A couple days later
She woke up and did the same thing
she had done for the past two mornings.
She walked to her cell phone charger and flipped it open, being
disappointed when she saw she had no messages.
She wanted him to call her. She wanted
to hear from him again, but she didn’t want to call him and look
desperate. So she was going to wait, and
if by tonight she hadn’t heard from him, then she’d call him. The days had been
long and boring, though. All she was
able to think about was his incredible ability to kiss. Good God, the man must have invented kissing
he was so good at it. It made her feel
like a pool of mush on the floor when she thought of their day spent watching
that movie, talking about her relationships and most importantly, making
out. She felt she had really connected
with him, something she hadn’t done with someone in such a long time. And she couldn’t wait to connect with him
again.
She shuffled out her bedroom and
yawned as she made her way to the kitchen.
Before she got there she was hit with the yummy smell of grease. It smelled like bacon. She looked at the tall man standing in front
of the stove with just a pair of boxers and a white tee on and walked over to
him. She wrapped her arms around his
back and squeezed him tightly.
“Mornin’ sexy. You makin’ me breakfast?”
She giggled and poked him in the side.
He used his hip to butt her out of
the way. “You know it. Scrambled ok?”
“Perfect.” She leaned in to kiss his cheek and sauntered
over to the fridge, pulling out a cartoon of orange juice. “Where’s Alden?”
“Well, considering that it’s
Monday morning and it’s ten in the morning, he’s at work. I swear to God I don’t know how he does
it. I wouldn’t be able to survive
without a summer break.”
She reached for a glass from the
cabinet and poured herself some juice.
“But you put up with little bratty hellions for a good part of the
year.”
“Very true.” She leaned against the counter and watched
him use a spatula to move the bacon from the pan to a plate with a paper towel
on it to soak up the grease. He stirred
a bowl of already cracked eggs and then poured them into another frying pan.
“So what’s up chica? I haven’t really
talked with you lately.”
“Not much.”
He turned a little and stirred the
eggs in the pan, leaning his hip against the counter and looking at her. He grinned. “Heard about you having sex with
Justin Timberlake.”
“WHAT?! I didn’t have sex with him.”
“Not yet at least.” He winked at her and she felt her heart
flutter. Not because he winked at her,
Carlos was very attractive and the biggest flirt she knew but no, it was the
idea of having sex with Justin that got her all hot.
“Dammit I wish.” She sighed and looked down at her bare
feet. Her red toe nail polish was starting
to come off. She needed to do something
about that.
“Oh really?”
She glanced to see Carlos looking
at her a little shocked and she frantically tried to protect herself. She couldn’t have her brother’s boyfriend
telling him about her lust for Justin. “Don’t tell big brother! He might go cut the boys penis off.”
“Just be careful, ok?”
She groaned and grabbed up her
juice and sauntered to the kitchen table. “Ughhh. Would
you people shut up about being careful?
It’s Justin! I mean, this type of
opportunity doesn’t just fall in your lap.
And it did for me. That’s gotta mean something.
And it’s not like he comes over and whips his dick out. He’s genuinely nice.”
She sat down and watched his back
as he worked on their eggs. “I know,
“Ate, watched a movie and made
out…”
“Ok. You did that.
But girl...” He turned and stared
at her. His eyes were sincerely worried
for her and even though it pissed her off he was acting like her brother she
couldn’t get too mad at him for caring.
“Didn’t you meet him at the doctors?”
“Lots of people go to shrinks!”
“I’m not telling you not to pursue
him. I’m just telling you be
careful. Walk, don’t run. Alright?”
“I know. It’s just so hard because dammit…he’s so
hot. And he really is a nice guy.”
He carried a plate of bacon and a
bowl of scrambled eggs over to the table and wiggled his dark eyebrows at her,
“Good kisser?”
She watched him as he walked back
into the kitchen area. “Oh Lord Carlos,
I might have a heart attack right here if you make me think about that.”
“That good, eh? Can I try?”
“Only if I can take
pictures.” She laughed and he brought
over two plates and two forks.
“You should invite him out
tonight.” He winked and walked back over
to grab an extra glass and the carton of oj she had left out.
“What?” She stared at him.
“We’re going out to eat tonight.”
“Where?”
“Chaya probably. The boy’s got a fascination with that place
because it’s on
She smiled. It was a great Asian restaurant near
“Come with us tonight, and bring
Justin.” He stuffed a forkful of egg
into his mouth.
“No!” She was shocked he would even ask her to
bring him out on a date…with them.
That’d be bad.
“Ok, then bring
She plucked a piece of bacon from the
plate and rolled her eyes. “Please don’t mention him.”
“Does he know about Justin?”
“No. I’m probably gonna break things off.”
“That’d be a good thing if you are
gonna go after Justin.”
She took a careful sip of her
orange juice. It burned her throat a
little and she hoped she wasn’t coming down with anything. What if Justin had given her a cold? She started to smile. It faded quickly when she realized how silly
she was being. She was excited about
getting a cold because it was from Justin Timberlake. She was really gonna have to stop with this
obsession if she wanted to get somewhere with him. She knew it would only hurt their
relationship, if they had one, in the future.
“I’d love to go with you all
tonight, but I just don’t know how big bro would deal with Justin and vice
versa.”
He reached over and grabbed her
hand that was by her plate holding on to her fork. “Is he a cool, nice
guy? Does he treat you well?
She looked him in the eyes and
said, “God yes.”
He let go of her hand and
shrugged. “Then bring him out. Look.
This is how your brother can get to know him. And I can get to know him. And then we, mainly he, can get off your back
about being careful.”
“I don’t know…” Her eyes moved
down to her plate half-full of eggs.
“What’d you got to lose? If we don’t like him, it’s not like you’ll
listen to us anyway.”
“Shut up.”
“Go call him.” He nodded over his
shoulder and then bit into a strip of bacon.
She glanced at the clock and
sighed. Her elbow rested on the table
and her hand propped up her head. The
truth was she didn’t want to call him and be rejected or maybe have another
girl answer or have him not remember her.
But that was impossible, right? He
hadn’t made her any promises but he had kissed her, and he had told her that he
liked her. “It’s kinda early.”
Carlos glanced at the clock as
well and started to chuckle, “It’s
“I’m nervous.” She pouted at him.
He was still laughing. “Do you want me to call him?”
“No, maybe I should wait.”
He reached for the bowl of eggs
again and scooped out a spoon full onto his plate. “I’d go ahead before he makes plans.”
She watched him eat for a moment
and finally sighed, picked up her plate and glass and carried it to the
sink. She said thanks to Carlos for
making her breakfast and shuffled back into her room. She stared at the dollar bill that she had
taped flat against her dresser beside her cell phone. She had already programmed his number into
her phone. She had even given him his
own special ring tone, but then realize she was being an obsessive freak and
gave him the same ring as everyone else.
It was funny. Yeah, she loved Nsync and always had fun
listening to their music. But she wasn’t
crazy. She didn’t go wait outside in
There was something about
him. She felt it. It was more than the super star image. She had to believe that or she knew she was
going to get hurt. He knew her, he
really knew her. He could read her so
well. She had never experienced that
with anyone before, let alone someone she just met.
“I should just do it…”
She picked up her phone, flipped
it open and stared at the fish swimming in the background of her phone. She could have gone through her phone book to
find his number but instead decided to type in the numbers. She dialed carefully and paused over the last
digit.
Her finger pressed down and she
slowly brought the phone to her ear. She
pushed her door closed and slid down it to sit in a tiny ball on the floor. She sat Indian style and her knees bobbed up
and down with anxiety.
It rang once, twice, another time
and another and right when she thought his voice mail would come on a groggy,
scratchy voice filled the line.
“‘ello…”
She closed her eyes and took a
deep breath. This wasn’t the time for
her to chicken out. She bit her lip and
kept her eyes closed asking, “Hey, uh…is Justin there?”
A small chuckle filled her ears
and his gravely voice was happy when he said, “Hey Darcy.”
“How’d you know it was me?”
“I have you programmed into my
phone. When I picked up it had your name
there.”
“Oh…ok.” She couldn’t help the smile that erupted onto
her face. She giggled a little, bent her
leg out in front of her and and looked
down at her foot, watching as she picked off some polish from her toes with her
thumbnail.
“How are you?” He yawned when he asked her and she realized
that maybe she was right and Carlos had been wrong. Maybe it was too early. He was a celebrity; he probably had been out
clubbing and partying the night before.
“I’m doing good. Did I wake you up?”
“No, I’m just lying around. I got up a little bit ago.”
“Oh ok.”
“I’m glad you called.” He laughed a little but she could hear the
nervousness behind it. “I was getting a
little scared that I might have ruined my chances with you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because ya know…” His voice lowered an octave and he whispered
over the line. “I kinda took advantage
of you.”
She twisted the material of her
tank up in her fist and rolled her eyes back in her head, trying not to groan
at the sound of his voice. It was
Justin’s voice after he woke up in the morning.
She wondered if that’s what he sounded like after sex. Her excitement took over and she exclaimed,
“No you didn’t! I liked it.”
“Really?” He asked breathless.
“Well I mean…” She giggled shyly
and softly replied, “Yeah…did you?”
“Yeah…” He was still breathless and she was curious
as to what had him so short of breath now.
Maybe it was the thought of them together, on the couch, kissing
furiously, grinding into one another.
She wondered what would have happened if her brother hadn’t come
in. She would never sleep with anyone
that quick, but she definitely would have done…something.
“So um…”She had to change the
subject. She was starting to get short
of breath herself. The thought of them,
together, doing…things, was enough to make her cross her legs and squeeze them
tightly. She couldn’t afford to be this
turned on just by a phone call. She
couldn’t afford him putting a restraining order on her for trying to rape
him.
She cleared her throat and the
first thing that came out of her mouth was,
“Ok, what are you up to tonight?”
“I don’t know, why? You wanna hang out?” He seemed very excited about the idea.
“Well, my brother and his
boyfriend are going out to eat and they’ve invited me…and you, to come along.”
“I’d love to.” He said
quickly.
“Really?” She was a little surprised by how eager he
sounded. It was so strange to her. She figured he’d be the suave, cool, I’m the
shit guy he seemed to be that first day, when he drove her home. But as time went on his excitement for her
seemed to peak through. Alden and Carlos
were worried about her. She knew they
probably thought he was using her for something, but why would he be so excited
about going out to eat? Especially since
it would be with her brother and his boyfriend and not alone. “I mean, I know my brother seems like a hard
ass, but I think if he gets to know you it’ll be cool.”
“Definitely. Where we going?”
“Chaya
Brasserie.”
“Awesome. I love that place!”
She giggled. He sounded so silly and boyish. “Me too.”
“So what time?”
“Uh hold on…” She pulled the phone down and turned around
on her knees, reaching to open her door and yelling out, “Carlos…what time
tonight?”
He was sitting at the table
reading the paper. He didn’t turn to
look at her but just said, “The sexiness will be begin
at seven, darling.”
She giggled and shut the door again. She walked over to the bed on her knees and
crawled up on it. Plopping down on her
back and bringing the phone back to her ear.
She pulled a lock of hair around and eyed it as she curled it around her
finger. “I’d say about seven. Do you wanna just meet us there? That way we can split up later if we want.”
“Awesome. I’m so glad we’re gonna get to hang out
again. I wanted to call you yesterday,
but I didn’t want to…” He paused,
cleared his throat and then commented, “Well I didn’t want to scare you.”
She giggled and turned on her
side. “You wouldn’t scare me.”
“I just don’t think you realize
how much I like you. I know we just met
but…”
“I’m not complaining Justin.” She looked down and used her elbows to
squeeze her boobs together and make cleavage indention creep out of the neck
line of her tank top. She laughed at
herself and said, “I just hope I don’t scare you away with my random
teenieness.”
“You’re not a teenie. And believe me; I don’t think there’s
anything you could do that would scare me away.”
“You don’t know me that well, do
you?” She laughed.
“Yes I do.”
“How?” She stopped laughing at his voice. He sounded too serious and so sure of
himself. It almost scared her. She didn’t know what it was, but he was
starting to creep her out just a little. Ok, so it wasn’t really creepy, but something
was off about him. She realized she
probably needed to get to know him better.
She hated trying to do that over the phone. A mental note was made to remember and get
him to open up that evening.
“I dunno…I mean, our convo the
other day. I just know you’re
different.”
“Right…” A feeling of awkwardness came over her and
she prayed it was just because they were talking on the phone. She hoped they didn’t have awkward moments in
person.
“Well, um…” His voice seemed
almost childlike over the line and she hoped she hadn’t messed things up. Especially when he said, “I guess I’ll go.”
“Ok…” She didn’t know what else to say.
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
And it was over. She couldn’t believe their conversation had
taken such a weird and not so bright turn.
She flipped her phone closed and laid it on her desk. Soon she found herself outside, sitting by
the kitchen table watching her brother’s boyfriend read the sports section of
the newspaper.
“So…” He said not looking at her.
“So I have a date tonight.”
The paper was smacked down on the
table and Carlos looked at her with bright eyes and a wide smile. “Ooo, I can’t WAIT to meet him.”
“I don’t know. He seemed weird on the phone.”
“What do you mean?”
“He just acts like he really knows
me.”
“Maybe he does,” he shrugged.
“Sometimes you can read people real quickly.”
Her eyes looked down at the
table. “I don’t know. I feel like I know nothing about him. Besides him being Justin freakin’ Timberlake.”
“Ask him.”
She rolled her eyes. “When…”
Her cell phone promptly rang and
Carlos winked at her and said, “Now?”
She began to smile and ran into
her room, grabbing the phone and saying into it, “Hello!”
“So you just gonna blow me off or
something?”
She frowned and said his
name. “
“Seriously Darcy.” He voice was like stone. She could tell he wasn’t happy. And he had every right to be pissed at
her. She had blown him off and she would
be just as mad if she were in his shoes.
“What the fuck?”
“Look, maybe we should talk.”
“Yeah, maybe you should tell me
where the fuck you’ve been.”
Yeah, he had every right to be
pissed at her, but she had every right to be a bitch to him. He treated her like shit and she was tired of
putting up with him. Whether her and
Justin worked out or not didn’t matter.
Even if she had never met Justin she knew that this point in her relationship,
or rather, this end, would have come.
She shook her head. “Ya know what
“Forget what?”
“Everything. Us.
I’m not happy. I don’t think you
are either.”
“Whatever.”
She scoffed a little and rolled
her eyes. “That’s all you’re gonna say?”
“Yeah. You were a waste anyway.”
She laughed at him. Now he was trying to bring her down because
she had just broken up with him. Men
were pathetic. She spoke to him in an
amused voice, “You weren’t so hot yourself.”
She heard a click, pulled the
phone away and saw that the call had ended.
She flipped the phone closed, once again, and put it on her desk. She scratched her head and slowly walked out
of her room and into the kitchen.
“You ok?”
She didn’t answer him at
first. She just walked straight to the
sliding doors of the balcony, behind the table and looked out towards
“I think me and
“You ok?” Carlos asked with
concern.
“Of course.” She smiled at him and walked
towards the den to watch TV. She swayed
her ass and looked over her shoulder to blow him a kiss. “I’ve got a date with three hot men tonight.”
-----------
He had been staring at her all
night. From the moment she stepped out
of the car and looked around to find him leaning against his Porsche, his eyes
were on her. They didn’t move. Even when he was introduced to Carlos and
when he shook her brother’s hand, they were exploring her. And when they walked into the entrance and he
came beside her and he pressed his hand into the small of her back causing her
to look up at him, those blue eyes were looking down into hers.
They had to wait for a moment in
the lobby of the restaurant. He had
leaned down and whispered, “Promise me you aren’t a dream.”
“What?” She had asked.
“Just, promise me that this isn’t
some huge dream I’m going to wake up from.”
She smiled in return and promised
him, but was a little shocked by how serious his voice was. She figured it was her red strapless
dress. Her brother had argued with her
when she came out of her room that she looked too sexy. She didn’t find it revealing, yeah it was a
little tight, but it wasn’t short. It
was bright red and was tight down her torso.
Below the waist it flowed around her with one end a little longer than
the other. Yeah, so she had put on black
stilettos and delicate jewelry. Yeah,
her hair was curly and wild, but she had pulled it back. And so what if she had put on smoky makeup,
that was in style. Carlos told her she
looked beautiful.
And by the way Justin was treating
her, she felt it.
She looked down at her lap for a
moment and to the side. She bit her lip
and tried to not giggle at the fact that their hands were clasped. He was so…sweet. She almost wanted to have him promise that he
wasn’t a dream as well. He looked
gorgeous in black slacks and a white button down shirt with his sleeve’s rolled
up. And he had been doing so good with
her brother. She could tell Carlos was
already in love with him. But her
brother seemed to be enjoying himself and he hadn’t grilled Justin too hard. Yeah, he had had a couple of snide remarks
and narrowed eyes but nothing too bad.
Things were definitely looking up.
She just couldn’t believe it was
all happening so perfect. She had been
worried that after their odd phone conversation, things would be weird between
them. But no, now he was acting as if,
well, as if they were dating. Were they
dating? They had made out, and now they
were on a date. Of course it was a date
with her brother and his boyfriend.
She was so surprised. He acted so normal about everything. Most of the guys she dated, whenever they
found out her brother was gay, they got all weirded out. But Justin, he didn’t seem to mind. Of course, she had barely seen him put his
attention on her brother or Carlos.
“Who wants the last lettuce wrap?”
She connected eyes with Carlos and
dropped Justin’s hand. “ME!” She exclaimed and reached forward to grab at
the plate.
“Fatty.” Her brother laughed at her.
“What can I say,” she
shrugged. “I’m a heifer. Anyone wanna share?” She glanced around the table, meeting smiles
and heads shaking nos. So she plucked
the last piece of lettuce from the appetizer plate picked up the spoon to make
herself a lettuce wrap.
After her first bite she looked up
and realized all three of them were staring at her. She swallowed her food and said, “Ok,
talk. I will not have you all staring at
me!”
“What do we talk about?” her
brother asked.
“I don’t know. You’re all boys. Sports or bikin-wait…” she paused and
laughed. “Or maybe just sports.”
Justin cleared his throat and
picked up his glass of wine. “How about
we talk about you?” She saw the smirk on
his face as he took a sip and eyed him playfully. She really didn’t want to discuss herself,
knowing her brother would bring up something embarrassing. He was getting on her nerves that night and hoped
he’d be a little less tense. Plus, she’d
rather hear more about Justin and get to know him better.
“How about we don’t? Tell ‘em about your
solo thing.”
“What solo thing?” Her brother
asked.
“I’m working on a solo record.”
Carlos nodded with a smile. “That’s cool.
Who you working with?”
“Not quite sure yet. I’ve got it in line to work with Alicia Keys.”
“Oooo.” He replied, looking at Darcy. She returned his interest. It was one thing she loved about her
brother’s boyfriend. While her brother
was a nerd, Carlos was cool as shit and was rather knowledgeable about all the
pop culture crap she was into.
“P. Diddy.”
She said to Carlos. “Oooo.”
“Brian McKight is gonna help me I
think…”
“Oh, he’s hot.”
“Timbaland.”
“What about Magoo?” Darcy laughed
and Carlos chimed in with her. She felt
a little squeeze on her side and looked to see that Justin was pinching her
lightly with a smile. He was flirting
wit her and dammit she wanted to lay him down on the table and do unholy things
to him.
“Who’s Magoo?” She started to laugh even harder.
“Oh he was that rapper dude with
Timbaland.” Carlos said to her brother. “I think he’s a preacher now.”
“No that’s Mase.” Now Justin was chuckling along with them.
Her brother seemed completely
clueless and just sat there running his finger along the base of his water
glass. “Oh…”
After they all calmed down from
their laughter and her brother had stopped pouting, Justin reached over and
grabbed her hand. She smiled and looked
at his profile as he looked across the table to Carlos and said, “And I’ll
definitely be doing something with the
“I met Chad Hugo at a club a month
or two ago.” Carlos replied.
“Who’s that?”
She giggled once again at her brother
who did not seem amused. It was pissing
her off that he was being such an ass now that he was all left out. He always did this with new guys that she
dated, but for some reason he seemed to have a stick up his ass about Justin
and she couldn’t wait to get him alone so she could tell him a thing or
two. “You’re such a dork. He’s part of the
“Oh my God, like totally.” He mocked her.
“Shut it.” She kicked him under
the table but before he could retaliate Carlos had jumped in.
“Children please!” He sighed and turned to Justin. “Sorry. Sometimes I have to mother them.”
It was quiet for a while and
Carlos said something to Alden. She took
this opportunity to turn and mouth “sorry” to Justin. She really hoped her brother’s attitude
wasn’t ruining their night. She couldn’t
wait to leave this place with him. She
wanted to ask him if she could. She
didn’t want to go back and be with her brother and him being all “mister rough
and tough and over protective.” She
wanted to go somewhere and be with Justin and talk with him and kiss him and
figure out this crazy thing that was happening between them.
She watched his eyes soften as
they looked at her and he dropped her hand, lifted his arm and wrapped it
around her shoulders. He leaned into her
and kissed her cheek and then her ear.
He whispered to her how beautiful she was and how he couldn’t wait to
spend more time with her.
“I can’t wait to kiss you.” He whispered and she began to blush.
She turned to him to say something
back but she got lost in the way his eyes were staring at her so strongly. His lips were full and she wanted to be with
him. He was looking so perfect that
night and acting it as well. She was
falling so hard for him.
"So Darcy,
how's
She was a little startled at her
brother’s voice and turned to look at him shocked. He looked upset, staring at Justin.
She blinked and managed, "I
wouldn’t know."
"Did he call you back from
this morning?" Carlos asked. She
narrowed her eyes a little at him, wondering why he seemed to be on her brother’s
side now.
She looked around the table. Justin was sitting there looking down. Carlos was looking at her waiting for her to
answer and her brother was throwing daggers at Justin.
"No he didn’t." She mumbled seeing where this was going and
wanting to back out of it but not knowing how.
She didn’t want to be in the middle of the argument that she knew was
about to explode, but she was in the
middle.
"What'd he have to say this
morning?" Her brother’s brown eyes bore into hers and he challenged her
with a smirk.
"We broke up,” she gritted
out.
Her brother glanced at Justin and
he chuckled. "How convenient"
She felt cheap, enraged and
disappointed. She couldn’t believe he
was embarrassing her like this. They had
a wonderful relationship but they fought sometimes, and she didn’t know why he
was deciding to be an asshole at this particular moment.
“I’m gonna go to the restroom.”
Her head shot to the left and she watched as her date stood up from the booth
and looked towards the floor. She could
tell he was embarrassed. His face was
flushed and he was frowning.
Dammit. She looked up at him and
he managed to pass her a smile. “I’ll be
back.”
Once he had walked away she turned
and growled out, “Dammit Alden.”
“What?” He acted like nothing was wrong.
She was infuriated. “Don’t you
fucking pull this shit.”
“Look,” he said and started to
talk with his hands. “I’m sorry but he’s
being a little too friendly with you for a first date.”
“What the hell?” she seethed.
“He’s touching you and holding
your hand and staring at you. It’s
making me uncomfortable.”
“Come on Alden, can you blame him?” Carlos said, “You’re sister is looking
fabulous tonight. I think he just really
likes her.”
“I just don’t know what kinda guy
he is. I would think when you go out
with the girl you like’s brother you’d be a little more reserved.” Alden sat
back in his seat and shrugged. She
couldn’t believe him. She couldn’t
believe he was acting like such a dick towards them and then pretended like it
was nothing. It had been a long, long
time since she had been this mad at her brother. She almost wished she was five so she could
tattle on him. But she was a woman now
and she didn’t have anyone to tattle to.
“He’s not doing anything
wrong.” She said in her defense.
“Yeah, like staring at your boobs
all night isn’t wrong.”
“Alden.” Carlos warned.
She watched as her brother gave his
boyfriend a look and spat out in a mean voice, “Stay out of this.”
She couldn’t help the grin that
came on her face when she saw that Carlos wasn’t going to put up with his
shit. “Look…” He started.
“No, look at me…” She watched Carlos grab her brother’s shoulder,
forcing him to face each other. He took
a deep breath and finally said in a low but calm voice, “Get off your fucking
high horse. I know you care about your
sister but you are being ridiculous. And
don’t you dare get an attitude with me.”
Her brother’s face softened and he
reached to hold on to Carlos’ hand that was still on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.
I just…I don’t like the guy.”
“You don’t know him.” Darcy said.
“And neither do you.”
She thought she was getting
somewhere but apparently not. She
growled and rolled her eyes. “What has
he done that is so horrible? Please tell
me. Ok, so he’s held my hand and kissed
my cheek. Big freakin’ deal. So he’s affectionate? So am I!
So are you two but I’m not all questioning it!” She slapped her hands down on the table and
leaned over a little bit. “I like him
Alden. I really do so please stop
messing this up for me.”
“He acts like he’s known you for
years. He’s way too comfortable with you
for only knowing you for a couple days.
That’s what I don’t like Darcy.
He thinks he can just come in and be all casual with you. I’m sorry!
You’re my sister and you deserve something a little better.”
“You’re nuts!” She laughed bitterly. “You know I’m so glad I’m only out here
another month and half. Maybe I’ll just
go home early.”
“Here we go again…” Carlos groaned.
“What?” They said in unison.
“I love both of you but I can not
stand it when you fight. 90% of the time
you guys are awesome together. What’s
with these random moments of hatred?
Especially when it comes to who you date.”
She folded her arms under her
chest and glared at her brother who was refusing to look at her now. “It’s because I get serious too fast, right
Alden? I sleep around too much,
right? It’s because I’m the slut sister,
isn’t it?”
His eyes cut to her sharply. “Darcella Vandura I’ve never said that so
don’t you put words in my mouth. Does it
upset me that you date assholes?
Yes. Does it upset me that you
trust them too easily? Yes. But I’ve never called you a slut.”
She threw her hands up and was
tempted to storm off. But she didn’t
know where she’d go. “You make me feel
that way! ‘Be careful Darcy. Take your time Darcy. Don’t rush like always Darcy.’ Oh and then there’s my favorite. ‘Wait, ok?
Don’t sleep with him yet, Darcy.
You’ve only known him for two weeks.’
That makes me feel just fucking perfect.”
“I never-” He started but soon was
interrupted by Carlos leaning forward and saying in a hushed tone. “I’d shut up
before you both embarrass yourselves.”
They straightened themselves and
soon she watched as Justin plopped down next to her with a heavy sigh.
“Hey.” She whispered. He looked upset. She hoped he hadn’t heard their
argument. She hoped he wasn’t ready to
bail because of her stupid brother. She
looked at his face. He looked upset and frustrated so she reached over and
grabbed his wrist. She said calmly,
trying to dip down to catch his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“They’ve found me.” He whispered.
“Who?”
He swallowed, looked up and
sighed. “The manager stopped me on my
way back and told me there are a couple guys outside.”
“Guys?” Carlos asked.
“Paparazzi.”
“Oh no.” Darcy whispered. The night was getting worse. She couldn’t believe this was happening to
them. She couldn’t believe her first
date with him was being ruined. She should
have just gone out with him alone. She
shouldn’t have agreed to go along with her brother. She should have known better.
“Don’t worry.” He smiled at her and patted her knee. “It
shouldn’t be that bad. Just, be prepared
for when we leave for a few bright lights to go off. I can leave before or after if you want me
to.”
“No, no. It’ll be ok.”
She forced a smile.
“Sorry man.” Her brother said. She looked up at him shocked. Her mouth dropped when she saw the sincerity
on his face. He really did annoy her
with his mood swings.
“Eh…I’m use to it.” He shrugged and turned to smile at her. “I just hate that they found me tonight.”
She sighed when her brother
decided to calm down and not be an asshole.
Luckily their meals came shortly after and they were able to marvel over
how delicious everything looked. Justin
had let her try some of hers and she had asked for another glass of wine. She figured if she wasn’t going to be driving
she should indulge. And since her
brother would probably be paying for hers she wanted to make him get pissed
about the bill. He never worried about
money but he could be very cheap at times, especially when he was in a bad
mood.
They weren’t half way done with
eating and talking about how good the food was when a man in a black suit came
up to the table with an apologetic look on his face. “Mr. Timberlake. I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m afraid it’s getting worse.”
“Dammit.” Justin sighed. “How many?”
“It looks to be about twenty. We’ve made them leave the property but
they’re across the street waiting.” She
watched as Justin rubbed his forehead.
He looked like he was in pain.
She felt bad for him and wanted to do something to help him. “I’m sorry about this. Is there anyone we can call for you? Or anything else we can do?”
“Actually yeah. Could you pack up my meal to go?” Her eyes widened and she looked towards her
brother and Carlos who were just sitting there clueless.
“Of course.” The man said, picking
up Justin’s plate. “I’ll be right back.”
They sat there in silence for a
moment and finally she got up the courage to ask, “To go?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry.
I…I think I should head on.” He
sighed and she felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. She felt nauseous and for some reason got
really scared. Was this it? Was this the end? Had she done something wrong? “If I don’t go now it’ll be crazy when we
leave and I don’t wanna put the restaurant or yall through that.”
“But…” She began to protest.
Her brother interrupted her. “Do what you need to do, man.”
“I’m sorry again. It was fun, really.”
He sounded forced and she wasn’t
about to let him disappear on her. He
was special to her. He was
different. He was the type of guy she had
dreamed about for as long as she could remember. She couldn’t let him walk away. “Please…”
She begged, grabbing his hand as he started to slide from the table.
He looked at her straight in the
eyes. His were deep blue and
glassy. He didn’t look like he was going
to cry but he didn’t look happy. He
squeezed her hand but didn’t smile. “I
gotta go Darcy. I’ll see ya, ok?”
And then he was gone. She watched him walk throw the restaurant,
weaving his way through tables. He was met
by the manager with a bag of food. They
began to talk and she couldn’t watch anymore.
She couldn’t watch him walk out of the doors and possibly out of her
life. She whipped her head around and
spat at her brother, “I hate you.”
He sat back innocently in his
chair. “What? I didn’t-”
“I hate you.” She crossed her arms over her stomach and
began to pout. She sank down against the
leather booth and looked away. Her eyes were watery and she knew that she might
cry. She tried not to be too girly, but this
was a big deal. It would have been one
thing if just the paparazzi were there, but it wasn’t just that. She felt like her brother had scared him off. Maybe she had scared him off. She thought he would have lightened up and
been a little nicer to Justin. But
instead he drilled him into the ground when there was nothing to drill him
with.
“What is your fucking
problem?” Her brother leaned over the
table.
She just looked at him as Carlos
pulled him back and said to him calmly.
“Hey, back off. Stop with the
protective act and be the comforting brother that I know you really are. Let’s just eat and then we’ll get back home,
ok?”
She looked down at her plate of
food. She pushed it forward. The last thing she wanted right now was
Chinese food, hell, any food. She felt
like she was going to puke. “I’m not
hungry.” She mumbled.
She didn’t know whether to be
angry at her brother or the photographers or just sad because Justin had to
leave. Maybe her brother was
right. Maybe this was the very thing he
was warning her about. Broken meals at
restaurants, random departures, frustration beyond belief. Maybe this was why he was telling her to be
careful. But she could handle it. Hell, she would have loved it if she had to
hold his hand as they ran out of the restaurant, jumped in his car and sped
away. Yes, it’d get annoying with people
following them and very old after a while, but at least she’d be with him. At least she wouldn’t be stuck in one of her
favorite restaurants with no appetite, her obnoxious brother and his gay lover.
It hit her and she suck in a deep
breath, holding back the tears. Her
brother had been right. She should have
been careful and took her time. But it
was too late now. She was disappointed
and upset.
And she had fallen for him, harder
than she ever had before.
-----------
It was an hour later. They had left the restaurant shortly after
Justin and she had even seen a few straggling photographers packing up their
stuff into their cars. She almost wanted
to go let them have it, give them a piece of her mind. But then questions would be raised about who
she was and she didn’t want her face on the cover of People. So she took it all out on her brother’s
behavior and refused to acknowledge him in the car. He didn’t seem to be in the
mood for talking either.
And when they got stuck in traffic
because of a wreck, she could see the lights flashing ahead, she started to
cry. Her night with him was ruined. Her brother had been a jerk, the paparazzi
had forced him to leave and yet he still was a gentleman. Yes, he left in a hurry but when her brother
asked for the check and waiter said it had already been paid for and that Mr.
Timberlake was “sincerely apologetic.”
It was like out of a movie. No one ever said the words ‘sincerely
apologetic’ in real life. It was like he
was trying too hard to cover up the fact that he hated her now. He hated her and her stupid brother. And she had just broken up with
Maybe she was reading into things
but she knew their meal at the Chaya was probably $100+ for all of them, and
him paying for them gave her the idea that he was buying her off, trying to
ease his departure with a cash total.
She thought he was different, she thought he really cared about her, but
once again, she had been wrong.
She sniffed and took in a loud
shaky breath. She looked out the window
as they finally passed the wreck and she watched someone hauled into an
ambulance on a stretcher.
“
Her brother’s voice was concerned but
she didn’t want to bother with him. He
had caused the night to be ruined. “I
don’t wanna talk to you.”
“I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me sis. I just…”
There was nothing he could say to make her feel better so she cut him
off.
“I know you hate the guy. Whatever.
I don’t care anymore.” She looked out over the pink and grey hazy
sky. The sun was about to be gone and
her day as well, her perfect day was going to be gone. But the truth was it was far from perfect,
just like her life.
“Yes you do.” He sighed.
She watched the scenery change
from the repetitive high way billboards and palm trees and sports cars to the
smaller scaled streets which were much the same. She saw the sign for
Her brother stopped to press a
code into the security gate and the bar lifted and they entered the parking
lot. They parked quickly and Darcy was
happy to be home, happy to be able to go lock herself in her room and cry. Maybe she’d get over him. Maybe she’d call up
“Don’t be upset Darcy.” She looked
up and saw that her brother was already getting out of the car and Carlos was
turned around in his seat and smiling at her in a comforting manner. “I don’t think the boy hates you. He had to leave because of the nut jobs out
side.”
She looked down at her hands in
her lap. She had even painted her nails
that night. She had gone all out and for
what? Nothing. Nothing but a strong reality check. “He hates me.
I know it.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” She looked up and saw Carlos getting out of
the car and looking across the parking lot a little bit with a smile. She then watched as he ran up to her brother,
grabbed his ass and then pulled him along up the steps, all the while glancing
over his shoulder.
She loved Carlos. And she loved how he treated her
brother. Carlos embraced his sexuality
full force. He wasn’t a “flaming homo”
as he called some of his more outrageous friends, but he definitely didn’t have
any shame in showing his sexuality. Her
brother on the other hand was much more reserved. She was glad he had someone like Carlos to
show him that it was nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
She opened her car door and
thought how she wished she had someone like that. Someone who she wouldn’t have to hide
anything with. She hadn’t even found
that in a female friend or a family member.
And walking to her brother’s building, hearing her stilettos click as
they hit the pavement, her feet sore from squeezing into the high shoes that
night, she realized how alone she really was.
She started to cry.
“Darcy…”
And now she was hearing things. It was the way he said her name. That caring, soft way, letting it come out of
his mouth like it was the last word he ever got to say. She knew she was probably reading into things
but that’s how she felt when he called her name…like he needed her. She looked over her shoulder, knowing no one
would be there, especially not him.
But she got a surprise and she was
stopped right there on the sidewalk in front of outdoor steps. She stared at him, slowly walking towards
her, from God knows where. She saw his
silver Porsche in a spot by another building in the complex. She wondered how he got there, how’d he got
pass the gate at night. But all her
thoughts faded when he came close to her, close so that she could almost reach
out and touch him.
She took in a wavering breath,
trying not to cry.
“Hey, hey…” He said softly, reaching out to hold her
arm. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head and quickly wiped at her
eyes, hoping her mascara hadn’t ran. She
looked in his eyes and saw no anger, no frustration, only a slight bit of worry. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled his trademark crooked
grin. “I wasn’t about to let you go
without saying goodnight and thanking you for inviting me out.”
“I thought that…” She stopped when she saw what was in his
hand, now being extended towards her. A
bouquet of pink and lavender and white and yellow flowers was handed to
her. She took them from him and eyed
them carefully. She couldn’t remember
the last time she got flowers. Sure,
Tina would bring them into her room at home in
“For me?”
“How cheesy is it?” He laughed a little. “You can tell me. I just, I felt horrible. I didn’t want to leave you but, sometimes
that comes with the territory. And I
know that if they were out there and we all left together you’d be all over the
tabloids and, well, we haven’t talk about that in our relationship yet.”
Her eyes widened and she stared at
him hard. “We...we have a relationship?”
“I think so.” He head bowed down and he shuffled his feet
while he mumbled, “I think we’re working towards one. Don’t you?”
“Yes,” she breathed. He looked up and grinned at her. He stepped closer and touched her shoulder,
sliding his hand down to her wrist since both her hands were full with her
purse and her flowers. She tried to
ignore the fact that he was touching her and tried to make sense of the night
in her head. He had been pissed and left
and she thought her chances were ruined.
But now he was back. It didn’t
make sense to her. “I just, I hate that
you had to bolt like that. I mean,
couldn’t you have gone out the back door and we meet up later?”
He sighed and reached for her
purse and her flowers. He bent down and
set them on the ground and then stepped even closer. His hands held hers and he brought her close
to him. He still smelled just as good as
before and memories of their time on the couch flooded her. The feel of his strong hands on her back and
his soft tongue in her mouth. They way
he tasted and smelled. The way her body
felt near his.
The way he sighed her name.
“Baby…” He whispered.
She was a little shocked that he had called her that but it faded once
he started to talk. “Honestly? I didn’t
even think about that. I was a little
nervous because of your brother and his boyfriend and I just, I didn’t want to
do anything stupid and you just…” He
paused and sighed out, looking down at her.
“You’re looking so damn beautiful.
I was just terrified I was going to fuck something up. And then as soon as I was in my car and
pulling away I realized I had fucked something up. So I went and bought you flowers and came
back here and waited like a dumb ass.”
“You’re not a dumb ass.” She smiled and giggled a little.
“You’re right. Any man would be stupid to run from you, at least
I came back to see you tonight. You
really look stunning.”
“Thank you.” She looked down at
the ground. She wanted to kiss him and
hug him, but she didn’t know if she was allowed to. She loved the fact that they were working on
a relationship, but she hated that now they were in an awkward stage, where she
didn’t know what as acceptable and what wasn’t.
“I’d like to see you again
tomorrow.”
“God, I’m being so silly.” She rolled her eyes at herself and nodded
over her shoulder. “Do you wanna come up
and hang out for a little bit?”
“I’m scared of your brother.” His eyes widened and she had no doubt that
even though he was smiling, he was pretty serious.
“Well can I go with you…” She realized she had almost invited herself
over to his place. She squeezed her eyes
shut and almost wished he wasn’t holding both of her hands so she could smack
her forehead. “Shit...I mean…”
“How about this?” He pulled her closer and kept one of her
hands in his but wrapped the other around her back. It was almost as if they were about to
dance. “How about tomorrow I come pick you up and I’ll take you to my place and we can
hang out all day?”
“Really?” She was excited that he was allowing her into
his world a little bit. Maybe she would
learn more about him.
“Yeah, really.” He smiled and dropped her other hand. Soon she felt his arms around her and his
body tight and hard against hers. It
took her a moment to realize what was going on, but she finally curled her arms
around him and leaned her head on is shoulder.
He was really there and this was really happening.
And all her worries for the night
faded away when he whispered into her hair, “Shit Darcy, I can’t get
enough. I really, really like you. I don’t think you realize.”
She pulled away a little and
stared into his dark eyes. “I
don’t. I don’t understand why the hell
you would spend your time on me. But I’m
not complaining. And I really,
really…really like you too.”
He started to smile and it didn’t
stop and soon after a small chuckle came from his mouth. She smiled back at him and he was staring at
her . He took a breath and asked, “Can I
get a kiss?”
She tried to stop the smile that
took over her face but it was very hard and she tried to say her replied but
found it too difficult, so instead she just nodded.
He didn’t waste any time and she
sighed when she felt him kiss her deeply.
He squeezed her against him and moved his mouth with hers, tasting her,
making her sigh. His hands ran slowly down
her back and brushed against the top of her rear. He kissed her harder and harder and she
thought she was going to sink down into the cement. Finally, his hands gripped her hips and he
pulled away, breathless, lips red and eyes heavy.
“I want you to stay tonight.” She whispered, not being able to control
herself. “I want you to stay with me…”
When she realized what she had
said, what she had really said to him, she gasped a little and found him
staring at her a little shocked. She
hoped that wasn’t too forward and she hoped he didn’t think she was easy. Maybe she was a little easy, or at least she
had never really learned the appropriate waiting period, but she didn’t want
him thinking her a slut.
He took a deep breath and sighed
out, “I want to too…” His forehead
rested against her and he began to smile.
She was glad he had said it back to her.
And even though she knew that they wouldn’t stay together that night,
the timing and place wasn’t good for it, it made her feel like she was on top
of the world to know he wanted her. He titled
his head and kissed her again, this time sweet and slow, pulling away and
grinning at her. “You should get back
inside. I’m sure your brother will be
worried about you.”
She held his hands in hers and
said softly, “You’ll call me tomorrow morning?”
“Yes…” He smiled at her and cupped her cheek with
his free hand. “I promise Darcy, I’m not
gonna disappear on you. Just promise me
you won’t disappear on me.”
“Ok. I promise.”
They both started to smile and she
knew something was happening between them, something she knew she had never
experienced and she hoped it was just as new of a feeling for him as well.
Everything had changed for her in
a few short days, and it was such a wonderful thing.