I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me. “I think I’m well on the way to falling in love with you,” I confess in return.
“And I think I already am in love with you, Thally,” he moans. Then he kisses me.
I return his kiss on a luxurious sigh. I’ve only ever felt like this with Damon, and it’s a relief to realize I can still feel like this. Linden confuses me sometimes, but he also makes me feel good, and special and … I can’t describe all the ways he makes me feel yet, but all of them are good. Butterflies are doing cartwheels in my stomach. Or maybe those aren’t butterflies—maybe those are hopping bunnies of love. Whatever it is, it feels fabulous!
***
After we’ve toweled each other dry, Linden studies me. “Where did you get that scar on your jaw?”
I cringe. “Uh … It was an accident, when I was a child. I fell and hit my chin.”
“What happened?”
“A bike accident,” I explain. “I didn’t see another cyclist coming, we crashed into each other, and I fell head first to the ground. The cut was huge. It’s a miracle the scar is rather small by comparison.”
He comes closer, takes my chin in both his hands, and stares at my jaw. “That is a damn big scar,” he states. “Why have I never noticed it before?”
I pull my face away and take a step backwards. “Because I always conceal it with makeup. It’s like a blemish,” I say sheepishly, lowering my eyes.
Linden comes closer again and grabs me by the shoulders. “Thalia?”
I look at him, feeling utterly insecure.
“You are an immensely pretty woman, and I like everything about you. Nobody is perfect, but that scar is not a blemish at all. It belongs to you, tells your story, and shows that you must have been a sort of tomboy as a kid. To be in a biking accident and come away with a scar like that, you would have to have been very fast.” He smiles.
“You really don’t think it makes me ugly?” I ask, incredulous.
“Not at all. Somehow it makes you even prettier, because you’re not flawless. Flawless is boring,” he murmurs and kisses me on the forehead.
“So you don’t care if it shows? Or if I conceal it?”
“Of course not,” he answers. “Either way, you’re still the same person. I think you should decide what makes you feel more comfortable.”
I feel relieved, because I half expected him to demand I cover it up with makeup so he doesn’t have to look at it. I study him with a dreamy expression, and for the first time, I register that his eyebrows, unlike his hair, are dark. “Do you dye your hair?”
Linden nods. “Yes. Obviously a blond lead singer sells,” he explains while walking into the bedroom naked. “But I’ve decided not to dye it again once this has grown out.”
Oh, bother. I’m into blond men! But I guess you can’t have everything. I smile at the mirror, putting on makeup and brushing my hair. Then I follow him and put on my red lacy underwear and a summer dress that’s just as red. I love Miami weather. It’s always sunny, and even in winter the temperatures are high. Even though my mother knew that, she insisted I bring a warm coat, which I haven’t worn once since I got here.
Remembering the dream about Linden and Trish, I braid my hair and then turn around. Linden is standing directly in front of me, which makes me flinch. “Sweet Jesus! Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Were you so far away that you didn’t see me in the mirror?” he laughs.
“Maybe,” I say evasively, blushing.
“What were you thinking about?”
“I was thinking about my dream.”
“What did you dream of?” he asks.
“A few things,” I answer, still evasive.
“And what exactly happened in this dream?” he probes, pulling me into his arms.
“It wasn’t a nice dream, so I’d rather forget about it, okay?”
He smiles. “Sure … Let’s go downstairs, and then you can berate the guys for waking us.”
“I won’t berate them.” I grin. “After all, the morning turned out to be nice enough.”
“That’s true.” Linden leans down and kisses me on the lips. Then he takes my hand and leads me downstairs.
“What the … ?” I blurt when I see the battlefield that is the kitchen.
“Guys!” Linden calls, obviously angry. “What did you do in here? Let some rabid dogs in, or what?”
Food and crumbs are everywhere. There are broken plates, too, and the kitchen is filled with a burnt smell. Gavin is in the process of cleaning up, and now he looks at Linden with an apologetic expression. “Azer had the gloriously stupid idea of starting a food fight.”
“AZER!” Linden yells. He lets go of my hand and storms into the hallway. “Either you come back here and clean up the kitchen, or I’ll throw you out!”
“Uh-oh,” I murmur and join Gavin, helping him clean.
“If there’s one thing Linden can’t stand, it’s messing up his house. Azer is really out of control right now,” Gavin tells me. “Fortunately, I’ve already taken care of the worst of it. Otherwise Linden would’ve killed him.”
“Let me guess—he was also the one who cranked up the music earlier?” I ask.
“Exactly. He woke the rest of us up, too.”
“I’m going to kill you!” I hear Linden’s angry voice. “Come back here!”
Azer comes running through the kitchen and tears open the back door, which leads out to the terrace. Linden follows on his heels.
I can’t stifle a smirk. “Do you always get along this well?”
“Oh, this is harmless.”
We walk over and peer out through the back door, watching Linden chase Azer through the yard. Gavin laughs softly. “The next step will be Linden rubbing Azer’s face in the peanut butter under the table like you do with a dog who’s peed on the floor. That is, if he can catch him.”
I giggle. “I don’t think I want to see that.”
“Oh, you want to see that, believe me,” Gavin states. “Linden isn’t always the nice, soft-spoken man he seems.”
“What does that mean?” I probe, suddenly irritated. I didn’t think Linden was that soft-spoken, so Gavin’s statement has me confused.
“He’s rather irascible and … ” He breaks off as Linden comes back inside.
“And?” I insist.
“Nothing. We’ll talk another time.” Gavin smiles and focuses on cleaning up again. I help him, and together we get rid of Azer’s mess.
“Hey, we thought we’d hit the beach today. You coming?” Gavin asks Linden and me when we’re done.
I decline politely. “I need to study.”
“I think I’m going to stay with Thalia,” Linden says.
“Go with them,” I suggest.
“I don’t want to go without you,” he says.
I sigh. “Fine, I’ll come with you, but I’ll stay at Delsin and Avery’s house. They can help me with the material, and I’ll still be close by in case you miss me. How does that sound?”
“Sounds great.”
***
“Thally!” Delsin is surprised when I appear on his doorstep.
“Delsin!” I mimic, slipping by him with a grin.
“Cami isn’t here.”
“I wanted to see you,” I explain.
“Uh … ”
“I need to study. And I need your help. There’s some stuff I don’t understand, and I need to pass the next exam,” I explain. “And then I can talk to Cami when she comes home. That’s better than texting or calling.”
He grins. “True. She should be back soon. I don’t know how long she needs to be on campus today.”
We walk into the living room and sit down on the couch next to each other. I take out my notes and spread them on the table. Then I show Delsin the parts I didn’t really get in class, and he explains them to me. He knows a lot without having to work for it, while I have to concentrate really hard to grasp all the things we need to know. It’s really unfair.
It takes a while before I see it more clearly, and I try to write stuff down in my own words. I hope this’ll help me pass the next exam. After all, it’s a prerequisite for the next semester. I really want to graduate with a good GPA, and there’s still going to be a lot of work before I can.
I repeat the things he explained to me and then look at him for approval.
He nods and smiles. “Now you’ve got it.”
“Oh, Jesus, finally,” I say on a heavy sigh.
Delsin leans back and studies me. “And how are things going with Linden?”
“Oh … He’s really nice.”
“Nice? Thalia, ‘nice’ is no better than ‘shitty,’” he laughs.
I join in his laughter. “Well, I believe I could actually fall in love with him. He told me this morning that he thinks he’s already in love with me.”
Delsin’s eyebrows disappear underneath his baseball cap. “Already? He doesn’t really know you.”
“It was love at first sight with you and Cami,” I remind him. “Well, at least from your side.”
“Granted, but I had Avery, who I could ask about her,” Delsin counters. “Linden has nobody he could ask for details on what you’re like.”
“Delsin, the point is not how quickly he has fallen in love. I’m actually asking myself if I can deal with him being on the road so much. Do I want to be with someone who’s on tour half the time?” I expound, leaning back on the couch, too.
“Do you think you can’t?”
“I just think I’ll never have him to myself,” I answer. “And, look, he only broke up with his last girlfriend two days ago. Yet he told me he fell in love with me when I picked him up from the side of the road and drove him to the hospital. That seems pretty fickle to me.”
“Well, it says he doesn’t waste time. But how do you feel?”
“I have this massive influx of butterflies in my stomach, which I haven’t had since my ex-boyfriend Damon. I really like Linden, but it’s not love yet … or infatuation.”
“How much time do you guys have before he’s going away again?”
“Don’t interrogate me like that, Delsin. I don’t know exactly, maybe this week and the next, but I’m not sure. He confuses me, and I don’t know why, so maybe that’s the point.”
“Hm.” He nods and switches the TV on, flicking through the channels until he finds a music station.
“And this just in from the world of music celebrities,” the host announces with a pasted-on smile. “Linden Priest, the lead singer of Downstair Alley, is to be married in August. Now we’re going to introduce you to the woman who captured his heart.”
My mouth hangs open. I must look like a fish.
The screen flashes clips of Linden and Trish, snapshots of them together.
“W-why are they running this?” I stammer. “They broke up, for fuck’s sake!”
The screen flashes an image of Linden and Trish kissing. I feel completely derailed, flushed with a strange brand of fear.
“His management probably doesn’t know yet,” Delsin answers thoughtfully, “or I’m sure they would have canceled this broadcast.”
“I hope you’re right,” I say in a very small voice.
“I’m sure I am,” he says with conviction, offering me a smile.
I hear the door open, and shortly afterwards Cami comes in. “Hey, honey,” she greets me. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Hey. Yeah, I wasn’t planning on coming, but I needed your boyfriend to explain some college stuff.”
“Nice.” She drops her bag, gives Delsin a kiss, and sits down in an armchair. “And now I want to hear everything that happened between Saturday and today.”
“Okay,” Delsin says, getting up. “I’m going outside. I don’t want to listen to your penis comparisons.”
I look at Cami with a puzzled expression.
She giggles. “He thinks we compare the size of their dongs, even though I told him that isn’t true.”
I nod and shake my head at the same time. “Oh.”
Delsin kisses her and leaves the house. Camille’s eyes bore into mine. “Leave nothing out.”
I start by telling her about our excursion to the beach, which makes her chuckle, because we had that embarrassing run-in with the cop. Then I continue with the other things that have happened since the party, including mine and Linden’s “first time.”
“You’ve already slept with him?” she calls out in surprise.
“Yes. At first I was sure I didn’t want to rush it, but then I somehow forgot that decision in the heat of the moment. It was wonderful, and certainly not a mistake.” Then I tell her about our lazy Sunday, the trip to the movies with Jim, and meeting Linden’s fellow band members. And finally, I mention my confusing dream.
She listens patiently, merely nodding from time to time, until she’s heard everything. “Well, then let’s hope this works out. And I also hope he doesn’t still have something going with his ex-fiancée.”
“Yeah, I hope so, too. He’s the first man in a long time who’s made my stomach tingle when I’m with him.”
Her smile widens. “That’s wonderful. You’ve finally found someone you can imagine having a relationship with … I mean, that’s what you’re saying, right?”
“Yes. I can imagine seriously dating and building something with him. Definitely. But how do I know if that’s what he wants?” I ask hesitantly. “Maybe he’s like Damon and doesn’t want a long-distance relationship. I mean, he travels a lot after all.”
Great. Now I feel unsure since I have no way of knowing what Linden’s plans are or what he wants. On the other hand, we’re fools rushing in if we enter into a relationship right away. We’ve only known each other for a few days. But I admit I would love to call him my boyfriend. I detest this inner voice that keeps nagging me, saying it’s far too early to know how we feel and what we want, so I shouldn’t allow myself to fall for him yet. Yes, it is early, but some people meet for the first time, end up in bed, and become a couple right away. That’s not exactly what happened with us—we did meet a few times before we slept together. I don’t know! Things happen.
“Just risk it. Delsin and I didn’t need that much time, either.”
I smile at her. “And you almost screwed it up by accusing him of cheating.”
“Well, everything looked as if he was cheating, Thally. You know that as well as I do.”
“True.”
“I say risk it, because the worst that can happen is that it doesn’t work out.”
“Yeah, but that would leave me incredibly sad I’m afraid,” I murmur.
“And that is why it will work. I mean, I saw you two at The Heat and the way you were both swooning over the other. You will make it work. You guys are totally cute together, and the chemistry is obvious. It was even more obvious when you sang together. There’s harmony.”
I smile. “I guess I’ll trust your wisdom.”
Chapter 10
Ah, the beach. Sand, water, and a horde of out-of-control pop singers. They come rushing toward me as soon as I’ve taken off my dress and let it fall on the beach towel next to Linden. I have no idea what they’re up to, but the way they’re running makes me turn and flee.
“Get her!” Gavin yells like a small boy.
That only makes me run faster, because I suspect they want to throw me in the ocean, which I’m totally not in the mood for. Dumb little boys’ games!
“Guys, if you try to throw me in the water, I’m going to turn into more than a gremlin!” I warn as they close in. “I’ll turn into the Hulk!” Unperturbed, Alexis grabs me anyway and drags me off into the sea. “Let me go,” I squeal, kicking my legs.
Alexis plods on into deeper water. “Okay,” he laughs, just before he drops me.
As I go under, I grab his legs and pull them out from under him. I resurface while he’s still underwater and try to swim away from him quickly, but he manages to get a hold of my foot and pull me back toward him. “No, no,
no, you’re going to stay here,” he laughs.
I hold on to him so I don’t go under again and peer over his shoulder. “But not for much longer.” I grin.
Alexis turns around, but Linden has already dived for him and drags him under. Unfortunately, that means I go under once more, too.
Coughing and panting, we all resurface. The salt water I swallowed scratches my throat. I get away from Alexis’s reach, and Linden laughs as he pulls me close. “You better watch your back when you try to make a pass at someone else’s girlfriend.”
Now Alexis laughs as well. “I wasn’t making a pass. I was just giving her a much-needed cooling-down.”
“Oh, that’s what you call it these days?” I giggle, rubbing my fingers under my eyes, trying to wipe away smeared mascara.
“Sure. You looked like you were sweating,” he counters.
“Of course,” I say sarcastically. “Excuse me if I leave the water now. I want to sweat a little more in this fine sunshine.”
Linden kisses me tenderly before he lets me go. I swim back to the shore, rise, and walk across the sand, sitting down on his towel and taking out my class notes so I can go through them yet again.
***
By the time Linden and I get into my car, my hair is already dry. The sun is beginning to set.
“I’m exhausted,” he says softly.
“Y’all were running like hamsters in a wheel the entire day, so I’m not surprised,” I say with an indulgent shake of the head, making a turn onto the main road.
I shift gears, and then he takes my hand in his, interlacing our fingers. “You look damn hot in your tiny bikini.”
I smile. “Thanks. You look sexy in your aloha shorts, too.”
“Where are we going?” he asks then.
“Are you hungry? I’m starving,” I whine.
“What are you in the mood for?”
“Pizza, pasta, I don’t care as long as it’s filling,” I say.
“Then let’s go home, and I’ll ask Ms. Atkins to cook for us.”
“Or we could order in. It’s much more fun to sit on the floor with a pizza box than to eat at the table, from plates, like grown-up people.”
He chuckles. “Pizza it is.”
“Yes,” I giggle. “I came up with that spontaneously.”
Linden: Rocking Pleasure: New Adult College Romance (Coral Gables Series Book 3) Page 17
