Twisted (36 page)

"You made reservations?  Then we don't want to keep them
waiting," I teased, flaunting my magical hips as I headed for the front
door.

EDWIN
REACHED FOR MY slim waist and lifted me out of his truck.  He didn’t let me go again
until he opened the front door of the prominent downtown restaurant.  After
mellow conversation and a fabulous meal, we went for a short walk through a
quiet nearby park.  The warm sun was settling low on the horizon and fluffy
white clouds floated peacefully in the pastel sky.

"Are you up for a ride on the water taxi?  I remember
how much you loved it last time," he said.

“Absolutely.”  I was thrilled with the idea.  Returning his
beaming smile, I let him lead me to the boat house to catch our ride.

The night was young, the sky a soft bluish-grey, just waiting
to embrace a purple darkness.  Riding the serene blue-green water was so
surreal, the wind breezing through my hair, me tucked in Edwin's arms.  The
sound of the deep water swooshed gently behind us, the crickets chirped from
the nearby land, the warmth still radiating from the tired earth.  Softened by
the atmosphere, I relaxed against Edwin's hard chest, and soaked up all of his
attention while I still could.  It felt a bit like a dream.

After taking in the beautiful vista, I turned my loving gaze
on Edwin's gorgeous, thoughtful eyes.  His lips touched mine, causing some onlookers
to awkwardly glance away and others to gawk selfishly.  There was an amazing
sense of calm in the air and I planned to ride that wave as long as possible.  When
we got off the taxi, we strolled among the light crowd to Del Ray Park to take
in some music at the Festival of Lights.

Before long we were sipping on cold drinks and enjoying some
decent entertainment under the darkening, night sky.  A young couple got up
from one of the many overcrowded benches and Edwin made a run for it.  We took
our seat and absorbed the warm atmosphere.  The first star of the night
twinkled proudly in the distance over the water.  When I drew my eyes away from
it, I noticed that Edwin couldn't take his eyes off of me.  His intense blue
eyes made the night sky pale in comparison, mesmerizing me with the
immeasurable depths.

"You look beautiful tonight Abs," Edwin said,
charming and sweet.

"Thanks," I said, blushing seven shades of pink.

Edwin was proud and amused from his ability to affect me like
that.  He slid my butt closer to him, leaving just enough room behind me for a
tall thin blonde woman to slide up on the bench next to me.  The music was
winding down, meaning the fireworks were about to begin, but Edwin was only aware
of me.

We hadn't even brought up the issue we so badly needed to
resolve, but it seemed so far from his mind at the moment.  I gulped, ready to
say what I had to say, but when I looked up, I found Hunter and Aliah sitting
no more than thirty feet away from us.  Hunter's hands started to flag me down
like I was an aircraft ready for takeoff.  He pulled on Aliah's arm, dragging
her toward us through the tight-packed crowd.  When she finally realized where
she was going, she didn't look too impressed about it.

"Hey guys," Hunter hollered to us, well before we
were in casual speaking distance.

"Hey," I said quietly to Aliah, as she stopped
across from me, while Hunter and Edwin greeted each other.

"Oh, are we talking again?" Aliah asked scornfully.

I stood up, but kept my leg tacked to the bench to make sure
no one could steal my spot.  I spoke extra softly, so our bubbly blonde neighbour
would mind her own business.  "Yes we are.  It was a misunderstanding Ally. 
I didn’t mean for you to get hurt."

"Hurt?  Who said I was hurt?  You're the one that was
all bandaged up," she scoffed.

I scowled at her, so angry that she brought up my ridiculous,
self-inflicted injury, but glad that she was talking to me at all.  I tucked my
bandaged hand behind my back.  "You know what I mean.  Can we call a
truce... please?" I pleaded.

She rolled her eyes at me, but in a friendly settling kind of
way, and I knew we were good.  "You look hot by the way," she said
softly, smiling.

"She does look incredible tonight, doesn't she?"
Edwin said, interrupting my private apology.

"Thank you.  I'm just glad that you're talking to
me," I said to Aliah.

"Okay, so I may have overreacted," Aliah admitted.

I gave her a hug and whispered in her ear.               "We
so need to talk later."  When I pulled away from her, she smiled and
nodded at me.

The guys looked at each other curiously, knowing that
something was up, but didn’t bother to intrude.  The music ended and, just as I
suspected, a jolly light-hearted fellow on the microphone notified everyone
that the light show was about to begin.

"It’s good to see you guys, but we don't want to lose
our spot over there.  We've got chairs and everything," Hunter said.

"Yeah, maybe we'll catch up with you later?" Aliah
added, before Hunter pulled her back to their hideaway in the grass, eyes
rolling.

"See ya," Edwin said with a chuckle.

I turned my attention back to him.  He was looking extremely
hot himself, his juicy pink lips calling my name.

"You look absolutely stunning tonight," Edwin said,
reflecting my own thoughts.

"Thanks," I replied, another embarrassing blush
causing me to submissively stare at my hands.  I couldn’t help but notice that
the girl still sitting next to us seemed a little too enveloped in Edwin's
compliments.  She was staring all starry-eyed at him. 
Back off bitch, they
aren't meant for you.

"Look, the fireworks are starting," Edwin said,
pointing at the red glow over the water.  He put his arm around me, pulling me
into his little world and distracting me from the nosy lady next to me.

We cuddled under the twinkling stars as we watched the
rainbow of colours burst into the dark night sky.  The crowd oohed and awed
over the array of lights.  Some of the kids playfully tossed around their glow
necklaces into the air as others enjoyed the show in their parents’ laps.  A
few parents had to leave the crowd as their young children screamed in fear,
which might have scared off the thought of having children by most, but it only
made me think of how badly I wanted a child of my own.

The grand finale was followed by a howling crowd and cheering
children, who were ecstatic for being allowed to stay up well past their bed
time.  I admired the smiling families as they cuddled together on their
blankets enjoying their quality time together. 
I wanted that.

I smiled at Edwin, who had been watching my eyes almost too
carefully.  He looked a little frightened and that worried me.  We quietly
waited as a rush of people hurried toward their parked cars.  After a few
minutes, we casually made our way back to the water taxi.  We had avoided the
conversation long enough. 
It was time.

THE WATER
TAXI DROVE on, guided only by moonlight, as I looked into Edwin's soul.  His
arm was draped over the seat behind me and he stared out over the water at the
colourless sky.  I could sense a looming sadness weighing heavy on his eyes
that hadn't been there the rest of the night.  My heart ached as I imagined why
that might be and I knew I had to clarify a few things with him right away.

"We need to talk," I said softly.  I sounded so
calm, even though I was a total mess inside.

He nodded in agreement, though hesitant.  Then, without
giving me a free second to collect my words, he pressed his lips hard against
mine.  When his mouth pulled away, it left me feeling cold, naked and
defenceless.  I gulped the lump from the back of my throat and tears started to
form in the corners my eyes.  The suspense was killing me.  I had to know.  I
had to ask.  Now.

"I know how freaked out you got when you heard about
Maddie being pregnant, and I have to admit that it worried me a little.  Okay,
maybe a lot.  I've told you I want kids and honestly, I'm ready to move forward
in life.  Now.  I’m looking to be in a committed relationship, so I can get
married and start a family."  There, I said it.

I stopped, hoping Edwin hadn’t heard my voice breaking up
from emotion, but my breathlessness was choking me and I couldn't disguise it. 
The fact that he noticed, and squeezed my shoulder to acknowledge how difficult
this was for me, just choked me up even more.  So why wasn’t saying anything?

"I want to start a family with you Eddie, but I can't
wait forever.  I need to know where you stand, and sooner rather than later. 
We can't go on like this if it's not gonna lead where I need it to go."  I
stopped again, hoping Edwin would take his turn already.  I had said my part,
as hard as it was, and now it looked like it was my turn to take a lashing.

He took my hand, squeezed it tightly in his, and drew a sharp
breath.  "Abs, you know I love you."

I took a deep fearful breath, after taking my first beating. 
It was bad.  The end was nigh.

"I love you so much," he continued, "but I know
that it's not enough for you.  I do want kids… just not now.  I feel like we
haven't had a chance to fully enjoy each other yet.  I can just
imagine the restrictions
having children would put on us and I can't understand why you want that now. 
We wouldn't have the freedom to be able to up and do things as we please."

I put up my hand up in the air, like a stop sign,
because his words were really starting to piss me off.  I didn't want to fight,
but he really had it coming.  "You’re acting like a child.  It's called
growing up," I said, angry and distant.

He must have expected a storm of emotion, because he
didn't even try to fight me off.  "I know.  But when I heard Hunter's gonna
have a little rug rat of his own running around, I just couldn't imagine that
for me.  I just got done school Abs, and I've hardly settled into my first
job.  I’ve always planned to settle into my career before starting a family.  You
know that.  If you could just give me some more time..."

"How much more time do you need Eddie," I
cut in, "because I need to know now.  If you can't see it in your near
future, then I'm afraid that our lives are turning in different directions
again.  If I get off the roller coaster ride this time, I won't be getting back
on." 
I swung my
knees away from him and stared away at nothing in particular.  Red had etched
across every sparkle of light on the water, as I was reminded how many spectators
we had.  That same red fused across my cheeks, embarrassment joining all of my
other spoiled emotions.

Edwin tapped me lightly on the shoulder.  I didn’t spin
around until I had extracted every sign of weakness from my face.

"Okay, so say our
life goals aren't entirely lined up at the moment,”
Edwin said softly.  “Does that mean that we can't be together?  Am I expected
to go back to being
just friends
with you?  You know I can’t do
that."

My eyes met his and I wondered if my pain showed as
excruciatingly clear as his did.  It hurts, I know, but it's now or never.  "I'm
not getting any younger Eddie, and I'm ready for kids.  So, unless you are too,
I have to try something different.  This just won’t cut it for me anymore,"
I said.

The truth hurt, but not as bad as the thought of breaking
Edwin's heart.  I was losing the lover who refused to give me children on
demand, but he was losing his girlfriend, the love of his life and his future.

"We can try to work through this and figure it out
together.  It has worked for us before," he insisted.

Softly, "This is different.  I think we've already done
the figuring.  It just so happens that this time it puts us apart.  I'm looking
for a lifelong commitment Eddie and you’ve made it pretty clear that you’re
nowhere near ready to set your life in stone," I explained tearfully.

My next breath was sharp and, on an exhale, it felt like a piece
of my heart was clawing up my wind pipe.

Edwin took my ice cold hands into his.  "Abs, I'm ready
to settle down with you romantically, if that's all you're asking.  Marry
me," he pleaded, dropping to both of his knees before me.

He pulled both of my hands to his mouth and pressed his lips
against them.  His imploring eyes took in my faint smile, but there was no
humour in it.

I wished that it was enough for me: To spend the rest of my
life with Edwin, baby or no baby.  Tears threatened when I pulled him back up
to his seat.  Gasps sounded from the intrigued crowd nosing in our business.

I turned my shoulder to block out the others and faced
Edwin.  "Eddie, you don't mean that.  You don't even have a ring.  That's
not what this is.  I don’t want to pressure you into anything.  Maybe the timing
isn't right, or maybe we just aren’t meant to be," I said, nearly choking
on a soft cry.

"We are Abs.”  He lifted my dipped chin and stared hard
at me, with dark, fathomless eyes.  “I want you to be my wife," he pleaded,
desperate now.

His nose nudged my moist face and, despite the terrifying
conversation, it gave me comfort to have him this close.  Maybe it could work. 
But for how long?