Resplendent (10 page)

I held the camera to my face and looked through the viewfinder. My focal point seemed too far, so I adjusted the lens before taking a few pictures of Charles River, with Boston University in the background. The romantic fire of the sunset calmed me and matched the setting perfectly. I couldn’t wait to develop these pictures. Autumn, my favorite season, was breathtaking in Boston. I focused on the colored leaves that had fallen in the water and then those that crunched under my feet. My head turned to face the huge Citgo sign that sat above the BU bookstore at Kenmore Square. It stood tall, a beacon for students who needed to find their way back. I loved that I could take a thousand pictures of whatever I wanted with my new digital camera, now that I had a 32GB memory chip that Andres had sent me for my birthday. My mom’s old camera was in fair condition, but I liked to keep it tucked away somewhere safe.

“Come on, Annie Leibovitz!” Brittany yelled ahead of me.

I looked up and noticed how my friend’s loose platinum blonde curls intricately moved with the wind. When I held up my camera, Brittany’s eyes widened and she squealed as soon as I started snapping pictures. She put her hands up to cover her face and cursed. “Oh my God, Savannah, I look terrible!” she cried out.

I leaned my head back and laughed as I put my camera in my bag. “You’re no fun!”

Brittany looped her arm through mine and we walked together toward campus.

“You better delete all of those,” she demanded.

I smiled deviously and bit my lip. “I was actually thinking I could use it for my next assignment.”

Brittany stopped dead in her tracks and pulled on my sweater, her turquoise eyes narrowing. “Savannah Martinez, I will never bring you a caramel macchiato again when you’re up at night, studying for who knows how long.”

Crap. She’s pulling the big guns.
I held up my hand in surrender and kept a straight face. “Okay, okay, I’ll delete the pictures. No need to get sinister.”

Brittany grinned, a dimple prominent on her cheeks. “I knew you’d see it my way.” She squeezed my arm, looked straight ahead, and her smile instantly grew wider. “Hey, I know those guys. Let’s go and say hi!”

I groaned. Were there any guys on campus that Brittany
didn’t
know?

“Jake Henson in the flesh,” Brittany announced loudly. A duet of boys turned around to face us. Jake stood tall with his blonde, spiky hair and goofy grin. He smiled broadly and walked toward us. When he hugged Brittany, he lifted her up easily, thanks to his athletic build. I laughed at his playfulness.

“Brittany,” his voice boomed. “Isn’t this your lucky day.”

Brittany giggled and rolled her eyes. “What are you guys up to tonight?”

Jake turned and gestured toward his friend. “We’re going to party it up at The Estate. Wanna come?” he asked, looking between the both of us. Brittany twisted her body and wrapped her arm over my shoulder.
Uh oh.

“Sounds cool. We’ll both go,” Brittany answered.

I shook my head and held up my hands, taking a step back. “No, that’s okay, Brit — you go and have fun.”

Brittany pouted. “Oh, come on! We haven’t hung out in a long time!”

“Yeah, you’re more than welcome to come,” the light haired guy behind Jake spoke up. I was immediately enthralled with his piercing green eyes.

“I’m Sebastian by the way.” He smiled warmly at me, and I took note of his dimples.

“Savannah,” I responded kindly. “I wish I could, but I have to prepare for my thesis.”

Brittany sighed behind me and I tried not to cringe. “Don’t take it personally. She’s always preparing for ... something.” Brittany hadn’t been able to figure me out and we’d known each other for three years.

“That’s too bad.” Sebastian grinned at me and stuck his hands in his back pockets. He looked hot as hell in loose-fitting, light-washed jeans, a long sleeved, scarlet BU sweater and his thick hair slightly damp, as if he’d just gotten out of the shower.

“If you change your mind, you know where we’ll be,” he told me, as his eyes traveled down my body.

“Will do,” I smiled and pulled Brittany toward me by the arm. We had to get back to our apartment next to campus.

“Text me the time!” Brittany turned and called out to Jake. He nodded and waved goodbye as she looped her arm through mine.

“Sebastian was totally checking out your ass,” she whispered and bumped me in the shoulder.

I tried to play it off with a shrug, her comment made me feel warm inside. Brittany stayed quiet most of the way to our dorm, which was odd, considering she was a talker. I glanced at her and could see the wheels turning in her head. Her eyes were looking straight ahead but her eyebrows were furrowed. I should have enjoyed the unusual silence between us, but I decided to speak up.

“What is it, B?” I asked cautiously.

Brittany sighed. “It’s nothing.”

I gave her the side eye. “Really? You’re going to pull the ‘it’s nothing’ card on me?”

Brittany let out a frustrated breath of air. “Sebastian is hot, sweet, and clearly interested in you. Don’t you want to go out with him tonight?”

“I said that I would, but I have to study…”

“For
what
?” Brittany rolled her eyes and pulled her arm free.

“B, I have to keep a 3.0 GPA in order to keep my scholarship,” I said solemnly.

“Oh my God, you have a 3.5!”

“Keyword is
keep
, thank you very much.” When she didn’t answer me, I thought maybe a distraction would help.

“Let’s go to Starbucks at SMG,” I suggested. The distraction lasted all of ten seconds.

“Okay and
then after
, we can go out.”

I let out a laugh and side hugged her. “I’ll think about it.”

Hours later, in the warmth of my room and fresh out of the shower, I glanced at my screen and noticed a text message from Dre:
I want to see you

I ran my finger over the screen and looked through my photo gallery. I selected a self-portrait taken earlier that day and sent it over to him with a message.

Me: Just for you

I smiled. Every time he sent me a sweet text, I couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear.

Dre: You’re beautiful. But I want to see you in person.

Me: Ditto! I’ll try to come down for the holidays.

I switched on my laptop and glanced at the dual photo frame on my desk. On one side, it held a picture of my parents from when they had just started dating and next to it was a picture of Dre and me. When he had taken me to the airport, I insisted I needed one more picture. I wasn’t sure if things between us would change if I moved back to Miami after so many years in Boston, but I figured if it did, at least I had that picture. Dre didn’t respond, so I turned off my phone and laid it on my night table. I didn’t want any distractions tonight, and knowing my friends, they would constantly be texting me while they partied the night away.

Focusing my attention back to the computer screen, I looked for my school documents folder. I had lied to Brittany. I was two weeks ahead on my assignment but wanted to take a glance at my thesis one more time, just in case I missed something. This way I’d also look busy when all three of my roommates left for the night. I’d turned them down each weekend, claiming I had a ton of work, and as soon as they left, I was free to do whatever I wanted — read, relax, look at photography websites.

“Savannah?” Brittany rapped on my door as soon as I opened my word document. Her timing was on point.

“Come in,” I called out, positioning my body so that I stood right in front of the screen, clearly appearing
busy
.

“There’s a guy here for you,” Brittany whispered with a smile on her face. “And he’s smoking hot.”

Oh no. Not Sebastian
. I placed my hands on my hips.
What had Brittany done?

“Don’t tell me you had Jake bring Sebastian here.”

Brittany shook her head, a devious smile on her face.

I raised an eyebrow. “Then who is it?” Now I was very much intrigued by the visitor.

Brittany’s smile just got wider, and she pushed the door open even further. She extended her hand, telling me to get up and see for myself. Our apartment wasn’t big at all, so as soon as I walked out of my room I saw him and let out a small gasp.

“Dre?” I asked, knowing it was him, but wondering if I was wrong. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

He stood by the door with a bag over his shoulder and smiled weakly at me. We’d talked every week for the last three years, but he’d never come up to visit me.

He closed the door with his foot and dropped the bag on the floor, opening up his arms. I ran to him without question and hugged him tightly. “The holidays seem too far away for me,” he whispered into my hair. A feeling of dread washed over me.
Something must be wrong.

“I’ve missed you,” I said quietly, and took in a deep breath. I could feel his arms tighten around me, so tight that I had to keep still to make sure my breathing was controlled. He didn’t have a witty remark? His silence was unnerving.

“What’s wrong, Dre?” I whispered, not wanting Brittany to hear.

“Can we go to your room?” he asked hoarsely, and I looked up at him and nodded. He left his bag on the floor and walked with me back to my room. Brittany looked at us quizzically, no doubt making a list of questions for me to answer later. But right now, I was only worried about Andres. He’d shown up without so much as a phone call. Although I would normally love this surprise, the look in his eyes made me uneasy.

He gently closed my door, and I sat on the dresser, pulling him to stand between my legs. He ran his hands down my back and under my shirt, causing me to shiver.

“You’re scaring me,” I declared, holding his face in the palm of my hands.

He pecked me lightly on the lips.

“I love you,” was all he said.

My eyes instantly watered. This was the first time he’d ever said those words. He’d shown it in different ways but had never said it.

“I love you,” I repeated simply and he kissed me softly.

Where was this coming from? When I left we never committed to having a serious relationship. His affections thrilled, yet worried me. Running his hands further up, he trailed his thumb under my bra, starting a fire deep in my belly.

“I love you so much,” he said, his eyes tinged with sadness. “You know that right, Peach? That I’ve never loved someone the way I love you. That every night before I go to sleep, your beautiful face is the last thing I picture. I just want you, I
need
you, and everything always ends up back to you somehow. You’re in my thoughts, in my past, I
want
you to be in my future, I just...” his voice trailed off as he moved his fingers through my hair and held my head. He was frowning, and I could clearly see the puffiness under his eyes from lack of sleep. I had waited so long for him to visit. Every date I went on or guy I talked to didn’t compare to the relationship I had with Dre.

He ran his hand down his face, the rim of his eyes lined with moisture. I placed my hand on his arm. “Dre?” Was he sick or in some sort of trouble?

“My dad is dying.”

My stomach dropped.

I immediately tried to get closer, but he held me in place by my arms, not letting me move an inch.

“I thought he was getting better?” He had finished chemo and radiation a few months ago. This was the last thing I expected him to tell me.

“The cancer was too much. It came back and spread from his lungs all over his body, too fast. Now there is nothing left to do but wait.” His voice broke with the last word, and I heard him swallow hard, trying to control his emotions.

I wanted my lips on his skin. I grabbed the hand that was resting on my waist and held it up to my lips, kissing it softly. “You can trust me, Dre.”

When he didn’t answer, I slowly got off the dresser and walked with him toward the bed. Seeing the devastation in his eyes broke my heart. I knew exactly how he was feeling.

“How much longer?” I said as we faced one another on the bed.

He exhaled. “A few days, I think. Maybe less. I’m not really sure, and I have to leave tomorrow. I just had to see you.”

I brought up my hand to his cheek, stroking the rough stubble. “I’ll go with you.” He started shaking his head, and before he could speak, I held a finger to his lips. “I don’t want to hear it, I’m going with you.”

“You have school,” he said against my finger.

I leaned forward to kiss him sweetly. “I have you.” He closed his eyes and pulled me to him.

He had been there for me when I needed someone the most. He was the glow in my heart, and tonight it was clear, he needed
me
.

I wanted to give him
everything
. Why should I bother looking for someone else? Why question what we had together? Why keep
waiting
? He buried his nose in my neck and took in a deep breath. “You smell so good,” he said.

I raised his chin with my finger and leaned down to kiss him softly. His lips parted without hesitation and I pulled him close. Our kiss told a tale of longing, sadness, and friendship, all blended together in equal parts. We were drunk on love and I never wanted to be sober. He rubbed his hands down my back, and I pulled him over me. My legs opened so he could fit between them, and he pulled away to break the kiss.