Push and Shove

by C. L. Stone

  What I saw stole my mind enough that Gabriel’s voice faded into the background..

  There was a balcony outside. Beyond it was a sandy beach and the expanse of the ocean beyond it. The sky was blue and the sun was coming up over the horizon.

  I scanned the edge of the building, but the other balconies next to us were unoccupied. I was tempted to hurry and get my clothes on, but from how high the wall of the balcony was, it would cover most of me and no one was around anyway. I shoved the curtain aside.

  “Fuck,” North bellowed. He shoved the blanket over his head, mumbling something.

  I unlatched the door and slid it open, catching a salty breeze from the sea.

  “Oy!” Gabriel yelled into the phone. “Trouble? Are you even listening?”

  “Sorry,” I said. “Did you know there was a beach out here?”

  “Lovely,” he said. “Get North up. Get back here.”

  My eyes fell on the water, and it sparkled a billion times brighter than Nathan’s pool. The water was green, not the clear and deep blue hues I’d seen in photos of beaches across the world. I wondered if it was the angle of the sunlight. “Gabriel,” I said. “You should come out here.”

  “We’ve got to clean this house, or I can’t take you out tonight,” he said. “You still want to go with me and Nathan and Luke?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we have to finish this, and we have to talk to Danielle, and we have to figure out what you’re going to wear. I want to do your hair up before we go.” Someone in the background on his end said something. “Shut up, I’m talking to her,” he snapped at whoever it was. “Sang, Victor says hi.”

  “Hi Victor.”

  “She said hi, now fuck off.” Gabriel breathed heavily into the phone. “So you’re coming back now?”

  “Give me that.” North materialized behind me. He took the phone away from my head and pressed it to his ear. “I’ll bring her back when I feel like it.” He hung up on Gabriel and tossed my phone inside the open door. It tumbled across the floor and slid underneath the desk inside.

  My cheeks heated. Some of my modesty was returning now that it was daytime. North’s rugged body brought a swell of feelings through me. My hands drifted up to cross my arms over my breasts. I rubbed at my arms, pretending I was a little chilly and trying to warm myself. “Morning,” I said.

  The corner of North’s lips twisted up. He stepped forward, nudging me until I was looking out at the ocean. He planted a palm on either side of me on top of the balcony wall. He held his head down close to mine, nearly cheek to cheek, looking out at the morning and the ocean.

  “What do you think?” he asked. “Would you want to wake up to something like this every morning?”

  I gazed out at the ocean. There was a pier. A couple of people were there, fishing, but they were too far away to see who they were. Another couple walked their dog further up the beach, heading away from us. While the wind was a little chill, the sun was warming things up to a comfortable level quickly. I sucked in the salt air. “Can we?”

  His cheek bunched up against mine, the overgrowth of coarse hair longer than it had been last night and scratching deeper. “We’ll do whatever you want, Baby.”

  I started to smile, but then lost the desire to do so when I thought about the night before. They could do whatever they wanted, but they couldn’t kiss me.

  North didn’t seem to notice. His lifted his head and nuzzled behind my ear as I gazed out. I didn’t want to ruin this, so I tucked away the thoughts for now.

  North brought a hand up to my neck, smoothing his fingers over it. He clutched my chin, tilting my head and slid his other hand over my hair, revealing my neck. He lowered his lips, kissing at the dip of my shoulder. “When I brought you here last night, I didn’t think I’d wake up to this. I guess I can’t scold you too badly now for falling into the ocean last night.”

  My smile returned. I couldn’t help it. “Should I go fall in again?”

  He smiled against my neck, spread his mouth open. His teeth met my skin but he held it there. He didn’t bite, just hovered, teasing.

  I groaned, unable to resist. I grasped his arm, tugging, urging.

  North chuckled and sank his teeth into my neck.

  The feeling from last night returned. My breath caught and my skin sparkled as much as the ocean did. My body went rigid, but at the same time felt the intensity as his teeth sunk in. My knees knocked together and started to buckle.

  North caught me around the waist, drawing me back into him, holding me up. I was a weak mess against him. When his mouth released me, my eyes fluttered open, gazing out at the water but not seeing it. All I could breathe, taste, and feel was North.

  “Sang Baby,” North cooed into my ear, nuzzling against my neck.

  “North... star,” I said in attempt to mimic his tone, but star was the only thing my messed up brain could come up with. Although once I’d said it, I liked it. North Star fit him.

  He chuckled. He kissed my neck and then drew his head back, smoothing more of my hair away. I thought he was trying to make room for another bite, but his breath sucked in sharply. “Baby, you look like I beat the shit out of you.”

  I stood straight, turning around in confusion. My hands fluttered up to my neck, as if I could feel what he was seeing. Some spots felt tender, but I didn’t quite connect the dots.

  Then I saw the mark on his chest where I’d bitten him. I reached out, touching it. There were dark purple marks in the shape of my bite.

  He looked down at his own chest, pushing at the purple blotch. “Yeah, your neck looks like this. Only more messed up. Kota’s going to kick my ass.”

  I glanced at his neck, my fingers trailing up to find the other bite marks along the sides by his ears and in other places. “He’s going to kick mine, too.”

  North grunted. He traced his fingers over my neck. “We’re going to have to cover this up. I can’t let them see you like this. I don’t think they’ll believe me when I tell them you like it.”

  “Will they believe it if I tell them?”

  North twisted his lips, his eyes drifting over me as he thought. “To be honest, I’m not sure I want to tell them.”

  My eyebrows lifted. “What? Why?”

  He frowned, he lowered his head, bringing his lips to my neck and kissing. “Because I think I just found our thing. I don’t want the others biting you.”

  “Nathan bites my fingers,” I said.

  “Don’t let him bite your neck,” he said. “Or anywhere else.”

  My heart raced. Don’t let him? How could I stop him if he wanted to?

  “Besides,” he said, straightening. “They’d probably do it wrong. And you already look like we got into a fist fight.” He hooked an arm around my neck, guiding me inside. “Let’s get dressed. We’ll go get breakfast. We’ll find someplace to buy something and cover up those marks.”

  “Can we go touch the ocean before we leave?”

  He bent down and kissed the top of my head. “Yeah, Baby. But if you fall in again, I’m going to have to kidnap you and take you to Europe with me, because Kota will shoot me himself if I keep you another night.”

  When we were washed and dressed, I was still without shoes. North’s face was unshaven, and we both had tired eyes and purple-blotched necks. I scrunched my shoulders walking past anyone, trying to look small and invisible.

  We shuffled through the lobby. North returned the room keys and we wandered out to the beach. The tide was low and North held my hand as we walked to stick our feet into the water. I stood next to him, dazzled by the waves and the feel of the cool water rushing around my ankles, tugging in a much gentler way than the North Shore waters.

  We rinsed our feet off before going back to the bike. North fished my shoes out of the saddlebags and I put them on. There was a cafe open down the road and North tugged me toward it.

  The Lost Dog Cafe had wrought iron tables outside a brick building. A large glass plate window was pai
nted with red lettering and a couple of colorful dogs. An old lady sat at one of the outside tables eating a biscuit and browsing through a magazine. There was a French bulldog tied to her chair. It barked at us as North opened the door for me and we entered.

  The inside woke me up with the promise of sweets, the scent of sugar and butter hanging in the air. I gazed at the chalkboard menu that hung over the counter. My eyes kept drifting to the other people either behind the counter or eating breakfast in booths and tables behind us. Normal people. Normal things. For the moment, I luxuriated in being a part of it. Just a little.

  I inched close to North, intimidated by the other people. I found his hand.

  North squeezed my fingers in return. “Know what you want?”

  I started to shake my head when I spotted cellophane-wrapped muffins sitting in a basket on the counter. A couple had chocolate bits mixed in. My eyes widened. My mouth watered.

  “No,” North said. “No chocolate for breakfast.”

  I pouted. My stomach started to growl. “It looks really good,” I said.

  North grunted. When it was our turn to order, North asked for two bacon and egg dishes, a coffee for himself and a water for me. At the last moment, when the lady asked if we’d like anything else, he glanced down at me and then snatched up one of the muffins, placing it on the counter. “One of these.”

  I floated to the booth that North picked out for us.

  He sat across from me, dumping cream into his coffee. I got a view of the wide window. I claimed the muffin and started opening it.

  “Eat some protein, Baby,” he said. “Please?”

  It was my turn to do a small grunt, but I abandoned the muffin and started on the eggs. When I’d eaten half of my plate, I went back to the muffin, opened the plastic wrap around it, and breathed in the sugar and chocolate. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. “It smells good.”

  “I didn’t buy it so you’d just smell it,” he said, smirking.

  I took a bite, letting the softness melt against my tongue. I tasted the butter and sugar and chocolate, but there was something else blended into it, too. After a couple more bites, I still couldn’t place it. “They added something to this,” I said. “It’s not just chocolate.”

  North lifted an eyebrow. He pinched off a piece and stuck it in his mouth. His eyes drifted back and forth as he was thinking. “Coffee, maybe.” A waitress started to pass by our table with a tray full of dirty dishes. North waved his hand to get her attention. “Excuse me,” he said. “What’s in this?”

  The waitress glanced at the half eaten muffin. “It’s cappuccino chocolate chip,” she said.

  “Ah,” North said. “Thank you.”

  The waitress nodded, smiling and went on.

  I took up the muffin again, taking another bite, and letting the flavors mix together. “I think this might be my new favorite. Can we come back?”

  “Baby, we own a diner. If you want a muffin, we can make it at home.”

  My heart warmed and tripped over itself when he said we as if to say the diner was partially mine, too. I knew that wasn’t true, but the way he’d said it made me feel good. “If we can copy the recipe.”

  North reached for another pinch, but my reaction was to pull the muffin back out of his reach. I wanted to be selfish and keep it for myself.

  North smirked at me. “Not going to let me have a bite?”

  “I don’t know. If we don’t come back, I may not get another one.”

  “Damn it, Sang Baby.” He grumbled. He stood up, tugging his wallet out of his pocket. I watched as he stood by the counter at the line. When it was his turn, he pointed at the basket and said something to the cashier. The lady looked confused and then shook her head. North said something else, and dropped a wad of cash on the counter. The woman took the money, and found a paper bag just inside the doorway to the kitchen. She started loading muffins into the bag. North had bought the entire basket.

  My cheeks were radiating. I pressed my hands to them to hide them from him. He returned, dropping the bag on top of the counter.

  “She won’t tell me the recipe,” he said. “We’ll give one to Uncle, and he’ll be able to figure out what’s in it.”

  “What are the others for?”

  “Those are for you until he can figure it out.”

  I broke out into a laugh, leaning back with a hand on my stomach. It got the attention of a couple of other patrons and I blushed, sitting forward again and covering my face with my hands again. I really, really liked Academy boys.

  North made a face at me, snatched up the last of my muffin and ate the rest.

  I was still giggling when a shadow in the window caught my eye. At first I didn’t understand why I was doing a double take, but when my giggling subsided, I realized I was staring at a familiar face. I caught his profile as he was talking to the woman with the dog. At first, maybe because seeing him here was so out of context, I didn’t realize who I was looking at.

  But there was no way I could ever forget that bristled mustache and those watery eyes.

  Mr. McCoy.

  He stood outside the restaurant, as real as life. He wore a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and his casual slacks had me second-guessing, but it was him.

  The blood drained from my face. I sunk down and to the side to keep myself out of sight just in case he looked in.

  “Sang?” North zeroed in on my face, looking confused for a moment. “What?”

  “He’s here,” I said in a whisper, not wanting to believe my own eyes.

  North glanced over his shoulder, but he was looking at the other patrons. “Who?” He turned back to me. “Who’s here?”

  I leaned over again, looking out the window.

  But Mr. McCoy was gone. The woman with the dog was folding up her magazine and untying the lead to the dog, getting ready to walk away.

  I shook my head, brushing my fingertips against one of the bite marks on my neck. “I think I just saw McCoy.”

  ♥♥♥

  North went outside to check, having told me to stay inside the cafe. I was cowering in my seat the entire time. Wasn’t Mr. McCoy supposed to be with the Academy? The boys said not to worry about him. I trusted them. What was happening?

  North returned to me after what felt like eons. “I didn’t see him,” he said. “He’s not here.”

  “I saw him,” I said, my voice small. I had the bag of muffins, clutching the paper in my hands. “It was him.”

  North held his hands out. “All right, Baby. I believe you. But I don’t see him now.”

  My hand fluttered up until my finger touched my lower lip. “What do we do?”

  North frowned. He captured my hand, tugging to get me to stand up out of the booth. “We’re going home.”

  “But,” I said, wondering if we shouldn’t drive around the island. We had to find him. I had to find him. I had to know where he was. We had to wire him. We had to know where he was all the time.

  North snatched up the bag of muffins, leading the way out. “We’re leaving now.”

  North dropped the bag of muffins into the saddlebag when we got back. He had me put on the helmet and his jacket. It was a little warmer with the sun out, but North said I needed to protect my skin. He started the bike and we headed back to Summerville.

  North stopped off at a drug store on the way. He asked the counter lady for some help, pointing to my neck. The woman gave us both suggestive smiles, but she helped me pick out a concealer in a color that matched my skin.

  “We need help with him, too,” I said, pointing to North.

  “No,” North said, waving his hand in the air to dismiss my idea. “I’m not wearing makeup.”

  “If the others see your neck, they’ll ask. Who are you going to say bit you?”

  North frowned, grumbled. In the end, the woman matched his skin shade and he bought the makeup. We spent another twenty minutes in the parking lot applying concealer and rubbing it in until it hid all the
marks. North didn’t bother covering the one on his chest.

  “You might forget,” I said. “They’ll see it.

  “Leave it,” he said.

  After that, we were on the bike and heading back to Sunnyvale Court. When we arrived, it was about ten in the morning. The cars were gone. Some indentions left by the tire marks in the yards were the only clues that something had happened the night before. Relief swept over me.

  North pulled into my driveway. Nathan was on the lawn mower, cutting the grass. He waved to us as we approached and jumped down. The mower shut off the moment he stepped away. He crossed the lawn to greet us.

  “Hey, Peanut,” Nathan said with a smirk. “Where’ve you been?”

  “Well we were going to Europe, but there was this big ocean in the way and North didn’t want to get the bike wet, so we had to come back.”

  Nathan laughed. North smirked, rolled his eyes and turned away. I pulled the helmet off and gave it back to him.

  “Oy, Trouble!” Gabriel came out from the side of the garage toward us. His blond locks were combed back and mixing into the russet brown hair. His blue tank shirt and the Calvin Klein jeans were splotched with white paint. He stopped short, his mouth gaping. “Oh my fucking god, your hair is shit.”

  “Hi, Meanie,” I said.

  “Shut up and give me a hug,” he said. He wrapped his arms around me. He smelled like paint. He talked to North over my shoulder. “You couldn’t have taken the truck? Or the Jeep?”

  “Nope,” North said.

  Gabriel squeezed me around the waist until he lifted me, my toes barely grazing the ground. He turned toward the house, stumbling toward it as he carried me. “No more bikes for you.”

  “Hang on,” I said, patting at Gabriel’s sides. “Let me give the jacket back.”

  Gabriel released me. North pulled the package of muffins from the saddlebag. He took out two, and handed off the bag to Nathan. I gave North back the jacket.

  “Are you coming in?” I asked him.

  “I’ve got to go do some shit before I have to go to the diner.” He dropped the jacket and the two muffins into the saddlebag and snapped it shut before turning back to me. He opened his arms up. “Sang Baby,” he said.