“Eyes closed!” JC ordered as I felt the car slowly pull to a stop.
“JC, I have no choice. You put a blindfold on me.”
The answer I received was the slamming of the drivers side door. I sat impatiently, waiting for him to open my door. Seconds later, the door was opened and I began to get out. “Ah!” JC stopped me. “Give me your foot.” I slowly raised my leg over to him and I felt him untying my shoe and pulling that and the sock off. “Other.” He repeated the process. “Now... get out... carefully...” I stepped out, feeling pavement under my feet. I bit my lip in thought. JC took my hand and lead me across the pavement. “Be careful...” We stepped off a small dropoff and I immediately felt sand under foot.
“JC, what is this?” I questioned.
“It’s something special for you. This is our last evening together and I wanted it to be special. All the time I spend with you is special, but I put an extra twist on it this time.” JC lead me a few yards down what I thought was a beach, because I could hear water. Finally, he stopped. “Sit down... right...” he guided me a couple of steps to the left. “Here.”
I sat, instantly feeling soft material. I waited, not moving a muscle. I shivered as I felt softness against the arch of my foot. The soft feeling slowly moved up my foot and up my calf, pausing beside my knee. “What is that?” I asked. JC moved over me and brought the softness up to my cheek, where he slowly progressed it over to my nose. I deeply inhaled, the sweet scent of a rose registering in my brain.
His hand then moved the rose back to my knee, where he ran it up to my inner thigh. Then, it skipped up to my stomach. He slowly touched my side with it until he reached my neck. JC then placed the rose stem in my hand, closing my fingers around it. He softly touched the back of my neck, leaning me back on the blanket. He placed a soft kiss directly on my lips before moving less than a breath away.
“Briley?” He whispered.
“Yes?”
“Remember that time I told you that we would know when it was right?” I nodded to the best of my ability. “How do you feel about right now?”
“Oh God,” I whispered. After another kiss, this one a little longer, I spoke again. “JC, can I take the blindfold off?”
“No,” he replied. “It will heighten your senses.”
“Please JC,” I pleaded. “I want to see you.” Because of the wavering voice I couldn’t control, JC reached up and slowly untied the blindfold, pulling it from my eyes. I looked around a bit, seeing that we were in a small, secluded alcove. There was a leatherbound book lying on top of a picnic basket and at the moment, the only light that entered the alcove was the setting sun. I sighed. “JC, what am I going to do with you?”
He turned up the volume on the small stereo that sat next to the basket before he pressed his face into the side of my neck and answered. “Take me home and keep me.”
I took a deep breath and licked my lips, the salty taste from the air lingering on my tongue. I tangled my fingers in his unruly hair as he trailed kisses from one earlobe to the other. I lifted his head so that his eyes bore down into my own. “JC... I...”
“Yeah?”
“I... I do love you, but...” I shook my head. “I’m just not completely ready. I’m still scared.”
He nodded and sat up, reaching for the book. He leaned over, planted a kiss on my forehead, then, settling his weight on his side and propping himself up on one elbow, he proceeded to flip through the book. I watched as his eyes scanned the words on the pages. Finally, a smile curved his lips and he coughed a bit. He began to read. “Shall I compare thee to a summers day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. And summer’s lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion dimm’d.” I smiled slowly and laid back down, just listening to the words rolling off his tongue and watching the wind slowly ruffle strands of his hair. I closed my eyes. “And every fair from fair sometime declines, by chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d. But thy eternal summer shall not fade nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade. When in eternal lines to time thou growest, so long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this and this gives life to thee.” He stopped reading.
My eyes sprang open. “What? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Your beautiful,” he whispered before leaning over to place a soft kiss on my lips. He pulled back and stared into my eyes for a second before going back to the book.
“Why are you so perfect?”
He looked up from the book. “I’m not... I’m just exactly what you’ve always wanted.”
My eyes brimmed with tears. No one had ever treated me quite this well before. I tried to smile. “JC... I want this... can you promise me something?”
“Anything.” He scooted closer to me.
“Promise me that we’ll always be together.”
He sighed. “I promise.”
“I do,” JC whispered, his eyes welling up with tears.
“Do you, Briley Catherine, take this man, Joshua Scott, to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and health, for richer for poorer, as long as you both shall live?”
“I-” I stopped, avoiding JC’s gaze, which was probing me to say the final word. My eyes scanned the audience, searching out the familiar face, the one that I knew should be up here.
“No.” The strong voice came from the back of the church. JC’s head shot up, looking for the source of the voice. The searching didn’t last long, for Kyle began walking down the center aisle. “JC, I can’t let you do this. I love this woman.” Kyle approached me and set a hand on my shoulder. “I can’t give her up.”
JC looked at me with tear filled eyes. “Briley...”
“JC, I’m sorry.” I took Kyle’s hand and started towards the back door of the church, all the while trying to erase the devastated look on JC’s face.
I sat up with a gasp, breathing heavily. “Briley, are you okay?” JC’s soft voice floated into my ears from beside me. I glanced over and saw him sitting up, a pad of paper resting on his lap, the gold, wire rimmed glasses sitting perfectly on his face, his hair a disheveled mess.
I rubbed my forehead for a moment. “Yeah... yeah, I’m fine. It’s okay.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek, looking down at the paper that was covered with his writing and lots of markouts where he had messed up. “What are you writing?”
He quickly flipped the paper over and gave me a smile. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“How soon?”
“Say... nine months... a year?”
I sighed. “Fine... have it your way. Stingy mean head.”
JC looked at me and began to laugh. “Oh, hurt me.” He put a hand on his bare chest over his heart. He smiled at me for a moment before his face turned serious. “What are you sorry about?”
“What do you mean?”
“Right before you woke up, you told me you were sorry.”
“I never thought I’d hear you encouraging someone to get up.” He smiled at me and disappeared into the bathroom again. I got up and hurriedly got dressed, then, sat down and quietly began flipping through the notebook. I found the page he had been writing on and scanned it. He didn’t have much, but what he did have... whoa. I smiled as I read the dedication on the top of the page. I definitely had myself a special one here.
“I’m not reading anything.”
“You are such a pathetic liar.”
I smiled. “I know.”
“So, I see you just couldn’t wait.” JC tightened the towel around his waist and walked over, picking up the notebook. “So? An opinion?”
“It’s nice...”
“I’m not sure what’s going to come of it... most likely, it’s just some ramblings. What can I say? Last night inspired me. Briley...” He took my face in his hands. “You’re my muse.”
I smiled. “Oh... I like the sound of that.” JC leaned over and gently touched his lips to mine.
“Which reminds me...” JC began to say as he started digging his clothes out. “We were called to do a live concert from Madison Square Garden for HBO. You’ll come to it, right?”
“Of course, if I can... is-”
“Yes, Kelly will be there.” The grin on my face grew.
“What exactly is my job as a muse?”
“You inspire me. Just keep being yourself, and you’ll be doing your job perfectly.”
“I think I can do that.”
“Good,” was the response. An hour and a half later, we were at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, standing outside his gate, wanting to prolong the last few minutes together. “I’ll miss you,” he stated, pulling me a little closer. “These couple of days have been amazing... think when you come to New York you can take a few days to travel with me?”
“We’ll see... I’ll have to check the dates and see if there is anything at school that has to be done.” He raised an eyebrow. “JC, you know school is important. It’s my main job right now, okay?” I gave him a smile. “I’ll try.”
He nodded and leaned over, pressing his lips to mine. He put more pressure behind it, probing my lips open with his. He pulled away from me after a moment, took a deep breath, and turned and walked onto the plane. He turned at the end of the hall and lifted a hand in a small wave right as the last few people entered the walkway and the flight attendant closed the door.
I bit my lip and left the airport, knowing that after the past few days, my decision between Kyle and JC was going to be even more difficult to make.
“Hello?”
“What the friggin’ heck did you do to him?” Kelly exclaimed into the receiver.
“Kelly? What did I do to who and why do you ask?”
“What did you do to JC? Two weeks ago, he’s walking around like he has a pole shoved up his ass and now, he’s on cloud nine. He hasn’t even been making me leave during soundcheck so that Lance can concentrate.”
I wasn’t really paying any attention to what she was saying. “Aww!” I exclaimed, still reading the thank you’s.
“What?” She asked, sounding annoyed. She knew I wasn’t paying attention.
“To my Special K,” I read. “Every day we’re apart, I count the hours until we’re together. Every moment we’re together, I anxiously wait for the day when I’ll spend the rest of my life with you. You’re my everything.”
She sighed. “My boy may not be able to write music, but he can write a romantic poem with two hands tied behind his back.”
“Yeah, you’d know about him being tied up, wouldn’t you?”
“Only in my dreams honey. Which, by the way, is our theory on why JC is in such a good mood. We already know, so you might as well admit it.”
“Admit it?”
“Yes, admit it. Just say what happened.”
“What happened?”
“Briley, you are now repeating everything I say... you got laid, didn’t you?”
I heard a couple someone’s in the background singing ‘Just Got Paid,’ with a few word changes to fit the situation. “First, smack Lance for me for starting that stupid song.”
Kelly covered the phone. “Honey, come here...” Then, I heard the sound of a slap on leather.
“Ow!” Lance exclaimed. “That hurt!” He paused. “Do it again.”
“Get away from me!” She laughed. Then, she spoke to me again. “Now, what happened?”
“Kelly, I... think I made a terrible mistake.”
“So... you did?” Kelly asked.
“Yeah... don’t get me wrong, it was very nice, but...” I shrugged although she couldn’t see me. “Kelly, I wish I hadn’t because there are a bunch of things that is just really bothering me right now.”
“About JC?”
“No, just in general.” There was a knock on my door. “Listen, can I talk to you in person in a few weeks in New York? I have a study session.”
“Briley-”
“Thanks Kelly! See you then.” I hung up before she could get another word in. I hurried to the door and found Kyle on the other side, leaning against the doorframe. I opened the door wider for him to be able to walk through. He went over and sat down in Emily’s desk chair. I closed the door and went to my own desk and began shuffling through the papers there. Suddenly, I turned to Kyle. “Do you want to get out of here?”
He raised an eyebrow at me, seeming kind of shocked that I would even suggest it. “Uh... yeah. Sure.”
“Great,” I exclaimed, slamming the notebook closed, scattering my papers. I jumped up, grabbed a gray and purple TCU sweatshirt and stood at the door to wait for him. “What are you waiting for?” I asked.
“Just wondering what got into you,” Kyle replied. “Last week, I couldn’t PAY you to have a study session with me, and now, you want to get away and not study at all? I don’t get it.”
“Well, I’ve just been thinking, and there are a few things I have to get figured out.”
“And what are those things?”
“Well, you would be one of them.”
“Me?” He asked in shock. I nodded. “Why me? Are you suddenly thinking that you may see me as more than a friend and a tutor?”
“Kyle, that’s for us to figure out together.”
“Briley!” Kyle exclaimed, tugging on the pocket of my blue jeans. “Sit down before I get a ticket!”
I slumped down in the seat and smiled over at him. “Big baby...”
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m one of the few good drivers in Texas, and I intend to keep it that way by having a clear record, thank you,” he shot back, giving me a smile as he turned his blinker on to exit on N E 28th street.
“Kyle, where are we going?” I asked.
“Haven’t you ever been to Billy Bob’s?” He asked, referring to one of the best country dance clubs in Fort Worth.
“Uh... once,” I said with a laugh.
“Well, that once wasn’t with me,” he replied with a smile, glancing at me out the corner of his eye.
I just smiled myself and stared out the window until we arrived. “You know, maybe... I don’t know... maybe we could just go somewhere else and have some fun. Ya know, alone.”
Kyle looked quickly over at me, his mouth dropping open. “Uh... alone? I mean, yeah, sure. I just wasn’t expecting you to say that.” I gave him an innocent smile. “Why don’t we stop by Taco Bell, get some food, and go to a park or something? Have a bit of a picnic?”
I smiled. “That sounds great.” Minutes later, Kyle pulled into a drive through of a Taco Bell.
“What do you want?” He asked.
“Umm... I don’t know...” I looked over him at the menu. “Give me two soft shell tacos, with tomato, no lettuce, a big beef nacho supreme, extra sour creme, no green onions, small cinnamon twists, and a large Dr. Pepper.”
Kyle leaned over and started to order when the girl came over the intercom. “Yeah, give me two tacos, extra lettuce... no, wait, no lettuce... extra tomato...”
I sighed. “Kyle, move.” I leaned over him to hang out the window. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Fine ma’am... can I take your order now?”
“Yeah, I would like two soft shell tacos- with tomato, no lettuce; a big beef nacho supreme- extra sour creme, no green onions; small cinnamon twists, and a large Dr. Pepper.” I sat back down in my seat. “Now you order.” Kyle placed his order and pulled around to the window.
The girl pushed the small window open. “Your total is... hey Kyle! That sounded like you, but I wasn’t sure.”
He gave her a friendly smile. “Hey Katie, how’s it going?”
“I’m really good.”
“That’s good. How much did you say it was?”
Katie stopped and thought for a moment. “You know what? Don’t worry about it.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get in trouble or anything.”
“Kyle, I’m not going to get in trouble for giving away eight dollars of tacos.” She laughed. “Seriously, it’s on me.” It was then that Katie seemed to notice that I was in the car, even though I had ordered. “Kyle, are you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“Oh... sorry. Katie, this is Briley. I’m tutoring her in history.”
Katie gave a small smile. “I bet that’s ALL your doing to her...” Kyle just rolled his eyes as Katie extended a hand to me. “Nice to meet you Briley.” I leaned over Kyle again and shook her hand. Katie was tall, around 5’7”, with dark brown hair and brown eyes, and she had an extremely athletic build. She had a dark complexion, and though it was hard to tell, she looked as if she was of Middle Eastern descent. Katie turned to get our order and I plopped back down into the seat. Katie took a deep breath as she handed the small bags out to Kyle. “You know, some of us are getting together around eleven tonight to hang out, maybe have a few drinks. The two of you should come along. We’re meeting at my place. It’s going to be kind of like a pre-pep rally for the big game this weekend.”
Kyle glanced over at me and I shrugged as if to say that I didn’t really care. “We might show up. It could be fun. Besides, I’ve gotta show Briley here how to loosen up and have some fun.”
Katie threw him a smile. “Well then, I’ll see you two later.”
Kyle pulled back onto the road, heading back to University drive where we would stop at a park just down the road from TCU, Forest Park. He drove in silence until we arrived, at which point we got out and made ourselves comfortable at a picnic table. Just as I was dumping a fair amount of hot sauce onto one of my tacos, Kyle spoke. “In what town were the surrender papers for the Civil War signed?” It was then I noticed that Kyle had his notebook open to a study guide.
I sighed. “Kyle! You were the one telling me I needed to loosen up and have some fun. What do you think you’re doing? I’m ready to have some fun and you’re going to help.”
“Briley, just... study for now. Just give me a good hour of studying and then, I’ll drop it for this evening. I really want you to get this scholarship. You need it babe.”
I bit my lip. “Fine... one hour.”
“Now... what town was the surrender papers for the Civil War signed in?”
“Appomattox Courthouse.”
“Who were the copperheads?”
“People from the north who wanted the Civil War to end.”
“Who worked to improve life for the insane and people in prison?”
“Dorthia Dix.”
“And what else was she famous for?”
“Helping to organize the first women’s rights convention.” I yawned. “Kyle, I know this stuff like the back of my hand. I don’t need to study when I could be having fun.”
Kyle took a big bite of his burrito before replying. “But Briley...”
“Kyle, don’t you trust me?”
“Should I?” He raised an eyebrow. “You are considering leaving your boyfriend for me.”
My mouth dropped. “How do you know that?”
He shook his head a bit. “I’ve seen it before. He’s not here for you Briley. I would be. I’d be here to hand over those hugs whenever you needed one. I’m here so that you can keep an eye on me and make sure I’m not doing anything I’m not supposed to.”
I grew quiet. “Kyle, I think this is a decision I need to make on my own without you pushing me into making the choice. JC has become a very important part of me, but yes, you are here for me all the time. Just give me time okay? That’s all I need from you right now.”
“Holy crap!” I exclaimed as the liquid slid down my throat. “WATER!” Someone pushed a glass of water at me and I drank it all without taking a breath. I sighed. “Much better.” I smiled over at Kyle who was standing off to the side, a smirk on his face. I approached him and slid an arm around his waist. “What’s that smirk for?”
“I’m just thinking how different you are now than how I thought you would be.”
I smiled a bit. “You didn’t have any faith that I could just have fun, did you?”
Kyle laughed. “Honestly, no. I thought it would take more than a couple of tacos. What’s responsible for this change?”
“I don’t know. JC just said a few things that made me think and well... here I am.” I smiled up at him. “Kyle? Let’s dance.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the middle of the floor, dancing first to a song by Good Charlotte before a slightly slower pop song began. I narrowed my eyes trying to place the song. Suddenly, it hit me and I began to laugh as all emotion left Kyle’s face.
“No... not even. What the hell is this? What the hell are they playing? No!” Kyle exclaimed. “Hell no I’m not dancing to this crap!”
“Oh Kyle, come on! You can’t tell me that you didn’t have this CD when you were younger.”
A light pink blush crept over his cheeks. “I didn’t say that. I just said that I wasn’t dancing to it now.”
“Kyle, you aren’t getting out of it, come on!” I laughed before turning my back to him, softly singing along, and dancing.
Runnin’ just as fast as we can
I think we’re alone now
“Hello?”
“Briley, girl, you owe me big time.”
“Emily? What did you do?”
“I saved your ass, that’s what the heck I did. You must have forgotten that you were supposed to work tonight, because Alan called looking for you. I told him that you were in bed with a migraine and had been asleep almost all day because of the medication that you take.”
“Thanks.”
“Yeah well, you need to wake up soon and call in.”
“Thanks Emily,” I repeated.
“Yeah... no problem.” Without another word, she hung up.
“What was that about?” Kyle asked, sliding his arms around my waist. I smiled up at him.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Kyle nodded slowly and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. He seemed surprised that I didn’t pull away, so he leaned over again, this time, aiming for my lips. His lips gently touched mine for a second before I set my hand on the back of his neck, pulling him even closer to me. Our lips part after a moment and he stared at me in shock. “Who are you and where is the real Briley?”
I smiled at him. “Kyle, can you-” My voice trailed off as the music suddenly stopped and the lights were turned back on.
“Come on everyone! My landlord will be banging on the ceiling if you all don’t get out soon!” Katie exclaimed, clapping her hands. Kyle and I didn’t argue, just simply said our goodbyes and walked out to his car. Right as he turned on the engine, he turned to say something, but I cut him off by leaning over and kissing him. I pulled away, breathless, after a moment.
“Wow... uh... Briley...” he stuttered. “Earlier, you were about to ask me something... what was it?”
I thought hard about it, if I really wanted to say the words. When I did reply, a smile spread across Kyle’s face. “I want you to know that I care about JC deeply... he means alot to me... but Kyle... can you keep a secret?”
I knew I had to try
To tell you everything I was feeling deep inside
Listen good ‘cause what I say is from the heart
If you’re ready
I toss and turn when I’m alone
And I just can’t wait ‘til you get home
Waiting for your call
‘Cause tonight we’re gonna do it all
Girl it’s just the two of us
There doesn’t seem to be anyone around
I think we’re alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound
Look at the way
We gotta hide what we’re doing
‘Cause what would they say
If they ever knew and so we’re
Holdin’ on to one another’s hand
Tryin’ to get away into the night
And then you put your arms around me
And we tumble to the ground
And then you say
There doesn’t seem to be anyone around
I think we’re alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound
