"Why are people so gross at a party?" Eddie groaned, picking up the empty glasses off of the ground of his trailer. I grinned at him, my heart strangely skipping at the silly faces he was making.
"That's what you get for leaving Gareth in charge!" I teased as I wiped down the beat-up coffee table. He crossed over to me, placing empty beer bottles in a trash bag he was carrying around.
"I would have even left an upturned broom in charge if it meant I got to go to bed with you, sweetheart," he remarked, leaning close to my face and kissing me. I grinned and shook my head, face flushing from his touch. I helped him finish cleaning, wiping down the sticky counters and carrying different trash bags out to the garbage can with Eddie.
I was washing dishes when he came into the kitchen, hands on his hips. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I think this is the cleanest the trailer has ever been," he replied. I laughed and shut the water off, crossing over to him. He took me in his arms and beamed down at me. "Did you used to stay and help clean after trailer parties?"
I shook my head and leaned up to kiss him.
"No – never really had a reason to want to stay," I answered. This made him smile wider and he suddenly lifted me onto the counter, making me shriek with laughter. He started kissing up my neck, making me sigh, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
He suddenly looked up at me, eyes wild. I furrowed my brows.
"What?"
"You know we haven't broken all of the ground rules?"
"Yes, we definitely have, Munson," I laughed as I pulled him close to my face. He shook his head, his wild smile growing.
"No, we haven't – I've never touched your ass."
"Oh, my god, Munson," I groaned, rolling my eyes.
"I haven't!"
"You are such a boy sometimes."
"I definitely am," he quipped, working at my neck again. I was distracted, my face flushing at his touch and scent. He started nipping at one spot on my neck, making me sigh, until my eyes shot open.
"Don't you dare give me a hickey!"
He looked up, smirking as he leaned in for another kiss.
"Too late. I've got to leave my mark, so everyone knows you're with the freak," he said, pulling me in again. I smiled, remembering my dream. I couldn't believe how it was coming true.
The door swung open, and Eddie suddenly pulled back, leaving me aching for his touch. I turned and my face split into a grin.
"Wayne!" I cheered, hopping off the counter. I ran over and pulled him into a hug as he laughed.
"I was wondering if I was ever going to see you again – you avoiding me or something?" he teased. I laughed as I let him go, shaking my head.
"Of course not – Eddie's just trying to keep us away from each other so we let up on him."
"This is great – I'm so glad my greatest tormentors are back together," Eddie complained, crossing his arms and leaning against the kitchen counter. Wayne set an arm around my shoulders, grinning wildly.
"If you weren't so easy to torment, we wouldn't do it," Wayne teased. I laughed and Eddie rolled his eyes. Wayne looked down at me, smiling. "You staying out of trouble?"
"Of course not."
"You keeping Eddie out of trouble?"
I looked at Eddie, my heart skipping as he watched me, grinning. I smiled back.
"Never. He's the trouble."
Wayne laughed and let me go, heading to the kitchen to get coffee. Eddie looked at me and winked.
"Want to go hang at your place?" he asked. I knew he wanted to get away from Wayne so we wouldn't gang up on him. I smiled and nodded, heading back to his room to get my things. When I walked back, I could hear Eddie and Wayne whisper yelling about something.
"Were you kissing on Markie?"
"No, why would you think that?" Eddie lied. I smiled at the pitch his voice rose to.
"Don't you lie to me – I saw that hickey on her neck!"
"Wayne, chill!"
"I will not chill – that's Markie! Not one of those burn out girls you hang around with!"
"I know who it is, Wayne. I know how special Markie is."
"Then why are you trying to have some fling with her? She deserves—"
"It's not a fling, Wayne. I know what she deserves."
My heart swelled at his resolve. There was a beat of silence.
"Oh," Wayne replied. "What are you guys doing?"
"I'm...I'm not sure. But I don't want to push her – I'm just letting her decide on her timeline. If I push her, I'm worried it might end."
My heart sank. What was I doing? Limbo was so unfair to Eddie. But I still couldn't talk about it. I cleared my throat and came out to the kitchen, smiling at the Munson men.
"Ready when you are!"
Eddie beamed at me, unaware that I heard their discussion. He patted Wayne on the back and pranced over to me, taking my hand and dragging me out of the trailer before Wayne could say anything.
We piled into the van and Eddie placed one of his large hands on the inside of my thigh. I smiled at him as he drove off, singing loudly and off key. I thought back to the many moments we shared like this, even before we started playing pretend.
Eddie always knew how to make me laugh. I would never tell him this, but he was funnier than me – if I did tell him, it would go to his head. He would come up with strange bits and jokes, always referencing them to me when we were together. One of my favorite things about our friendship was how much we laughed together. Would that change once we talked?
"So, objectively, who is more handsome – me or Steve?" Eddie flashed a smile, winking at me. I rolled my eyes – I knew he was trying to play it off, but it bothered him how much Steve watched me.
"Eddie, if you want me to tell you how cute I think you are, just ask."
"No, I want to hear how handsome I am."
"I call you that all of the time."
"I still would like to hear it!" he insisted, making me laugh. I looked at him, leaning my head back on the seat. He was grinning wildly, his hair messy and askew. I took his hand from my thigh and brought it to my lips, kissing it quickly.
"You're very handsome, Eddie Munson. I don't know how I've managed to keep my hands off of you for all of these years. I'm surprised people don't think that you're a movie star."
"I think you might be joking, but I would have to agree with all of those sentiments."
I laughed again and Eddie parked in front of my house. He took my face and brought it to him, kissing me deeply. When he pulled away, he was grinning wildly.
"You're really pretty," he complimented, making me blush.
"Thanks."
"I mean it, Markie. I've always thought you were pretty."
"Yeah?" I asked, smiling wryly.
"Definitely. I used to always talk about how I had a pretty best friend – made me seem cooler," he replied, kissing me again. We got out of the van, and he took my hand, leading me to my house. I was giggling as he peppered the side of my face with kisses, making my butterflies act up.
We got through the door and Eddie released me, conscious of almost getting caught yesterday.
"Mom? Dad?" I called, hanging my bag on the coat rack. We were met with silence, and I shrugged at Eddie. He grinned wickedly before grabbing me and throwing me over his shoulder, carrying me to the living room. I laughed as he threw me onto couch, leaping on me before kissing my neck and make my hickey worse.
He pulled away, grinning wildly, watching me as I smiled back at him. I brushed his hair out of his face and left my hand on the side of his face, tracing his lips. His eyes suddenly softened, and I felt my stomach drop.
"Don't, Eddie."
"I didn't say anything!"
"You don't have to," I replied, sitting up. He sat next to me and placed his chin on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. I looked at him and set my forehead against his.
"Don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I just need a little more time. This is just really nice."
"We don't know what this is," Eddie answered, his voice sharp. I looked at him, tears suddenly welling in my eyes. His eyes widened and he pulled me closer to him, kissing my forehead. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push."
"No, I understand why—"
"I don't want you to feel pressure—"
"Just a couple more days, Eddie. Please," I asked. He pulled back and smiled, nodding his head.
"Done. I don't mind waiting."
I knew he was lying, but I appreciated it. I smiled back at him, and he grinned, kissing me quickly. I settled my head on his chest, listening to his pounding heart.
"Want to watch a movie?" he asked quietly. I looked up and nodded, grabbing the remote from the coffee table to flipping the TV on. I handed it to Eddie as he leaned back, pulling me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and set my head on his chest.
"Oh, Pretty in Pink!" I exclaimed, thrilled when Duckie came on the screen. Eddie groaned.
"Absolutely not."
"Oh, Eddie, come on!"
"I don't like the moral of the story!" he replied, changing the channel. I looked up at him, bemused.
"You don't like the moral of the story?" I asked. He raised his eyebrows, gesturing at the screen.
"The girl picks the asshole, preppy guy over her lovable, off-beat best friend. What part of that story do you think I would like?"
My face twisted into a bigger smile, and I leaned up, kissing him deeply. When I pulled away, he was flushed and nervous.
"What was that for?" he asked. I smiled and kissed him quickly.
"You're not Duckie, Eddie."
His face split into a smile and he nodded, wrapping me tighter to him. I turned my attention back to the screen, my head settled on his chest, smiling at his pounding heart.