Across the Music (Across the Ocean Book 2) (8 page)

The air around me is drier than it has been the last few weeks. Summer is more than half way over, and even though the sun still isn’t setting completely, it is getting darker in the evenings. Personally, I can’t wait for night time to come. I am a star lover, and I’ve heard the night sky is absolutely gorgeous here. If I manage to see the Northern Lights while I am here, I will be set.

Over this last week, I worked a few uneventful evenings with little to no trouble, and spent some time with Hilary in the evenings. She giggled with me over the scenario I've found myself in with Gunnar and Loki, and it was almost as if we were young and carefree again, with crushes on boys.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I see that it’s 8:28 am. Two minutes until the bus arrives, and I will arrive at Gunnar's by 9:00 am, in time to head to the summerhouse. He was going to pick me up, but I insisted on taking the bus. The many text messages that we exchanged over the last week made me feel things. School girl giddy emotions with butterflies and excitement. Scrolling through some of them, I smile with the happiness they fill me with.

Gunnar
: Calling all Sophies! There is one Gunnar looking to make sure that this is indeed Sophie's phone number. Here's to hoping I wasn't given a bum number that leads to an old pervy man!

Sophie
: Affirmative. Gunnar J has found one Sophie M. Mission complete!

Gunnar
: That's a relief. I was hoping you wouldn't lead me astray.

Sophie
: I don't lead men I willingly offer my phone number to astray. I'm a proper lady of sorts.

Gunnar
: Fair enough. Still grateful. You still planning to spend next weekend with us?

Sophie
: I am, indeed! I hope I'm still welcome?

Gunnar
: To be completely honest, there are a few people who are invited that I would prefer not come. But don't worry; you're not one of them.

Sophie
: Is Loki one of them?

Gunnar
: I just can't seem to find a way to get rid of that bastard!

Sophie
: He seems quiet enough to keep around.

Gunnar
: That's only when women are around. Why are we talking about Loki? Let's talk about me, Gunnar!

Gunnar:
Looking forward to this weekend. I hope you're prepared to have some fun!

Loki:
To hell with that Gunnar guy. Let's always talk about me.

A few days later...

Gunnar:
What's your favorite food?

Sophie:
I've recently discovered that it's Icelandic hamburgers with béarnaise sauce on them. What about you?

Gunnar:
I'm a man. I just like all food. Steel stomach, perhaps?

Sophie:
That could have its benefits for a wife who couldn't cook.

Gunnar:
Can you cook?

Sophie:
Maybe someday you will find out!

Gunnar:
I hope so.

The text messages had continued on jovially for the remainder of the week, building my anticipation to spend time with them just as they were helping me get to know Gunnar a little more every day. I send a quick
"On my way"
message to Gunnar and tuck my phone back into my pocket.

I look around me and observe that I am the only person waiting on the bus; maybe it won't be crowded when I get on. In front of me, between the houses that are across the street and a bit below, I can see the glittering ocean in the fjord with boats bobbing joyfully in the sunshine. I love this neighborhood, and the fact that these types of views are commonplace.

To my left, I can hear the bus coming to round the corner and reach my stop. I pull out my prepaid bus pass, lean over to give Marissa a farewell scratch on the head, and wait for the bus to stop and open the door. Stepping into the bus, I flash my pass at the driver, who nods at me to take a seat. There aren’t many people on the bus, just two teenage girls tittering and giggling at each other in the back. There’s also an old man sitting on the right side of the bus. I just grab the closest seat to me to allow the bus driver to start driving.

Tucking my purse into my lap, I scoot into the window seat. Digging into my purse, I pull out my MP3 player and slide on my headphones. Quickly directing my player to one of my favorite playlists, I tuck it back into my purse and lean my head against the window. I love sitting here, listening to great music while I watch this beautiful city pass by.

We make a few turns until we reach a long road next to the small fjord I could see from the bus stop, with a hill on the other side of the water that is covered in forest. It's topped with a huge tower with a glass dome-shaped roof accompanied by large round barrel-shapes surrounding it that holds water, I've heard. It's called
Perlan
(the Pearl), and Hilary told me you can stand on the top and see a perfect panorama of the city that leads out to the ocean and mountains in every direction. I haven’t gone yet, but I think I will in the near future.

I eventually stop paying attention to what’s going on around me, as we make the constant stops to pick people up or drop them at their destination. My eyes close a bit and I allow myself to fall into that state of half-awake and half-asleep where I can pretend everything within me is okay. I didn't sleep well last night, and my nightmares have left a lingering bad feeling within me.

Family life back at home is a bit of a mess for me. I know that everyone’s family can be complicated at one point or another, and that’s normal. I wish it were only once in a while for me. The sad truth is my mother passed away when I was ten due to cancer, and I had an older brother who passed away in a car accident when I was thirteen.

My father wasn’t able to handle all of it, and he went right off the deep end. Something inside of him just snapped, and he has never been the same. I can’t say I blame him, I am changed because of it too, but I was still here, you know? I still needed him to be my father and step up to some degree. Instead, he’s a basket-case and it’s impossible to be anywhere near him.

I had to raise myself after my mum passed, and I had to leave now because he has become such an alcoholic that he was incapable of taking care of himself. He was draining me emotionally dry, and I need to live my life goddamn it.

Where do we draw the line? When do we, as children, decide whether or not to separate ourselves from what family we are born to, and turn our backs on them? When I realized I was in danger of allowing him to take me down with him, was when I knew I had to leave.

Maybe I should feel bad that I left him behind, but I don’t. He had become rather abusive after Mum died, he would smack me, push me, and scream at me all the time for no sensible reason. Believe it or not, we come from a family with money, but you couldn’t tell with how we lived after Mum died, since it didn’t matter to Dad once he lost his wife and son.

My mum came from a lot of money, and had a trust fund set up for me when I was tiny, but I was only allowed to touch it once I turned 21. I didn’t even know about it until then, and I guess they assumed that I would blow all of it if I received it when I turned 18. I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for it now, though. This way, Dad couldn’t touch it and blow it on booze, or drugs. Mum was smarter than any of us, and I miss her so much.

I can’t really talk about losing my big brother. Even though it was so long ago, losing Evan was obviously a completely devastating experience, and there is still a huge, gaping hole in my heart from it. More often than not, I find that it feels as though I am walking aimlessly through a thick fog, unaware of anything around me, unable to see. I know it’s not healthy, and that’s another reason I left New Zealand in the first place. It's been a little better since I left.

The bus turns suddenly onto the street I was on last weekend where Gunnar lives, and I pull the cable above my window to tell the driver to pull over. Standing up, I prepare for the doors to open and to head out. I'm just a box of budgies and filled to the brim with excitement at the moment.
I can see Gunnar and Loki standing next to a silver Subaru, packing suitcases and grocery bags into the boot of the car. I grab my own small duffel bag, and head off the bus when the door opens.

I walk slowly and shyly to where the guys stand, they haven't noticed that I've arrived yet. I'm still feeling weird things after the live porno I witnessed in the loo that happened only a few moments after Gunnar kissed me, mixed with the necessity to socialize in person rather than my phone. It's thrilling and yet still embarrassing for some reason. I think society has told me how to think, and I should try to brush it off. If two hot guys want to get me hot and bothered, then who am I to complain?

"I'm going to hit on her, you know," Loki informs me, although I was already well aware of this. "She could very well choose me, and that would suck for you."

"This is nothing new. Just know that I have intentions as well, and it's my car she's riding in; it's me she's known the longest. That might give me an upper hand." I'm hoping it does, it can be hard to compete with Loki sometimes, although this is far from the first time it's happened over the years.

"What if I just called dibs on her now, would that benefit me at all?"

"
Nei
, Loki. You can't call dibs on a human being. You just do your best to see if she likes and wants you over this studly manliness that is Gunnar." I point at myself with both hands for emphasis. I'm not really that stuck up, but when you're with your friends, you have to show them who the boss is! It's me, just so we're clear. Loki laughs at me and picks up a cooler to put into the car.

Glancing up after shoving a few bags into the trunk of my car, I notice that Sophie is walking slowly towards us. The sun is glancing off of her shiny pale hair, and she looks gorgeous. Loki is still packing stuff into the trunk next to me, so I take a moment to enjoy watching her.

Her hair is in a long fancy looking braid and is hanging over her shoulder down to her breasts, her bangs and wispy bits are framing her face in a way that makes my fingers want to run through it and mess it all up. I love how there are different shades of the pale blonde mixed together in her braid. She's wearing a comfortable looking pair of black jeans with small rips on the knees and thighs that show that they are well-loved, accompanied by a loose and billowy button-down peach colored blouse. The sleeves are rolled up to her elbows, and she looks cool and mature. A pair of black Doc Marten boots and a pair of sunglasses complete her look. I can't believe I appreciate her outfit as much as I do. I'm a dude, I shouldn't (and don't, of course) care about women's clothes. I don't care about the clothes, just that she's in them.

It's so nice to see a woman who doesn't feel like she needs to display all of her body to the world in order to be sexy. Sophie is definitely sexy without all of that. I can tell she is comfortable in her own skin, and I hope I get a chance to see all of it. A small duffel bag hangs from her grasp as she walks leisurely towards us across a small grassy area. I couldn't believe she turned me down when I offered to pick her up. Another part of me really liked it; her independence is obvious, and very attractive.

From my peripheral vision, I can see Loki finally notices that I've stopped helping, and looks in the same direction as me and spots Sophie. I can't tell what he's thinking since he's wearing his typical dark sunglasses, but I'm also too busy staring at her myself.

"Game on, Gunnar." Yep. I guess it is.

"Hey there, mates." She gives us a little wave of her hand when she reaches us, and ducks her head down to gaze at her feet, seeming suddenly shy – probably from us ogling her so blatantly.

"
Góðan daginn
," Loki murmurs in a low tone with a hint of flirtation in his voice. Bastard.

"Yeah, same to you. That means 'good day' right?" She looks up in our direction again, but I can't see her eyes through her sunglasses, so I can only hope she's looking at me instead of Loki. I made sure I looked good today, because now that she's going to be riding in the car with me, and coming home with me, I have to step up and show my interest in her. Loki is without a doubt thinking the same thing; I know that this trip will make for some extremely interesting memories.

"You got it. How long have you been in Iceland? Surely not long enough to already be understanding Icelandic?" Loki sounds impressed, and secretly I am too. Taking her bag from her hand, I turn to place it carefully into the trunk of the car, which is now almost completely full and ready for us to head out on the road.

"I've been here for a little over a month, and I hope that you wouldn't be deliberately speaking Icelandic to me thinking that there was no chance for me to understand what you're saying. That'd be pretty rude, don't you think?" Ouch. Loki chuckles and nods in response, kicking gravel around on the road with the toe of one of his shoes. I'm not used to seeing Loki put in his place, and I like it.

I'm impressed though, that she would be eager to pick up words in a foreign language. Of course it's good for any foreigner who plans to stay in a new country for an extended length of time to learn at least the basics of the language. I like her initiative towards it. I toss the last remaining items into the trunk of the car and slam the door shut, wiping any dirt from my hands onto the sides of my thighs.