Brick
Chapter theme song: 'Mas Que Un Amigo' by: Daddy Yankee ft. Farruko
She filled out her dress nicely, the sheer fabric hugging her curves just right whenever the wind delicately kissed her skin. I groaned to hold back my obvious arousal and shade it behind my red baseball cap. April smiled as she hugged her, looping their arms together like they have been long lost best-friends for centuries; leaving me and Rico Suave here to just stare at each other and give a small nod in acknowledgement. He and I chose to remain civil for the sake of tranquility within our small, inevitable 'family'. Ever since he found out about me and Blossom and our rendezvous in the secluded champagne room in the club he did a set for a while back, he kept Blossom away from me and distanced himself from me in order to keep his anger at bay.
It would be an unfair fight if he had chosen the latter but I was not willing to back down and be punked by some preppy hipster kid with bleached, blonde hair. I escorted April to our shared table with Blossom and Shane, pulling out her chair as I gave her a small peck on her cheek for good measure. I watched in small satisfaction as Blossom gave a small twinge of disgust before masking her clear signs of jealousy with forced laughter and overdramatic poses. I inwardly smiled, taking my seat next to my girlfriend to scan the menu. "Nice choice." I tried to make light conversation.
"I know right?" April squealed, digging into the bowl of complimentary tortilla chips and salsa that were placed in the middle of the table from the Hispanic server. I thanked him as he sat down our waters, taking a small overdue sip. "I am excited to try their signature fajitas."
"I hear their tacos and menudo are pretty decent." Blossom smiled, shooting a small glance in my direction. I kept gazing at her baby pink lips, her kissable flesh calling out to my in want and desire. I bit my bottom lip and took another sip of water.
"I think I am just going to have the carne-asada platter." I closed my menu. "And a few margaritas."
Blossom giggled. She looked up from her menu, pushing a stray lock of her curled hair behind her ear. A small blush crept along her cheeks before she turned towards Shane. He wrapped a lone arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a small, yet passionate kiss. She reluctantly returned the favor but deepened it nonetheless. I called out to our server and asked for the largest margarita they owned- heavy on the liquor because I was going to need it to last the night.
April had whispered in my ear asking if I was alright and I reassured her I was just fine. April knew about my past 'relations' with Blossom and knew that she was the woman that had held onto my heart for the longest. April was understanding and very patient, but was far from naïve. She understood that it was going to take me more than a few weeks to get over my feelings for the woman I had fallen in love with at the tender age of eight years old. At first we had been enemies, then acquaintances, then associates, to finally becoming friends once we had started grade school. It took me a dare, stolen graham crackers, and a broken carton of grape juice to realize that I was in love with Blossom Utonium at that I did not the class bully, Mitch, fucking with her for fun.
Though completely willing and unwearied, April was not a fool. She knew whenever we made love, I thought of the red-headed vixen herself, imagining I was stroking her delicate porcelain skin juxtaposed against April's earth kissed complexion. Whenever I kissed April, I would hope I would open my eyes to meet the bright ones of Blossom, not the disappointed windows to the soul of a lost girl. April was a good woman and I felt terrible for how I have been treating her. She was initially just a friend with benefit that turned into someone that I developed feelings for. I originally just wanted comfort and support from officially breaking things off with Blossom the night I had told her for the first time I had loved her. She had opened her door, arms, and legs to me without question in prayers that I would stay and not leave her side, her bed, or her heart.
The feelings I have for April are genuine and true, but the love I have for Blossom has become so concrete is seems innate. I looked at April, giving her a kiss of her own before closing my eyes to inhale her scent. She smelled of that fancy perfume I had recently bought her and shea butter. I gave her another small peck on her forehead before tending to my forgotten margarita.
"So Blossom, how are you?" April turned her attention to her, smiling sweetly. She grabbed another chip and dipped it into the salsa. "I hear you are going to do study abroad sometime later this year."
I chocked on my drink, coughing slightly. Since when was she doing study abroad? "Study abroad?" I asked meekly, still coughing. I took a swing of water.
A deep hue of crimson swept across her full cheeks in embarrassment. She nibbled on her own bit of chip and salsa, turning her gaze away from mine to stare at the Aztec textile of our table. She mumbled something but I could not hear her. "I'll be in Chile."
"Chile, as in the country?"
"Yes." Shane spoke triumphantly. "We chose Chile together since it'll fulfill my Spanish minor requirements as well as become an enlightening experience that will allow us to explore a culture aside from our own as well as connect with each other on a deeper terrain."
I sipped my drink, eyeing him uninterested. He answered as if he were completing a job application. This guy was not the man for Blossom. He did not counterbalance her intelligence with sarcasm and wit and was practically the male version of her. Blossom needed a man that was the yin to her yang, a polar opposite the balanced the uninhibited side of her that goes rarely seen or noticed. Blossom had moments where she wanted to let down her hair and run freely into the lake in nothing but her beauty and profound grace when there were other times where she wanted to just scream at the top of her lungs in complete, utter bliss. Shane did not seem to be that type, or at least I did not peg him to be anyway.
"You two are going…together?" I asked. She nodded, still looking at the multi-colored textile. "Oh."
She finally looked at me, eyes pleading to allow her to explain. It was my turn to look away and I did so by giving April a sensual kiss of our own. The waiter came shortly after to jot down our orders and returned back briskly afterwards with a few more drinks and sodas. Shane and April began chatting about politics and the Chilean culture but Blossom and I remained quiet throughout the length of their conversation. She would occasionally shoot a small glance my way but it would go unnoticed while I would do the same, only to catch the small, bouncy curls of her hair. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her, so many thoughts coursing through my mind that I did not know where to start how even how to speak them.
For starters, I wanted to know why Chile…and why with him? Why couldn't she go somewhere within the states…and why did she have to go with a man she barely knew? Why did she choose to follow his career path and not follow hers? Blossom doesn't even speak Spanish, let alone hates being in unfamiliar places with people she can't communicate with. She damn near had a heart attack being down in Atlanta for spring break last year with a group of her friends; I was certain Chile was something she could not endure for more than ten minutes at best. Blossom just met this guy and was already planning to travel the world with him in lustful bliss? Where they planning to elope? Relocate to Chile? Was she pregnant? Have they even had sex yet?
So many thoughts plagued my mind that I could no longer take the torture and excused myself from the table to grab some fresh air out on the patio. I took my margarita with me and escaped to the sounds of smooth trumpets, the vibrating strings of guitars, and the bass-filled echoes of drums. The mariachi band was putting their own personal spin on a famous reggaeton song that blared through the speakers of all the Hispanic and multi-cultural clubs I frequented with April and a few of her friends. I parted my way through the sea of people dancing to skirts twirling gracefully against the wind, bodies gliding against one another with heat as sweat dripped down aroused flesh, while hips gyrated against pelvic thrusting and two-step menagerie rhythms. I perched myself against a metal bar of the gate that divided the walkway of the restaurant with the rest of downtown, gazing at the city of Townsville in all its splendor.
A few women had slinked their way up to me, asking me if I wanted to dance but I politely declined their offers at continued nursing my drink. I stared up at the skyscrapers of Townsville and marveled at how beautiful downtown looked at night in its fully glory. Lights with twinkled against the late-night stars as the hustle and bustle of downtown winded itself down into a quiet murmur. I watched silently as a few couples walked the streets of downtown and made their way to and from everything from restaurants and plays. I smiled to myself, finding peace for the first time tonight to the sounds of the upbeat sounds of the band and the rhythmic spells of the gypsies engulfing me in their erotic trance.
I took one last sip of my drink before I felt that familiar buzz I was waiting for. A flood of warmth coursed through my veins as my mind began to wander off into the depths of the unknown. I felt a small tap against my shoulder, turning around to meet the magnificence of Blossom Utonium. She didn't speak, only grabbing my hand to lead me to the dance floor to become lost in the waves of illumined fabric and tantric flicks of the waist. I watched Blossom carefully, gliding me into the heart of the dance floor before turning around to place her backside against me. She began to move her hips slowly, gliding them sensually to the rhythm set before her. I followed her lead, caressing her exposed arms before nestling my craving hands to the valleys of her breasts. She let out an inaudible moan, gyrating herself harder, faster against my heated loins that fused us together in an unbreakable bond.
I massaged my way down to her navel, only to land around her waist and against her thick hips to glide along with her movements. She smiled, leaning back against my chest to reach behind me to bring my ear closer to her lips. She whispered something I could not hear but I did not care. Without thinking, I placed a small, chaste kiss upon those baby pink lips I had yearned for earlier in the evening. Her tongue snaked out slowly, intertwining with mine to match by her hips. I pulled her closer to me, growing more carnal and animalistic by waving my hands underneath her dress. She moaned into our kiss, gripping my hair underneath my cap as her face flushed gently.
She pulled away, turning to face me. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she swayed her body again softly against the warm breeze of the seasoned night. I wrapped my arms around her waist, burying my head in the crook of her neck to nuzzle myself deeper into the missing piece of my puzzle. It was a perfect fit.
"Brick…" she began to speak. "I…I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Chile."
"You don't owe me anything, Blossom." I breathed. "Your life is your business."
"But…" she whispered, this time pulling up to meet my gaze with her. "I saw how you looked at the table and…"
I shushed her with a small kiss on her cheek, quickly parting ways to pull back and spin her around on the balls of her feet. Her sheer dress slapped playfully against my jeans before I pulled her back towards me, not wanting to let her go. "Let's just dance."
She didn't say anything after that, but I knew what she was thinking was the same thing I was feeling. I chose to ignore it and, even if just for one dance, pretend that things were the way they should be; that Blossom Utonium was mine and I was her and that there were no charades or masquerades being played to be deceitful amongst one another. She may have had feelings for Shane, but unbeknownst or not, she still loved me as I did for her. My heart belonged to Blossom though it was being made clearer with each passing moment that it was well beyond time for me to move on and invest my all into my relationship with April. Blossom clearly had plans to begin anew with this Shane fellow and despite my feelings and unrequited attitudes towards her relationship I had to let her and this optical illusion of a fantasy relationship go. April was the woman in my life now and I needed to constantly remind myself that fact.
But I could not however shake this eerie feeling that the song that cascaded against the moonlight night sky was made specifically for us…for our moment that seemed to stand against the dripping molasses of time…
Be more than a friend.