by A. Valentine
“I hope so,” Brendan said, puzzling her. He nodded toward the horizon, where a few small black clouds were gathered just above the tree line. “Dad said it’s supposed to be clear, but those look like rain.”
“Well, I can’t get wet,” Shannon said. “I’ll melt!”
Brendan laughed. “What?”
“I’m made of sugar, haven’t you heard?” She gestured toward the sky. “One raindrop, and poof! I’ll be gone.”
She’d been joking, but Brendan took the conversation in a different way. Suddenly, he was standing very close to Shannon, an intense look on his face. “I’ll take some of that sugar.” His fingers traced the side of her face, brown eyes searching hers intensely. “Yes?”
“Yes,” Shannon whispered, in the half second before Brendan kissed her.
His lips were softer than she’d ever imagined possible, parting at a touch. Shannon breathed in the taste of fresh mint and eager want; when their tongues met she felt her heart leap inside her chest. She was kissing her best friend in all the world, and it felt so right.
“I have wanted to do that forever,” Brendan said, as their heads parted. “You don’t even know.”
“I want to do it again,” Shannon replied, pulling Brendan toward her for another kiss. “You don’t even know.”
“Then show me,” he replied.
This kiss began slowly, a tender embrace that grew more passionate with every passing second. Shannon let her arms snake up around Brendan’s neck and she sank down onto one of the orange padded boat seats, bringing him along with her.
“Geez, kids, get a room!” A familiar voice called from the next boat over. “We’ve got our kids here.”
Shannon looked up, mortified, to see Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. They owned the local hardware store; Mrs. Wilson was a regular customer who liked books on angels and miracles. They had three blond little ones with them, each one securely belted into a life jacket.
“Sorry,” she muttered, red faced, while Brendan leapt to free the boat from the dock. “We were just…leaving.”
Brendan laughed as they got out in the open water. “Don’t apologize!” he told Shannon. “They’d be doing the same thing if they could.”
Shannon felt some of her discomfort melt away. “You really think so?”
“Sure,” Brendan said. “Where do you think those kids came from?”
“Oh, God…” Shannon replied. “I don’t want to think about the Wilsons getting it on.” Mrs. Wilson was nice enough, but Mr. Wilson was an oily chunk of a man with small eyes, chubby hands, and tendency to snort instead of laugh. “That’s horrible!”
Brendan reached over and rummaged in a cooler. He brought out a brown long-necked bottle. “Here, this will take your mind off of it.”
Shannon took it cautiously. “What is it?”
“Hard cider,” Brendan replied. “I figured you weren’t much of a beer drinker, so I picked up a few. It tastes like apples.”
“Is it strong?” she asked.
“Just strong enough to take the image of a naked Mr. Wilson right out of your mind.” Brendan laughed.
Shannon took a taste. The cider was sweet and cold; better than she’d expected. “This is good.”
Brendan smiled. His smile lit up his entire face. Shannon could see his joy in his eyes as well as in the curve of his grin; it was clear he was happy he’d pleased her. “I’m glad you like it.”
“I do.” She maneuvered herself into the seat beside where he was driving the boat. “You have good taste.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” he laughed. “I think it’s more a matter of being willing to try anything once. Some things work out, some don’t.”
“What hasn’t worked out?” Shannon asked.
“Hmmm. Let’s see. Last semester, I shared a suite with three other guys. There was me, this guy Chad – you’d like him, he’s an English major, Phillips, and Nam-gi. He’s Korean – I mean, he was born here and everything, but his family is Korean.”
Shannon nodded. “Okay.”
“And Nam-gi is a great guy. He’s smart as hell, and really hard working, and he flat out saved my ass when I was having a hard time in calculus.” Brendan paused. “I know that all sounds like a stereotype. But he’s also a lot of fun. He’s got a sick sense of humor. And he loves music.”
“He sounds cool,” Shannon replied. “And there’s nothing wrong with being smart and hard working.”
“I like smart and hard working,” Brendan said. He looked at Shannon out of the corner of his eye, letting his gaze travel up and down the length of her body. The amount of time he spent checking out her legs made Shannon glad she’d worn her cut-off shorts. “I like it a lot.”
Shannon blushed. “So where did things go wrong?”
“I don’t know that they went wrong, exactly. But his Mom came into town and she brought all this food. Like a gigantic basket full of all of Nam-gi’s favorite stuff. And she’s telling us, “Eat, eat!” Brendan laughed. “Nam-gi’s like “I don’t know guys, this is pretty traditional Korean food.” But I thought, “How bad could it be?”
“How bad was it?”
“Some of it wasn’t bad at all. She makes this stuff called Eomuk that’s awesome – it’s like a fish patty, but one hundred times better. But then…” Brendan paused dramatically, and rolled his eyes. “I couldn’t stop while I was ahead. I had to try the kimchi.”
Shannon had heard of kimchi before. “Isn’t that pickled cabbage?”
“That’s what I thought,” Brendan said. “I figured it would be kind of like sauerkraut. No big deal, right?”
Shannon nodded. “Right.” She’d seen Brendan pack away a good amount of sauerkraut over the years; it was a staple menu item in the Claremont High cafeteria.
“Wrong!” Brendan announced. “Imagine biting into a red-hot coal while it was still on fire.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “I thought my tongue was going to spontaneously combust.”
“So that’s a no on the kimchi then.” Shannon glanced toward the picnic basket she’d brought. “I hope you don’t wind up getting too hungry.”
Brendan’s face froze momentarily, his expression caught somewhere between shock and horror. “I’m sure if you made it, I would like it,” he said, eventually. “I mean, I’ll give it a try…”
Shannon laughed. “No worries. I was just busting you. Our snacks are 100% kimchi free.”
“Oh, thank God,” he replied. He opened a beer for himself. “Because that stuff is definitely not for me!”
“There’s nothing from the Cthullu cookbook either,” Shannon said. “So you don’t have to worry about any octopus tentacles.”
“I’ve actually tried those,” Brendan said. “At a sushi restaurant. I know what you’re thinking, but actually, they were pretty good.”
Shannon sighed. “I wish I tried half the stuff you’ve tried.”
“About half of it was good,” Brendan said. “So as long as you picked the right half, you’d be in good shape.”
“I’m not going to be able to do that in Claremont though.” Shannon raised her bottle in a salute to the buildings silhouetted on the river’s shore. “We have what we have and that’s it. No sushi restaurants.”
“You don’t have to stay in Claremont forever.”
“That’s what Erica said.”
Brendan tensed up. “You talked to Erica?”
Shannon laughed. “Yes. She said you were a cheapskate.” She reached over and smacked Brendan’s arm. “When a woman is nice enough to shake her ass in your face, you put your money down.”
“Oh, my God.” Brendan blushed scarlet. “I can’t believe she recognized me.”
“Well, she’s only known you like your whole life,” Shannon replied. “More or less.” She took another sip of the cider, appreciating the way it warmed her with every swallow. “She wants me to move to Albany with her, split the rent on her place.”
Brendan looked straight ahead, carefully not meeti
ng Shannon’s gaze. “Are you thinking about it?”
“I don’t know.” Shannon shook her head. “I know I’ve got to move out on my own eventually. But right now, Mom really needs the help with the bookstore. She can’t work all day, every day, and the sales aren’t enough to cover paying someone.”
“That’s not really fair to you though,” Brendan said. “You’re never going to be able to get ahead that way.”
Shannon thought about how she’d hesitated before giving Erica her twenty-dollar bill. “But what am I supposed to do? Mom gave up her entire life for me when I was little. I remember her going without stuff just so I could have it.”
“That’s what Moms do,” Brendan replied. “It’s part of the deal.”
“Still. I feel like I should do something for her.”
“Something isn’t putting your entire life on hold.”
“So you think I should move in with Erica?”
Brendan shook his head. “I didn’t say that. I mean, it’s Erica. Deep down, she’s still the same girl we grew up with. But she’s making a lot of choices that will…” His voice drifted off.
“That will what?” Shannon prompted.
“I think they’re going to make her life harder for her in the long run. It’s not even about the dancing,” he continued. “Not really. But dropping out of school…”
“She told me she wasn’t nearly as good as everyone else.” Shannon shook her head. “And she couldn’t see herself doing anything else.”
“That’s bullshit. You can change your major. People do it all the time. Look at me. I started out in game design, thinking that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”
Shannon nodded, remembering Brendan’s determination that he was going to create the next World of Warcraft. “So what happened?”
“Two weeks in, they do this presentation, talking about the career realities in the field and how few game designers actually make it to the point where they can support themselves,” Brendan said. “It was something like 3 percent. Maybe five. Not more than that.”
“Ouch,” Shannon said. “Those are some pretty harsh odds.”
“One professor said if you were determined to make it as a game designer, the first thing you have to do is marry a woman with money.”
Shannon laughed. “Well, don’t waste your time proposing to me then,” she scoffed. “I’m as broke as a joke.”
“I know you are,” Brendan said. “And I could never make a decision like who I wanted to marry based on whether or not she could support me. That shit’s not right. I’ve got to be able to provide for myself and when it gets to it, my family.” He took a deep breath. “After that presentation, I went down to see my advisor. And I said basically everything I just said to you, and asked her what major I should switch into.”
“And now you’re in…” Shannon searched her brain, remembering what Brendan had said about an internship. “Some kind of insurance degree?”
“Finance,” Brendan said. “Eventually I’ll be able to get my licenses and either work as a broker or an investment banker.”
Shannon blinked. “Really?” It was the last thing she expected to hear from Brendan. “Is that what you want to do with your life?”
Brendan leaned back in the seat, carefully steering the boat toward a secluded woody section of the riverbank. “Everybody’s got to do something.” He killed the motor. “I think we’ll be able to see the fireworks pretty good from here.”
Shannon looked around. “This is nice. And private.” She followed Brendan to the front of the boat, joining him on the blanket he carefully spread on the deck. “But you didn’t answer my question.”
Brendan turned to Shannon. Their faces were inches apart. Shannon was once again suddenly reminded of what an attractive man her best friend had turned out to be; desire washed through her body and she bit her bottom lip. “What’s that?” he asked.
“What do you want to do with your life?” Shannon asked.
“I’d love to spend it making love to you,” Brendan replied. Then he kissed her.
Chapter 5
Somewhere in the distance, Shannon could hear a first lonely firework whooshing up into the sky as Brendan kissed her. It arced through the twilight unseen, announcing the end of its journey with a loud sparkling snap.
“How is this even happening?” she whispered against Brendan’s lips. “All these years, I never knew you felt anything for me.” His eyes were shining. “Not like this.”
Brendan ran his fingertips over the side of Shannon’s face, starting at her temple and slowly tracing his way down to her jawline. “I think I’ve always loved you,” he said. “Do you remember when you told PJ you’d beat him up if he didn’t give me back my Gameboy?”
Shannon laughed, softly. “We were like in second grade then.” PJ had been the playground bully everyone was afraid of. He was a tall, big kid who’d towered over the rest of his classmates, but that didn’t stop Shannon from going after him with her tiny fists flying. “I was so mad that he’d do that to you.”
“I think that’s when it started,” Brendan said. He kissed Shannon again, first on the lips and then on her cheek. From there he worked his way, kiss by kiss, to the curving arch of Shannon’s neck. “I knew you were the girl for me.”
Shannon moaned. She’d never suspected that simple kisses could feel so good. Every touch of Brendan’s lips awakened new feelings in her. She could feel herself trembling against her best friend. “Why didn’t you say something?”
Brendan laughed softly. “I was just a kid.” He gently tugged at the hem of Shannon’s shirt. She moved, letting the striped garment slip over her head. Underneath, she was wearing her favorite bikini top, bright red with tiny daisies and hearts printed on it.
“We got older,” Shannon said. Brendan went back to kissing her, beginning again at her neck and then moving over her newly exposed flesh. “You could have said something.”
“You wouldn’t have been interested in me then.” His kisses had reached the very edge of Shannon’s bikini top, soft lips pressing against the gentle swell of her bosom. Shannon slid her fingers into his hair, feeling the silk of his chestnut curls embracing each digit.
“Well, I definitely am now,” she murmured. “Very, very interested.”
Brendan smiled a smile Shannon had never seen before, sly and sexy and wanting all at once. It was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen, this new, unknown expression on the man she’d known her whole life.
He brought his hand up to the red fabric that covered her breast and squeezed, gently. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”
Shannon arched her back, bringing her chest up into Brendan’s grip. She’d never gone so far with anyone before, but this first taste of intimacy awakened a hunger for more. “Me, either,” she whispered. It was almost a moan, but not quite. “Brendan…”
He froze for a moment as the sound of an approaching boat motor filled the night. They could hear people whooping and laughing.
“They’re just on their way down to watch the fireworks,” Shannon said softly.
“I don’t want them to notice us,” Brendan said. He squeezed Shannon’s breast again, letting his thumb brush over the area where her nipple tented the fabric outward. “We don’t need any company.”
Shannon nodded, staying silent as the boat passed by. She let her hands do the talking for her, feeling the muscled ridges of Brendan’s back and shoulders. His body was so hard, compared to her own; she reveled in his solidity and strength.
“I love it when you touch me,” Brendan whispered against her lips. “It feels so good to have your hands on me.”
“I want to touch you everywhere,” Shannon said. The party boat was moving down the river; she felt safe that they were on their way to get a better view of the fireworks show. On the wind, she could hear occasional bits of music coming from the fairgrounds, a signal that the festivities were getting started
for real.
Brendan took her hand and guided it to the front of his swim trunks. His eyes closed as her grip embraced his need. “Oh, my god,” he whispered.
Shannon echoed the sentiment. The swell in Brendan’s shorts was huge; it felt as thick as her wrist. She wasn’t entirely sure what to do, so she moved slowly, exploring the length of the bulge. The thin fabric of his swim trunks concealed nothing; she could feel Brendan’s cock growing harder and harder as she slid her hand downward.
“Yeah,” Brendan groaned. He slid his hand downward from Shannon’s chest to her crotch, tentatively pressing against her fabric-covered mound.
Her hips raised upward in response, meeting his touch. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she said.
The sound of another boat motor filled the night, joined by the high whine of an approaching jet ski. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Brendan said. He shifted awkwardly off of Shannon into a more socially acceptable pose. “I thought everyone would have gone down there by now.”
“There’s always the last minute people,” Shannon said. She leaned over and gave Brendan a kiss. “Anyway, who cares?”
He kissed her back, pulling her into his arms once again. Shannon smiled, loving the feel of their bodies pressed up against each other.
Then someone called out from a passing boat. “Billy Benson, is that you?”
“God damn it,” Brendan muttered, before calling back, “No, it’s Brendan. Dad let me borrow the boat for the fireworks.”
“It looks like you’ve got some fireworks of your own fixing to go off over there,” the voice called. Laughter filled the night, fading away only as the more and more boats crowded into the area. Someone had a radio on their boat, playing loud country music. “Let’s get this party started!” they whooped.
“Can we go somewhere a little more private?” Shannon asked.
