Chapter Eleven

"Okay, man, you're going to have to slow down a bit!" Jordan stated, as he held on to the dash board. Max was driving like a bit of maniac, talking very animated in his mother tongue – making Jordan half glad he didn't pay too much attention in high school French class. He guessed whatever Max was saying, probably wasn't taught in school anyway.

"He thinks he knows everything! He has no right to tell me about anything about her! He met her for like, what, five seconds?" Max exclaimed swerving around an intersection. He went back to yelling in French and smashing his hand on the steering wheel.

"Wouldn't they have met in Vancouver? I thought you said she worked for Team Canada or something…" Jordan offered in defence. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to defend Sid but this wasn't his usual behaviour, so there had to be more to it.

"Tabernack! That gives him the right to tell me 'bout her? I have known her my whole life! My whole life!"

"Maybe they were friends there…"

"You sayin' he fucked her?" Max slammed on the breaks and threw the car into park.

"No man… no way… It's Sid, the prude, the monk, the 'I'm-too-busy-for-girls-and-pussy' guy… I am just sayin, maybe she told him something, maybe she's a lesbo and he knows you stand no chance…"

"She's not a fuckin' 'lesbo'!"

"I'm just sayin' we both know Sid… this isn't like him… there's more to it and I think you may be over reacting a touch. You saw them what? Hugging? And you assume he's sleeping with her… anyone else, maybe, but it's Sid for fuck sake!"

Max sat in silence and starred out the window of the truck. 'At least we aren't careening down the highway out of control anymore,' Jordan thought to himself, allowing himself to lean back and un-tense his shoulders.

"Okay, maybe you're right… we better go get some food." Max offered calmly, then put the car into drive and started heading in the direction of the town, at a much slower speed.

"I'm starving!" Jordan exclaimed for what seemed like the hundredth time, relieved to be getting on with things.

-.-

He could see her through the window, standing by the sink in the kitchen. She was facing the window and he thought he could see her shoulders shaking, as if she was crying. But Sid stayed out on the deck. Partially because he was in shock at Max's behaviour and partially because he didn't know what to do if he went inside. What he wanted to do and what he probably should do where in direct conflict. He wanted to go in and wrap his arms around her and tell her everything was okay. He wanted to make to stop crying and wanted to see her smile. He wanted to erase everything and start over. Most of all he wanted to take her to bed and make her forget about Max treating her like a used ragdoll, make her scream his name and watch her arch her back as he made her feel good from the inside out. "She'd probably leave again anyways…" Sid thought to himself as he shook that idea away. No, he decided, it was better to stay out here.

He continued to watch her through the window. After a couple of minutes, she stood up straight and squared her shoulders. She wiped her face with her hands and went to the fridge and started digging. He watched her emerge with a handful of fruit and place it on the counter. She reached for a cutting board and a knife and quickly busied herself with work. She was methodical while cutting and looked to be zoned out. Calm even. He walked across the deck and opened the door, stepping inside. She didn't even look up from her chopping.

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked.

"Yeah, you can grab that bowl down for me and wash these cherries," She stated simply, pointing to a bowl on top of the cupboards and pushing a large bag of cherries toward him. "Probably, the best of the season…" she grabbed one and popped it in her mouth.

"I can definitely do that," Sid was relieved to have something to do but there was still an air of awkwardness. Helping her in the kitchen, for some reason, seemed to be too intimate of an activity for their current relationship. He pictured his mom and dad working together like this, or Mario and Nathalie. He dreamed about having someone in his life that he could do these things with. He pictured coming home at the end of a day and just being with her in the kitchen, doing regular people activities, what others would call chores and dread, but stuff he hadn't done in years and instead looked forward to. He reached up and grabbed the bowl and put it down on the counter next to her and picked up the bag of cherries.

"Any fruit you don't like?" Amber asked, trying to make small talk to fill the silence.

"Nope… I pretty much eat anything… especially if someone is going to make it for me."

"I guess you'll have to start doing your own cooking…" Amber added, recalling that he had just bought his own house – a house that he had asked her to move into with him a couple weeks earlier.

"Yeah, I guess… one of the guys gave me a number of a food service that drops of meals that you just half to heat up. I don't really have a lot of time to go grocery shopping…"

"I love grocery shopping. I could wander around a grocery store for hours. I always end up buying the most ridiculous things… seriously, you should see my fridge! I have hundreds of condiments for no particular reason! Just to have them!" She laughed at herself. "If I ever feel the urge to wake up in the middle of the night and make thai food, I am fully equipped!"

It felt good to see her smile and laugh. "I have an image of my fridge having absolutely nothing in it… maybe some expired milk…" he also laughed. He looked through the cupboards for a colander to rinse the cherries.

"That door there…" She said pointing with her foot. He opened the door and found what he was looking for and returned to the sink.

"Can I just wash my hands? The peaches are really juicy…" Amber asked, holding her hands up.

"For sure," he said as he reached to turn on the tap for her, checking the temperature of the water before stepping aside. She stepped in and rinsed her hands and grabbed another cherry, popping it into her mouth.

"You should wait until I wash them…" Sid protested.

"Why? They're fine…"

"There might be something on them…"

"Like Ebola? You a germ freak?" she asked sarcastically.

"No, like dirt or germs… and no, I'm not a germ freak… its' just…" he wrinkled his nose, shaking his head.

"Unless it's Ebola, I think I will survive…" Amber added, grabbing the pit of the cherry out of her mouth and throwing it in the garbage. She reached to grab another one and Sid grabbed her hand.

"Just wait, it will take me, like, two seconds to rinse these…"

"It'll be fine…" she insisted, trying to reach past him. He grabbed her other hand and backed her away from the sink, putting himself between her and the cherries.

"And it will be fine to wait…"

She looked up at him and pouted, trying to push past him. Sid made her take another step back and realized that now he had her pinned against the island. He couldn't help but laugh at the face she was making. She squirmed to get free but he just held her tighter. She worked hard at holding the pout on her face but soon cracked and started laughing too. She continued to try to wrestle free and almost got one hand out before he managed to get a grip again. They were both laughing as he wrapped his arms around her waist, with her hands still in his, to stop her squirming. Their faces were now inches from each other, and suddenly Sid found himself not laughing, but instead staring at her full lips. She had stopped laughing as well, all too aware of her proximity to him.

He watched as she licked her lips. He swallowed hard, making a nervous gulping noise. He wanted to kiss her. He could smell her breath, the sweet scent of cherries but he knew he shouldn't, that he was heading down a path that had only led to hurt before. 'But it would be different this time, she wouldn't do that to me again… no girl could be that cruel,' he thought, as if trying to convince himself. He felt like a junkie, trying to get clean but justifying that one last hit. He looked up from her lips and into her eyes. She starred back at him, surely trying to anticipate his next move but she didn't move, except for her chest, which was moving up and down with her quickened nervous breath. He searched for any indication of what she wanted. He was tired of always making the first move. He needed to know that it wasn't just him feeling this way. "Show we something, give me a hint,' he pleaded in his head. He watched as she bit down on the corner of her bottom lip and then felt her wiggle her arms free from behind her. He let them go but held his hands where they were around her waist. He closed his eyes and felt her arms wrap around his neck. She pulled herself closer to him, pressing her body close to his. He opened his eyes again and found himself starring right into hers.

"Kiss me," Amber whispered softly to him. That was what he needed to hear. He bent his head to the side and took her lips with his. He pulled her close and felt her body melt into his. She parted her lips, allowing him to twine his tongue with hers. He lifted her up and put her down on the counter, stepping between her legs which she wrapped around the small of his back and pulled him tighter to her. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him close.

"Honey, we're home!" Jordan bellowed as he walked in the front door.