My Once and Future Love (19 page)

I followed him into the kitchen. “Where’s
your mom?”

“In her room boxing up her clothes and girly
things, since she flies out tomorrow. Speak of the devil.”

“I thought I heard voices,” Vivian said.
“Hello, Elizabeth. How is your mother?”

“Good so far, thank you.”

“You’re making lunch, Jacob?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“There should be enough cold cuts still if
Elizabeth is hungry.”

“I’m alright, Mrs. Lindsey.” I couldn’t call
her Vivian here in a house I’d been visiting as a kid. Too
weird.

“Have him make you a sandwich if you change
your mind.” She walked back to her bedroom.

“Have a seat, pet.” He brought me a soda,
then set about making his lunch.

I told him all about the morning, how my
parents were dealing, and the waiting for the pathology report. He
listened and chewed, interrupting me only to ask for the layman
definition of a technical term. It was nice being allowed to talk
about it, what with my parents either avoiding the subject or being
overprotective.

“And I don’t even know if Mom’s called my
brother, yet!”

“So call him yourself.”

“I don’t want to spoil it if she has a
plan.”

“Then ask her if she’s called him.” He rolled
his eyes, thinking his solution was the obvious one.

“When Dad goes back to work.”

“Whatever. Your family needs to learn to
communicate like me and Mum. We say what we’re thinking.”

“It comes natural to
you
. We aren’t
like that.”

Though, really, why shouldn’t I call Andrew?
I had his info in my address book, and it had been a long time. He
was my brother no matter what my parents thought about him.

Jacob finished his lunch and wiped his hands
on his jeans.

I shook the angst from my head. “Well, enough
about my drama…my mother told me to ‘go be a teenager’.”

A mischievous glint came into his eye. “She
did, did she? Carte blanche to be young and daring and
irresponsible?”

“I wouldn’t say that…”

He darted around the table and caught me.
“How do you feel about shaggin’ outdoors?”

“I…uh…we could get caught.”

“That’s part of the fun, love. It’s like a
dare.”

His scent enveloped me. How could he be
sweaty and dirty and still not smell
bad
? There was probably
some scientific explanation of my primal senses recognizing his
awesomeness. Some other girl would just as easily think he was
gross. Right?

“Plenty of places just a drive away,
baby.”

Gulp
.
“Y-you should be helping your
mother…shouldn’t you?” Backbone? It was around here somewhere…

He grinned at me, massaging small circles on
my low back. “Nothin’ that has to be done today. Most of it’s in
the mail already.”

“Oh.”

“Come on, Bethie, let’s go have fun. See
where chance takes us.” He turned on the hopeful gaze, adding a
little lip bite to make me focus on his gorgeous mouth.

I could use fun, though, after the past week
and a half…anyone would say so. If the doctor said they got all the
cancer, then it’d all be behind us. I wanted the hope back, the
future full of possibilities.

“Wholesome fun, mister. I just want to feel
normal again.”

“You have it. Should I shower first?” He
rubbed his prickly cheek on mine.

“Ugh,
yes
.” Made me laugh, though.
“Go! And hurry up.”

He kissed me, teasing with his tongue, and
walked off to his bathroom. I had a seat in his bedroom to
wait.

Jacob left a lot here when he moved to
London. His personal effects had gone, and the guitars and video
games, but everything else was here from the high school years. The
soccer trophy for Most Improved in a Single Season. The lamp from a
garage sale with a base that looked like Jimi Hendrix. His jazz
band plaques and ribbons. The trophy from winning the talent show
senior year. Books, posters…everything I’d memorized in two years
of hanging out in this very spot, sitting in the middle of his
bed.

I wondered how he really felt about the house
going to someone else. I was a bit misty about it…didn’t like
change.

He walked into the room wearing just a towel.
I got up to leave.

“Shy now, Bethie?”

“Your mother is down the hall, so if you’re
dropping that towel, I’m leaving.”

He pouted. “Aww, no fun.”

I swatted his shoulder and left, closing the
door behind me. Devil sent to torment me, he was.

I felt bad about leaving Vivian without a
car, but he swore she wasn’t planning to go anywhere the rest of
the day. Really hoped so, for his sake.

He chose Santa Monica Pier.

Mom had taken me here once to see an artist
she knew, but otherwise, I wasn’t familiar with the pier or the
amusements around it. Being summer, a lot of people were here, but
I imagined even more would show up on the weekend. He pulled me
into Pacific Park.

I dragged my feet when he headed straight for
the coaster.

“What’s the problem?” he asked.

“I like staying on the
ground
.”

“Beth, it’s a little roller coaster. It’s
fun
. Come on.”

“But…”

“Love, I’d never let anything happen to you.
Do you trust me?”

Someday, I’d have to learn how to show that
much conviction in my eyes. “Yes.”

He smiled. “Then let’s ride.”

That’s what I got for dating an adrenaline
junkie. We rode, spun, swung, and dropped from great height as he
dragged me from ride to ride. I didn’t want to look, but closing my
eyes made me feel worse with no sense of my bearings. Watching him
grin through every thrill started to make my fear worth it,
though.

When we got over to the carnival games, I
felt more at ease. “Ooo, skee ball!” Now that, I could play. I
cashed a few dollars for quarters and tried to rack up enough
points for a stuffed tiger.

“How old are you?” he teased.

“Shut up. I need to concentrate.” I rolled my
eight balls into the pockets and the game flashed “winner!” “I won!
And you doubted me.” The attendant handed me my plush toy.

“I didn’t doubt you could win, love. I just
questioned your game choice.”

“Could’ve gone to the Wac-A-Mole first.”
Which I still might visit.

He held his hands up. “Fair enough. You
win.”

“And what would you play, Mr. Macho?”

“Bet you I can win you a bear over there.” He
pointed to a game with water guns and big stuffed bears as
prizes.

“You’re on.”

He had to aim for a spinning hole with the
water gun, competing against the other players. First one to the
top won a prize. The first time, a dad playing for his little girl
won. Second round, a teen with his girlfriend wrapped around him
just
beat Jacob to the top.

He handed the attendant cash to go again.

“Not so easy hitting a moving target, huh?” I
said.

“I’ve got it this time.”

“Uh-huh…”

He never backed down from a challenge or
refused a dare. Best way to motivate him was to say
you
can’t
. I got the big cute bear wearing a blue t-shirt, and
kissed my hero.

“Mmm. Hungry?” he asked.

“Sure.”

We got hot pretzels from a stand, his with
extra salt.

This was perfect. The sea air, nice breeze,
the scents of hot dogs and fresh fries, the sounds of laughing
children and electronic games, a doting boyfriend…I couldn’t wish
for a better way to feel eighteen and carefree. We wandered out of
the amusement park for now, people-watching and listening to
strolling musicians.

The Pier was so alive.

“You could clean house down here.”

“Beg pardon?” He stopped and put his
attention on me.

“Sing, with your guitar. You’d make mad tips
here.”

He glanced around. “Not exactly what I do,
pet. I’ve never played for people alone except at recitals.”

“So? It’s not like you
can’t
. If you
sang your songs, I know people would listen.”

He draped his arm across my shoulders and
started walking again. “I’ll think about it.”

I was serious about the suggestion. Walking
around, I saw lots of women admiring him since we stepped out of
the car, and once they heard him play and sing he’d have them
wrapped around his pinky. Plus, who knew who might be strolling by
on that day? Might be his big break.

We ended up at the Harbor Grill for
burgers.

The time was after six. “Do you mind if we
find a payphone so I can call home? Mom is supposed to talk to her
doctor tonight.”

“No, though there might not be one.”

“I can ask.”

But with no luck. Even the teenage employees
had cell phones, so no one could tell me what I wanted.

“Oh, well.”

“Do you want to go home?” It was written on
his face that he hoped not.

“No…we came here for a reason, and I’m going
to relax.” Or at least try.

His smile told me I made the right
choice.

The free concert started at seven, so once we
were done eating, we found a spot on the beach to watch. The first
group was a southern rock band and pretty good. The second band had
a decent group of musicians, but an annoying lead singer. We took a
walk.

“How about the Ferris wheel?” Jacob
suggested.

“It goes really high.”

“Yeah, but think about the view, love.”

“Okay…”

The wheel on the Pier was a Southern
California icon, especially with the lights on at night. It was a
big wheel; putting passengers over a hundred feet off the deck at
the top of revolution. Even with the concert in progress, we had to
wait in line. I wished I’d brought a camera.

Wait… Did I still have a disposable in here
for emergencies? Yes! I never thought about it immediately because
it was so light, I didn’t feel it in my bag.

I snapped a shot of Jacob standing under the
rainbow lights.

“Hey.”

“What? You like having your picture
taken.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know you had a
camera.”

“I remembered it.” I cranked the dial to make
the next frame available. “Dad likes us to keep one in case we’re
in an accident, but I’ll just buy another one later.”

“Your scrapbook getting lonely?”

“Ha, ha.” Smart ass. “As you so rightly
mentioned, there’s a view to behold.”

Our turn came to get in the bucket. He got in
first. I slid to his side. He draped his left arm on the back of
the seat, his hand brushing my shoulder. The wheel started moving.
The ride was being reloaded behind us, so we went up a notch,
stopped, went one more, and stopped--until we were at the top. It
was a beautiful view, as long as I didn’t look down.

I took two shots, then he rocked the bucket,
scaring me into clinging to him to not fall. “Don’t DO that!”

“Got you closer to me.”

“Ass.”

His hand slid under my hair to cup the base
of my skull. “You’re beautiful at sunset, know that?”

“I’m alright.” I knew I wasn’t ugly or
anything, but I wasn’t special, either. Just plain and kinda
nerdy.

He shook his head, looking at me like he knew
something I didn’t, and coaxed me forward for a kiss. He tasted a
little salty from dinner and a little minty from a breath mint he
must have chewed during the concert. It was a slow, sweet kiss,
breathing each other’s skin and teasing with our tongues.

The wheel jolted to life again, startling
me.

He seemed to want to say something, but
didn’t, changing his mind. The wheel did two complete revolutions,
then started letting riders off again. The spell of being on top of
the world was broken.

We got ice cream cones and started for the
car, slowly strolling through the waning crowd.

“Have a good time, love?”

“Uh-huh. Thank you.”

He squeezed my hand. “Know how to take care
of my girl.”

“Guess you do.”

We must have been sickening to watch; two
young people smiling at each other with sappy Cupid-inspired grins.
At the moment, I didn’t care.

Instead of heading home, he drove further
down the coast. With the moon just starting its ascent, the ocean
was pitch black.

“Taking the scenic route?” I asked.

“Something like that.”

“No offense, but I’d like to hear the verdict
about my mom. I need to know if she’s okay.”

“Yeah, okay.” He turned toward the freeway at
the next opportunity.

The girlfriend in me didn’t want to cut the
romance short and felt bad, but the daughter inside had more
pressing needs. I wondered if it’d always be like this, choosing
between family and love.

Chapter Sixteen

Jacob knew it was selfish to be disappointed
Beth wanted to go home. He hoped they could stay out late, maybe
make love before heading back to reality. They’d have privacy at
his house again once his mother left tomorrow, but there was
somethin’ about ending a date on a good shag. Ah, well.

She watched the cars they passed, her long
fingers idly tapping on her leg to the music on the radio. He
thought she was lovely in profile, with a straight nose, her bottom
lip a tad fuller than the top, and a graceful chin. Delicate and
lady-like, just like the rest of her, though she swore she wasn’t
girly. She didn’t think she had the legs for skirts, yet wore
shorts every day in summer. He liked her contradictions.

“Take you out tomorrow night?”

That got her attention. “Like a date?”

“Yes, exactly a date. It’s what dating people
do, so I’m told.”

She chewed her lip. Never a positive sign.
“I…where?”

“Don’t know, yet. Does it matter?”

“I don’t know.”

Come on, baby, live a little
. “Then
I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“My--”

“Tell them you have plans, Beth. You don’t
need to elaborate.”