by Sarah Carter
“Yeah?”
“Hey,” she says. “I have your coffee.”
The door opens and Damien is standing there with a towel around his waist. Water still glistens on his body. Claire gulps.
Damien smiles. “Hey, babe, I need that. I can’t believe you woke me up. I’m going to need an IV drip of caffeine all day.”
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever, Damien, you slept for long enough.”
“I know, but I slept restlessly,” Damien declares, pulling her into the bathroom. He shuts the door and takes the coffee.
“Why did you sleep badly?”
“I kept having very…vivid dreams…about you. I’d wake up and you’d be sleeping there, all beautiful. It was hard to sleep when all I wanted to do was wake you up.”
Claire says, “Next time there will be pajamas so you aren’t distracted in your sleep.”
“Oh, no!” Damien exclaims. “I like the way we slept.”
With a smirk, Claire quips, “I bet you did.”
Damien takes a drink and then moans, “Mmm, perfect.”
“How long are you going to take to shave? Kayla wants to pick up her friend…um…”
“Tracy?” Damien suggests.
Snapping her fingers, Claire says, “That’s the girl.”
“You’ll love Tracy, she cracks me up.” Damien laughs. “She has absolutely no filter and it’s wonderful.”
“Do I need to be jealous?” Claire teases.
“Oh…yeah…no, not at all. She’s just fun to hang out with. Tracy is Kayla’s sidekick. Today will be great.”
“So, Kayla came clean and told me that she and Jackson had sex,” Claire murmurs. “He practically said he was going to propose. They may go shopping for rings today.”
A wicked smile creeps across Damien’s face. “Maybe we should all go ring shopping.”
Claire giggles. “No, I don’t want to invade their special moment. Let them share this together. You and I can look at rings another time.”
He leans in and kisses her. “One day I’ll put a ring on your finger and a vine around your wrist,” Damien whispers.
“I know,” Claire replies. “Just not today.” She smiles sweetly. “Alright, how long before I can get in the shower?”
“I just need to shave. You can hop in the shower while I do that,” Damien suggests.
“So you can see me fully naked? I don’t think so.” Claire snorts.
Giving her a look, Damien says, “No, I’ll leave the bathroom until you’re in the shower.”
“Oh, okay, that will work,” Claire says.
“Alright,” Damien replies. He takes a sip of his coffee and then sets it down. “Yell when you’re in there.”
“Okay,” Claire says. Damien smiles and then leaves the bathroom. A minute later, the water is hot and Claire climbs in. “I’m ready!” she yells.
The door opens and closes. Claire takes the shampoo and starts to wash her hair. “Is the water going to change if I run the water?” Damien asks.
“No,” Claire says. “We have two hot water heaters. There are four bathrooms. It used to be that if everyone took a shower in the morning, there would be no hot water. So, my dad had an extra water heater installed.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“So, what do you know about this Tracy person?”
“She is a riot! I adore her!”
Claire stops what she’s doing and looks at the curtain. “Like adore, as in, aww she’s cute, right?”
“Adore, as in, if she were a boy, she’d be me.” Damien snorts. “Nothing to be jealous over, I promise you that. You’ll like her.”
“Sorry,” Claire mumbles awkwardly. “I tend to worry. Issues with the past.”
“Hey,” Damien says gently. “I will never leave you for another girl and I will never cheat on you. I swear on my mother’s life. If our relationship ends, it won’t be because of someone else.”
Frowning, Claire says softly, “I don’t want us to end.”
“I don’t think we will,” Damien replies. “I love you, Claire, plain and simple. You make me smile. You make me laugh. You challenge me and make my heart melt, all at the same time.”
“Really?” Claire says.
“Yes, really,” Damien replies. “I promise.”
She starts rinsing and giggles. “You know, if you didn’t get clean enough the first time, you can always come in here.”
A thunderous laugh comes from Damien. “We promised your mom!” He sighs happily. “Anyway, we have a lot of time to build up to sex. I like enjoying what we have now.”
“That makes me want you in here even more,” Claire replies.
“Well, too bad. Finish showering. We have places to go and things to do.”
“Okay!” Claire replies happily.
Two hours later, a curly haired brunette comes bounding out of a hotel doorway. Kayla gets out of the car and starts squealing. They collide and hug each other. Claire’s eyebrows go up and she looks at Damien.
“They’re super close,” he murmurs.
“Best friends.” Jackson snorts. “Like, you have no idea.”
Kayla pulls Tracy to the car and they get in the back with Jackson. Claire turns around and smiles.
Kayla laughs and says, “Claire, this is Tracy. Tracy, Claire is Damien’s girlfriend.”
“Ugh,” Tracy groans. “The hot guys are always taken!”
Claire frowns and narrows her eyes.
Tracy only grins at her. “I’m kidding! Sure, Damien is hot, but he isn’t my type. He isn’t bad boy enough.”
“If Claire were a guy, you’d be all about her,” Kayla says. “She can kick anyone’s ass and she races motorcycles.”
“Ooo,” Tracy quips. “Maybe I would go lesbian. What do you think, Claire?”
Damien’s jaw drops and he turns around. “I’m not about sharing, thank you very much.”
“You never know,” Tracy draws out. “It could be fun…”
“Oh my god.” Claire laughs. “You might be my new favorite person.”
“Yes, darling,” Tracy coos. “The rumors are absolutely true. I’m the best one here.”
Giggling into a fit, Claire turns around and starts the car. “Alright, are we all set now?”
“Yeah,” Kayla says.
Tracy talks the whole way to the mall. “So, I can’t believe we’re all going to the same college!” she yells. “How epic is that?”
“Are you guys going to stay in the dorms?” Damien asks. “Because, Claire and I will be getting our own place.”
Turning her attention to him, Claire says, “Who said we were moving in together?”
Half smirking, Damien replies, “Do you want to share one room with some girl you don’t know in a dorm, or would you rather live with me in some posh apartment or house?”
“Good point,” Claire whispers, giving him a look. He winks at her in return.
“Screw that!” Tracy shouts. “I’m moving in with you two!”
“Tracy!” Kayla laughs. “They probably want some privacy.”
“Ear plugs, guys. I mean, really.” Tracy declares. Claire bursts out laughing and Damien slaps his forehead. “Come on! Imagine the parties that we could have! We’d be the most popular freshmen ever!”
“Claire will be popular because she’s hot in leather and owns her own motorcycle,” Kayla notes.
Damien spins around in his chair and says, “This is the reason I’m transferring. I’m going to have to fight guys off of you all the time.”
“Baby, I can so fight my own battles,” Claire states.
“I know, and I like that fact,” Damien says.
“Anyway, darling, I’ll have to deal with the drool on the floor from all the sorority girls,” Claire drawls out.
“Drool won’t sway me from you.” Damien chuckles.
Claire smiles.
Tracy leans forward. “So, a house big enough for all of us?”
“Oh, now it’s all of us?�
�� Damien laughs. “Did you ask Kayla and Jackson what they want to do?”
Turning to the side, Tracy says, “Well?”
Watching them in the rearview mirror, Claire sees Kayla give Jackson a look. “Pretty sure you can count us in,” Kayla whispers.
“Alright.” Damien snorts. “I’ll start looking into large houses. We’ll need at least eight rooms.”
“Eight rooms?” Claire squeaks. “Who’s going to be living there?”
“You and I need a suite,” Damien starts. “Jackson and Kayla need one. Tracy needs her own room. We need to be far away enough from each other so we aren’t bothered. Plus, I really believe we should have multiple rooms to study. I mean, no TV, actual offices to study in. That’s six rooms right there. We need guest rooms, too. I do have friends.”
“Really?” Claire replies sarcastically. Damien arches his eyebrow. In return, she winks and laughs.
Excitedly, Tracy shouts, “Freshman year is going to be awesome!”
“It will, but for now we need to tackle buying a wardrobe for college,” Claire declares, as she pulls into the mall.
When they enter the mall, Damien points to the Apple store on the right. “I want to go purchase a few things in there.”
“Just like that?” Tracy scoffs. “I’m just going to go drop a few grand.”
“Would you like an iPad?” Damien inquires.
Tracy stops and raises her eyebrows. “Will you really buy me one?”
“Sure,” Damien replies.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.” He laughs. “Tracy, do you want an iPad?”
“Hell, yeah!” Tracy cheers. “That would be awesome for college!”
Damien nods. “Consider it a graduation present.”
“Holy crap!” Tracy yells. “I’m really getting an iPad!”
Chuckling, Damien looks at Claire. “How about you, baby?”
“I have my own money now,” Claire states. “I can buy it for myself.”
“Ah…” Damien starts. “But I’m the one with the credit card.”
“Good point.” Claire laughs. “Do whatever you want.”
Kayla grabs Claire’s arm. “I need to borrow her anyway. Do you guys want to meet up in an hour?”
“Sure,” Damien replies. “There has to be a coffee place in here. If you find it, text me the name and I’ll meet you there.”
“Okay,” Jackson says.
“No, honey,” Kayla starts. “You should stay with Damien. We girls need a minute.”
Jackson gives her a peculiar look. “Yeah,” Tracy emphasizes. “We need some girl time!”
“Alright, alright!” Jackson laughs, putting his hands up. “Kayla needs a new laptop, anyway.”
“Oh, baby, you don’t have to do that,” Kayla groans. “That’s not why I was saying that.”
“It’s fine, baby.” Jackson chuckles. “Go have fun. We’re going to check out the electronics. See about buying the whole store.”
“Ha. Ha,” Kayla calls out as she starts to drag Claire away. “We’ll see you later!”
When they get a few stores away, Claire asks, “What are we doing?”
“I desperately need your guys’ help,” Kayla groans.
“For what?” Tracy inquires curiously.
“I need to buy some cute lingerie,” Kayla whispers. “Some real stuff. I don’t have attractive underwear.”
Laughing, Claire says, “I can do that.”
“What do you need it for?” Tracy inquires, looking confused.
Kayla turns red and hisses, “I lost my virginity last night.”
“Wow!” Tracy exclaims. “That is huge. So, did you just do it, or did you do it, as in that special way only you can do it?”
Claire laughs and looks at Kayla. All the color drains from Kayla’s face. Her eyes dart from Tracy to Claire. Confused, Claire just looks at Kayla. Then Tracy’s words repeat in Claire’s head. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops.
“Tracy!” Kayla whines.
“What?” Tracy retorts.
Claire turns to Tracy. “What special way were you talking about?”
It takes a second, but Tracy’s smile slowly melts away. “Oh, my god…no.”
Spinning, Claire snaps a look at Kayla. “She knows? A human knows?”
“Please…oh, no…” Kayla cries. “She doesn’t know.”
“Obviously she does,” Claire replies. “What the hell would prompt you to tell her?” She leans in closer to Kayla. “How much does she know?”
Tracy nervously laughs. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Kayla,” Claire murmurs. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Oh my god!” Kayla cries. “They’ll make her forget! She’s my best friend! She’s like my sister!”
“How much does she know?” Claire asks again, as sternly as she can.
“She doesn’t know anything,” Kayla mumbles. “She was talking about something else.”
Grabbing Kayla’s arm, Claire looks at Tracy. “Let’s talk hypothetical situations. Imagine I was different, Tracy—even more different than Kayla.”
“Really?” Tracy says. “That’s possible?”
“Tracy, shut up!” Kayla yells.
“Oh, she knows a lot,” Claire snaps. “How much do you know about us?”
Tracy shakes her head.
“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to take something very vital from Kayla. She’ll be incapacitated for days.”
Jumping forward, Tracy hisses, “You can’t drain her energy!”
“Holy crap!” Claire exclaims. “You know everything!”
“Fine, yes, I know everything that Kayla knows,” Tracy groans. “Can I at least have a few weeks to say goodbye?”
“Goodbye?” Claire replies. “Why goodbye?”
“Jackson always told me if I told her, they’d erase her memory and I’d never see her again,” Kayla whimpers.
“That’s a little…harsh. Well, you’d better keep quiet from now on.”
Kayla looks at Claire. “You aren’t going to tell Damien?”
“Oh…hell, no,” Claire retorts. “What you and I say between us will never get back to Damien. I hope the same goes for you and Jackson.”
“You aren’t going to rat us out?” Kayla inquires slowly.
“No,” Claire answers. “I just wanted you to be honest with me.”
As if the weight of the world is off her shoulders, Kayla relaxes. “Oh, thank god.”
“So…” Tracy whispers, stepping really close to Claire. “How are you different?”
Claire laughs. “I can’t tell you.”
“Oh, come on!” Tracy whines. “I want to know!”
“No, sorry. I’m just really different, but you need to be careful,” Claire states seriously. “They’ll erase any memory of you being friends with Kayla.”
“No more, no more talk about it,” Tracy responds. “Zipping my mouth shut.”
“Well, don’t zip your mouth shut. I like your comments too much.” Claire laughs.
“Come on guys,” Kayla says. “Let’s go get me some lingerie.” They all giggle and walk down to Victoria’s Secret.
Chapter 19
“So, what did you get?” Damien inquires, looking at the bags.
“None of your business,” Kayla retorts.
Damien starts to pull open Claire’s bag. She smacks his hand. “Stay out of there.”
“I want to see.” Damien laughs, pulling open the bag.
Claire swats his hand away and moves the bag. “What’s the fun in it, if you see it now?”
“Good point,” Damien says, sitting back in his chair.
Jackson appears next to them and he sets down two cups of coffee. “There you go. That’s the last of them.”
“I love their coffee here,” Claire states. “They’re also fair trade. I like that, too.”
“So, let me show you what we got,” Damien says. He pulls out one bag and hands it to Tracy. “As promi
sed, an iPad.”
“Get out.” Tracy gasps. “I didn’t really think you were going to do it!”
“I don’t go back on my word. It’s a graduation present.”
Tracy jumps up and comes around the table. “Thank you,” she whispers, giving him a big hug.
Chuckling, Damien replies, “No problem.”
Tracy takes the box out of the bag and sits down to look at it.
Damien pulls out another bag and hands it to Claire. “This is all for you. Don’t worry it’s being taken off your pay.”
“What is it?” Claire asks, looking into the large bag.
“A MacBook, iPhone, and iPad,” Damien states. “Get you all set for college.”
“Why an iPhone?” Claire inquires, pulling out the box. “I mean, this is all a little much.”
“So we can FaceTime when we’re apart,” Damien answers.
Claire rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “You’re one of those people who has to have the latest gadgets.”
“Yes. Yes, I am. I won’t deny that.” Damien snickers. “We’re way ahead of…well, we’re way ahead, but I can’t very well walk around with…certain new technology.”
“What are you talking about?” Tracy asks, a smile twitching on her mouth.
Damien quickly shakes his head. “My uncle is really into technology. It was he does for work.”
“So, what else are we going to do today?” Kayla asks.
Shrugging, Claire says, “I don’t know.” Claire’s cell phone rings. She answers it, “Hey, Alex.”
“What are you up to today?” Alex asks.
“We’re at the mall.”
“Fun,” he retorts sarcastically. “I bet you’re burning a hole in Damien’s wallet.”
That aggravates Claire. “No. I’m spending my own money. I have a job now, remember?”
“Yeah, I know.” Alex sighs. “Anyway, I just wanted to see what you’re doing today.”
“Actually, hold on,” Claire says. She pulls the phone away. “Did you make arrangements for tonight?”
Damien nods and replies, “Yes, 6:30 at Riverview. Why?”
“Can Alex come?”
Giving her a speculative look, Damien says, “Sure, I’ll call the restaurant.”
She brings the phone back to her mouth, “Hey, we’re having a family dinner tonight at 6:30 at Riverview. You need to come.”
