"A
Single Yellow Rose" – Chapter Eleven
Philip slowed down at he neared
Nick's parents place, amazed at the number of cars on the front lawn and lining
the street. "Geez, he must have the whole school up here."
"It looks like quite a lot of
people," Chloe said quietly as she looked out the window as they passed the
large, two-story house.
Philip looked over at Chloe,
realizing those were the first words she had spoken since they left the school.
She had mentioned how nervous Mimi looked when they went over to get his car
back in the parking lot but after Philip assured her that Jason was just as
nervous she'd remained quiet on the trip up here, only playing with the radio,
switching from station to station. Deciding against parking at Nick's, Philip
waved his arm out the window, signaling Shawn to follow him and he continued up
the road.
"Where are you going?" Jason asked.
"Friend's of my dad have a place
just up the road here." Philip said taking a quick look over his shoulder,
surprised to see Mimi sitting on the far side of the seat away from his buddy.
"There are too many cars back there. We can park at their place and walk back."
Moments later Philip pulled up next
to a dark house and turned off the car as Shawn pulled in beside him. He
watched as Chloe jumped out of the car, quickly closing the door behind her.
"It's been a long day for her
Philip," Mimi said leaning forward from the backseat, "a long past couple of
days."
"Yeah, I know," Philip agreed as he
got out of the car, lifting the front seat so Jason and Mimi could follow him.
"With the game and all the excitement about her being back I guess I wasn't
thinking about how tired she probably is."
"If you two wanna split we can hitch
a ride home with Shawn." Jason said, stepping out of the car and Mimi quickly
followed behind him.
"All four of you in front of that
truck?" Philip said, noticing that Jason was again wearing his letterman
jacket.
Mimi shrugged her shoulders. "We'll
find a way to squeeze in-"
"Who knows…maybe I'll just crash here tonight."
Jason interrupted her. "It's no big deal."
Philip's gaze shot back and forth
between Mimi standing there, rubbing her bare arms against the night's chill
and Jason's sullen expression. "Did I miss something?"
"Just a quiet discussion." Mimi
answered.
"Don't you mean argument?" Jason
asked her.
"If I really wanted to argue you
would know it."
"What is going on with you two?"
Philip asked.
"Nothing," Mimi reached out and
straightened the front of Philip's letterman jacket "That jacket looks really
good on you, Phil. Just like it does on Jason's here," she added, trailing her
index finger down the front of Jason's chest before walking away to join the
others.
"What the hell was that all about?"
Philip asked in a low whisper.
"She doesn't want to wear my
jacket."
"So?"
"So I want her too!"
"Why?"
"Well…so that everyone…so that
people know that we're…ah sh*t…I screwed this up didn't I?" Jason said, taking
a quick peek at Mimi who seemed to be doing her best to ignore him.
"Jase, Chloe and I are together
because of the way we feel about each other, not because of some status symbol.
When we first got these things I asked Chloe if she wanted to wear it and you
know what she said? God, I'll never forget this…she said, 'why…do I look cold?'
When I tried to explain it to her the more I talked the dumber I felt and then
she told me that I worked hard for this jacket and I should be the one wearing
it."
"Mimi said the same thing."
"I think Mimi wants to know that you
want to be with her because you like her not because you want someone to be
walking around wearing your jacket. And you know how these guys are…you said
yourself you and her haven't been out on a date yet and then suddenly everyone
sees her here wearing that…"
"Okay, okay I get it…so how do I fix
this now?"
"Do you want to be with her?"
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"What do you mean why?"
"Hey, who earlier said he woke up
with a girlfriend one morning that he didn't really know. So now you're telling
me you want to be with Mimi…well, tell me why."
"I like her okay? I mean, she's cute
and she's smart and easy to talk to-"
"Then show her that."
"Hey, you guys want to be left alone
or are we heading to party?" Belle called out.
"I vote for a party," Phil said,
tapping his fist on Jason's shoulder before walking away.
"Wait a sec," Jason quickly leaned back inside the
car, fishing around in the back seat grabbing the first thing he got his hands
on before running to catch up with the others.
"Good idea Phil, us parking up
here," Shawn said. " If anything happens to that truck and my dad will have my
hide nailed to the wall."
"Oh, but it's such a cute hide,"
Belle said, reaching around his backside giving him a quick pinch.
"Back off woman," Shawn said,
quickly moving away.
Everyone laugh but Philip could tell
that Chloe's laughter never reached her eyes. "Come on guys, let's follow the
music."
"Does that sound like Brittney
Spears?" Mimi asked as the group started down the road.
"Hey, I like this song," Belle answered.
"I know but Nick Harris has never
struck me as being a Brittney fan-."
"He must be playing it for the girls
at the party," Jason quickly said, staring pointedly at Philip whose only
response was a quick wink and a smile. "Here Mimi, why don't you wear this?"
Mimi looked over at the gray and
black flannel checked shirt Jason held out to her. "What's that?"
"It's mine. I thought you might get
cold out here and I couldn't find your sweatshirt."
Mimi looked at him for a long minute
before reaching out to take the shirt and putting it on. "Thanks, it is a bit
chilly out here."
"No problem."
As they continued walking Philip grabbed Chloe's
hand and held her back as Belle and Mimi walked on ahead with Jason and Shawn
close behind them.
"Hey, something's up…what it is?" he asked when the
rest were out of ear shot.
"Nothing, I'm fine."
"Come on Chloe, you didn't say a
word during the drive up here. You know, today's been such a roller coater
ride…for the both of us. If you'd rather not go to the party….I'd understand."
"Are you kidding? After all the
convincing it took to convince my mom and Craig to let me come? You should have
seen the crowd gathered around them after the game. I think it was Dr. Evans
who finally got through and they agreed to let me go."
"They're just worried about you."
"I know that but I wanted to be with
you and the gang and you all want to be here. And rightly so…Philip, you've
worked really hard to get to this point and its time for you to enjoy it."
Philip stopped, taking both Chloe's
hands in his, he turned her to face him as everyone else disappeared down the
road. "All of this, winning the game, making the all-state team…none of it
wouldn't have meant a damn thing to me if you weren't here. I still find it
hard to believe that it was just this morning that I woke up not knowing if you
were okay or where you were and now here you are… standing right in front of
me."
"I should have called Philip…I know that. It seemed like I was in daze…I knew for a long time I had to let go of the past but I didn't know how. That was who I was…that was all I was until last year when Nancy found me and brought me home to Salem. And then meeting Belle and Shawn…and you…"
Chloe pulled out of Philip's grasp
and turned to walk away. Philip quickly followed her watching as she ran her
hand through those long curls of her. "There is still so much that I have to
sort through and deal with," she continued as Philip fell in step beside her.
"I know that Chloe and I'm going to
be right beside you…all the way."
"Philip, this isn't going to be easy
for me and it's not something I can put a time table on. Dr. Evans is arranging
for me to start counseling next week but I have no idea how long…"
"Wait a minute, I thought you said
to talked with Belle's mom today?"
"I did but that was because I didn't
know who else to turn to. But with of her working relationship with my mom and
the fact that I'm friends with Belle, she didn't think she could be as
objective with me as she would need to be. She's arranged for me to talk with
Dr. Meadows."
"Does that scare you?"
Chloe nodded her head they threaded
their way through the many cars in the driveway, kids calling out to her and
Philip as they walked past. "A little."
Suddenly they were surrounded by a
gang of people eager to congratulate Philip on the game. He readily joined in
the conversation, wrapping his arm around Chloe. After one of his teammates
shoved a beer in his hand, he easily took a swallow and offered some to Chloe.
She quickly shook her head and then someone asked her where she'd been and why
she had run away. Philip saw the confusion fill her eyes.
"Come on," Philip said, walking
towards the side of the house, "we'll catch you guys later."
Going up the steps that lead to the
long, wrap around porch he led Chloe to a secluded porch swing hidden in the
shadows of an octagon shaped area surrounded by high bushes. "Here, let's sit."
Chloe only nodded as she sat down.
"Everyone knows don't they?"
Philip took another long draw on his
beer as he sat down next to her. "Well, you know high school…doesn't take long
for hot news to travel. I don't think they know why but that doesn't really
matter since most have probably made up reasons on their own."
"Boy, I certainly set myself up
again to be the topic of everyone's conversation."
"It's not big deal Chloe, the hot
topics change every week and I'm sure something will happen tonight that
everyone will be talking about come Monday. You know, someone will break up
with someone, or a fight will start or someone will do something totally
embarrassing…probably thanks to too miss of this." Philip said holding up his
drink. "Not interesting in having any huh?"
Chloe pushed gently against the
floor with the toes of her shoes, making the swing move gently back and forth.
"Not tonight, my head's still spinning as it is."
"Yeah, I can believe that. You want
something else? I'm sure they've got more out there than a few kegs of beer."
Philip said waving towards the party.
"Nothing alcoholic okay? You know my
mom and Craig are going to be camped out in the front foyer waiting for me when
I get home tonight."
"You wanna come with me?" Philip
asked, using his free hand to gently turn Chloe's face towards him.
"No, I think I'll wait here."
Philip's eyes flickered from her
incredible eyes to her lips. A desperate need came over him to kiss her but the
moment he leaned towards her, Chloe broke free from his gaze, her eyes dropping
away. "Don't push it,' he thought to himself, 'remember, she's been gone from
you longer than just the past two days.'
"You gonna be okay here by
yourself?" he asked instead, rising from the swing.
"I'll be fine."
"I'll be back in a sec."
"Okay."
Watching Philip walk away, Chloe
released a pent up breath she didn't even realize she was holding in. How could
it feel so right to be with him and so wrong all at the same time? She had been
so sure that she was doing the right thing when she took off. It had come over
her with such a sense of clarity that she had just followed her instinct, knowing
it was the only way she could begin to unlock the door to the hell hole she had
lived in for so long. But it still felt as if she was swimming in pool of
swirling water and it was taking all her strength just to keep her head above
the waves.
"Damn!" she swore into the night
air. Maybe she should have just gone home and let Philip come up tonight and
enjoy himself. Brushing away the ever present tears that always seemed to be
hovering at the edge of her lately, she turned abruptly after hearing a pair of
heavy footsteps.
"Hey Chloe," a deep voice came out
of the shadows.
Chloe watched as the shadows formed
in a figure of a man who slowly walked towards her. She felt her breath catch
in the back of her throat as he started the stumble, the air suddenly reeking
of beer. But he caught himself and fell into the swing beside her, sending in
rocking back and forth. He lifted his cup to his lips and finished the rest of
its contents in one long swallow. Releasing a low belch, he leaned back against
the cushioned and closed his eyes.
"Hello Brady," she said.
*****
"Boy this place is jumping," Shawn
said as he, Jason, Belle and Mimi came around the side of the house to find a
crowd gathered around a make shift bar at the corner of a large patio and kids
dancing on all three levels of a wooden deck and spilling out onto the lawn.
"Hey, any chance your dad is going
to show up here tonight?" Jason asked as they made their way through the crowd.
"When you are the son of a cop there
is always a chance," Shawn answered, "but hey, you want to have a good time
you've got to take a few risks right?"
"Hey, twinkle toes," Nick called out
from behind a tub filled with ice and a tapped keg. "Nice to see you finally
got here."
"Hey Mother Hen, I'll take one of
those," Jason said, motioning to the large cups Nick was continuously filling
under the open tap.
"I see you got your jacket back,"
Nick said handing a cup to Jason and to Shawn. "I guess you ran into your
'friend' who was holding on to it for you."
Jason took a quick glance as Mimi
and Belle. "Ah, yeah I did. You girls want a beer?"
"I don't think so," Belle answered,
"you got anything a little more interesting back there?"
"Well, what did you have in mind?"
"Something with a little kick to it.
Belle and I aren't really beer drinkers." Mimi chimed in. Nick seemed surprised
at the boldness of Mimi's words. He knew who she was because of Philip's crowd
but she had never said anything to him before other than a shy hello.
Shawn found himself chocking on his
beer at the girls request as he exchanged glances with Jason over the rim of
his cup. Jason just shook his head in response, with everything that had
happened so far tonight from Chloe returning, to kissing Mimi, then winning the
game and their heated discussion about his jacket… he had no idea what other
surprises were in store for this evening.
"I've got just the thing," Nick shut
off the tap and stepped around the bar. "Hey Len, watch the bar for a minute.
Come with me guys."
They followed Nick up to the back
edge of the second level of the deck to where three large trash cans stood. He
pried off on lid and took a long wooden stick and began stirring the dark
liquid inside.
"What in God's name is in there?"
Jason asked.
"What isn't?" Nick answered. "My
older brother learned this from his fraternity at college. You fill it with
alcohol and all kinds of powered kool-aid. Add pieces of cut up fruit and
presto, a poor man's punch. He calls it bash."
"And people drink this?" Belle
asked.
"We've already gone through one can
full." Nick said, pointing out the empty container nearby. "Here, try some."
Belle and Mimi took the large
plastic cups from his outstretched hands, each filled to the brim with the dark
liquid and chucks of fruit floating around. After a tentative sip by each that
produced smiles of approval Nick recovered the can. As Belle and Mimi started
back down the steps Nick held back his two friends. "Hey guys, you should know
that all of that cut up fruit has been soaking in pure alcohol for the past
twenty four hours. They may not notice it when if they eat it but trust me,
it's powerful stuff."
"Thanks for the warning," Jason
said.
"Yeah, now that's you've got them
turned onto it." Shawn said, watching Belle fish out a piece of apple from her
cup to munch on.
"Just trying to fulfill my duties as
a good host. Is Philip here?"
"Yeah, he's off with Chloe
somewhere."
"That's understandable," Nick
answered. "See you guys later."
"So what's with the jacket?" Shawn
asked, he and Jason headed towards the girls as Nick disappeared into the
crowd.
"Mimi gave it back to me. She said I
worked hard for it and I should be the one to wear it."
"Well that makes sense, don't know
why girls think of those things as status symbols. So, does this mean you two
are an item now?"
"I don't think so," Jason answered
watching Mimi and Belle heading towards the gang of kids dancing.
"So what's up with this flannel
shirt?" Belle asked, looking over her shoulder first making sure that Shawn and
Jason weren't standing right behind them.
"It's Jason, he said I could wear it
in case I got cold."
"If I remember correctly he also
said you could wear his jacket."
Mimi took another swallow of her
drink. "It's his jacket Belle, he worked hard for it and he should wear it."
"You aren't still worried about what
everyone is going to think are you? I mean, you got into Phil's car wearing it
and twenty minutes later you get out and Jason's wearing it."
"You know, back when the guys first
got their jacket I asked Chloe why she wasn't wearing Philip and she told that
he offered it to her but she felt that he had worked so hard to get it that he
should wear it. When she asked about Jason's jacket while we were sitting in
the stands I thought about what she had said and I realized she was right.
Besides, one kiss and a ride in a backseat don't make us a couple. I just want
to be right about this-"
"Right about what?" Jason whispered
in her ear, causing both Mimi and Belle to jump as they hadn't realized the
guys had joined them.
"Nick was right about this punch,"
Belle answered holding up her cup, "this stuff is great."
"You better take it easy with that,"
Shawn said.
"Yes dear," Belle answered reaching
up to give him a quick kiss. "Okay, who's ready to get out in that crowd and do
some dancing?"
"Pass!" Jason and Shawn said in
unison.
"Oh, come on!"
"Well, would you look at that,"
Shawn said peering into his empty cup. "I seem to be fresh out."
Jason quickly downed the remainder
of his beer. "Me too, I think we need a refill."
"You don't want to dance?" Mimi
asked.
"I've got two left feet." Jason
said.
"Come on…I'll make you look good."
"Now I'm really thirsty."
"You mean you guys were rather drink
than dance with us?" Mimi asked.
"Yep!" Shawn answered, nodding his head.
"I'm with him," Jason agreed.
"Fine," Belle answered, "you two
drink, we'll dance."
Mimi offered a quick wave of goodbye
as she followed her friend out to the center of the dance floor. Each girl
quickly joining in with the rest of the crowd and Jason found himself unable to
tear is gaze away from the smooth swaying motion of Mimi's hips. He was happy
she'd agreed to wear his shirt over that cropped tee shirt of hers but he saw
that it hugged the outer edge of her breasts, creating a curtain that offered
quick glimpses of her body underneath every time she moved.
"You're staring," Shawn said.
"I know." Jason readily admitted.
"Come on, let's get a couple of
beers."
"I think we need to go two-fisted
Shawn." Jason said, tearing his eyes away from Mimi. "Belle and Mimi are
chowing on that fruit and they are going to hearing back up those stairs for
another round very soon."
"Now that's the best idea I've heard
come out of your mouth tonight." Shawn said, making his way back to the bar.
"Round two Nick."
"Make it a double," Jason added.
"So, how do the ladies like their
refreshments?"
"Just fine which is why we need to
double up so we can keep any eye on them."
"Smart move," Nick said with a laugh
peering between the two guys to the crowd dancing. "I can see what you mean."
"What are you talking about?"
"Take a look….seems you aren't the
only jock who's noticed Mimi Lockhart."
Jason spun around in time to see a
couple of his buddies joining Mimi and Belle as they danced. Steve, who had
caught that winning spiral Philip threw right into his hands, was matching Mimi
move for move and Jason felt a familiar anger rising inside of him. He headed
straight for the dance floor and Shawn was just able to catch up with him.
"Hold on a minute, Jase. They're
just dancing."
"You telling me that doesn't bother
you…that guy out there with Belle?"
"Yeah I see a little green but like
I said, they're just dancing. I can't go around getting pissed every time some
guy looks twice at Belle. I know how she feels about me."
"Well, I don't have that luxury. The
last time I thought someone cared about me she planted a kiss on my best friend
and then same night I found her in bed with someone else."
"Ouch…sorry man. The night of
Philip's party huh?"
Jason only nodded, unable to take
his eyes off of Mimi. "You know I thought I really cared about Jan…and I
thought she felt the same way about me. I would've done anything for her and I
did. I did some really stupid and hateful things for that girl and look what it
got me. The honor of walking in on her and another guy."
"Hey man, if you are comparing Mimi
to Jan that's like comparing apples to oranges."
"Well, the only apples and oranges I
see are the ones those two are sucking on out there." Jason pointed towards the
girls with his beer cup.
They watched as the girls finished
their drinks without missing one beat of the rocking tempo but the moment Mimi
caught the last piece of fruit with her teeth and Steve got her to agree with
share it with him by offering his best puppy dog face, Jason turned away.
"She tried to get you out there
Jason."
"Forget it man, it doesn't matter."
"Look, you know they are going to
want more to drink. When they get back here, make sure you're the one back out
there on the dance floor with Mimi if that's where you want to be."
"I don't know…"
"Hey there tough boy," Belle cooed,
tip toeing to reach over Shawn's shoulder. "Care to help a lady get a drink?"
Shawn and Jason both turned around
to find Belle standing there, twirling two empty cups upside down on her
fingers.
"Where's Mimi?" Shawn asked. "She
didn't come with you?"
"Are you kidding? Don't you hear
whose song just started? She wouldn't leave the dance floor with Christina
Aguilera blaring through those speakers. I swear that girl dances to "Genie In
A Bottle" in her sleep."
Shawn just looked over at Jason who
broke free from his friend's stare, his gaze drawn back out to Mimi. Dipping
low and rising again, Jason watched as she closed her eyes and allowed the
music to take over. As she placed her hands palm to palm and coiled her arms
over her head her tee shirt road high on her stomach and Jason saw a flash of
gold at her waist.
Her belly ring.
Jason's thoughts rushed back to the
Halloween party when this same tune came on and someone had called out to Mimi
that they were playing her song. He was just as shocked as everyone else when
she'd easily slipped into a sultry dance made even more so by her genie
costume. He had found himself entranced by that same simple gold band he saw on
her body tonight.
Suddenly Mimi's emerald green eyes
open and Jason felt her gaze lock onto his through the crowd. She didn't stop
dancing but she silently joined Christina in singing the lyrics to the song…
if you wanna be with me
baby there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle
you gotta rub me the right way
if you wanna be with me
I can make your wish come true
you gotta make a big impression
gotta like what you do
"Damn…she's not playing fair." Jason
said.
"All's fair in love and war," Belle
said, with a wide smile as she grabbed Shawn's hand and the two of them headed
back up to the deck where the barrels of bash were sitting.
"I couldn't have said it better
myself."
Jason whirled around at the sound of
her voice. "What the hell are you doing here Jan?." he said.
to
be continued