Edge of Love (4 page)

His eyes twinkled with mirth. “I know
it does.”

I moved from his lap then fixed my
hair and my dress. We were expected downstairs minutes ago. I knew
we should hurry. “We should get going.”

Sean pulled his pants up then nodded.
“Yeah, I guess we should. But after that performance, I have no
interest in seeing my parents. Instead, I would like to reciprocate
the favor.” His eyes glanced down to the area between my legs but
he didn’t reach for me. Just the look alone made me wet.

“
Depending on how they
take the news, I might be in need of your services.”

He smiled. “I think your need for my
service is independent from the events of your life. You’re a
whore, Scar. You aren’t fooling me.”

I smiled at him. “You caught
me.”

3

White chairs surrounded a wooden table
with a white umbrella. It provided adequate shade from the
scorching sun. There weren’t any clouds in the sky. The only
respite from the heat was the gentle sea breeze. Cocktails were
placed on the table with snacks of fruit and cheese. The waves
crashed against the shore in the near distance and I could hear
them pound against the turf. When we walked outside, Sean pulled my
chair out for me and helped me sit down. The wind pulled at the end
of my dress and blew the strands of hair from my face. He sat
beside me and placed his hand on my thigh. It pleased me that he
was still affectionate with me in front of his parents. Their
presence didn’t change our relationship. Since I just gave their
son head, I felt a little awkward around them, like they knew or
something.

His mother took a drink of her fruit
cocktail then cleared her throat. “What’s the pleasure of your
visit? Are you finally telling us that you moved to Seattle?” I
could tell his mother was displeased with his relocation. I
sincerely hoped they didn’t blame me because of it. In my defense,
I wouldn’t have left the city if Sean hadn’t broken my heart to
begin with. Sean was very close to his family, and he was always a
twenty minute train ride away. Obviously, she wasn’t used to the
change.

Diane stared at Sean. “Your
announcement is a little late. Why did you move there anyway? You
didn’t even tell us you were leaving.” Her eyes looked bright with
fire. She was normally a pleasant woman, so I wasn’t sure why she
was so hostile right now. I glanced at Andrew and saw him shift his
weight in his seat. I could tell he was uncomfortable with her
aggression.

Sean patted my thigh. “Because Scarlet
moved there. I can’t be apart from her.”

I smiled at him.

“
What about Penelope?”
Diane asked. “Did you leave her for Scarlet?”

Andrew glared at her. “Dear.” He was
obviously embarrassed that his wife asked such a personal question.
“Don’t harass him.”

Sean’s face was contorted in
irritation. I knew Penelope was the last person he wanted to
discuss—especially this weekend. Sean took a drink of his beverage
then returned it to the table. “Scarlet and I have a nice
apartment. We’re both very happy.”

Andrew nodded. “That sounds nice.” He
turned to me. “And what are you doing for a living?”

“
I’m still working as an
editor.”

“
Where?” he
asked.

“
Well, I started my own
company.”

“
That’s wonderful,” he
said brightly. His happy attitude always made me feel at ease. I
never felt judged by his father. He treated me like his own
daughter, which I always appreciated. I knew Sean was very fond of
his father as well. “Business is always the way to go.” He turned
to his son. “So, where are you working, Sean?”

“
I’m the lead human
resources director for a recycling company.”

Diane raised her eyebrow. “So, you
gave up your job at the firm to be a human resources director?” I
could hear the anger in her voice. If Sean was a child, she would
spank him with a belt. “You must be making a fraction of what you
were making before.”

I was getting really irritated with
the Sean bashing that was going on. His mother seemed to be
disappointed with every decision he made. I played with the ring on
my finger. I had no interest in announcing our engagement now. They
obviously wouldn’t approve.

Andrew looked at his wife. “Diane.
Back off.”

Now I liked his father even more. I
turned to Sean and saw him stare out at the ocean. He seemed
indifferent to the conversation, but I knew him better than that.
He was forcing himself to be quiet. Sometimes his temper caused him
more trouble than it was worth. His hand squeezed my thigh tighter.
I placed my hand over his, reassuring him that I understood his
frustration.

Diane glared at her husband. “You’re
just going to let him make these idiotic decisions? Not say
anything? I’m just looking out for our son.”

“
Who is an
adult
,” Andrew reminded
her.

Sean grabbed my hand and held it
within his own. His voice came out calm. I was surprised he kept
the anger out of his tone. “I love living in Seattle, I love my
job, and I love Scarlet. I don’t need anything else.”

I smiled at him again.

“
Well, are you ever going
to move back?” Diane asked. “Seattle is so far away. You can’t
possibly stay there forever. Your family lives here—in Connecticut.
You could work for the company instead of that cheap paying job you
have now.”

Now I just wanted to slap
her.

Sean looked at me and we conversed
silently. He knew I never wanted to be apart from my brother. It
was important to me, and I couldn’t live without seeing him every
day. I would be miserable. “No, Scarlet and I both love Seattle.
Yes, I don’t make as much money at my new job, but I couldn’t care
less about the income. We are staying put.”

Diane nodded but I could tell that she
wasn’t pleased with the news. Her eyes were wider than usual. I
could tell she was offended that Sean declined her job offer. “Did
you move to get away from Penelope? How could you just leave her,
Sean? What did that sweet girl do to you?”

Sean squeezed my hand tightly. I knew
he couldn’t put up with this bullshit much longer. Granted, we
didn’t tell them we’re engaged, but she still shouldn’t bring her
up like this. I was his girlfriend and she wasn’t. I didn’t
understand why his mother couldn’t wait until I wasn’t around until
she interrogated him.

Sean’s voice wasn’t as pleasant as
earlier. In fact, it was ice cold. “Drop it.”

His mother didn’t back down. “What did
you expect, Sean? You break up with Penelope and don’t say a word
to us about it. A few months later, you’re with Scarlet instead.
Then, you move to the opposite side of the country. We’re just
concerned, son. You’re acting like a crazy person.”

I saw the anger in Sean’s eyes and I
feared he was going to turn the table on its side.

“
I don’t want to discuss
her. Penelope isn’t in my life anymore. Scarlet is. Stop asking me
about her. In fact, don’t mention her ever again. I will not answer
your questions. Scarlet is the one for me. I couldn’t care less if
you don’t accept her. It changes nothing.”

Diane sighed. “I just want to know
what happened between you and Penelope.” She turned her gaze to me.
“We don’t mean to offend you. Andrew and I love you like our own.
We didn’t mean to be rude.”

I smiled. “It’s okay,
Diane.”

“
No it’s not,” Sean said.
“Drop it. I mean it.”

Diane shook her head then leaned back
in her chair. It was awkward for a long time. I looked out at the
ocean and Sean followed my gaze. His mother drank from her cocktail
and stared at her drink.

Andrew tried to dissipate the tension.
“Scarlet, how’s your brother?”

I smiled. “He’s good. He still has his
tattoo shop.”

“
Good,” Andrew said. “I
was thinking about getting one for myself.”

“
A tattoo?” Sean asked
incredulously.

Andrew patted his deltoid. “Yeah, I
was thinking about putting it right here.”

I laughed. The idea of Andrew, a
millionaire business owner, having a tattoo was hilarious. I knew
he wasn’t being serious, but it still made me laugh anyway. On the
other hand, Diane looked furious. She clearly didn’t understand the
joke. She was still wound up from the previous
conversation.

I thought about Ryan drilling a needle
into Andrew’s arm and it made me laugh again. Then, I felt my heart
squeeze in panic. I completely forgot to call my brother when we
landed over an hour ago. When I turned to Sean, he was holding out
his cell phone, reading my mind.

Sean looked at me. “Go ahead and call
him.”

I took the phone and smiled at him. I
turned to his parents. “I apologize. I forgot to call my brother to
tell him I arrived here safely. I’ll be right back.”

Andrew nodded. “Good ahead. No
worries, dear.”

Sean placed his hand on my back. “Tell
him I said hi.”

“
Okay.” I rose from the
chair then walked into the house. I closed the door behind me so
they wouldn’t hear my conversation. I had some serious venting to
do. When I was standing in the living room, I called him. I faced
the wall in the corner while I waited for his voice to sound in my
ear. He answered on the second ring.

“
Hey,” he said. I could
hear the television in the background. A baseball game was playing.
“Everything alright?”

“
I’m sorry I forgot to
call you. We landed over an hour ago.”

He laughed. “It’s okay, Scar. Sean is
there. I know he’ll take care of you. Now that you have a fiancé, I
don’t worry about you anymore. You’re his problem now. That poor
bastard.”

We were quiet for a long moment. Ryan
could read my emotions even over the phone. I was never silent when
he teased me, and I was always a smartass in response. My silence
was a dead giveaway that I was troubled.

“
What’s wrong?”

I sighed. There were a lot of things
that bothered me. Not being able to have sex was the biggest
grievance on my list. “I want to stay at a hotel, but Sean’s mom
won’t let us.”

“
And what’s the big deal
about that?”

“
We can’t have sex and
it’s annoying me.”

Ryan was quiet for a moment. “Uh, good
to know.”

“
And they keep hammering
Sean about moving to Seattle, getting a new job, and breaking up
with Penelope. It’s pissing me off.”

“
It should piss you off,”
Ryan said. “Who cares about that bitch? It’s you and Sean
now.”

“
I know.” I sighed. “I’m
so irritated right now.”

“
I’m sorry,
Scar.”

We were quiet again. After a moment, I
spoke. “I miss you.”

He laughed. “It’s been less than a
day.”

“
But I do.”

“
Then why are you such a
brat when you’re with me?”

“
I know you’ll put up with
it.”

Ryan laughed loudly. “I love you,
Scar.”

“
I love you
too.”

“
I’ll talk to you later,
okay? You’ll be fine. And tell Sean I said hi.”

“
Okay.”

“
Goodbye,
Scar.”

“
Bye.” I hung up the
phone. I missed him already. When I was with Ryan, I knew nothing
could hurt me. When Sean broke my heart, he picked up the pieces
and put me back together. I wished he could solve all my
problems.

I held the phone in my hands for a
moment before I turned around. The image on the screen of Sean’s
phone was a picture of me sleeping. My face was free of makeup and
I looked so peaceful. My hair was scattered around my shoulders,
and my lips were relaxed. I didn’t know when Sean took this
picture. I had no idea that he’d taken it at all. I was touched by
the gesture. In the back of my mind, I always feared he would never
love me as much as he loved Penelope, but finding sentiments like
this made me realize how paranoid I was being. There was no doubt
of his love for me. I felt strong hands circle my waist and I
smiled, knowing Sean was behind me.

I started to turn around. “Ryan wanted
me to—”

“
Hey, Scarlet. How are
you?” Mike was standing in front of me. He wrapped his arms around
my waist and pulled me close to him

I was startled by his sudden
appearance. I didn’t even hear him enter the room. “Uh,
hello?”

He stepped closer to me. “You’re
looking beautiful as ever.” He smiled at me and the look made me
feel uneasy. He and Sean looked very similar. They both had the
same brown hair and startling blue eyes. Their faces were framed in
the same way and they had the same thin lips.

I stepped back and tried to avoid his
touch. He had never been so forward with me. In fact, I always felt
comfortable around him, but right now I was panicked. I didn’t
understand what the hell was going on. “Uh, thanks.”

He continued to stare at me. “I’m very
happy to see you.” His hands were at his sides, but I suspected
they would reach for me in a second. “Have you dumped Sean
yet?