A Heart for Rebel (17 page)

“You know, Mari you
should take your own advice and fix things with Ty.”

“I am, I promise.”

I
COULD SEE Wyatt waiting at Gapstow bridge in central
park. He asked me to meet him there this morning. I was nervous, jittery and
felt just plain stupid for blowing up at Wyatt when I knew he played no part
with her kissing him. I saw him try to push her away, but I still overreacted.
I am a girl after all and there are four things you should never do to a
girl...touch her hair, face, phone, but the most important one is never ever
touch her boyfriend. Maybe I acted childish the other night, but if I were
honest it felt good to beat the ever living shit out of Lindsay. I felt
empowered and hopefully she learned her lesson to never touch, kiss or talk to
Wyatt.

When I made it to
the bridge Wyatt was already waiting for me. It was a beautiful fall day in
central park. The birds were chirping and the low slanting light cast a
romantic feeling in the air. I had on a pair of jeans and a light sweater on.
My fingers were chilled and I had no clue if it was due to the crisp air or my
nerves. I slowly make my way up the bridge towards him. Dry leaves fly in the
wind as other people stroll on the bridge. Wyatt has his hands stuffed in the
pocket of his jeans and he watches me make my way towards him. His t-shirt hugs
his body and I can cleary see the indentation of his piercing. God, he’s
beautiful. As I get closer to him I swear it feels like I can’t breathe. I’m
amazed when I look at him, not because of his looks, but because he’s
everything I’ve ever wanted and I am coming to terms with the fact that loving
someone requires a huge leap of faith. A leap I willingly take just as long as
he’s there to catch me.

His eyes are
drinking me in and I love the way they make me feel…beautiful. I reveled in it
like it was the first ray of the sun after a cold dark winter. He has my heart
and soul in the palm of his hands and I almost walked away. I’m within inches
of him and he smiles, “Hey, pretty girl.” He opens his arms out and I walk
right into them. He engulfs me in his arms and kisses the top of my head.

I take a deep
breath and take in his scent, “Hey,” I replied. Being in his arms is my
favorite place. We don’t utter a word. We continue to stand there holding on to
each other for a few seconds before we pull apart.

I look up at him,
“I’m so sorry I overreacted. Forgive me please.” He cups my chin and tilts my
head up and softly kisses me.

He murmurs against
my lips, “There’s nothing to forgive, baby. I understood how you were feeling.
I don’t want anyone else but me to have your heart. Kiss your lips, be in your
arms, be the one you love. I don’t want anyone to take my place. Do you know
how much you truly mean to me?”

“I think so, cause
I feel the same way.” I said before he leaned down and kissed me. His tongue
licked my lips seeking entrance. I opened wide and our tongues met. I couldn’t
help myself and I smiled.

“I love it when in
the middle of our kiss I can feel you smile,” he said in a husky voice which is
seriously the sexiest voice ever.

“I love you,
Wyatt,” I whispered.

“I have a weakness
for you, pretty girl. I love you so fucking much. Promise me you won’t push me
away again.”

“I was afraid. I
still am, but I promise I won’t ever leave you again unless you ask me to.”

“What are you so
afraid of Rebel? Don’t you know just how deeply lost I am in you?”

“What if I’m not
enough or good enough for you?” I cried.

“Rebel, I don’t
want to love anyone but you. You are enough. You are passionate, driven,
determined, talented and strong. All good qualities of someone of worth. Be
proud of who you are not ashamed of how someone else sees you. Your opinion is
the only one that should matter.”

“You do love me,
don’t you?” I softly asked as I turned and leaned against the bridge. He got
close behind me and wrapped his arms around me, “I really love you. It will
always be you,” he said right before he buried his face in the crook of my neck
and inhaled me in.

“Breathe me in, I’m
yours to keep,” I whispered and he hugged me tighter to him. Facing south side
of the bridge I never realized how magnificent the view was. We could see the
famed Plaza Hotel, a New York skyscraper rising above the park trees and
Wollman Rink’s. I had never been to Central Park before and when Wyatt
suggested we take a stroll around the park I immediately accepted the offer. We
walked along the pond edge and saw the big rock which overlooks the Fifth
Avenue side of the pond. I learned this pond has turtles in it and if you come
during the spring you can actually see turtles hatching. Wyatt promised to
bring me back to see the turtles hatch. We climbed the big rock and I was
thrilled with the view.

“Wow, look at all
those colors. The fall foliage here looks gorgeous,” I said.

“I’m glad you like
it.”

“This is surreal.
I’ve never seen so many colors. Thank you for bringing me here,” I exclaimed
with glee.

“You’re welcome
baby.” We continued our walk and came across a guy painting the Gapstow Bridge.
It was beautiful.

“What types of
paint are you using? It’s really colorful and beautiful.”

“Today I’m using
watercolors,” the painter said. We chatted with him for a bit and I learned
there are several picturesque areas in the park to paint. I would love to come
here and capture it all on a canvas.

“Come on, Rebel Let’s
go sit for a bit. I want to ask you something.”

“Okay.” We took a
seat near a tree on the grass. Wyatt sat behind me and drew me in between his
legs and hugged me.

“What do you want
to talk about?” I asked.

“There is a tattoo
expo in Miami. It runs for about a week. Annie, Ty and I go every year. I want
you to come with us. Will you come with us?”

“Why would you want
me to go? I mean won’t you guys be busy?”

“I want you there
with me. Yes, we’ll be busy, but there will be down times that we can have for
ourselves. I need you there…with me. I don’t want to be away from you that
long. Please say you’ll come.”

“Okay,” I said
smiling. He tilted my head back and lightly kissed me on the lips, “Thank you,
baby.”

W
YATT AND I were to meet Annie and Ty at the airport.
When we got there I was pleasantly surprised to see Marissa would be joining
us. I ran up to her and hugged her.

“What are you doing
here?” I asked.

“Ty invited me and
I said yes.”

“Are you guys back
together?”

“I guess. He’s very
persistent and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“I’m glad you guys
worked it out. You two make a cute couple.”

“Yeah, he’s hot,
but I’m happy we are working things out. I can’t seem to stay away from him.”

“I know, I feel the
same way about Wyatt.” We walked around the terminal taking selfie’s since we
had a few hours to kill.

We all boarded the
plane along with Blue. There was no way I was leaving my puppy behind. I had a window
seat and was terrified and excited that this monstrosity of a plane would take
us to Miami International Airport. I was too excited to fall asleep and rest like
everyone else. I had to look. I had to take my camera phone out and take
pictures of the stewardess, the people and the runway. I had to find a way to
preserve the feeling of flying hundreds of feet above sea level – way up high
in the clouds. I looked down and everyone and everything looked like ants. I
couldn’t make out individuals. I saw holes. I saw how concrete blocks of flats
and buildings created a grey density, boring and lifeless. We came out into a
thick fog. I thought I wouldn’t even be able to see my hand if I held it up in
front of myself. Everything went white. We flew straight into a happy
cotton-candy-floss clouds. Then I saw how the luscious greenery of the county
came out. Deep shrubs thrived wherever the eye could see. It was such an
amazing feeling to watch the sun sitting up, up, up in the sky on its throne in
space and then to see it melt into the horizon, leaving an oil-painting of myriad
of warm colors. I wished I had my canvases and paints so I can record the
lovely vision before me because for a minute, just a minute I didn’t feel guilty
of leaving Bailey behind. I’ve never been inside an airport, but I have to say
Miami International Airport is not a passenger friendly airport. There were no
moving sidewalks in the concourse areas, so we had a long ass hike to the car
rental booth.

We rented a Range
Rover and Marissa put it on her father’s credit card. We originally were going
to stay at a hotel near the tattoo expo, but Marissa insisted on staying at her
parent’s summer home on the beach. Marissa, Annie and I immediately entered the
house and left the guys to handle bringing in the luggage. Marissa’s parents
owned a stunning waterfront two story villa in Miami Beach. It was in a private
gated community with over nine thousand square feet of interior space complete
with a master suite, his or her closet and a private terrace. It had six
bedrooms upstairs, two bedrooms downstairs, a formal dining room, full bar, and
gourmet kitchen. It was an open bay water frontage with a no fixed bridges on a
huge lot. The house also had a pool, dock, a three car garage, amazing entry foyer,
wine cellar, private balconies, and two fireplaces. The whole house boasted
marble and wood floors. I felt like I stepped into the twilight zone. I took
Blue out of his carrying case and set him on the floor. He immediately ran
around familiarizing himself with the layout of his surroundings. I’ve known
Marissa for years, but never dreamed I’d ever come here because I always,
always had to take care of my mother and sister. This moment felt surreal to
me, as if I just stepped into a dream and I really needed someone to pinch me
to make sure it wasn’t my imagination.

“Pinch me,” I said
to Marissa. She walked towards me and pinched me.

“Ow, what was that
for?” I asked.

“Hello, you said to
pinch you, so I did.”

“True, but did you
have to pinch me that hard?”

“You wanted to know
if you were dreaming, right. Well I wanted to make sure that you knew it wasn’t
a dream, but a nightmare,” she giggled.

“You are a mean
woman, Mari,” I laughed.

“That’s why I’m
your best friend and you love me. Admit it, you do,” she said.

“I do love you and
thank you for letting us all stay here. I love it.”