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I nodded as his voice slightly broke, “This is for her. We used to watch condors fly around our house when we were children. Chrissy called them as the ‘dope’ birds. They were feisty, wild, and free. She was all that,” his strained gaze glistened with unshed tears, “She is here”,his hand clutched against left side of his chest, “here,”his hand touched his head, and“here,”touching his arm with the tattoo, “my throwing arm.”
I leaned down and pressed a kiss on his right arm, right on the spot where he etched a lasting memorial to his beloved sister.
His eyes did not waver its gaze on me.
“You mean a lot to me, Sedona. I’ve never told anyone about what really happened with Chrissy. Kieran and John, they know because they’re closest to me. When the incident with Brennan happened, it hit so close to home. I felt like ripping his heart out and then you went to him. I know that you did it for me. It doesn’t make it better. Please don’t ever do something like that again,” his voice imploring.
How could I say no to this man? He held me at the palm of his hand.
I nodded and said, “Babe, I’m so sorry. It must’ve been horrifying for you to go through that,” I added with a promise, “I will never put myself in that situation again.”
His eyes left me, but a hint of relief, tugged on his face, “My parents have managed to keep Chrissy’s death out of the press. Chrissy was not into sports like me or anything the media might be interested in. Only our close friends and family knew exactly how she died. She suffered before she passed away. We didn’t want to be hounded by the press about how or what happened to her so my parents pulled out all the stops to keep it on the down low.”
I wanted to comfort him, to ease his pain, so I kissed him tenderly on his lips, “I understand. You can always talk to me about her, about anything. I’ll be here. ” I said softly against his lips. He kissed me and hugged me tightly as we watched the sun descend from the skies to nest at the horizon.
Sedona
Our relationship cemented on a stronger foundation after Zander’s revelation about his sister. He was so strong, so resilient. He gave me a piece of himself that day and I held on it,tightly.
ChattyPepper.com became somewhat of a normal thing for us. It still bothered me; just not as much. The website continually posted pictures of Zander and I around campus, maybe holding hands or hugging each other. It was part of the reality that we both lived in. My boyfriend was popular and my best friend was a rising star. The website continued to insinuate that there was a love triangle between the three of us but everyone close to us knew the real deal.
Tonight was bar night so we went straight to Hudson’s after he picked me up from school for some beer and greasy, happy hour food. If there was one thing I indulged in, it was spinach and artichoke dip and Hudson’s was the best. And, of course, Zander had to have his chicken wings. Our seats were at the bar counter so we were seated side-by-side; my chair was to Zander's right.
I excused myself to go to the restroom. I was about to return to my seat when I saw a redhead with heavy make-up, tight jeans, and an even tighter top openly flirting with Zander. I didn't go back to my seat right away. I wanted to see how Zander reacted to the situation. It wasn’t because I didn’t trust him. This was the first time I’ve seen a chick this aggressive so I wanted to see how he handled it.
He looked really uncomfortable. His back muscles were tense. From afar, I would bet that his jaw muscles were working overtime. He was probably trying to be polite; he shook his head a couple of times. The girl was persistent. When her boobs touched the side of his upper right arm, Zander flinched and started to stand up. I didn't want to lose our spot and miss out on the greasy appetizers, so I hurried back to our table and to the redhead, I said, "Excuse me, that's my seat."
The girl backed away, surprised. Before she could utter another flirty word, I grabbed Zander's head, put my fingers on his hair, and kissed him on his lips. Well, more like French kissed him on his lips.
I saw the shock, surprise, and amazement in Zander’s eyes. I usually didn’t initiate PDA. But here I was, my tongue sticking in and out of his mouth. In a bar, full of customers. I heard some whistles around us. The girl was nowhere to be found.
I was a bit embarrassed by my actions. Her aggressive flirtation irritated me. Plus, Zander needed my help. By the time I finished kissing him, his face was hot and his eyes were on fire. I knew he wanted to leave and continue what I started. If I wasn’t starving and I wasn’t craving forthe artichoke dip, I would’ve agreed with him.
Heasked, "What was that for?"
I didn't want him to think I was sort of spying on him, that I could've helped him a few minutes earlier. I wiped my lip gloss off of his lips and said,"Just claiming what's mine."
He held a stupid grin on his face after that and we had such a great time at the bar. After we left the bar, he came over at my place and proceeded to show him in bed just how muchI cherished him being mine.
That night, he asked me to meet his parents.
*****
Three weeks ago, when Zander asked me to meet his parents, I have must have been in a post-sex euphoria to have said yes.
"Tanya, what was I thinking?" I asked her, as I was sitting in front her mirrors, hairpins sticking out of my hair.
Tanya rolled her eyes, took a bobby pin out her lips, and said, "You're so dramatic, Sedona. You're waayy over thinking this."
"They're his parents. I've never met aboyfriend's parents before."
"You met Kieran's."I fell straight into that one.
"But Kieran is not my boyfriend."
"He's still a boyand a friend," she reasoned.
"Come on, Tanya, you know what I mean."
