The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven (22 page)

  
              “Trust me, you'll love it,” he promised. I figured I've come this far I might as well follow through.

  
              After we exited onto the roof, Tristan wedged a brick in between the door so it wouldn't lock us out up there. He directed me towards the center of the roof and had a seat. I mimicked him while carefully adjusting my dress as I sat with my legs crossed out in front of me. When he found I was situated, he lied back offering I follow suit. So I did.

  
              I was amazed at the brilliant sight before me. “Wow, look how bright they are.”

  
              “This is one of the few places you can come and really see all the stars,” he told me. “In the city there are too many lights.”

  
              “It's beautiful.”

  
              “I've seen better.” I knew his comment was directed at me from the warm breath I felt on my cheek. Feeling a sudden rush of heat, I made myself answer keeping with our normal commentary.

  
              “If that was an attempt at a pickup line, I would have to say you're slipping.”

   
              He regarded me closely before responding with what he hoped was a better line. “Il mio cane ha mangiato I miei compiti.”

   
              The way he said it made my heart sputter. “What does that mean?” I asked breathlessly.

 
              “My dog ate my homework.” I looked at him wondering if he was kidding. The slight twinkle in his eye told me he wasn't pulling my leg.

  
              I laughed so hard I almost snorted. “Charming.”

  
              “Well, I knew you were too good to fall for any lines.”

  
              “Right,” I said, hoping he hadn't noticed I almost had. “Tell me more.”

  
              “You don't want to hear them.”

  
              “Yes I do, please,” I begged.

  
              “I've never seen a star twinkle as bright as your eyes.”

  
              “Wow,” I said, trying to contain my laughter. “Give me another one.” He sighed and thought for a moment. “Is that all you got?”

  
              “No, it's just...I usually play to the situation.”

  
              “How so?”

  
              He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before giving me his answer. “Okay, so say it's raining outside. I'll walk up to a girl and ask, 'Do you know why it's raining out?' When she says no, I'll turn her to face me and say, 'the Heavens are crying because they're missing an Angel.”

    
              I laughed even harder this time. “And this works?”

   
              “Hasn't failed me yet.”

  
              “Where do you find these girls?” I had a hard time believing that any girl would fall for such a cheesy line. He just shrugged, not caring to elaborate. “How come you never tried any of these on me?”

  
              “Because you are more worthy than any cheesy come-on or cheap move.”

  
              “And you want me to believe that wasn't a line?” I said, turning to face him. His head was lolled to the side, making our lips only an inch apart. I subconsciously licked my lips, biting the inside of my cheek.  We both knew he never needed to use a line to get me. Just a look and a simple touch was all it took for me to melt.

  
              He gently grazed his thumb along my jaw line. He wet his lips while his eyes trailed the soft curve of my bottom lip. My breath hitched at his touch and I braced myself for the sudden impact I would feel from his kiss. Only our lips never made connection. I was startled by a loud noise coming from behind us. “What was that?” I asked, sitting up abruptly. I turned my head in every direction looking for an explanation to the noise.

  
              Tristan sighed and brought himself into a sitting position. I knew from the look on his face he was frustrated from the interruption. He hadn't responded to my earlier question making me feel at a loss for what to say. My emotions were in a whirlwind. I felt trapped in the middle of a cyclone with no way out. Tristan's finger danced dangerously close to mine. Our skin made contact and I laced my fingers through his feeling a rush of heat.

  
              He relaxed at the embrace of the tender touch. “Look up there,” he pointed to the sky.

  
              “What am I looking for?”

  
              “In about one minute...there,” he said.

  
              “Was that...oh my God, it's a meteor shower.” I gazed in awe. “I've never seen one before. It's so...”

  
              “Magical.”

  
              I shifted towards him, and then quickly looked away feeling the power of his draw. “Yeah, it's pretty neat.” We both sat there silently.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I asked once the moment was gone. I wanted to keep the conversation light.

                 “No,” he said as if there was a void inside his heart from being an only child. “You?”

  
              “Two older brothers.”

  
              “I bet they feel lucky to have a sister like you.”

  
              “Hardly,” I scoffed. “They torment me all the time.”

  
              “I'm sure it's all out of love.”

  
              “You sound like my dad.” He gave me a wry look making me laugh. “Tell me about yourself.”

  
              “What do you want to know?”

  
              I thought it over for a moment and decided to ask what has been in the back of mind since the first day we met. “Have you ever had a serious relationship?”

  
              “Define serious.”

  
              “I'll take that as a no. What's your major?”

  
              “Sorry, one question at a time, it's my turn now.”

  
              “Okay, ask away,” I said, preparing myself for whatever he was going to throw at me.

  
              “What about you, any serious relationships?”

  
              That was one question I wasn't ready for.

   
              I thought a moment, deliberating how much I wanted to share with him. “One,” was all I said.

   
              “What happened? Did he break your heart?” he asked with a playful smirk.

  
              “No, he um, died.”

  
              He clenched my hand tighter feeling my sorrow at the mention of my ex. “I'm sorry.”

  
              “You didn't know, it's fine.”

  
              He hesitated a moment before he asked, “How did it happen?”

  
              I played around with the hem of my dress before I answered. “Car accident,” I replied not wanting to divulge any more information. I could see that he suddenly regretted asking so I quickly changed the subject. “My turn now and I get to ask three because apparently you can't follow your own rules of one question at a time.”

  
              “That's fair,” he replied. I could tell he was still stuck on the fact that I just told him the only serious relationship I had ended in death, but I didn't want to dwell on it. I was finally feeling okay with it and I knew if I drudged up bad memories I would be stuck in the past and I worked so hard to move forward. So I moved on with the questions.

  
              “If you could pick any place in the world to go where would it be?”

  
              “Ireland,” he said without a second thought. I noticed he relaxed a little with the change of subject.

  
              “Why Ireland?” I asked wanting to know his reasoning because if I had to choose, I would have said Ireland also.

  
              “That's where I'm from.”

  
              “You don't have an accent.”

  
              “Don't I?” He said attempting a try at an Irish accent. I smiled. It was hard not to blush. His interpretation was pretty accurate.

  
              “What happened?”

  
              “I moved to the states when I was five. I guess you can say I left my accent back in Ireland.”

  
              “Do you miss it?”

  
              “The accent?”

  
              “Yes the accent,” I rolled my eyes. “No Ireland.”

  
              “All the time. I still have family there so I try to go back every chance I get.”

  
              “I’ve never been and always wanted to go,” I replied with a twinge of jealousy. Being Irish you would think my parents would make frequent trips to Ireland, but it's quite the opposite. For some reason they've constantly found excuses for us not to go. I never pushed the issue.

  
              “Well maybe someday we can go together,” he smiled.

  
              “That would be nice,” I said before I realized those words actually came out of my mouth. He smiled sweetly at me making me feel all warm inside.

  
              “Ella, can I tell you something?” He spoke as if what he had to say might make me run.

  
              “You can tell me anything,” I encouraged. “You never held back before so why start now?” I teased, bumping his shoulder.

  
              He looked into my eyes and I saw something different in his tonight. A longing, a desire so intense I thought he might burst. “I like you,” he said. “I mean I really like you. I'm crazy about you,” he confessed, making my heart pound.

  
              “I will agree you're crazy,” I said laughing, hoping to calm the erratic beating of my heart. He smiled and shifted himself so he was facing me. His hand still held mine. He tentatively reached over and caressed my cheek. I closed my eyes and welcomed his soft touch. His fingers burned my skin, but in a good way. I could feel how badly Tristan wanted to kiss me, but was afraid I might reject his efforts.

  
              I tilted my head slightly, giving him the okay. He brought my face closer to his, leaned in slightly, and softly pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was sweet, not forced or rushed. He pulled back all too soon. I wanted more and knew he did too. He resisted the urge and I knew it was killing him inside. With a gracious smile, he brushed a piece a hair away and tucked it behind my ear. He traced my jawline with his finger, making my skin tingle.

  
              Just when I thought he was about to kiss me again, I felt a drop on my cheek. I pulled back and looked up. “Is it raining?” It was like the sky had opened up. Buckets of rain poured down on us. I yelped jumping to my feet. Tristan and I ran to the door only to find it was now closed. That's what the noise was I realized. Somehow the brick had slid out allowing the door to close and lock us out.

  
              “What are we going to do now?” I asked, not knowing another way down. We were completely drenched having no shelter from the rain. The heavy drops felt like ice making me shiver uncontrollably. Tristan held up his finger indicating he'd be right back. He jogged over to the side of the building and looked over the edge. After a few seconds of deliberation he returned to me pushing back his soaking wet hair.

  
              I looked at him worried. “We're going to jump.”

  
              “Are you nuts? There's no way I'm jumping off the roof,” I said panicked. I paced back and forth biting my nails. “There has to be another way,” I tried to convince myself.

  
              “Ella,” Tristan said, interrupting my incessant rambling. “It's the only other way down. You will be fine.”

  
              My frightened expression told him I needed a push. He gripped my waist, tugging me along over to the edge. I peered over the side quickly backing up. “There's no way I'm jumping.” It was at least an eight foot drop from the roof to the fire escape.

  
              “Ella, it's not that far. I'll go first.” Before I could protest again he was already swinging his legs over the side and descending. It happened so quick that if I would have blinked I would have missed it.

             
“Tristan!” I called out. It was hard seeing anything through the downpour of rain.

  
              “Your turn,” he called up. I looked over the edge again and was able to make him out enough to see he was on the fire escape. How he did that with such ease I have no idea.