The Secrets Duet

by Brownell, Rachael

  “Court!”

  I look up on the beach to see Brittney yelling for me and waving. We head back to shore and make our way to Brittney who is shaking and holding her phone to her ear. Something’s not right and my thoughts immediately go to my dad and ignoring his phone calls.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “You need to call your mom, Court,” she says sobbing.

  The doorbell rings, bringing be back to the here and now. I walk over and open it without thinking about who might be on the other side. Shit! I forgot about my date.

  I smile up at Cam because the sight of him makes me giddy. He’s holding a bouquet of white roses but when I go to take them from him he pulls them out of my reach.

  “These are for your mom,” he says proudly.

  I step back to let him in, knowing after we leave he is going to have more questions. I knew at some point in time tonight I would have to lie to him about where I’m from and why we’re here. Those were going to be little lies. I could handle those types of lies. I’ve been practicing those lies for a while now in case anybody, Cam, asked.

  “Mom,” I said as she stood and walked over to us on shaky knees, “this is Cameron. Cam this is my mom, Sara.”

  Cam reaches to shake my mother’s outstretched hand and then hands her the flowers he brought for her.

  “It’s nice to meet you and thank you for allowing Kat to go out with me.” You can hear the sincerity in his voice. It’s almost unnerving.

  She smiles at Cam but doesn’t say anything. I see her try to swallow the lump which has formed in her throat when I said his name. It’s still hard for her, hard for me, but he’s been ‘stalking’ me long enough now that it bothers me less and less every day. She turns and heads to the kitchen, excusing herself quietly.

  Greg must take this as his cue to interrogate Cam because he stands and makes his ways towards us. I shoot him a look, trying to tell him to mind his own damn business, but he continues towards us. I don’t want to have to explain who he is, why he’s here, or anything about him so I do the only thing I can think of. I grab Cam’s hand and pull him out the door without looking back.

  I walk towards his car with purpose, dragging him a few steps behind me the entire way. I try to let go of his hand once we’re close, but he holds on tighter and pulls me back towards him, into his side.

  “I take it you didn’t want me to meet your dad,” he whispers in my ear. I can feel his breath on my neck and I involuntarily shiver.

  “Not my dad,” I manage to get out between labored breaths.

  “Oh. The look he gave me was kind of scary. I just assumed he was your dad. I’m sorry.” I’ve made him nervous and he’s rambling. We’re standing outside his car, he’s gripping the passenger door handle, but making no move to open the door.

  “No big deal. Ready to get out of here?”

  “Yeah,” he says, letting out a long breath.

  We take off down the road when it suddenly hits me that I am driving away with a stranger. I don’t know enough about him to call him my friend. I’ve only had a few interactions with him which could be considered actual conversations. Thinking back to when he asked me out I’m suddenly nervous. Not because I like this guy, because honestly I know I do, but because I realize I never told him where I lived.

  “So,” he finally says after a few minutes of awkward silence. I was still in shock from my revelation that I had barely been able to breath since. “I was thinking we could grab dinner and then maybe we could go to Montgomery so I could show you something.”

  It all sounded legit. It didn’t sound like he was trying to get me alone. The thought makes me a little sad but relieved at the same time.

  “Sure. Sounds fun.” I hear the words that are coming out of my mouth, but I don’t believe them and the fact that he glances over at me tells me he doesn’t either. I guess I wasn’t very convincing.

  “Is everything alright? You seem upset?”

  Nope. I can’t get anything past this guy. It’s almost like he can see inside my head. Now that would be really bad.

  “Fine. Just tired I guess. It’s been a long week.” Way to go Court! Best excuse in the world. Why am I lying to this guy anyway? “You know what? That was a lie. I’m not tired, I’m confused. You never asked me where I lived and with your ‘stalker tendencies,’ I’m a little nervous right now.” I used air quotes to try and lighten the blow a little, but the fact he pulled over immediately tells me my air quotes were pointless. He cuts the engine and gets out of the car. I watch him stalk around the front of the car before he heads to my door and opens it.

  “Get out,” he says. I hear something in his voice. It’s not anger like I expected, but there is definitely something there. Whatever it is, it doesn’t scare me so I unbuckle and step out of the car.

  He slams the door closed behind me and then slams into me. Our bodies are as close as they can get with clothes on. I’m trapped between his passenger door and the rock that is his body. I feel like I’m going to melt into a puddle right then and there being this close to him.

  He rests his forehead against mine and looks directly into my eyes. He’s breathing heavily and so am I. His proximity is overwhelming in the most amazing way. I can’t decide if I want him to kiss me or take a step back.

  “I am going to kiss you, Kat. I’m telling you now so you can stop me if that’s not what you want, but I don’t think you will.” He pauses, waiting for me to say something, but I have no idea where my voice has gone. I stare straight into his eyes, letting him know I’m not about to stop him. “Once I’m done kissing you, I’m going to take you to dinner and then I’m going to show you one of my favorite spots. We can talk, you can ask me anything you want, but first I am going to kiss you.”

  If I wanted to respond I wouldn’t have had time. His lips gently touched mine and my body instantly melted. His touch was soft at first and reassuring. It’s almost like he was trying to tell me I was safe when I was with him. I made the mistake of running my hands up his back and over the nape of his neck. I felt the way his body reacted to me. I knew he was getting ready to pull back so I opened my mouth and deepened the kiss.

  I had control of our kiss for maybe two seconds before he took over. He was sweet yet incredibly passionate at the same time. He tried to part our bodies after a few minutes, but I pulled him back to me and moaned into his mouth when I realized why he was trying to pull away. The bulge in his pants brushed against my core and it was almost more than I could take.

  The second time I moaned he pulled away completely. The fire in his eyes was blazing brightly and I knew it took all the strength he had to stop kissing me. That didn’t make me want him any less at that moment; it made me want him even more.

  Without saying another word, he opened the door for me and helped me in the car. He walked around and got in himself and in seconds we were back on the road to our destination. I looked at the clock on his dash and it read 9:07 pm. Really? Had we been kissing that long? It only felt like a few minutes.

  I want to break the silence and ask him questions, but the lump in my throat returned. There are things I have to know about him. For starters, how did he know where I lived? Then, I was thinking I would ask him his last name. Apparently I have no manners because I’ve never thought to ask him about himself. He just wants to talk about me. We’re pulling up to what looks like a restaurant so I decided to table my insecurities for now. There will be plenty of opportunities to talk over dinner.

  Cam

  I can’t tell her how I got her address yet so I do the one thing I know will distract her. I pull over and kiss her. I didn’t mean to get so involved in the kiss. I needed it to distract her from her questions for a few minutes. The longer I kissed her, though, the less I wanted to stop and the more I wanted from her.

  I felt myself getting turned on. I tried to pull away before she realized but she pulled me back in and I went willingly. The moan which escaped her lips when our bodies connected a
lmost sent me over the edge. Holy hell. She really knew how to kiss and it took everything I had to finally pull away from her.

  We’re sitting in the restaurant right now and all I can think about is getting her alone and kissing her again. I can see her lips moving. They’re so incredible. I want another taste of them. It’s all I can think about.

  “Cam,” Kat growls at me. I look up to see she’s irritated about something. “Have you been listening to me at all?”

  She’s been talking and I’ve been watching her lips dance instead of listening to what she’s been saying. “Sorry. I was lost in thought.”

  “Sure,” she says sarcastically. “You looked like you were listening.”

  “I said I was sorry. Honestly?” I ask and wait for her to nod before continuing. “I was staring at your lips.”

  She ducks her head, but I can still see the blush creeping up on her cheeks. This is a new side of her that I haven’t seen before. Her guard is down. Maybe I’ve shattered the walls she surrounds herself with. When she looks back up at me the blush is gone and her walls are firmly back in place.

  “I asked you how you knew where I lived.”

  Shit! I was going to have to tell her who I was now.

  “I looked in your employee file,” I say vaguely. Hopefully, she won’t ask me how I got access to it. If she finds out who I am this will probably be over before it begins.

  “Talk about invasion of privacy. How’d you get access to my file? You didn’t break in… did you?” She’s teasing me. Maybe I should smile and let her think I stole the information. Maybe I should have asked for her address in the first place?

  “No. I’m not a delinquent.” I decide to go with the truth. If she doesn’t want to be with me because of my last name then I will have to find a way to convince her. She’s smiling at me, waiting for me to continue and I realize it’s now or never. “I got your file from the cabinet in my dad’s office.”

  I will never forget the look of disbelief and shock on her face. I only saw it for a second before realization started to set in. All the pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together for her and when she saw the big picture, she stood up and walked out the door. Shit!

  I sit there for a few minutes before my legs cooperate and allow me to move. I stand, drop some money on the table for the food we ordered, and head out the door to find her. It’s only been a few minutes. She can’t be too far ahead of me.

  I make my way to the car and quickly turn it around to head towards her house. Hopefully that’s where she’s headed. She’s on foot so I know I will be able to catch up to her quickly.

  As soon as I turn off Main St. I catch sight of her. She’s power-walking down the sidewalk. Her feet are stomping against the ground. Her hands are flailing around. She even looks like she’s talking to herself. She is visibly upset.

  I pull over and jump out of the car. She doesn’t stop, even after I call her name. Either she didn’t hear me or she is ignoring me. I call her name one more time but she’s too far away now. I jump back in the car and decide the only way I am going to be able to get through to her is after she calms down. I don’t understand why this is so upsetting to her, but I’m sure she’s going to tell me.

  I follow her home to make sure she gets there safe. She doesn’t seem to notice I’m behind her. She never turns around, never looks in my direction. I’m assuming she doesn’t care that I’m behind her, but more than likely it’s because she doesn’t notice.

  I should have been honest with her from the get-go. Most girls want me for my money, for the glamor of the name I’m attached to. This girl… well, this girl doesn’t seem to want any of that. I get it. I don’t want most of the shit which comes with being a Montgomery either but I have no choice. She does and I hope she chooses to accept me for the person I am and not the name attached to me.

  I think about how beautiful she would look on my arm at the benefit dinner in a few weeks. I think about how much fun we could have that night, how much more fun I would have if she went with me. I think about posing for the photographers so I could show her off. Our picture on the front page of the society section of the newspaper. We would look great together.

  Aside from that, I know there’s something special about this girl. She’s so damn confusing. I want to know her. I want to be around her more. I want to take this to the next step and then the next. I’ve never felt this way before about anyone and I’m not sure what it is exactly about her that makes me feel this way now, but I do. I don’t understand it, but I like it. I like her, more than I want to admit to myself right now since I’m following her home like a stalker.

  She’s still waving her hands around, talking to herself, when I pull up in front of her house and kill the engine. She stops abruptly, halfway up her driveway. Either she just realized I was behind her and I’ve now scared the shit out of her or she’s decided she’s going to talk to me. I don’t give myself a chance to decide which option I prefer before jumping out of the car and rounding the hood.

  When she finally turns towards me I can see the painful look in her eyes. She won’t make eye contact with me, she’s staring at my forehead for some reason. The good news is she’s walking towards me. Maybe we will talk this out. Maybe I can make this right. Maybe she will give me a second chance because the thought of losing her now makes me feel completely empty.

  6.

  Katrina

  He lied to me. Deceived me. He tricked me into thinking he was someone who he wasn’t. I thought he was an employee. I thought that maybe, just maybe, we might have fit into the same social class.

  I was wrong.

  I should have known from how well he dressed. His car should have been a flashing neon sign. Those things reminded me of my old life and yet I ignored it. All of it. I didn’t want to see what was right in front of me. I didn’t want to see the dollar signs which were attached to him.

  I’m guessing his last name is Montgomery. If he had told me sooner I would never have gone out with him and he knew that. Not because he came from money like he probably thinks but because with money comes obligations. Most of those obligations are made public.

  A few social events were coming up at the resort and I requested not to work those events. I wanted to make sure my name and my face stayed as far away from the cameras as possible. I was supposed to be living under the radar. If he only knew how close he came to blowing my world up…

  It was my fault. I shouldn’t have been so careless. I should have listened to my head and not my hormones. My body and my heart may want for things, they may need things, but I cannot risk giving in to those needs. I need to be more guarded.

  What am I supposed to tell my mom?

  I’m only about a block away from the house and I still haven’t figured it out. I know Greg will probably still be there when I get home. He’s going to ask questions too, questions about Cam that I can now answer. If he figures out how close I came to messing everything up I will never hear the end of it. Never.

  I’m walking up the driveway when I hear Cam’s car. I stop walking, knowing I would rather have this conversation outside. By the time I find the nerve to turn around he’s already standing outside his car, waiting for me. He’s going to ask me why I left, but I’m not sure what I’m going to tell him. I know I can’t tell him the truth.

  I slowly approach him, avoiding eye contact the best I can. He’s too insightful. If I make eye contact with him he will know something’s up. I won’t be able to convince him of my lies.

  “I’m so sorry,” he says as I come to an abrupt halt about ten feet away from him. “I know I should have told you who I was, but I didn’t want you to run.”

  He’s apologizing to me? I don’t understand. He must think I left because he lied to me. He really has no idea what is going on. Thank God!

  “I’m not going to lie, it was a shock to find out you didn’t work at the resort. Honestly, though, I should have known better. The way you dress, your car, ever
ything about you points to money and high society. I should have known you were too good for me.”

  There. Let him chew on that. It’s the truth. My social status now is nowhere near high enough to get involved with someone like him. It’s like living on the wrong side of the tracks. No matter how beautiful you are on the inside you can only socialize with those who live on your side of the tracks. I think it’s a rule or something.

  “You think you’re not good enough for me?” He’s laughing as he says it. I don’t find anything funny about this situation. I actually find it quite uncomfortable and here he is, basically laughing in my face.

  I don’t have to listen to this. I don’t have to have this conversation. Come Monday, I will ignore him, hide from him, like I normally do. I’ll hide from everyone. No one will even know I exist. I will find a way to blend into the background until the end of the year and then I will leave this little town and go to college and reinvent myself again.

  I turn to walk away from him, from our ridiculous interaction when I feel his hand on my elbow. I stop, involuntarily. My body is taking over for my head again. My heart starts to beat rapidly and I’m afraid if I turn around, all my resolve will melt away. I need to get my head on straight.

  “Kat, if you think I am going to let you walk away from me you are out of your damn mind.”

  I turn to argue with him but can’t find the words in time. His mouth is fused with mine the second I open it to speak and again my body takes control. I wrap my arms around his neck. He lifts me slightly and I willingly wrap my legs around his waist as he walks us back to his car.

  My jacket lifts and I can feel the smooth, cold metal against my back. It does nothing to cool the heat coming off my body. We’re as close as two people can get. I’m literally wrapped around him. I can feel my body warming with desire and his body responding. For a second I think I might recommend going somewhere to “talk” when I hear a male voice clear their throat from behind Cam.