Seasons in the Sun (4 page)

Chapter Eight

“Meet me in my aunt’s driveway tonight,” Tristan whispered into my ear just before we left work for the day. His warm breath tickled my skin.

“When?”

“Later on. Like midnight.” He raised his eyebrows at the suggestion.

I stared at him open mouthed, not sure I understood what he said. “How is that going to work?”

“You’re a smart girl, you’ll figure it out.” Tristan squeezed my hand before he walked away.

I had a hard time concentrating on my routine for the rest of the afternoon and evening. How was I going to pull this off? Was I going to be able to sneak out when I shared a room with someone? I toyed with the idea of telling Keisha about Tristan’s proposal, but I decided against it.

Since I was useless anyway, I went to bed early. Or so everyone thought. I laid awake, watching the clock. It was so hard not to drift off to sleep. I couldn’t set my alarm, I’d wake Keisha. At 11:30, when I was satisfied Keisha was down for the count, I quietly slipped out of bed, washed the sleep from my face, got dressed, and began my journey.

Every floorboard creaked as I crossed the living room. At first I took slow deliberate steps, but I felt like that only amplified the noise, so I changed my pace to a quick tip toe. The kitchen door caught in the jam, swollen with humidity. I pulled as hard as I could to free it, jerking back with its force when it opened. I had to close it just as hard. In my nervousness, the forgotten screen door slammed door behind me on the porch. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing I must be caught for sure. I was relieved to find that my actions seemed to have gone unnoticed. I tip toed gingerly down the stairs of the deck and sprinted towards Tristan’s house. I slowed up my pace when the driveway came into sight. Running the whole way would have been nothing short of pathetic.

Tristan sat on the rear bumper of his jeep, throwing his keys up in the air and catching them. I don’t think he heard me approach. I sat down next to him and he jumped. Finally, I caught him off guard. I laughed as he fumbled on the dark ground for his keys.

“You made it. I wasn’t sure if you’d do it or not.”

“You thought I’d chicken out?” He wasn’t the only one.

“Kinda.”

“You were wrong.” My eyes were adjusting to the light, and I met his in challenge. All this defiance made me brave.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested.

“Where to?”

“I don’t know. You’re the one who lives here.”

“Well I usually don’t wander around in the middle of the night. But I guess we can go down by the beach.”

He took my hand and we set down the rocky road that led the ocean without saying much of anything until we reached the sand. The only sound was the waves lapping against the shore. And my heart thundering in my chest.

“You can see so many of the stars out here.” Tristan declared, looking skyward in appreciation.

“How is that different than usual?”

“The city lights are too bright, they don’t stand out as much. It’s just so peaceful to look up at them all. See, there’s the Big Dipper.” He pointed skyward.

I nodded. “Can you see Orion’s Belt in it?”

“I can.”

Tristan sat down on one of the rocks that formed a breakwater. I climbed up next to him. I felt small next to him, with my legs dangling off the giant rock and the sky so huge above us.

“I’m having a really good time here this summer.” His arm made its way loosely around my waist.

“I am, too.”

“I’m going to hate going back to California.”

My heart twinged in my chest. I knew all along the day was coming soon when the twins would leave the island and normal life would resume, but not thinking about it made it less real.

“Maybe you don’t have to go,” I offered, softly.

He pulled me in closer to him and sighed. “I do. What am I going to do here?”

He was right, but I hated it. I hated myself for thinking I’d be enough to make him stay. It wasn’t like he was even my boyfriend. “You’re right.”

“What do you want to do, Callie?”

“What do you mean?” I pulled away from him nervously, heart pounding even harder.

“About everything. What do you want your life to be like?”

I knotted my fingers in my lap as I thought about his question. “I don’t know. This is my life.”

“There’s a whole world out there, you know. But it is nice here. It’s simple. No drama.”

I tried not to feel simple myself. “What’s California like?”

Tristan leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky. “Right now it’s a hot mess. My parents hate each other. They’re trying to work things out, but I know they’re going to split. That’s why we got shipped here.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Honestly, it’s probably better. They’re always fighting, and using me and Taryn to get back at each other.”

“That’s awful.”

“Whatever. The peace and quiet is nice.” He pulled me back in. “And I like hanging out with you. It’s nice to hang out with a girl who doesn’t want anything from me.”

“What do you mean?” I wasn’t offended, just genuinely confused.

“I’m sick of all these chicks, sorry, girls, who just want me to buy them things, or want to be with me because of who my parents are. But you aren’t like that.”

“No.” Who knew I was getting it right?

“It’s a nice change.”

“So what do you want to do?” I asked.

“About what?” His eyes burned into mine, only visible by the light of the moon reflecting off the ocean.

My breath caught in my throat. “Same thing. Everything.”

He sighed. “Honestly, I don’t have a clue. I could probably act, but I don’t want to do it just because my father does it. I’d love to have a band.”

“Why don’t you?”

“I don’t know. I never thought I was any good, but being here, my head’s been so clear. I’ve even worked on some songs.” He said the last part quietly. The way he said it, I was pretty sure I was the only one who knew anything about this.

“I’d love to hear them sometime.”

“I don’t know. They’re probably crap.”

“You always tell me not to be down on myself, and here you are, doing the same thing.”

“I know,” He leaned in, so his face was very close to mine. “I know what I want to do right now.”

“What?” I could barely speak.

“Kiss you.” He leaned in closer, his lips grazing mine.

I panicked and pulled away.

“What’s the matter?” Tristan seemed alarmed.

“I don’t know what to do.”

I couldn’t see it, but I could feel his smile. He ran his thumb softly along my jaw line, his fingers snaking into my hair. “You’re doing just fine. Just relax.”

That seemed impossible. “Okay.”

His lips parted mine gently. I simply followed Tristan’s lead, mimicking his actions as I curled my fingers aroundhis arms. He slowly nipped my upper and lower lip, almost teasing me, before unwinding his fingers from my hair, sliding his hands down to my waist, and pulling me up into his lap, against his chest. I could feel his heart thundering in unison with mine. I moved my hands up into his hair, pulling him close to me as he placed his lips over mine.

I don’t know how long we stayed there, locked together like that. One of us would pull away, just enough to breathe, and then be drawn right back in.

Finally, Tristan slid me off down off of his lap. I could feel the chill immediately being separated from his body. If I looked at him at that moment, we’d be right back where we started, so I looked up at the stars. They were even more beautiful than I ever remembered them being.

Everything was so right, with just us sitting out here, no noise but the lapping of the waves and the beating of my heart.

“I have to get you back,” Tristan’s voice was husky.

The sky had brightened. I prayed it was just lights from the town and not sunrise. No one in my house waited for the sun to be up to get out of bed. I needed to be safely back in bed before anyone’s feet hit the floorboards for the day.

We started to make our way through the sand, and back to the rocky road that led back to Beach Plum Lane. We held hands, not leaving enough space for one another.

I wasn’t ready to part ways when we reached my porch. I don’t think Tristan was either, he took my hands and pulled me close to him.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“For what?”

“Tonight.”

He shook his head against my forehead. “No,” he said, just as softly. “Thank you. For everything, Callie. I mean it.”

I looked up at him, puzzled, but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Will you be my date at the President’s party?”

“Of course.”

He squeezed my hands and leaned in for one last kiss. I could feel his smile against my lips. “Sweet dreams, Callie.”

Chapter Nine

For the last couple of weeks, I’d been running on pure adrenaline. Tristan and I had continued our late night meetings. As much as I looked forward to slipping out at night to see him, it got harder to keep our cover by day at the restaurant. Keisha knew, I felt like I needed her in my corner just in case I made a mistake. I was more brave than lucky.

Our timing couldn’t have been better. Mom was in full strategic mode with planning the catering for the fund raiser. She fluttered around the restaurant, making phone calls, schedules, maps, and orders. Nothing made her happier than huge contracts and politics.

Conveniently, she hardly cared about anything I had done in over a week. I’m not going to lie, it was heaven. I wasn’t sure I had wanted to tell her about Tristan’s invitation to the party, but in retrospect, I was glad I did. I wanted to catch her before she came up with any plan of me wearing a button down white shirt and bowtie and carrying a tray of appetizers. I half expected her to tell me I couldn’t go. But instead, her reaction was one of envy and awe once she realized I was going to be at the table with President and Mrs. Obama.

Just after lunch rush, Taryn approached me as I wiped down the sandwich area. She leaned against the counter and watched me wordlessly as I finished my task.

“Hey,” I greeted her with more of a question. Taryn never paid much attention to me.

“Hey,” She responded. “So I was wondering if you might want to come party dress shopping with me this afternoon? I know I have nothing to wear.”

That was an understatement. “Yeah, that would be cool. Let me just tell my mom.”

I knew Mom would approve, I was more hoping for extra funding. Most of my clothes came from thrift shops. The rest of them I made. I was fairly sure Marcy’s Closet on Main wouldn’t have anything worthy of a dinner with the president.

“Thanks for thinking of me,” I said as we made our way down Main St, pacing Marcy’s and peering into windows of the shops, sizing up our options. I was familiar with all of the stores and many of their keepers who came to us for coffee and treats, but I’d never set foot inside many of them. “I am so clueless about what I should wear to this thing.”

“No offense, but I kind of figured as much.”

“No offense taken.” There was no shame in admitting I was out of my league.

Taryn decided on a boutique called Seashells that had a few dinner party appropriate mannequins in the window. She dove into the racks with purpose. I wandered around the store, almost afraid to touch anything, not sure what it was I was looking for.

Taryn pulled out a short tailored sleeveless coral dress with black trim and a thin patent leather black belt. “What do you think of this … for me?”

I nodded.

She held it up against herself. “I want something kind of conservative, but still sexy, you know?” She handed the dress to the clerk to hang in the dressing room. She resumed flipping through the racks. “Now something for Callie.”

I stood behind her as she looked for something suitable. She pulled a few things out, held them up in front of me, and then put them back on the rack, frowning.

Minutes later, Taryn and I were behind side by side curtains trying on dresses. The clerk found a few other things for Taryn as well so we each needed to pick a winner.

Taryn knew her own style best, the coral dress was stunning on her. It hugged her curves but still looked classy. The color complimented her tan skin and dark hair.

I felt like a ballerina in the first couple of dresses Taryn and the clerk had picked for me, and not in a good way. Too frilly, too cute. I wanted to at least look a little sophisticated. Not only was I having dinner with the president, I really wanted to wow Tristan. A reject pile grew on the stool near the mirror. One dress remained, a black eyelet lace sundress that flared out in a gentle A line. A black satin sash circled the empire waistline. I pulled it over my hips and shoulders and zipped the side.

This was the first dress worthy of a fashion show. “This is it, Callie!” Taryn declared as she tied the sash. “You look fantastic.”

I swirled back and forth in the three way mirror in the corner, making the skirt fan out softly around me. “I love it.”

Once we had our packages in hand we headed back out on Main Street. “Do you want to get ice cream or something?” Taryn surprised me with her question. I didn’t think she’d want to spend any more time with me than necessary.

“Sure,” I was never one to turn down ice cream.

We sat on the deck with our sundae cups and dug in. “This is good stuff.” Taryn declared.

“Yeah, it’s all homemade.”

“I can tell,” Taryn scooped her spoon around the cup. “I’m glad we did this. I’m having fun. I know we don’t really get to spend a lot of time together.”

“Yeah, me too. I’m glad you asked me.”

“Well, I did kind of have an ulterior motive,” Taryn looked down at her ice cream almost sheepishly as she said it. “I wanted to talk to you about Tristan.”

I guess I probably should have seen that coming. “Okay.”

“Listen, he really seems to like you, and I think that’s great, but I’m kind of surprised he’s taking you so seriously.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I felt like she slapped me.

“It’s not you. My brother doesn’t take anyone seriously. Or anything.”

I narrowed my eyebrows, trying to wrap my head around what she was saying. Sure, he joked and teased, but I thought it was a bit extreme to go as far as to say he didn’t care about anything. Or anyone.

Taryn picked up on my confusion. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice. But this isn’t him. Either being here, or you, seem to have some sort of calming effect on him. But when we leave, you need to forget about him. Or else he will break your heart, just like he does to every other girl.”

My eyes widened, as I tried to process what she was saying. My brain rejected it. “I don’t know what to say.” I said quietly, playing with the melted ice cream in the bottom of the cup.

“Say you won’t sleep with him.”

I couldn’t hide my shock. “What?”

“Say you won’t sleep with him. Listen, he’s my twin brother, my best friend. He tells me everything. I know you guys meet up at night. He swears to me you guys haven’t had sex. I love him, but I just can’t trust him. It just wouldn’t be fair to you. He will get back to LA and go back to being a train wreck, just like he was before.”

“What are you talking about?” My heart was pounding against my ribs. This was too much.

“Did Tristan tell you why we’re here this summer?”

“Yeah, because of your parents fighting and getting divorced.”

Taryn shook her head with slight frustration. “Okay, so that might be some of it, but it’s not enough to ship us off to some island for the summer. We’re seventeen, not seven. We’re here because Tristan is totally out of control, and we needed to get him away from it.”

“Away from what?”

“Does he ever drink when he’s around you?”

My mind still spun. I could almost taste the sharp surprise of the vodka he’d put in my soda as she said it. “Just once, I think,” I said softly. “At my dad’s show.”

Taryn nodded almost like she was doing the math in her head as I said it. “I was hoping you said no. He’s been so much better this summer, but I’m not surprised. Drinking’s not the worst of it, either.” She almost seemed apologetic as she heaped on another layer.

I sighed sadly. Tristan had joked about drinking with me, but to hear he had such a problem was nothing short of mindblowing.

“Why? How?”

Taryn thought for a few minutes about her answer. “I don’t know. Somehow, I think he likes the attention, even if it’s all negative. I mean, we can have anything we want,” she sounded almost embarrassed. “Nobody ever tells us we can’t have something, especially if we’re out and about. My dad’s too famous and has too much money. So Tristan has access to everything, and he likes to try it all. The problem is, nothing ever makes him happy. So he wants more. Then he gets to the point where he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he makes a mess for us to clean up. And stupidly, we always do, so there’s no reason for him to stop.”

I wanted to cry listening to this. Tristan, although he could be absolutely maddening, was always smiling, always laughing, always joking. “It just doesn’t even sound like you’re talking about the same person.”

Taryn’s eyes shined with unshed tears. “I know. I wish he could stay here forever, but he’d wind up messing this up too. It’s just what he does, Callie. I love him, but he’s a mess. And I wish there was something to do to stop him before he winds up hurting himself. Or someone else.”

A tear escaped down Taryn’s cheek and she used one of her napkins to blot it away. “We should head back, don’t you think?”

I nodded. I followed her back down Main Street and to her car in stunned silence.

As we drove back home, I finally worked up the courage to ask, “What can I do?”

She looked at me and gave me a watery smile, shaking her head just slightly. “Just enjoy the rest of the summer. And please just don’t sleep with him.”