What Endures (8 page)

“This one is,” Tyler said with a smile.

He looked at Tyler questioningly. “So what were you running away from?”

Tyler smiled wryly. “Which time?”

He returned his stepbrother’s smile, glad for a return to the easy bantering. “So that’s like what, a pattern with you or something?”

Tyler made a face. “For the record, I only did that twice! Twice in 28 years isn’t exactly a pattern!”

“So what’d you run from?”

“First time? Girls.” Tyler said, looking uncomfortable.

He laughed. “You were a player!”

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Yes you were, Ty,” Megan said, returning from the kitchen. Her voice was light and teasing, but he noticed that her eyes were slightly red and shiny, as if she had been crying.

He chuckled, deciding the best course of action was to maintain the carefree tone of conversation. “You, a ladies man. Who would have thought?”

“Hey, don’t sound so surprised! It’s not like you inherited all the charm in the family you know.”

Megan looked at Tyler reprovingly. “Oh, so now you’re
proud
of cheating on Lizzie?”

“Lizzie?” Jason asked slowly as a memory flashed through his mind. “That cute blond on the cheerleading team with the really nice rac-. . .ah, pom-poms?” He avoided Megan’s narrowed gaze.

Tyler laughed. “Oh, yeah, she definitely had really, really nice pom-poms.” Tyler was about to spear a steak from a container when Megan yanked it out of his reach. “Hey!”

“I don’t feed sexist pigs.”

“He said it first!” Tyler whined. Megan raised an eyebrow and she and Tyler had a stare down before Tyler sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry. I’m an asshole. Please forgive me.”

Jason laughed. “Damn, you’re whipped, dude.”

“Oh I’m whipped?” Tyler challenged. “What about you? You and Megan-“ Tyler had tried again to grab a steak and yet again, Megan yanked it out of his reach. “Hey! I’m hungry.” The look on Megan’s face shut Tyler up quickly. “Sorry, Meg.”

“Me and Megan what?”:Jason asked, looking between the two of them.

Megan angled her head at Tyler, as if to direct him to answer the question. Tyler cleared his throat and an uncomfortable silence settled in the room. Finally, Tyler said softly,

“Just that you bowed to her wishes too.”

He could press this. He
should
press this. He had a right to know and it was damn tiring dancing around the edge of whatever it was between himself and Megan but one look at the vulnerability on her face and he couldn’t do it. His eyes met hers and he whispered,

“I can believe that.”  They stared at each other for a long moment before he took a bite of food. “This is great Meg.”

She smiled and the tension immediately dissipated. “Thanks.” She handed Tyler the container of food with a warning look. He accepted it mutely. “So you remember Lizzie Jennings?”

Jason frowned. “I mean, you know, she lived like two blocks from us in Harbor Bay. We went to the same school growing up. My dad and her Dad played golf together so she would come over at times.” He frowned. “She was kind of annoying as a little kid. Cute, but annoying.” Megan chuckled while Tyler smiled and shook his head. “Are we talking about that Lizzie?”

Tyler nodded. “Yeah.”

“You hooked up with Lizzie Jennings?” he asked incredulously. “I mean, yeah, she was an annoying little kid, but she grew up nice.” Jason shoved Tyler playfully on the shoulder. “Way too hot for you.”

“I have hidden charms.” Tyler smiled at him knowingly, which made Megan roll her eyes.

“And you cheated on her?” he asked.

Tyler sighed. “It was a mistake, all right? I realize that and I-“

“Ran away,” Megan injected. She smiled when they made eye contact, but he had caught that strange expression on her face just a second before.

“And I came back!” Tyler protested.

“Then you ran away again!” Megan retorted. Jason laughed as she settled into a chair next to him and began to pass the food around. Soon, they were all eating and good-naturedly teasing each other. Just like any other dinner. But that tension that was always lurking beneath the surface – it was becoming harder and harder for him to ignore.

#

Megan was in his arms.

And there was something so perfectly right about that.

At first, he had thought he was dreaming. His dreams had been such jumbled messes that sometimes they literally startled him awake at night. And now, as he stirred into semi-consciousness, he wasn’t quite sure if he were awake or still dreaming.

But there he was, stretched out on the large, comfortable couch in the living room, with Megan sprawled across him, their legs intertwined, her head resting comfortably on his chest and her arm draped across his stomach. Her small, soft body felt so good against him. He looked down at her in surprise for a few seconds before last night’s events came back to him.

They had dawdled over dinner, and then had decided to watch a movie together. Not soon after the movie had started, however, Tyler’s girlfriend, Lucy, had called and Tyler had gone upstairs to take the call. That happened on most nights, so neither he nor Megan had been surprised when Tyler hadn’t returned downstairs for the rest of the night.

He had been surprised, however, when Megan had nodded off about halfway into the movie. She had looked so peaceful that he hadn’t wanted to disturb her, so he had simply gone to his bedroom to retrieve a blanket and had draped it over her sleeping form before he settled in to finish the rest of the movie.

The movie must have been a snoozer, literally, because the next thing he remembered was jolting awake late at night to a blue screen. He had only stopped long enough to reach for the remote to shut off the T.V. before falling back asleep.

Now here he was. Sometime in the middle of the night, they had found their way into each other’s arms. He looked down at her, sleeping so peacefully, and was again struck by just how right, how good, this felt.

It was as if waking with her in his arms was how it was supposed to be.

He was struck again by one of those scattered, confusing flashes that left him wondering if he was recalling a memory, or if it was just a manifestation of his latent desire for her.

This one was of Megan, hair tousled, and a lazy smile on her lips. She was snuggling against him and laughing. It was a lot like how she was now, nestled against him, but in the flash, she had been naked. She looked completely happy and content, and he had felt as if everything in his life was perfect.

He shook his head. Was that a memory? Or just his mind playing tricks on him?

He looked down at her again and couldn’t resist the urge to push some strands of hair away from her cheek. She was beautiful. He had thought that the moment he had opened his eyes in that hospital room to see her, eyes shining with relief and joy, smiling at him. He hadn’t changed his mind since. If anything, she seemed to have grown more beautiful since then.

He had no trouble admitting that he was attracted to her. If it were any other situation, he would have made a move by now. But this wasn’t any other situation. He wasn’t just a guy attracted to some girl. And Megan was definitely not some girl.

Truth be told, he couldn't really remember any of his moves, if he had any. The only clear memory he had of being with a girl was Alison Myers in 7th grade. There had been awkward groping and tongues lapping and he sure as hell hoped things had gotten better since then. He sure as hell hoped
he
had gotten better at things since then.

Just then, he felt her stirring. Soon, her gorgeous hazel eyes fluttered open and slowly focused on him.

He smiled. “Hi.”

“Hi.” In that moment when sleep hadn't quite cleared itself completely from her mind, her expression was unguarded and he saw how much she wanted him, her feelings so clear in her eyes. To his surprise, but complete delight, her hand cupped his face as her fingers trailed along his jaw. They stared at each other for a long moment before she leaned up and pressed her lips against his. It was a soft, light touching of their lips but it was like someone turned on the power and bolt of electricity shot between them.

She jerked back, her eyes wide. She was completely awake now. "Oh my God!"

Unfortunately when she had jumped, their legs were still intertwined and she had come down, hard, on his still-healing leg.

“Ow!” he yelled out involuntarily.

“Oh my God!” She quickly tried to disentangle herself from him, but her hurried actions only made it worse.

“Ow! Megan!”

“Sorry!” She finally managed to separate herself and stumbled away from him. “God! I’m sorry! Are you O.K.?”

He rubbed his leg. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Suddenly, footsteps were thundering down the stairs and a disheveled-looking Tyler, wearing a T-shirt and pajama-bottoms, rushed in. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Megan standing there, hair tousled from sleep and last night’s clothes completely rumpled.

“Megan?” Tyler looked between the two of them, confused. “W-what are you doing here?”

She nervously ran her hands through her hair, trying to straighten it. “I-I, uh. . .I think I, um, fell asleep last night.”

They exchanged another look before Tyler visibly relaxed. “I just, uh, I heard screaming and. . .” He stopped and shook his head. “I’m gonna go get ready for the day then. You staying for breakfast Meg?”

 “I, um. . .”

Tyler nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit.” He smiled. “Ms. Clark’s due any minute so you guys might want to clean up too.” With a final look, this one distinctly amused, at the both of them, Tyler retreated back upstairs.

“Oh, God,” Megan mumbled as she began to retrieve her shoes.

“Megan-“

“Jason-“ she began at the same time.

They both smiled awkwardly before he nodded. “Ladies first.”

“I just, uh. . .” she stopped and shook her head. “Are you sure your leg’s O.K.?”

He knew that wasn’t what she was going to say but he nodded anyway. “It’s fine.”

She smiled briefly. “Good, good.” She finally managed to put on her shoes and was running her hands through her hair nervously again. “So, listen, I better head out of here.”

“Why?”

“Why?” she repeated, surprised.

He nodded. “Don’t you want to stay for breakfast?”

“I, um, need to go.”

He smiled, enjoying how flustered she was around him all of a sudden. A part of him knew he shouldn’t and yet, she was looking so entirely adorable that he just couldn’t help it. “Why?”

She sighed. “Are you going to keep asking me ‘why’ all morning?”

He chuckled. “I've only asked you twice.”

She shot him one of ‘those looks.’ “I really do need to go.”

“Tyler will be disappointed that you didn’t stay for breakfast.” He saw her struggle against it, but the smile slowly spread across her face, lighting up her features. Yep, Megan Williams was one beautiful woman.

“Tyler will deal with it.”

He limped over to where she was. “I’d be a little disappointed too.”

Her cheeks flushed but she kept her voice steady when she responded. “You’ll deal too.”

He grinned. “True. But that’s only because I know I’ll see you later, right?”

He saw a struggle going on in her eyes but she finally nodded. “Right.”

She smiled awkwardly at him before she made her way around the couch and toward the door. He heard her call to Tyler to tell him ‘good-bye’ and then the sound of the front door opening and closing.

Again, that ‘flash’ appeared in his mind. Megan, in his arms, looking so content and happy. For that one brief instant this morning, he had seen that same look. It had felt so right and familiar. And his lips still tingled with that all-too-brief kiss, knowing that if such brief contact could ignite that kind of reaction, what would a longer, deeper kiss invoke? All he knew was, he wanted to find out because when she had been in his arms, it was like all the scattered pieces of his life had aligned perfectly in that one moment.

CHAPTER SIX

“Hey.”

His voice startled her and she nearly fell off the metal bench. “Ahh!”

“Whoa!” he said, reaching out and grabbing her elbow to steady her.

“What’s with you and sneaking up on people?”

“Sorry.”

She stared at him in surprise. “You’re here.” She flinched at the stupid obviousness of her words. “I-I mean. . .” She stopped, drew in a calming breath and tried again. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “Summer break seems to compel me to come to Harbor Bay to visit.”

“I don’t mean in Harbor Bay, I mean, you know, here.”

Another nonchalant shrug. “I’d figured this was a good place to find you.”

“You were looking for me?” she asked, surprised.

“You think I come to Harbor Bay to visit my parents?” he asked with a teasing grin.

She smiled despite herself. “I’m glad you’re here.”

He seemed to take a moment, as if gauging her sincerity before he returned her smile. “It’s always good to see you, Meg.”

An awkward pause followed before he made a gesture, silently asking if he could sit beside her. She nodded, and scooted over to make room for him.

“How are you?” he asked her quietly.

“You talked to Tyler,” she said knowingly.

He nodded. “He called me last night.”

 She sighed. “So, what do you think of his plans?”

He shot her a wary look and took a few moments before answering. “I don’t know. But it looks like his mind’s made up.”

“Yeah, it is,” she said quietly, staring out at the dusty field. This baseball field, nestled inside Harbor Bay’s only park, was one of her favorite places. Actually any baseball field was her favorite place. They had reminded her of her father but now they reminded her of both her father and Jason, the two men she had loved most in her life.

“I guess you don’t like his plans much huh?” he asked gently.