Chapter Nine #2
Carli should pay. She’s marrying a rich doctor soon.
His sister frowned his way, and Mercedes dug her elbow into his ribs with a glare. Don’t make me tattle to Blake.
Evan looked appropriately chagrined and bent over to pick up his bag. He threw a sorry at Carli, then circled one arm around her shoulder in an approximation of a hug.
The ice cream parlor was on the way back to their apartment. They settled into a corner table and rehashed the game. Evan especially wanted to relive his great catch and the winning home run.
Did you get the invitation for my parents’ anniversary party yet? Mercedes asked Carli when her ice cream was almost finished.
We did. That was super sweet to invite us. Blake is trying to get his on-call dates switched around so we can go.
Evan scowled. She gets an invitation, but I don’t? What gives?
Yes, you’re invited. I told you the other day. Weren’t you listening?
Evan stared off into space like he was trying to remember. Now that she thought about it, she’d been wearing only a tank top and skimpy shorts at the time, as she’d only recently gotten out of bed. He’d been looking at her, but maybe he hadn’t actually seen what she’d signed. Interesting.
When is it? I might have something important to do that day. His facial expression showed humor.
Weekend after Labor Day, on Saturday at three. We’re having it at my folks’ place.
So next door to Gram and Pops. I assume they’ll be there.
Mercedes snickered. Yes, their good friends and neighbors will be there. Are you available to come?
I’ll have to check my calendar. The pompous look on his face made her laugh. We could drive down together. Save gas.
Mercedes winced. I’m going down the night before and staying at their house. I have a ton of stuff to do for the party.
Carli waved at Evan. You could go down then, too. I’ll bet Gram and Pops would let you bunk with them for the night.
Mercedes nodded quickly. That would be great. We could even take a walk around the harbor or the beach at night. It’s so gorgeous down there on the ocean.
A smile slowly grew on his face. Sure. I’ll check to see if I can stay over. He stood and tossed his dish and plastic spoon in the trash. Now I really need to get home and take a shower. I don’t know how you’ve both managed to sit so close to the stink for so long.
Carli made a face. I’m used to it. You’ve always been a big stinker.
When they got back to the apartment, Carli hugged them both and headed toward her car which she’d parked in their driveway. Mercedes and Evan went inside. She stopped him before he got farther than the living room.
You really did amazing today. I’m so glad I came, even with the jerks sitting behind us.
Evan’s eyes flared. What happened?
They didn’t realize I could hear. They saw the sign language and figured they could make crude jokes and we wouldn’t know.
A few of my teammates asked about you and Carli, too. They liked your skirt and pompoms a little too much. Maybe you shouldn’t come to the games anymore if it distracts them.
Disappointment hit her. Seriously? He didn’t want her there. Glaring at him, she signed, Did I distract you from getting the winning hit? Bases loaded and you got a home run. I think my cheering and pompoms are the reason for the win. You should hire me as the team mascot.
Evan smirked. The guys would love that. They wanted to know if you wore the cheerleading skirt at home. He’d taken a few steps closer as he’d talked.
I haven’t changed out of it yet. She swished her hips, getting even closer as she did.
He reached out and stopped her hips from moving.
She responded by placing her hands on his upper arms. Man, the muscles here were firm and felt good.
He didn’t say anything, but she could see emotion in his eyes.
They stared at each other for several moments, then his head eased closer.
Was he going to kiss her? Oh, she hoped so.
The sound of the front door opening rattled through her brain and made her step back. Carli peeked inside and held up a pair of sunglasses. “Mercedes, you left these at Blake’s place last weekend. I forgot to take them out of the car when I first got here.”
“No worries. I have a few pair. Thanks.
After placing the sunglasses on a table by the door, Carli left again. When Mercedes spun around, Evan had disappeared. The water in the shower sputtered to life. That had been quite a moment they’d had. Unfortunately, it had been broken. Would they ever be able to get it back? She hoped so.
The bedroom was dark. Too dark for Mercedes to take a good look at the smile on her face.
Instead, she stared at the ceiling, replaying the moment when she and Evan had almost kissed.
His fingers clasping her hips tightly, her hands kneading the muscles in his arms, then gazing into each other’s eyes, focused on each other and nothing else.
He’d leaned in. She’d seen him and had inched closer as well.
Until Carli had come back in with her sunglasses.
Had it only been her imagination? Was she making this more than it was?
Wouldn't Evan have stuck around if he’d intended to kiss her, instead of trotting off to the bathroom for his shower?
Maybe he’d worried about his smell after the game.
He’d mentioned it at the ice cream parlor.
Then, after his shower, what happened? Had the timing been off and he didn’t know how to get it back on?
Or had he merely been caught up in the moment and regretted what had almost happened?
Too many questions, and she didn’t have an answer to any of them. All she knew was it had gotten her heart rate up and blood flowing through her veins at an alarming rate. She’d been excited and nervous at the same time. Then … nothing.
Throwing the covers back, she tiptoed to her door, then realized Evan couldn’t hear her walking.
Oh, but he could feel the vibrations. She slid her feet along the floor until she got to the bathroom and glanced to see if he was still up.
No light under his door. Darn. Was she hoping he’d get up to use the bathroom, too, and they’d meet in the hallway and finish what they’d started?
He’d be wearing a pair of low-slung sweats or shorts, while she only had on her pajamas.
As she stood there for a few moments, she shook her head. How ridiculous. He wasn’t coming out, and if he did, she’d probably blush so hard he’d think she was feverish. She used the bathroom, not bothering to keep the noise or vibrations down. Secretly, she still hoped he’d come out. Pathetic.
After washing her hands and brushing her teeth, she moseyed back to her room and lay down, though she wasn’t exactly tired.
More energized than anything. Except … what if that moment had damaged their friendship?
What if Evan had seen her move toward him and been embarrassed that she’d done it? Pfft. She was overthinking this.
How many times had she done this? Too often.
All of them documented in her journals. That one time when Evan had been down the Cape after getting his license.
Pausing, she calculated what year that would have been, snapped on her bedside light, and dove into the bottom drawer of her dresser.
There, methodically lined up in chronological order, were all her journals.
Back then, they’d been diaries, but what they were called was only semantics.
As she skimmed the dates written neatly on the spines, she wondered if she was crazy, spending time perusing what she’d written when she was a kid. Once she found the correct year, she hustled to her bed and settled in.
August 27, 2014
The Jamesons came down to visit their grandparents today.
It’s always great seeing Carli. I love that she’s the same age as me and we love doing some of the same things.
They are the nicest family. Deanna is just as nice as Carli.
Brian and Evan are so cute, though Brian is already eighteen, like Jonas, and heading off to college next week.
Jonas had to go last week. That’s way too old for me.
But Evan is only two years older. That’s a perfect age gap.
Evan got his license last week and asked if I wanted to go for a ride down by the beach.
Carli, Deanna, and Brian also came along, but I pretended it was just me and Evan.
He even insisted I sit in front with him, since I was the guest. He had his window open because it was really hot today, and the wind whipped his hair all over the place.
When we got to the beach, he ran his fingers through it to try and get it from sticking up everywhere.
I wanted to help him but was too scared.
Would he want me touching his hair? It looks so soft with that tiny bit of wave to it.
Then, he asked me if it looked okay. I got up the nerve to push a few strands into place. OMG! He smiled at me, and I thought I’d melt into a puddle right there. That dimple in his cheek is adorable and I love seeing it. Of course, that means he’s smiling.
The five of us waded through the surf, talking about school coming up and what we wanted to do on our last week of vacation.
I’ve been practicing my ASL to communicate better with this family.
Luckily, Brian is great at translating or helping me learn new signs.
Evan helps me when I forget or don’t know a sign.
Today, he took my hand and repositioned my fingers when I did it wrong.
Wow. I might have to mess up more often.
But I don’t want him to think I’m stupid and can’t learn.
I’ll have to practice with Carli more when she’s down here.
We all had a great time, and I wish we had more summer so they’d come down and visit again soon.
Mercedes sighed when she read the words of her silly fourteen-year-old self.
Was she any different now? Setting aside the old journal, she pulled her newest journal from the bedside drawer and grabbed the pen on the top.
She needed to get today’s little scene onto the page.
With her journal in her lap, pillows piled behind her back, she opened to the next page.
Over the next fifteen minutes, she poured her heart and soul into her writing.
Asking the journal every question she’d recently had.
Not that she’d ever get answers, but it felt good to get them out there.
She reread her words and nodded a few times.
Then, a tiny smile emerged and she touched her lips, wishing his had touched hers.
Yet she wasn’t sure if the smile was one of excitement, anticipation, or panic.