Page 31 of Fighting the Tide
“I had to make sure your wish came true.”She flies over the cake to wrap her arms around my neck, her mouth landing on mine.In this moment, this very second must be the epitome of true love.Her fingers slip into my hair as she moans into my mouth, and I part her lips with my tongue.My hands creep down along her back as my fingers find purchase on the thick globes of her ass, and just as I’m dragging her into my lap to bring her closer to where I want to feel her warmth, her mouth is ripped from mine as she curses lightly under her breath.
“What?”I whisper as she pulls away from me, her eyes looking down at the blanket.I follow their gaze and find her knee pressed into the fifteen-dollar cake, completely destroyed, but when she looks up at me with tears streaming down her cheeks and a wide grin on her mouth, none of it matters.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers as she bites into her lip.“I wasn’t really feeling like cake anyway.”
“Oh yeah?”I dip my head to the side as I scoop my fingers into the smooshed cake, bringing them up to run the sweet icing along her lips.“What are you feeling like?”
“I’m feeling like I want to show the boy who’s changed my life how much I love him.”She’s pulling off her sweater, revealing a black lacy bra and a toned stomach.I lean forward, slipping one of the straps down off her shoulders and slowly pulling the fabric off her breast, leaving behind a trail of icing.Her pink nipple hardens and I dip to flick my tongue against the perfect peak.I’m so painfully hard, and even though I want to take my time and show her exactly what she means to me, I know that’s not how it’s going to work out tonight.
Her pants are off and thrown to the side, and she’s pulling mine down to straddle my waist before I can even mention the condom that’s in my sweater pocket.She sinks down over my length as her head tips toward the roof, her wet heat enveloping me and striking all sensibilities from my mind.Never have I been inside Brooke without a layer of latex, and the feeling is so much more intense, but by the third thrust upward, I remember exactly why it is that I do wear a condom.I grip her waist to stop her from moving and force her to look at me.
“What is it?”she asks, her fingers running from my temples down to my jaw.
“I need to put a condom on, Brooke.”I hate that it’s ruining our moment, but I refuse to let the cycle of unwanted pregnancies continue.
“I know.”She nods and lifts herself off of me as I reach into my sweater pocket and pull out the condom.Soon enough she’s back, and even though the sensations are just a little bit muted, it’s still the best feeling in the world being inside the girl I love and watching as the expression on her face radiates with pure love.
Chapter Fourteen
Irapmyknuckleson the front door, my heart racing through my chest at the prospect of facing her.No one was to blame for what happened between us, but we were both to blame for not trying to fix it.
It’s my eighteenth birthday and it’s one of the hottest summers on record.I can’t imagine leaving behind Chatham and not spending the last few weeks with my best friend.It was bad enough that we missed the Fourth of July fireworks a couple of days ago.
The door opens and Avery stands there, her hair now highlighted from the last few weeks in the sun.Her eyes are warm and widened as she gives me a slow scan before her eyebrow quirks upward.“Happy birthday, Nolan,” she says and steps out onto the porch.
“So you do remember.”I grin at her and lean against the railing, crossing my arms over my chest.“We’re leaving in a few months, Avery, to start our new lives, and I just couldn’t bear not speaking to you again.”
She bites into her cheek and averts her gaze, her eyes scanning the path we’ve walked so many times before but never will again, and I wonder if that makes her sad.Does she feel like we were robbed of the moment of walking together on the last day of school like I do?I wonder if she cares at all, but then she turns to look at me, her eyes sad and a small smile playing on her mouth.“People grow apart and that’s normal.I don’t hate you or hold a grudge.I still care about you.”
So this is her goodbye to me, her way of saying she wants to be friends with the boy she grew up with, but not with the man I’ve become.I inhale, letting the air slowly spread through my lungs, and then hold it in my chest as the burn lingers on my agonized and frustrated exhale.I want to tell her the threat her brother left me with, and the worry that I feel about my mother, especially when I’m gone.I want to tell her everything, and yet, as I look into her eyes, I can see she’s already closed the door to any type of reconciliation.“All right.”I nod and straighten up from the railing, letting my arms drop from my chest.“I couldn’t leave without at least trying once.”Her eyes soften just a little as her mouth turns downward.“I hope Boston University is good to you,” I tell her as I slowly turn and step down off her porch.“And I hope you find what you’re looking for.”She knows what I mean and that it’s genuine.I do hope she and Monica last this time, and I hope the times I’ve seen them out together is much more than just a summer fling.
My heart breaks as I slip my hands into my pockets and step onto that weathered and worn path, the same one our feet have traveled many times over.I’ll do it one last time on my own and make sure to commit everything to memory.
“Nolan, wait!”I turn at the sound of her frantic voice, her words trembling with emotion.“I promised myself I wasn’t going to say anything because I didn’t want you to blame me.”My eyebrows come together in confusion as Avery stands in front of me, her arms crossed over her waist and her hands rubbing the goose pimples along her forearms.
“What is it?”My stomach begins to sour as I take in her expression, and her eyes begin to gather moisture the longer she stares at me.“What, Avery?”
“There are rumors,” she whispers, “about your girlfriend and a certain tourist.”I know who she’s talking about.Sean Clark is back in Chatham this summer, and even though Brooke maintains that they were just friends last year, I’ve asked her not to hang out with him this summer and she’s agreed.
“What rumors?”I hate rumors, and Chatham is rife with them.I want to believe that my best friend has my best intentions in mind, but I also know that she blames our falling out on my girlfriend.
“People have seen them together in town.Some nights in her car and at her house every day.”Her voice wobbles and she clears her throat.“Monica has seen them together.”
“I’ve been with Brooke most days,” I reveal to Avery as my heart grows cold in my chest, and I look down into her face, a face that I wouldn’t expect to lie to me.
“Everyone knows you’ve been helping your mom clean the cottages and houses this summer.”She reaches out her hand to grab my forearm and I clench my fingers to keep from shrugging her off.“Don’t waste the rest of your summer, Nolan, not on her, and when you leave Chatham, make sure you leave her too.”
Sincerity is blooming in her eyes, and the longer I search her face, I see there’s not an ounce of satisfaction at what she’s telling me.“Fuck.”I scrub my hands through my hair and turn away from Avery, unwilling to show her just how brokenhearted I feel.“Fuck.”
“Why don’t you come inside?Mom made lemonade and—”
“Don’t take pity on me now, Avery.We said our goodbyes.”I turn to look at her over my shoulder just in time to see the tears slipping down over her cheeks.“I hope Boston University becomes everything you hoped it would be.Good luck.”Then I turn and walk away, even as the sounds of her cries hit me, I don’t stop.I always knew when this time came, the last few days I spent in Chatham would be filled with sorrow and fear, but I was expecting to leave on a good note, knowing that when I came back home, I’d be a different person.Someone my mother would be proud of.
I find the truck sitting in the driveway and head inside the cottage.Today is Mom’s only day off this week because it’s my birthday, and we’ve spent most of the day together on the beach and eating a lunch of fresh seafood.It’s quiet inside as I shut the door and look around, and when I peek into her bedroom, I find her sleeping soundly in her bed.Another shot of fear slices through me as I watch her, knowing soon she’ll be here by herself and susceptible to my father and whatever danger he brings along with him.There’s no way I can come up with ten thousand dollars on my own.I will have to ask Brooke for her help, and I can’t do that if she’s cheating on me as Avery says.
My fear is that my father is waiting for the day when I leave for college, and he knows my mother will be here alone.I just can’t let that happen.I head back outside and get in the truck to take the drive to Brooke’s house.We have plans to meet up this evening after I’m finished with my mother, so I know she’ll be waiting for me.
I park my truck next to her pink Cadillac and get out just as the sky begins to darken.On the ride over here, I decided to let the rumors just be that.I’ve seen no proof that Brooke is cheating on me, and regardless of what’s being said, I have to give her the benefit of the doubt.She has enough people who believe the worst in her and I refuse to join them.
