CHAPTER 2 “Hey fiancé!” “Dude, you’ve got cream on your face.” That weekend Six String played Electric Glow. Terra had invited Rhys and Eric over, but since Emily was on a business trip and he couldn’t find a babysitter either, he wasn’t able to make it. Rhys had brought Topher along, who was currently showing his funky moves on the dance floor. “Daddy, does mommy still love us?” “Did you like the song?” Rhys linked her arm with Topher, struggling to keep standing on both her feet.
“You’re quite the tease.”
Taking a sip of his espresso, Max looked at her intently. They were sitting on a trendy bench in Mega Mocha, May Port’s finest coffee bar. It was very crowded in the afternoon, but they had managed to squeeze in a little corner of the bar.
“Why is that?” Terra steered through her cappuccino.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack when you said no.”
She smiled. “You wouldn’t think I would reject you after all the staring, would you?”
“Aha! So you admit.” With a triumphant expression on his face, he swiftly ripped open the wrap of his cookie.
“Yay, its chocolate chip!” he said, happily taking a bite.
Terra cradled her head in her hands, rested her elbows on the table and looked at him with much interest in her eyes.
“So, I know you are in a band, you’re name is Max, you sing and play guitar, your best friend’s name is Haylie and you like chocolate chip cookies. What more should I know?”
Max looked back at her with a sly smile. “I guess you should just find out.”
“Now who’s a tease?” she said grumpily.
“That’s still you. I only know your name is Terra and you own a nightclub.”
“I don’t really own it,” Terra admitted. “The real owner’s name is Harry, but he’s away for travel a lot.”
She ripped open a packet of sugar with her teeth and spooned some in her cappuccino.
“And I like chocolate chip cookies too, so stop leering after my cookie.”
“Sorry.” He grinned at her.
“Can I leer after you?”
Almost knocking her cappuccino over, Terra felt the red rise to her cheeks. That boy had absolutely no shame.
Topher burst through the doors of the May Port Courant offices, where at this point Rhys had worked for years. She had first started off as an assistant (meaning; walking around with the coffee tray, refilling the water tank, sometimes even ordering new paperclips and sorts) and then slowly rolled into the journalism itself. Nowadays she was a highly respected, well paid journalist.
Rhys, working away at her computer, took off her glasses and immediately started beaming when she saw Topher.
“Hey darling! I was about to take a break.”
Leaping up from the chair she flung herself in her fiancé’s arms. He pressed a kiss on her hair and said: “I was hoping you would. Want to grab some coffee at Mega Mocha?”
“Sure. But we’d have to go with take away, I have to be back here at one o’clock.”
“Working on an a new article?”
Topher looked interested.
“Yes. The Hovington family is developing a project for fundraising for the homeless. I’m interviewing Brighton Hovington by email.”
Topher raised an eyebrow.
“By email?”
“He was too busy to make an appointment,” Rhys explained. “Honestly, he’s a very good man.”
“If you say so,” he said, then linked their arms.
“Let’s go.”
Laughing, Terra tried to wipe at Max’s face with a paper towel, but he pushed her hand down and looked at her innocently.
“Don’t you rather lick it off?”
Having spend a few hours with Max and having ordered a second drink at Mega Mocha, Terra was getting used to Max’s remarks by now. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was kind of enjoying them as they were always combined with a beautiful blue eye wink or a dimpled cocky smile.
“Still the same answer after the last time you asked if I wanted to lick your face.”
Terra had a hard time keeping a straight face, especially now that Max pulled a pouting face.
“I guess I hoped you eventually would if I kept asking,” he said, now wiping the cream off himself. “Maybe I should try other ways.”
He looked thoughtful, until something struck him.
“Oh, oh, I got it…! Can I lick your face?!” Terra burst out in laughter, as she managed to say:
“No! It would look kind of silly to lick a girl’s face, wouldn’t it?”
“I’ve licked plenty of other girls’ faces.”
Terra’s smile melted.
“Oh, well, that’s a way to make a good impression on me,” she said sarcastically, as she stood up to leave.
“I don’t think I want to sit with you anymore.”
“Hey, you don’t have to leave…I’m just kidding!” Max looked astonished.
Terra burst into a grin. “So am I!”
“Oh! You bitch!”
Max grabbed a spoon and flung some whipped cream her way.
“Ah!” she screamed, then ducked away.
Rhys was at the bar, resting her elbows and cradling her head in her hands, gazing intently at her sister who was serving behind the bar.
“So Terra,” she said. “The lead singer is kind of sexy, isn’t he?”
As she said this, she saw Terra’s dark lashes flicker.
“Don’t you think?” she continued, trying to trick Terra into spilling something. When she didn’t respond, she said: “And it looked like you had fun doing a whipped cream fight at Mega Mocha the other day.”
Terra blushed slightly. “You saw that, huh?’
Rhys smiled at her younger sister. “You deserve it, honey.”
“Now you make it sound like I’m an old spinster, finally having found a guy.” Terra sounded grim.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Rhys looked serious. “I’m just telling you I’m happy for you, that’s all.”
“Don’t be too happy for me, as we only had coffee and nothing else.”
“Yet,” Rhys added. At that time Topher joined them at the bar.
“That band is wicked!” he said, panting heavily.
Terra grinned at him and said:
“Hey Topher. The 70’s called. It wants their dance moves back.”
“Ha-ha, very funny!” Topher stuck out his tongue at her.
Rhys looked at her fiancé and sister interact and couldn’t help but smile. Though Terra always claimed that Topher was kind of dull, she loved her sister’s boyfriend – no, correction, fiancé, she still had to get used to that – in her own way. She was glad how well Topher got along with her family.
“Do you want anything to drin,-” Terra started but went silent when Max, on stage, announced:
“This song is called Can I lick that whipped cream of your face? and goes out to Terra!”
For a moment, it felt as if Eric’s heart stopped. He looked down at his youngest daughter, tucked in underneath the bed sheet, her big brown eyes staring up at him.
“Of course she does!” he said quickly, before his eyes could betray his own thoughts. Thoughts he was a bit ashamed of. Thoughts that wondered the same as Billie did.
“What makes you think she doesn’t?”
“She’s always away, and when she’s at home, she never plays with us.” Billie pulled a face.
“She always says: “no honey, not now! I’m busy, I really got to finish this!” And then she starts to type on her stupid laptop.”
Eric knew the feeling and he was quite sure it was a feeling of abandonment. But he couldn’t say that to his daughter, could he?
“Mommy is a very hard worker,” Eric said, trying not to sound dismayed. “But that’s OK, you have daddy don’t you?”
“Yes!” she smiled. “And I love you, I really do daddy! But my friends always go shopping with their mom for clothes.” She looked
“I could go shopping for clothes with you,” Eric suggested.
“Yeah, you could.” Billie went silent.
Of course he couldn’t. He didn’t have a good taste in fashion at all. Especially not six-year-old fashion.
Oh sweetie, he thought. I wish your mom would take you shopping like the other kids moms do.
“Hey,” he said, softly stroking her chin. “Why don’t you just ask mommy if she wants go shopping with you? She can’t say no.”
Not after I talk to her.
“OK daddy,” Billie said quietly.
Eric pressed a kiss on her hair.
“Now go asleep.”
Max popped up behind her, a grin spread across his features. Startled, Terra looked up. Why did he always have to be so sneaky?
“Yeah, especially how it didn’t go about one licking the whipped cream of another’s face.” She cocked a brow.
Max scratched his head. “Yeah, sorry about that. The song’s actually called The Reason, but I thought it would be funny to embarrass you in front of the whole club.”
“Oh, how nice of you,” she said sarcastically. He laughed, then his face melted serious.
“If you are good to me, I’ll write you a real song.”
Those last words came out softer, as his incredible blue eyes –how could she ever escape those eyes?- gazed intently into her eyes. Terra’s stomach lurched in washing machine mode when he reached out for her and touched her face lightly.
“You are so hot,” he muttered.
Oh, if only her stomach would stop doing somersaults.
Before she knew it, he moved closer to her and before she knew it, his hands were around her waist. Softly he moved one hand to her face and Terra felt her whole anatomy tingle as his mouth closed upon hers. This kiss was absolutely breathtaking. She couldn’t stop her tongue, and she knew he couldn’t stop his either. For a moment she wasn’t aware of anything around her.
Nothing existed. Just her and Max.
Finally, after awhile, she didn’t quite know how long, he pulled back. He grinned at her.
“What?” she asked, suspiciously.
His grin widened as he said:
“This was so much better than chocolate chip.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have that much tequila anymore,” Topher suggested.
“I’m fine.” Rhys pulled a face. “Can’t really walk straight, that’s all.”
“As long as you don’t drink this much at our wedding. Nobody likes a pissed-as-a-parrot bride.”
Rhys broke into a smile.
“Wed-ding. We’re gonna have a wedding!” she sang happily. “I’m gonna be a bride! Not a parrot.” She playfully whacked him on his shoulder.
“Ow!” he said pained. “Don’t whack me!”
“Why would I dress up like a parrot? It’s not funny. I’ll whack you around the face with a parrot if you say it again.”
“I won’t,” he quickly said, before he would receive another drunken whack.
They stopped at Rhys’ car, a baby blue Kever.
“Now give me the keys, Rhys.”
Rhys snorted. “That rhymed.”
“Rhys, where are the keys?” he said demandingly, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.
Rhys shredded her shoulders. “I don’t know! Stop shaking me, you’re making me, bleeeh!”
Falling on her knees Rhys puked all over Topher’s shoes.
[Next Chapter]