Her fingers still on my cheek, I reached behind her neck and pulled her forehead to mine. Sighing, I rested our heads together for a second before preparing to leave her. At least it was only a few hours today and not a full day. That thought encouraged me and I was smiling as I pulled away from her and opened the door. She had a small, thoughtful grin on her face while she watched me leave. I waved at the door and then shut it and stood there, while she pulled away.
Feeling that the day had ended on an upbeat note, I entered my house for a long night of homework, bad TV and Hot Pockets.
Mom was late at the diner and she was still gone when I dragged my tired body to bed. I changed into my pajamas, laid my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes, all with the thought of 'please let me see my friends' repeating over and over in my head.
Within moments my eyes felt heavy and sleep lulled me under. I floated in that realm of unconsciousness for what seemed like an eternity - just blackness, darkness, nothingness...peace. Then I was standing in my living room, fully dressed and staring out the sunny window. A hand on my shoulder startled me and I slowly turned, a grin spreading across my face as I did so. "Lil?"
Auburn hair and gold eyes met my vision and I smiled wider. "Hey, Sammy."
She laughed and engulfed me in a warm hug. "Oh, Luc, it's so good to see you." She pulled back and looked over my face. "Our last visit wasn't nearly long enough." I nodded and smiled as I held her close to me. Our last visit had been awhile ago, back when I'd first started my hiatus from school; she'd come in with Lil, and the three of us had met up only briefly before the dream had fallen away from me. That had been ages ago, or so it seemed now that we were alone together. She laughed in my arms and hugged me tight again before letting go. "Darren would kick your ass if he saw us embracing like this," she muttered, as she playfully pushed my shoulder back.
I grinned at her. "Yeah, Lil too." I stepped back and admired my beautiful friend, practically my sister. "You and I aren't usually alone." I frowned as I considered that. "In fact, we've never been alone...not in my dreams..." I sighed as her expression softened. "God, are you here to tell me I'm nuts too? To tell me to back off from Lillian and live my life? Blah, blah, blah..."
She grinned wider as I crossed my arms over my chest. She shook out her red hair while she chuckled. "No, Luc. You've had a hard day. I'm not going to berate you for wanting to see a friendly face."Her expression turned serious before shifting to a playful scowl. "I'm here...to kick your ass."
My eyebrow lifted at that and she broke into a grin, stepping aside so that I could see past her, to the board game set up on the middle of the living room floor, highlighted in a bright patch of sunlight. I looked back over to her and chuckled. Glancing at the game again, my chuckle turned into a hearty laugh. "You're going to beat me...at the game of Life? Seriously?"
She laughed too and stepped up to my side, grabbing my hand and leading me to a side of the board. "It seemed fitting," she said over her shoulder.
I gave her a wry smile. "Nice."
She sat down cross legged on one side of the board while I took the other. I momentarily glanced at the other two empty sides. She glanced with me and smiled. I gazed at her eyes, glowing warmly in the sunshine and let myself feel the peace of her remembered company. Sammy and I had always gotten along, but truly, as much as I enjoyed being with her right now, I wanted to see everyone.
I indicated the free space around the board. "We need more players. Do you mind?" She shook her head, still smiling warmly and I concentrated with everything I had at the spot on the floor to the right of Sammy. Hazily at first, and then more solidly, Darren finally appeared and she smiled over at him. He glanced at us and then down at the board set between us. "Sweet!" He looked at both Sammy and I while he raised a finger in the air. "I'm the doctor!"
Sammy rolled her eyes, but laughed. "You can't call the occupations nimrod."
Darren gave her a level look. "And yet, I just did." She started to protest, but he leaned in and kissed her, cutting off her objection, just like he usually did. "Hey, sexy."
I grinned at the sight of them making out, happy that Darren wasn't going to bug me about bringing them here, that he was just going to visit with me. Twisting my head, I concentrated on the spot beside me. Nothing happened at first and I started to worry that nothing would. And then, so suddenly that it surprised me, Lil was sitting beside me, laughing at Darren and Sammy who were playfully smacking each other.
"Hey, beautiful," I whispered, as I leaned over to kiss her. She grinned breathtakingly and met my lips halfway. I paused after a few light touches to her soft, fragrant skin. "Are we fine?" I whispered, knowing how ridiculous that sounded, but needing her assurance anyway. Our last meeting had been...intense. Her hand came up to my cheek and she bit her lip while she searched my face. "Luc...I..."
Suddenly a couch pillow smacked me on the side of the head. Irritated, I turned to glare at a laughing Darren. He held his hands out. "What?" He pointed at me. "You had a rough day and brought us here for some fun...right?" He cocked his head to the side and twisted his lips into a frown. "Not some emotional outpouring of everything that's going on, everything we never got to say to each other," his hands mimed lips talking, "yada, yada, yada..."
I laughed and felt myself relaxing, and Lil beside me did as well. "Yeah, let's just play." I decided then, that any painful conversations I wanted to have with Lil, over our intimacies lately, and Darren, over his brother, could wait. Tonight, I just wanted to have fun with my friends again.
Playing that dream game of Life with my deceased friends, brought a smile to my lips that lasted the entire time. I held Lil's hand as we teased each other over the careers we received - her, a well paid superstar, me, a struggling artist - and gave her a kiss when she got married. After seeing that, Darren commented that she was having an affair on her blue husband, which made us both giggle. For his part, Darren kept the mood in the room light, helping to give me a nice memory to take with me tomorrow, when I rejoined the harsh "real" world. I wished I could stay in this quiet room forever, playing board games with my friends - watching Lil gaze at me lovingly, watching Sammy laugh as she raked in the dough, and watching Darren complain about Sammy's "life".
"Seriously, another kid? Are you a part puppy or something?" he grumbled when she landed on yet another "baby" space.
She grinned and shrugged. "I guess I'm really fertile. Besides, I like kids." She raised an eyebrow at him. "They help you win the game, you know." She looked at his car piece, pointedly.
He scowled and pointed at her packed car on the game board. "For fuck's sake, Sammy...you've got five of the little bastards already. They don't even fit in the car." He smirked at her. "Couldn't you turn down your deadbeat husband every once in awhile?" He motioned to the back of her car, where a lone blue person was surrounded by a sea of pink. "I mean, you put the poor, jobless jerk-off in the back seat." He grinned wryly at her while Lil and I laughed. "How much love could there be?"
Sammy twisted her lips in an amused expression of annoyance. "It's better than your situation." She pointed to Darren's car, where only his blue piece and a fallen over pink one resided. "And what exactly is your wife doing anyway, with her head buried in your lap like that?" I laughed as I looked at Darren's car; it really did look like that.
Darren chuckled at her and grinned seductively. He flicked a glance at me and I knew he was about to say something that was going to get him smacked. I grinned while he shrugged. When he did answer her, his voice was deeper and huskier. "That's just where I prefer my women."
Sure enough, Sammy's hand flashed out and smacked him harshly across the chest. He grunted while she laughed at him, Lil and me joining in her merriment. "Oh, come on, Cherry Pie," he jokingly told her.
She gasped at his nickname. While he'd told me once that he called her that because of her reddish hair, she had always chosen to see the dirtier side of the pet name, and usually smacked him harshly whenever he said it. Although, with the glint in her eye whenever he did, I was pretty sure the nickname turned her on. I was also pretty sure the name was repeated in their bed with far less violent results.
With an impish grin, she reached behind her to a container of dip that we'd been snacking on with some chips I'd conjured up. Dipping in her finger, she withdrew a glob and then swiftly flicked it at Darren. It hit his shirt and he looked down at the mess, surprised. His eyes snapped up to where we were all giggling almost uncontrollably. His surprised face turned devilish. "Oh, it's on now!"
Darren grabbed her wrist and pulled her on top of him as he lay down beside the board. He flipped her on her back and proceeded to run his hands up and down her sides while holding her legs firmly entwined in his. She screamed and squirmed as he tickled her. In between her fits of laughter and tears, she begged Lil and me for help, but wiping tears from our own eyes, we shook our heads. Neither one of us were going to get mixed up in their flirting.
Lil and I glanced at each other when our friends shifted to wrestling...or foreplay. She smiled warmly at me, running a hand over my forehead and brushing aside some of my hair. She sighed and looked torn about something. I was about to ask her "what" when she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. Her hand snaked around behind my neck, pulling me close as our mouths moved together. My heart surged and I cupped her face with my hands, my thumbs brushing over her cheekbones as the tips of my fingers twisted around her silky, pale hair.
Just as the kiss was deepening, as my head was tilting so I could feel more of her lips on mine, feel more of her tongue against mine, another pillow dinged me. Seriously annoyed now, I glared over at a laughing Darren. He held his hands up in surrender under the intensity of my sneer. "Hey...I know how you two are when you get going..." he pointed down at the board game between us, "can we finish the game before the nak*dness starts?"
Lil, her face still cupped in my hands, laughed, embarrassed, and pulled back from my fingers. I smiled and laughed with her, matching her tone, and then brought her over to my lap so I could put my arms around her and feel the life and warmth of the woman I loved while we finished our game. She giggled and settled down, grabbing my free hand and interlacing our fingers while she rested back on my chest. I kissed her head, the smell of her favorite shampoo suddenly assaulting me, while the ends of her long strands tickled my arm. With a grin plastered on my face, I pulled her tight and leaned over to spin the dial - ready to finish my game of Life.
Chapter 11
Happy Thanksgiving
Falling back into the pattern of school was practically seamless. Before I knew it, people were ignoring me just like the old days. Even Josh had taken a break from the sneering to simply turn away from me; maybe our conversation had finally gotten to him. I was so used to seeing anger on his face, that I had no idea what the blankness meant.