The Best Man Page 24

  And let loose, we did. Most of the younger crowd made their way outdoors after dinner, and soon the patio was hopping. Lily had apparently taken an immediate liking to Kendra, who brought Terry to dance in our circle of friends. They were very easy to laugh and get along with. I could understand why Terry and Samuel had become such good friends and roommates.

  The one I couldn’t understand, however, was Patricia. Every now and then, I allowed myself to search for Samuel in the crowd. He dutifully traveled between guests, bowing his head, accepting congratulations, and making small talk. Patricia smiled proudly at his side like a politician’s wife. She seemed so frigid compared to his other friends. She somehow reminded me of an ice sculpture—cold and hard.

  While I waited for the spring thaw, I danced and had a great time with my friends. The evening was growing late, and I started to worry that I might not ever get my chance to speak with Samuel. But when Patricia clicked up on angry heels and asked Kendra if they could talk, I got the opportunity. Kendra excused herself and rolled her eyes a little as Patricia dragged her off the dance floor. Terry shrugged and moved forward to dance with me instead. I grinned in acceptance and laughed at his eighties-style dance moves until a slow song filtered from the speakers.

  “Step aside,” a familiar voice spoke over my shoulder. Samuel moved from behind me and nudged Terry playfully with his elbow. “Emelia promised me a dance.” His eyes burned into mine, and I stood there smiling like a fool.

  “You’re lucky I’m married,” Terry grumbled teasingly at Samuel then winked at me before he exited the dance floor too. Samuel quirked an eyebrow in my direction and held out his arms.

  “Shall we?” he asked. I nodded and moved forward, though I felt jittery even considering the concept. However, as soon as Samuel touched me, the nerves were gone and I was home. I could have sworn Samuel sighed with me at the initial contact. I slid my hand to Samuel’s shoulder and felt him relax as our free hands came together. And then we were moving.

  “The party is awesome,” I said quietly.

  “I can’t believe everyone came together like this.” Samuel sounded slightly awed.

  “Everyone here loves you, Samuel,” I said, looking up at him. Realizing what I let slip, I took a deep breath and blinked before moving my eyes back down to his jacket. “Family, friends, we’re all proud of you. You deserve this party.”

  “Thank you,” he whispered. I didn’t look up at him, but I smiled as he pulled me closer into his chest. I inhaled deeply, taking in the warm, spicy cologne he wore. Our bodies moved together instinctively.

  “I know you’ve been occupied all night,” I said. “I had hoped we would get a chance to talk.”

  “I’d still like that, Emelia,” Samuel said. “There are so many guests who I needed to speak with. And I felt obligated...”

  “I understand.” I shook my head and tilted my chin to look up at him. Samuel stared down into my soul. Then he looked up quickly, and I felt his entire frame stiffen.

  “Samuel?” The voice behind me made me groan internally. My feet stilled when his did. I sighed. There was a definite chill in the air behind me.

  “Patty?” he responded. I pulled my hand from his warm grip and stepped away reluctantly.

  “I’ll let you get back to your date,” I murmured, trying to remain gracious. I only backed away three steps when strong hands on my waist stopped my movements. I turned to see my father smiling warmly.

  “Samuel’s loss.” Dad grinned at me, but his words were clearly loud enough for Patricia and Samuel to hear. He spun me in front of him while I laughed. I danced with my father and refused to look at the handsome couple swaying near us.

  My father excused himself when the music picked up. Andy, Lily, Terry, and Kendra jumped back into the fray. They made sure Samuel wasn’t allowed to escape. Terry threw his arm over Samuel’s shoulder and forced him to join our loud group while we danced to the upbeat music. I stifled a giggle when I saw Patricia try her best to loosen up and be a part of the group. Despite her best efforts, she seemed as rigid as a store mannequin. But I felt bad for laughing at her. At least she was trying.

  Samuel stomped around and jumped, laughing while making up crazy dance moves with his brother and his ex-roommate. His tie was pulled askew, and his hair was damp on his forehead. My heart felt light and happy, watching him have so much fun. And my best friend? He was having the time of his life. Andy kicked out his arms and legs and turned around to shake his ass at us. Lily and Kendra clapped and bounced to the music, and I put my hands up over my head, laughing and dancing and loving life. It was one of those times when everything slowed down so that your mind could take a hundred photographs to remember the exact moment. It was almost perfect.

  When the song finished, Patricia grabbed Samuel’s arm again and pleaded to find a quiet place to sit. “Please, Samuel? These shoes are killing me,” she whined. He looked mildly annoyed and shot us all an apologetic glance before letting her lead him from the dance floor. Some of the magic seemed to leave with him, and we all stood in a loose group.

  “It’s a wonder she can walk at all, what with that pole up her ass,” Lily hissed with a pout. My mouth popped open in surprise that Lily would criticize her while standing right next to Patricia’s friends. But Kendra let her glorious mane fall behind her while she tipped up her chin and laughed. Then she snorted. Yes. The beautiful, strawberry-blond swimsuit model snorted. We all laughed then while she covered her mouth and tried to hide another burst of loud laughter.

  “Emelia?” I turned at the sound of my father’s voice. He looked a little annoyed.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry, honey. I just got a call from the station. I need to leave. Do you want me to drop you at home? Or...”

  “Oh!” I turned to look at the people I stood with. “I rode here with my dad. I guess I’m going to have to leave.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Lily hugged me. “Andy and I are going to take off too. It’s a long drive back to Seattle.”

  “We’ll get her home, Sully,” Andy told my father. “We have to stop at the house to change out of these clothes before we hit the road anyway.”

  My father left, and Andy and Lily and I took a moment to say goodnight to Terry and Kendra. I truly hoped I would have a chance to see them again in the future. They were both a lot of fun and seemed like genuinely good people. I glanced over toward Samuel and saw that he and Patricia were sharing some intense-looking conversation while sitting at a secluded table. I decided not to interrupt. Andy had no such qualms, however.

  “Yo! Sammy!” Andy yelled across the dance floor. Samuel’s head shot up, and he looked over at us. “I’m leaving. You remember what we talked about...yeah?” Samuel’s eyes darted over to mine quickly and then back to his brother before he smiled slightly and nodded. “That’s my brother, the lawyer! Woo-hoo!” Andy yelled and threw his fists up over his head, proudly pumping the air while he walked through the crowd. Samuel grinned and shook his head before turning his attention back to Patricia.

  Back at home, I stood on the curb between our houses, hugging Lily. “I really do love you,” I told her.

  “We’ll talk soon and pick out a dress for the wedding.” Lily smiled. “I’m thinking something black to match the tuxedos. And strapless...because, baby, you look hot tonight!” I laughed while she left to go into the Daltons’ house.

  “Only two days left,” I sighed, looking up at my best friend. He threw his arm over my shoulder and held me comfortably next to his side.

  “I’ll be back early tomorrow,” Andy said. “Don’t think I forgot you promised me a sleepover. Tomorrow night—you, me, a couple of sleeping bags, a stack of comics, some grape soda, and a bag of Cheetos. We’ll sleep up in the tree house before you have to go back to Florida.”

  “That sounds perfect,” I said. He hugged me close and kissed the top of my head before I left him to go home.

  I turned on the downstairs lights a
s I walked through the empty house and brightened the area to match my mood. Overall, I counted the night as a huge success. Samuel might have been at his party with Patricia, but I still managed to have a great time. And though our “talk” had been postponed, I knew that he did want to spend time with me before I left for Florida. I would be able to keep my promise to Andy and return to school with less baggage. I was scared, but it would feel good to get everything off my chest.

  I grabbed a bottle of water and took a long drink as I walked upstairs. Once in my room, I placed the container on my dresser and moved to hold on to my bedpost while I bent to remove my heels. My left foot felt wonderful pressed flat against the cool hardwood floor. My arch rejoiced at the change of position, and I quickly removed my other shoe, flinching when I kicked it a little too hard and it slid under my bed. I flexed my feet for a moment, stretching and relaxing the muscles there before I dropped to my knees to retrieve the wayward shoe. With my hand wrapped around the soft leather, my eyes landed on a prize tucked away under my bed as well.

  I tossed my shoe to the side and smiled while I grabbed the long storage box that rested near the wall at the far side of my bed. I hadn’t opened the container in years, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to revisit the contents. As I slid it out from beneath my bed, I turned and sat on the floor beside it. With one finger, I drew a long line in the dust on the top of the paisley print box. And then I slowly opened it.

  Memories from my childhood and young adolescence laid undisturbed in the box in front of me. A sketch pad and a few colored pencils, a guitar pick, the invitation to my senior prom. I gently touched the dried baby’s breath I always kept in a little heart-shaped glass case Dad gave me for my birthday. Unused county fair ride tickets, a program from my first real art show, a stuffed frog Andy gave me after eighth grade graduation. I smiled as I lifted the rusty tin can that was tucked into the corner of the box. The broken red string dangled from one end. Its matching piece still could be found wrapped tightly around the nail in my windowsill. Under it all were several comic books. Spider-Man was my favorite. I carefully lifted the thin magazines from under my other treasures and set them to the side. Andy and I would need those for our sleepover in the tree house. The worn covers made me giggle when they offered up a funny memory of one of our comic book capers.

  Andy and I lay on our backs in the tree house, arguing once again over the supreme awesomeness of Batman versus Spider-Man in our favorite comics.

  “Spider-Man produces the web that allows him to fly,” I argued. “Batman just uses that stuff in his belt. He can’t make anything.”

  “Whatever,” Andy huffed and closed his magazine before rolling over to his stomach. “This stuff is boring. We need something new.”

  “I don’t get my allowance until Friday,” I offered, rolling to mimic his position on the floor.

  “Are you up for an adventure?” Andy turned his head and grinned with mischief twinkling in his eyes. “I suggest we plan a reconnaissance mission. We should infiltrate Samuel’s bedroom and get some of his comics!”

  “I don’t know...” I hedged. Samuel had already warned us to stay out of his room. I didn’t like making him mad at us.

  “Come on,” Andy whined. “Chicken? We’ll be in and out, and he’ll never know we were in there!”

  “Fine.” I shook my head and sat up.

  On stealthy feet, we ran through the yard. Andy hummed some music from a spy movie while we listened for his mother in the kitchen before running upstairs as quietly as we could. The coast was clear, and I followed him into Samuel’s bedroom.

  “You take the bookshelf. I’ll search his dresser. Go, go, go!” Andy whispered. I giggled with my hand over my mouth and moved across the room. My eyes scanned the books on his shelf, and I cautiously moved papers and books around on the surface of his desk.

  “There’s nothing here,” I whispered.

  “Search everywhere!” Andy suggested. He closed Samuel’s dresser drawer while I tentatively peeked under pencils and notebooks. “Well, well, well, what have we here?” Andy called out with a muffled voice. I turned to see only his legs sticking out from beneath Samuel’s bed. He was wiggling his hips and trying to back out.

  “Did you find comics?” I asked.

  “I found something better!” Andy turned when he could and sat with his back against his brother’s bed. I moved to sit beside him, wanting to see what he held that captured his interest. A bare-chested girl grinned from the cover of a dirty magazine.

  And my best friend was holding it in his hands like he had found the Holy Grail.

  “Oh. My. God,” I whispered. I was nearly mortified but unable to look away.

  “Yeah, boobs...” Andy shifted his glasses with one hand and continued to look on, clearly amazed.

  “What is Samuel doing with that kind of magazine?” I asked.

  “You know, guy stuff...” Andy whispered. His cheeks were pink, and I decided not to ask for more information regarding this particular mystery.

  Andy started flipping through the pages, and we both looked with wide eyes at the various images inside. Occasionally, he had to turn the magazine sideways so that we could see the entire picture presented. We were completely engrossed in the glossy pages covered with nude girls.

  “Think you’ll ever get boobs like that?” Andy asked with wonder.

  “No way,” I whispered.

  “If you do, will you let me see them?” I reached over and hit him hard in the arm. Andy dropped the magazine and cursed. That was when the door of the bedroom opened.

  Samuel stood with one hand on his doorknob, staring down at us in confusion. His jaw dropped when he saw the open magazine on the floor in front of us. His cheeks reddened immediately, and he started yelling.

  “How many times have I told you to stay out of my room?” He swung his backpack toward his desk angrily, and Andy ducked and jumped up on the bed, trying to avoid Samuel’s angrily reaching arms.

  “Abort mission! Abort mission!” Andy yelled. I ducked and crawled to the door, standing as soon as I got to the hall and running as fast as I could to get home. I could hear Andy yelling for his mom as he and Samuel wrestled behind me.

  I snickered when I thought of that dirty magazine. At least now I could understand the mystery of the “guy stuff.” I placed the lid back on the box and slid it back into its place under my bed before standing with the comics in hand. A thought occurred to me, and I smiled. The weather was perfect. No rain was in the forecast for once. I could surprise Andy by getting all our sleepover items into the tree house before he returned from Seattle. If I did it tonight, he would see my efforts when he returned in the morning, and he’d know how much I was looking forward to our last adventure of the summer.

  With a grin, I turned for my bedroom door. I didn’t bother changing out of my dress. But there was no way in hell I was going to put my feet back in my shoes. I moved around the house, collecting nostalgic items to place with the necessary things like flashlights and sleeping bags in our tree house. The comic books and Battleship joined the pile. By some strange miracle, Dad already had grape soda and Cheetos in the kitchen. I piled everything up and then made three separate trips across the darkened yard and up into the tree house to carry everything and stash it away for Andy to find later.

  It was on my final trip to the tree house that I was stopped by the sound of a door shutting loudly. The Daltons’ back porch light suddenly illuminated the small room I occupied through the cutout window in the side of the tree house. I was rolling the sleeping bags out across the wood floor when the unexpected noise and light caused me to jump. I spun and raised my head above the edge of the window to check out what caused the commotion.

  Samuel stood on the back porch, pushing his fingers through his hair. I opened my mouth to call out to him, to alert him to my presence, but I stopped when the door behind him opened and Patricia moved outside to join him on the porch. I clamped my lips together then and groaned silently.
It was like a replay of me watching Samuel making out with Mary Beth Jones on his back porch all those years ago. I swore if I had to watch him grope Patricia, I would probably puke.

  “Samuel? What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “I...was looking for a little peace and quiet,” Samuel replied.

  “The house is empty,” she pointed out. “It doesn’t get much quieter than that.”

  “The fresh air...” Samuel added. I felt like a sick voyeur, listening in on their conversation, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away. I cringed as Patricia moved closer and wrapped her arms around Samuel’s waist from behind. She pressed her cheek to his back, and his head slumped forward slightly.

  “The party was lovely,” she murmured. I watched as Samuel stiffened and moved his hands to her wrists, loosening her hold before turning in front of her.

  “It wasn’t exactly your typical kind of party,” Samuel said coolly. “I can’t imagine you’d be impressed with our small-town restaurant when you are used to dining in more elegant surroundings for events as simple as Sunday brunch.”

  “It was...fine.” Patricia hesitated. Samuel laughed lightly and turned his back to lean against the wall.

  “You shouldn’t have come.”

  My heart started beating rapidly, and I wondered if I heard his words right. Patricia moved to stand in front of Samuel and reached her hands forward again, gripping his hips. He didn’t raise his head to look at her.

  “You know why I did,” she said softly. “I want you back.”

  “Is that why you introduced yourself to everyone as my girlfriend?” Samuel asked, raising his chin. “Our relationship ended months ago. The title isn’t yours to throw around.”

  “Why didn’t you correct me?” Patricia asked then. “You could have refuted me at any time.”

  “I didn’t want to embarrass you,” Samuel replied quickly. “You flew across the goddamned country to be here. I’m not so callous as to humiliate you like that. I meant what we said, Patty. I would like to remain friends. It was nice of you to join Terry and Kendra. But if I had known you were coming...”