Hey, everyone! Here's chapter thirteeen. I really hope you enjoy reading it and if you do, please remember to vote, comment, and fan! I really appreciate it. (:
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“Thanks you for the help, guys. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” Landon and Emily looked up at Fabian and I with annoyed faces, exhaustion evident in the little puffs of breaths they took. I couldn’t help but giggle at the giant blob of white foam in Emily’s curls. She narrowed her eyes at me and I coughed, hiding my laughs. With a cloth, I cleaned up the soapy thing.
“Sorry, Em.” I gave her a sheepish grin.
“Oh, you two! Look at what you made me and Landon do! That is so annoying, so not nice!” Emily seemed pissed as she fumed at Fabian and I, her golden curls bouncing as she jumped in fury, her face scrunched up in fury. As much as I was trying to look ashamed for the little girl it was just becoming impossible. How could I keep a straight face at a cute pissed-off little girl? I just wanted to mess up her hair with my hand, make weird sounds and strange contorted faces at her!
Toughen it up and be a woman, Mel!
“I’m so sorry, Em. We are sorry, Em.” I looked at D’Amato with a ‘come on’ face and he quickly jumped into action. The man had just been laughing at me! And no, his looks didn’t make up for anything.
“Right, Emmy. I’m really sorry. Will you forgive me?” Fabian asked the little girl while leveling himself to her eye level. The voice he had used was one I had never heard before... Sweet and softer than velvet or silk but thick as syrup. How would it be like to hear him whispering into my ears when there was no one around? If my heart could have sped up at the simply the sound of a specific voice then it had.
“I-It’s okay, Fabian.” Emily’s tiny face flushed red and her teeth shone bright in a smile. Aww, Emily has a crush on Mr. Heartthrob!
I saw him give her that dashing smile he had given me just minutes ago. I wanted so badly to see him direct that smile of his at me.
Oh, God, no, Melinda. You’re acting like a total flucking wimp. Get yourself together!
“Alright, we have to get going.” I said, needing badly to get out of this confined space to clear my thoughts. It seemed my house become over-crowded in the past two minutes.
Fabian stood up from where he was and the from the direction in which he stood, he came face to face to me. His body only inches from mine. I looked up at him where he towered over me and my eyes searched frantically for something to do or say to get of where I was.
“What are you thinking about?” He asks me. There was no trace of the voice he had used before but instead it was replaced by the one which normally had me weak at the knees. Husky, silky, and dominant over anything. His intense gaze on my face had me wanting to run away but there was the part of me that wanted to run into him.
“Of how close you are.” I nearly flinched at my voice. It seemed a stranger, a woman, had taken my place and spoken with the same appealing voice he had used but in a feminine tone. What was he doing to me? Needless to say, I was scared shitless but not of him. Of myself. Of how I would react if he came any closer and closed the gap that separated our bodies.
“I could get closer.” His words had my heart beat increase but that wasn’t the only thing that became incredibly stronger. My desire for the man who was feet away had become frighteningly, too much to bear. If I could only feel his lips... The lips that had become fuller as he spoke those honest words. His jaw was clenched and his features bold, showing me how much he meant what he had said.
“That’s what’s got me thinking.”
***
I was in Lori’s kitchen with a plastic container holding a leftover slice of pizza in my hand. My mind was still spinning at Mr. D’Amato’s words. I could get closer. They echoed in my brain and crashed back and forth into my skull. I wanted so badly for him to just that; get closer. I had never wanted anyone to get closer. My life had always been made up of the walls I put around myself so that people would never get close to me. How would it be like when I lost them?
“Mel!” My name was shouted by a familiar voice, causing me to jump and have the plastic container fall to the floor. I cursed under my breath.
“Shit, Mel. Why are you so jumpy?” Lori’s face didn’t hold any amusement when she saw me jump in terror but it mirrored shock and worry.
“No reason, you duck. Except that maybe you scared the crap out of me.” I tried to give her a reassuring smile that everything was fine because honestly, it was.
“You’re not the type to be easily scared, Melinda. Is it my cousin? Oh, yeah. It’s my cousin.” My eyes widened at how partially right she was. Damn, she was good. Lori looked at me and after a second, laughed like the weirdo she was.
“What? No!” I finally managed to say something to my friend before realizing I had been too late. I should have acted ten seconds ago when the response wouldn’t have gained any suspicion on my part.
“What did he do? Kiss you? Both of you are acting extremely out of the normal. But... It’s kind of a good thing. Oh, well, whatever, what happened?” I looked her, eyebrows twisted in confusion at her incoherent rant. Then what she said finally kicked in and I rolled my eyes to a point that it actually caused pain.
“Nothing.”
“You sound disappointed.” She stated. I had always been aware of how good and observer Lori had been but she had never openly observed me. Every word she spoke was true.
“You’re imagining things, Lori-Bird.” I use the nickname I gave her as I tried to steer away her jarring suspicions. Lori reminded me of a bird who never shut up, was nosy as hell, and whose name fit perfectly to the description.
“So I’m imagining things based on two human beings that are both family to me? I don’t think so, Mel.” Lori leaned on the counter and crossed her arms. She seemed hell bent on getting something out of this interrogation.
“Well, I do.” I turned around to rinse my hands in the sink. I had no reason other than escaping Lori’s gaze to rinse my hands since I had practically showered in bubbles. When I heard faint footsteps behind me I knew that there was nothing I could do to escape a determined Lori.
“Are you interested in him?” She whispered beside me. I turned the faucet off and dried my hands with a cloth before answering her.
“Why does it even matter to you, Lori?”
“You never dodge questions, Mel, and you’re pretty straightforward. There’s a reason why you’re not answering my question.” She looked at me sympathetically.
“Maybe I just don’t want to answer you right now.” I could feel my walls deteriorating around me as I looked at Lori. I trusted her with my life and my brother’s. That had to count for something, right?
“That’s what I thought. And as for the ‘Why does it matter to me’, I’ll tell you when I feel like it.” She winked.
What the hell? I could feel my face mirroring how incredulous I was feeling at the moment. How could she leave me hanging on such a strange note? I had no idea what she meant.
***
I hugged Lori goodbye and kissed Emily’s warm cheek.
“Are you coming back tomorrow, Mel?” Emily asked me with pleading eyes.
“Of course I will, Em.” I smiled at the little girl and hugged her goodbye.
“Come on, Landon.” My little brother took my hand when I called him. It was time to go home already and we weren’t going alone. Mr. D’Amato didn’t let me go alone so when he offered me a ride I had quickly accepted. Pssh! Walking alone at this time of day was dangerous...
He was standing in front of us, witnessing the goodbye scene as he leaned against a plain yellow wall with his hands in his pocket. I quickly looked away, not wanting Lori or him for that matter to see how strange my eyes must look at the way he held his body so effortlessly perfect.
I started to walk out the door when the weight of an arm wrapped around my shoulders. I turned my head to look at Lori who was had a shining glint in her eyes.
“A four year difference means nothing.” She whispered.
***
~Fabian~
I had to find Lori. There was no other place she could be in but the kitchen since I had practically searched in every space possible. Where was Melinda? They couldn’t leave me alone with all these kids unless they wanted a circus. Was Melinda with Lori? I immediately straightened my posture and felt my body tense at the possibility.
Right when I was about to enter the kitchen area I knew I couldn’t move any closer. I was walking into a chick conversation and with Lori involved I doubted it was any good.
“You’re not the type to be easily scared, Melinda. Is it my cousin? Oh, yeah. It’s my cousin.” Wait, what? Cousin? As in me? Should I be flattered or scared shitless?
“What? No!” Melinda shouted after a moment of silence and I felt my ears prickle at her tone of voice. Was she grossed our something?
“What did he do? Kiss you? Both of you are acting extremely out of the normal. But... It’s kind of a good thing. Oh, well, whatever, what happened?” How was I acting out of the normal? Wait, what? Kissing? Lori, Lori, Lori.
“Nothing.” Melinda answered my cousin.
“You sound disappointed.” Like an animal sensing prey, my ears perked up at the turn of the conversation. Adrenaline and excitement fueled my veins at what she would say next. Was Melinda really disappointed I hadn’t kissed her? There was nothing I wanted to more at this second then walk into that kitchen, take her up in my arms, and kiss her, touche her. I wanted to hold her inside of me and protect her. She seemed so small even if she was capable of taking anyone down with her sharp tongue. I wanted to hold her in my arms and make her see that I was physically bigger than her, stronger than her but that I would never do her harm.
“You’re imagining things, Lori-Bird.” Her words sent a sharp pang reverberating inside of me at the realization that maybe this was just my overly assuming cousin misinterpreting things.
“So I’m imagining things based on two human beings that are both family to me? I don’t think so, Mel.”
“Well, I do.”
“Are you interested in him?” Once I again I felt the same anticipation for her to say yes. That what she said would be what I wanted to hear. I could only wait and listen to what she’d say next.
“Why does it even matter to you, Lori?”
“You never dodge questions, Mel, and you’re pretty straightforward. There’s a reason why you’re not answering my question.”
“Maybe I just don’t want to answer you right now.” I hadn’t heard her say yes but I hadn’t heard her say no either. That was better than nothing. something else broke out inside of me and that was the male instinct to get what I wanted. I wanted Melinda. I wanted her to want me. I wanted her not to be my student... I wanted to make that a yes.
“That’s what I thought. And as for the ‘Why does it matter to me’, I’ll tell you when I feel like it.” My cousin gave me a head ache. Did she always have to be so dramatic with the cliffhangers?
Sensing I’d get caught if I didn’t haul my butt out of here, I walked away to where the kids were. I could do nothing but think of the conversation I had just finished eavesdropping on. I had never been one to listen in on things I didn’t have any right to listen to but I had never had a reason to. Melinda was becoming someoneI couldn’t take out of my mind and it was becoming overpowering to the ‘normal’ me. How could someone waltz into your life with no intention of turning it around but do so anyways so effortlessly?
***
Oh, I feel your heartbeat
And you're coming around, coming around, coming around
If you can love somebody, love them all the same
You gotta love somebody, love them all the same
Singing, oh, I feel your heartbeat
This song was the one that came on as he drove to my house. He stared out into the twilight, his knuckles wrapped around the steering wheel. I looked at him from the corner of my eye and when he stopped the car at the stop sign, it became too difficult. My head found its way to the left where I could finally see him perfectly.
He turned his head towards me too and even though there were no cars on either side of the stop sign, the car didn’t move.
His dark eyes gazed into mine and mine into his. They were beautiful eyes, strong and significant. His dark eyebrows adding to how intense the brown irises were. Would they melt mine? I imagined the dark chocolate brown easily melting my sensitive ice blue with that hot intensity they had.
Could he feel my heartbeat from where I sat? Could he hear it as it thudded in my chest? I felt the way my pulse reverberated so strongly in my body that it was taking away my sense of mind. I couldn’t think right as my heartbeat clouded my senses.
I hoped very fiercely that that song held no truth in its lyrics but for some reason I knew it did.
Fabian’s lips upturned into a soft smile that had me smiling back. I felt too soft and vulnerable but I couldn’t control it. I looked forward, knowing my house was seconds away and quietly sang along to the song.
As I stepped out of the car with a sleepy Landon, I heard his voice say something that would never in any normal circumstances set my heart aflutter.
“Good night, Melinda.”
“Good night.” I waved awkwardly with a faint smile on my face as he drove away.
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Thanks for reading! Pic on the side is of Lori!