Pop - Ch.14

Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems

To lie before us like a land of dreams,

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,

Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

And we are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night.

 

~ Matthew Arnold, “Dover Beach”

                “Going on another date?” asked Alekk smugly after letting me into his house, Everett in tow. I was dressed in what was probably the heaviest dress I had ever worn. Of course I was going on a date. No one dressed in what I was wearing would be going anywhere else. I returned Alekk’s smirk, setting Everett down on the floor. He immediately ran off somewhere out of sight, Alekk giving me a raised brow.

                “Yep. It is my birthday you know.”

                “Yea, I know,” Alekk laughed, “that’s why I thought you’d like… I don’t know, maybe want a party or something. Not a date. It’s not every day you turn twenty-five, you know.”

                “Ugh,” I grimaced. The thought made me want to cringe. Where had the years gone by? Wrinkles formed where there hadn’t been just six years ago. Even Alekk looked older, as if that were possible. And right before my eyes my own child was growing. Two years from now and he’d be starting school.

                “Let’s just pretend I’m twenty. We’ll go with that.”

                “Well if you’re twenty, then I’m back to being twenty-six. I’m alright with that.”

                “All this time and we’re still friends,” I acknowledged.

                “Say what you want. You know I still love you. I know you still love me. And I know for a fact that no matter how many dates you go on, your brain still has THAT spot reserved for me. So your date tonight is pointless, basically.”

                “Who says I still love you? Have you ever thought that maybe I’ve moved on? It didn’t always need to be a choice between Niv and you. I can love someone else.”

                Alekk and I laughed, realizing how stupid we sounded. Here we were, grown adults and still arguing over a simple date. Nothing had changed, I guess. We still were in each other’s faces, still the same Alekk and Max.

                “So you want me to watch Everett again?” Alekk asked, sighing.

                “Yes.”

                “Okay,” he smiled, “go have fun on your date.”

                As soon as the door closed I walked back to my limo. It was strange how willing Alekk was to this, to me going on a date tonight. Usually he fought a bit more. Maybe it was because of my birthday. Or maybe he was getting tired of the same routine. God only knows how tired I was of going on dates with the various Joe Borings.

                None of them could compare to Niv. None of them could compare to Alekk.

                I showed up thirty minutes later at a little bistro in town that my date had picked out. Little had he known but I had been here dozens of times, always with someone different. It was a nice-ish place. Something that would be the most I could afford if I hadn’t gone into acting. I always tried to keep an open mind when I came here. As far as I knew, my date was a nice enough guy and for all I could guess maybe this was all he could afford. Maybe he wouldn’t be boring. Maybe he’d be the “one.”

                I tried to ignore the paparazzi that hid behind the bushes. The tabloids were certainly interesting to read after nights like these. The public was always trying to guess who would be the next permanent man my arm would be around. And after my numerous dates, the latest trend circulating was that I was one some combination of drugs in order to keep down my depression from losing Niv. It didn’t help that I kept Everett out of the public eye. I just wanted to protect him, but instead the stories would jut out responses about how horrible of a mother I was.

                My anger boiled down a little when I heard one of the cameramen behind me try to guess who designed my dress. I guess things would never change.

                The warm summer evening breezes were starting to pick up just as my date arrived. I just knew his name was Marc. I met him two days ago.

                “Whoa,” he gasped, his jaw dropped in response to the sight of my dress. My guess was that he didn’t usually grab dates with famous celebrities, one being me. I had to admit, for only a couple years of living in fame, I had pretty good taste. And by taste, I meant both the dress and the man standing before me.

                “Oh yea, just went to the store yesterday and they had it in my size. Fit like a glove so I just bought it then and there. It’s alright. Marc, right?”

                “Yea…”

                Oh goodness. He was practically drooling. I should have picked out something more elementary.

                “Well, I’m not famous or anything,” Marc said minutes later after we ordered our dinner. I could tell he was uncomfortable.

                “I know. That’s why I asked you out on our date two days ago while I was in disguise at Target.”

                “You could have at least told me you were Maxine. THE Maxine. The one that’s in those movies my sister watches all the time. Do these… camera people… do they ever go away?”

                “Nope,” I smiled, “they’re quite entertaining though. Sometimes I toss them the cheddar biscuits they serve here. It’s ridiculous how long they wait around with nothing to eat.”

                “Oh no,” Marc sighed, letting his head fall onto his crossed arms.

                “What?”

                “You’ve been here before.”

                “Oh! No that’s okay. I mean, where haven’t I been? Shoot, that sounds bad. What I mean to say is that this town is pretty small. It’s okay. Just tell me about yourself. That’s all I really came here for.”

                “Are you sure?” he asked, looking up at me. Immediately my mind switched his face with Niv’s and what his gorgeous blue eyes would look like in this same situation. My heart did a little flip, but inside I still felt empty. I missed Niv’s dark ebony waves of hair and his eyes that could transport me to another world. I missed being in his arms and being comfortable in general, because I was around someone who knew every little thing about me. I knew everything about him. I missed the everyday familiarity, and my heart yearned to fall back into that pattern.

                I realized then that I couldn’t take getting to know someone all over again. I was sick of being alone. Wes was halfway around the world and there was only one other person that I wished to be with. Coincidentally he was watching my son at his house instead of sitting where this Marc guy was, in front of me.

                I politely said the right lines and smiled the right ways as Marc told me his life story. I didn’t pay attention to much of it, but it was all I could do to play my part before I could bring myself back to Alekk as fast as possible.

                Finally! My date was over with. An hour and a half later followed by some friendly farewell’s and half-promises that I’d call him back, and I was trucking it back to Alekk’s vacation house, my heart fluttering, my rational conscience out the window. I don’t know why I waited this long. I’m glad I already know that Alekk still loves me. I felt like I was in one of those teeny-bopper movies, the ones where the main character at the end finally realizes how stupid they were, and knows now what to do to win the heart of whomever they fell in love with. This is the part where I, Max, rush back to Alekk to finally profess my love once and for all, cue the happy ending.

                I have to admit, this sounds ridiculous, but I love the feeling of it all. I begin to think of me and Alekk, forever living in his vacation house because he knows I could care less about his other mansion. I can see a wedding, the future children that we would have, being awesome at being famous together, growing old together.

                I stepped out of the limo when I reached Alekk’s house, and couldn’t help but notice the loud music being emitted from the inside. Why was there music playing? And why were there so many people? Anger suddenly boiled within my blood. Alekk was throwing another one of his parties. Last time I checked, Alekk was supposed to be watching my son. I marched up those steps, prepared to hunt down Alekk, and not for the reasons I had thought of earlier.

                “Hey, YOU!” I yelled, making my way over to Alekk, who was in the far corner of the house, talking to some guy I didn’t even know. The guy surprisingly, took the hint that I was pretty angry. His eyes widened in the slightness of fear and he back off a couple of feet. Alekk on the other hand was perfectly calm, the neutrality of his face almost like some magic trick. It only fueled my emotions. Here he was standing amongst a party and Everett was nowhere to be seen.

                “Oh hey, Maxine. Enjoying the party?”

                “Where is Everett?” I demanded, wanting to slap him in the face.

                Alekk gave his usual smirk. The guy he was talking to earlier had decided to blend in with the rest of the crowd. He was smart. He knew when to stay away from me.

                “Everett is with my parents, you silly goose. Of course I wouldn’t let him be here. Now are you going to dance with me, or what? I noticed you came back early from your date. He wasn’t ME, was he?”

                Okay, so Everett was with Alekk’s parents. I could finally breathe now. But I couldn’t just let Alekk get away with making me look like a fool. I had almost socked his friend in the jaw. I came in his house like a mad bull or something and I didn’t even need to. Alekk already had everything taken care of. He always did. I don’t know why, but I wanted to one-up him. Apparently my left over anger hadn’t dwindled completely.

                “Alekk, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you for it to sink in, but I don’t love you. I fell in love with the bad, rebellious, mysterious Alekk. But you’ve changed. Now you’re just boring. I doubt even a hint of the Alekk I fell for still exists.”

                I had no clue where that came from. A mixture of anger and truth poured out of my mouth just then and I couldn’t take the words back. I regretted what I had done the moment I had spoken. Sure, I missed the old Alekk, but I still loved him either way. Luckily the music was too loud for anyone else to listen, but it was also a trap. I was stuck having to see the look on Alekk’s face, to his reaction. No dictionary could describe the amount of hurt I had inflicted upon him. So I wanted the old Alekk? I got the old Alekk. Slowly I could see him mesh into the part of himself I had almost forgotten about. The part of him that I hated all those years ago. Memories of him yelling at Wes grabbed at me. What had I done?

                “This party was for you, princess. You want the old Alekk? I’ll give you the old Alekk.”

                Alekk sauntered over to the center of the living room where everyone was dancing. Immediately the focus was centered on him as he somehow whistled louder than the blaring music. He grabbed an un-opened bottle of vodka and took a large swig, thrusting his other fist into the air.

                “Plenty of drinks to go around, people. This party doesn’t stop until we do!”

                Everyone cheered and clanked their beer cans, bottles, and glasses together in a shaky unison.

                My heart lurched when I watched in horror as Alekk’s eyes met with mine. He smartly raised a brow, and walked over to some blonde wearing lingerie, and not much else. She was pretty focused on her dancing, and so was Alekk. He started dancing with her, and I saw as they inched closer and closer, his hands running up and down her skinny waist. Then, first with one last purposeful look at me, Alekk decided to close the gap between them, sinking his lips down on hers. They just stood there, and if there was any way that they could possibly get closer to each other, they would. Suddenly, the girl started getting the hint. Slowly, she ran her hand under his shirt, her fingertips sliding against his chest. She would take a step back, away from the crowd. And Alekk would follow, his hips touching hers. That was it. I had enough of this.

                “Get away from him!” I yelled, prying the little blonde stranger away. She gasped, trying to hold up whatever her bra couldn’t. She gave me a look of disbelief before running off. I turned, my eyes boring holes into Alekk’s. He combed his fingers through his hair, licking the remains of the blonde’s gloss from his lips.

                “Took you long enough,” he smiled, “but I waited three years for you. You’re gonna have to try harder than that.”

                Alekk walked to the middle of the living room and stood up on his couch. This time he didn’t need to whistle to get everyone’s attention.

                “Ladies? Where are the ladies in this room?”

                Half a dozen women clamored to his feet, all curious as to what he had to say. Most of them were about my age, no doubt divorced housewives with nothing better to do. A lot of them it seemed already had visited the magical plastic surgery fairy.

                “Now a lot of you may know Miss Maxine McKinley here, am I right?”

                Nods from the ladies.

                “Well she told me tonight that she doesn’t love me anymore. How mean is that? She doesn’t love me.”

                “Awww.”

                “I know! And now you see, I’m lonely because no one loves me. You don’t want me to be lonely, do you? How about a little love for Alekk tonight?”

                I stood there, disgusted as the women cheered and wrapped their arms around him like he was some prize. Alekk was getting kisses left and right. He locked eyes with me and gave me an evil grin, knowing he had won once and for all. I grimaced as someone licked his neck, another biting his ear. I had to get out of here. I wanted nothing to do with this. This wasn’t my Alekk. I needed to go get Everett and go home. Apparently a lot of the men at the party thought the same thing. All of their dates had abandoned them for Alekk.

                I made sure my phone was in my pocket, before walking past Alekk, blowing him a kiss before I walked out of his front door.

                The cool evening air was welcoming to my skin as it had been crawling only a minute ago. I half-skipped down the stairs as if reminding myself that I had better things to look forward to. I was making it all up, of course. The fact remained that I was a single mother who after tonight, still had a long road ahead before love would ever enter my life again. Everett was the only exception.

                My heels clicked against the pavement as I waited for my limo to arrive. One of the men at the party came up to me, slightly drunk. I coughed as I smelt the alcohol on his breath.

                “My date left me,” he half-chuckled.

                “I’m sorry.”

                “You’re really pretty. You won’t leave me, will you?”

                Poor fellow. Drunk and probably without a ride. I could only imagine what it would be like to be stranded at some stranger’s home by myself.

                “Of course not,” I replied, “I’m just going to call my limo driver. I think he’s running late. I can call you a taxi if you-,”

                “I said. Don’t leave me,” the man grumbled, his hand locking on my wrist, forcing me to drop my phone on the ground. He looked at me apathetically, running his free hand across my face and then through my hair, undoing the ponytail I had it in before. I stayed completely still, not wanting to anger him any further.

                “Please don’t touch me,” I whispered calmly, hoping it would somewhat awaken his senses enough to make him stop. He ignored me and starting sliding his fingertips along my exposed collarbone.

                “Please. Please let go of me. I have to get home. Someone’s waiting for me.”

                “No they aren’t,” he replied, “you’re lying to me.”

                Suddenly he was trying to unzip my dress. I wasn’t about to let him go there. Not with me. Everett. All I had to think about was Everett. I was going to get home to him. I wasn’t going to let this man stop me.

                “You get off of me!” I yelled, kicking the man in the stomach. His senses were slow, and his hand’s grip slipped from my wrist. Still though, I had to get away from him. I kicked off my heels and started to run. It was good that I did – he started running after me and was pretty fast, too. Though my track days in high school were a good seven years ago, I still had it. My strong legs propelled me faster and faster. I wasn’t going to let him catch me.

                I was now sitting somewhere outside of Alekk’s house. It was a game of cat and mouse. I stayed, crouched in a low position, ready to run whenever I needed to. I hadn’t seen the man in a while but I didn’t dare budge. I could only think of Alekk’s parents, watching Everett and wondering where I could be. I thought of Alekk, still oblivious to everything, safe inside his house.

                My legs were starting to cramp, so I stood up, peaking around the corner. I knew I shouldn’t have moved. Someone grabbed me from behind, pulling me tight into an embrace. I looked to face the man as if I were about to stare death into the eyes itself.

                “Alekk!” I sighed, relief pouring over me like rain. I hugged him tight, never wanting to let go. He held me close for those couple of minutes while I cried out my frustration, over everything that had happened tonight. The lousy date, the horrible birthday party, and the raging alcoholic I barely had escaped. What a way to start out my new year. Alekk reassured me that he called the cops as soon as he knew what was going on. He hadn’t let me out of his sight since I left the party.

                “You know all of that at the party, it was a joke, right?” asked Alekk, still holding me in his arms. His face was calm. It reminded me of the days back when Alekk was just trying to get to know me. When he first liked me.

                “I know, but I just can’t handle this anymore. If you didn’t like me, then I could move on. But you do, and I can’t help but want the rest of my minutes to be spent with you.”

                “How do you think I feel?” he asked in reply, his eyebrows raising slightly. His face was still calm, but his eyes were searching mine. His voice sounded like velvet.

                Suddenly we weren’t quite sure what to do. We were standing there, inches away from each other. I wanted to kiss him, but I wasn’t sure if he wanted to do the same. Maybe because it was so long since we had. Alekk’s fingers slowly entwined with mine, the warmth I remembered jolting through my hand and up my arm. My eyes were glued to his perfect lips.

                Inching closer, my eyes fluttered shut as Alekk lightly licked my lips, before descending his lips upon mine.

                “Why can’t I just move in here already? You know I love this house,” I said in a yawn as I pushed myself out of Alekk’s bed.

                Alekk watched as I clumsily made my way over to my dress, which was rather untidily displayed across the bedroom floor. He laughed as he pointed to his dresser, where I found some of my old clothes I had forgotten to bring with me the day I moved to Niv’s house. I thankfully got dressed, glad I didn’t have to pick up Everett later today in the outfit of shame. His parents would have thoroughly enjoyed that, I’m sure. The sun was brightly shining over the ocean waves. I could tell already it was going to be a good day.

                “Well why can you just, I don’t know, marry me?”

                I froze. Did he just say that? I turned slowly, my expression blatantly showing that I was somewhat confused.

                “Did you just say-,”

                “Oh! Hold on,” Alekk interrupted, jumping out of bed to reach into his nightstand. Quickly he shoved what looked like a small, black velvet box into his pocket, before meandering over to where I stood. It was like watching a movie in slow motion. It was really happening. Alekk checked his footing as he bent down on one knee, the box I had imagined now right in front of my face.

                “I’ve um, had it for a while. Actually, a long time. I’ve always wanted to marry you, Max. I’m not one for really showing my feelings, but you are such a good, good person and I can’t imagine a life without you. I know you like this house – we could live here forever if you’d like. Wouldn’t it be wonderful? I could be yours and you could be mine. There wouldn’t be anything that could split us apart now. You could tell everyone that I belong to you, and you only.”

                “And your beautiful son, Everett. Ever since the day I first saw him I’ve loved him as if he were my own.”

                “And even though I’ve had this ring forever, it’s been hard to think of what words to say. But I think of you, and this house, and all the memories we’ve had, and suddenly the words come easily to me. You always point out the good in others, but I want to tell you about the good you possess. For instance, your eyes I dream about every night. They’re so green, so beautiful. And your hair. I’m glad you grew it out again. It looks so pretty on you, especially today. But your personality – it could brighten up an entire room.”

                “I want to let you know Maxine that as long as you’re in the world, my life can remain wonderful. Whatever you choose to do, as long as you’re alive, my life is wonderful. But, I memorized this… this speech for a reason. And by now you know my reason quite well.”

                “So Maxine McKinley. Will you marry me?”

                “Yes.”

END OF CH. 14