Awakened

by Shey Stahl

  His eyes snapped to mine. “You’re not close?”

  “Not really.” I shrugged.

  It was easy talking to Brevin and before I knew it, I’d been at his house for three hours. “I should be going.” I finally said, moving to stand from my place beside him.

  “No,”—he stood, too—“stay just a little while longer.”

  When he pulled out the guitar and the screaming six-year-olds around him went crazy, I wasn’t even sure what to say to him. He had a guitar in his hand. What woman wouldn’t be curious as to what he was about to do?

  “Wow.” Shaking my head, I placed my hand on my hip giving him a once over. “I’m not even sure I have words.”

  “Why?” Brevin’s head hung as he placed a guitar pic in his pocket.

  “The motorcycle didn’t surprise me all that much, but this, not sure what to think now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you ride a bike, have tattoos all over you.” And then I levelled him a serious look pointing at his chest. “You’re like James Dean.”

  “James Dean didn’t play a guitar and I’m sure he didn’t have tattoos either,” he pointed out. “Or ride a motorcycle. But you know, I’m the same age as he was when he died.”

  “Maybe you should sell the motorcycle,” I teased.

  “Never happening.”

  “You seem to know a lot about James Dean… Did you know him?”

  “In my past life,” he shrugged, chuckling, “I’m sure I did. And my middle name is Dean.”

  “Sometimes I think Elvis Presley was my dad.”

  “Oh, yeah, why?” He seemed interested in my theory, making me smile.

  “Because I don’t know who my dad is. A girl can dream.”

  He nodded, not sure what to make of my statement, and picked up the guitar.

  “So what…are you secretly Ritchie Valens?”

  Brevin groaned. “You have all the greats confused.” And then he stared at me, waiting for me to say something. “Why are you being so judgmental?”

  “I’m just not sure what to think. Here I thought you were just some construction worker. And it turns out that you play a guitar and might possibly be a rock star.”

  “I didn’t say I could sing. Just that I play the guitar.”

  “Do you sing?”

  “I do.” And then he grinned with a wink. “So wipe the drool from your chin.”

  I wanted to punch him. “What are you going to sing, “Happy birthday”?”

  “Nope.” He gave me a playful smile and put the strap over his shoulder. “Sit back and watch.”

  I did. There was no way I could leave now. I had to know what he was going to sing. Taking a seat in an empty chair near his sister, Ashley, I kept my beer in hand, slowly sipping it.

  Once near the picnic table, he stepped up with ease and stood in the middle, guitar in hand smiling down at the girls.

  The kids swarmed the table, all screaming, with Camdyn in the middle, eager to see her uncle. “Happy Birthday, Cam,” he said, taking the guitar pic from his pocket.

  This motherfucker busted out some straight-out–of-the-fifties tunes. The moment I heard the “Well, come on let’s go,” I turned to look around, wondering if I’d stepped back in time and had delivered the cupcakes to a sock hop. It wasn’t lost on me he was playing a Ritchie Valens’ song when I was just teasing him about it.

  And yeah, the boy could sing. Really well. He gave the song a nice rock twist but kept it true to the original.

  With his chest shaking from laughter after the small guitar solo, his eyes met mine. I literally burst out laughing.

  “Whaaaat was that?” I asked when he made his way back over to me with his guitar.

  Brevin shrugged and took a seat next to me. “She’s a fan of the classics.”

  “I’d say.” I narrowed my eyes at him but his grin hadn’t faded and I couldn’t help but smile just the same. The way he poured himself into that song all for his niece made me want to be friends with him. “You’re a great uncle.”

  “I kinda have to be,” he mused, reaching for his beer he’d left on his seat before he went to sing. “I’m surrounded by girls.”

  “I bet you were hoping for a nephew, huh?”

  “Nah, it’s great to have all these little princesses around.”

  Swallowing, I couldn’t believe the tug that statement gave on my heart. Looking out over the beautifully manicured grass, I squinted at the sun peeking through the thick row of evergreens. “So your niece, Camdyn, is she you’re only niece?”

  “No. There’s Camdyn, she’s Cortney’s daughter and her and David also have Willow. Leslie has a daughter, Isabella,” He pointed to a small child who looked to be about one and then a taller one, “And Andrea has a four-year-old, Kaylee, but she’s with her dad this weekend.”

  “It seems like Camdyn’s a big fan of her uncle.”

  His smile was wide and full of pride. “She loves me. I bought her a pony.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “No, not really, but I told my sister I did. She’s pissed at me.” And then he chuckled, his lips pulling at the corner of his mouth in a boyish smirk. “Locked me out of my place last night because of it.”

  “You live here?” I thought I remembered an earlier comment by one of his sisters that he lived with his parents.

  “Yeah, in the pool house.” He flipped his hand behind us at the pool.

  “That’s cool. I couldn’t stand my mom enough to live near her.”

  “My family are nosey jerks. Don’t let their pleasantries of today fool you.” Brevin leaned forward, his head near mine as I did the same, his elbows resting on his knees. “Look at Cortney over there silently judging me. She’s probably glad to see me around a girl.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Got me. Like I said, they’re nosey.” Kicking out his legs, Brevin relaxed into the wooden chair, beer in hand and smiled, winking at his sisters.

  There was something I knew very well after delivering those cupcakes. Brevin Chase was trouble. With his heart in it, he sang for his niece with so much energy I had to wonder if there was anything he couldn’t do.

  “I really do need to be going now,” I told him after another hour as Camdyn ripped into her presents. I knew Josh was probably wondering what the hell was taking me so long. For some reason, I was reluctant to leave and I couldn’t place why.

  “Okay, I guess I’ll let you this time.” He stood, giving a nod to the driveway. “I’ll walk you out.”

  Walking around the side of his house, a fluttering deep in my stomach like I didn’t want to leave filled me, but I knew I promised Josh I’d be over tonight. He said he was having a few friends over for a barbeque and we’d take them out on the lake.

  “Thanks for delivering them,” Brevin said, running his hand over his bike. “It’s not exactly manageable trying to carry anything on this thing.”

  I laughed, opening the door to my car. “Bummer. I was hoping to go for a ride on it.” I was teasing. At least I thought I was, but Brevin didn’t take it that way.

  “I’d gladly give you a ride.” The passion behind his words was about as intense as the heat in his stare, heavy and constricting.

  “How long have you had it?”

  Brevin’s eyes tore from mine, his voice lowering as he spoke. “A while.”

  “Hmmm.” My lips parted and I realized we were standing closer, our shoulders nearly touching as we eyed the sleek black motorcycle in front of us.

  His head turned, his breathing slightly elevated, eyes scanning my face. “What?”

  “It’s just an interesting choice of transportation for a construction worker.”

  “I’m an interesting guy.” His brow pulled together as he took one step away creating a foot of distance.

  “Seems like it.” I took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye. “I need to go.”

  WHEN I MADE it back to Josh’s house that evening, I was unable to shake the
look in Brevin’s eyes when he said he was an interesting guy. I truly believed he was.

  The house was full of people, who were mostly wearing swimsuits and shorts, some drunk, others working on it. Making my way through the throngs of people, I found Josh outside on the deck, no shirt on and beer in hand.

  “There’s my girl,” he said, the very moment he spotted me, beautiful women all around him. There was a sense of pride and possession in his tone, as if he were letting all these girls know I was the one he’d been waiting for.

  And I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.

  “Who are all these people?” I asked as he pressed me securely into his side.

  “Just a few friends,” he noted, his lips making contact with my temple.

  It wasn’t just a few friends. Everywhere I looked there were people partying, some inside, some outside, along with two boats anchored near his house. It looked like a huge party, which after knowing Josh for a short time, I had an idea his weekends were usually spent like this.

  Josh could immediately sense my nervousness for the amount of people around. “Ah, come on, don’t be shy.”

  Pulling me to the side of the dock, he asked me if I wanted to go for a ride in the boat with Jeb and his girlfriend, Addison. Until now, I hadn’t met either one officially, though I did know their names since Josh had told me about them the other night. As they stood near the boat, Josh wrapped his arm around me.

  “Ready to go for a ride?”

  “Sure.” For the second time today I’d been offered a ride. The thought immediately made me remember Brevin and the afternoon.

  “What took you so long today?” Josh’s voice was flat, his features smooth and expressionless.

  Of course he would ask that. Swallowing before I answered, my cheeks flushed and I reached for his hand. “I stayed for a little while at Brevin’s house.” When his eyebrows raised, I realized how it sounded, so I added, “I wasn’t sure they were going to have enough so I stayed to make sure.”

  Oh, my God, I just lied to him about something silly.

  Josh raised one eyebrow but said nothing.

  And then I gestured to Jeb trying to draw the conversation from myself. “Is that your business partner?”

  “Yeah.” Josh turned and motioned for Jeb to come over. After placing a cooler in the boat, he reached for his girlfriend’s hand and pulled her over with him. “That’s Jeb and his girlfriend, Addison.”

  It wasn’t easy to describe Jeb and Addison. If there were ever two perfectly matched people in the world, based on beauty, it was probably them. Jeb was your typical frat boy, fun-loving personality with warm welcoming honey-colored eyes to match. He had a decent body, toned but not one where you were afraid to stand next to him in fear he’d crush you with his biceps.

  Addison reminded me of an actress I’d seen in countless movies, though I couldn’t place the resemblance. Wearing a hot-pink string bikini, my eyes only focused on her golden skin and bright green eyes. She beamed and drew me in for a hug. “Finally, a girl around these two!” Laughing, I welcomed the hug before she drew back. “Now go put your suit on. You’re going on the boat with us. I refuse to be the only one tonight.”

  I gave Josh a look. “I didn’t bring my bathing suit. I didn’t know this was a party where we’d be swimming.”

  Before Josh could reply, Addison waved him off and reached for my hand. “Oh, don’t worry. I have an extra in my bag upstairs.”

  Her bag upstairs? So she’s staying over?

  “JD, kegs tapped!”

  Josh twisted around when someone called his name, pointing to a keg that appeared empty. “Sorry.” He kissed my cheek and began to let go of me. “I’ll be right back. You go get changed.”

  With a heavy sigh, I followed Addison inside the house. It seemed she knew just about everyone, mingling and greeting them all with smiles.

  Addison seemed sweet and bubbly but not the obnoxious kind that made you sick to your stomach. It was the kind that made you smile because it was nice to see someone happy.

  “How long have you been seeing Josh?”

  “Oh, well, we’re not really seeing each other, we’re just…”

  She raised an eyebrow once we were inside the guest bedroom. “Fucking?”

  “Yeah, I suppose you could say that.”

  She giggled, walked over to the bed and reached inside a pink and white bag for what looked to be a black and white string bikini, much like the one she was wearing. “This should fit you.” Holding it up over my breasts, her hands cupped them to my chest, fitting the smooth spandex material around the swell. “Damn girl, have you had a boob job?”

  Shit, she's touching my chest.

  “No.” I glanced down at my chest wondering if she was going to keep her hands there. “These are mine. Grew my own.”

  “They’re nice. Josh is a tittie man. No wonder you landed him.”

  “Landed him?”

  “I've known Josh since college. Almost ten years. He always goes for the girls with perfect tits.”

  “And these girls with perfect tits, are there a lot of them?”

  She smiled, knowing what I was hinting at. “No, Josh is what you would say…” Dropping her hands, she squinted as if she was trying to find the right word. “…selective.”

  Selective? What the hell did that mean?

  “How long have you been with Jeb?” I don’t know why but I felt the need to change the subject from Josh and me, unsure what we were in the first place.

  “Oh, uh…” She seemed caught off guard by the sudden change in conversation and fixed the ties on her bikini bottoms. “…six years, I think.”

  “Do you live with him?”

  “Yep. We stay at Josh’s house a lot in the summer and even during football season. They’re really close, best friends since college.” Addison sat down on the bed as if she were waiting for me to undress in front of her. I just stood there like an idiot holding the bikini. “I actually met Josh first. We dated our senior year in high school for like a month. Then I moved away and met them at a bar one night six years ago. Totally random. I fell head over heels for Jeb.”

  Okay, so more than likely she’s had sex with Josh. No way did I want to ask. But it made me curious.

  Addison stepped out of the room and told me to meet them down by the dock. Apparently, the boys wanted to wake board and go tubing.

  I dressed in the bikini, which surprisingly fit and then left my clothes in Josh's room.

  Reaching for a towel, I wrapped it around myself as I emerged from the bedroom. Any time I walked around Josh’s house, the mere size fascinated me. With as large as Josh’s house was, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had people over a lot. It was a 6,000 square foot house with five bedrooms and five bathrooms. No way did he need all that space to himself.

  When I made my way back to the dock, Jeb, Addison and Josh were all in his boat, ready to go. Josh reached for my hand immediately, helping make the step down from the dock.

  “Damn girl,” Jeb whistled, about the time Josh was ready to do the same, both gawking at me.

  My cheeks burned at the attention, unsure if I was bikini ready, but apparently I was.

  Addison beamed and nodded in approval. “She’s hot, huh?”

  I enjoyed Addison now. Mainly because she didn’t seem like one of those girls who was jealous of others. Either that or she was into girls too and I wouldn’t have put it past her either.

  She probably was based on her comments so far, or at least into both sexes.

  When I was situated on the boat, I sat across from Josh who was driving the boat. It was a nice boat too. White with black and red stripes down the side. One that was clearly used for wake boarding and other water sports by the tower across the top of the boat.

  The seats felt plush against my skin and not something you’d ordinarily see on a boat, but I was beginning to understand anything Josh owned, was the best money could buy.

  Josh took us out to t
he middle of the lake where he shut off the engine and then reached for a beer from inside the cooler, handing me one too. I’d been over at his house every day for a week and I was already drinking Oly beer just like him.

  He smiled when I took the first drink, as though he was thrilled to see I was drinking the same beer. I simply gave him a wink in reply.

  Look at me, conforming already. Next thing I know I’ll be wake boarding.

  “Wanna go on the tube?” he asked, gesturing with a nod to the inner tube tied down on the back of the boat. “I'll be gentle with you.”

  “Sure ya will, JD,” Jeb mused, cracking open his own beer and then setting it aside to fix the rope for wake boarding.

  It was weird hearing people call Josh, JD. I wanted to call him it but I wasn’t sure. I’d have to try it out in the mirror and see if I sounded stupid saying it. Besides that, I liked the way Josh sounded. Seemed manly, like him.

  “Nah,” I told Josh, settling back into the seat with my beer. “I’m not coordinated enough for that.”

  Addison didn’t seem too interested either and came to sit next to me as Jeb decided to go wake boarding. “Time for the boys to show off anyway.”

  “Do they do this often?” I asked when Jeb was in the water and she was holding up the bright orange flag.

  “They do it every weekend when the weather’s nice.” Addison twisted around, reaching for her beer. At the same time, Josh moved back with the rope in his hand and flung the other end out to Jeb who was bopping in the water. The two of them collided, Josh’s hands reaching out to grasp her hips before she fell.

  “Whoops.” He laughed. “Sorry about that, babe.”

  Babe? Who calls their friend’s girl babe?

  Addison winked at him, giggling, and settled back into her seat. “No problem. Hey,”—she slapped at his shoulder—“take it easy on him. Last time you messed up his shoulder.”

  “No I didn’t.” Josh smiled down at Addison, his eyes on her chest. “He messed up his shoulder trying to show Brevin he was better.”

  Brevin?

  My Brevin?

  Wait…my Brevin? He certainly wasn’t mine to claim.

  “Ha, he wasn’t even close to being as good as that kid on a wake board.” Addison noted. “Wasn’t he some kind of pro wake boarder?”