Authors: Dawn Stanton
"Hailey, what was that all about, back there?" He gestures towards the beach with his head.
"What do you mean?" I ask crossing my arms in front of me.
"Why did you freak out so much over Marcus drinking? It's not like he needs a ride home. He's perfectly capable of making the walk even if he's buzzed, so what's the real problem here?"
"I just think he's making some bad decisions tonight."
"What bad decisions? The decision to go to a party and have a few drinks or are we talking about the decision to do all of those things with Lexy?" My silence is all the answer he needs.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. I'd have to be an idiot not to have picked up on the mutual dislike fumes you guys were giving off. That and the STD reference were pretty good clues."
"Lexy is a trampy, mean girl who has gone out of her way to be a bitch to me since the first day we met. If I'm ever murdered or I disappear, she should be the prime suspect."
Erik throws his head back, laughing loudly at my dramatic reply.
"You think it's funny, but I am being totally serious. She is the town pump that all the boys go to when they want a sure thing. She's like a seven eleven...she's open 24 hours a day. Excuse me for caring about my bestie and not wanting him to stick his dick in the same contaminated well everyone else is."
"Stop. You're killing me here." Erik can't seem to stop laughing. "You are too funny Pretty Girl. Come on, let's go inside and get you a drink. I wouldn't mind eating something, it feels like we ate dinner ages ago."
Erik and I spend the rest of the night hanging out with Jake, Cory and two of their friends, Brian, and Tom. They both also went to Beacon University and now the four of them share a brownstone apartment in Boston. I've met them before, very briefly, but this is the first time I've ever had any real interaction with them. Brian is a middle school gym teacher and Tom is an IT guy like my brother. I can't remember if Cory is still in school or if he's an actual attorney now.
"Cory, are you still in law school or are you done?"
"I just finished law school and I am about to take the Bar Exam at the end of this month."
"Shouldn't you be studying your ass off? Isn't it crazy hard to pass? " I ask, wondering what he's doing on vacation instead of home reviewing for his exam.
"I have been studying a shit ton for months now, so this break will do me some good. When I go back home, I will resume my studying and I won't see the light again till I'm done with taking my exam."
"Well, good luck in case I forget to tell you."
"Thanks, I'll need all the luck I can get. “At this point, I turn to Erik feeling like he is being excluded from the conversation.
"Do you remember how I told you about my accident last summer? Well, Cory is the one who saved me. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be sitting here right now. “Erik leans over towards Cory with his hand extended.
"Dude, all I can say is thank you for saving my girl. I wish I had been there too."
"It was all in a day’s work." Cory jokes. It seems as if he has a tough time accepting compliments.
"If I had been on the beach at the time I would have saved you, Munchkin."
"Jake, let's be honest, you would have been too busy checking out the girls in their bikinis to even notice I was drowning." All the guys break out in laughter at the underlying truth in my reply.
***
I'm sitting on our front steps enjoying the cooler morning temperature while I wait for Erik to come back from his run. He asked me to go with him, but I didn't want to slow him down. He runs five miles full out and I prefer to jog at a very leisurely pace.
I'm texting Shelby, killing time so I don't notice Marcus till he sits down next to me.
"Hey, Hails."
"Hey." Followed by uncomfortable silence and me not looking up from my phone.
"Where did you guys disappear to last night?"
"We didn't disappear to anywhere. We came back here and hung out with Jake and his friends." More awkward silence ensues....
"Hails, why do I get the feeling you're angry with me?"
"It must be your guilty conscience nagging you."
"I'm not sure what you are referring to Hails."
"Slutbag Lexy has made my life hell for years and my best friend fucked around with her last night. Is that fucking clear enough for you?"
"I didn't fuck her Hails," He says and I interrupt before he can say another word.
"Spare me the disgusting details, Marcus. I thought you were my best friend and loyal to me. I thought I meant more than a trampy local but I can see I don't. You were too busy thinking with your dick. The thought of your mouth on any part of her whorish body completely grosses me out. If you let her anywhere near your dick, I hope you were smart enough to wrap it and I really hope your tongue wasn't anywhere near her dirty vag."
"Hailey, I didn’t do anything to her. She wanted to suck my dick, but I said no, so she jerked me off okay?"
"Gross! No, it's not okay."
"I don't get angry at you for messing around with Erik."
"That makes no sense at all Marcus. He is my boyfriend. She is just a whorish local who has gone out of her way to be a bitch to me for as long as I've known her. You shouldn't touch her out of respect for me. Remember me - your best friend?"
"Hailey, I think that maybe you're so upset because you're just jealous that I was with someone besides you."
Oh no, he didn't....
"Um, that would be a big fat no way. I didn't care when you told me you messed around with some cheerleader at a party. I wouldn't even be upset if you fooled around with someone else. I only care that you had to do it with Lexy."
At this point, I'm done talking about it so I stand up and turn without another word and walk inside my house. I close the door effectively ending any more conversation between us.
The next few days pass by quickly. Erik and I have spent most of each day on the beach. He's become really good at surfing and skim boarding. It's been wonderful spending all of our time together. I will miss him so much once he's gone. His family has invited me to go to Martha's Vineyard with them for a week but that isn't until the first week of August, so in the meantime, we'll still have three weeks apart.
I haven't spoken with Marcus since the other day when we had it out, over what happened with him and Lexy. He sent me a couple of texts, but I just deleted them. I'm hoping we will patch things up at some point, but right now I am just focusing on having fun with Erik. He's gone for a run now and I'm in my room getting ready to go out to dinner with him. I've already showered and dried my hair, but I can't figure out what I want to wear. I want to look pretty for him, but I want to be comfortable at the same time. I'm standing in front of my closet contemplating my clothing options and I hear a knock on my bedroom door? I open it to find Cory standing there. I feel a bit self-conscious because I'm wearing tiny shorts and a white tank with no bra.
"Can I come in?" Cory asks.
"Yeah, sure." I open the door wide so he can pass through. I notice he has a large duffel bag in his hand which he places down on the rug, just inside in my room.
"I just wanted to say goodbye to you before I leave. I didn't get to hang out with you much this week."
"So are you heading to Maine or back to Boston?"
"I'm going to Maine for a few days. I have some friends there." Yeah, I heard all about his “friends.”
"How come you don't have a girlfriend Cory?" I blurt out.
"I haven't really had time for one. I haven't really wanted one either. Being in a relationship takes a lot of work. It's difficult to find someone worth all that effort."
"I guess I'm lucky I have Erik. I think being with him is worth the work."
"Hailey, he's the lucky one. Girls like you are few and far between. If you were a few years older, I'd steal you for my own." He pauses for a moment as if lost in thought.
"Do you remember your birthday kiss?" He softly asks. I nod my head, looking up into his warm whiskey colored eyes.
"Do you ever think about it? What it felt like when our lips touched for the first time?"
"Yes Cory" I whisper.
"I love the way you say my name. It makes me wish for all kinds of things...things that can never happen."
He caresses my cheek with his fingers before softly running his index finger over my lips.
"Behave yourself until I see you again." He pulls me in for a brief hug before picking up his bag and walking out of my room, without looking back. I stand there, frozen in place, thinking about what just transpired.
Holy hell. Could he actually have feelings for me too?
***
Erik and I ended up going out for Chinese food. It's a good thing I decided to wear my blue baby doll dress and not my skinny jeans because I ate entirely too much. After dinner, we went to play some mini golf and since this was the first time we ever did this together I think Erik was shocked by how competitive I can get.
Hey, what can I say? This girl likes to win.
There have been times when Marcus and I have played that I have actually raged and thrown my golf club at him. At least I didn't do that this time but that has more to do with the fact that I beat Erik by four strokes.
"You owe me some strokes later to make up for my loss." Erik jokes as we're about to get in his truck. We both laugh at his bad attempt at humor. He boosts me up into his truck so I'm sitting with both legs dangling out the door. He moves between my legs, placing both palms on my bare thighs. His hands are warm as they move up my legs, creeping higher and higher, making me hold my breath in anticipation of where he's going with this. He palms my inner thigh with one hand and with the other, teasingly slides his thumb up and down my core, over my panties.
"Erik, someone might see us." I barely get the words out before his mouth meets mine with a brief biting kiss.
"I'm sorry. I lose all reason around you. Let's head back to your house and we can see what's going on.
We decide to stop for ice cream at The Big Scoop, which has some of the best ice cream you will ever taste. I choose a small cone of cookie dough, my absolute favorite flavor and Erik gets a large chocolate cone. No surprise there, with the large size of his appetite. We enjoy our cones while walking around the quaint town center.
"Hailey, I've been having so much fun with you this week. I’ve really enjoyed every moment we've spent together. What I'm trying to say is that I'm glad you're my girlfriend. I'm a lucky guy."
My thoughts flashback to my conversation with Cory earlier today when he said that Erik was the lucky one. I don't want to be thinking about Cory now, not when I'm with Erik. He deserves better than that.
"I feel the same, Erik."
"So you're glad I'm your girlfriend?" He deadpans.
"Ha-ha! No silly, I'm saying that being your girlfriend makes me happy."
"Happy enough to let me have the last bite of your cone?" He looks at me hopefully.
"Hmm, I'm starting to see where the expression the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, came from." I take another tiny bite, teasing him before holding it up to his mouth.
He leans forward and takes it between his teeth pulling it out of my hold before chewing it up and swallowing.
"Mmm, thank you Pretty Girl, that was good. Now that your ice cream is gone give me your sweet lips."
***
It's after midnight and I'm lying in my bed feeling sad about the fact that Erik is leaving in the morning. This past week with him here has flown by and we've had so much fun together. I feel closer to him than ever and I don't want him to go home. I'm going to miss him so much. I reach over to my nightstand and grab my cell phone to send him a text.
Are you awake?
Yes, PG
I smile at his abbreviation for pretty girl. He's even sweet in his texts.
Come to my room for a sleepover?
I bite my lip in anticipation of what his answer will be and wait for him to reply.
Hell yeah!
I guess he’s happy I asked. I’m looking forward to spending the night in his arms. We’ve never been able to sleep in the same bed before.
Shh. be quiet.
I will be in deep shit if my parents realize what’s going on. It would be difficult to explain away what he’s doing in my room. A minute later my door slowly opens and Erik stealthily sneaks in. He soundlessly closes the door and walks over to my bed. I pull the covers back for him and he climbs in and lays down beside me so we are facing one another.
"Hi," he whispers and I can just make out his lips smiling from the glow of the streetlight reflecting through my window.
"Hi back." He smiles at my reply before moving closer to me so our legs are tangled together. I reach up and caress his cheek.
"I'm going to miss you so much E. I wish you could stay for the rest of the summer." At this point, I feel my eyes welling up with tears.