Nine Years Ago
Iwoke up in the darkness, my throat dry like the Vegas desert.
Why did I let Adriana bring that second bag of Doritos to her room? Tossing and turning, I couldn’t get comfortable as I lie there on her spare couch, desperate for anything to drink to cure the thirst.
Our sleepovers, a regular occurrence of late, had become nights filled with never-ending junk food and gossiping about who was blowing who at school.
I climbed off the couch careful not to wake her. Oh, who was I kidding, a hurricane wouldn’t even wake her. She snored away as I tiptoed to the kitchen to grab a drink. It was dark, and I didn’t want to wake anyone else, so I walked down the steps to the kitchen, shocked when I collided with another body.
“Holy shit!” a voice yelled.
The weight of his body forced me down. I was pinned with my back against the stairs, unable to speak, my breath caught in my throat still not knowing who it was. With the moon hidden behind the stormy clouds, the room was darker than usual, masking his identity.
Oh my God, what if it’s a burglar?
I’ve interrupted him.
What if he has a gang of thieves with him?
My stomach began to churn as my thirst increased, my chest tightening in fear.
He pulled himself up off me, accidentally grazing my breast as he stood. It was like a jolt of electricity shot through me causing me to whimper. I could’ve sworn he felt it too, his gasp following shortly after.
The flick of a switch interrupted my thoughts, the light blinding and making me go all cross-eyed. It was Alex, Adriana’s older brother.
I hadn’t seen him since he left Carmel after he graduated high school years ago, and Adriana never mentioned he was here. Alex was twenty-five and lived in San Francisco with his wife from what Adriana told me. Aside from that, she rarely mentioned him in conversations.
He stood in front of me, wearing only flannel pajama pants that hung low below his waist, showing off his perfectly muscular body and the ‘V,’ oooh, the ‘V.’
I didn’t know I was gazing at his body until he broke me from my trance.
“Charlotte?”
I looked at his face, his eyes drinking me in, the color emerald. I struggled to find the words, feeling utterly stupid for paying this much attention to him. He was Adriana’s older brother, and I had spent most of my late childhood around him. After all, I was her best friend and practically lived in her room. But that was years ago, a distant memory from a troubled time in my life when my parents were at each other all the time, and this house became my escape.
“I’m so sorry, Alex.”
I started to panic, my voice becoming squeaky. As the adrenaline started to wear off, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. It must have been from when he fell on top of me on the stairs. Without thinking, I rubbed my head, my face scrunching as I touched the lump that was starting to form.
“Are you okay? Come sit down.”
Alex pulled one of the stools out as I walked over to the island countertop. Sitting myself down, I watched him grab a bag of peas from the freezer. He walked back over and stood in front of me, then held the peas against the lump now throbbing like one of those thumbs in the cartoons. His chest in front of me, gloriously exposed, the smell of his skin intoxicating. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, inhaling what smelled like aftershave and soap mixed with man sweat, but good man sweat, hot man sweat.
“Better?” he asked in a sweeter tone.
“Yes, thank you. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you were here. Adriana didn’t mention that you had returned from college.” I spoke quickly, suddenly feeling self-conscious, and I had every reason to as I’d just caught him checking out my breasts. His eyes looked like they were on fire. I looked down, my nipples now prominent in my tank top. Oh fuck, I forgot to put my bra back on! I quickly folded my arms breaking him from his perverted stare.
“I… um, came back this morning.” He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “She probably didn’t tell you because she was too busy sucking face with that scrawny geek she’s seeing. I didn’t mean to startle you back there. I’m sleeping on the couch tonight because our bed hasn’t arrived at our new place yet.”
“Are you back here for good?”
“Not one-hundred percent sure, but in the meantime, I wanted to get some practical experience alongside my dad at the hospital. Plus, Samantha got a job at the gallery not too far from here, so yeah, I guess it keeps everyone happy,” he explained, sounding a little unsure of himself.
“I better head back to bed.” I hopped off the stool, a little unsteady on my feet, careful not to knock into him again. “Adriana is making us go prom-dress shopping tomorrow morning. What are the chances of her battery being tampered with, so the car won’t start?”
“That’s right, I forgot you aren’t related to Donatella Versace like my sister claims she is,” he teased with a sly grin.
It was so true. Adriana lived and breathed fashion. I, on the other hand, didn’t care at all. As long as I looked good, I couldn’t have cared less what label I wore.
Walking back to the stairway, I turned around to look at him before I went back upstairs. “It was nice seeing you again, Alex.” I took a few steps before stopping and turning around one more time. “And congratulations on your wedding. Adriana told me it was amazing.”
This time, I headed back up the stairs realizing I hadn’t gotten the drink I was so desperate for. Oh well, it was too late now. Sleep was all I needed because soon it would be morning.
I tossed and turned again trying to dissect what had happened downstairs. I felt awkward around him, yet comfortable at the same time. It didn’t make sense, and why was I lying here obsessing about it?
After what felt like only minutes, I was rudely awakened by Adriana screaming through the hallway. Her voice, obnoxious and angered, was enough to wake me from what felt like the shortest sleep in the world.
“Mom!”
Pulling the blanket over my head, I had let out a long-winded groan, trying to ignore the family domestic that was going on outside. I was exhausted.
“Mom, how could you let him take it?”
This time her voice was even louder than before. I could hear more muffled voices followed by loud footsteps. The door to the bedroom slammed, her ballet distinction certificate frame falling off the wall.
“I mean seriously, out of all days, he comes up with shit like this?” she muttered to herself.
I pulled my head above the blanket, opening my eyes.
“Adriana, what the hell? It’s like seven in the morning. What could you possibly be upset about this early?”
“My brother apparently took my car, claiming that it sounded like something was wrong with the battery. He left me a note saying he has taken it to Al’s Mechanics to get it checked out,” she seethed, crossing her arms as her nostrils flared in a heated rage. “I’m so annoyed, the car is fine. If something were wrong with it, the battery light would’ve come on. I asked Mom if I could borrow her car, but she has to help a friend of hers move today. I could strangle him right now!”
She continued, closing her eyes this time with a calmer voice, “Sorry, I don’t mean to take it out on you. It’s just I was really looking forward to prom-dress shopping, and now it looks like we’re stuck here for the day.”
Adriana plonks herself at her desk and opened a Vogue magazine, roughly flicking the pages while cussing to herself.
“Oh, dang,” I answered, sarcastically.
I pulled the blanket over my head, smiling as I fell back asleep.
