The Space in Between (18 page)

“He said he was looking up the meaning of infinity, but I don’t buy it. He could have landed on any site for that info, but I saw it clear as day. It was a tattoo site and there was a huge pic of the symbol on someone’s arm.”

“Why would he want a tattoo of that?”

Moving back and slipping his hands back into his pocket, he grunts. “I’m pretty sure that’s obvious.”

“Me? What does infinity have to do with me?”

“Ems, I know that sometimes you act like an idiot in order to sucker people into giving you what you want, but even you aren’t that dumb. Think about it and then think about what you two are to each other.”

Okay, I can do that
.

“He loves you times infinity.” Jonah offers up, choosing not to wait me out, and as he says it, it clicks.

“Jo…”

“I know. You don’t even have to say it.”

“How do you know what I was going to say?”

“I’ve known you since kindergarten. I know that look. You think him doing this is stupid, just like I do. I told him so, but to be honest, I don’t think I got through.”

“Why not?”

“You showed up and he was too quick to toss it away and change the subject.” Pausing and looking down at his wrist, the second hand of the clock ticking away, he reaches out with his free hand and squeezes my arm.

“Not to drop a bomb and run, but I gotta get to PE or Coach is gonna have my balls in a vice grip.”

Flashing him my most sympathetic smile, I wave down the hall in the direction he needs to go and free him from the conversation. “Go ahead. Sorry if I made ya late.”

“You didn’t. Just do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“When you talk to him about this later—because we both know that you’re gonna do it—don’t mention me, alright? Me and Chris, we got a good thing going and I’d hate to have that blown to shit because I stuck my nose in something that was none of my business.”

“Deal.”

Waving again as he takes off down the hall, I head to my last class of the day. The only one that thankfully, after the conversation I just had with his best friend, I won’t have to see Christian in.

Using the time I still have to myself wisely, I slip my phone out of the side pocket of my pants and do the only thing left that I can, at least until I’m able to meet up with him again later.

Call in Mom’s favor.

Chapter Sixteen

Christian

Emery wasn’t joking.

I’ve been working at the Daydream Coin Laundry for exactly three weeks, today being my first pay day, and all I’ve done to earn it is check peoples clothing to be dry cleaned, dish out money along with soap and dryer sheets, and help out the customers while doing rounds and cleaning out the machines.

It’s the easiest two hundred dollars I ever made and that’s counting the newspaper route I had when I was twelve.

The only thing I hate about taking shifts after school and Saturday is that it’s taking a big chunk out of girlfriend time. But where I went in thinking it was going to annoy her, not having me around the way she did before, it did the opposite.

We’ve taken back up getting together in the early morning again, working on songs that have nothing to do with what’s going on in class, and sometimes, when she’s not feeling it, she brings out her camera and takes pictures of me playing.

The first couple times, I’d tried blocking her, but after finally giving in and letting her do it, I had a hard time seeing why I was so against it at first.

Her taking pictures makes me feel like a rockstar. It also helps that with as protective of them as she’s been since I started letting her take them, I know they’re for her eyes only. A fact that after the heated way things got in the room yesterday, makes me extremely happy.

*****

“Oh, look what you’ve done to this rock and roll clown,” I sing completely off key, and she as she lowers the camera, giving me a full view of the happiness dancing in her eyes, I smile and continue. “Oh look what you’ve done. You’ve gone straight to my head.”

“Very smooth, Mikey. Is that another one of your dad’s moves that passed on to you?”

“Nope. This one’s all me. Well, me and great taste in music.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard Def Leppard and great taste in music in the same sentence before.”

Lifting the camera again as I swipe at her, she starts snapping away, and this time I play for her.

It wasn’t like that at first, but there’s a look she gets when she mentions photography. It’s similar to the way she plays music, but different. Her face takes on this determined expression, her button nose scrunching as she tries to figure out the perfect angle, and the cheeky way she reacts—complete with sticking her tongue out at her subject—when it doesn’t work the way she expects makes it impossible not to give into.

But the one thing that remains the same for everything she does is how it transforms her.

Taking pictures, making music, writing lyrics, they give her the confidence I saw on the first day. When you take any of those things away, she’s back to being the standoffish person she became when she was avoiding me.

I definitely like this version better.

Lowering the camera and putting it down gently on the desk, she moves in close, and with a tap of the guitar and a flick of her finger to let me know she wants me to move it, I lay it across the chair beside me and wait as she slips her legs over me, her body pressed close and straddling mine.  

Rubbing my nose softly against hers, I move in for the kill. Touching my lips to hers, she parts them, letting her tongue slip out, and like always runs it over her bottom lip, teasing me until I catch it with my teeth.

A move that seems to recreate her response to chocolate as she moans softly, the vibration reverberating back on my own mouth and making the need to taste her that much stronger.

“You’re sweating.” She whispers as she pulls away and runs her finger down over my face. “Does playing really make you that hot?”

“Don’t think it’s the music that’s causing it.”

“Well you should do something about it.”

“I know what I’d like to do.”

Laughing when I wink, she surprises me as she slides her hands down until I can feel the soft brush of her fingers as they graze my skin, followed by the touch of a chill that appears as my shirt begins sliding up.

“Em, what are you doing?”

Whatever it is, please don’t stop.

“Cooling you off. You’re seriously hot, Christian.”

“Funny. I was going to say the same about you.”

“I mean it. You’re practically burning up.”

Lifting the shirt up with her hands until the material is brushing against my shoulders, I take over and pull it the rest of the way up and over my head, tossing it to the side of us, hearing it land against the guitar that had been discarded equally as quick.

“Better?”

“Mmmm, much.” She moans again before using her teeth and nibbling on my lips. “I’m gonna need to you to stay exactly the way you are now.”

I’ve heard those words before. It’s what she says before she takes pictures. But before I can reach out to stop her, she’s silencing me with another kiss and pulling away, her hands grabbing for the camera.

“Em—”

“Less talking, more looking sexy.”

I don’t know how I feel about this. It’s one thing to do it goofing off in the room, it’s a whole other thing to do it with pieces of clothing going missing. Especially when at any moment we could have an audience.

It’s early, but not so early that I can say for certain we’ll remain completely alone.

Hearing the familiar sound of the camera as she takes shot after shot, I swallow down my argument and let her have her moment, which judging by the deliciously evil grin she’s wearing, she’s enjoying a whole lot.

Using the pause in between stills, I decide to go for broke and ask her again what she takes all these pictures for.

“Aren’t there better things you could be taking pictures of? Why so many of me?”

“I want to remember.”

“Isn’t that what your imagination is for?”

“Mmhmm,” she agrees. “But that only works when I’m alone and missing you. This is a different kind of remembering.”

“Are you ever going to expand on that riddle?”

“Maaybe, but not yet. All will be revealed in time, grasshopper.”

“First I’m a polar bear and now I’m a grasshopper. What’s next?”

“Not sure yet, but when I know, you’ll know.”

“There is one thing I wanna know now, though.”

Putting the camera back down, she slinks ever so slowly back toward me, a half risen grin playing on her lips and her eyes locked on my chest. Murmuring her quiet response, I grab her once she’s within reach and when she squeals pull her as close to me as possible.

“If you’re as hot as I am.”

*****

Where I thought I would feel the loss of those hours together, with the way the mornings went, it was almost as though there was no change at all.

“Excuse me, but I’ve been standing here waiting for service for the last fifteen minutes and quite frankly, I’m sick of it.”

Focusing on where I am, remembering that despite the visceral reaction that just thinking about Emery brings alive in me, I’m actually still at work and not free to zone out the way I have been, I paste on a smile and lift my head, ready to meet what’s sure to be the very angry glare of the customer I’ve been ignoring.

The customer that I see once I acknowledge them, isn’t a customer at all.  It’s my girlfriend.

“You scared the shit out of me!”

“Drama class pays off again! You should have seen your face.” She grins. “I mean, I’ve seen you fake a smile when we’re in class and you’re called on, but this was worse than that. Great customer service you got there, Mikey.”

“I know. It’s amazing I have a job at all with all the smiling I’ve been doing.”

Coughing into her hand, she hacks out the word fake, following it up with another cough and unleashing another smile.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I stopped to grab a coffee next door and I saw Mr. Potter pull in as I was pulling out, so I couldn’t resist doubling back to bug you before you get off.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble princess, but I haven’t gotten off yet.” I joke. “But if you’re up for sticking around, you can always help me out when my shift ends.”

“Perv!”

“Says the girl that started it.”

Leaning over the counter, she shuts me up with a kiss and after a few seconds of just enjoying the feel of her lips on mine and our tongues playing together, a loud and distinct throat clearing breaks us apart.

“Nice to see you again, Emery.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, Mr. Potter.”

“Evidently.”

With a raise of his eyebrow, Emery laughs and after an awkward couple of seconds deciding whether or not to join her despite my embarrassment at being caught, I follow suit.

“Go on, Christian. Get out of here. We’ll see you Monday.”

Confused, I try and remember why he’s saying he doesn’t need me on the weekend and that’s when Emery pipes up, clueing me in before my boss has to.

“Tell Sandy that I said congrats.”

Sandy Potter, the owner’s daughter. Now I remember. She’s getting married this weekend and instead of keeping the store open, they decided to close it so they could enjoy it with her.

“I will, Emery. You two enjoy the weekend.”

Lifting the counter, I slide out as Mr. Potter comes in and slipping my hand into Emery’s the second we’re side by side, I wave and head out, but not before I touch my pocket to make sure that my pay check is safe and secure.

A paycheck I fully intend on cashing and using at least part of to take this crazy girl to dinner. A date that I’ve been spending way too much time this week counting down the minutes for.

Making our way out the door and over to her car, she pushes me up against it and pressing her body to mine, picks up where we left off inside, reminding me again why she’s the one for me.

“How about instead of helping you get off, we climb into the backseat and I help you get on instead?”

Emery

Who knew teasing someone could be this fun?

It started when I went to see him at the end of his shift and carried on when after he told me to leave my car in the lot in favor of taking his truck, we’d gotten in and innocently drove to dinner, which is hands down the funniest part of the night, and it’s nowhere near over.

*****

“Pick a place, any place, because once I cash this check in a couple of minutes, I’m taking my girl out to dinner.”

Pulling into the plaza across the street and parking in the spot closest to the check cashing place, he leans over and places a gentle peck on my lips.

“I mean it, Ems. Anywhere. The sky’s the limit.”

Already knowing my answer before he even steps out of the car, I wait patiently as he does his business and once he slides back in and turns to face me, I waste no time giving him.

“McDonalds.”

“I’m sorry, I must not have heard you right. Did you just say you wanted me to take you to McDonalds for dinner?”

“You heard right.”

“Why?” he asks, staring at me incredulously.

“Because I have a craving for a Quarter Pounder?”

“Do you wanna try and answer without turning it around into a question?”

“I’m a cheap date, Christian.”

“Well, as of about thirty minutes ago, I’m not, and I really want to take you someplace nice.”

“McDonalds is nice.”

“Since when?”

“Since now.”

“Emery…”

“No, Christian. I know what you’re trying to do and I also get why, but I told you, I’m a cheap date. I don’t need a whole lot of fancy. In fact, it makes me feel weird. So if you’re serious about me choosing where I want to go, then you have my answer.”

Turning the key in the ignition, he starts the truck and after driving for about twenty minutes to a part of the city I’m not sure I’ve ever been, he pulls into a McDonalds and instead of going through the drive-thru the way I expect, he pulls into a vacant spot and puts the truck in park. Hopping out and making his way over to my door and opening it, he extends his hand to me.