The Lost Boys

by Lilian Carmine

  I tried tackling Seth, sure that Tristan must have confided his plans to him for sure. Seth hazarded a guess that Tristan was probably going to take me to the same fancy restaurant in Saint Pete where he’d his first date with Tiffany.

  Friday came and at six p.m. I started getting ready for my date. I took my shower thinking about the evening to come. I was a little disappointed by Tristan’s plans, to tell you the truth. Posh dinners meant uncomfortable clothes to me, and painful high heels, and awkwardness because I didn’t know how to behave in such top-notch places. I know most guys think that an ideal date for girls means expensive dinners and red roses, but that was such a cliché and not like me at all! Well, Tristan was just trying to do his best, I guess, and I had to remember he came from a different time. I better master my fake-surprised face and appreciate the date. He was going to all this trouble because of me, and the least I could do was enjoy the evening with him, right?

  He was going to be there and that was the important part; that was all that mattered to me. It was my first official date with the boy of my dreams, after all. I was heading to my wardrobe to select a suitable outfit when Tristan walked into the room, all cheerful and bustling with eagerness.

  He was wearing my favorite blue T-shirt, and jeans that hugged his body in all the right places. “Hey, my tangerine girl!” he cheered and walked over, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing me deeply. “I’ve missed you!” he said, putting me back down on the floor after the kiss.

  “You’re the one who kept disappearing all day long, mister!” I scoffed, and then added hurriedly, “You’re early, you know, I’m not dressed yet!”

  “Of course you’re dressed, Joey. See? These are clothes,” he said, pulling the hem of my T-shirt to demonstrate the obvious. “Oh, I see! You’re talking about getting dressed for the date!” He faked like he had forgotten all about it and laughed at my annoyed face. “First I need you to come with me! You can get dressed after that. Come on!” he said, pushing me out of the room.

  Tristan grabbed my hand and walked with me quickly down the hallways until we were outside the school.

  “Tris, were the hell are we going?” I whispered, while he glanced around to see if there was anyone watching us.

  “I wanted to talk to you, you know, in private. Our room is Seth’s room too,” he explained, stopping to look at me “That small terrace you brought me to the night of the dance was around here somewhere, right? Can we go there for a little bit? To talk?”

  I tensed up immediately at the mention of the secret terrace. The memory of that night was still fresh in my head, and the “talk” we’d had then had been the most painful one I have ever had in my life. I didn’t want to re-live any of that, ever again. I looked at him suspiciously and nervously, but I saw nothing but happiness shining inside his eyes. “What sort of talk?” I asked worriedly.

  “Yeah, just, you know … talk … a little,” he said, leaning against me in such a provocative sexy way I almost tackled him right there in front of everyone. And I realized he was so lying with his “talk” excuse! His eyes totally betrayed him! He wanted to do other private things with me than talk!

  I smirked at him, amused. Well, now I understood the sudden need for a secluded private place. All week long we had been busy with school and band rehearsals. And Seth was often in the room, and sometimes Tiffany, Harry, Josh and Sammy were around. Given our date was going to be in a restaurant full of people, we certainly wouldn’t have any privacy there for sure. We might as well enjoy this couple of hours alone while we could, right?

  “Come on,” I said, pulling him by the hand in the direction of the small hidden iron door by the side of the school building. Harry’s secret terrace was saving the day, I thought, smiling to myself. I got to the top of the stairs in a few seconds and opened the iron door with a small push, stumbling on to the terrace out of breath. And then I gasped in shock. The place had been transformed!

  There were two blankets put together in the middle of the terrace, and a picnic basket placed right by its side. A couple of candles lay in the middle, with a little vase filled with white lilies next to them. A small boom box had been placed in the corner of the terrace, with Tristan’s guitar case by its side. There was also a big backpack resting in another corner.

  The sun was setting, giving the place an eerie, magical look, helped by the edges of the terrace being lit by hundreds of small tea-light candles. I was so surprised I couldn’t even speak! I just stood there with my mouth hanging open. Tristan wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.

  “Did I manage to surprise you?” he said quietly by my ear. “It’s a tricky thing to accomplish with a girl that can read your thoughts with a quick glance into your eyes.”

  “I-I-Y-you … yes!” was all I could reply. So that was why he had been avoiding me all day long!

  “Good,” he said, chuckling, satisfied with my reaction. Then he placed a soft kiss on my neck, and another one higher up, below my ear, making me shiver lightly.

  “But … but … what about the posh restaurant thing?” I asked, completely confused. He laughed, making me want to melt right there on the spot. “I never said I was going to take you to any fancy restaurant,” he said with a chuckle. “I know your idea of a good time does not include putting on uncomfortable clothes and spending time in a formal setting with so many people around. You’d hate a date like that so much!” he said, and led me to sit on the blanket.

  The terrace was getting darker by the minute; the sun had already disappeared behind the horizon but the candles glowed so beautifully on the terrace, bathing a soft warm yellow light over the lilies at the centre.

  “How did you know lilies are my favorite flowers?” I asked, surprised again.

  “Well, it doesn’t take a mastermind to figure that one out! You always make us stop by the garden next to the auditorium, on the lilies patch. I assumed you liked them,” he said, laughter lines playing around his beautiful gray eyes.

  “Yeah, I love them. They are beautiful.” I looked at the small cluster of white lilies, nested nicely in front of me. “They have the most amazing scent.”

  He gave me one of those quiet, sexy smiles of his again. Then he leaned in and kissed me slowly. “Hmm, tangerine,” he whispered teasingly. I was wearing my tangerine lip-gloss, and the smoldering tone in his voice told me he liked it, making me feel giddy.

  “Speaking of which,” he said, pulling away to stand up and grab his guitar. He sat again, this time in front of me, and patted a place next to him for me to sit. Then he placed the guitar on his lap, strumming a little on it. “This is a song from back in the days, you know, when I was alive. I don’t think you know it, but I really like this song. It makes me think of you, so I thought I should sing it for you tonight,” he said and starting playing.

  It was a song about summer, and love and the scent of tangerines in the air. It was a really sweet old song. This was the best date ever! I couldn’t believe I got to have a private musical performance from Tristan. His voice was so amazing; it was raspy, low and a little sad, and so damn sexy!

  When he’d finished singing I took his guitar from his hands, putting it to one side, and kissed him like it was our last chance to kiss on Earth!

  “Wow, I should sing for you more often!” he said with a cheeky smile when we finally parted for breath.

  “You would always get this kind of response from me if you did!” I said, laughing at his slightly flustered face.

  “Well, I’ll keep that always in mind, Miss Gray!” He winked and then grabbed the basket by his side. “Now, let’s dig in to the main course, madam,” he said, pulling a bunch of stuff out of the picnic basket. He took out a bottle of wine and two glasses. Then some sandwiches and many assorted foods including chocolates and candies. I chuckled at his food choices.

  “I have been talking the whole week with the cafeteria lady. Susie. I told her I was trying to win a girl over, and Susie was thrill
ed to hear all about it. Apparently, she is a huge sucker for romantic stories. She got me the wine and glasses because I told her it was a very special occasion,” he said, pointing to the bottle. “She was dying to know who the girl was,” he confessed with a chuckle.

  “This is the best dinner ever!” I said, taking another big bite out of my sandwich as I listened to his story. “Thank you so much for not taking me to a posh restaurant!”

  He laughed hard. “Yes, who wants a five-star restaurant if you can have fast food sandwiches instead!” He shook his head at my silliness. “I’m glad, though, because if you did like expensive meals, I would be at a loss! I don’t know how to act in posh places either,” he said, smiling and pouring us some wine.

  “This is perfect, Tris. I love it.”

  We ate for a while and drank our wine, talking excitedly about our new songs, and the band. We purposefully avoided any topics like Sky or the New Year deadline Tristan was under. By some unspoken agreement we had decided tonight was a time to be happy, to be together, to enjoy life to its fullest. Tristan had put his guitar back in its case and had turned the boom box on, but very low so we wouldn’t attract any attention to the terrace. But it was nice having low, soft music in the background while we talked. Then the song that we’d danced to on the night of the Spring Ball started playing, and after a few seconds Tristan recognized the music.

  He stood up, pulling me into his arms, and started slow-dancing with me. When we had first danced to this song we had been fighting. Now I was in heaven.

  “This is how that dance was supposed to be,” he whispered as he pulled me close against him. “I ruined it that night but it’s never too late to right a wrong, is it?” he said, and leaned in, kissing up and down my neck.

  I was glad he was holding me tight against him, otherwise my legs would have given up on me. I was melting in his arms and I felt slightly dizzy. And I’d only had one glass of wine. His mouth left my neck for a while, and he gently brushed his lips against my cheek. His lips felt like they were pure scorching fire, pinpricks of heat burning my skin wherever they touched me. My lips eagerly searched for his and when I found them, I kissed him madly and forgot about the world.

  “Joey, we should slow down, I’m barely managing to control myself here,” he warned in his incredibly sexy voice. “I promised I was going to treat you right on this date, and you’re making me seriously consider breaking my word, here.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, stepping away from him, giggling a little. “Come on, sit down with me,” I compromised. We watched the sky in a comfortable silence for a while, each of us deep in our own private thoughts. He linked his hand with mine and intertwined our fingers. This was one of the things I loved the most about being with Tristan. We could be together for longs periods of time without feeling the need to speak.

  Finally it was getting late so Tristan started packing up all his stuff. He turned the music off, put the candles away and the rest of the food back in the basket. I guess my amazing date was coming to an end. It had been magical. I’d loved every second of it.

  “This was the best date I have ever had,” I told him.

  “I’m glad you liked it, Joey,” he said truthfully.

  “Like it? I loved it! I wish it could never end …”

  He smiled and remained silent, gazing at the sky with me.

  “It’s getting really late, we should head back to our room,” he said reluctantly at last.

  “Can we just stay here for a little while more?” I asked softly. He just smiled his sexy smile again and lay down beside me. It was such a beautiful, warm night.

  “You know,” he said slowly, “life with you is full of possibilities. I think you’re extraordinary. And you are so beautiful, but you don’t know it, which makes you even more stunning. You’re strong, and brave, but sweet and kind at the same time. And you never cease to amaze me,” he said before lapsing into thoughtful silence again.

  But I decided it wasn’t the time for words in any case; it was time for action.

  “Okay, Tristan. Take off your clothes,” I commanded firmly. He chuckled, thinking I was just joking around. “I’m not kidding. Start stripping, mister,” I repeated seriously. “I have no words to tell you how I feel, so I’m going to show you.”

  He smirked, still thinking I was joking. I had to prove to him I was serious so I lunged at him and kissed him like he was the last drop of water in the middle of a scorching hot desert. My hands were everywhere on him and I couldn’t get enough of how good he felt under my fingers. He kissed me back with so much hunger that we both had to part after a few minutes, gasping desperately for air.

  “Can you, please, take your clothes off now?” I asked, laughing at his ragged breathing. His shirt was off before I could finish the sentence. I laughed even more at his speed and readiness. I took my top off too, and started kissing him back. In a few seconds we were both naked. This time we didn’t rush things as we had our first time together. This time we weren’t fighting or angry. This time was sweet and loving.

  I would never forget this terrace, but the memory of our first fight here was completely obliterated by the wonder of our first date now. I was glad Tristan had had the foresight to have condoms in his back pocket, and that he had put out some of the candles. I was glad for the darkness. It felt comfortable and soothing, like a nice soft blanket wrapped over us.

  Afterwards, as I lay in his arms, we watched the night sky in companionable silence. When he noticed me shivering a little, he grabbed the big backpack behind us and pulled out a small soft blanket.

  I snuggled close to him under the blanket, resting my head against his chest. After a while he started talking, his voice rumbling softly under my ear. He talked about his plans for the future, how much he loved playing music, writing lyrics and melodies, and how amazing it would be if maybe we could do this for a living some day. He talked about places he wanted to go and see with me, languages he wanted to learn to speak, so many wonderful things he still wanted to do.

  It felt good knowing he thought about the future like that. It meant he wasn’t giving up, that he really hoped we could figure something out for the end of the year. It meant that he wanted a future; that he wanted to live. I told him then about how my dad had been in a band when he was young, that he’d played in bars to earn a living for some time, and it was in one of those bars that he’d met my mom for the first time. I told him how he had died when I was only three years old and that I didn’t remember his face, but sometimes I thought I remembered his voice singing to me. How it had been just my mom and me since then, and how she’d refused to let sorrow take over her life and had forged her rule to always be open to new things. She’d even made me learn how to play the piano and the guitar because of my dad and his love of music; she wanted to pass to me some of that love, some of his soul. I knew that was why music always particularly touched my heart. These past months had been a rediscovery of that connection. Being in The Lost Boys had made me feel closer to my dad, made me feel I hadn’t lost him completely. Playing music felt like being home again.

  I had never talked about this with anyone before. It felt good to talk about it with Tristan for the first time, like a little knot in my chest dissolved and faded away.

  Later, we returned to our room. Seth was already deeply asleep. All we could see was the tip of his blond hair over the top of his blankets. Tristan pressed a finger to his lips and we put all our stuff on the floor carefully, so we wouldn’t wake Seth up. Tristan started taking all his clothes off again, except only his boxers, and slipped quickly under his covers. Then he stretched his arm to me and mouthed a silent “come”.

  I walked over to his bed and he pulled me to lay with him, and then he turned on to his side. Our bodies fell immediately into that familiar position, his arm wrapped around me, his hand enclosing mine and his face snuggled behind my neck. It felt like two pieces of a puzzle clicking together in all the right places. He sighed deeply and I fe
lt his warm breath over my neck. Just like home.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Surprise Meeting

  When I woke up, my face was buried in soft, warm, glittery sand. I shot upright as if a bolt of lightning had hit me, and saw a moonless sky above my head. Holy crap, this was Sky’s desert again: Death’s domain. Tristan and I had agreed I wouldn’t try this before we’d had a chance to plan things, but I’d made it here unintentionally.

  How was I supposed to find Sky in this forsaken place? Should I try to call her? Was it a wise thing to do? What if there were other creatures hiding here? Waiting for a weak, dumb prey to start shouting, announcing its next meal?

  I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, when Sky’s voice greeted me from behind, making me jump. “Hello, Joe.”

  I flipped myself around, almost losing my balance, but caught myself just in time. “Jeez, Louise! You scared me half to death … Huh … I mean …” I trailed off. Not a good opener to a conversation with Death, I reckoned. Gosh, this “talking with Death” business was turning out to be a lot more complicated than I’d expected.

  “You came to visit me!” she said, smiling. “I don’t ever get visitors … Well, not willing ones,” she mused. “And everybody’s always in such a rush,” she complained.

  “Maybe it’s because the place is a little … barren?” I suggested weakly, trying to make conversation.

  The visiting topic seemed to be a sore spot for her. Who knew Death could be lonely? That was … well, unexpected. But if you thought about it, it kind of made sense. No one in his right mind would like to hang around Death to “chat”.

  “Yes, I suppose you are right. The place isn’t very ‘lively’, is it?” She smiled at the view. “It has been like this for, oh, I don’t know, millennia?” she said. “But enough of this talk! Come, sit!” She indicated a mound of glittery sand. I sat close to her, turning a little so I could see her face. She looked so young, younger than me. I supposed that, just because she was Death, she didn’t have to look all crinkled and old, or be just a skeleton. That would be stereotyping Her long black hair fell over her shoulders and down to her waist. It was very beautiful, as was her angelic pale face and her round cheeks and plump lips. She was still wearing her dark clothes, and necklaces everywhere. Her deep black eyes watched me curiously as I watched her.