Heart Waves (3 page)

That’s what I needed right now, someplace safe to hide, while I sorted out my strange feelings. At first, I was relieved to find the beach empty. I didn’t expect anyone to be there with Mike’s party going strong. Still, a wave of disappointment washed over me. There was one person I secretly wished to find there. 

I couldn’t understand what was going on. I met an incredibly hot guy, flirted, and he left. Why did I feel like he took a part of me with him? It’s not like I never had a good looking guy pay attention to me. I had my share of cute guys vying for my attention and I never reacted like this.

I sat on a playground swing at the back of the beach, close to the street, and shut my eyes. I conjured up a vision of Reece, his perfectly sculpted face strong and angular, his soft brown eyes and tousled hair.

My heart thumped like mad just at the thought of him. This response was foreign. I didn’t like it one bit. Then I remembered the electric sensation of holding his ring. And my prediction, “You’re going to break my heart.” It was in my best interest to let this lie and move on. I tried to convince myself never seeing
him
again was for the best.

And with the thought of going my entire life without ever again seeing or speaking to him, my heart began to ache. I felt a surge of pressure on my chest like three elephants danced on it. I imagined the pain and pressure came from my heart growing and needing more room in my body. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t want to feel this way. All this and I’d only just met him.

But if I could find him
again .
  .  .

I knew nothing more than his name. I had no phone number or address. I had no idea if he worked or went to school, or what he did.
Absolutely nothing to go on.
And the same held true for him, except he didn’t even have my last name. The chances of us crossing paths again were slim to none, but according to my premonition, absolutely inevitable.

There was one connection. We did meet at Mike’s party, even though he invited everyone in the tri-state area. He was our common bond, my way back to Reece. Or I could play the role of crazy stalker. I did have his full name, Reece Walton. I could Google him, or look him up on Facebook or Twitter. He’d have to turn up somewhere.

I heaved a long drawn out sigh. By the time I followed the trail of breadcrumbs, he’d probably be back with his girlfriend.
His selfish, undeserving girlfriend.

I took a deep breath, and gave in to the tears welling in my eyes. The pain, the heartache I felt when I held his ring was real. As real as the sadness I felt thinking I’d never see him again.

As I sat there I wondered where the painstaking sadness came from and if Reece was worth the risk. It didn’t take more than a moment to realize he had to be. Because there was no way in hell I could go the rest of my life without ever seeing him again.

*                       *                       *

Grace floated on air and giggled with each step back to my house. The kiss Mike planted on her before she
left,
convinced her there would be more to come. I’d never seen her act so silly and giddy. She thanked me a thousand times for going to the party.

Back at home I tried to get ready for bed, changing into pajamas and brushing my teeth. All Grace did was follow me and talk about Mike, her eyes shining. I could see sleep was a lost cause.

“So he asked me if I could do that thing you do with the jewelry,” she began, sitting cross legged on my bed, a wide smile spread across her face, “and when I said no, I thought that was it. That he’d just walk away the way he usually does.” Her eyes opened wide, “But no. He put his arm around me and pulled me over to see what was happening. That was when you busted Steve.”

My heart skipped a beat. I knew what came next. I replayed it in my head a dozen times already.

“And then, Mike thought it was perfect that his friend finally spoke to you. Mike said his friend could really use the distraction. He wanted to talk to you all night, but tales of the ‘Ice queen,’” she used a deep voice trying to imitate Mike, “put him off.”

I’d only been half listening, self-absorbed in my own mini drama. I perked up and asked her to repeat the last part of her story.

“Ice Queen!”
Ugg
! “Why would Mike tell him that?”

She shrugged. “He’d been checking you out and asked Mike what he knew about you. You know how Mike loves to call you that, since he’s the one who gave you the nickname,” a fact that impressed only Grace.

I nodded wishing Reece didn’t know that, but dying to hear more. “So what else did he say? About Reece, I mean.”

She smiled at me coyly, “Is that his name? Mike didn’t say anything else.
Not about him anyway.”

“Oh.” I hoped my disappointment didn’t come across too strong.

“So what happened with him? I saw him come in the back door, and then a little later you followed, looking freaked.”

“Nothing happened. I felt dizzy when I came back inside,” I lied, hoping she’d buy it, not wanting to admit how weird and strange everything felt since I met Reece. “I just needed to get out of there.”

“Seriously, did he do something to you? Try to kiss you or something?” she pushed.

“No.” I tried to sound as if that were absurd.

“Are you sure? You’ve been acting weird ever since. And that’s not like you.”

“Everything’s fine. I’m just tired. That’s all.”

Three nights passed since Mike’s party and I felt like I lost my mind. Once again I found myself hosting Grace for the evening. At least that was the plan.

I flipped onto my stomach, turned my head and rolled my eyes. I was drop-dead-down-to-the-bone exhausted. I yawned loudly, hoping Grace would catch on, but she just kept yammering.

“And then Mike said . . .”

I could care less about what Mike said. I tuned her out. I hadn’t slept all week and the effects were wearing on me. My eyes hurt, like I had tiny pieces of sandpaper wedged beneath my eyelids. 

The night after the party I tried to convince myself I suffered from temporary insanity. There’s no such thing as love at first sight, and people don’t form instant connections with perfect strangers. He certainly was perfect.

I wondered if my mind’s eye exaggerated his flawless features and decided against it. He wouldn’t have bowled me over if that were the case.

“Are you listening?” Grace asked.

“Of course,” I lied. Wondering why I agreed to let Grace sleep over.

“Cause you seem like you’re off in La
La
Land.”

“I’m just tired.” At least I didn’t have to lie about that.

And on she droned.

The next two nights after the party, I spent searching for him on my computer. I looked in all the social networking sights, the white pages, people finders, everything I could think of. And found a lot of Reece
Waltons
. Just not the one I was looking for. I came up totally and completely empty.  

I thought having Grace around would keep me from obsessing over Reece. My plan: indulge in ice cream and play board games. Grace’s plan: hang out with Mike. Without mentioning it, probably because we would need a snowstorm in July for me to agree, Grace invited Mike to hang out with us.

“Are you kidding? I hate him! You know that,” I snapped when she broke the news.

“I just thought . . .” her voice trailed off, so unlike my usually confident friend.
“That since Mike and I are together now . . . you could be nice to him.”

I almost spit on her shoes. “Go Grace, go hang out with Mike.”
So much for my diversion.

“No, we have plans.”

I could see disappointment hug her tight, like
cling
wrap. “It’s okay. It’s fine. Go, before he comes sauntering into my house. I don’t mind.
Really.
I just don’t want to see him.”

Home was my safety zone. The one place Mike couldn’t get to me. Outside the walls of my house, I was exposed, vulnerable to him and his cronies. After I practically shoved her out the door, I sat in front of my computer monitor once again contemplating how I might find Reece.

Grace returned at eleven, changed and was ready for a fun filled girl’s night of sharing secrets and gossip. It wouldn’t have been half bad if we did that. Instead we talked. Rather she talked.
About Mike.

I’d known Mike since I was three years old. We met as I rode my tricycle down the block. He chased after me with a broom in hand, pretending it was a space ship. Just in case I crashed and should need a ride home.

Mike protected me from the big bully down the block, who tried to steal my bike. “If you want her, you’re going to have to go through me,” he said. He taught me how to make mud pies, and many summer days we’d play at the beach, trapping crabs and making sand castles together.

The two year age difference between us had me convinced he was smarter and braver than me. We played together almost every day until his ninth birthday, when he declared he no longer wanted to be friends. When I asked why not, he said I was a girl and girls had cooties.

After that he ignored me or made fun of me whenever the opportunity arose. Living two houses away, we saw each other often over the years, though most interactions were of a hostile nature. Usually we stuck to name calling and sticking tongues out at each other. Until high school when I started dating. That’s when Mike made his presence in my life a permanent fixture and labeled me “Ice Queen.”

Mike and his friends had everyone in the school calling me that.
And worse.
That alone wouldn’t have been bad. But I soon found out my dating life became his top priority. Everyone in school knew if I had a date,
whom
it was with, where we went, and how far the guy got. 

Mike set up spreadsheets and took bets. This was the main reason I didn’t date. I couldn’t trust if a guy liked me or thought he could get past first base. And they all came out swinging for the fences.

I detested Mike.

Grace on the other hand, had an annoying crush on him since we started high school. It was as if she’d never laid eyes on him before walking through the doors of that building. She tried hard to get him to notice her, walking past his locker at every opportunity, trying to strike up conversations with him at every turn.

Nothing worked. Nothing discouraged her.

Now she had his attention and she couldn’t be happier. I wished we could go back to the way things were before Mike’s party.
For many reasons.

“I’ll be back in a little bit,” I said.

“Where are you going?” Grace asked, disappointed.

“I need some air,” I knew that was the only way I could get her to quiet down. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“Wait!” I heard urgency in her voice. “I wanted to ask you about that guy you were talking to at the party. You
know,
the one that freaked you out?”

I just stared, my body tense.

“Would you want to see him again?” she teased.

Yes!  Definitely yes!
“Why?” I asked, suspiciously.

Her lips drew up into a wicked smile. “I can make it happen,” she said in a sing-song voice.

I could see she’d concocted some sort of plan, and if she’d come up with the plan before going to Mike’s house, I might have contemplated it. Any idea she had most likely came from Mike. Although I considered setting aside my pride and approaching him for information myself, this was altogether different.

I shook my head. “You can tell Mike to go to hell!” I snapped, and stomped toward the door to my bedroom.

“Hold on.” She stood and put on her slippers. 

“Stay.” I hoped to discourage her. Didn’t she understand I wanted to escape from her? “I just want a few minutes to myself.” Grace’s face dropped, I hurt her feelings. “I have a bad headache,” I lied.

“Oh.”

She still looked
put
off, but I didn’t care. I hoped my absence would encourage her to go to sleep so I could finally get some rest. Before going outside, I stopped off at the linen closet in the hallway and grabbed a light blanket, just in case a cool breeze threatened to send me straight back in the house. 

Enjoying the tranquil lullaby the crickets so kindly played, I lay in a lounge chair beside the pool in pajama shorts and a tank top. Cocooned in my blanket, I looked up at the stars and wished I’d see him again.
Without involving Mike.
 

After an eternity of tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position, I rolled onto my stomach, and nestled into the blanket. An image of Reece sitting beside me, played on my mind, and the beginnings of a smile crept up in the corners of my mouth.