Page 43 of Making Home with You
I turn to Sarah, who’s watching them too.“Hey,” I whisper, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as I pull her against me.“You okay?”
She looks up at me, sadness in her eyes as they search my face.“Are you?”she asks, not answering my question.
I nod.“It’s all good, I promise,” I tell her even as I know I’m digging myself into a deeper hole with these words.“Let’s talk when we get home, okay?”I offer, even though it’s the last thing I want to do.
Sarah stares at me, not saying anything.Eventually, she smiles, her head resting against my shoulder.“Okay,” she whispers.
Somehow, we manage to enjoy the rest of the night.Lots of friends from high school are here, even though most of them are younger than me.The bonus is Carla’s not invited, even though one of her gossipy friends is.Somehow Kelsey and Monica became friends after high school, despite the fact they were four years apart.
I steer clear of Monica all night though, unsure how much she knows about what’s going on with Carla and me.I definitely don’t need that to come up in conversation, especially if Sarah’s in earshot.
There’s no more talk about what’s going on at work and after a few hours I finally start to relax and enjoy myself.The free-flowing beer helps and by the time we’re heading home, it’s nearly 2 a.m.and Sarah and I are both drunk.Stumbling along, Sarah’s giggles are interrupted by the occasional hiccup that then makes me laugh.
“You okay there, Leia?”I ask, pulling her close.It’s freezing outside, even with the blanket of alcohol we’ve both consumed.
“Mmmm, I am,” she says, her arms around my waist.“I’m just looking forward to getting back to your place, Han, and finally pulling out that light saber of yours.”
I can’t help but laugh, but truth be told, despite all the shit I’m dealing with, I’m feeling the exact same way.Watching her in that damn costume all night has been torturous.Not just because I’ve had to contend with every other guy’s eyes on her, but because it’s been near impossible to keep my hands off her.I lost count of the number of times I thought about dragging her back to the ladies’ room just so I could take the edge off.
Growing up, I’d always been a hugeStar Warsfan, joining every other teenage boy who fantasized about Princess Leia in that gold bikini when she first appeared on screen.As a result, I’d spent half the night thinking about all the things I wanted to do to Sarah when we finally got home.
And my dreams come true, because when we do get back to my place, Sarah lets me live out all those teenage fantasies I had while watchingReturn of the Jedi.
The bright light wakes me, but when I open my eyes, I realize it’s still nighttime and the light coming in through the blinds is from my back deck.Just as my eyes adjust, it clicks off and I hear a loud bang before it clicks on again.
I glance at Sarah, who’s asleep in my arms, her slow steady breathing letting me know she hasn’t heard the noise or noticed the lights.Carefully, I slide out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and a sweater.
Walking to the door, I manage to stub my toe on the gold bikini discarded on my bedroom floor, the metal clanging together as a sharp curse falls from my mouth.I freeze and glance back at the bed, but luckily Sarah is still asleep.
By the time I reach my back door, the deck lighting has gone off again.I flick the lock anyway and head outside, triggering the motion sensor and the light illuminating once more.I suck in a deep breath at the cold.
I glance around, but see nothing.Just as I’m about to go back inside, convinced it was nothing but a raccoon, I notice one of my deck chairs askew, the chair half hanging off the edge of the deck as though someone has bumped into it.
Walking over, I straighten it and at the same time, get a whiff of floral perfume that instantly makes my stomach churn.
“Fuck’s sake,” I mutter, taking the two steps down to my yard.I glance around, but still see nothing, the light from the deck barely extending a couple of feet beyond it.Cold and annoyed, I turn and walk back inside, locking the door behind me.But instead of going back to bed, I walk to the front door.
Throwing the lock, I open it and step onto my front porch, my bare feet now numb.Glancing up and down the street I see nothing to suggest someone is lurking around my house, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing something.
Can’t help but remember the scent of that perfume.
Eventually, I go inside, double checking the locks before I head back to bed.Sarah is still fast asleep, but for me, sleep is a long time coming as my mind races through all the possibilities of what that noise was and all the ways in which I can no longer do anything about it.
It’s late by the time Sarah and I wake, neither of us having any plans for the day and both of us nursing mild hangovers.We spend a lazy morning in bed doing all the things that sleep overs now allow us to do.
Eventually I get up and make us both some coffee, bringing it back to bed with intentions of staying there all day.
As Sarah settles herself against me, my eyes close with tiredness and I sink into the pillows propped against my headboard.
“Can we talk about last night?”she suddenly asks.
My eyes flick open and I glance down at her, but she’s staring intently at her cup, as though she isn’t sure what my reaction will be.I half hoped she’d forgotten, but clearly she hasn’t.
“What about it?”I ask, stalling.
Sarah lets out a deep breath, before pulling away from me and putting her coffee on the side table.Turning, she gathers the sheets around her chest and meets my stare.“About what you said when you first got there,” she says, not looking away.“About not seeing you in uniform for a while.What did you mean by that?”
I let out a long exhale, scrubbing a hand down my face as I too put my coffee on the side table.“It was kind of an exaggeration,” I say.“I didn’t mean literally.”
