Chapter 5:
In all honesty I wasn't exactly sure what to do with my arms on the back of the motorcycle. I couldn't even enjoy the ride because I was so preoccupied with them. I didn't want to hug Paul, but he was going so damn fast. My legs clamped underneath me as I tried to steady my torso, but as he screeched to a stop I found my upper body slamming into him and I grabbed on to his waist to stop myself. His back muscles were so firm, it unsettled me a bit.
"Sorry about that," he said with a chuckle, not being sorry and fully enjoying my closeness to him. It was now clear as day that he did it on purpose. I pulled myself back from him and hopped off. I snapped off the helmet he gave me and ruffled my hands through my long black hair.
"Your hair smells really nice," he said as he climbed off the motorcycle. I immediately stopped touching my hair and adjusted my leather jacket.
"Can't take a compliment?" he sneered with a smirk.
"No, I can," I said standing up straight. "Thank you. I just don't want you to get the wrong idea here. I agreed to go on this group date, or whatever it is, so you will continue to give the apologies. But I'm not interested, Paul," I said clearly, looking him in the eye.
He glared back at me skeptically and grinned. "I've been awfully honest in front of you, Mallory. Are you really telling me you're not interested, not even a little?"
I pursued my lips. He was clearly attractive. He, Jared, Quil and their whole little gang must have gotten some group deal at the gym because they all turned into different versions of the incredible hulk. But, out of all of them, I was most attracted to Paul physically. He was beautiful with his dark honey colored skin and amber eyes and his perfectly cut jawline. I had spent all of high school being repulsed by his behavior, making it easy to ignore his physical attributes. But now, his honest actions of the past few days were dismantling my repulsion towards him.
I didn't answer his question and he smirked at my silence.
"Let's go down to the beach," I said softly and we made our way toward the bonfire where Jared, Kim and Quil already sat, roasting marshmallows.
Jared's head perked up as we came into view, relishing in the fact that I was wearing what he picked out. "Nice threads," he said, unable to help himself. I rolled my eyes at him and took a seat on a piece of driftwood next to Quil. Paul sat on the other side of me next to maybe 10 bags of marshmallows and a pile of collected sticks.
"Are you guys going to eat all of that?" I said, alarmed. I had eaten with Quil at lunch before and knew he ate like a pig. When Jared first joined us for dinner, he and Kim would go out after and get some fast food because he was still famished. My mom caught on to this after a while and started to give him 3rd and even 4th helpings. At one point I suggested we feed him out of a troth.
Quil laughed. "No, everyone else should be here within the hour."
"The rest of your friends?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said, leaning in to roast his marshmallows. "And a bunch of other kids from school." Other kids. I was pretty sure Caroline and Olivia went to the Movies. I hoped to God that Sydney would go with them. She knew where I was and who I was with. It wasn't a secret. But for some reason it still felt like betrayal.
After a bit of chit chat, I turned to Paul. "So, how many have you done so far?" I asked. "Eleven" he said, unshakable. I didn't ask how they went. I am sure it continued to be an excruciating experience, but I wasn't about to let myself feel bad for him.
Others started to trickle in. Quil got up to open the marshmallow bags and Kim began chatting with Emily who recently arrived. I drew my head back from her and onto Paul.
"So, Kim's seems to think that your days of treating girls like shit are over," I said, smuggly proud of myself for reforming the misogynistic ways of one douchebag.
Maybe I should somehow patton this formula and build an empire, I thought to myself.
He shook his head in agreement. "I'll only be with one girl from now on," he said with unflinching certainty in his voice, "and I'll treat her with the full respect she deserves." Well, this was odd, I thought. I was glad he seemed penitent and committed to changing his behavior, but going from the player of La Push to waiting for "the one" at 18? Seemed to be a little extreme.
"How could you possibly know that you'll only be with one girl for the rest of your life?" I prodded, my brows sinking into the bridge of my nose.
"Just do," he crooned, taking a bite of his marshmallow. I sat there and felt the wood underneath my hands, unsettled a bit. So he was just going to wait for this mystery woman? I didn't even want to think about who the one girl was, and how I fit into all this. We were on a "date" but he most certainly wasn't talking about me. He looked at me and sensed my uneasiness.
"Want some beer?" he asked sweetly. I nodded and as he got up I made my way back over to Quil.
"Hey, Princess," Quil offered with a kind, goofy smile.
"Please don't use patronizing nicknames," I huffed on edge from Paul's disclosure. I tried to gather myself as Quil had distracted me from what I really wanted to say. I became more irritated as I tried to focus. He opened his mouth to apologize, but I cut him off.
"Cut the shit," I sneered at him. "Why did you guys want me to go out with Paul so bad?"
He looked at me with a blank stare.
"Uh, we just thought you might like him… if you gave him a chance…"
"Quil, my sister has been with Jared for a year. And now all of sudden you all want me to date one of his stupid friends? Right after I confronted him about Caroline?" Same blank stare.
"And, Quil..." I twisted my neck to see who was near me. I didn't spot Paul, "He just told me he was only going to be with one girl from now on… for the rest of his life. What the hell does that mean?!" I whisper shouted at him. But it didn't matter how low my voice was.
"Here's your beer," Paul calmly stated, approaching my right out of nowhere, his eyes glistening at me like mirrors. I slowly reached for the red cup and then he turned around in a snap to find Kim. He pulled her away from nearly devouring Jared's face and dragged her by the arm into the woods. I let out a long sigh and turned back to Quil, now incensed himself.
"I think everyone just needs to relax," he huffed, broadly gesticulating with his hands and unintentionally knocking my full cup of beer into my jacket before I even got a sip. My jacket was soaked.
"Aw, fuck, Mal. I'm such a spaz," he said, helping me take off my jacket.
"It's fine Quil," I said, "I know it was an accident," as I shivered in my tank top. He pulled off his hunter green hoodie and handed it to me and I slipped it on.
"Why don't you just talk to him about it, Ok Mal?" he pleaded with me. "And just try and keep an open mind, alright?" I nodded at him and started to walk over to the woods where I saw him drag my sister.
As I approached, I heard him say, "Wait...someone's here," he sniffed the air deeply. "I think it's just Quil taking a piss…" I sunk myself in Quil's hoodie and remained further back.
What was with all the sniffing?
My sister cut in, disinterested in Paul's observations. "Paul, I'm telling you if you tell her now she will lose her shit. She'll fucking pack up to our Aunt's house in Portland, and that'll be it. She is so stubborn and still has it in her head that you are the dick that hurt her friends. She's softening, I can see it, but you have to be patient and give it more time."
"This is excruciating, Kim. Mallory isn't some porcelain doll. She can handle it. I just want to tell her and be with her already," he nearly roared. Tell me what? I thought. Was I the one he was referring to? How could he possibly know that?
Unable to hear more, I slowly slipped out of the woods and back to the bonfire, swimming in a million different thoughts.
"All cleared up?" joked Quil as I approached him.
"I couldn't find him. I'll talk to him later," I lied, pulling off his hoodie and putting back on my still beer soaked jacket. "Your sweatshirt smells like gym socks," I said, passing it back to him as he chuckled. I made my way back to the only other person there that I really knew, Jared.
Maybe I can convince him to drive me home, I thought. He was talking with the guy that looked like a full blown man, Sam.
"Did you go swimming in beer?" Jared snickered, clearly trying to be clever.
"Quil spilled my beer on me. Is this still the sexy choice?" I asked, sarcastically, pushing my hand through my hair.
"Absolutely," a low and husky voice cut in from behind me. I turned in surprise, feeling my cheeks get a little pink. "Here," Paul said, pulling off his own brown leather jacket. I stood up and he gently helped me take off mine and slipped his on to my body. I turned to face him, just a few inches from his face. He looked at me, and he could tell I was tired, clearly worn out from all the suspense.
"You want to go," he stated, seeming to immediately know how I felt. I nodded. He placed one hand on the small of my back bringing our bodies closer together, but not too close. His hand felt warm and comforting and I was caught off guard by the feeling. I looked into his eyes deeply and seemed to notice every fleck, every speckle. It was as if I always knew him, but not the facade he paraded around previously.
Yes, it was a facade, I thought. I seemed assured of that now.
I felt a sudden coldness as he withdrew his hand from my back and jammed his hands into his pockets. He motioned with his head for me to follow him toward his motorcycle.
"You don't mind leaving?" I asked as we walked up the beach. " I mean most people haven't even arrived yet."
"Nah, not at all," he spoke, eyes straight ahead. "If you're ready to go, I'm ready to go," he said, casually. Maybe the first casual thing he's ever said to me.
"Thanks," I said feeling comforted.
"Are you going to come back after you take me home?"
He shook his head no. "I see these guys enough."
As we made our way up to the gravel parking lot I felt better. More relaxed. I breathed out rejoicing in a relief of pressure, but in my unwinding, I mistakenly did not attend to exactly where I was placing my feet below me. As I moved forward I stumbled on some cracked surface, and propulsion pushed my shoulders ahead of my legs and then gravity pulled my body towards the ground. Before I smacked the stones beneath me, Paul reached out like lightning and grabbed my hand and waist, and heaved me back up, preventing me from falling down.
"Thanks," I said, startled. He said nothing, just looking at me to make sure I was ok. He held on to my hand and helped steady me on my feet. His large hand in mine felt so warm, so comfortable.
What is that? I thought.
The logical part of me wanted to pull away. But I didn't. I just let him hold my hand smoothly as we walked back to the motorcycle and I tried to focus on taking normal steady breaths.
A/N: What do you think? About half way done with this short and sweet story!