Allan is staring at me, so I ask him what’s wrong.
He smiles but it isn’t a derisive smirk, he seems genuinely happy for some reason.
“Nothing wrong. I love a girl who eats, that’s all. Valentina would have ordered a taco salad minus everything but lettuce.”
I can’t help but giggle, snarking at the mean girl’s eating habits.
“She’d order a non-fat, skinny taco.”
Allan laughs, throwing his head back and he looks so much less intimidating than with his usual, brooding expression.
His eyes shine with amusement when he says:
“You’re funny, Onyx Mancini.”
And why couldn’t I just take the compliment and move on?
Another snarky observation comes out of my mouth and I spy Allan’s reaction, hoping that I didn’t offend him.
“Well, one of you must not mind the calorie obsessed, whiny type. If you’re dating her.”
He stops laughing and looks confused.
“Who’s dating her?”
I shrug.
“One of you must be dating her, she’s always where you three are, dangling from your arms and making you buy her stuff and drive her around.”
Allan sighs and turns in his seat to look straight at me.
“None of us is dating Valentina. I don’t know why she’s always around, it’s been this way since we joined the Drama Club in freshman year. To be honest, we see her more like an annoying little sister than anything else.”
“But she obviously likes you. All three of you.”
Allan shakes his head.
“Yeah, well it isn’t mutual. We warned Dylan not to hookup with her or she’ll cling permanently.”
“I guess that improves my opinion of you three. I honestly thought that you were all hooking up with her.”
Allan’s reaction to my provocation isn’t one I was expecting.
“Right! You’re one to talk! What were you thinking, dating that douche? The Debate Club president? I was this close to grabbing him by the ear and kicking him out of the theater earlier on. He’s such a fucking jerk! And he’s got small man syndrome. I’ve always wondered what a great girl like you saw in that loser.”
I’m surprised by the vehemence in his tone: I seriously didn’t even think they knew I existed, let alone noticed who I was dating.
But I don’t have a chance to say anything, because he takes my empties and runs to the trash can before restarting the car and driving toward my house.
8.
Closer
Allan
I CURSE MYSELF FOR my big mouth the whole way to Onyx’s house, until I kill the engine right in front of her driveway.
I mean, the fucking douche-bag dumped her at Prom and he was cheating on her but her silence makes me think that I offended her by questioning her dating choices.
So before she has a chance to get out of my car, I apologize to her.
“I’m sorry, Onyx. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. It’s just that you deserve better.”
She lets go of the door to look at me with those huge green eyes of hers: the only light in the car is provided by a streetlight but Onyx looks gorgeous under any light, no matter how harsh.
She smiles and reassures me that she isn’t mad.
“You’re right, Allan. I do deserve better. If anything, Joe taught me a lesson about what I don’t want in a boyfriend.”
One of the things that I’ve always found attractive in her is how open she is, how she always wears her heart on her sleeve, not playing games like some of the other girls, like Valentina.
I could ask her what she wants in a boyfriend but I chicken-out, scared that whatever she says would exclude me as a possible suitor and I do the only thing I can think about: I take her hand pulling her closer and crushing my lips onto hers.
She doesn’t move for a second and my heart is beating so loudly in my chest that I’m sure she must be able to hear it.
I’m terrified that she’ll push me away but when she doesn’t and she kisses me back, I deepen the kiss.
Her lips are soft and warm and I want more, so much more, so I lick at the seam of her mouth to demand entrance, to taste her and explore her the way I’ve been dreaming of since I invited her to that Christmas party four years ago.
We kiss for a long time, lost in each other, our tongues are tangled as we hungrily kiss, lick and suck at each other’s mouths.
But soon even that isn’t enough and I pull her onto my lap, grabbing her hips and lifting her over the center console of my car.
She’s straddling me, each of her knees pushing against my outer thighs, her chest touching mine, while the rain falls outside, battering against the metal of my car and producing a sound that mixes with our breathing.
She feels so soft against me that my body reacts immediately by going painfully hard in my jeans.
Onyx moans, nipping at my bottom lip and grinding against me and I have to really exercise every ounce of self-control I have left not to recline my seat and start to rip her clothes off of her.
Instead one of my hands delicately cups her jaw and then starts a slow, sensual descent all the way down her neck, shoulder blade and tits, tracing the soft lines of her body with my eyes fixed onto hers.
When my fingers reach the edge of her sweater, they play with the material, lifting it slightly and coming into contact with her smooth, warm skin.
She doesn’t move away from my touch, she closes her eyes and lets her own hand wander on my chest and abs, reaching the buckle of my belt.
By then, we’ve both forgotten where we are, surrounded by the torrential rain in the quiet fall night.
She hesitates for a second, looking at me as my hand is tracing along her rib cage traveling up toward the edge of her bra.
“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want, Onyx.”
She sounds short of breath when she asks me what I want.
“I want you, baby. I want everything you’re willing to give.”
Her smile tells me that she wants the same and I kiss her again with total abandon while her fingers begin undoing my belt.
A knocking sound on the fogged up car window makes us freeze and a masculine voice reaches us through the noise of our labored breathing.
“Onyx, is that you?”
“Shit, it’s my dad!”
She whisper-yells and as she starts squirming to try and return to the passenger seat, the car door opens.
“Baby girl?”
Onyx is about to jump over the center console but she returns to my lap when we both feel pulled together by a few threads of her sweater that are stuck on my belt buckle.
Onyx’s father looks at us through widened eyes from under a huge black umbrella: what we were doing is pretty obvious and the only redeeming factor is that we’re both still fully dressed.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
Her father looks as embarrassed as we are when he explains that Onyx’s mom was worried because Onyx was out without a ride in this terrible weather and when she heard the engine of my car, she sent him out to check.
“But what were you doing here? Shouldn’t you be back in your own apartment?”
Mr Mancini explains that he’s staying the night after taking his ex-wife to a doctors appointment.
“The baby’s fine but your mom’s blood pressure is way too high and the doctor decided to put her on bed rest. So I’d be much more at ease if we could avoid leaving your mom alone for too long. This is why I decided to stay when I saw that you weren’t home. But can we talk about it in the house?”
Onyx’s cheeks are flushed with embarrassment and at this point we’re both frantically trying to free her sweater from my belt.
The quickest thing to do is to take it off and as soon as I pass my belt through the loops of my jeans, Onyx climbs out of the car, still trying to disentangle the buckle from her sweater.
“Don’t worry, you can give me the belt tomorrow. I ... Can
I call you later?”
She’s still blushing but she smiles and nods.
“I would like that.”
“Goodnight, Mr Mancini. Good night, Onyx.”
And I dare to lean out of the car to kiss her cheek: I’m not scared of her dad, I have the most honorable intentions toward his daughter.
Allan
I DRIVE BACK HOME THINKING about her, still feeling her soft lips on mine, already replaying every kiss, every touch we shared.
I’m so distracted that I almost don’t notice Robyn’s car in my driveway.
I barely have time to turn the engine off, that Robyn and Dylan get into my car and begin a third-degree interrogation.
“What took you so long? We’ve been waiting here for a whole hour!”
I sigh at the accusatory looks in their eyes.
“We ate dinner and then—”
Robyn shakes his head.
“I knew I shouldn’t have let you take her home! You took advantage of the situation to turn the ride home into a date!”
I sigh and admit it.
“Yeah, what if I did? I like her, Robyn. I’ve liked her since before middle school. Aren’t you in my same boat? How many girlfriends have we had between us in all these years? A big, fat zero! Hookups? Sure, we’ve done that but none of us is interested in anyone else. Let’s admit that neither of us will back down, ok? This staying away deal isn’t working out. It’s just making us both miserable.”
Robyn nods.
“You’re right. But what else do you suggest we do?”
Dylan clears his voice.
“Don’t forget that I like her too. And before you get bent over backwards over the fact that you’ve known her longer, I call bullshit. You’ve been longing for her, watching her from afar but neither of you has gotten to know her until she joined the Drama Club. So I have as much claim on her as you two assholes.”
I groan: this isn’t gonna end well.
I don’t know what happened, but since our rehearsal session earlier on at Jewels Cafe, all my carefully practiced indifference has gone out of the window and I’m no longer able to keep my feelings for Onyx a secret.
“I love her, guys. I don’t wanna lose your friendship but I can’t stay away from her. I wanna kiss her and hold her again and I wanna hold her hand in public, take her to the Winter Formal and to Prom.”
Robyn hides his face in his hands and his voice comes out a little muffled when he admits the same feelings for Onyx.
“I love her too. I’ve been trying to tell myself that it was ridiculous but since she set foot in the school theater, it’s become harder and harder to shove my feelings aside. And you’re right, Allan. Today something happened at Jewels Cafe and if before I could sit there and watch her date losers and pretend I didn’t know that she existed, now I just wanna be that loser. As long as I get to hold her hand and to kiss her.”
We hear a groan from the backseat: Dylan is shaking his head and his next words aren’t entirely unexpected.
“Shit! I liked that girl from the first time I saw her in the student counselor’s office. And you’re right that she’s sexy and pretty but she’s also kind and compassionate. I know I’d sound totally crazy if I said that I love her but call it a crush, call it a spark that’s lighting a wildfire, call it whatever the fuck you want but I can’t go back to not knowing her.”
So what now?
We all look at each other, at a loss about what to do and then Dylan tells us again that maybe we shouldn’t compete for Onyx’s heart.
“Why can’t we all be with her? Who said that she has to choose only one of us? I mean, if that was what she wanted, I’d accept it. If she wanted one of you, it would hurt but at least I’d know that you’d treat her right. And I’m sure you’d find a way to accept it if she wanted just me. But what if instead of fighting each other, we fought for her? To make her happy? We already do everything together, is it that hard to imagine that we’d all fall for the same girl? I know that since the last time I lived with Robyn in third grade, I’ve only spent the summers with you guys, but you two are the brothers I’ve never had. And I know that Onyx would be lucky to have you as boyfriends.”
This time we don’t tell him that he’s crazy: Dylan’s right.
If we all feel the same way about her, we should just be open and find out how she feels about us and take it from there.
“So, what’s the deal then? What if she chooses one?”
Dylan shrugs.
“It’ll hurt but I’ll accept it. And to be honest, I’d rather lose her to one of you than to that douche of the Debate Club president. I can’t believe Onyx ever dated him. But if Onyx likes us all, we can make her happier together than just one of us ever could. And if she didn’t choose, none of us would get his heart broken.”
When he puts it this way, it sounds like a good thing.
After all, I love Onyx and I wanna see her happy and if my brothers were part of the picture, what difference would it really make?
9.
Field Trip
Onyx
THANKFULLY DAD DIDN’T say anything about the compromising situation he caught me in in Allan’s car.
I know I’m an adult and Dad hasn’t exactly been a great example this last year, so when we walked into the house, his focus wasn’t on who I was making out with but on Mom’s situation.
I told him that I’d help and stay with her whenever I wasn’t at school, work or rehearsals.
Dad still looked worried and I thought it was because being on bed rest, Mom couldn’t work at the diner.
I told him not to worry, that the reason why I took the job at Jewels Cafe was to help out with money.
I explained that regardless of bed rest, I hadn’t wanted Mom to be on her feet all the time once heavily pregnant.
Dad had wrapped his arms around me and his voice was full of emotion when he said that he knew how much he screwed up with Mom.
“But I love you two and your baby sister with all my heart, Onyx. And I’m trying. I’m gonna spend my life trying to earn yours and your mom’s forgiveness. Thank you for being so helpful and so mature about all this.”
A ticking noise coming from my window distracts me from my thoughts: Fred’s beating against the window pane with his little black beak.
Kakawww.
I open the window and offer my feathered friend the end piece of my croissant.
His little black beady eyes shine with gratitude and I smile thinking about how until a few weeks ago, I wanted to throw my shoe at him for waking me up in the morning.
“I know it’s early, Fred. But I’m going to Syracuse on a school field trip with the Drama Club. Miss Devlin is taking us to see a classic rendition of a Christmas Carol. She says it’ll help us perform our version if we have a comparison with the classic.”
I shove my phone in my book bag and say goodbye to Fred.
We’re traveling to Syracuse by bus and we’re meeting at school at seven am sharp.
I’d be lying if I said that I’m not excited about seeing Allan after last night.
He called me to say goodnight and to check that Dad wasn’t mad for catching us in his car: he even offered to come and apologize again in person and while that wasn’t necessary, his concern made me like him even more than I already did.
I SPOT HIM AS SOON as I exit my car: his light blond hair standing out against the background of a sky that’s still dark.
The days are getting shorter and chillier and I wouldn’t be surprised if it snowed early this year.
His lips curve in a soft smile as soon as he sees me, the same lips that I got to know so well last night.
Just the thought of their warmth makes me blush and as soon as I approach him, he wraps his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer and kissing my temple.
I won’t lie that I’m relieved that he isn’t pretending that nothing happened between us last night.
I look into his soulful brown eyes and I don’t even have
the time to dwell on how his heated gaze makes me feel that I’m pulled away from Allan’s side to be enveloped in Robyn’s arms.
It’s definitely just a friendly hug but tell that to my heart when it starts beating so furiously in my chest that I’m pretty sure everyone can hear it.
Dylan hugs me too and his scent of wintergreen invades my senses, as delicious as ever.
He keeps me close to his side and I’m surprised to see that the others seem to find this new closeness totally normal.
Something seems to have changed in the way the guys behave around me: they went from barely acknowledging my existence to treating me like a friend.
Or much more than a friend in Allan’s case.
Dylan interrupts my thoughts with a question.
“Onyx did you hear what I just asked you?”
I blush, glad that they don’t know that I was thinking about kissing Allan last night.
“Sorry, I was miles away. Can you repeat?”
Dylan smirks.
“If I hadn’t noticed that you really were distracted, I’d have thought that you were playing hard to get by making me ask you out twice.”
Ask me out?
“We’re going to that new nightclub, Vee tonight. Would you like to come with us? We can come pick you up after dinner or we can order pizza at our home, since my aunt and uncle are going out tonight.”
Of course I wanna go out with them but I voice my perplexity at the choice of venue.
“It sounds fun but Vee’s a nightclub and we’re all underage ...”
Dylan’s smirk widens and he lowers his voice to explain that he got us all fake IDs.
“And I know one of the bouncers, so as long as we don’t cause trouble, we’re golden.”
“You got a fake ID for me too?”
He shrugs.
“I hope you don’t mind. We have your photo on file from when you joined the Drama Club and I convinced Robyn and Allan to let me borrow it.”
Onyx (Jewels Cafe Book 10) Page 5
