Mosaic (9 page)

Nodding, I picked up the sunscreen and sprayed more down my legs. “He says he wants to broaden his focus. He also wants to work with his dad over the break.”

“His mom’s probably wigging out right now.”

Rubbing my hands over my legs, I tried to imagine what Ms. LaSalle must be thinking. I remembered from her diary she was surprised by how much she enjoyed working in development with Mr. Kyser.

“I’m missing a lot being in New Orleans, but when I left, she and Lucy were actually getting close. They’ve started having regular lunch dates, and Lucy refers to her as ‘Dad’s girlfriend,’ which is just weird because she’s as old as our moms.”

“Older,” Gabi corrected. “Do you think they’ll ever tell them? I mean all the kids—that they’re related?”

My shoulders rose. “I stopped trying to guess what those guys would do last year. As soon as Julian knew the truth, I hopped of that crazy train.”

“Crazy is right.” She reached for the sunscreen, and I passed it to her. “Just take it one challenge at a time, Banana Face. You’ll get through this.”

That made me smile. “Julian still calls me that sometimes.”

“He’s your home. You won’t lose him so easily.”

I nodded, warmth filling my stomach. “I can’t imagine anything that could come between us. It really is like home.”

Her smile was warm now, reassuring. “See? True love lets you follow your dreams. Don’t be afraid.”

Reaching for her hand, she quickly caught it through the space between us. “Thanks for always being awesome.”

“What can I say? I am the fabulous Lady G.”

We both laughed then. It was true. No matter what freak-out confusing, mixed-up brain-defying, heartbreaking problem I’d ever run into head-first, Gabi had always been there to help me sort it out. I felt sure London would be no different.

Anna’s Private Blog: Savannah Surprise

Even though I felt loads better after spending a weekend with Gabi, my entire being ached with need to see Julian. We’d never gone a month apart, and now we were going on six weeks. It was getting hard to concentrate.

My classwork didn’t suffer, of course. My professors as always were encouraging and complimentary. I completed the application for JYA, so Dr. Arati was happy. In American lit we’d started a unit on Tennessee Williams, and reading
A Streetcar Named Desire
for whatever reason only made me long for Julian more. It was hot and sweaty in New Orleans, and the thick air and the heavy subject matter made my desire feel overwhelming.

By Friday, I’d started to feel like I couldn’t breathe. I was sitting with my back on a pillow against the headboard when Rachel burst into my room and fell across my bed.

She studied the back of the script I held. “Do you have a test Monday or something?”

“Not really. I mean, we’ll probably have a quiz, but I’m ready for it. Why?”

“Brad’s got the weekend off. He asked if you might be up for a road trip.”

My brow creased. “Back home?” I might be up for a visit to Fairview, and for a moment, I wondered if Julian might as well.

“He was saying how he’d never been to Savannah, and—”

The scream was out of my mouth as fast as I jumped off the bed. “He wants to go to Savannah!?”

Rachel laughed and jumped up with me. “Let’s do it!”

I was already moving. “It’ll take me less than five minutes to throw my crap in a bag!”

“Good, because Brad’s on his way now!”

My body hummed with excitement as I ran to the bathroom, duffel in hand, and started throwing toiletries into it—makeup bag, toothbrush, deodorant, face wash, lens solution, hair products, everything! Back across the hall, I jerked my dresser open and threw in a nightshirt (not needed!), panties (needed?), a few shirts, a skirt, and an extra pair of jeans.

Rachel called out that Brad was pulling up outside just as I was running into the living room ready to go.

“This might be a record,” Brad laughed as we pushed him back out the door. “I’ll have to let Jules know how fast you can be ready for something you really want to do.”

“Do what you want, just get us there now!” Three doors slammed and we were on our way.

Brad and Rachel were arguing the value of environmental law over basic, corporate law to his plans for taking over his father’s development business while I lay across the back seat trying to decide if I wanted to text Julian we were on our way or not. I kind of wanted to surprise him. At the same time, we hadn’t gotten on the road until almost three. It’d be after midnight when we got there.

Pulling up on the back of Rachel’s seat, I stuck my head between them. “Thanks for doing this.”

Brad’s eyes caught mine in the rearview mirror. “Hey, no problem. I really wanted to go, and this might be the only weekend I can do it.”

I patted his shoulder. “Still. It’s amazingly cool that you’re driving me over.”

“We had to do something to get that look off your face,” Rachel laughed. “I wasn’t sure how much more of your moping I could stand.”

“I wasn’t moping!” Pushing against her seat, I leaned back again.

“Oh my god! You were like a puppy who’d been left home alone too long!”

I crossed my arms hard then I laughed. She was probably right, but I was too excited to care. Now I just had to figure out how to survive another eight hours.

* * *

Rachel’s soft voice calling was the next thing I heard. “Anna, we’re almost here.” She was shaking my shoulder gently, and I sat up fast.

“Sorry!” My voice was thick. “I didn’t realize I fell asleep.”

“I just texted Julian for directions. We’re like a block away.”

A million butterflies flooded my stomach at her words, and I almost lost my breath. It was dark, after midnight, and we turned off the road running next to a huge park with that famous fountain in the middle onto a quiet side-street lined with cars parallel parked.

Brad’s voice cut through the tension building in my chest. “This is it.” He leaned forward looking through the windshield. “He said he’d be waiting outside. I’ll let you out, and then we’ll head to the hotel.”

I’d already grabbed my duffel when I saw his familiar form lean out from a doorway. Tall, black jeans and chucks. He had a dark-gray hoodie over a white tee, and a stocking cap was pulled over his head. Still that glossy black hair peeked out from underneath. He hadn’t shaved, and the combined effect made his smile seem brighter, his eyes more intensely blue. The car had barely stopped before I’d was out the door and ran up the short flight of stairs to where he stood.

He exhaled a little laugh, and I only paused a moment to notice how fast I was breathing. Then we were in each other’s arms. At first we only held each other, inhaling deeply. His scent never changed, and I felt his lips press against the top of my head as he breathed against my hair. We didn’t speak. We only savored the warmth of our bodies pressed together, shoulder to shoulder, his arms over mine, my arms around his waist. My cheek lay against the warm skin of his neck, and our hearts beat together so fast.

The intensity rose until he moved his hands to my face, lifting my chin so he could cover my lips with his. They parted at once, and a little noise ached from my throat. I didn’t remember how I got inside. All I knew was we were there, in front of the couch, stumbling to his room, his hands sliding from my face, cupping my neck, to my shoulders and then to my waist.

Each movement was punctuated by another long kiss. Shirts off, mouths together; shoes kicked away, mouths reunited. Our arms collided as our hands reached desperately for one another whenever we were separated for even a moment.

Energy raced under my skin, and it didn’t take long before we were on the bed, first him above me, then me rolling him onto his back. It was like being without food or possibly even water for days and days, and when it’s finally restored, you can’t decide if you want to drink it or swim in it. Or both.

We were in heaven. Julian’s warm mouth trailed from my cheek to my jaw, making his way down to my neck. I couldn’t stop touching, feeling, remembering every part of his body with my hands until at last we—

Hello, there. Yes, it’s me Jules cutting in here.

I know, you’re like, “WHAT!?” I’m sure a lot of you romance-junkies are dying to indulge in what comes next right here, and trust me, Mum spared no detail—jeez, give a girl a break. For someone who claims not to be a poet, she practically breaks into song over Dad’s… special gifts.

But honestly. Nobody wants to read about their parents getting it on. Yes, I know that’s how I got here, but it wasn’t on this particular occasion. Even if it was, that doesn’t make it any more appealing to me to read.

So we’re just going to skip to the afterglow, and you can fill in the blanks using your imagination…

… Julian’s soft lips touched my eyelid, and the scruff of his chin touched the tip of my nose. With every heartbeat, a sparkling pulse moved through my insides.

“Best surprise ever.” His voice was warm, and I laughed because it was all I wanted to do.

I was secure in his arms, his face hovering just above mine, arms on either side of my shoulders. “I’m trying to remember when I was ever this happy.” My whole body was buzzing with satisfaction, joy, contentment.

He leaned down and kissed me again. “I hope every time you’re this happy, you’re with me.”

Reaching up, I traced my finger down his cheek, ran my thumb across his bottom lip. “I never dreamed I’d be with you this way. Then it happened, and it’s the most amazing thing. Now I feel like I’m on the edge, like I might lose it all.”

“Why would you say that?” He rolled to the side and rested his head on his hand. His other hand moved to my stomach. “I mean, yeah, it’s tough being apart. All that works is just, you know, burying myself in schoolwork until we’re together again. But nothing’s slipping away.”

I rolled into him, pressing my cheek against his warm skin. “Everything we’re doing is sending us in opposite directions. How will we ever get
us
back together?”

The hand under his head went around my shoulders, pulling me tight against his chest. “We’ll get there. I keep telling you this isn’t forever.”

It was so late, and I’d been running on adrenaline so long, I couldn’t help the tears threatening. My voice was a cracked whisper. “It feels like forever.”

He kissed me, and I held him, closer than it should’ve been possible. We moved together again, but this time it was different. It was bonding somehow, or maybe that was how I wanted it to be. We fell asleep in the early morning hours, wrapped in each other’s arms.

* * *

Julian was still asleep when I opened my eyes again. Dawn was streaming in too brightly through his windows, and I sat up and looked around his bedroom. I hadn’t even noticed the space last night. The only thing I’d cared about then was Julian and touching him, being with him.

This morning all of that was different. It was my first visit to Savannah, and I wanted to see his room. I carefully slipped out of the bed, pausing to look back at him, asleep on his stomach. His olive skin and dark hair contrasted sharply with the white sheets, and the sunlight threw shadows across the lines in his back. Resting my cheek on my bent knee, I resisted the urge to trace my finger down one of those lines. Instead, I took a breath and swiped his tee off the floor. It was big enough to hang on me like a short dress as I walked around the large area.

On his desk were several different sketches, what looked like elevations. I wasn’t sure if they were for the big project he’d been working on or if they were regular class work. My bare feet softly padded on the floor as I skipped over to a set of canvasses leaning against the wall. This was what I wanted to see.

Dropping to sit on my feet, I lifted the first one back. It was a brilliant painting with vibrant, sharply contrasting colors. At the bottom was dark blue, the water of the bay with a bridge stretching across it—black in the sunset. And what a sunset! It was deep orange with clouds in sweeping strokes of neon-yellow and white. For a few seconds, all I could do was gaze at it. Julian was a master of taking my breath away.

Sliding that canvass to the side, I tilted back the next one. It was a colorful chaos of flowers, storefronts, and his metal sculpture of the students lined up reading. I recognized it from the sculpture park in Newhope. Looking around the room, I wondered if he did these from memory or if he had photographs stashed somewhere. Perhaps on his phone…

The last one wasn’t finished, but I knew what it was immediately. In broad stokes of green, lighter green, white and dark green-almost black, what appeared to be waves surrounded the form of a girl. A young woman.

Her head was down, one pale, slender arm bent, holding her hair at the base of her neck in a tight bun. It was light brown hair with glints of gold, and spiral tendrils fell along the side of her face, turned just enough away to be unrecognizable. Only I recognized her. She was nude, but the green strokes obscured her private parts.