Our bodies were pressing against each other now, Renn locking our joined hands from fingers to wrists to forearms, and the fear I’d felt the day of our almost-kiss was gone. My breasts pushed against his chest and my breathing stuttered as I felt the outline of his cock against my hip. He squeezed my hands. Looking at his face from this distance, I noticed for the first time that the perfection of his radiant smile was actually slightly imperfect—his two front teeth sort of angled in together. How had I never noticed before? There was so much left to discover.
Renn leaned down to rest our foreheads together for a few slow seconds, and I closed my lids as he began placing leisurely, closed-mouth kisses on the corner of my eye. My cheek. My jaw. I shivered as he caught the bottom of my earlobe lightly between his teeth before kissing there too. He untwined our hands, resting his on my hips as his mouth continued its lazy exploration of my shoulder. Of the sensitive place where it met my nape. The force of the pleasure worked like a current, heating me from the inside.
He was inching his kisses from my neck to my chin, toward my mouth, when my pocket buzzed again.
He pulled away languidly. “Sadie, by my count, that’s four in a row. You’d better check it.” I sighed regretfully as he squeezed my waist and I turned away from him. I reached for my pocket, annoyed that Zach had picked a terrible time to send me his annual mildly amusing, slightly dirty happy birthday GIFs.
Bang!
Before I could pull my phone out, someone crashing into the studio claimed our attention. The loud noise brought Renn and me rushing into the main area in time to see Robbie tear through the entrance. Did this kid ever come in without slamming the door?
Rockabilly took that as her cue to leave, hastily grabbing her bag and slinking out the back.
“Robbie! What the hell?” Renn exclaimed.
Shaking with fury and struggling to calm down, Robbie bent over and rested his fists against his knees, as though he’d just run to the studio. As he attempted to catch his breath, I saw he was clutching a piece of red paper in one of his hands. No, not paper. An envelope. Although faded and worn, it had once been brightly hued. On the front, waning but still visible enough, I could make out block letters. PETE.
Renn noticed it too. “What’s that?”
Robbie straightened and stomped toward his brother, slapping the card against his chest. “Read it.”
Renn looked like he might argue for a moment, but then nodded once and did as Robbie asked, pulling a card from the envelope that had a picture of a cake on it. I watched as he read it silently, his expression ping-ponging between sadness and anger.
“Well!?” Robbie asked Renn. “Did you know?”
Renn shook his head, handing the card wordlessly to Archie, who read it with a grim look on his face. When he was done, he gave it back to Renn and made a gesture toward the corner. “That drip looks like it’s getting worse. Coming faster. I’m gonna go in the back and try the plumber again.”
Clearly, Archie thought the brothers needed to hash this out on their own. I took the hint and picked up my purse, debating whether to go near Robbie to grab my coat, or wait until later. The tween was lit by a halo of anger, and I didn’t want to get too close.
“Sadie, no.” Renn saw I was preparing my escape.
“It’s fine. We can finish our conversation later.” Or not. It seemed like other discussions in our lives should be the priority right now. Renn and Robbie needed to talk about whatever was on that card, and I hadn’t forgotten that I had important things to discuss with Zach.
“No!” Renn spoke emphatically and reached his hand out to me. “No…I want you to stay. Please…don’t leave.”
Robbie huffed and eyed his brother warily. “So, is she, like, your girlfriend now?”
“No,” I said at the same time Renn said, “Maybe.”
“You know what…I don’t even care.” Robbie flailed his arms around. “You can tell her. It’s not like she doesn’t already know Pete is a total douche.”
I wasn’t sure why Renn wanted me to stay, but it was hard to deny him. Had his lips been on my neck only minutes ago? It seemed like every time we got close, things got harder. Any minute we claimed for just the two of us seemed stolen.
Renn handed me the card, motioning to show I should read it.
Dear Pete,
Happy 30th. You said we shouldn’t talk for a while, but it is your birthday, so I figured—why not? I understand you want me to make it work with Thomas. For the boys’ sake, I’m going to try. But I think you’re wrong. I think Thomas would have understood if we explained it to him.
You really hurt me last week. I’ve never been so kicked in the teeth. But if your intention was to convince me that there truly is no hope for us—mission accomplished. You want to forget this ever happened. Fine. But I want you to know that I will always believe you are the love of my life, and that we are meant to be together, even if you’re pushing me away right now. I won’t wait for you, because you asked me not to, but in a way, I’ll always be waiting. I love you now and always.
Happy Birthday.
Mary
Pete and Mary? The boys’ mother? Stunned, I looked up just as Renn asked Robbie, “Where did you get this?”
Robbie was more composed than when he’d entered. “From Pete’s apartment. I’ve been going there, you remember, ever since he gave me the key.” Robbie leaned against the wall and slowly slid down, landing with his legs straight in front of him on the floor. “He has this picture, on the bookshelf, of him with my mom and our dad.”My mom and our dad.I’d gotten the impression before that Renn hadn’t had a close relationship with his stepmom, and this was further evidence. “I picked it up to look closer and that card just sort of slid out.”
