Fish Out of Water (27 page)

I entwine my fingers in his hair, wrap my legs around his waist, allow myself to let go of everything else but him. His hands run up and down my back, hover at my bra strap as if he’s thinking about unhooking it. I want him to, think about whispering for him to just do it already because I can’t imagine wanting anyone as much as I want him.

He moves to my neck, and I breathe in his ear, “You’re so hot.”

“Mika, I’m about to lose it.” His fingers slip under my shirt. “You better get off me if you don’t want that to happen.”

“My room.” I kiss his earlobe, so far gone he doesn’t even know. “Now.”

He doesn’t waste any time carrying me through the hall. He sets me down just inside, and I reach past him to shut the door. And lock it. He breathes hard, his eyes all desire as they run over me. It makes me adore him even more, knowing how much he wants me back.

I need to take his clothes off right now.

“I don’t have any…” he says as I go for his shirt.

“I do. In my nightstand.” I pull it over his head, and when I take in his bare chest I can hardly get air. I put my hands on his stomach and kiss him again.

He guides me to the bed and stops just short, looking me straight in the eye. “Are you sure?”

“Have I not made myself clear enough?” I take off my own shirt. “Yes, I am sure. Very, very sure. Thanks for being such a gentleman, but let’s do this.”

He laughs, low and soft. It’s so hot I can barely function. “Okay, then.”

Dylan pushes me onto my bed, and it’s over. His weight on me feels more right than anything in the world. His fingers on my skin are magic. This has never felt so good, and in that moment I know we’re not ending this anytime soon.

And I’m totally okay with that.

Chapter 40

I slip back into my clothes while Dylan is in the bathroom, though part of me wishes we could do this for the rest of the night. Sure takes my mind off all the other crap I’m dealing with. When he comes back—strutting around in his boxer briefs like he owns the place—I can’t help but smile. “You look ridiculous.”

“I do not care.” He gets back in my bed, pulling me close. “You were right. It’s way better when you’re crazy about the person you’re with.”

“Feel free to say I’m right as much as you want.”

He laughs. “As long as we do that every day.”

I scoff. “We’re lucky my house was empty for this long.”

“I know, I know.” He kisses my forehead, and I want to stay like this forever and ever. “Wishful think—”

My phone rings, and I scramble for it. The second I see my mom’s number in the window, my heart starts pounding. Please don’t tell me they’re on the way home right now. I hit “accept.” “Hi, Mom.”

Dylan hops up and grabs his pants.

“How are you doing, sweetie?” she asks.

“Better.” I hope she can’t tell why over the phone, though she does have an incredible radar for this stuff.

There’s a long pause. “You were responsible, right?”

I sigh. How does she do that? “Of course.”

Dylan gives me a curious look.

“Good.” She clears her throat, and I hear Dad in the background asking her something. “Nothing, hon. Anyway, Mika, the doctors finished their tests, and it looks like Betty didn’t damage anything during her episode. They’re going to monitor her for another hour, and then we should be able to bring her home.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised. After all that screaming I thought for sure Grandma would be stuck there for at least a few more days. Maybe the nurses are tired of her.

Mom laughs. “Yeah, they said this last week she did well, so things have healed faster. I think that’s thanks to your visits.”

“Psh.”

“It’s true. You’ve really been there for her. I’m proud of you for taking care of her, despite how hard it’s been. You’re a wonderful daughter. I’m lucky to have you.” She sniffles, and it shocks me because Mom is not a crier.

“Thanks, Mom.” I’m not sure what else to say, so I change the subject. “So you’ll be home in a couple hours?”

“Probably. And Mika…” Her voice gets quieter. “I’d make sure Dylan is gone by then, otherwise your father might pick up on things.”

“Good point. See ya.” I hang up. “They’ll be home with her in a couple hours.”

His face lights up. “That’s good, right? She’s okay?”

I nod. “But you better go so I have time to clean and calm myself down. My mom totally knew. She tolerates it pretty well, but my dad will get weird.”

He frowns.

“Don’t give me that face.” I give him one more hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I was just hoping you’d say we had time to make out more before they got home.”

I shove him away. “Get out of here, dork.”

He laughs as he grabs his shirt, and watching him put it on almost makes me reconsider.

#

As I sweep the floor and do the dishes, I’m keenly aware that I grin at random times. This will be a dead giveaway, especially since I’m supposed to be upset over what my grandma said to us. So I pull out my phone and text Olivia.
What r u doing?

Her reply is immediate.
Drowning myself in reality TV. Why?

Wanna come over?

Ur not w/Dylan?

He just left. Need to talk this out before the fam gets home.

Ooo! Coming!

I can always count on Olivia in these situations. When she arrives, her smile is blinding. “Does this mean I can finally tell you about all my exploits in Tahiti?”

I laugh. “Yes.”

“Good.” She drops her bag by the front door, slips off her shoes, and heads for the living room. “I’ve been dying to talk, but Shreya goes pale if I even hint at it. So how was it? I’m betting he’s amazing—he has ‘experienced’ written all over him.”

I bite my lip. “Help me clean while we discuss the details.”

“Fine. As long as I get to tell you about Waka.”

I hand her cleaning spray and paper towels. “You first then.”

And off she goes, regaling me with tales of warm nights on the beach making out with hot Waka, while her mom had her own fling with a wealthy businessman. Those two—talk about the apple not falling far from the tree. I think that’s why Olivia’s never had an ounce of shame when it comes to intimacy. A lot of girls at school call her names, but she just feels bad for them because “they don’t know what they’re missing.”

Once we can’t talk guys or clean anymore, we plop on the couch and turn on the TV. It’s been about two hours, so my family will be home soon. Olivia picks a vampire drama, and we watch in tired silence.

“We need Shrey,” I say after a few minutes. “I don’t like her being in Salinas. Feels like we’re missing something.”

Olivia sighs. “I know, but she seems excited about starting a restaurant with Pavan. It’s nice to see her happy about something, don’t you think?”

“I guess.” I stretch my legs out on the coffee table. “Though it’d be nicer if her parents would get over the whole thing and stop being stupid.”

She smirks. “If only.”

That day at the beach, when Shreya first told me her parents didn’t want her marrying certain people, comes rushing back. She said this stuff should be simple, but it isn’t. I think I get that now, having dealt with my grandma almost all summer. There’s nothing simple about how it feels to love someone who directly opposes who you are or what you believe.

“Olivia?” I say.

She turns her attention to me, seeming cautious. “What?”

“Is Shrey really okay? It seems like she’s not telling me stuff, like with the restaurant they’re starting. You knew about that, didn’t you?”

Olivia cringes, and that’s all I need to know I was right. “Yeah, it happened the day her phone got cut off. She really freaked out, Mika. I think before that she hoped her parents would come around, because they were keeping a method of getting in contact, you know?”

I nod slowly. “Why hasn’t she told me any of this?”

“I don’t know…” Olivia bites her lip, which means even now she knows more than she’s saying. “Look, it’s not my place to tell you. I think you need to talk to her about—”

The garage door opens, and I reluctantly pull myself away from whatever Olivia was going to say. My grandmother walks in first, seeming cranky as she looks around. It only makes me smile wider as I hug her. “Welcome home, Grandma.”

She pats me on the back. “It looks clean.”

“I polished everything just for you.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” Dad says as he and Mom come in. He notices Olivia on the couch. “Thank you, too, Olivia.”

She stands, seeming ready to go now that they’re home. Or maybe she’s ready to escape my questions. “No prob! I’ll catch you later, Mika.”

“See ya.” After she waves goodbye, I turn back to Grandma. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” My grandma pushes me to the side and walks toward the hall. At least it seems like she remembers where to go. I worried it might be a hard adjustment after being in the hospital so long.

“I’ll help you into bed.” Dad follows her. “The doctors said you still need to be careful.”

“Oh, fine,” she grumbles.

Mom heads for the cupboard, seeming concerned about me. “Should I make you some tea?”

“Yeah. Make enough for yourself, too.” I lean on the counter and watch Mom put water in the kettle.

She looks exhausted, but she still smiles. “If you insist.”

“I do.” As she pulls out cups and tea bags and little cookies, I can’t help thinking about what happened at the hospital. The words my grandma screamed…“Did Grandma really yell at you like that?”

Mom pauses, then looks at me. “It was much worse than that, Mi-chan. I insisted to your father that we should visit his mother to tell her we were engaged. He didn’t want to—we got in a big fight about it—but I eventually won.”

“So we’re going there tonight, huh?” Dad leans on the counter next to me, sighing heavily. “I really hoped we’d never tell this story.”

“I know,” Mom says. “But she deserves to know.”

My dad has never looked so sad. “We went to Vermont, Mika, though I knew what would happen. Yumi thought she could win my mother over, but she’s the most stubborn woman alive. This disease has actually made her more agreeable, if you can believe it.”

“Wow.” I can’t picture her being surlier than now.

“I was surprised your father came from such poor circumstances. He was always careful to look clean and polished.” Mom pours the water into the teacups and sticks the bags in. She hands one to me. “He never told me he had a hard childhood, but I could handle that fine. It was Betty’s reaction to me I wasn’t prepared for. She called me awful names and told me to get away from her son. And then…”

Mom takes her tea and drinks. It doesn’t stop me from noticing her hands shake. Dad puts his arm around her trembling shoulders. Then he looks at me, a flicker of anger still there. “My mom hit her with a lamp. Can you imagine that? She picked up the nearest thing and swung right at your mom’s head. I had to wrestle her to the ground and take the lamp before she did it again. Your mom was bleeding badly. I rushed her to a hospital, and that was the last time I saw my mom until she showed up here.”

Mom pulls back her hair, revealing a scar I’ve never seen before. “Fourteen stitches. We thought about pressing charges, but then we’d have had to see her and deal with her in court. Plus, we were still poor grad students. We didn’t think it was worth it.”

My mouth hangs open as I watch Dad protect Mom even now. He kisses her scar, holds her close as they relive that nightmarish day. I had no idea it was that bad. “No wonder you didn’t want her around.”

Dad sighs. “I wasn’t about to risk the safety of my wife or daughter, though I know cutting her out of my life was cruel. What else was I supposed to do? I had to protect you guys—you mean more to me than anything.”

Mom leans into him more. “That’s why I love you.”

I go over and hug them, feeling luckier than ever that they stayed together through all that. They wrap their arms around me, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so close to them in my life.

Chapter 41

“More sugar,” Grandma says for the fourth time. After hearing what she did to Mom, I watch her closer than ever this morning. I know I should be angrier with her about it, but what’s the point? She won’t remember. I’d only be punishing myself. So while I’m on my guard, I’ll still care for her as she is right now.

I’m pretty sure the oatmeal is more sugar than anything else, but I comply with her request. I’m determined to figure out how to replicate the stuff my great aunt Grace used to make. It’s not going particularly well. I give her the spoon again. “How’s that?”

Grandma blows on it and takes a bite. Her face scrunches as she judges the flavor, and I expect yet another complaint. “It’s edible.”

“Edible? Does that mean I can get you a bowl?”

She nods. “It’s not right, but you can’t cook well enough for it to be perfect.”

I pour the oatmeal in a bowl, trying not to laugh at her dead serious assessment. “I can’t cook
at all
.”

“It shows.”

“Mom,” Dad snaps from the kitchen table. “Be nice. She’s trying.”

She sits next to him with her bowl in hand. “She’ll never get it if I don’t tell her when it’s wrong!”

“It’s fine. I have no pride in my cooking skills.” I’m just glad she’s here, that we’re all around the breakfast table as a family again. With Mom tapping at her smart phone, Dad shoving down cereal before it gets soggy, and Grandma griping about the food, it feels like her heart attack never happened.

The doorbell rings, and I jump up to get it. When I open the door, there’s Joel with a big smile on his face. “Mika! It’s been too long. How’s my Betty?”

“Better. Still weak, and the doctors said she needs to stay as calm as possible.” I let him in.

“Of course, that’s easier said than done.”

“I know, right?”

He struts ahead of me and waves excitedly when he rounds the corner. “Betty Arlington, don’t you ever scare me like that again, young lady! I don’t want you going anywhere for a long time.”