by C. L. Stone
“They might like some cheese or sour cream on top,” I offered. I was grateful for a job to do. I stood next to North, stacking the bowls on the counter near him and putting the spoons nearby.
Erica ducked into the fridge to collect cheddar cheese and sour cream to place on the counter.
North caught my eye and whispered low enough so only I could hear. “Smile,” he said.
I grimaced.
He patted my arm. “They’ll be fine. Don’t look so scared. Go call the guys in,” he said, nodding to the doorway to the living room. “We get them fed, and they’ll be in a much better mood.”
I sucked in a breath and started back to the living room. Kota was calling out DVD names and the others were yay-or-nay voting.
“Ready guys?” I said, trying to test the mood in the room.
Silas jumped up from the couch, stretching and smiling. “About time,” he said.
The others got up as well, but quietly. I sensed an unspoken and tender white flag hovered in the air between them.
“Where’s Victor?” I asked, noticing he was missing.
“He went outside,” Kota said. “Wanted some fresh air.” Something in the way he said it made it sound like there was more to this than he ever wanted to say.
“I’ll go get him,” I said.
“Not in those socks,” Gabriel said. He fell behind the others heading to the kitchen and snapped at me. He bent over, stripping the socks from my legs, balling them up and shoving them into his pocket. He tucked his head close to mine and whispered, “Be gentle with Victor.” He caught my eye with his crystal blue gaze and headed toward the kitchen, leaving me puzzled as to what he meant.
The Crazy Beautiful Girl
I tiptoed out into the garage, not wanting to spook Victor. He stood alone in the driveway, half leaning on Kota’s car that was parked in the corner. The sun had gone down and he stared toward the sprinkle of stars just over the crests of trees. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. He looked so quiet and lost. I almost hated the thought of interrupting him. What happened when I left? Why was everyone being so weird?
I padded across the pavement in my bare feet, wondering where Max was and why he wasn’t barking. The concrete was still warm from the day’s sunshine. The air was muggy.
I closed the gap between us until I was a couple of feet away from him. “Victor?” I called softly.
He flinched and made a slow turn to face me. His deep brown eyes seem distant, but when his eyes met mine, a spark flickered. There was a tiny curl to his lips, but he lost it and instead stared at me, his face blank perfection.
What should I say? Could I pretend what happened never did? Should I just insist he come inside and eat dinner like everyone else? I remembered what Gabriel had whispered to me.
“Are you okay?” I asked in a small voice.
He huffed. “I’m fine.”
Was that not the right thing to say? “Would you tell me if you weren’t?”
That seemed to strike him. His eyes blazed again. “Only if you promise to tell me.”
I pushed my forefingers and thumbs together in front of me as if I was holding a tiny ball between them, twisting nervously. “I don’t know what to say. I feel fine. I’m a little worried about you.”
He sighed. He turned away from me and looked back toward the sky.
What now? I wasn’t sure if I should leave him. I didn’t want to. Instead, I moved up beside him, standing to his right. I glanced up at the twinkling, trying to depict planets from stars.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“Mmm,” he mumbled.
To lighten the mood, I thought of something I didn’t really want to know. Still, Victor needed cheering up. “Maybe about some crazy girl you met at school?”
His eyebrows furrowed as he gazed down at me. “What?”
My lips trembled because I was unsure of how to approach the topic but I forced a smile. “The one you told the lady at the jewelry counter about.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “You heard that?”
“Yup,” I said, looking back up at the sky to avoid his stare. I couldn’t stand to see them blaze now and I wasn’t sure why. “So is she nice?”
“The jewelry woman?”
“No,” I said, but laughed. “The girl you like at school.”
He chuckled. “She’s amazing.”
I reflexively looked at him and his eyes were intense on me. My fingers started quaking so I put them behind my back. “Pretty?”
“Of course.”
“Have you talked to her? Did you tell her you like her?”
“I’ve been trying,” he said, shifting on his feet. The waves of his soft brown hair drifted in the gentle breeze that swept around us. “Sometimes I wonder if she notices. She gets a lot of attention from other people.”
“Well if she doesn’t, then she’s an idiot,” I said. Suddenly I was very uncomfortable with this. What did I know about giving advice about boys and girls? Anything I knew was from books. Nothing like that could apply to real life; I learned that much from being around them. “I mean, if you have to buy her stuff for her to realize how awesome you are, then she doesn’t deserve it.”
Victor’s head tilted back in surprise. “You think I’m awesome?”
I laughed softly, bringing my fingers around to cover my mouth a little. “Victor,” I said, perplexed that he didn’t know. “You’re generous and strong and look out for me and fun and um...”
“Handsome?”
I giggled, nodding. “So if what's-her-name won’t talk to you, then she doesn’t deserve you. So next time you see her, go talk to her.”
He backed his head up, eyebrows creasing in confusion again. “What do you mean?”
I blushed. Helping out like this made my heart burn. But could I deny him my honesty? How much did I owe him for all the kind things he had done for me? “I said you should talk to her. What class is she in? She’s not in Japanese or history, is she? She must not be, or at least I haven’t noticed…”
His lips parted and his cheeks tinted. He blew out a sigh, shaking his head as he swept a fingertip across his eyebrow. “God, Sang. I’m such an idiot.”
“What did I say wrong? I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.”
He laughed, shaking his head again. He dipped his hand into his pocket and removed a square black jewelry box. He opened the lid and held the box out to me.
Inside was a small gold bracelet with a tiny heart charm.
My heart fluttered. “It’s very pretty,” I whispered.
Victor removed the bracelet from the confines of the box, and thrust the box back in his pocket. His eyes were a gentle rolling smolder. “I wanted to give this to you later,” he said. He took my wrist and with graceful fingers, he placed the bracelet on my arm. “I was never good at hanging onto gifts until the appropriate time. Besides, you’ve got all those new clothes. You need something nice to wear with them.”
My face flamed, my lips trembled. “Victor,” I whispered. I understood what he was implying but the reality didn’t want to click in my brain. He couldn’t be serious. “The girl…”
“Is beautiful, funny, and puts up with our wild, reckless group,” he said. He finished locking the bracelet on and held my hand up to let it glitter under the light from the garage. His thumb traced over the skin on the back of my hand. “And she’s the most brilliant and naive girl I’ve ever met. I’d give her anything she ever wanted to let me in. To trust me.”
A thousand words jumbled into my throat, catching just short of my lips. What did this mean? I understood then that he had intended the bracelet for me; he had meant me the whole time. My mind tried to replay the conversation we’d just had. How could I have not realized who he was talking about? I wasn’t at all ready for something like this. The bracelet felt like it was burning against my skin at the same intensity as the fire in his eyes as he begged silently for answers. I didn’t know how to respond. I di
dn’t know the questions.
“Hey,” a shout shattered through my awkward pause. Nathan hung from the inside garage door. “We’re going to eat it all if you don’t get in here.”
Victor grumbled. “We’re coming,” he called back.
Nathan disappeared back into the house.
I sighed. “We should eat,” I said. It wasn’t what I really wanted to say. There was a lot I wanted to ask. Did this mean something? Was he still my friend?
He smile softened and he took my hand, our fingers interlocking, his thumb tracing my skin. “Let’s go.”
As we walked back together, I fingered the bracelet on my wrist. I pressed my cheek to his shoulder.
“You're welcome, Sang.”
♥♥♥
After everyone had eaten, I wanted to change into something else other than the skirt. It made it hard to sit in the bean bag chairs or on the floor. I took clothes with me upstairs to Kota’s bathroom and changed into the black shorts and a soft pink t-shirt I was going to sleep in.
I leaned against the counter in Kota’s bathroom, tracing the bracelet on my wrist and thinking about Victor and worrying about my mother and the thousand other fears I’d pushed to the back of my mind all day. What happens on Monday when my sister and Danielle noticed the new clothes? How would I stop Danielle from taking everything if Marie let her? What would the other students think of my new clothes, mismatched on such a plain girl? What would my mother do to me if she ever learned the truth? And why was Victor so confusing?
Everything was so far out of my control now, on the shoulders of guys from the Academy. That alone was the biggest cause for my fear. Before they invaded my life, I may not have been so free, but my life was predictable. Now I was a shattered mess, and the boys were blowing my tender shards across the floor, toward a destination I wasn’t privileged to know. Academy secrets.
Maybe I would have been dead by now if they’d never intervened. I wasn’t ungrateful. I really liked them and hoped this family thing was true. I didn’t understand how it worked. Would I ever?
I folded the clothes I had taken off and ran back downstairs to avoid collapsing in on myself from all the overhanging fear and worry.
Downstairs, the guys were waiting with a comedy paused on the title screen.
“Hurry up, Sang,” Gabriel said.
I ran over to where our book bags were and put the new clothes on top of mine. Kota, Silas and North were sitting together on the couch so there wasn’t any more room there. I scrambled over until I was in front of the bean bag chairs. A couple of them patted the empty seats next to them.
I was about to plop down next to Gabriel since he was the closest when Luke bellowed. “No,” he said. “Over here.”
I popped up and slid on my feet on the carpet over to Luke’s seat.
“Sang Baby,” North said. “Will you sit that beautiful ass down, please?”
“I’m trying,” I said, ignoring the compliment, assuming he was teasing me. They all laughed at me.
I was lowering myself next to Luke when I felt a pinch on my butt. I yelped and jumped up, rubbing at the spot.
Luke laughed, his hand on his chest. There was a roar of chuckling from everyone.
“That’s it,” North said. He snapped his fingers at me. “Get over here.”
“Uh oh,” Nathan said. “You’re in trouble now.”
“Trouble is who she is,” Gabriel smirked at him. “That’s what I’ve been telling you.”
I pushed my finger to my lip and crept over. I couldn’t believe Luke did that and now I was getting reprimanded. I glanced quickly at Victor, who seemed strangely at ease at the moment. He jerked his head toward North, as if to tell me to go.
North leaned forward on the couch, curling his fingers at me. When I was close enough, he grabbed my hips and dragged me down until I was on his lap. I gasped in surprise, my face heating.
“Looks like the only way we’ll get through this movie is to make you sit where I can reach you,” he said. He turned me until my back was against the side of the couch. He brought my legs up until my feet were tucked between his legs and Silas’.
Silas shifted, picking my feet up and moving them until my knees were over his lap, his palm rested against my knee. My feet ended up in Kota’s lap.
“We want her down here,” complained Gabriel. “Let her come back.”
“No,” North said. “You guys had her all day. It’s our turn now.”
“Let her come sit by me,” Luke said.
“You lost that privilege when you pinched her,” he barked at him. “Now shut up and watch the damn movie.”
My mind was whirling so much that I missed a good portion of the first part of the movie. All I could feel was North’s body against mine, with the fingers from one hand wrapped around my side and almost tickling my stomach. His other hand dropped onto my thigh. Silas had a hand on my knee. Kota’s fingers wrapped around my feet, warming my toes.
It was like sitting in all of their laps at once. My heart thundered. My mind whirled. My body stiffened because I wasn’t sure if I should enjoy it. I wanted to, but it was overwhelming. Again, I glanced at the other boys, especially at Victor. But no one seemed surprised. Victor shared a sympathetic smile with Luke. Nathan and Gabriel turned back toward the movie.
North adjusted underneath me. He tucked his head until his lips traced my ear. “Relax, Sang baby.” He sucked in a deep breath, inhaling my new fragrance before he put his head up again to watch the movie.
I tried to. I leaned against him more, resting my head against his chest as I tried to focus on the movie. I was breathing in the musk of his cologne, catching how it mixed with mine in such a pleasant way. I snuggled into him and stilled. He seemed happy with this, as his palm massaged the small of my back.
Halfway through the movie my butt was asleep. I adjusted so his thigh wasn’t pressed up against my tailbone. My shifting woke Kota up. I couldn’t see him behind Silas’ frame but his fingers started working over my feet. He started massaging my toes with an exquisite precision. I wriggled, forgetting the movie and feeling lost in touches and closeness and aromas.
“Keep still,” North whispered to me.
I tried to, snuggling into him. I moved my hands from my stomach and slipped a palm against his chest. My fingers trailed over his shirt against his heart.
His body stiffened as bad as mine had earlier. I thought perhaps it tickled, so I switched from fingertips to the flat of my palm to smooth out the shirt.
He grunted, hooked his arm under my thighs and picked me up. He deposited me into Kota’s lap and walked around the couch. I heard Kota’s bedroom door open, close again and North’s footsteps on the stairs.
“Kota,” I whispered. “What...”
He pushed a finger to my lips, stopping me from saying anything. “Don’t ask,” he whispered back.
I snuggled into Kota’s lap, worried that I did something wrong. Kota’s hands rubbed my back. He wasn’t massaging like before, but tracing his fingers over my shirt. I relaxed, my cheek pressed into his collarbone. I wasn’t facing the movie any more. With Kota rubbing me, I closed my eyes and listened to the boys laughing.
First Ever Sleepover
I woke up when the light flicked on. The movie credits rolled on the screen. I rubbed at my eyes, sitting up and yawning.
Kota laughed at me, brushing a lock of hair away from my cheek. “I guess it’s time to get some sleep,” he said. He picked me up as he stood and deposited me on Silas’ lap.
Silas’ muscled arms wrapped around me, cradling me. It was almost warm and cozy enough to fall back asleep.
“I’ll go get blankets,” Kota said.
I blushed, wondering why I was deposited with Silas instead of just being put down on the couch but I was too lazy and comfortable to care. I didn’t mind anyway, I was just curious and confused.
“You better keep your eyes on that one,” I heard North say behind me to Silas.
“What’s
the matter, North?” Silas asked. “Scared of a little girl?” There was a thud and Silas flinched but his eyes were laughing. I could only guess that North punched him in the arm.
The others moved into action repositioning the bean bag chairs off to the side by the wall. Some of them left to go change and the others took over laying out blankets. I pushed myself off of Silas’ lap so I could help Victor when he came in with an armload of pillows. Silas got up and walked off to change.
Seven makeshift beds were made across the floor, one on the couch. Gabriel wore red pajama bottoms and a fitted black tank shirt. Nathan, Silas and Luke wore shorts, no shirts. Victor had a white t-shirt and gray striped pajama bottoms. North wore black pajama bottoms and his black t-shirt. Kota wore a soft gray t-shirt, green pajama bottoms.
We sat together as a group on top of the blankets in a circle. The others were talking about the movie. I sat between Luke and Nathan. Luke had a glass bottle in his hand and was taking sips from it.
“What’s that?” I asked, nodding to his drink, noting the milky dark liquid. “Isn’t that coffee?”
His eyes narrowed at me and nudged me in the arm with his elbow. “Maybe.”
“Won’t that keep you up all night?”
A chop landed on my head and Nathan leaned into me. “Drinks one coffee and she’s suddenly an expert.”
I laughed. “I was just asking.”
“Oy,” Gabriel said from across the circle. “All right we’ve got do some girl shit,” he said.
The others laughed at him.
“No,” he said. “I mean for Sang.” He looked at me. “Girls do something like truth or dare or pillow fighting or something like that, right?”
I blushed, shrugging. “I don’t know.” Who did he think I was? I’d told them before no one really talked to me and I wasn’t close to anyone. Didn’t they believe me?
“What did you do...” Gabriel started but he caught on to my confused look and slapped a palm to his head, laughing. “God damn it, Sang. Why didn’t you tell me you’ve never done a sleepover thing? I thought girls did that stuff all the time.”
