Get-Together Summer (9 page)

And yet ...

He hugged his elbows a little more tightly and
continued to watch Dirk pull down more plates, deftly portioning
out servings for each -- and yet he was still a bit surprised when
Dirk turned to him, one eyebrow raised. "You want any?"

"What?" He blinked, then blushed, shrugging one
shoulder up to his ear. "I guess."

From the corner of one eye he could see Dirk's
dubious expression, but instead of commenting on it he went and
fetched a third plate. "Go get your cousin, then. She's still
lazing around."

"Why me?" he protested, but turned anyway, shuffling
down the hallway and for the stairs. He took the stairs two at a
time, not unfolding his arms, and made his way to Haley's bedroom.
The door was slightly ajar, and he knocked once before peeking
in.

The blankets were strewn haphazardly across the bed,
pooling at the corner and nearly dropping off. Haley was sprawled
on her back, one arm thrown over her head and the other draped
across her body, her fingers brushing her hip. One leg was bent up
at a coy angle, and the other was stretched out, toes loosely
curled. She wore a thin white nightgown that had hitched up all the
way to her hips; he could see the elastic band of her panties (also
white), barely more than a shadowed contrast against her skin. One
breast was half-exposed from her twisted position, but though he
could see the faint shadow where her nipple must be, he couldn't
see it outright properly.

He knocked again, louder, unable to quite pull back
or look away. "Haley."

She squeezed her eyes more tightly shut for a moment,
sighing, then rolled slowly to face him. The movement brought her
legs back together, creating a small shadowed vee, and pulled the
top of her nightgown down just fractionally, exposing more of the
creamy curve of her breasts. Simon swallowed hard and finally
stepped back out of the room, knocking for a third time, not quite
banging his fist against the door. "Haley! Breakfast's ready."

"What," she groaned, her voice rich and husky with
sleep still. "Already?" He could hear rustling, and then the faint
thump of her feet on the floor. It took him a moment to realize she
was moving towards the door, but it swung open before him and he
found himself suddenly face-to-face with his sleepy-eyed,
tousle-haired cousin. She blinked at him with slow sleepiness, her
expression still soft, and tilted her head. "Morning, Simon."

He chewed the inside of his cheek before he could
make himself answer properly. "Good morning. Dirk said you should
come downstairs. It looked like stuff was done."

She smiled, still heavy-eyed. "You're getting along
with him," she said. "I'm glad."

He gave a guilty little start at
her words, then drew himself up, huffing. "I, I am not! He's not a
bad cook, but that doesn't mean I
like
him or anything! Actually, I
don't at all! He's still not proven himself to me! And anyway, he
was the one who offered, it's not like I have to if you're going to
be like that about it--"

Before his rant could gain any more momentum, though,
Haley reached up and patted his cheek lightly. Her fingers were
blood-warm and soft and smelled very faintly of lavender. "That's
good," she said. Up close he could see the softness in her eyes. "I
really am glad."

Caught by her words, Simon could only snap his mouth
shut again and nod dumbly.

"I'm going to shower," she added, pulling back to
cover her mouth for its yawn. "Tell him I'll be down in a bit."

"Um," he said, but when she stopped and cocked her
head at him, he found himself at a loss for what to say. He
shrugged, awkward in his own skin. "... Nothing."

She bit her lip, tipping her head back further,
looking up at his face. "Are you sure?"

He hesitated, then reached to poke her in the
forehead, making her rock back slightly. "Of course I am," he said,
and managed a smile for her, a little surprised at himself. "I'm
always sure about everything."

Haley wrinkled her nose. "Liar."

"I am not." Simon poked her forehead again, and she
grabbed at his wrist, using it as leverage to pull herself to her
feet. She leaned into him for a moment, soft and sweet-smelling,
and Simon half-lifted a hand to curl it around her waist -- then
turned it into a shoulderpat instead. "Go shower."

She hummed, sticking her tongue out at him, then
brushing past him as she meandered her way to her bathroom. He
watched her go, and the slow easy roll of her hips as she walked.
He could see the faint outlines of her body under the straight fall
of her nightgown, and he had to clench his hands to keep from
reaching out to her. Only when he heard the sound of water begin
did he turn away and head back downstairs, his ears still
burning.

Dirk was setting the places when he returned to the
kitchen. At his questioning look, Simon shrugged. "She's
showering."

"Well, her loss." He pointed to the same chair Simon
had been using. "Go ahead, sit, eat. It's better when everything's
still hot."

He hunched his shoulders a little, circling a little
warily towards the chair. "What about you?"

"I'm eating too, hell yeah," said Dirk.

"You're not going to wait for Haley?"

He blinked, taking his seat. "Why would I?"

"Because ..." Simon pursed his lips. "Well, isn't
that the thing to do? If she's your girlfriend. You wait for
her."

Dirk raised an eyebrow. "She's my girlfriend, yeah,
not my symbiotic twin or something. She's a big girl, she can eat
whenever she gets down here. She doesn't need either of us holding
her hand."

"Yes, but--" Simon subsided, sinking back in his
chair with a small scowl. It seemed odd to him; they had done so
much together already this vacation -- even beyond the things that
they'd invited him to, like shopping and other movies and just
going out together holding hands; he didn't understand why suddenly
Dirk would be so casual about not waiting for her to eat. He picked
up his fork, prodding at the bright yellow piles of eggs; they were
nicely fluffy, interspersed here and there with splashes of white,
speckled with black pepper. It smelled good, better than he wanted
to admit, and his stomach gave a small eager growl.

"But nothing," Dirk said, one cheek already stuffed.
He gestured with his own fork to Simon's plate. "If you're hungry,
eat. Don't let it get cold on you."

"Never mind," he muttered. He stabbed a large lump of
eggs, stuffing it into his mouth. They were good, a little to his
dismay; he didn't know any way to really describe how he felt about
it. His father in particular also enjoyed family meals; he would
sometimes hold the meal for hours to make sure everyone was there
in their proper place. Once, his mother's flight had been two hours
late getting in, and as a result they'd eaten at nearly midnight,
with his father pleased and smiling and his mother pale and pinched
from the flight, but also smiling. They'd been so happy to just
share that time together; the idea that a couple -- especially one
that had been so intimately close already, like Haley and Dirk --
would want to start eating at separate times seemed alien to him.
The fact that Haley was also already in the house, and that a
shower would only take maybe half an hour, made the whole affair
seem even stranger.

He chewed and he swallowed, watching the plate next
to his from the corner of one eye. Dirk had laid it out nicely:
there were piles of eggs and two fat caramel-brown strips of bacon,
and two neat golden triangles of toast. Butter and jam had also
been laid out, with a fresh knife beside the fork. He took another
bite and forced himself to continue chewing. Every now and then he
glanced through his bangs at Dirk, who had taken hold of the
newspaper and was paging through it as he ate, careless with his
elbows on his table and his mouth half-open as he chewed. It was
disgusting, but it was so effortless that Simon almost envied
it.

Dirk's plate was nearly empty by the time Haley
wandered into the kitchen, a towel still draped around her
shoulders. She was wearing another sundress, this one dark green in
color and cut off just above her knees. She was flushed soft pink
from the shower and bright-eyed, infinitely more alert than she'd
been when Simon had gone to wake her. She looked at her plate, but
she paused to stoop and kiss Dirk's cheek before sitting. "It looks
good."

"Of course it's good." Dirk sat back in his chair,
pushing his plate back. He'd left a corner of toast behind, smeared
with a thin scarlet veil. "I made it, so you'd better believe it's
high quality."

"Just like your ego." She rolled her eyes but smiled,
sitting, and looking at Simon. "Aren't you hungry?"

He started a little, looking down at his plate. It
was still half-full. "Um. Yeah."

"He was waiting for you," Dirk said, from behind the
newspaper. "He was really insistent on it."

Simon flushed, but Haley shifted and kicked Dirk
under the table. "That's just how his family does it," she said.
"Don't tease him."

"Ow, hey, I'm not!" He glared at her over the paper,
then sighed, looking at Simon again. "Sorry. My family's pretty
scattered, I'm not used to that."

"Mmmm." He stuck the fork in his mouth, empty, biting
down on the tines.

"Dad works in another city for one." Dirk leaned
back, his tone thoughtful. "Mom works the night shift. I'm lucky if
I see 'em both in the same house at the same time maybe once a
month."

The silence that followed the statement was long and
stretched awkward; Simon stared down at his plate, trying to think
of something to say in response, but could come up with nothing.
Instead, though, Haley reached over and put her hand on Dirk's arm
softly. He started at that, as if out of a trance, then laughed a
bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Eh, it's not that
big a deal. Probably the fact that they don't see each other's the
only reason that they're still married."

Simon's frown deepened. "That seems backwards."

"Not everyone's gonna get the great love of their
lives." Dirk shrugged. "My parents like each other, but they got
married real young. I think they're more relieved than anything
else that they don't have to do more than occasionally hang out.
They alternated sending someone to come to my school for
parent-teacher conferences, and it worked out." He covered Haley's
hand with his and looked at her with a small smile. "Me, though, I
do kinda get it. If I'm going to be with someone, I've got to
actually love them with everything I've got."

Haley blushed, but though she ducked her head a
little, she didn't protest. He leaned over and tucked wet strands
of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers trail over her cheek
briefly. For a moment Simon thought they would kiss, right there,
right in front of him, and he pointedly cleared his throat. Though
they didn't jump apart like he half hoped, Dirk did lean back,
picking the newspaper back up. "I told you that part already,
though. I'm serious about this."

"Were you two talking about that?" Haley looked at
Simon.

"Just a little," Dirk said, before Simon could. "Your
cousin worries about you a lot."

She huffed, but her tone was affectionate, even
through its edge of exasperation. "Simon!"

He sank lower in his chair,
embarrassed. He hadn't actually wanted her to
know
, and hearing it said aloud like
this, it felt all the more childishly jealous. "I was just
worried," he mumbled. "It's not like I don't have any interest in
your well-being or anything."

"He's a good defender of your honor," Dirk said.
"Interrogated me about my intentions and everything. You're lucky
to have someone who cares that much."

"He's mine, just so you know," Haley said. "My
cousin, he takes my side. Right, Simon?"

Simon froze for a moment, unsure of
what to do or say.
Mine
, she'd said, so casually, and it made something warm and
uncertain curl in his belly. "Uh--"

"Guys gotta stick together," Dirk said. He draped an
arm over Simon's shoulders and waggled his eyebrows. "Right,
prettyboy?"

"It's
Simon
," he said again, though less
heatedly than before. His head was swimming from the unexpected
contact. "I guess I'd side with Haley, though--"

"Hah!" She pumped a fist, smirking
when Dirk dropped his arm away from Simon's shoulders and affected
dramatic hurt. "
We
have to stick together, after all."

"Right ..." Simon ducked his head a little, his ears
burning and his throat tight. "I guess -- we have to do that,
yeah."

From the corner of one eye, he saw Haley shift
towards him a moment before her hand touched his shoulder, almost
too light to feel. He could sense her though, so close that if he
just shifted a tiny bit, they would be pressed together. It was
suddenly too much and not enough, the last straw on the camel's
back.

"Simon?" Haley said, and he took a deep shaky
breath.

"Sorry," he said in a sudden rush, taking a step
back, so that her hand fell away from his shoulder. "Sorry, I just
-- sorry. I need to--" He made a vague gesture, acutely aware of
the way they both were staring at him. "I need to just. Go out for
a bit. Sorry!"

"Wait, Simon--!"

Simon ignored Haley's startled call, bolting for the
door. He jammed his feet into his shoes, not bothering to even get
them on all the way, threw the door open, and headed out. He didn't
bother to slam the door behind him, letting it swing in the wake of
his passing. Outside it was already beginning to get hot, the
summer sun high in the pale blue sky. Without really paying
attention to which way he was going, he began to walk, his hands in
his pockets.