Catch My Breath

by Wendy L. Wilson

  “Shut up, Evan. We’re not rabbits and we’re not vampires; we get plenty of sleep, we’re just enjoying each other. You get it and don’t act like you don’t.” I say, pointing at him with an I-dare-you-to-challenge-me-on-this-one expression on my face.

  “Oh yeah, I get it. I just don’t have it … at this time, so I have to bust your balls a little until that time comes.” He waves his hands and laughs. I know he is thinking of Piper. “Go on. Get out of here. I’ll close up.” I wave and begin to shut the door as Evan call out, always wanting the last word, “whatever you’re picking up, try to keep the screwing down. Nail her a little quieter, if possible. The late night hammering has to be getting hard. Oh and make sure you keep your drill bit …”

  I shut the door on his ramblings and jet to a small ‘mom and pop’ hardware store around the corner from her work. I hope they have a good selection. Racing through the aisle, I find exactly what I’m looking for then turn into the next aisle and race up to the counter.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yeah …” struggling with my key, I wiggle it off my keychain and hand it to the man behind the counter. He watches me through thick small oval framed glasses. “I need just one copy.”

  Nodding his head, he grabs the key and moves to the grinder, instantly firing it up with a sharp piercing noise that climbs straight to my eardrums and has me begging for earplugs. My nerves screech right along with the machine as I think about what I have planned. With a deep breath, I put it out of my mind and wait for him to finish.

  “Anything else?”

  “Can I pay for this back here, too?” I throw my other item onto the counter.

  He quickly snatches it up and scans it in answer to my question.

  After throwing him a twenty and some change, I offer a polite nod and take off for my truck with only five minutes before I need to pick her up. Pulling up right as she is stepping out of the back door with several other co-workers, I sigh and shove the small bag to the back seat before she gets in.

  As we walk through the door of the apartment, I glance at the under counter blue tooth player in the kitchen and see it is only a quarter after six. Evan should be getting home a bit after 7:00; we’ll have to hurry, otherwise he’ll throw a conniption fit.

  “You hungry?” I ask, heading into the kitchen and placing the bag on the counter.

  “Starving,” her soft, gentle voice answers and suddenly it isn’t food I’m hungry for.

  Clearly sensing my thoughts, she crosses the room and wraps her arms around my waist. Resting my head on the top of hers, I run my hands up her back, over the plush, fuzzy sweater that hugs her small body and think about how perfect every moment with her seems. Is this really the life I’m going to have? How could I be this lucky; this blessed?

  “Hey, I have a present for you. Well actually it’s something for both of us."

  She looks up with a gasp and wide eyes. “Really!?" she says excitedly.

  Tossing my head back on a laugh, I look down at her, wondering if I am screwing up the whole gift giving experience for her. I doubt a girl would consider this significant enough to be called a gift, but this is Alyssa. I mean, she finds the beauty in two by fours and a sheet of ply board. You give most girls a piece of wood and they would either light it on fire or stand back and wait for you to build them a house. Not Alyssa, she'd be the first to go grab the cordless drill and screws and join the work crew. Not to mention, I’m pretty pumped over it.

  "It’s not the typical present so I didn’t wrap it.” I grin, a little embarrassed. Maybe this was stupid; too late now. “Go open the bag and I’ll warm up some left over pizza. Sound okay?”

  Alyssa shoots me a breathtaking smile and rushes over to the counter, swooping the heavy bag up with a quizzical look on her face.

  Reaching my hand into the ice cold refrigerator, I feel around for the pizza box, my gaze transfixed on Alyssa peeking into the bag. I watch as she giggles, a smile instantly forming on my face as if her laughter has remote access to my happiness. She glances my way just as my hand finds the box and pulls it out.

  "Have I told you I love you yet today?" she says, tugging the new key lock door knob out of the bag. Yep, she gets the significance.

  Tossing the pizza box onto the counter by her side, I wrap my arms around her and scrunch down to her height.

  "Maybe, but you can always tell me again."

  She bursts out laughing, clutching the plastic container surrounding the new door knob in both her hands.

  "I love you Judd Michaels."

  After planting a gentle kiss on my lips that doesn’t last near long enough she then pulls back and levels me with a mischievous grin that is usually reserved for Evan.

  "We’ll eat cold pizza then you get the screwdriver and we’ll lock that perv out once and for all!"

  We both break into hysterics then get busy changing out my non-locking door knob with the new one while nibbling on bites of pizza, and each other, soon after it is installed.

  The next morning, neither of us has to work and with it being a Saturday, the only plans we have are to go to her parent’s house for a visit. With that in mind, we didn’t set a single alarm, yet I woke up as usual at the crack of dawn.

  Making subtle movements so that I don’t wake her, I shift onto my side, gently nudging her with me so that I can watch her sleep. Her face lies hidden under a mass of blonde wavy locks, but as I lightly graze my fingers over her skin to brush away her hair she begins to stir. Her bottom lip puckers out as she tries to wake and I can’t help but swoop in for a taste.

  Nipping at her lips, she opens her mouth and draws me in, molding her bare chest to mine and sending a wave of heat through me. That little whimper of hers slips out from between our joined mouths and my body is instantly crazed with desire and need. Her breathing picks up as I dive down further to suck on the creamy flesh of her neck, my heart thumping wildly. I look up at Alyssa and all hope of proceeding is deflated as I realize Evan is awake.

  “Hey, you got a second?”

  The door rattles and immediately she and I stare at each other, frozen with sneaky smirks rising across both our faces. There will be no interrupting today.

  "What the hell, man! When did you change the knob? I hope you know that my lease specified I could not make any changes or alter anything about the appearance of the place."

  I laugh quietly, my chest shaking as Alyssa’s eyes fill with amusement and mischief.

  “Your butt is locked out,” she whispers in a sassy tone with her finger pointed to the door.

  Thud … Thud … Thud.

  Evan pounds on the door again, bringing forth even more laughter from us both. Well this sure isn’t sexy and no way are we going to be able to get the mood back with him pounding on the door, but I don’t care. Grinning, I stare at Alyssa’s beautiful smile. I swear this is the most I’ve ever smiled; the most I’ve ever laughed.

  Evan’s aggravated tone pierces the door, "Great! No way am I getting my deposit back now. Are you gonna answer me?"

  I have to bite down on my lip to keep from busting up.

  Knock … knock … knock.

  His fist has to be getting sore.

  “Are you going to answer him?”

  I look at Alyssa and press my lips together to keep from laughing. I’m not sure what’s more funny now, the fact that it is complete torture for him that I am not answering or the fact that it is driving him crazy that he cannot just barge in. Evan has dished out his fair share of tormenting me; no I don’t think I will answer him.

  Grabbing my phone, I raise my eyebrows and hold it up to signal to Alyssa that I have an idea. I carefully dig my elbows on either side of her, practically pinning her down beneath me as I hold the phone in front of my face and type out a message.

  Me: Who’s there?????

  Hopefully he has his phone nearby.

  His phone instantly buzzes on the other side of the door, signifying that he does indeed have it on him.
/>
  "Ha-ha! Real funny! Yeah ok, I'll play along." He goes silent.

  I lay the phone back down on the nightstand, hoping for some playtime now, but then my phone chimes with an incoming text. Of course, Evan always has to have the last word.

  Reaching across Alyssa, I pull my phone off the table to glance at it.

  Evan: Evan

  Laughter bursts from my chest as I think over the first summer we met, how we would sit for hours on the dock fishing and Evan would bore me to tears telling me knock-knock joke after knock-knock joke. He would just make them up as he went along, most of them lame as hell, but he’d still keep it up. They got so over the top ridiculous that I would end up cracking up at the mere effort Evan put into dreaming them up.

  I shouldn’t bite, but curiosity always seems to tug and pull me into relenting just so I can hear the punch line he has shoved up his sleeve. Of course this time is no exception, I take the bait.

  Me: Evan who?

  A rattling sounds from the door and I shake my head, still gripping my phone in my hand. Alyssa tilts the phone in her direction so she can read his messages.

  “He can’t get that door open can he?”

  I lower my brows wondering if he actually can. The scraping rattling sound keeps up.

  “He shouldn’t be able …”

  Alyssa and I both snap our heads around as the door flings open and my phone chimes in my hand, all at the same time.

  "Ha!" he belts out, with a smirk on his face and a bent up hanger twirling around his fingers.

  Shuffling around with a spit of laughter, I tug the sheet down to make sure our bodies are covered then look down at my phone.

  Evan: Evan a lock won't keep me out. :P

  I look up at him, lowering my head to the sheet that is draped over Alyssa’s chest and close my eyes. That’s the worst one yet.

  “Am I going to have to replace all the hangers with plastic ones now?”

  Evan’s smirk grows as he looks at his bent up make shift key. “Nah, I’ll just find something else.”

  I roll my eyes, knowing he will. He’s killing me.

  “Oh and by the way, that was the lamest one yet. Evan a lock won’t keep me out?!” I huff out, grinning. Where does he come up with this shit?

  He plasters on a shocked expression, eyes wide and his mouth gaped open. “What?! It worked. Oh and you get to explain to the landlord about this,” he says, twisting the doorknob.

  “Already done. I ran down and talked to him earlier this week. He said he knows you and he fully understands.” I smile and I hear a small giggle from Alyssa, reminding me that we were in the middle of something. “So, no worries … now, do you mind closing the door? Oh and lock it, too.” I add, grinning from ear-to-ear.

  Evan shakes his head, “Damn Wabbits …” he mumbles, finally locking himself out before he shuts the door.

  THE NEXT WEEK SAILS by smoothly with a new lock for privacy, Evan no longer masterfully finding ways to barge in and Alyssa even hashing out things with Bethany, however, I’m still not comfortable being around her. The subtle gestures she gives when Alyssa isn’t looking has me second guessing whether them making up is a smart idea. Unfortunately, every advance that Bethany has made could easily be her word against mine so I just hope Alyssa catches on to her conniving ways. Last thing I want is for someone to hurt her.

  Friday comes the same as the week before, and I find myself counting each day we have been together. Today marks two weeks that we have been back in each other’s lives, which is the same amount of time we were together this summer, yet it seems like such a longer stretch of time this go round as we juggle school, jobs, family, friends and our relationship. It makes our time at the lake seem like a fairy tale.

  Sitting on the hard, cold surface of the metal bleachers at the Rosemore South football field, all feels right with the world as Alyssa snuggles up beside me and we watch Jake race down the field in possibly the last play of the night.

  “Go long, Go long, Jake,” I yell out as I bolt to my feet and cup my hands around my mouth.

  Alyssa shouts and cheers beside me, jumping up and down just as the ball lands in Jake’s hands.

  “Go, go, go … Yeah!” I holler out with everyone around me going nuts, bouncing out of their seats. My body can barely contain itself as he runs hard, crossing the goal line and pushing the score over the top in the last ten seconds of the game. “Way to go!” I throw out towards the field, knowing Jake won’t hear me, but just so proud of my brother and school.

  The entire crowd goes crazy, jumping to their feet all around me and I do the same, Alyssa right at my side. Waving my arm in the air, I watch as Jake and the team rejoices before heading off the field.

  “Come on; let’s get out of here before traffic gets backed up. Jake said he’d meet us there.”

  I grab Alyssa’s hand in mine, pushing my way through a mass of people thinking the same thing as me. She grips my bicep, staying close to me as we slither our way to the parking lot and race to hop into my truck.

  “That was insane. I really didn’t think they were going to win.” Excitement shines through in her voice and I love how she gets into the game as much as I do.

  “I knew they’d win. Jake is a beast out there. That other team knew they were going to lose as soon as he stepped onto the field.” I smile confidently, remembering all the times we played together.

  “He’s amazing. Does he know what college he wants to go to yet?”

  I crinkle up my brows on this question. “You know, he should be talking about that but he never does.” I relax a little, remembering how nervous I was during my senior year, constant anxiety over getting the scholarship I was working my ass off to earn. “He’s probably getting pressured by the coach and team with this being his last season, not to mention Tristan and I have never helped in the pressuring to succeed department.” I swallow, steering the truck down the road. “Ever since he was in Junior High, we’ve pushed him to train and focus on the game. I guess it just came natural with us all going in the same direction and in love with the same thing.”

  “Do you miss it?” I glance at her and catch her shaking her head with her eyes closed. “Ok, you know what, scratch that question. Of course you miss it.”

  Reaching my hand over, she naturally scoots in closer to me as I clasp my hand in hers, gently threading my fingers through them.

  “It’s ok … I don’t mind you asking that.”

  “I know … it’s just … it’s no secret you love football and this isn’t exactly a choice you made yourself.”

  Steering onto Water Street and scanning for a parking spot, I squeeze her hand.

  “Trust me, this …” I raise her hand up in mine and softly touch my lips to her knuckle. “… is the best trade off I could have asked for.”

  She crinkles her nose and casts me a skeptical, closed-mouthed grin.

  “Trust me. This is better than playing football.” And it is.

  Pulling the truck up alongside a blue convertible, I throw it into reverse to parallel park as I think over my past. Football never filled that void in my heart. Before Dad left, I carried that normal child-like innocence, thinking my parents would be around forever. Assuming that dads never left and viewing death as something that only struck when your hair had turned snow-white, your skin was filled with wrinkles and your children were grown. Of course, I also always thought I would live at home forever. Some of my first memories were playing football in the backyard with Dad, going to water parks with both Mom and Dad in the summers, Christmases at my Grandma and Grandpa’s house, Easter egg hunts at church and game nights in the living room with all five of us.

  After Dad left, half of my heart flew out the window and left along with him. Life changed so much the next day that there was no way we could have possibly prepared for it. Not only did we deal with one less parent and the financial burden of one parent supporting a family of four, but then the doctors finally figured out what was happening t
o Mom.

  Once she was diagnosed and all us boys found odd jobs to help out with putting food on the table, we then settled into a comfortable groove and adjusted. When my grandparents passed a couple years later, we kept going with yet another vacancy in our hearts and, surprisingly, things turned around. We somehow managed to find a house that I have no idea how we could afford and an in-home nurse was hired to come in and take care of Mom so Tristan could finish out high school. As always though, that run of good luck ran out. With only a few months until I turned sixteen, I found myself in a whirlwind of responsibility that ended with us laying Mom to rest and my heart chipped away to a barren, lifeless organ that I thought would never be filled.

  Funny thing is I always envisioned myself staying strong for the sake of Jake when Mom died, but I completely went in the opposite direction. It wasn’t Tristan that fell off the deep end right off the bat, it was me. When I came to my senses, I buckled down and made my main priority Jake and football, but I still felt empty every day.

  “You ready?” Alyssa pulls me back to the present where I quickly smell the delectable aroma of grilled onions and peppers drifting through the air.

  Slamming the truck into park, my stomach picks up on the same scent as my nose as I shove my door open and follow Alyssa inside. We take a seat in a cozy corner booth alongside a large group of people all dressed in red and black and sporting a picture of our schools mascot across the front of their sweatshirts.

  Sliding onto the slick leather surface of the red cushioned seats, I settle up beside Alyssa and look around. Enthusiastic chatter fills the air as table after table buzzes over our fourth straight win this season. Last year we were undefeated and went on to beat Fairview at districts. Crazy now, considering I am sitting right beside someone that cheered for the opposing team at that game.

  Glancing around at a sea of my schools colors, my eyes sweep around and land on Alyssa.

  “Do you feel like a traitor or what?”

  Her eyes follow my lips into a smile of their own as she answers, “Not really. I was a cheerleader, but I wasn’t all into the whole our-school-is-better-than-yours aspect of it. I just loved the thrill of the game and the atmosphere,” she says with a smile like that is just an ordinary comment for a girl.