Meeting The Unpredictable (20 page)

“Fuck me hard,” she mumbles when she lets go of my lip. I speed up, causing Lennie to groan. “Yes, like that.” I grab one of her legs, wrapping it around my waist as my other hand moves to her clit. I need her close.

Once my hand reaches its goal, Lennie starts thrusting upwards again. “That’s it. I need you to come, babe,” I grumble as my thumb continues to work her over.

I grip her hip as I feel her tighten around me. “Oh God!” Lennie screams as she starts to come. Once I feel her start to relax, I let myself go and come deep inside of her.

Lennie giggles. “Damn, I love having sex with you.”

I look down into her blue eyes. “That’s good to know because I plan on having sex with you as much as possible.”

“Sounds perfect,” she purrs. I’ve found that just about anything sounds perfect as long as it includes Lennie Jacobs.

***

LENNIE SEARCHED FOR BARS SHE
thought we’d like on her phone. After a quick cab ride, we arrive at the Ocean Side Bar and Karaoke. I’m sure the word karaoke is why she picked this bar out of all places. I don’t care how fucking sexy Lennie is when she pouts, I’m not getting up on that damn stage and singing to a room full of people.

“This place is awesome.” I nod my head as I take everything in. The bar is big, and the customers appear to be a variety of ages. Lennie laces her hand with mine and walks up to a table close to the dance floor.

“I wasn’t that hungry until I smelled the food.” A small smile lingers on her face as she starts to look over the menu.

“What can I get you to drink?” We both look up at the practically naked waitress standing next to our table.

“I’ll take a Bud Light draft.” Lennie smiles, not acting the least bit taken aback by the amount of cleavage the woman has on display. I knew before Lennie ever opened her mouth that she was the complete opposite of Amber, but it’s moments like this that really spotlight how different the two are. At the very least, Amber would have rolled her eyes at the waitress, but more than likely she would have turned everything around and somehow made how the woman was dressed my fault.

“I’ll take the same.” The waitress nods her head and walks off.

“I’m not planning on eating healthy.”

I chuckle. “Okay.”

“I was just warning you. When you’re on vacation, ordinary rules don’t apply.”

A deep laugh escapes me as I look at her. “Ordinary rules never apply to you, Lennie.”

Her forehead wrinkles. “And I mean that in a good way. When I first met you, I thought you were annoying because of how different you acted compared to everyone else I know, but now I couldn’t begin to imagine you any other way. You’re just...Lennie.”

Her face lights up. “Thank you.”

“Since we’re at a karaoke bar, is it safe to say you’ll be singing some Lennie Kravitz songs?”

Lennie’s eyes widen before she shakes her head. “Umm, no. I might have told you a little white lie.” She laughs. “My mom has a degree in literature. One of her favorite authors is John Steinbeck.”

It takes a moment before the light goes off. “You’re named after Lenny in Of Mice and Men?”

Her nose turns up. “Yep. And Jodi is named after a character in another one of his books, but thankfully my mother was nice enough to change the spelling of our names.”

“Wow.”

She tilts her head to the side. “What?”

“I never thought twice about you being named after Kravitz, but now I’m trying to picture you named after one of the most famous characters known to man.”

She groans. “My mother didn’t read Dr. Seuss to me when I was a kid. Instead, she’d read books she deemed classics. It was always her dream for me to earn a college degree.” Lennie’s shoulders sag.

“I take it not going to college was a part of your rebelling stage?”

“No.” A sad smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “I had large gaps of time when I didn’t go to school. By the time I started again, I was always playing catch up. I had an endless amount of tutors, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t focus. I thought it was just another thing about me that was broken, but I later learned in a support group that a lot of the medicines used to treat leukemia can cause attention problems.”

The waitress sets our beers on the table and walks off. Lennie immediately grabs hers and takes a huge sip. I can’t tell if she’s embarrassed or upset.

“I figured if I couldn’t pass high school courses then why even try college.”

I reach across the table and cover her hand with mine. “My parents are perfect, or at least they like to appear that way. When I was sick, I had a pass to get away with whatever, but the second the doctor said I was cured, they expected me to go back to the person they thought I was. The person they wanted me to be. To a person who no longer existed.”

I want to tell her I’m sorry, but I know giving her my pity is the last thing she wants. Thankfully, we’re interrupted by the waitress. “Are you ready to order?”

“Yes, I am.” Lennie grins. “I’ll take the boneless hot wings and fries and another beer when you have a chance.”

The woman looks at me. “A burger and fries and another beer as well.”

The waitress barely walks away before the bar fills with music. “Please tell me if you aren’t going to karaoke that you’ll at least get your ass on the dance floor and dance with me.”

I huff before answering her. “I don’t really dance—actually, I suck at it—but for you, I’ll give it a go.”

I can only hope that when Lennie drags me out there that it’s a slow song playing.

***

I HATE BARS AND USUALLY
everything that has to do with them. The only reason I’ve stepped foot in one in the last few years is thanks to Chad’s consistent nagging. But everything about tonight feels different. Maybe it’s because I don’t feel the pressure to pick out a random stranger to take home, or maybe it’s just because I’m here with Lennie. I’m almost positive it’s the second.

Lennie did in fact drag me out to the dance floor after we ate—thankfully to a slow song—but when the music changed to some upbeat crap I’d never heard of before, I tried to take off, but she stopped me and started dancing like a fool. Everyone paused to watch her make a total ass out of herself, and I actually forgot to be nervous. Knowing Lennie, that was exactly what she intended.

“Be back,” Lennie whispers in my ear as she takes off towards the stage. The second she’s on stage, people start clapping, and I even hear a few catcalls. Apparently, she made an impression earlier. She laughs into the microphone then the song she chose starts. I don’t recognize the song, but that’s not surprising. I enjoy music, but I hardly listen to anything contemporary. The second Lennie’s voice fills the room, I’m rethinking the idea.

The lyrics are depressing, but Lennie’s voice is magical, and as I look around the room, I can tell I’m not the only person caught in her spell. All too soon, the song is over and everyone is clapping. For a brief moment, Lennie looks almost embarrassed by the praise she’s receiving, but I can’t tell why. I don’t have to be a music lover to know she has talent.

After being stopped by numerous people, she takes her seat across from me at our table.

“Wow...Lennie, I don’t even know why I’m surprised, but I am.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re amazing. No wonder you seek out karaoke bars.” Lennie smiles as she takes a sip of her beer. “What song was that?”

“Sad By Maroon 5.”

My eyes narrow. “Really? That was a Maroon 5 song?” I might not keep up to date with music, but even I’ve heard of Maroon 5.

“You probably didn’t recognize it because it’s usually sang by Adam Levine who can do the song justice.”

I smile, wondering why out of all the songs she could have picked she chose a song called “Sad”. “Let’s finish our beer then we can get out of here.”

“I don’t mind staying.”

Lennie sighs before looking around the crowded bar. “Nah, I’m ready.”

Having Lennie all to myself in our hotel room sounds like perfection. “Then let’s get out of here.”

I COME AWAKE WITH MY
stomach turning. I know I’m more than likely going to be ill, therefore I do my best to slide out from under Tyler’s arm. Once I’m free, I grab my robe and quietly shut the bathroom door.

I did this when I was a teenager. Anytime I didn’t feel good, I did everything in my power to hide it from anyone close to me. I didn’t like my mother hovering over me. I hated the fear I’d see in Jodi’s eyes, and I really couldn’t stand how crazy my father acted when he was trying to find me a “cure.” I think that’s why I had such a hard time accepting that he had one from the very beginning and never told anyone. If I’m being honest, I think he was going to let me die before he told Jodi she was a match. Now that I look back on the situation, I think he was right.

My family wouldn’t have had to deal with my crazy behavior. They wouldn’t have spent years being disappointed in me because ultimately my ending is exactly what I was expecting ten years ago, and the insane thing is...I was ready. I had come to terms with the fate I was given. I watched the only girl I’ve ever really called a friend die waiting for the cure that was going to save her, and I knew I was next. I begged to be next, especially after my father dragged me around the world looking for the right treatment. I went to sleep one night ready for whatever the next life had to offer only to wake the next morning to learn my sister was going to put her own life at risk to save me. I wanted to tell her no. I was ready to beg her not to, but Jodi knew me all too well. From the moment she agreed to the surgery, she never once came into my room to see me. When I did finally see her, she was waiting for my anger, but it never came because I understood. If the roles were reversed, I would have done the exact same thing.

I even understand why she’s upset with me now. She gifted me a second chance at life, and I took her gift and crapped all over it. And the worst part...I didn’t even stick around to give her the ten years she gifted me with, and now I don’t know what to do.

Jodi deserves for me to fight. Tyler deserves for me to fight, but I don’t think I have it in me. And what am I really fighting for in the first place? Another ten years?

I’ve spent fifteen years of my life as either the sick girl or the one you should avoid. I don’t know how to live what Tyler, Jodi, and my parents feel is a normal life. To stay in one place and worry about what others think of me. As much as I don’t want to think about Tyler with someone else, he deserves that. A wife...a family of his own, and those are things I can’t give him.

“Are you okay?” I jump when I hear Tyler’s voice outside of the bathroom door.

“Yeah. I’ll be right out.” I stand up, flush the toilet, and brush my teeth. When I open the door, I find Tyler standing there waiting on me. He reaches out and brushes his hand down my arm.

“Were you sick?”

I chuckle. “I think I had one too many beers. I’m sure I’ll be fine in a little while.”

His eyes narrow but he doesn’t call me out on my lie. I didn’t have that much to drink at the bar, and I was fine when we got back to the room, but if I tell him the truth, he’ll have me back in this car and heading home before I have the chance to protest.

“Let’s go back to bed. It’s still early.”

I smile before lying down on the bed. Tyler instantly pulls me tight against his chest, which causes my heart to start racing. I never allow myself to get this close to anyone before because nothing good can come from it.

“What are you thinking?” he whispers.

I sigh. “I was thinking...how I wish I could bottle up this moment and keep it forever.”

“Why?”

My eyes start to water. “Because it feels almost perfect.”

Tyler places a kiss behind my ear. “You don’t have to bottle anything up because I plan to do my best to give you a moment like this every day.” He pauses to clear his throat. “Hopefully forever.”

A tear manages to slip out, but I do my best to keep my emotions together. Karma is officially a bitch. If I do what I’m known for and take off—hoping to save Tyler and Jodi from watching me die—I might very well leave them hating me, and I don’t know which one is worse.

“Let’s get some sleep then we’ll spend the day on the beach.”

I smile as he pulls me even tighter against his chest. “Sounds like a plan.”

I lie here watching the time on the clock tick by as Tyler drifts back to sleep.

I’m not sure if God exists. How can children get cancer if he does? It doesn’t make sense. Either way, I’m suddenly ready to pray...I’m just not sure what I’m praying for.