by Paula Cox
Still, though, it was Blue. Blue was the first guy Chelsea had ever fallen for. She had written dozens of songs for and about him. She had dreamt of him and fantasized about him and now here he was, fresh out of the Army and pushing her luggage through an airport. If only things had been completely different, maybe they could have made it work.
Chapter Four
Sandwiched between her sister and her mother, Chelsea tried to get comfortable in the back of the limo. But Blue was sitting right across from her and every time she looked up she found herself staring right into his eyes. She forced herself to crane her neck as if whatever was on the other side of the window was fascinating instead of just an airport parking lot.
Terrance rapped his knuckles three times on the divider that separated the passengers from the driver, and the car began to move. Chelsea couldn’t help but notice Terrance’s rudeness; he could have just asked the driver to go, but she forced herself to bite her tongue. Her plane had just landed less than fifteen minutes ago; she couldn’t be getting into fights with her mom’s new boyfriend yet. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but the air felt oppressive in the limo. Terrance kept clearing his throat and looking at each of them with a smug expression on his face.
“This was very nice of you, Terrance,” Chelsea said, trying to keep her voice even. “But you really didn’t have to rent a limo.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Terrance said with a wave of his hand. “I wanted you girls to see the style of living your mother has been getting used to,” he wiggled his eyebrows at Colleen and Chelsea had to subdue a shudder.
There was just something so wrong about Terrance. Something indefinable that made her skin crawl. Chelsea flicked her eyes over to Blue, but he was looking at his phone and Chelsea quickly looked back out the window. She could remember the way he had talked about his father back when they were in high school. Terrance had always sounded mean and dangerous in the stories Blue had told and it didn’t look like he had become any nicer in the intervening years.
“Plus, we’ll all be staying at Terrance’s house, so it made sense that we share a ride,” Colleen said with a shrug.
“Ah, yes,” Terrance cut it. “I am so looking forward to having you girls stay with me. My house is so much bigger than Colleen’s little ranch house, so I thought we would all be more comfortable there. I mean, what is that, a two bedroom?”
“It’s the house we grew up in,” Jamie said.
“And we like it very much, thank you,” Chelsea added.
“You know, if you and Mom want some time to yourselves we’d be happy to stay at the little ranch house,” Jamie said, barely hiding her sarcasm.
At Jamie’s words Blue’s head whipped up from his phone and he looked at Chelsea with a sudden worried expression on his face. He hid it quickly, his face resuming a normal, bored-looking expression almost instantly.
He doesn’t want to be alone with his father, Chelsea realized.
“No, no, no,” Colleen said. “We’ll all stay at the big house. Terrance has a beautiful in-ground pool. We’re gonna have a great time, all right, girls?” Her teeth clenched at that last word and both Chelsea and Jamie mumbled the word yes in unison.
It was insane how quickly they found themselves back in their old roles. Jamie and Chelsea on one side, Colleen and her boyfriend on the other. Chelsea and Jamie would need to be polite to the new boyfriend or their mother would get mad and it would lead to a huge fight. Chelsea couldn’t help but sigh as she remembered how many times they had done this, how many of her mother’s boyfriends she’d had to play nice with.
But this was different; none of those other guys had Blue for a son. Blue, who looked too handsome for words sitting in the back of a limo. He was leaning back in his seat with his eyes trained on the passing world outside. Chelsea could remember so much about Blue DeMarco. He had liked history and math and hated Spanish class back in high school. He used to tutor Chelsea on Roman mythology and she would drill him on irregular verbs. It all seemed so long ago, like it had happened in a movie she had seen once. But now they were all snapped back.
As if he could read her mind Blue looked at her, pinning her to her seat with his dark brown eyes. His gaze was intense and focused and Chelsea quickly had to look away. When she finally gained the courage to look back, she saw he had resumed staring out the window.
The house was exactly the cheap monstrosity that Chelsea had expected. It was huge with large, marble pillars holding up the overhanging roof. Tacky, white, stone tigers with fake ruby eyes stood on either side of the door. A harried looking housekeeper hurried out of the house and gathered their bags while Terrance looked down his nose at her.
I just need a room with a bed and a door that locks, Chelsea thought desperately as Terrance led them around his half-furnished mansion. It was clear he had bought far more than he needed. Half the rooms were either totally empty or had only a single piece of furniture, like a chair or a painting still leaning against a wall. Chelsea knew it was her job to act impressed, so she nodded appreciatively at every mention of wall to wall carpet and solid oak doors.
Finally, she was shown to a small bedroom with a desk, a TV, and a bed, and was thankfully left alone. She fell back on the bed and closed her eyes and debated what she should do. She needed to talk to Blue, that much was clear. But what was she going to say to him and how was she going to find him in this monstrosity of a house without letting anyone know she was looking for him.
She sat up and rubbed her face a little bit and then jumped out of bed. She needed to find Blue and talk to him. Putting it off would only drive her crazy. She stepped out of her bedroom and walked down the hall. The walls were lined with blue wallpaper and she tried a few doors, but was met with only empty rooms. She pulled the handle on another door and when it gave beneath her grip she pulled the door and then her jaw fell open.
“Hey,” Blue said, nodding to her in an offhand manner. He was standing in a steaming bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. Chelsea couldn’t help it; her eyes landed on the towel and she saw how precariously it was sitting on his hips. His chest was firm and he had a solid six-pack. He was standing over the sink a razor in one hand, and only a few swipes of shaving cream still on his cheek.
“Oh, hey...” Chelsea stammered, trying desperately not to look at him. She could glimpse a large tattoo on his right bicep; it was an image of two guns underneath three solid black stripes. “Um…I wanted to talk to you, but now’s obviously not a good time.” She fumbled as she reached for the doorknob but her hands were shaking and refusing to work.
“We can talk now,” Blue said, pulling the razor down his cheek and removing the last strip of shaving cream from his perfect skin. He pulled a towel over his face and patted the moisture away before turning to look at Chelsea.
“I don’t want to interrupt you. Why don’t you get dressed and then we’ll talk,” her voice kept rising in tone as she talked until her last words came out as an embarrassing squeak. What was happening to her? She was a strong confident woman with a serious recording contract, so why was she acting like some awkward sixteen-year-old?
“You’ve seen me in less than this,” Blue said with a smirk as he took a step closer to her.
Chelsea looked up and down the hallway, but she didn’t see anyone and she took a step into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
“Nice,” Blue said and he reached for his towel.
“No, no, no, no,” Chelsea said, quickly. “That, the other night, it obviously can’t happen again.”
“Why not?” Blue asked. “I thought you had a good time. Did you not?”
“No,” Chelsea said, fiddling with a towel. “It was very...nice. But our parents are dating and it’s weird and that night at the club, honestly, it’s like I didn’t even recognize you. I didn’t remember you the next morning.”
“Ah, so that’s why you regret it.”
“I don’t regret it,” Chelsea said shaking her
head. “It’s just...I wanted a one-time thing. I wanted a one-night stand with some guy I would never have to see again. I wanted to be wild and impulsive for maybe the last time ever.”
“I know,” Blue said giving her a mysterious smile. “You told me all about the deal with your record label last night. You told me how much you hated it.”
“I don’t hate it,” Chelsea argued quickly. “I don’t love it either, but that’s how life works, right? You don’t ever get exactly what you want. You have to learn to compromise.”
“You mean give up?” Blue countered.
Chelsea sighed and finally looked back at him and her breath was almost instantly taken away. Her body felt drawn to his, like they were two opposing magnets and their very bodies wanted to come together. But she could absolutely, in no way, hook up with Blue again, no matter how hot he looked in a towel.
“I came here to ask that you not tell Colleen or Terrance about last night. They’re dating and it’s getting serious and that would make us step-siblings and that would just be wrong.”
“Why?” Blue asked. “We’re not related.”
“You know what I mean; people would talk.”
“People always talk,” he said with a shake of his head taking a step towards her. He was so tall and so strong and it was hot and steamy in the bathroom and her feet weren’t moving. He took another step towards her and put on hand on her shoulder and Chelsea felt her knees go weak.
“Chelsea! Jamie! Get your suits on already!” she heard her mother scream from downstairs. The jarring noise broke whatever spell had fallen over her and without another word she rushed from the bathroom before she did something she couldn’t take back.
Chapter Five
Chelsea had to give Terrance credit for the pool. It was in-ground and Olympic sized and set into a stone patio. There were lounge chairs and glass tables with umbrellas and a huge smoking grill. The hot sun poured over Chelsea as she took off her cover-up revealing a modest black bikini; she laid out in one of the lounge chairs and tried to stop her beating heart.
This was not going to work with Blue. He couldn’t be tempting her like that; it was too dangerous. She would need to be ready to instantly destroy any romantic moments that might occur between them. She wasn’t a kid with a crush anymore. She was an adult with responsibilities and one of those was staying single. She needed to think of her career and her future.
It was just so unfair. She had dated and discarded dozens of boring men in Los Angeles. She thought it would be easy to stay single until after her album dropped. But now her one-nights stand was always around and tempting her and she had never been good at saying no.
Chelsea had only just sat down when Blue came out wearing a pair of loose blue swim trunks that sat low on his hips. Without hesitating he walked over the diving board and bounced once before performing an impeccable swan dive and slipping into the water with only the barest of splashes.
Colleen clapped from her spot underneath the umbrella, but Terrance only scoffed and claimed he could do better.
“What do you think of the house, Chelsea?” he asked her as Blue began to swim laps in the pool. “I’m sure it’s just as nice as all those mansions in LA.”
“Oh, I don’t go in many mansions,” Chelsea lied. “I live in a two-bedroom.” That part was true. She lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment, but she had been in many houses nicer than Terrance’s; she just didn’t want to insult him so early into their trip.
“Well, make sure you really look at this house so you can compare it when you get back. I’m telling you, this house is a real gem. It would fit right in on Rodeo Drive.”
Chelsea gave him a weak smile and then rolled over onto her stomach, resting her head on her arms, hoping he would get the signal and end the conversation. She could still hear Blue as he sliced through the water behind her. She had appreciated his strong arms as they had come up and arched before plunging back into the waters. It was too easy imagining herself wrapped up in them, being swept up and carried away by them.
“Chelsea, don’t forget to put sunscreen on,” Colleen said as she put a bottle of lotion on the table next to Chelsea. “That bottle’s almost out, but I’ll go and get some more from inside the house.”
“I’ll come with you,” Terrance said. “I need to make sure the housekeeper bought the beer I asked to her buy. I wanted the good imported stuff, no more Miller Light in this house.”
Chelsea heard them walk away, but she refused to react. She heard Blue as he pulled himself out of the water and plopped down on the lounge chair next to hers. She was alone with him again and her only option was to pretend to be asleep.
“You’re going to burn,” Blue said softly.
Chelsea knew he was right, but she couldn’t ask him to put sunblock on her back. “Thanks,” she said. “I’ll have Jamie do my back when she comes out.”
“I’m right here with two working hands,” Blue said.
She heard the scrape as he lifted the lotion up off the table. And then his cool hands were on her hot back and goosebumps erupted over her flesh. He began to massage her back, rubbing the lotion over her skin, his hands working into her muscles. She stifled a moan; she knew she should stop him, that she should tell him to stop, but there was no way she was going to do that.
His hand slipped under the strap of her bikini and she couldn’t help but let out a quiet whimper at his touch. He continued to work the lotion over her back sliding down along her sides and stroking the edge of her breast – whether on purpose or on accident, she couldn’t tell. She settled more comfortably into the lounge chair. His hands felt wonderful on her skin, and what they were doing was so innocent. It was just one person putting sunblock on another, nothing inappropriate about it.
Then his hands travelled south. He rubbed the lotion over her lower back and then his hand slipped underneath her bikini bottom and he squeezed her ass and she couldn’t help but let out a quiet moan. His hands began to massage her ass, getting closer and closer to her center where she desperately wanted him to touch her.
His hands were confident and strong and she was putty in them. Then, somewhere, a door slammed and blue slowly pulled his hands out her bikini and Chelsea immediately missed them.
“I think you’re all good,” he said and Chelsea lifted her head and saw her mother, Jamie, and Terrance walking down towards the pool. Chelsea sat up, but avoided Blue’s gaze. She tried to calm her pounding heart, but her body was aching for his touch.
“Did I miss anything?” Jamie asked as she sat down on the other side of Chelsea.
“Nope,” Chelsea said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, hoping the red on her face could be attributed to the sun and not something else.
“So, Blue,” Jamie said, “what brings you back to Snowbird? Where have you been all these years?”
“Military,” Blue said. “I was in the Army. Did some time in Afghanistan and now I have done my service and I’m transitioning back to civilian life, as they say.”
“And how’s that transition going?”
“Not too bad so far,” Blue said, giving Chelsea a knowing look.
“And what are your plans now?” Chelsea asked, wincing at her own question. It made her sound like their high school guidance counselor.
“Thinking about going to college,” Blue said. “I have the GI Bill and I want to take advantage of it. I was looking at UC Berkeley for engineering.”
“Wow,” Chelsea said, looking at Blue in a new light. “That’s awesome.”
“It’s very cool,” Jamie chimed in.
“Yeah,” Blue said, “But my dad doesn’t like it...”
No one said anything. They were all thinking the same thing. Terrance was a jerk and he wasn’t worth listening to, but Terrance was also Blue’s father and Chelsea knew how hard it was to go against what your parents wanted.
“Blue, get up here! I need your help with something!” Terrance yelled from the house.
“S
peak of the devil,” Blue said with a roll of his eyes as he stood up and walked towards the house.
“Terrance is a real dick, right?” Jamie asked.
“It defiantly looks like it,” Chelsea said, shaking her head. “What does Mom see in him?”
“Money, I guess. It’s the only thing that I can think of. So, when are you going to jump Blue’s bones again?”
“Stop it!” Chelsea hissed, looking up at the main house and making sure no one could hear them. The thought of her mother finding out was mortifying. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Why not? He’s hot and single, you’re hot and single, and you’re both stuck in this nothing town. What else are you going to do?”
