I sat away from the table, belching. "Ah, good stuff."
"Yeah." Jess agreed.
We were in our rooms, eating Chinese takeout. Jamie picked at her fried wan tons.
"Eat." I ordered her, and got up, taking our dirty plates.
"Where you going?" she asked, chasing the wan tons around the plate with a plastic fork.
"Talking."
"Huh?" asked Jess, flipping through the TV guide.
"Talking. Bye." I said, and charged into the boys' room.
"Yowdy!" I called.
"Who's that?" a male voice called.
"Pardon? It's Kris." I replied, vaguely recognising the voice.
"Kris! Hello!" Walker Hanson greeted, walking from down the hall.
I grinned and waved casually. "Can I steal your second oldest for a while?"
Walker stood as if thinking. "Um. Okay." he nodded. "You mean Zac, right? You can have him." he joked.
"Bah!" I played along.
Zac ran in, hearing his name. "What?!"
"I'm selling you to Kris for $1.22." Walker told his son.
Zac made a face. "I want Jamie to buy me."
I laughed. "Fine!"
"Get Taylor." Walker commanded Zac, and he sped off through the room, yelling his brother's name.
"So how have you been, Kris?" Walker asked.
"I'm good." I said warmly. "And you?"
"Good. Good."
"How's Mrs. Hanson?" I asked. "Doing okay with another kiddo with Zac the Pest around?" I joked.
"Yeah. She didn't want to come because of him." came the reply. "So, is Heather and Drake okay?" he asked, rooting around in the kitchen cupboards.
He had met my parents last year. I hesitated. "They're... getting divorced."
Walker stood straight, and stared at me before continuing his search. "Why?"
"I don't know, Mr. Hanson." I sighed miserably, and my eyes prickled again.
He straightened up, and muttered "Can't find it. Damn." and looked over at me. When he saw my face, he came around the kitchen counter, and gave me a hug. "It happens."
I nodded my head, and wiped at my eyes. "So, what are you looking for?" I asked.
"A can opener." he said, looking around hopelessly.
I went into the kitchen, and came out with the white can opener. "Looking for this?"
"Yeah! Where'd you get it?"
"In the drawer." I laughed. "I don't think it would be in the cupboards."
"Women. I bet the person who put the stuff up was a women." he muttered, and attacked his can of soup.
"Here he is!" Zac announced, coming up with Taylor following. "Buy him for $1.00!! A big special now!"
I laughed. "Nope. I'll offer $1.50. He's worth more than a dollar." I grabbed Taylor's arm, and pulled him out into the corridor.
Zac yelled after us "Fat chance he's worth more than loveable me!"
We went down the elevator, and through the lobby, and out to the pool
"Okay. Shoot." I told him, sitting him down on the edge of the steps. I sat down, remembering our last talk by the pool. This one was outdoors and surrounded by bushes. I felt like I was in a jungle.
He ignored me. I could literally feel the anger radiating from him.
"What?!" I finally snapped. "What did I do this time?!"
"Everything!" he finally yelled, his voice cracking.
"What? Did I damage your ego by making you miss a few beats?! By helping you out by playing upper keyboard while you get back on track with the lower?!" I nearly screamed at him. "What is it? Tell me!" I instantly regretted it as he turned shimmery dark blue eyes up to me. I didn't want to hurt him, but I felt hurt that he won't tell me what's wrong.
"I don't like it." he whispered, and turned back to staring at the light shimmering on the pool's surface. It reminded me of his eyes.
"What?" I asked stupidly, remembering Pauline Hanson. I don't like it.
"You look at all the guys who like you. Even the ones you don't like, but you won't give me the time of day." he told me miserably, his anger fading.
"What the hell are you on about?" I asked.
"You flirted with that Dave guy. You had him in the palm of your hand. And you dropped him hard. I understand, but it hurts... You have me in the palm of your hand, yet you won't even accept that." I sat and stared at the water. All I could think was why the fuck does he have to choose me?
"You're a royal pain in the ass sometimes. But I love you for your fire. Your... strength." he went on. "You never let anything get to you."
My God! This was infatuation! Like I was some damn goddess! "Taylor. I am a human. I have fears, dreams and hopes. Things get to me." I said, my throat suddenly dry.
"What?" he challenged. "What gets to you, huh?"
"This!" I cried out, flinging my arms about. "This whole mess. Just forget it, okay? It's hopeless. I don't like you. I never have and I never will." The moment the words flew out of my mouth, I regretted it. I felt like a major bitch.
He flinched, and turned his head away. "Okay, if that's the way it is." he murmured, his voice softy and husky.
"God dammit. Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck..." I cursed, holding my head in my hands. "Look, Taylor, I didn't m-"
He stood. "I get you. Fine. This will stay a purely business relationship." and walked away.
I sat on the edge of the pool, staring at the glinting water. I remembered a small poem.
| Don't let go of what you
have,
then you'll realize just how lucky you were to have. |
It was a short, silly poem. Didn't even rhyme, but it circled around in my head. Then I remembered who wrote it. I did. Like I was in a dream, I stood, and ran after him.