Chapter 7 #3
When they were done, Drew rolled up the poster and tucked it underneath his arm. He lifted a hand and carved it through his hair, holding a bunch at the back for a moment before letting go and shaking his head. “I don’t know what to say,” he said. “Thank you so much.”
I knew exactly how he was feeling. No words could express how happy Cara would be when she saw her gift, and there was nothing more Drew and I wanted. This would be unforgettable for her, and we would never be able to properly thank the Heartbreakers for that.
“No problem,” Oliver said and smiled at Drew. It was one of those million-dollar smiles, just like the one that threw me off guard at Starbucks, and I gritted my teeth and looked away.
Oliver held out his hand for Drew to shake, and before I could get upset about having to leave, Xander pulled me into a smothering hug.
He was so much taller than me that my face collided with his chest. “I’m glad we met,” he said as he squeezed the air out of me.
“Even though you did scare the shit out of me in the elevator.”
I pulled away. “I scared you?”
Xander pushed his glasses back into place and nodded his head. “You were quite formidable.”
Next it was JJ’s turn to say good-bye. “Do I get a kiss now?” he asked me. I laughed and shook my head no. “Fine,” JJ said before quickly pecking me on the cheek. “I’ll just have to steal one.”
Then came Alec. I didn’t exactly know what to say to him, but I didn’t need to worry about it. He spoke first. “Can we talk privately for a moment?” His face was completely blank, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.
“Um, sure?” I said, cocking my head. What did Alec want to talk to me about that was so secret?
He led me into the kitchen where no one could overhear us. “Sorry,” he said then. “It’s just that I wanted to ask you a personal question.”
I shrugged, trying to hide my sudden apprehension. “Shoot.”
“You always have your camera with you,” he stated, pointing down at it.
My shoulders instantly relaxed. Of all the possibilities that had run through my head, my camera was not what I’d expected Alec to be curious about, but I didn’t mind. I could talk about photography all day long.
“Yeah,” I said and picked it up from where it hung around my neck. I ran my thumb over a row of controls.
“Why?” There were two little indents between his eyebrows as he frowned. His face was filled with concentration, like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
“Because I like taking pictures?” My response came out sounding like a question since I wasn’t completely sure what he was trying to get at.
His mouth turned up into a grin, and even though it was only a small one, it was one of the first I had seen from him.
It lit up his face and made his normally stormy gray eyes look blue.
“I know that,” he said as he studied me, “but I can tell that it means something more to you. It’s like…
” Alec trailed off, trying to think of a way to explain what he meant.
“I’m having a hard time thinking of a good example, but for instance, some people always wear a specific piece of jewelry and never take it off.
It isn’t just an accessory, but a source of strength.
You know what I mean?” As he explained, he twisted the cord of the headphones hanging around his neck.
I blinked, completely taken aback. From the start, I’d recognized that Alec was a quiet observer, the type of person who noticed everything. What I hadn’t realized was how perceptive he was. His guess was right on the money, so I decided he’d earned an explanation.
“I got into photography right about the time Cara got sick,” I told him, trying to find the right place to start. “I had to be strong for her, but that was really hard. One day I was a normal teenager and the next my sister was dying. The whole thing knocked me off balance, you know?
“I was a wreck on the inside because I was angry and afraid and all these other feelings I didn’t understand, so then I just started taking more and more pictures of, like, everything.
But Cara was always my main subject. It was like I was trying to capture every single moment we had together in case—” I stopped, not wanting to finish my sentence.
But my story was spilling from me like a gushing fountain, and I started up again. “I don’t know. I guess it was just easier to hide behind the lens of my camera. Having it with me has become such a habit that I just feel weird without it.”
A silence passed between us. Alec looked at me funny, and then I realized what I’d just said. My hand flew to my mouth as a small gasp escaped my lips. I hadn’t meant to tell him that. It was like the words had left my mouth without me knowing.
But Alec didn’t have that sad look in his eyes that I’d become accustomed to over the past few years. Instead, he held my gaze with a look of understanding, almost as if he’d expected the truth all along. He’d figured out the puzzle.
“Thank you,” he said. His voice was low and quiet, and I knew he wouldn’t broach the subject again. “Can I ask you one more question? I promise it’s not as nosy as my first.”
“Okay,” I said and grabbed on to my camera.
“Could you send me the pictures you took tonight?” He held up a small piece of paper with what appeared to be an email address scribbled on it. “I’d like to have my own copies.”
“Oh,” I said and loosened my tight grip on my camera. I took the paper from his hand. “Of course. I’ll edit them and have them to you by the end of the week.”
Now Alec offered me his first full smile. “Thanks,” he said. “I’d really appreciate it.”
“Stella?” Oliver popped his head into the kitchen and smiled when he saw me. “There you are.”
“Tell your sister happy birthday for me,” Alec said and then moved out of the way so I could say good-bye to Oliver. Even though I hadn’t really been able to get to know him, I could tell that Alec was a genuinely nice guy.
“I will,” I told him, and then he was gone, leaving Oliver and me alone.
We were both silent as we studied one another. Finally, he reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I’m glad you yelled at us.”
“I—what?” This was a strange and confusing good-bye.
“In the elevator,” he clarified. “I can’t ever forget you now, can I?” My mouth opened, but I didn’t know what to say. A quarter-sized lump formed at the back of my throat, so I closed my mouth and didn’t say anything.
“Can I have your phone?” he asked suddenly.
“My phone?” I asked, but I pulled it out of my pocket anyway.
Oliver took it from me and started typing something in. “Here’s my number. Please don’t sell it to the tabloids for hundreds of dollars,” he joked.
“Your number?” No guy had ever given me his number before.
“I want you to call me, okay?” He handed it back after he finished punching his information in.
“You promise to call?” I nodded my head, still unable to mutter a word.
Oliver grasped both of my hands, his skin warm against mine.
He rubbed his thumb in circles on my palm, just like he had when we were watching the movie.
“God, I don’t want to say good-bye to you.” He sighed as he looked down at me.
“Then don’t,” I finally said, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him into a hug.
His hands snaked around my back in response, and I buried my face in his shoulder, my nose against his shirt.
We stood there for a long moment, neither of us talking, and then someone cleared his throat behind us.
I turned to see my brother standing in the kitchen doorway, and we detangled ourselves quickly.
“You ready, Stella?” he asked me.
“Yeah,” I responded, even though I was nowhere close to ready. When I turned to follow Drew, Oliver grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.
“You remember what I said?”
“Sell your number to the highest bidder?”
“Please call.”
“Okay.”