CRASH

by Pepper Pace

  Wow, it was real far away. She nodded and he placed his hand on the small of her back for a moment. It felt so good that she sucked in a soft breath.

  “We’ll be sitting in no time.”

  “I’m fine.” She smiled.

  They walked at a leisurely pace, pointing out shops and promising themselves that they’d double back to check out this or that. At Hard Rock they got a seat beneath a shadow frame of Janet Jackson’s outfit from the video Control. Sophie snickered. Lucas would have trouble squeezing into that thing. She knew Janet had been pudgy for that video. Who did they think they were fooling? She suddenly considered just how many young men fantasized about Janet Jackson and the woman was older than her. Maybe even Lucas had. There was nothing wrong with that. She listened to him point out pop memorabilia and found herself smiling happily.

  They got a Jumbo combo appetizer to split and ice cold lemonades. While they waited for their order Sophie noticed in dawning amazement that Lucas was the center of attention for every prepubescent girl in the restaurant. Sophie leaned in and whispered.

  “Lucas. There are about 8 little girls in here ready to shank me.”

  “What?” He frowned in confusion. He looked around. He barely noticed the little girls but he did see the disapproving looks of several of their parents.

  “It doesn’t bother me. Give me your hand.”

  “What? Why?”

  “There you go, asking why again.” His hand was on the table top palm up and opened for hers. She rolled her eyes uncomfortably but placed her hand in his. He closed it, trapping hers and then he smiled.

  “What do you think people see when they look at us right now?” She tried but couldn’t take her eyes from his.

  “They see…an older black woman holding hands with a young white boy, with his parent’s nowhere around.”

  “Now, let me ask you this. Is what they see true?”

  “No. Because you’re an adult. And we’re not lovers.” She gave him a wry grin.

  He inhaled and all signs of humor left his face. “If they could see what is real…then they’d see a man very much in love with the woman sitting across from him.” She slipped her hand from his quickly and Lucas tried not to grimace.

  She cleared her throat and looked around. “We should go.”

  Now they see a man shot down, he thought grimly.

  As the couple walked back to the next shuttle stop, Lucas wished more than anything that he could be holding her hand right now. He almost ached to touch her, but she walked stiffly beside him, not due to her back but because she was upset.

  It hadn’t been his intent to upset her this weekend. This weekend was for something much different.

  Chapter 13

  When they got back to the cabin, the sun was just setting. Sophie had kept quiet for the entire trip. She didn’t want to ruin Lucas’ weekend but she intended to have a serious discussion about the boundaries of their relationship as soon as they got back home. In the meantime she needed to set some things straight.

  But he beat her to the punch.

  “Sophie, I didn’t mean to embarrass you back at the restaurant. Let’s just…forget that happened, okay? Can we get in the Jacuzzi now?” He gave her such an innocent smile and even though she knew that he was playing her with the sweet innocent act she couldn’t help but to smile back. Yeah…but she still intended to set things straight once they got home.

  Sophie changed into athletic shorts and a t-shirt. She kept her bra and panties on for the sake of modesty and then she grabbed two towels and met Lucas in the living room. He was fiddling with the disc changer, loading up songs. He stood when he spotted her.

  Sophie’s mouth parted and her heart gave one big thud in her chest. Lucas was wearing swim trunks that ran almost down to his knees; they weren’t anything special. But for the first time she saw him without a shirt. His thin torso was completely hairless; no surprise there, but he had very defined muscles that she could have never guessed at. His shoulders were broad and his pecs were tight. His nipples were brown; a stark contrast against his pale skin. On his feet he wore flip flops, his legs covered in dark hair that transformed him into something very masculine instead of the childlike image that she still had a hard time getting rid of.

  “They have some great music. I mixed it up with some oldies and some alt. You ready?” She remembered to nod. “I’m going to grab something to drink.” He headed to the kitchen. “You want a beer? I picked up wine coolers, too.”

  “Just water.” She called out.

  He made a face. “Sophie, come on. Don’t make me drink alone. This is supposed to be a vacation!”

  “You’re not supposed to drink and get into the Jacuzzi.”

  “There’s a timer. We’ll set it for…half an hour and get out, cool?”

  He gave her a sweet grin and she felt her mouth tug responsively at the corners. “Okay, I’ll have one of the wine coolers.”

  “Good!” He grabbed a bottle of beer and a wine cooler, opening them while he was still in the kitchen. Then they went outside. There were outdoor speakers where the Jacuzzi was located and Landslide by Fleetwood Mac was playing. Sophie had to take a moment just to absorb everything. She felt almost overwhelmed with how wonderful it all felt. It was…perfect.

  Lucas got into the Jacuzzi and groaned loudly.

  “Oh god! The water feels great.” He put the drinks in cup holders and then reached out for her hand to help her up the narrow stairs and into the Jacuzzi. She was very careful but when her foot touched the water her face lit up and she laughed out loud. Her hands went to Lucas’ shoulders as she stepped down. His hands found her hips and he held her for a moment before guiding her to one of the seats.

  She settled in and closed her eyes.

  Lucas watched her. “Do you feel the jets against your skin?”

  “Oh yeah,” she groaned. One is right in the small of my back and it feels awesome.” Her eyes opened.

  “We have to get one of these for the house.”

  “The backyard’s getting pretty crowded.” He passed her the wine cooler.

  She licked her full lips and then took a swig. “Mmm. Good. Nice and cold.” She looked at him. “Well, I’ll just have to buy a bigger house.”

  “I’m actually kind of partial to the house you already have.” Sophie thought about the things that he had done to make the house very special. When it was time for Lucas to leave she would miss him a great deal. He took a swallow of his beer and Sophie thought how weird it was to see him drinking. But he was an adult after all…

  “What are you going to do when you become a successful writer?” She asked while pushing her hips up so that she could float a little.

  “I can’t even imagine.” He thought about the question seriously. “I could have never foreseen this happening and it’s moving really fast.” He had a thoughtful look on his face. “I’m writing an interracial romance novel and I’ve never even been in an interracial relationship…or in any relationship.” He quickly ducked his head into the water and came back up allowing his hair to flow behind him. He quickly wiped his face and nose.

  That didn’t matter one bit. He shouldn’t sell himself short. Though he mimicked her style, Sophie could see his own spirit and life in his characters; a goodness that was elusive for her. She found that he had created a character in Ned that seemed so much like him. She found herself looking forward to reading Ned’s new developments. Sophie opened her mouth but then closed it. Lucas saw the movement.

  “What? Were you going to say something?”

  She felt her face warm. “Just that writing romance is more fantasy than experience. My romances have been fulfilling. But not as fulfilling as what I write in my stories.”

  He watched her closely. “That’s just sad.”

  Sophie leaned her head back against the padded edge and focused on the darkening sky and its shimmery star points. “It is.” She agreed.

  Half an hour came fast and once the buzzer
sounded Lucas hopped out of the Jacuzzi. Sophie had finished her cooler and was now feeling incredibly relaxed and didn’t want to get out.

  He held out his hand to her. “Come on, Sophie; time to get out.”

  She groaned. “Ten more minutes?”

  “No, honey. It’s dangerous. We’ve been drinking. We can get back in later.”

  “At midnight?”

  He chuckled. “Okay. We’ll come back at midnight.”

  She stood up then and stumbled a little but even though Lucas was no longer in the Jacuzzi, his strong hands were there to catch her. She laughed too loudly. “I almost fell.”

  “I’m not going to let you fall.” She carefully brought her feet over the edge and then onto the step. Falling scared her, terrified her. One fall and it could change your life, one misstep…

  “I got you.”

  She smiled at him. “I know.”

  A cool breeze hit them and goose bumps developed along both of their skins. Sophie’s sodden clothes suddenly felt too heavy. Stupid to have worn underwear and shorts in the Jacuzzi. He grabbed the towels and draped one over her shoulders. He vigorously dried his body with his own and Sophie caught sight of how his wet shorts had dragged down until it showed his narrow hips and the top of his black pubes. She blushed when she found herself wondering what he looked like beneath those shorts.

  She hurried into the house. There were two entrances, one led to her bedroom, the other led to the living room. “I’m going to…get out of these wet clothes.” She stuttered.

  “Toss them out on the deck. I’ll come back out and put them in the washer and we can have them dry by midnight.” He went in through the living room entrance, drying his wet hair. “I’ll make a fire, and then we can watch a movie. Is that cool?”

  “That sounds perfect. I’ll pop some microwave popcorn.”

  He looked at her over his shoulder. “I’ll meet you on the couch in 15 minutes.” Then he jogged up the loft stairs and Sophie pulled her eyes away. No door to his bedroom and he’d be stripping out of those wet shorts.

  She felt an erotic throbbing between her thighs which she quickly dismissed. She entered her bedroom, closing the curtains and shades.

  Sophie took a five minute shower to wash the Jacuzzi scum from her skin. She quickly pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail after slipping on a fresh pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Her wet clothes were gone from the porch when she peeked out and when she opened her bedroom door that lead out to the body of the house she saw that Lucas was just getting the fire started.

  “You do know what you’re doing over there, right?”

  “What? Start a fire?” He gave her a mischievous look. “Any two year old can do that.”

  “Oh…kay.”

  He placed the poker back into its slot. “I’m kidding. We had a fireplace at my grandparent’s house.” He clapped his hands together and put on a faux serious frown. “Chop chop, Sophie! You’re on popcorn duty, remember?”

  She raised her brow at him and almost called him a brat, instead she went into the kitchen with a smile on her face.

  “And a beer for me, please!” He called out.

  “Okay okay.” She called back. When she had returned with the popcorn in a large plastic bowl and two bottles of beer she saw that he was crouched in front of the big screen reading the instructions for the surround sound. He was wearing faded camo cargo shorts and a novelty t-shirt that was old enough that the words were now faded off.

  “They have Avatar,” he said as he read. “Want to watch it? I haven’t seen it yet.”

  “You haven’t seen Avatar?” Well of course he hadn’t. He’d probably been preoccupied with how to eat and live. “Yeah.” She said gently. “Let’s watch it.”

  He slipped the movie in and went around the room cutting off lights until the room was bathed only in the glow emanating from the 40 inch screen. Sophie was leaned against the arm of the large couch, legs curled comfortable to the side and Lucas plumped the pillows and reclined against the other end, stretching out leisurely with his feet dangling off the side only inches from her. She scowled at him but he just wiggled his toes.

  Sophie reached for the popcorn and settled it on his shins. It was a big couch. Lucas frowned.

  “I can’t reach the popcorn.”

  Sophie sniffed. “Sit up then.” She popped a few kernels into her mouth and munched with her eyes riveted to the screen.

  “Sophie.”

  “Shhh!” She said, hiding a grin.

  “Pass me the popcorn.”

  “No. Come and get it.”

  He sat up really fast and grabbed the popcorn in one hand and a pillow in the other. Then he plumped it against her hip and lay down cushioned against her butt. She gave him an incredulous look which he ignored as he settled the popcorn on the seat in front of her and then he munched popcorn and watched the movie.

  Sophie couldn’t help it, she chuckled. He peeked at her innocently.

  “Comfy are we?”

  “I think this is the best seat in the house.”

  Lucas was riveted by the move and she couldn’t help watching him with his head practically on her lap. His hair was in his face and she longed to reach down and stroke it, pushing it gently back so that she could run her fingers along his temples and brow. He looked so at peace and so comfortable. And she was comfortable too. She liked feeling him so close to her that her feet were pressed to his stomach. Once his hand dipped down to rub them before he…eww…reached into the popcorn bowl again.

  But no matter how wonderful the movie and company was, or even the promise of getting into the Jacuzzi again at midnight with a shirtless Lucas, by the time she had finished half of her beer, Sophie was sound asleep. The long ride, the walk into town and the relaxing movie had done her in even before the clock had struck ten.

  Lucas reached for the remote and turned off the television. He placed the empty bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and then he carefully moved up the couch until he was positioned behind Sophie, spooning her soft body; his arms draped over her hips and his nose nestled into her neck and shoulder. He listened to her soft snores and then allowed the fatigue to pull him towards sleep as well.

  Sophie felt comfortable and safe as she turned in her sleep. Her head nuzzled against his chest as her leg came up to drape over his. She distantly felt him pull her close and stroke her back. Soft lips were pressed against her forehead.

  When Sophie woke she was alone on the couch and for a moment she lay there frozen. In growing alarm, she tried to re-play the events of the previous night. She’d slept with Lucas. Well in the most non-sexual sense; but they’d cuddled. Oh my god. How bad was that, to cuddle with a boy that had a crush on you and that you were trying to send a message of just purely platonic friendship?

  Pretty bad.

  But he had not tried anything…at least that she could remember. She relaxed. They’d just fallen asleep, and that was all there was to it. Feeling better, Sophie rubbed her gritty eyes and felt around on the table for her glasses. She could smell the good aroma of cooking bacon and fried potatoes. Her stomach got happy as she pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around still feeling groggy. The popcorn and beer bottles had magically disappeared and she stumbled to her feed and made her way to the kitchen.

  She stopped abruptly when she realized that she had drooled in her sleep and she quickly hurried to her room and it’s adjourning bathroom to freshen up. She figured that they would go out mountain climbing or rafting or zip roping; some such thing that scared her shitless. So she dressed in jeans and a hoodie.