The next morning, I rose with the sun and shuffled into the kitchen. My dad was pouring ice into a cooler, and my mom was making sandwiches in assembly-line fashion. Brad, however, looked like a statue as he cradled his head in his hands at the kitchen table.
I plopped down across the table from him and poured some wheat crunchies into a bowl. My eyes remained on our backyard, watching the sun glisten like a diamond through the trees as Rob and his father emerged from the woods and into our kitchen.
Mr. Callahan helped my parents pack the car, and Rob joined me at the kitchen table. He wore his Red Sox cap backwards, and his auburn hair curled up at the ends. He hung an arm around my shoulder and whispered, “Good morning, Beautiful.” His lips stayed close to me, softly sucking on my ear lobe, since he discovered it had an exceedingly titillating effect on me.
Meanwhile, Brad remained at the table, his head in his hands as he ate his cereal. I slid my hand up Rob’s thigh, finding the soft place where his hair thinned out and his skin felt the smoothest. I wriggled my fingers there until he emitted a low chuckle. It was his coveted ticklish spot. In return, Rob slid his hand down my back, his fingers inching toward my butt. He gave it a playful squeeze, and I giggled back.
“I’m glad we don’t have a glass table,” Brad announced without moving an inch.
“I know,” my mother said as she reentered the kitchen. Rob and I put a little distance between us, and my mom sat down at the head of the table with her cup of coffee. “Your father and I had a glass tabletop when we first got married, but we had to get rid of it because you—” She singled me out with her icy blue eyes. “Kept running into it.”
“That explains a lot,” Brad said, bringing his bowl to his lips and slurping up the milk.
“Bradley,” my mother scolded. He just shrugged and walked over to the sink, and my mother took another sip of coffee. “Maybe we should see if they need our help out there.”
They left us alone at the table, and Rob rested his hand on top of mine. “I’ll give you a call before I go to bed tonight.”
“Okay,” I said.
He leaned in and kissed me tenderly on the mouth.
I pushed out my lower lip. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “It’ll be too late.”
“Not ’til Monday then?”
He nodded. “Remember, good things come to those who wait.” He lifted me off the seat and pulled me into a corner of the kitchen. He put his hands on my face and placed his warm lips on mine. Then he kissed me, really kissed me, and I felt a sudden surge of pleasure in my secret place. And even though our kiss only lasted a few minutes, it was long enough to take me someplace else, a place where only he mattered, and I could stay in his arms forever. In other words, heaven on earth.
“It’s time to go,” he said sadly and led me out of the house. He leaned against the side of my dad’s SUV, which was all packed with gear and had four bikes hanging off the back. I gave him a tight squeeze, and into the crook of his neck, I muttered, “I’m going to miss you so much.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
My lips fell against his neck, feeling the warmth of his skin. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Brad popped open a back window and stuck out his head. “Hey, he’s not leaving for college for another two months.” At the thought, I whimpered and held him tighter, but Rob reminded me softly, “I’ll only be gone for two days.”
“Which is only forty-eight hours.”
“Or 2,880 minutes,” he calculated.
I stepped out of the hug and spread my hands to the side, and he smiled. “Or 172,800 seconds.” He smacked one last kiss before he got in, and I stood in the driveway for a few more minutes, watching as they rolled slowly down the driveway—and completely out of sight.
-25-
Trouble
I walked back inside and rubbed my hands together. The house was all mine. I blasted the music from the surround sound speakers and headed into the kitchen. Once there, I opened both doors of the fridge, peering inside for a really long time before deciding on some chocolate chip cookies out of the cookie jar. I washed them down with some milk. No cup though. I drank right out of the jug, swiping the milk moustache off with the back of my hand—something I had seen my brother do, but had never actually tried myself.
Back in the family room, I plopped down on the couch and rested my feet on the table. I clicked on the television and noticed the time. It was only nine thirty. I wondered what Rob was doing and if he was thinking about me. I thought about him, slowly undressing him down to those stretchy, grey boxers and wasting a good hour with some varying scenarios on how to get there and what to do when we arrived.
But thinking about him made me ache inside. I heaved out a heavy sigh and rose from the couch. “Next year’s gonna’ suck,” I grumbled and headed upstairs. Once there, I took a quick shower and packed my overnight bag, arriving at Courtney’s door an hour later. She and I headed out to the pool, and soon, Callie and Caitlyn joined us. The four of us lay on chaise lounges under a hot summer sun.
Callie turned to Courtney, “When are you heading back to the beach?”
“Sometime tomorrow, because I’ve made some new friends this summer.” She winked. We knew Courtney was fond of summer flings because they always ended before the monotony set in, and she had given up on Mr. Martinez after he accepted a permanent teaching position at Riverside. She took a sip of water and continued on, “But there’s always an open invitation for all of you. Come whenever you want.” She looked over at Callie. “How long are you going to be at basketball camp?”
“Four weeks.”
“That’s a long time to go without Mike,” Caitlyn chimed in.
“I’ll be home every weekend,” Callie returned.
I looked over at Caitlyn. “Are you still going to Hilton Head with Brandon’s family?”
“Yeah.” Caitlyn looked over at me, and her eyes fell briefly to the ring on my hand. “What about you? Any big plans that we should know about?”
“No,” I returned sharply.
Later when the sun started to fall behind the trees, we moved inside to shower, eat pizza, and put on a movie. Courtney made some strong frozen concoction. I had one, knowing I shouldn’t have, and after I finished my drink, I felt the alcohol working its way into my system.
My cell chirped next to me, and I answered, “Hiya’ sexy.”
“Have you been drinking?” Rob accused quickly.
“Just one.”
“Yeah, well, that’s all it takes.”
“Hey now.”
The girls made kissy sounds in the background, and I covered the phone, rushing into the bedroom at the back of the house. Since I arrived first, I got the best room, the guest bedroom with the adjoining pool bath.
“I’m alone now,” I informed him.
“Good.” He paused. “Listen, I wasn’t trying to lecture you—”
“Then don’t.” I was well aware of his stance on drinking. He came from a household that had wine with dinner and beer at family events, but he never drank when he was out with friends. “And you’re not my father, by the way.”
“Speaking of fathers, do you want to talk to yours?”
“No.”
I heard him take a deep breath. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” I returned.
“And I can’t wait to see you.”
“Monday’s too long, Rob.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We should meet up at the tree house when you get back.”
“And do what?”
“You know what.”
“Okay.” He cackled in an adorably sinister fashion. “Twist my arm.”
“Call me when you get home.”
A fist pounded on the door and was followed by Courtney’s voice. “Are you two having phone sex?”
“What did she just say?” he asked.
I was surprised at the audit
ory capabilities of my cell phone. “She said ‘Are you two done yet?’”
“Done?” he parroted. “I haven’t even started.”
“Now, stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Argh.”
He chirped me a kiss. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
“Goodnight, Chloe.”
“’Night, Rob.”
“And?”
“Yeah.”
“Sweet dreams.”
****