The Pull of Destiny (63 page)

Dad stood up, picking up his
newspaper. “Mark my words,” he intoned, shaking the paper dangerously close to
my face, “I know you pretty well.”

“Not as well as you might
think,” I muttered, feeling heated as dad strode out of the kitchen and on his
merry way. Guess he wasn't truly satisfied until he managed to ruin my mood and
get under my skin. Taking a deep breath, I stretched. I just needed to relax.
He was just bullshitting, that much was obvious. And he must not really know me
that well, because I wasn't hanging out with CiCi to piss him or anyone else
off. I was hanging with her because she was understanding, kind and had the
most kissable lips. The last one wasn't a great reason to be spending time with
anyone, but it was true.

Feeling defiant, I picked up
my cell phone and dialed her number.

“Hey Luke! What's up?”

I leaned back against the
table, closing my eyes and letting CiCi's sweet voice wash over me. “Nothing
much. What you getting up to today?” I asked, hoping against hope that she
would say nothing and I'd have her all to myself for the entire day.

“I have to go to work today,”
CiCi replied. The disappointment that ran through my body was palpable.

Running a hand through my
hair, I said, “Oh. Okay.”

“Why, what are you planning
on doing today?” CiCi asked curiously.

I shrugged, my list thrown
carelessly to the side. Working on things without CiCi wasn't that much fun.
When she wasn't around I missed the way she shivered when I touched her by
accident, the way she made up little bits of information then acted like it was
the gospel truth, the way she giggled when I said something funny- I just
missed her, period.

“I just wanted to finish up
with the time capsule,” I said without much enthusiasm.

CiCi gasped. “Luke Astor, you
better not be working on burying that time capsule without me! I've always
wanted to send a message in a bottle,” she said wistfully. “This is my only
chance to do something like this!”

“Well, you said you're
working today, so...”

My voice trailed off.

“So?” CiCi sounded indignant.
“I only work until 1pm! If you can wait till then, I'd really love to be a part
of this.”

Now that was what I liked to
hear.

“Why didn't you tell me you
only worked till 1?” I griped playfully, my good mood restored.

CiCi giggled. “You didn't
ask. So, can I bring something to put in the time capsule?”

Nodding, I replied, “More
than one thing, if you want. Like maybe a favorite t-shirt, memento, a
keepsake. You know, something that means a lot to you that you'll look at when
we open the capsule in a few years and remember the memories associated with
it.”

“Gotcha. Do you have
your
memento's ready?”

I could hear a laugh in her
voice, like she was trying not to make fun of me for using that word.

“Hey, I'm bringing the word
memento back,” I protested, a grin on my face.

“I'm not doubting that,” CiCi
snickered.

“I've pretty much got
everything I want to put in the capsule ready and waiting,” I continued. “Oh,
wait a second. You know what?”

CiCi giggled again. “Sounds
like the start of one of your crazy schemes,” she said.

I snorted. “I don't do crazy
schemes.”

“Luke. You took the P.A. Room
hostage. You're certifiable.”

Switching the phone to my
other ear, I grinned ruefully. “Okay, so maybe I do go a little overboard
sometimes-.”

“Cough- ten detentions-
cough!”

Obviously CiCi was just
trying to be perverse.

“CiCi...” I groaned.

“Fine, I'm done teasing you.”
Her voice turned faux attentive. “What should we do, oh wise one?”

Her message in a bottle
comment had caught my attention and I leaned forward, eager to tell her my
plan.

“We should write letters to
each other, seal them and put them in the capsule.”

There was a pause. “Like
homework?” CiCi asked finally.

“Well, no.”

“Sounds like homework to me.”
She didn't sound too enthralled by the notion. “What kind of letters?”

“You know, what you think of
me now, how you'll remember me in the years to come, stuff you think I should
change, that kind of thing,” I explained, warming to the idea. “It'll be fun!”

And so, thankfully, did CiCi.
Or maybe she just heard the excitement in my voice and didn't want to burst my
bubble.

“Let’s do it!” Her voice
turned sly. “I can think of a lot that I can say about you.”

My interest piqued. “Oh yeah?
Like what?”

“You'll have to find out when
we open the capsule,” CiCi replied primly.

“Tease.”

***

I met up with a shivering
CiCi a block away from Nino's Deli. A brisk wind was blowing, yet she was only
wearing a thin sweater.

“My winter jacket's in the
wash,” she explained, trembling in my arms as I gave her a long hug. I didn't
like to mention the fact that I had only ever seen her wear one jacket the
entire time I'd been hanging out with her. She probably didn't think I noticed
these things but like I believe I'd once told her, I notice everything. Well,
okay, maybe not every little damn thing, but I knew for damn sure that CiCi
only had one winter jacket and that made me feel some kind of way.

Ignoring her protests, I
immediately pulled off my hoodie and draped it across her shoulders.

“Put it on,” I commanded,
yanking the small shopping bag from her cold fingers so she could put her arms
through the sleeves of the hoodie.

“Luke, you'll freeze,” she
exclaimed, staring aghast at me in my long sleeved t-shirt. I grinned slightly.
How could I freeze when I wasn't even cold?

“No I won't,” I assured her,
miming zip up motions as I stood in front of her. “You need it more than I do
and I was brought up to be a gentleman so zip up and shut up.”

CiCi hid her smile with her
hand as she reluctantly zipped up my hoodie. “My, how gallant,” she said
sarcastically. I smirked at her as she continued. “If I see even a single
goosebump on your skin I'm taking this jacket off and giving it back to you.”

“But how will you know it’s
from the cold, considering I get goose bumps when I touch you?” I asked
jokingly, wrapping my arms around her neck and staring into her gorgeous eyes.

“Um...” she said nervously. I
grinned wider.

“Don't worry, I'm good,” I
told her. “And if I do get cold, all I have to do is kiss you, really. That'll
get my blood circulating in no time.”

“Huh.” CiCi gave me an
uncertain look, not sure if I was joking or not, so I decided to show her what
I meant.

Cupping her face in my rather
chilly hands, I said, “See? My hands are cold as ice.”

“Okay, but I don't get-,”
CiCi started, right before I softly pressed my lips against hers. Man, I just
loved kissing her in mid-sentence. And I just loved kissing her period. Her
body tensed for an instant, then relaxed as she wrapped her arms loosely around
my neck, kissing me back as we stood in the middle of the sidewalk.

Gently, I pulled back,
grinning at the dazed look on CiCi's face. “See? Now my hands are warm.”

***

We decided to make a pit stop
at a local diner to sort our goodies out and get some grub. I was starving.
Well, can you blame me? I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast (a bowl of
fruit loops 'made' by Faith). And I knew CiCi was always down for some food,
which was why I was surprised when she ordered salad and water from the surly
waitress who took our order.

“Really?” I asked her as the
waitress popped her gum impatiently.

Flushing slightly, CiCi said,
“I'm not really hungry, Luke. I had a sub at Nino's.”

She was lying, that much I
knew. I could tell from the way she had carefully scrutinized the menu before
ordering the cheapest item on it. Maybe she thought she was going to have to
pay for it and she didn't have much money? Even though thinking that way made
me feel like an asshole, I was probably right. CiCi was just independent like
that. It made me feel like an unthinking jerk. For me, money wasn't a thing. I
could just charge everything to my credit card. I always forgot that there were
some people who had to watch every penny they spent and CiCi happened to be one
of them.

The waitress barked out, “Is
that everything for you?”

I looked up at her scowling
face. “Um, can I get two burgers, two large fries with cheese dip and two
strawberry milkshakes? No salad or water. I don't think any of us are on a
diet.”

“No, Luke, I'm fine with the
water and salad,” CiCi said hastily.

“Relax, CiCi. It's on me,” I
said soothingly, placing my hands over hers. She shot me an apprehensive look
which I pretended not to see.

Rolling her eyes heavenward,
the waitress made a grand sow of scratching out CiCi's order on her notepad.

“So two burgers, two large
fries, cheese dip, two strawberry shakes. Any other changes?” she asked,
borderline rudely.

I exchanged a quizzical
glance with CiCi. Somebody was obviously in a grumpy mood. I guess working in a
place like this didn't really help matters. The diner was filled with old,
drunk, pervy guys who kept pinching their respective waitresses butts.

“No. Thanks, though,” I said
politely.

As she stomped off, I'm quite
sure she muttered, “Whatever.”

“Quite the charmer, isn't
she?” I joked, grinning at CiCi. She didn't smile back, fixing me with an upset
look instead.

“Luke,” she started wearily.
I had an inkling of what was coming, but I decided to play dumb. “You didn't
have to get me the fries. Or the burger. I told you, I'm not that hungry. The
salad would have been enough.”

“And I told you that it’s on
me. Don't worry about it. Besides,” I said, rubbing my thumb over her knuckles,
“what kind of guy would I be if I took a pretty girl on a date and expected her
to pay?”

With her mouth half open,
CiCi stared at me, wide eyed. It always made me laugh whenever I managed to
render her speechless because I could practically see her mind whirling, trying
to come up with a response.

“But if this was a date, you
would have your arm around me,” she breathed finally.

Grinning at her, I scooted
around in the booth till I was sitting next to her, put my arm around her
shoulder and pulled her against me.

“Better?” I whispered,
kissing her forehead.

Smiling sweetly up at me,
CiCi murmured, “Much. And thank you.”

“No problem.” I snickered. “I
just can't believe you ordered water! Girls are so complex!”

“And guys aren't?” CiCi
asked, pursing up her lips. “You know, Luke, science has proved that-.”

As soon as CiCi pursed up her
lips to give me a little nugget of info that she no doubt made up herself, I
grabbed my reusable bag from across the table, opened it and pulled out the
time capsule.

“And here's the capsule,” I
announced, stopping CiCi in mid-sentence.

“Ooh, it’s so cool!” she
enthused. “It looks exactly like a rock! I guess that’s the point, huh?”

I nodded. “Yeah. That way we
can just pop it in a garden or something and hope it’s still there when we go
back to dig it up.”

As I was showing her the
metal cylinder that we would actually be putting our memorabilia in, the surly
waitress returned with our food. She looked frazzled as she slammed two plates
with yummy looking burgers and steaming fries on the side, our frothy shakes
and delicious looking cheese dip on our table.

“Enjoy,” she snapped in a
tone that suggested that if we happened to choke on our food too, she wouldn't
really care.

“Thank you,” CiCi called
after her. She stared at her plate of fries, a troubled look on her face. “It
must be rough working here.”

“I'll say,” I agreed, talking
around a mouthful of strawberry milkshake. We ate in silence for several
intense minutes. I guess we were both hungrier than we thought. Finally, once
the edge of our hunger had been taken off, I said, “So what did you bring to
put in the capsule? Let's go through our stuff and see if they deserve a place
in- um, history?”

CiCi shrugged, smiling
indulgently at me. “That works. How about you go first?”

Wiping my mouth with a
napkin, I pulled an envelope with CiCi's name on it out of my bag. “Okay, I've
got my letter to you.” I beamed at her as I placed it ceremoniously into the
capsule. “That goes in first, of course.”

I was rewarded for that by a
heartwarming smile from CiCi and she gave me a clumsy one-armed hug. “Aw!
That's so sweet of you.” I watched as she took out an envelope of her own from
her bag. “Here's my letter to you.”