by Mary Smith
After talking to a few more people, I walked over to Garnet, and asked if she was ready to head into the stadium. She didn’t answer me, but she finished her beer, and started toward the gates.
Once we found our seats, we sat down, and watched the stadium fill up with fans, before Garnett started to talk.
“You think it’s going to be hot all day?”
“Um, I don’t know. Why?”
“Making conversation.”
“Do you want to talk about why you seem depressed?”
She looked out at the field. The crowd began to clap, and the players warmed up. I quickly found Dart’s jersey, and my heart skipped a beat. My eyes were pulled over to the player next to Dart. I gave Garnet a quick sideways glance.
“Is that something you want to talk about?” I pointed toward Dash.
“Not particularly.”
I knew by her answer something was wrong and it was something to do with Dash. “You knew he was a player.”
“Daisy,” she gritted her teeth at me. “Don’t start.”
I kept my mouth shut, even though I was on the verge of screaming, I told you so. I knew Dash would eventually hurt her, and I felt guilty. I should have stopped their stupid relationship, or whatever they were doing, a long time ago.
We didn’t talk the rest of the game. A few sorority sisters were sitting around me, and I chatted with them. I tried my best to watch the game, but we were getting slaughtered. Dart and Dash were getting hit more than everybody else and spent most of their time on their backs.
“Do you want to wait with me for Dart?” I tried to sound cheerful, but I think I failed at it.
“Sure,” Garnet’s voice was deadpanned.
We walked over to where the players would come out of the locker room. Garnet and I didn’t say anything, but I watched her. She almost looked nervous. Even though she had been shy when she was younger, I knew Garnet wasn’t like that now.
“Daisy,” Dart’s tired voice called out to me.
I gave him my biggest smile. I knew this was a hard loss for him, especially a home game. I kissed him as I carefully wrapped my arms around his neck. After as many hits he took, he was going to be sore.
“Hey Garnet,” Dash came up behind Dart when I released him.
I looked at Garnet and she narrowed her eyes at him.
“I’m heading home,” she barked out.
“I’ll go with you.” Dash quickly said.
“No,” I yelled. I didn’t know what it was, but my protective-sister-instinct took over, and I jumped in front of her. “I’m taking her home. Dart, I’ll text you later.” I grabbed Garnet’s hand with no resistance from her, and we walked home.
As we strolled down Sixth Avenue, the sun was still hot, and I could feel my shoulders becoming red. However, it didn’t matter, because I wanted to find out what was going on with Garnet. I thought I might know what the issue was.
“You like Dash, don’t you?”
Garnet looked down at the sidewalk.
“You do know that you can still talk to me? Remember all those nights that we talked late into the night?”
Garnet stopped, her stone expression returned when she raised her head. “Yeah I do, and then you ran off to college, and forgot about me.”
I gasped. “That’s not true, Garnet. You are my sister.”
She dropped her head and started walking at a faster pace.
“Stop,” I caught up with her. “Please, I’m begging for you to talk to me.”
“Fine,” she crossed her arms, removing her sunglasses. I could tell that she had been crying. “I don’t know if I like Dash or not, okay? One minute, he’s super nice to me, and the next he’s dragging me out of the party, and kissing me. Yes, he’s hot. I do like that part of him, but he’s sending all these mixed signals.”
I didn’t know what to say, because she had said that all in one breath, and I needed to process it.
“First, thank you for telling me. Second, that’s Dash. I mean, he never really stays with a girl more than a few nights. He’s a player.”
“Wow, thanks for that sound advice.” Garnet rolled her eyes, matching her sarcastic tone.
“Garnet,” I pleaded, hoping she wouldn’t shut down.
“I need a shower.”
As I watched my baby sister walk away, I knew I had to figure this out, before I lost her for good.
Chapter 17 – Dart
“Ha, I killed you, fucker.” Dash chuckled at the TV screen.
“I swear you cheated this game.” I tossed the Xbox controller onto the coffee table.
“You’re just mad because I’m better than you,” Dash teased. He turned off the gaming console and grabbed another beer from the fridge for us.
“Would you care to explain to me how, on a Saturday night, you’re home with me, and not out trying to get laid?”
Dash scratched the scruff around his chin. “I guess, I wanted to spend time with my twin brother.”
“God, you suck at lying.” I laughed at him. “Now, tell me the truth. Is it Garnet? Something happened?”
Dash didn’t open up right away. He never does. I sipped on my beer waiting for him.
“Okay,” he finally started. “I can’t get Garnet out of my head. She’s all I think about. When Tracy was over here, I thought about Garnet. When I try to sleep, she pops back into my head. I can’t even master–,”
“Whoa,” I stopped him before he continued the sentence. “I get the picture. So, what’s the problem then? I saw the way she looked at you tonight.”
Dash began to peel at the label on his bottle. “So, last night I saw her dancing with some loser, and I may have forced her to go home. Well, she didn’t stay there, and went back to the party. Needless to say, I made sure she stayed home the last time, and…” he paused.
I waited.
“I couldn’t stop looking at her and how beautiful she was. So, I kissed her.”
“You kissed Garnet?”
“Yep.”
“Then what happened?”
“I walked out,” he said casually.
“Wait, you kissed her, and then you just left?”
He nodded.
“Did you say anything to her? Have you talked to her since then?”
He shook his head.
“Was the kiss bad, or did you realize you didn’t like her anymore?”
“Oh, quite the opposite.” He chugged the beer. “The kiss was fucking awesome, and all I wanted to do with the rip her clothes off.” Dash slammed his empty beer down.
“You’re such a dumb ass.” I told him firmly.
“Hey,” he exclaimed.
“No, I’m not going to pity you.” I stood up. “You like her, you kissed her, but then you just left her standing there. You didn’t say anything to her. That poor girl’s self-esteem is shit right now, and it’s because of you.”
Dash jumped up. “What the fuck do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you that I was so damn scared kissing her because I don’t want to hurt her? Maybe I should tell you that when I look into her eyes, my knees get week? How about that I’ve never had feelings—other than a hard on for any other girl but Garnet makes me feel everything?”
I stopped for a beat. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“Fuck yeah, I do.” His face was serious. I’d never seen it like this before, especially talking about a girl. My mouth dropped as Dash fell back onto the couch and put his head in his hands. I don’t think Dash has ever felt that way toward anyone.
“I’m not you, Dart. I can’t just tell her that. I’m Dash Terrance. I fuck girls, and I leave them. I don’t feel this way toward them.” He lifted his head.
I sat down next to him. “You’re wrong. The Dash Terrance I know is a kind, caring guy, who loves to cook, and has Edgar Allan Poe memorized. There’s nothing wrong with your feelings toward her.”
“She’s eighteen.”
“Daisy and I were that age and look at us now. I
t doesn’t matter.”
Dash laid his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes. “You saw how she just looked at me, how do I get her to talk to me?”
“Go over there and talk. She’s stubborn like you, but she’ll listen.”
Dash didn’t move until he got up and headed for the stairs.
“Where are you going?”
“To bed.” He stomped all the way to his room and slammed the door shut.
~~
I slept in Sunday, because I didn’t fall asleep until the sun was coming up. I still couldn’t believe everything Dash had told me. I wondered how today was going to go.
After I showered, I headed to the kitchen. The smell of bacon made my stomach growl. Dash was fixing a brunch of buffet portions.
“Are you feeding an Army, Dash?”
He shrugged.
I knew from that telltale sign that he wasn’t in the mood to talk at all. I began to set the table. I heard the front door, and I looked up to see Daisy’s blonde hair coming toward me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.
“I missed you last night,” she winked.
“Trust me, I missed you, too.” She released me, and I finished my task. Dash put all the food on the table, and looked around.
“Where’s Garnet?”
“She’s not coming.” Daisy growled at him.
“Why not?”
“Well,” she put her hands on her hips. “Maybe she’s still hurt because you played her.”
“Fuck off, Daisy. I didn’t play her,” Dash yelled at her.
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that. Maybe it’s best that you stay the hell away from my little sister,” Daisy screamed at him.
“Enough, both of you,” I commanded them to stop arguing.
“I don’t fucking need this shit.” Dash slammed the bowl on the table and left the kitchen. A moment later I heard the front door slam shut, and his bike started.
I looked over at Daisy. She protectively crossed her arms. “Don’t give me that look, please.”
“Daisy—”
“No, Dart,” she interrupted. “I know he’s your brother, but I listened to my sister cry herself to sleep last night. Plus, instead of coming over here to kill Dash, I stayed at my house. He used her, just like a banjo.”
“You don’t know what’s going on with them,” I informed her.
Daisy stared at me for a second. “You know something, don’t you?”
I raised my eyebrows at her.
“Dart,” she gritted at me.
“Daisy, I will not betray Dash’s trust any more than I would yours.”
“That’s my sister,” she shouted.
“And that’s my brother. I will not argue about this anymore.” I think I was just as loud.
Daisy’s eyes grew wide. “He’s never yelled at me like that.”
I gripped the back of the chair in front of me. “I don’t want to argue, but you need to let them work it out.”
Neither one of us broke eye contact. I knew she was as stubborn as I was, but she needed to let them handle it.
“I don’t think I’m hungry right now.” Daisy went to walk out of the kitchen.
“Daisy, don’t—” I tried to reach for her, but she pushed me away.
“I need to be alone, Dart.” And, for the first time ever, Daisy walked out on me.
Chapter 18 – Dash
It was Friday, and I should be planning which party I was going to hit. Instead, I was standing in front of Garnet’s door. I had been avoiding her like the plague. But, I couldn’t do it anymore.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. This was either going to work, or she was never going to speak to me again.
Garnet swung the door open. Gorgeous was the only word to describe her. She had on gray wide leg pants and a light purple T-shirt with a rainbow on it.
“Dash?”
I handed her the flyer, not uttering a word. I had ripped it down from the bulletin board when I saw it today. She looked at the paper, and I could see that she was debating on whether to go. I prayed that she would come with me.
Garnet looked up at me with her light brown eyes. “You’re an ass.”
I gave her a small grin, knowing she was right.
“You owe me.” She growled, but grabbed her purse hanging on a hook next to the door.
My grin deepened as we walked to campus. I had the urge to hold her hand and kiss her lips more than I’d ever wanted. We didn’t say anything as we walked into the building, into the room of the Edgar Allan Poe reading.
Today was another favorite of mine, Annabel Lee. I’ve always loved this poem, because it was the first one of his I’d ever read.
I sat as close to Garnet as I possibly could. She folded her hands in her lap and didn’t even glance at me.
When it started, my heart raced a little. It always had at the words of the poem. Poe’s words are strong as the narrator describes his love for Annabel Lee.
Right before my favorite line was read aloud, I reached over, untangled Garnet’s fingers, and lace them with mine.
But we loved with a love that was more than love.
After I confessed everything to Dart last Saturday, I laid in my bed thinking about love. I remember talking to Mom about when she fell in love with Dad. Dart was a lot like Mom, very emotional and romantic. I was more like Dad, direct and to the point.
However, it was different with Garnet because my feelings for her were something I’d never felt for anybody else.
Did I love her?
My first thought was maybe. Mom had explained to me that after she met Dad, he was all she could think about. Mom said when you truly love something, you wanted it, or thought about it, all the time.
I’ve been that way with Garnet. She had been on my mind for quite a while now. I rubbed my thumb over her knuckles. When I glanced at her, she was still facing forward, as if I wasn’t there.
Once the reading was over and we were outside, I was thankful for the cool air because I was overheated right now with her so close to me.
“Bye, Dash,” was all she said as she started to walk away.
I gripped her hand holding her in place. “We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t.”
“Well, then you need to listen while I’ll talk.” I said more firmly to her.
“Fine. Tell me what’s so important.”
“I need to apologize.”
“So, you’re sorry for kissing me?”
I heard the hurt in her voice. I stepped right up to her. “No, I’m not sorry. Not one bit. Although, I shouldn’t have done it the way I did. I left, when I should’ve stayed.” I whispered the truth to her.
Garnet’s mouth dropped a little as she took in my words.
“Listen, I have practice tomorrow, but no game. Would you please go out on a date with me?”
“What?” She breathed out.
“Okay, I know I haven’t asked a girl out in a long time, but I don’t think I did it wrong.” I teased her, trying to ease our tension.
“I…I…” she stammered. “I don’t know.”
Now, I was taken aback. “Why?”
Garnet pulled her hand away from me. “Dash, I’m going to be brutally honest. You confuse me. One minute you’re this nice guy and then the next you’re dragging me out of a party. Plus, let’s not forget you kissed me and then ran off. So don’t act shocked if I’m not jumping up and down right now.”
I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans, and I looked down at the sidewalk. I took a deep breath, thinking about the words she’d said.
“Now, it’s my turn,” I raised my eyes to her porcelain face. “I have feelings for you, and I’m nervous. I don’t usually get this way, ever. I would truly like to see where this goes.”
Garnet stared at me, shocked by my words. Hell, I was surprised at myself. My hands felt sweaty as she bit down on her lip.
“All right,” she broke her silence. “
We’ll go out tomorrow, but right now, I’m going home alone.”
“I’m at least going to walk you home,” I informed her.
“Like I had a choice in the matter.”
I chuckled as we walked back to her house. Now, I had to think up what I was going to do tomorrow for our date.
Chapter 19 – Garnet
I gave Dash my phone number when he dropped me off last night, and now I’m sitting at the couch staring at my phone.
I’m on my way, dress casual.
What the hell am I doing? I was so confused at this point.
Last night, when Dash took my hand, I couldn’t concentrate on Poe’s words. All I could think about was what his hands would feel like on me. When the reading was over, and after his confession outside, I was even more confused.
Yes, I was attracted to him. That was a given, but were my feelings only sexual? I shook my head, to stop the spinning thoughts and emotions.
I remembered the first time waking up in Dash’s bed. I was so hung over that when I turned my head, I felt every muscle strain. I could see Dash asleep next to me, lying on his side facing me.
Dash’s skin was sun-kissed, and his dark brown hair was messy. I studied his face. His thick black eyelashes, splayed onto his cheek, would make any girl jealous. His strong jaw was softened in his sleep, but his lips caught my attention. Dash’s full lips that I wanted to kiss that very moment.
The pounding on the door brought me back to the reality I was about to embark. I wasn’t so sure about it now.
I took a deep breath and opened the door. On the other side, Dash stood tall in a pair of light colored denim jeans and a gray T-shirt.
Oh yeah, I was definitely attracted to him.
“Ready?”
I nodded, grabbing my phone and purse, and followed him out the door. “Where’s the bike?”
“I borrowed Dart’s car. He and Daisy have the bike,” Dash explained, opening the door for me.
I didn’t ask where he was taking me, as he drove up the on-ramp to the Interstate. I watched the trees zoom by me. I noticed more were beginning to change colors. The hint of yellows and reds peeking through the various shades of green reminded me that cool weather was coming.
