Second Chances (111 page)

“This,” he said somberly.

“What?”  Her face reflected her doubt.

“This, you and me apart, this is what he would gain.”  She scowled, but Brian continued with his explanation.  “I’m not jealous.  I’m not irrational.  Look at the facts.  He wants you.  You must see that.  He is not used to rejection and he is definitely used to getting his own way.” 

Sarah sat up.  “He wants me.  I’ll give you that, but I don’t see him as the sinister character you would portray him to be.”

“I hope I’m wrong, Sarah,” Brian said earnestly.  He moved to kneel at her feet.  He laid his head in her lap.  “Let’s not fight.  We aren’t going to solve this tonight.”

Unconsciously she had begun to stroke his head.  She grabbed his ears in each hand and turned his head to face her.  “Come to bed,” she whispered.

They quickly stripped down to their underwear and slipped beneath the covers.  Sarah rolled onto her side and Brian curled around her. 
This isn’t at all how I imagined tonight,
she thought sadly.

But this is absolutely how I imagined tonight ending,
Brian replied.  And with that they fell asleep with smiles playing at the sides of their lips.

The morning arrived far too quickly for either of them.  They had lain awake on their sides facing each other for an hour with the arms used to prop them up interlocked.  With his free hand, Brian roamed up and down her side, giving Sarah chills.  He paused occasionally, circling her stomach.  She would freeze momentarily then, unable to
breathe, afraid of how he would respond to her body.  Somehow it was different now.  She was self-conscious in ways she had never dreamed, aware of every minor imperfection.  In her mind she imagined her minute stretch marks to feel like small canyons that his fingers dipped into as he ran them over her abdomen.

He smirked as they kissed and he felt her tense.  “You’re perfect just the way you are,” he murmured against her lips.  “I wouldn’t want you to change anything about you.”

The words warmed Sarah as no others had before.  He loved her, this much she knew, but she was perfect as is, with all her foibles and physical shortcomings?  That, she’d never heard before.  Had those words been spoken by Josh, she would have doubted their veracity.  But Brian had never lied to her, never hurt her, never sugar coated even the most painful truth.  She trusted him implicitly.  She could freely love him with all her heart.

And then the reverie ended.  The phone on the bedside table rang, announcing their wakeup call.    Brian answered it then hung up, silently, never taking his eyes off Sarah. Still he made no indication that he would be getting up any time soon.  Reluctantly, Sarah pulled herself away, leaned over him and planted a kiss on the tip of his nose that made him wrinkle it in mock disgust, and threw back the covers as she attempted to propel herself from the bed.

“I love you,” he whispered, running his fingertips down her back.

Sarah leaned in to him.  “I could listen to that all day.”

“I could tell you all day,” he replied sincerely.

Forty-five minutes later they carried their overnight bags down to the lobby for the bus driver to load.  Most of the students were enjoying the breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant.  The professors wandered in to join them.  “What do you recommend?”  Brian asked the table of students jovially.

Evan glanced up, wiped his mouth, and smiled a calculating grin.  “If you really wanted to impress her you’d offer to buy everyone breakfast.”  He watched as Brian met his gaze.  “Oh, but you’re too late.  I’m already doing that.”

A chorus of ‘thank
you, Evan’ and the usual excitement greeted that announcement.  Sarah gave a fake smile. 
Keep your cool, Waite,
she reminded Brian while keeping a safe distance. 
Don’t let him get to you.

It’s just so silly,
he replied. 
I can’t believe he thinks this will work.

And Evan watched.  More than watched, he stared intently, still trying to discern their secret language.  He saw the looks that passed, looks that normally would be accompanied by words.  Yet they said nothing… aloud.

The group loaded the bus to visit Old Quebec City.  Charm abounded in the architecture.  They had a lovely walking tour along the cobbled streets.  They sampled new and tasty items sold at the cafes.  They lapped up every bit of culture they could despite the creeping temperatures.  By lunch time the humidity was positively oppressive and the only air conditioning could be found in the tour bus.  Reluctantly, the group boarded and headed for home.

“Well, classes are over,” Brian announced as they leaned back in the cloth seats.  “Now what?”

Sarah tilted her head to the side.  She hadn’t given it any thought.  She had been so busy living and killing time to reach these field trips that she hadn’t even pondered what they would do once the summer truly began for them.  Even Chloe was free now.  The world was their oyster.

“So, plans for the oyster?”  Brian queried with a smirk.

She giggled.  “No, but let’s do something, go somewhere…with an ocean!”  Her eyes took on a sparkly dream induced quality.

“Want to visit the family?”  Brian was eager to share the changes in their relationship with everyone he cared about.  She could be the one he spent forever with and he wanted to share her with those he loved, especially now that she knew who she was.  There would be no secrets, no walking on egg shells, nothing but joy this trip.

“Hm.  Tempting,” Sarah began, “but I don’t want to impose.  Your mother only passed a month and a half ago.  I’m sure your father is trying to get his life back to some state of normalcy.” 

He stared at her intently. 
Please, Sarah.  Let’s go have the vacation we need in a place we love.  Let’s go spend the holiday with my family.  The Fourth of July is always a blast. 
He tore his eyes away to glance around the bus.  No one seemed to be watching them.  He carefully reached over and caressed her hand. 

Sarah shivered.  “Ugh.  You win,” she sighed.  “We’ll go back to Myrtle Beach.”  It’s not as though she was really giving anything up.  It wasn’t as though it were some huge victory for Brian.  They both loved it there.  It was a home away from home for them, a place filled with friendship and love. 

“Good. We’ll leave on Sunday.”  He leaned back with a satisfied look on his face.

Evan wasn’t satisfied.  Their little jaunt to South Carolina was going to ruin everything.  He flipped open his phone.  “Change of plans,” he announced to the person on the end of the line.  He lowered his voice as he plotted a revision.  It wasn’t going to be easy, but the modified version was taking shape.  And the new plan would start today.

The teary goodbyes began as soon as they returned to campus.  The girls hugged everyone that stood still long enough.  They especially loved to hug Brian and Evan.  Evan soaked the first few hugs in, but then reminded himself that he needed to focus on his task at hand.  He worked his way through the crowd until he found himself next to her.  She had her back to him, but he didn’t mind.  It gave him an opportunity to study the wisps of hair on the back of her neck that didn’t make it into the clip, the tasty spot in the hollow of her collar bone that he looked forward to nibbling.  It was just a matter of time.