Heart Of Marley (6 page)

I
NEVER
WANTED
TO
leave work so badly but, at the same time, stay at work so desperately that I could ever remember. I had no idea what came over me when I asked Brianna if she wanted to go with me to the bonfire tonight.

I lived just a few blocks from the beach so I went home first, dropping off the cannoli that Anita gave me for Meg and Julianne.

“Hey, sweetie,” my aunt said, walking down the stairs wearing her bathrobe.

“Hey. I’m not staying,” I whispered in hushed tones, trying not to wake up anyone that was sleeping. “I’m meeting a few people at the beach.”

“Good. Marley’s down there already.”

“Oh really?” This was news to me. Although she typically had a rather full social calendar so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise, this summer was different for both of us with our grams being sick. “With who?”

Aunt Terryn grinned. “I was putting the girls to bed when she came in so I missed her, but it looks like Doug came to pick her up.” She gestured to the front windows overlooking the street. I followed her gaze to see my best friend’s black Pontiac sitting out front.

“Okay. I’m just going to change real quick and then head out. Love ya.”

She smiled her perfect smile at me, her blue eyes sincere. “I love you, too, Cameron.”

I ran up the stairs as fast as I could. I hated the thought of Brianna sitting in her car in the public lot waiting for me for too long. It would be a horrible first impression, although I’m pretty sure her first impression of me was back in sixth grade when I arrived in Myrtle Beach as the new kid at the middle school, story after story of who Marley and I were spreading amongst the students like it was newsworthy. I guess at the age of eleven, a new student is the height of excitement. Two new students is like Christmas come early, especially when they’re fraternal twins.

Once in my bedroom, I stripped out of my black pants and polo shirt that was the uniform at the restaurant. Hastily gliding on some deodorant and tossing on a white button-down shirt and khaki shorts, I slid into a pair of flip-flops, and was downstairs and heading out the door toward the beach in just a little more than a minute.

The streets of Myrtle Beach were calm that Friday night. A friend of ours had been hosting these bonfires at his parents’ beach house every weekend all summer, but this was the first one I was able to attend. Ever since school let out in May, Marley and I had been spending every free moment possible with our grams. When we weren’t with her, we still avoided parties, our minds preoccupied with her deteriorating health. Even on the Fourth of July, when everyone else was dancing and laughing at the bonfire, we stayed at home, watching the fireworks from the safety and security of the roof of our house just a few blocks away from the festivities. I wouldn’t have wanted to celebrate the holiday any other way.

The sounds of the bonfire filtered through the air as I approached the public parking lot, searching for Brianna’s vintage orange Volkswagen Beetle. I could just imagine how her mother reacted when she pulled up in her driveway with that car. In my opinion, having grown up with a dad who was a car enthusiast, it was a piece of art. Spotting it, my breath caught at the sight of the beautiful brunette’s long legs hanging out of the driver’s side as she applied lotion, the moon illuminating her slender frame.

I approached with caution, not wanting to startle her. She appeared to be rather entranced in the act of rubbing her legs. There was something strangely erotic and comforting about the simple gesture, and I was secretly jealous of her hands. I wanted those to be my hands on her skin, caressing her, rubbing the silky lotion into her sleek legs.

Sand crunched under my footsteps and she looked up, a heartfelt smile greeting me.

“Cam,” she breathed, placing her feet on the ground and walking up to me.

“Thanks for agreeing to meet me here,” I responded nervously, my eyes glued to her beautiful pink lips.

“Thanks for asking me.”

We stared at each other for what could have been seconds or hours while I tried to figure out how to proceed. I had been out with girls before, but never in an intimate or romantic setting. I had hung out with Brianna on numerous occasions when we were in middle school and she was invited to my sister’s parties, but this was different. I didn’t know why I never dated anyone. Girls flirted with me and I was an attractive-enough guy. I guess it all went back to my protective nature. I knew how apprehensive Marley had been about pursuing a serious relationship. Keeping her happy and comfortable had always been my top priority. I guess giving Marley a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen to had become a full-time job, not leaving much time for anything else. I just hoped it was enough for her.

“Want to go check out the bonfire?” Brianna asked, waking me from my thoughts.
 

“Sure. Sorry. I drifted off there for a minute.” I held out my arm for her to hang on to and led her across the sand toward the smoke and orange hue that was illuminating the night sky.

“It’s okay. I’m used to it,” she replied as a gust of wind blew from the shore, throwing her off balance.

“Whoa!” I cautioned, reacting quickly and wrapping my arms around her to steady her, enclosing her in my embrace. It was the closest we had ever been to each other. It was the closest I had ever been to
any
girl my age, besides Marley.

Looking down into her eyes, the glimmer of the ocean making them dance, my breathing increased from the depth I could see.

“You okay?” I asked quietly.

She kept her gaze glued to mine and nodded. Her lips parted slightly and her sweet breath caressed my skin. Nothing I had ever experienced in my life felt as warm and inviting as having Brianna’s body pressed against mine.

“Cam…” she exhaled.

“Bri…” I replied, my voice soft as my eyes roamed her angelic face from her big brown eyes, to her small button-like nose, and finally settled on her full, pouty lips. I wondered what they tasted like.

“What are you waiting for?”

Nervous energy flowed through me in response to her sultry tone. “What do you mean?”

She titled her head toward me, her mouth just a breath away from my neck. “Kiss me, Cam. I know you want to. Or, at least, I
think
you want to.
Do
you want to?” she asked, her face flashing red in embarrassment.

“Of course. Do
you
want to, though? I mean, I don’t want you to want to kiss me just because you think
I
want to kiss
you
. If you don’t, I’m okay with not kissing you. Well, I’m not okay. It’ll suck to not kiss you when I’ve been thinking about it since freshman year, but you don’t have to kiss me if you don’t want to.”

She ran her fingers through my disheveled hair and my heartbeat increased dramatically. “I want you to kiss me,” she said, a wide grin on her face. “And I plan on kissing you back.” The most adorable scowl crossed her face. “I’m not so sure there should be this much discussion before a first kiss, Cam. It takes the spontaneity out of it a bit, don’t you think?”

“Can I get a do-over?” I asked.

She nodded her head, smiling excitedly. “Help me up and then you can catch me again.”

“Okay,” I said, raising her body. “I just hope I can still salvage our first kiss.” I winked at her.

“I have faith that you can, Cameron,” her sweet voice assured me. “Are you ready to catch me?”

I met her eyes. “I’ll always catch you when you fall.”

She swooned in a dramatic manner, falling into my arms. My eyes roamed to her lips as she moistened them with her tongue. Lowering my head toward hers, I kept my hand firmly planted on the small of her back, holding her in place. I brushed my lips with hers and she moved against me in perfect synchronicity. Sliding my tongue across her lips, she opened her mouth in response. Our tongues met and I couldn’t remember ever feeling so aroused.

I ran my hand down the contours of her frame, holding on to her hip and bringing her body closer to mine. I felt her shiver and her breathing increased as my tongue continued to caress hers. Pulling back, I knew I needed to stop before I could no longer hide my need for her.

“We should probably go join the party, don’t you think?” I asked, looking down into her eyes.

She nodded and I helped her steady herself. Grabbing her hand in mine, I turned to head to the bonfire, Brianna at my side.

“Please tell me that I just witnessed the first kiss,” I heard before I saw the blonde hair of my sister running toward us. “Did I?” she asked excitedly.

I could feel my ears turn red in embarrassment. “Maybe.”

She grabbed my other hand and walked the rest of the way with us. “I think I did. I know you haven’t kissed before so unless you two were sucking face at the restaurant earlier…gross, by the way…I totally witnessed the first kiss.” She looked past me toward Brianna and winked. “And it’s about freaking time, Cameron Michael.”

I shook my head and glanced at Brianna. “Sorry. I can’t do anything about her. She’s been harping on me to finally make the first move with you all year, even when you were still dating Mason.”

“
She
is right next to you…and he’s right. He’s liked you since freshman year. It’s about time he made his move, isn’t it?”

Brianna grinned and nodded fervently. “Yeah, especially considering I had a thing for him since seventh grade Geometry class.”

Marley laughed and the sound brought a smile to my heart. “The Pythagorean Theorem is a big turn-on for me, too. Oh, baby. The word hypotenuse does things to me.” The two girls giggled.

At that moment, everything was perfect. I had a beautiful girl whose kisses lit my entire body on fire. I had a best friend and sister who was finally past all the trauma she had endured early on in life. And we were about to start our senior year of high school. I had a feeling that it was going to be a year I’d never forget…

“C
AMERON
,
CAN
YOU
GO
make sure that Marley is up?” Aunt Terryn asked the following morning when I walked into the kitchen.

“Sure. Where’s Uncle Graham?”

She slammed the refrigerator door shut, startling me. “He is playing in a golf tournament today. He said it was for the church and was necessary.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “So are
you
taking us today?”

She shrugged her shoulders, beating eggs in a glass bowl somewhat roughly. “I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“I’ll drive us so that you don’t have to.”

“No.” Her voice was firm. “Absolutely not. Out of the question.”

“Okay. We can try to reschedule, maybe see if Uncle Graham can take us during the week or something instead. I’ll call Mama and ask her if she can take a day off.”

Shaking her head, she said, “No. I appreciate your understanding, but I need to learn to move past this. It still pisses me off to no end that she abandoned you kids, but I can’t let that interfere with her attempt to make amends for her past and to form a relationship with you and Marley. You need a mother and so does your sister.”

“We have one. Well, technically, two.”

She smiled, standing on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “You’re a good kid. Whenever I get irritated with the situation, I just look at you and Marley and realize that she must have done
something
right before your father was killed.”

“It was a group effort,” I responded, trying to lighten the tension in the room. “I’ll go wake up Marley, but I may need some of this.” I grabbed a mug and poured some coffee into it, fixing it the way that I knew Marley liked it.

I excused myself and ran up the steps, knocking on her door. “Mar, time to get up.”

A girlish giggle sounded from beyond the wall.

“Mar, are you okay in there?”

She giggled again.

“I’m coming in so you better be decent.” Hesitantly, I turned the knob, surprised to see Marley sitting at her vanity, the biggest grin on her face that I had ever seen. “What are you so giddy about?” I asked. “Still on cloud nine after your kiss with Doug?” I set her coffee down in front of her.

“No,” she said coyly. “I mean, yes. But that’s not what I’m excited about. And it’s none of your business anyway.” She spun in her chair, attempting to avoid my eyes as she pulled a piece of notebook paper out of her bag, her smile illuminating the entire room.

“Did he leave a love letter in your purse?” I plopped down on her bed and lay back, placing my hands behind my head.

“It’s not a love letter. It’s an ‘I really like you so I slipped a secret note in your purse when you weren’t looking’ letter.” She raised her eyebrows at me. “You should take some tips from Doug to use with Brianna.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve got my own moves, and there is no way I’m sharing them with you or Doug. Hurry up and get ready. Aunt Terryn has to take us today.”

Marley’s joyful expression quickly turned severe. “Do you think that’s such a good idea?”