Sorry all. I know it's been a little while since I've updated this story, but a lot of stuff is happening. Not the least of which was Orange Juice being poured on my keyboard (not by me) rendering my space bar, both Alt Keys, and Caps Lock useless. Uggghhh!!! You all have permission to email me and pester me to write the next chapter, if it's been a while. :o)
We finally got out of the tub, and not because we wanted to. Our skin was beginning to get so wrinkly, we looked like a pair of raisins in the sun. Zack let me use his bath robe, and he wrapped a towel around his own waist. He looked so hot, just wrapped in a towel, water dripping down his chest. I wanted to take him right then and there, but for one reason or another, I felt I had to resist.
We descended the stairs and went to the living room. I took a seat in the middle of the couch, and Zack went straight for the stereo. He pushed a few buttons, and before long I cold hear the awesome and overpowering sounds of Tori Amos resonating through the mammoth speakers.
Zack slipped away into the kitchen, still clad in only a towel. I took notice to a picture of him and his parents on vacation. It was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch I was sitting on. They were standing on a beach, so obviously, they weren't in Pennsylvania. We don't have any beaches here. The smile on Zack's face could only be described as fake. I don't know why, but somehow he seemed discontented.
My train of thought was quickly interrupted when Zack returned from the kitchen with a wine bottle and two goblets. "Burgundy," he announced. "That OK with you?" "Great," I misled, not admitting that the only kind of wine I had ever tasted was a sip of Merlot that my Mom had let me sneak once, while we were out at a schmoozy restaurant for her last birthday.
Upon catching sight of the picture in my hand, Zack explained, "Bahamas. Last summer." I restored the picture to its place and accepted the wine glass extended toward me. "You look so...sullen though," I observed. "Well, we went there for about two weeks. I don't know how my parents did it, but somehow, even in the Bahamas, they managed to keep themselves buried in work. It was nothing but telephones, and laptops, and beepers, leaving me to myself, as usual. Well, on the last day that we spent there, we all got dressed in our swim suits and headed to the beach. We stayed for long enough to take that picture, and about half a roll of some others. People would ask why we didn't take pictures, right? So then went back to the hotel, showered, changed, packed up, and went to the airport."
"We may as well have stayed home for all the fun I had in those two weeks." I was at a loss for words, which isn't very common for me. Being in this unfamiliar territory, I wasn't sure what to do. I turned to meet his gaze and our eyes locked for a few seconds, a tear taking shape in his left. I pulled his head to my shoulder and kissed his cheek. Then, he really let it out. He was sobbing uncontrollably. I rubbed his back and spoke softly in his ear. "It's OK. You have me now. I'm here for you, no matter what. It's alright, just let it all out."
He pulled his head off my shoulder to show me the smile that had escaped the sadness that had taken over his visage. "You're starting to sound like a shrink," he laughed. I smiled in return, and he put his head back on my shoulder. I was starting to see why Zack was always so happy to be at school and work. There were people there who actually paid attention to him. I knew what I had to do. I just wasn't sure when or how to do it.
Zack started to regain composure. He lifted his head back up with a certain finality and wiped his tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry I just dumped this all on you," he said, his voice full of remorse. "Zack," I began, "I'm glad you told me. We shouldn't keep things from each other, even if we think it's for the best. If this is going to work, we need to be open and honest with one another." He shook his head and smiled. I grabbed my wine glass from where it had been waiting on the coffee table, and took the final slug. As my glass was in the air, the clock on the wall came into focus, and I nearly choked. It was already 1:30 in the afternoon! We must have been in the tub longer than I realized!
"Oh shit!" I stammered after finally getting the liquid down the right tube. "My Mom was expecting me back in the morning!" I put my glass back down and ran up the stairs. I grabbed my clothes and haphazardly threw them on my body. I ran back down, to see Zack sitting at the same place on the couch, apparently amused by my plight. I began ravaging his house looking for my keys. Not on the table, not on the counter, not in my pocket, and I was pretty sure they weren't up in Zack's room... My next thought was under the couch cushion. I went over to the seat next to Zack where I had been sitting before, and as I passed him, he held them up and jingled them.
I gave him a disciplinary smirk, and as I reached out to grab them, he pulled them back and puckered his lips, as if to say that a kiss was the "price" I had to "pay" to get the ransomed keys back. I gave him a quick kiss as I grabbed the keys. I pulled away, but then, as if realizing that I had done something stupid, I turned back to him and reacquainted my lips to his. This lasted about 30 seconds, until I reluctantly pulled away again. "I gotta go," I blurted. "I'll call you a little later, OK?" "Sure," he answered. "I love you hon!"
I love you. Those words echoed in my head the whole way home. I knew what I had to do even more now than I had earlier. I had figured out the when: today! as soon as I got home, but the how was still just a bit unclear. I was going to tell them. I had to.
OK, so it was sort of mean to leave you all hanging at this point, but there's only so much I can stuff into one chapter. Email me, bug me, praise me, crucify me... Recklissmind@aol.com Love ya'll!