The Introduction: Undying Love #1

by Isabelle Connors

  I’m beginning to feel drained, so I give in. "Okay."

  He drops down and picks Rachel off the ground. She wraps her arm around him and sniffs him. I look away because I feel like I'm intruding on a private moment. Skylar must feel me pulling away because he looks back at me and reaches for my hand. He squeezes my hand and I look up as he mouths, "I love you."

  As we enter the kitchen, I spot Colin by the island still playing beer Ping-Pong. I pull on Skylar's hand so that he would stop. He looks back and I tiptoe to his ear and say, "I need to let Colin know we’re leaving. I don't want him to be looking all over for me when he's ready to leave."

  "He's too drunk right now to care. Ari, let's go, you can call him later."

  Determined I say, "It'll take a minute or so. Wait right here."

  He tightens his jaw. "Fine, hurry up."

  As I'm walking towards Colin, he notices me and begins to smile. I immediately feel a pang of guilt. As soon as I reach in front of him, he hugs me. "There's my favorite girl."

  "Hey, Colin I'm going to head out. Rachel got wasted and I need to get her home."

  "Okay babe, let me get my coat and I'll take you guys back home."

  "Uh ... no that's okay. Um, Sky is going to take us home. Plus you’re kind of wasted yourself; I don't want you to have to drive."

  "Then you stay, and let her go with her boyfriend. Stay with me?" Colin pleads.

  "I can't. I have to sneak her in so her parents don't see her. She'll be grounded for life if they catch her like this."

  "I don't like this babe. I don't trust him. I see how he looks at you."

  I'm shocked into silence. I never realized that anyone paid attention to the way we looked at each other. I'm about to answer him when I feel Sky behind me, I don't have to turn around to know that it's him. As he inches closer to me, I see Colin look up and I know that I'm right.

  "You couldn't resist could you?" Colin seethes.

  "Dude, what are you talking about?"

  "You know she's mine, you can't have her." Colin growls.

  "I didn't know she was a thing incapable of making her own decisions."

  "It doesn't matter what you think, she's with me." Colin sneers.

  Agitated Skylar says, "Look dude, it's late and I just want to get them home safely. You're drunk so I'm going to ignore what you just said and move on because it's not worth it. But when you’re sober and you feel up to the challenge you come check me. We’ll deal with this man to man."

  "Yeah, whatever dude."

  As I'm about to walk away Colin grabs my hand and spins me around. He leans in and kisses me as if his life depended on it. I'm so shocked all I can do is stand there, not even responding to the kiss.

  Colin whispers. "I've already lost you haven't I?"

  A tear slips down my face. "You didn’t have me to begin with ... I'm sorry."

  With that, I walk away from Colin, and ahead of Skylar not bothering to wait.

  I'm standing by Skylar's car waiting for him and Rachel. When he reaches it, he unlocks the back seat to put Rachel inside.

  I cross my arms over my chest defiantly. "Uh ... what are you doing?"

  "What do you mean? I'm putting her in the car."

  "Yeah, I see that, but why are you putting her in the back seat?"

  Skylar raises his brow at me and smirks. "Uh ... because I want you to sit up front with me, and she's already passed out. Plus, I'm not going to take the risk of having her wake up and barfing in the front of my car. So, put your sweet ass in the front seat."

  I roll my eyes and head to the front seat, whilst I hear him chuckling behind me.

  "Remember what I said would happen if you keep rolling your eyes at me?"

  Agitated at the situation, I grumble, "Would you give me a break?"

  As he's pulling off into the street, he entwines our fingers together and kisses the back of my hand. I love it because it feels so good, but I hate it because I still feel guilty. We drive home in a comfortable silence. We stop a few houses down from our house so that Rachel's parents wouldn't hear us. I step out of the car and open the back door to help him pull Rachel out, but he stops me.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I'm helping you get her out of the car." I say confused.

  "Can that wait a moment?"

  Warily I ask, "Okay ... why?"

  "Because ..."

  “Because what?” I ask.

  "Because there's something I wanted to do all night. You've been taunting me with these sexy lips for a very long time." He says with a dimple-showing grin on his handsome face.

  In my mind, I know he's going to kiss me, but I still have a mini heart attack. I feel like my heart is about to jump out of my chest. This can't be real! I don't understand why I'm reacting like this. This never happened when I was with Colin.

  "I'm going to kiss you Ari ... And the sole reason I’m telling you this is because you asked me to sleep on it so you can make a decision. So, you’re not officially mine yet. But, be warned, when you are officially mine I will kiss you whenever I please."

  What do you say to that? Apparently nothing because I can't find my voice, so I do the only thing I can do. I nod and hold my breath anticipating his lips on mine. As he’s about to descend his lips upon on mine, he stops. "I need you to breathe for me baby." He soothes

  And I do. As I begin to breathe normally, he grabs my hips and he licks the seam of my lips. As he does, I feel the static again. In that moment, I know that everything I felt for him was and is real. When he licks my lips again, I open up for him. Then, I feel the tip of his tongue touch mine and I feel my knees give in. I did not know it was possible. Nor did I think it was real when I read that women would get weak in the knees with one kiss. If he wasn't holding me up, I would have landed on my butt. When I begin to let myself go, a moan slips out of my mouth and he steps back. But, he still holds me up by my hips.

  "I have to stop baby, if we don't, I won't be able to control myself and I want to prove to you how much I love you. I'll wait, baby. However long it takes, I'll wait." He chokes out.

  He lets me go and kisses my forehead. Then, he begins to take Rachel out of the car so we can sneak her in.

  ***

  A few hours later, I lay in bed still wide-awake from the effects of the kiss. I haven't been able to close my eyes once. I am resigned to the fate that I will not be sleeping tonight. So I head downstairs to get a drink of warm milk to help me sleep. As I step into the kitchen, I stop in my tracks as I hear someone making a racket in the cupboards. As my eyes adjust, I notice that it's Rachel. As I'm about to turn back around I hear her say, "You won't be able to avoid me forever. We live together."

  I sigh and say, "I know. I didn't want to get into anything tonight."

  "Do you know where the aspirin are? My head is killing me." Rachel asks as if she hadn't heard me speak.

  I walk towards the cabinet where all the medicine is kept, and search for the aspirin. When I find it I hand it to her and grab two bottles of water out of the fridge. I hand her one and open the other for me.

  "So were you ever going to tell me, Ari?" She asks faintly.

  I shrug. "I didn't ... I mean we didn't do this on purpose Rachel. He approached me the night we met on the beach. I said no because I knew you were interested. But as we became friends ... I guess our feelings grew."

  "I see. So do you love him?"

  I look down and whisper, "Yeah … yeah, I do love him."

  She smiles wistfully at me. "I suspected that you both were into each other. That day I came to talk to you in your room asking you for advice about him, I wanted to ask you. I didn't know how. But, I knew. A woman's intuition I guess."

  "I'm so sorry, Rachel."

  "Yeah me too. He was never mine. I just didn't want to let him go."

  "Do you hate me Rachel? I ask quietly.

  "Nope. I'm just glad I didn't give it up to him because it looks like he's going to be my brother now." She says with a sad smile
.

  "I'm sorry Rachel."

  "I love you, Ari. I wish you would have told me from the beginning. You could have spared us all this unnecessary drama. You didn't have to be a martyr. Our bond is deeper than some guy, we're sisters."

  "Okay ... I don't know why you’re not shouting at me right now. But, thanks for being so understanding ..." I whisper confused.

  "Yeah, but you owe me ... I'm going to bed; my head is pounding. Love you Ari." As she's about to leave the kitchen she turns and smirks at me. "Oh, and by the way I totally saw that kiss."

  I laugh and throw my empty water bottle at her. She moves as the bottle is about to hit her. She laughs all the way upstairs. While I sit there in the dark thinking how my life was turned upside down in a few mere hours.

  Chapter Eleven

  Crazy in Love

  Skylar—Seven Months Later

  "Well, the fifteenth is the big day. What do you want for Christmas, and for your birthday?" I ask Ari as we take a seat on the benches outside of school.

  "I don't want anything. I already have you, so I'm good."

  "You like being difficult don't you Ari? You know there are ways to make you talk?"

  "You're not crazy Sky!"

  "Oh, but I am. I am crazy in love with you." I say with a straight face.

  She starts to laugh hysterically. "Really Sky? Are you just going to steal Beyoncé's lyrics like that? She may hit you with a lawsuit for stealing and for being so cheesy babe."

  I pout. “Aw, babe you wound me."

  She smirks at me. "Well, your ego is kind of huge. It needs to be dropped down a few pegs and I think I'm the perfect candidate to do that."

  "Real funny, pretty girl. Quit trying to change the subject. What do you want? You don't turn sixteen every day?"

  "I don't want anything. I want a low-key day for my birthday. And Christmas I'll spend with Rachel's family like I do every year." She says somberly.

  "Are you okay Ari?"

  "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I always thought I would have a huge sweet sixteen party with my parents. But, now that there not here, I don't want it. I miss them a lot, particularly on my birthday and Christmas."

  Feeling helpless I say, "Babe, I'm sorry. I'm not going to pretend like I know what you're going through, because I obviously don't. But I still want to, at least, make your birthday special. Please let me do that."

  "It will be special as long as you spend it with me."

  "Okay, we can do that. I will even buy you chocolate."

  She giggles. "Yeah, I'd love that."

  ***

  It's exactly midnight, so it's Ari's birthday. I pick up the phone and call her.

  "Hello? Is everything okay?" She asks with a groggy voice.

  Laughing I say, "Everything is okay. I just wanted to be the first one to wish you a happy birthday."

  "You are so goofy. You couldn't wait when I was awake to do that."

  "You're awake now, so happy sweet sixteenth pretty girl. I hope we have a hundred more birthdays together."

  She whispers, "Yeah, me too."

  "Good morning baby, I'll see you in a few hours.”

  "You will?''

  I smile, ''Yeah, I'm taking you out for breakfast."

  "Okay, breakfast it is!"

  ***

  At around 8:30 I pull up in front of the house. As I am walking towards the door, it flies open, and out walks Rachel's dad, Dr. Johnson. I swallow hard because I don't think he likes me much since the whole incident with Rachel.

  "Good morning Dr. Johnson."

  ''Good morning Skylar. May I have a quick word with you before you take Ari out?" He says stoically.

  Nervously I say, "Okay …"

  "I want you to understand something. My wife and I always suspected that you were interested in Ari and not Rachel. Even though we didn't want our daughter to be hurt, we knew this relationship with Ari was inevitable. With that said, Ari is also my daughter. So if you hurt her or try anything funny with her today or any other day, remember that I’m a doctor. There are ways I can inflict pain on you that you couldn't even imagine. Got it?" He says all this with a devious smile on his face.

  I swallow the lump in my throat and quickly respond. "Yes, sir."

  With a menacing smile, he says, "Okay. Now take care of our girl."

  He walks me inside the house and yells for Ari to come down. When she comes down the stairs, I see she’s wearing a beautiful sundress and a sweater for the December weather. She walks up to Dr. Johnson and kisses him on the cheek.

  "Enjoy your day princess."

  She beams at him. "I will thanks. See you later."

  "Goodbye, Dr. Johnson." I say hesitantly.

  "Goodbye Skylar, bring my girl back home just as you picked her up, and remember what I said."

  With a lump in my throat I say, "Yes sir." I manage to croak out.

  As we make it outside to the car Ari looks at me quizzically. I shake my head and say, “Don’t ask Ari."

  "Okay … So what are we doing today?"

  "Aren't you a saint today? You have such patience." I say with a laugh.

  She grins at me. "I don't need patience, today is my birthday.”

  "That's right, I almost forgot." I deadpan.

  "Funny … So where are we going?"

  "We are going for breakfast first, and then I have a fun filled activity day planned out for us."

  "Okay, let's do it."

  The day is filled with activity upon activities. After we leave the diner for breakfast, I take her to the amusement park and we go on all of the rides. After the amusement park, we go to the boardwalk and eat a little of everything. I make sure to buy her chocolate as promised. When we leave the boardwalk, I take her to play mini golf. She's so competitive it's not even funny. She slaughters me, and I didn't even purposefully let her win. After the game, we are both tired and hungry. So I decide to take her to the seafood restaurant near the beach where I first met her. After dinner, I ask her to take a walk on the beach with me so I can give her real gift to her. The sun has set so the backdrop for the walk is kind of romantic. I spot the bonfire I had asked Abel to setup for us.

  "Someone just left a bonfire lit without anyone here, that's not safe."

  "No, I had Abel build it for us. I sent him a text to let him know we were headed this way so he could leave."

  In awe she says, “Wow, that's really sweet of you. Thanks, babe this was an awesome birthday."

  "Well, it's not over yet."

  Surprised she asks, "It's not?"

  "Nope. I haven't given you your gift yet."

  "I thought today was my gift?" She asks confused.

  "Nope—there's more." I pull the box out of my jacket pocket.

  She eyes the box as if it’s about to explode. "What's in there?"

  "Open it." I say with a smile.

  "Okay …"

  As soon as she opens the box her breath hitches and her eyes water. It's a white gold charm bracelet. I see her eye it and touch it delicately inside the box. There are only a few charms on it so far, but I plan to change that.

  Nervously I ask, "Do you like it?"

  She smiles widely. "Like it? I love it!”

  I smile and I begin to explain why each charm is on the bracelet. "The music note is there because from the first day I saw you it's rare that you don't have on headphones listening to music. The candy bar is there to represent your love of everything chocolate. The key … the key is there because you carry the key to my heart, Ari. You own me. You are it for me. The locket I put on it so that you can place in it a picture of your parents. The flames are there because every time I see a bonfire or even fire, I remember the night I met you. I remember the connection that I felt. I remember it being so strong it felt like it had a life of its own."

  With tears shining in her eyes she whispers, "Wow. Now I love it even more."

  "We'll fill it up in time. I won't wait until your birthday or a special event to fill it up. Bec
ause every day I spend with you is special. You are my once in a lifetime love Ari." I whisper.

  She gets up and sits on my lap, and rests her head on my chest as tears run down her face. This time I kiss every tear away because she's mine, and she will forever be mine.

  ***

  It's Christmas Eve and it has been a little over a week since Ari's birthday. I wanted to spend the day with her because she won't be able to spend Christmas day with me. So we decided to hang out at the diner for lunch.

  "What are you getting?"

  "I'm not hungry. I'll go straight for desert." She says with grin.

  I laugh. "Why am I not surprised?"

  "Because you know me very well …"

  "That could be it. Or you're a chocoholic."

  She shrugs. "Ugh. You're just a hater."

  "I can never hate you … That's impossible."

  She looks down at the table. "Don't say things you don't mean Sky."

  I take my hand and raise her chin to make her look up at me. "Why do you say that? You do you know how I feel about you."

  She looks away from me. Something’s not right.

  "It's nothing. Forget I said anything. Please." She says with a forced smile.

  I shelve it away for another time, but I don't like the feeling I'm getting. So I smile and try my best to enjoy our lunch. But, I have a strange feeling she has something brewing in her head. Once it starts, it's hard to get it out. Whatever it is, I'm hoping she doesn't use it as a way to try to tear us apart. Because I won't let it happen. I won't!

  Chapter Twelve

  Jealous

  Arianna

  Christmas break is over, so that means it's the beginning of the soccer season. That also means Sky's days are extremely busy, and I see less and less of him. I know he loves me, but I've been depressed thinking of the future. He's a senior; he has scouts coming to watch him play. He's going to leave for college soon. And I don't think our relationship is strong enough yet to endure the distance. Even now, the female population at school is starting to get a little too interested in him for my liking.

  It's Friday night and I'm sitting at his game worried out of my mind. Instead of enjoying watching him play. I sigh and do my best to try to focus on him playing.