
“Is everything alright, Seb?” He looks at me with an odd expression. A mixture of sadness and longing and something else I have no name for.
“I love you, ya know.” He takes my hand where it rests on his leg and places it on his chest. “I have for years.”
I don’t know what to say to that. Instead of answering, I lean in and kiss him. It starts out softly, but gets deeper and more intense. I move my hand up to the back of his head, gripping his hair, pulling him as close as we can get in the confines of the car. The kiss becomes wild, and before I know it, he lifts me up over the central console to straddle him, never taking his mouth from mine.
His hands roam all over me, sliding up under my shirt to unhook my bra. Then he slides his lips down my neck, nibbling on my earlobe on his way to my collar bone. Unbuttoning my flannel, he moves lower. I gasp at the shockingly hot feel of his mouth. Then it’s gone. He buries his face in my shoulder and shudders.
“What’s wrong?” I’m out of breath. I don’t know why he stopped.
“I think you should go inside, Em.” His voice is muffled, pressed against the crook of my neck.
“But...”
“No, we can’t. Not here. Not...right now.” He’s right, but I can’t help feeling bereft. Adrenaline is crackling through my body, making it hard to think clearly.
He buttons my shirt back up before meeting my gaze. There are gold flecks in his blue eyes that I’ve never noticed before.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow for school.”
“Thanks, Seb. For everything.” I lean and brush my lips against his lightly before climbing awkwardly off his lap and out of the car.
Chapter 9
I hear my dad leave for work Monday morning before my alarm clock even goes off. We haven’t spoken since our blowout Saturday night. I do feel a bit bad about that, but I’m not going to apologize for asking a simple question about my own mother.
Waking into school with Sebastian, I’m so preoccupied by these thought that it takes me a moment to understand why everyone in the hallway stops and stares at us. With everything that happened over the
weekend – Sarah, meeting Caroline, and then the beach with Sebastian – I completely forgot about the little fiasco Friday night with Sebastian and Caiden.
Sebastian, oblivious to the shocked looks we’re getting, kisses me deeply before heading to class. I head straight for Olivia’s locker and wait for her to show up. As I walk down the hall, people back away from me, coughing ‘slut’ and ‘bitch’ under their breath as they pass.
I nervously brush my short black skirt down over my thighs for the thousandth time. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the glass across the hall from me. My black hair is piled on top of my head with curls spilling down. The deep, plum colored sweater I’m wearing brings out the violet in my eyes, but its length leaves a few inches of stomach bare below my belly button. Normally, that would be a plus, but not today. I really should have rethought this outfit.
I lean back against the lockers, trying to maintain a casually aloof pose. This isn’t the worst day of school I’ve ever had. And really, why everyone is getting so worked up about my personal life is beyond me. You would think they’d have something better to do, but in a town as small as ours, I guess they need to get their entertainment somewhere.
I look at the time on my cell. I only have a few minutes before I have to leave for homeroom. Where can Olivia be? Hearing the warning bell ring, I finally admit defeat. I’ll have to talk to her in History. I turn to leave and almost run into Caiden.
“Jeez, stop doing that!” I say angrily. The people around me stop what they're doing to watch us.
His eyes glance down my body, taking in my outfit. “Doing what?” He sounds as annoyed as I do.
“Sneaking up on me! I’m going to be late, I need to go.” I try to rush past him and avoid the growing crowd, but he grabs my upper arm, preventing me. My anger starts to boil up, but I try to rein it in, remembering Friday.
“Let - go,” I ground out between clenched teeth, trying to keep my voice from being overheard. “You’re making a scene.”
“We need to discuss your training,” he says, equally low.
“I’ll see you in English; we’ll talk then.” I avoid looking directly at him, instead staring straight ahead. The people surrounding us lean in closer, trying to catch our heated exchange.
Silent Circle Page 7