Authors: Holly Hood
I he
ld back the twinge of annoyance, a
nnoyance because some random guy could bring my best friend all the way across the
United States
, but
never did she consider doing
this for me.
“That’s great, Karsen. I’m really happy for the two of you.” I
hugged her
tightly. She
squealed excitedly. Those squeals
she always let loose whenever she was stoked about
something
.
She let me go and studied me closely. “How are things with Slade?”
I shrugged. “Good
,
I suppose.” I really didn’t know. Our time together
consisted of
glorious
make out sessions,
and that was about it. “If hot sex is anything to compare it
to,
then
it’s
phenomenal.
However,
I hate to think that is all our
relationship consists
of.” I took a seat on my bed.
“Sex is important.
Even so,
you have to be able to connect on another level. I can talk to Kidd about nothing and everything.
We are good
together. He
is good, but when we are together he is
so
much better
than
that.” Her sweet smiled made me envious
, even when her words made no sense
.
Karsen and Kidd were on a whole different level then Slade and I. Ours was physical. I hardly counted endless talk about music and sexual teasing on the phone for months a connection.
“Kidd understands me.” Karsen quickly slipped on a
yellow sun
dress. “
I can be me when I am with him,
he likes me just the way that I am.”
I plucked a stray string from my comforter. “Slade doesn’t even know who I am.”
Karsen bit her
lip. She
sat down beside me on the bed and wrapped
an
arm around me. “Sometimes these things take time.”
I sighed. “I was away for an entire school year. He never came and visited. What do we really have in common? What does he even like about me?” Not that I would know because he never said much when it came to my inner beauty.
We both jumped as Slade snaked through my window
ending our discussion about him
.
“Slade
,
so nice to see you again,” Karsen said going on the defensive like usual. Slade nodded and looked at me.
“Do you have something to drink?” He asked without a hello.
I
nodded. He
left the room.
“Men are like
nuts. Some
have a hard outer shell that takes a few good whacks to break through,” Karsen told me as if she was a professional relationship guru now.
“Whacks?
What does that help?” I asked
her. She
rifled through her gym bag snagging a pair of lacy panties, she wagged her eyebrows at me and hid them behind her back when Slade reappeared.
“What happened in there?” he asked holding up a large shard of
glass. He
tossed it in my wastebasket
.
Karsen sucked in a sharp breath
struck with an idea
. “Hope was angry.”
I shot Karsen an aggravated look. What was she trying to
prove?
Slade took a seat beside me on the bed a tall glass of water in his hand.
“Angry huh?”
We both nodded. I wasn’t sure why I was nodding.
“About the bonfire you never told her
about
.” Karsen rambled. And coming from Karsen you would never know if it were the truth or a lie.
Slade sighed. “Kidd told me on the way home. I didn’t think it was anything that couldn’t wait until right now.”
Karsen zipped her bag and slid it into my closet. “I’ll leave the two of you alone.”
She quickly left me with the mess she created.
“That’s fine,” I said trying to blow
it
off. I didn’t want Slade thinking I was some loose cannon that shattered mirrors because I wasn’t invited to a dumb bonfire.
He lifted my hands, studying them closely.
“What are you doing?” I asked, pulling away.
“Checking for cuts,” he said, taking my hands
back. He
placed a soft kiss on my knuckles making my heart flutter.
“Seeing you broke the mirror in your violent rage.”
I dropped my gaze embarrassed to look at him. “She was lying.”
“Why?” He stroked my hand waiting for me to answer. “Why would she say something like that?”
“
You
know. I
don’t really know. But I did shatter the mirror
just not out of
anger, with
magic."
Slade scratched his chin perplexed. “Why are you shattering mirrors?”
“It was accidental. I was trying to clear the
fog. I
had just showered.” I threw my hand up dismissing my stupidity.
“
I told you to be careful with that
,” Slade said sternly. “I told you a long time ago we
didn't
just
run around
casting spells
. And before you say I did with the ink and the bathing suits and underwear, I want to remind you
that
I know what I am
doing,
and you don’t.”
“What fun is it if you don’t use it?” I joked
,
trying to lighten the mood.
Except
the look on his face told me he didn’t think it was funny.
“If you don’t b
elieve me talk to Lucy
sometime.
We
don’t abuse our power because our power comes from
somewhere
dark. And
when
you understand that you will see why you should steer clear of it.” Slade stood up. “I came here to invite you to the bonfire.”
I pursed my lips. So much for an invite, it was more a statement. “Okay, invite me.”
He crossed his arms
,
standing in the doorway. “That’s what I just did.”
“No, you said you came here to invite me.
But,
you never invited me.” I smirked.
Slade’s eyes locked on mine. I swallowed. “Is there something you
want to say
?”
I hesitated for a moment.
“I wonder if you like me. If
you’re
really into this…situation
…
as much as I am.” I looked away embarrassed.
Slade sat down beside me. His fingers stroked my arm. “Why
do you doubt
that now?”
“Because you don’t say anything to make me believe otherwise.”
He ran his fingertips across my cheek, watching intently. I wanted to hear him tell me he liked me, loved me even. He said it once, was it so much to ask for him to say it again?
“Would you like to go
to the bonfire with me, Hope?” A
small sign of a smirk showed on his lips. He trailed his tongue along the metal of his lip ring.
“
Yes,
” I said letting out a sigh. “I’d love to go hang with you and just have some fun nothing more.”
“Then that’s what we will do. I’ll pick you up in an hour.” He kissed my cheek.
“See you then,” I said, he left.
***
I cleaned up the dinner dishes. It had been the first time I had seen my brothers and dad all at the same time.
And
I didn’t
let the moment slip away.
I made a big pot of chicken and dumplings to show them how much I missed them all.
And after scarfing down the entire pot between the three of them, Elliot and Easton left to a friend’s house for the
night,
and Dad went to Lynette’s to watch movies. I was alone—like usual anymore in
our
house.
I tossed the last of the silverware into the water and just in time because Slade was coming to the door along with Karsen and Kidd. He was dressed in his usual black shorts and shirt, aviators shielding his eyes from view. Why he needed them in the dark I had no
idea?
“Are we ready to have some fun?” Karsen said
,
clapping her hands together like some cheerleader.
She twirled around in her light yellow dress acting like a goof.
“Yeah, what’s better
than
fun?” I asked. I collected my sandals and purse. Slade stopped me.
“No purse, just bring yourself.” He pointed out. I shrugged, pocketing my
lip gloss
and house key in my
shorts. I
tossed my purse on the counter
.
“
H
ey
,
Slade
,
why don’t you ditch the shades, only druggies and
celebrities'
sport sunglasses at night,
” Karsen said, making Kidd laugh.
Kidd kissed Karsen’s cheek
,
amused
by
her teasing.
“I wear my sunglasses at
night,
so I can…
so I can
,
” Kidd
sang. Slade
tugged the
sunglasses
from his eyes and chucked them at Kidd’s
head. Kidd
picked them up and pocketed them
.
“I wear
them
because I hate fires,” Slade said. “It irritates my eyes.”
We all laughed at him and headed to the beach.
Finally,
I was having
fun
, on
our own personal blanket
and
snuggling by a giant fire. The moon shining against the water, the familiar sound of waves crashing in front of us, it was perfect.
Slade rubbed his nose against my ear making me smile. “Are you having fun?”
“Oh yes.” I
kissed
his neck. “This is fun.”
We watched Karsen and Kidd roasting marshmallows and laughing together at some inside joke. Kidd knew how to make Karsen giggle that was for
sure. It
was cute
.
Slade poked my side. “Do you want to roast a marshmallow?”
I immediately shook my head at the thought of it. After the ordeal years before I never wanted to be around a marshmallow again.
“I don’t like marshmallows.”
“Who doesn’t like marshmallows?” Slade laughed. He wrapped his arms tightly around me
forgetting about the marshmallow
. I fit perfectly between his legs.
Oz plopped down beside us with his guitar. “Let’s hear something.”
He begged Slade.
I twisted around to get a look at Slade. I loved to hear him sing.
“Do it for your girl,” Oz pushed. Slade sighed.
“What does
my
girl want to hear?” he asked.
My heart skipped a beat
at his
words. He
had called me
his
. Oz smiled at me.
“Do you know,
Dear God
?”
I asked.
It was o
ne of my favorite songs by one of my
beloved
bands, him singing such a song
would be
heaven. I
was sure of it.
“
Yeah he knows it,
” Oz said,
plucking
the strings and making the song materialize out of thin air.
Slade’s
intense
vocals slipped into my skin, his voice so strong I could feel his intensity through my shirt as I sat with my back against his chest. He kept time to the
song by tapping my thigh with his thumb, a simple tap, but to my
skin,
it was glorious.
I mouthed the words totally into the moment. So was everyone else, Karsen and Kidd were now standing in front of us along with Erica and Audrey. I
was
disgusted to see such a pleased smile on her face as she
watched
him sing his heart out. He stopped
singing,
and everyone clapped.
“That was great,” Karsen said, offering him a kind word for once.