Waiting for Us (6 page)

E grabs the box of tissues on my nightstand and hands me a bunch. He cleans himself up while I wipe my hand dry before throwing it in the trash can next to my bed. He wraps me in his arms and kisses the top of my head before any awkwardness sets in.

"Hailey," he whispers as he tilts my chin up with his knuckle so he can see my eyes.

"That was incredible."

"I liked doing that to you. Can we do that again soon?" I bury my chin in his shirt and kick myself for blurting that out.

"Pretty Girl don't be embarrassed. You are amazing. I loved all of what we did and I can't wait to do more with you gorgeous." He waggles his eyebrows at me jokingly and I giggle at his expression.

"Come on," I say, standing up. "Let's go see what we can find for lunch."

***

        In addition to my parents coming home that afternoon, Jake and Cory also show up. We just saw Jake two weeks ago so I say a quick hello to him as Erik and he shake hands. My brother thinks E is a good guy, well as good as he'd think any guy I was dating is. I hadn't seen Cory since my birthday party when he kissed me. He acts as though it never happened and hugs me like he always does. 

“It's great to see you, Hailey. How have you been?"

"I've been great. Cory, this is my boyfriend Erik - Erik this is Cory, Jake's best friend," I say gesturing between the two.

E steps up and clasps his hand. They exchange pleasantries before I ask Cory how long he's here for?

"I'm not sure. I have ten days off, but I may leave sooner to visit a friend in Maine."

Jake guffaws and snorts provoking an annoyed look from Cory.

"A friend, yeah, more like a fuck buddy."

"Dude, shut up." Cory reprimands him.
Well, this is awkward...

"Oookay, we need to leave and meet Marcus. Will you guys be around later?"

"Yeah, we'll be here. So Erik, before you go, I have to ask, how do you like my sister being best friends with Marcus?" I roll my eyes and shake my head at Jake.

"So far it's been fine, but I just got here. I guess maybe you should ask me again at the end of my visit." Erik says, trying to be diplomatic.

The guys all laugh at Erik's reply. Jake is making me mad by trying to cause problems for me. I cross my arms in front of me and take a deep breath trying to calm myself down before I bite his head off.

"Jake, I don't need you trying to stir up shit between Erik and Marcus. Mind your own fucking business."

"Munchkin, I'm not ‘stirring up’ anything. You are delusional if you think Marcus and Erik are going to be buddy, buddy. It's never going to happen and when this week is over and you are dealing with the fallout, I will gleefully remind you of this conversation." He rubs his hands together like an evil villain out of some old time cartoon.

I roll my eyes and answer him with a huff and a "whatever," before taking E’s hand and walking away.

I'm chillin' between Marcus and Erik on my favorite beach blanket that my friend Shelby bought for me a couple years ago in Bermuda when she was on vacation. It's made of terry cloth so it's like sitting on a giant extra soft, plush towel and it's sage green, one of my favorite colors. We are sitting in our favorite vantage spot waiting for the fireworks to begin. Over the years, a lot of trial and error has gone into picking the perfect place to view them from but for the last couple years this has been our place. We always arrive early and set up camp so no one can steal "our spot."

It's starting to get dark so the fireworks could potentially begin at any time. There's a cool breeze tonight and it makes me shiver and gives me goosebumps. Both boys notice I'm chilled.

"Do you want my sweatshirt, Hails?" Marcus asks.

"There's no need for that dude, she's got me to keep her warm," Erik coolly replies as he picks me up and places me in front of him, between his legs. He's so strong, it's like I barely weigh anything. He wraps his arms around me and nuzzles his nose in my neck, breathing in deep before whispering in my ear.

"Mmm, you smell so good." I tip my head to the side making it easier for him to continue. He brushes his lips behind my ear and I look up at him over my shoulder. He leans down and takes my lips in a gentle yet possessive kiss. I wonder if that was for Marcus' benefit? It does feel somewhat strange kissing him right in front of Marcus so I pull away and look out over the rough, churning sea in front of us. If E notices my discomfort, he doesn't let on. We sit in silence enjoying the roaring sound of the waves crashing into the shore.

Once the fireworks begin, there's a lot of oohing and aahing all around us. There's so much going on I'm not sure if I should look to my left or to my right. My head keeps moving back and forth, from side to side, like I'm watching the most fascinating of tennis matches. The sky seems to erupt all around us with all the colors of the rainbow. I love to watch the different shapes and patterns the explosions form. My favorite of them all are the ones that look like weeping willow trees. I love the way the colors seem to trickle gracefully down from the clear, dark sky mysteriously fading away into nothingness.

"Hails," Marcus pokes my side, making me jump.

"You jerk," I say, pretty much launching myself at him and tipping him over to his side. "Take that." I return the favor by poking him in his side repeatedly and at this point it turns into a full-on tickle war between us. It continues on for a couple of minutes with both of us giving as good as we get before it finally comes to an end with me on my back and Marcus straddling me while holding both of my hands down, beside my head.

"Do you give up Hails or are you thirsty for more?"

"You're going to quote Home Alone now Marcus...really? OK, you got me... I give up."

Marcus immediately climbs off of me and pulls me to a sitting position.

I didn't want to give up, I wasn't ready to throw in the towel, but I just realized how Erik could have a problem with Marcus sitting on top of me.
Apparently, being straddled by another guy in front of your boyfriend is not behavior that's beneficial to your relationship.
I sit up and adjust my shirt before sheepishly looking at Erik. I can't really get a feel for what he is thinking. He doesn't appear to be angry, but he's not looking at me so it's difficult to know for sure. I lean my head on his shoulder and snuggle in to watch the rest of the fireworks. Before long it's time to head to the bonfires and the three of us make our way down the beach in that direction. It's only about a five-minute walk from our houses so we know most of the kids that are sitting around the various bonfires. Marcus and I wave hello to a couple of older guys that we surf with sometimes.

There are a few open chairs around one of the fires and there are marshmallows being roasted.
Yum.
Marcus sits down patting the seat of the chair next to him and as I go to sit down, Erik beats me to it and then pulls me down into his lap. I squeal out loud in surprise, wrap my arms around his neck and lean in for a quick kiss.

"I wasn't expecting that," I giggle, "but I like it."

"I like having you in my lap too, Pretty Girl."

At this point, a few more people we know come to say hi. Dave, one of the year-round residents, introduces himself to Erik before taking the last empty chair. Lexy a trampy local, and a Hailey hater, walks over and unexpectedly sits down in Marcus' lap. He seems surprised to see her there, but he doesn't seem to mind as he wraps an arm around her waist.

"Hi, Marcus. Where have you been hiding all summer? Has Hailey been holding you, hostage?" She asks in her annoying baby voice.

"Yep, you know how Hailey is. She has been keeping me tied up in her room, only letting me loose to use the bathroom and eat my meals." I whack his arm and roll my eyes.

"You are so ridiculous."

   At this point, Lexy must notice Erik for the first time because her eyes open wide and she smiles flirtatiously at him. She slowly licks her lips and leans towards him.

"Hi, I'm Lexy and who might you be sugar?"
Wtf? Sugar? Does she think she's in the deep south now? I can see where she might get confused... northeast.... deep south...

"I'm Erik, Hailey's boyfriend."

"Hmm, I didn't know you had a boyfriend, Hailey."

"Oh I'm sorry Lexy, did I forget to tell you? How remiss of me."

"Marcus, does this mean I might stand a chance at getting your attention now?" She bats her obscenely mascaraed eyelashes, and thrusts her large boobs forward, trying to look sexy but she really just looks like the cheap slut that she is.

"I never, say never Lexy," Marcus winks at her and it totally pisses me off. He always winks at me. That's one of our "things," and he knows how much I despise Lexy. It's not like I don't have a reason to dislike her. She has always been a snide bitch to me so I really don't feel like sitting here and watching the Marcus - Lexy train wreck that's happening before my very eyes.

"Erik, would you like to go for a walk with me?"

"Sure Pretty Girl." He deftly lifts me to my feet and he immediately follows. We clasp our hands together as we both say a quick see ya later, to Marcus. I reach over and grab a marshmallow from the plate next to Dave and pop it in my mouth as we walk away. We move along the beach in silence for a while as I'm enjoying the feeling of the cool, soft sand on my feet.  Walking barefoot in the sand is one of my favorite things. Walking barefoot in the sand with Erik, is even better.  We're now alone on a more secluded part of the beach and I know I need to apologize to E for the whole "tickle fight" Marcus and I had earlier.

"Hey, can we sit down for a bit?"

"Sure," he says dropping gracefully to the sand. I sit down next to him and take his hand in mine.

"I feel like I need to apologize for the whole tickle thing that went on with Marcus. I feel really bad about it, but I want you to know that it was just us being silly and goofy. That's the way we've always been so I didn't think anything of it at first, but then I thought about how I'd feel if the situation were reversed. I would have felt hurt and disrespected if you had done the same. I'm so sorry if I made you feel bad Erik. Please tell me you can forgive me."

"Hailey, I was definitely surprised and not very happy when you guys were wrestling around. I know you guys have an unorthodox friendship that I don't really understand and while I don't trust Marcus at all, I do trust you. We are fine you have nothing to worry about. Come here."

He pulls me over his legs, so I end up straddling his lap. He wraps his muscular arms around me and I tuck my head snugly in under his chin, breathing in the woodsy scent of his cologne.

"Mm," I murmur. "I love being held by you."

"Well, that's perfect because I love holding you."
I love how cheesy we are.

"So what did you think of your first third of July fireworks experience?"

"So far it's been amazing."

"What do you want to do next?"

"How about we stay here for now? I like that I have you all to myself and I feel a sudden urge to kiss your delicious lips."

We make our way back to the bonfires after some more kissing and cuddling. There's music playing and some kids are dancing along. Marcus and Lexy are both noticeably absent. The thought of them together makes me physically ill. I'm suddenly experiencing extreme nausea and literally feel like I’m about to hurl. Erik must sense there's something wrong because he slows down and looks at me with concern.

"Are you okay Pretty Girl?"

"Yeah, I think that marshmallow I ate earlier isn't sitting well."
Somehow I don't think he'd appreciate hearing the real reason for my stomach ache.

"Why don't we head back to your house and get you some
soda to drink? It may help settle your stomach." I nod in agreement because at this point I'm too disgusted with Marcus to think straight or formulate a reply. Erik wraps his arm around my shoulders and I slip mine around his waist. I've always found it awkward to walk this way, but I'm thankful he cares for me so much. He constantly shows me affection which I now love but at first it took some time to get used to. My mom and dad aren't very affectionate with each other day to day, so it's not something that I grew up exposed to. It doesn't come as easy for me and I sometimes struggle showing how much I care about him.

We're almost back to the place where we viewed the fireworks from when I notice Marcus and Lexy walking towards us. They both have red solo cups in their hands and I bet it's not soda in them.

"There's a party down that way," Marcus gestures behind him, "if you're looking for one."

"Have you been drinking?" I ask in an accusing tone.

"Yes mom, I have."

"Since when do you get drunk at parties Marcus?"

"Go be with your boyfriend and don't worry about me. I'm having a great time."

He chugs his beverage as if to make a point.

"Whatever Marcus. You are making some bad decisions tonight.  Just remember STD's are forever!" With that parting shot, I storm off in a huff with Erik following. He doesn't say anything until we are almost to my house.