Up All Night Long: From Lust to Love (Romance Anthology) (6 page)

Chapter 5

Dinner with Marc had been exactly what she needed, the time with her brother had renewed her sense of self-confidence and given her a fresh outlook on things. He was silly and childish, but it was his unwillingness to fully accept all of the pressure that the world pushed on him that gave her permission for reprieve. He was riding a full scholarship for basketball, the team at NYU a total joke, but her brother was the glue that held them together, the fuel that forced the other players to strive to be better. He was immature, but when focused on a task, there was nothing that could stand in his way.

Marc walked her to the car, his hands rubbing his belly as if waiting to feel the subtle kicking of an infant from deep within. He looked over at her and grinned before holding the door to the elevator for her.

"I'm so stupid full," he groaned and slumped against the wall of the elevator as she reached to press her floor.

"You ate your lunch, half of mine, and your chicken parm. Why didn't you just save that for tonight?" She turned toward him, crossing her arms over her chest, her own stomach aching from far too much bread and butter.

"Because I didn't want to tote it and..." he paused as she started to protest, his finger coming up as if he held some great secret. "... and... I hate using the microwave. Did you know on CNN the other night they were saying that the waves it emits are harmful to our cells? I mean like maybe cancer causing type shit."

Kari rolled her eyes and walked out of the elevator, turning to look at her brother as he pretended to limp behind her. "You broke the microwave momma gave you?"

"Um, yeah. Can I have yours, seeing that you're moving in with the red-headed hottie you let taunt me yesterday?" He stopped beside her car, leaning against it and puckering out his bottom lip.

She laughed and swatted at him. "Yes, you can have the microwave. Cancer causing..."

He chuckled and reached for her, pulling her into him and groaning about his stomach as she squeezed him. "I'm going to take off a few days and help you move to Maine, okay?"

"Really?" Kari looked up at him as he smiled down at her.

"Yeah. Not like dad’s sorry-ass is going to come from California to help you." He shrugged and hugged her once more, moving back as she started to get in the car. Kari stuck her head out and lifted her eyebrow.

"You're not just going because of Lisa, right?"

He snorted and backed up, his hands in the air. "Lisa? Who's that?"

Kari shook her head and shut the door. He was so full of crap it colored his eyes brown. She laughed at her own stupidity, her heart content, if for just that moment.

*

The next few weeks went by much faster than they should have, Sicily and Lisa moving things from Kari's small apartment over to theirs in order for the moving truck to only have to show up in one location. Her brother had a few tournaments and she got to see very little of him, so the thought of him coming with them to Maine for the transition and to stay for a few days made her feel better. Her mom had been over every night after she had gotten off work, her body achy and sore from being on her feet at the hospital all day, but she'd assured Kari that she wasn't as old and decrepit as everyone kept making her feel.

Kari stood in her living room, the area bare and seemingly spotless.

"It looks like no one has ever lived here." She turned and looked at Sicily over her shoulder, her friend leaning against the doorframe, her dark hair streaked with dust from their deep cleaning session.

"And yet you made many memories over the last year here." Sicily smiled and pointed to the crack in the sliding glass door that led to the small balcony. "Remember when Lisa got drunk at the 4th of July party we had over here?"

Kari laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Hell yes. I thought we were going to have to take her to the hospital. She needed stitches."

Sicily rolled her eyes. "She refused and made us figure out that liquid glue crap, remember? Your landlord had a freaking cow when we told him that not only was the door chipped from Lisa's head, but the floor was streaked with blood."

Kari laughed again, walking over to the door and kneeling down to touch the crack. "Do you think we truly ever heal from these chips in our glass doors?"

She turned to look at Sicily as her friend moved toward her. She knelt as Kari felt emotion overwhelm her. "The carpet is all better. No sign of the accident at all."

"I know," Kari responded, "but the carpet was ripped up and completely replaced. The door is still cracked because it's permanently here."

"No, the door isn't permanent, it's just too expensive to replace. I think it gives the door character. There isn't anything that we can't heal from, Kari. We just have to mourn when it comes upon us to do so. We have to lean on our friends and we have to be willing to give things another try."

Kari shook her head, accepting the offered hand of her friend. "I don't know. I'm not sure I'm ready to try again."

"Of course you're not. It's far too soon, but someone will come in and remind you of all of the great things there are to love about being in a relationship."

"How do you trust someone after you've been betrayed?" Kari asked, her eyes moving from Sicily to Lisa as she walked into the room, her eyebrow raised.

Sicily turned to look over her shoulder before looking back at Kari. "The next guy doesn't deserve the predisposed emotions from the last. He deserves a chance, just like Lisa does, or I do, or you do..."

Lisa clapped her hands. "Enough of this emotional shit. Let's wrap it up and go grab a beer at Addey's. I love that place and I'm going to miss it. I need fried pickles and ranch. Who's down?"

Kari raised her hand in the air as Sicily stood and helped her up. "We are. Let's go shower up and then get greasy."

Sicily laughed and took another look around. "We did it. You're all packed up and everything is clean. A beer and some greasy food is high on my list of things to do."

"Only thing missing is getting it on." Lisa waggled her eyebrows as Kari laughed and walked past her toward the door.

"No one wants to hear you talk about the ‘d’," Sicily chided, walking out into the hall with Lisa and Kari behind her.

"The 'd'? How old are you?" Lisa laughed.

"Vulgar is what you are." Sicily laughed back and reached over to push at Lisa.

Kari slipped in between them and held up her key. "I'll mail this back later next week. I'm thinking it's going to be a while until I'll need a place of my own for the ‘d’ or anything else."

Lisa elbowed her and waggled her eyebrows. "You might be surprised. I hear the men in Maine go crazy over us city girls."

"Who told you that?" Sicily asked, moving down the two flights of stairs in front of them.

"They did." Lisa shrugged and jogged down behind them.

"I hate
they
," Kari responded, looking back to smile at her two friends.

"Wait... I'm serious. I want to know who they is. I've been asking this for years and have yet to get a real response." Sicily pulled the keys to the U-Haul out from her pocket and jiggled them. "Anyone want to drive this behemoth?"

"I want to ride a behemoth, not drive one." Lisa laughed and pulled the door open to the passenger side. "Shotgun."

"So damn crude," Sicily murmured before walking toward the driver’s side.

"At least she's authentic about it." Kari slipped into the backseat and let herself melt into the worn leather chair, her back aching, her muscles tired from moving. Marc was scheduled to help them first thing in the morning at Lisa and Sicily's house. They had some large furniture that would have to be loaded in the truck and with everyone quitting their jobs, money was tight.

She would be glad to get on the road. Two weeks of saying goodbyes to everyone was getting to be a little much. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off, her dreams of the blue waters of Maine she'd witnessed on the Internet earlier during the week. A sailboat would be nice, as would a sailor.

*

"Hey, sleepy, get up."

Kari yawned and stretched, the sound of Lisa's voice pulling her from her peaceful dreams. The large truck was parked crooked across the driveway, Sicily cursing her bad parking skills and Lisa trying to calm her. Kari got out of the back and walked toward the house, her need for a shower driving her to reach the door first.

"I call shower first," she muttered, lifting her hand in the air.

"Oh, hell no," Lisa and Sicily joined in unison. Kari just laughed and shrugged.

"This is why no one wants to live with me."

Lisa moved in front and unlocked the door to the small townhouse. "You lived with us some in college and you were extremely considerate. One year by yourself and you've turned into a turd?"

"Yep!" Kari jogged past Lisa, pulling her clothes off as she did. She reached the top of the stairs and slipped into Lisa's room, the wall hangings and curtains all put away. The room looking bare and unattractive, the once wine-colored walls now painted white as was most likely requested by their landlord.

"You better not be getting in my... Are you kidding me?" Lisa bellowed as Kari slipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her as she laughed.

"You snooze you lose. You know how this works." Kari looked at herself in the mirror for a few minutes, pulling at the tie that held her long black hair.

"You snooze? You're the one who took a freaking nap in the U-Haul. I was making sure we weren't going to die on the way here!"

Kari slipped into the shower and let the pelting of the hot water drown out the sound of Lisa grumbling against the locked door. She washed quickly and slipped out, realizing there were no towels left in the bathroom.

"Damn..." she muttered and unlocked the door, sticking her head out. "Hey... where are all the towels?"

Lisa walked by the bathroom with three in her hand. "Looking for these?"

Kari smirked and reached for one, her hair dripping all over the carpet in Lisa's bedroom. "Yes. Give me one, you hooker."

"Oh, hell no." Lisa smiled and moved out into the hall. "You wanted to get to the shower first, so you drip dry. I needed to restock the towels, but nooooo..."

"Lisa! Give me a towel so we can go eat and drink ourselves numb."

Lisa stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Set me up with Marc."

"What? No. You'll break his heart."

"I'm not interested in his heart." She wagged the towel around. "Set me up with him."

Kari sighed. "Give me the damn towel and I'll see what I can do."

Lisa chucked the towel and Kari caught it, slamming the door and muttering to herself, "Shouldn't be that hard, seeing that you guys have already got it on ten times together in your heads."

"Ten hundred!" Lisa called after her, Kari gagging into the cotton-fresh towel.

She dried off quickly and helped herself to some of Lisa's jeans and a blue long-sleeved shirt. After brushing her hair, she pulled it back into a ponytail and walked down the stairs to find her friends dressed and ready to go.

"Did you guys not need a shower?" Kari walked to the fridge, reaching in to pull out a bottle of water.

"Heck no. Quick wipe-down and some dry shampoo and we're done." Lisa twirled around, her fitted blue sweater bringing out the depth of color in her copper hair.

Sicily wiped her hands on a small dishrag and shrugged. "Not like we're on the hunt for a man tonight. No need to start something you can't finish."

"Speak for yourself," Lisa chided before pulling the towel from Sicily's hands and popping her with it. "Is Marc coming with us tonight?"

Kari took a long drink of the cold water, wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, and shook her head. "No, he won't be here until after midnight. Just leave him a key under the mat."

"I'll wait up for him." Lisa smirked and tossed the towel onto the kitchen table.

"What's your sudden hang-up with Kari's brother? You know he's, like, ten years younger than us." Sicily walked toward the door, looking over her shoulder. "Let's go."

"He's four years younger than us and he's adorable. That's all..."

Kari laughed and walked languidly behind her friends, weariness weighing heavy on her. "You've never been one to go for 'adorable'."

"Things change. People change. We're about to move to another state. Change is in the air." Lisa shrugged as she filed out behind Sicily toward the car.

"I'm wondering if you could've fit the word 'change' in that sentence once more." Sicily laughed and tossed her keys in the air. Lisa caught them and grumbled about driving.

Kari got in the back and leaned her head against the window, her eyes growing heavier by the minute. What would Maine be like? Would the paper offer her a position? Would she meet someone that might steal her heart?

She hated like hell to acknowledge the loneliness and hurt that still tugged at her emotions, but four years with someone wasn't easily forgotten.