SPRING (May 2006)
"What the hell are YOU looking at?"
My eyebrows furrowed and I felt a massive headache coming on. I took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, the seconds ticking by as the air whistled out between my lips. Sensing that her joking greeting had not gone over as planned, Amber fidgeted and bit her lower lip.
But even when I was done exhaling, I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say. I WAS, however, looking the hell at her. Three years had been very kind to Amber. She'd grown in maturity and poise without losing any of her youthful beauty. Her blue eyes were bright and sharp with intelligence. Her fine blonde hair was perfectly coiffed. She stood before me wearing a long-sleeved, ribbed V-neck sweater and tight designer jeans over black heels. The sleeves highlighted her long, slender arms. The V-neck showed off her wonderfully enticing cleavage. And then hem of the sweater was short enough to reveal a wide expanse of creamy skin, with a toned belly that would be the envy of any teenager. I saw the hint of a thong peeking above the waist of her jeans, stirring up old memories. I let my eyes drop down and truly take her in, and for a moment, she posed prettily for my viewing pleasure.
Amber was gorgeous. Three years without seeing her had altered my memories until I'd transformed her physical appearance into that of an angel descended from the heavens. The reality of her actual beauty was no disappointment. I wanted to reach out, press my lips to hers, and never let go until we had ravished each other into exhaustion.
And yet, I wasn't her boyfriend anymore. We'd broken up, and we'd moved on. And I was so shocked at seeing her again that I couldn't move.
We kind of looked at each in the awkward silence, and when Amber realized I wasn't going to say anything she cleared her throat and looked at me nervously. "Uh, how are you?"
I shrugged silently.
She seemed pained to know that I wasn't talking to her just yet, but at least I wasn't completely ignoring her. With her eyebrows canted to the sides in a pleading expression, she asked, "Can I come in?"
I glanced back inside the house to the bedroom where Cherys and Danielle were undoubtedly in the middle of a very intense conversation. Looking back at Amber I slowly shook my head in the negative.
Her face fell and she half-turned away in rejection. But I interrupted her by saying, "Let's go for a walk."
Stunned, Amber simply waited in silence as I retrieved my keys and shoes to go out. A minute later, I locked up and then started walking down the sidewalk, not even waiting for her.
At the curb was a big black Mercedes S-class, not Amber's style. She'd probably borrowed the car from her parents. It was a subtle reminder that she didn't live here anymore. She'd left me to pursue her dream.
I walked forward at a slow enough pace that Amber quickly caught up to me. It was all I could do to not turn and embrace her in the strongest, tightest hug I could possibly manage. Three years ago she'd gone off to Stanford and medical school. Three years she'd made love to me in OUR home, then immediately flown away and never looked back.
For three years, I never got a single phone call, email, text message, or even a personal message passed along from a friend. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. I should have hated her for it.
Instead, all I wanted to do was throw her onto the grass and kiss her like we'd been separated for only two days and I'd been missing my girlfriend. But I was still angry with her. Amber had abandoned me. Who was she to think that she could leave me when convenient and then just show up on my doorstep as if nothing had ever happened between us? Did she really think she could ignore my phone calls and emails and letters for three years, and then just return and have me back?
I think I actually felt my brain *pinch*.
She could. She could have me back. I loved her. I still loved her. Amber could have shown up at my wedding to Cherys and I would have left it all behind for her.
For Amber...
I missed her so much...
If I just looked at her, saw her beautiful face again, I would forgive her everything and fall into her arms if SHE would only take ME back.
So I couldn't look at her.
It would be too easy. I would be giving up too much of myself. My brain tried to tell me that I deserved better than that. And besides, I was still too fractured emotionally after being put through the ringer by Danielle and Cherys. I was vulnerable and irrational. If I was still in a relationship with Cherys and Danielle right now, how would I have reacted at seeing Amber again?
I guess now I would never know. All I had was how I felt in this moment, which was a painful mix of two urges: one, to madly embrace her in a rush of passion; and two, to shut her away and never speak with her again. I couldn't decide which I wanted more.
Amber made my decision for me by slipping her hand into mine. Her touch was warm, reassuring. And when her fingers squeezed down, I turned and looked into her sky blue eyes, so luminous and liquid. I could see her own longing in her eyes, and before I could even blink I'd brought my face to hers and pressed our lips together, holding her head in my hands and kissing her like the world was about to end.
An ecstatic cry of happiness welled up in Amber's throat as our lips lashed one another and our tongues intertwined. But a moment later, I tore myself away and turned around, sagging to the ground on one knee and pressing my palms to my own temples in an attempt to crush my own head and end my misery.
I couldn't take it. My mind was scrambling in a dozen different directions at once. Yes-Amber, No-Amber, Cherys, Danielle, pregnancy, single-life, and on and on and on. I'd pushed myself to the brink of insanity too many times in the past hour and finally I was about to crack. My eyes were wide in terror and I screamed, unable to make sense of it anymore.
And then Amber's arms were around me as she urgently exclaimed, "David? David?" in a frightened tone.
All I could do was scream again as loud as I possibly could, the sound tearing out of my throat like a banshee out of hell. I couldn't take it anymore.
Amber didn't know what was going on, and yet she held me tightly and rocked me like a baby, her lips to the back of my head and her hands stroking everywhere.
The next thing I knew, I was standing before my front door, my arm draped around Amber's shoulders while she alternately rang the doorbell and dug through my pockets to try and fish out my keys.
After three attempts on the doorbell and two attempts with the wrong key, the door swung open. Both Cherys and Danielle were standing there, Cherys with one hand over her mouth in surprise and Danielle glancing back and forth between me and Amber.
"Amber?" Danielle said in surprise. "David?"
My world was a grey haze. I couldn't focus and I really didn't care. At this moment, all I really wanted was to be asleep and make the rest of the world go away.
Cherys was asking, "David? Are you okay?"
Amber by now had shifted her balance to better support me. "He's in shock. Can we get him inside?"
A minute later I was laying flat on the couch and a blanket was thrown over me. Someone slid a pillow beneath my legs. This was better. Much more comfortable and I was feeling warmer.
"He's catatonic," Cherys asked in grave concern, passing her hand over my eyes slowly. My gaze was straight up and I didn't really look around. "Do you think he can hear us?"
Amber sighed. "I'm pretty sure he can hear and see us. He's just not responding."
I felt a warmth near my face and then Cherys was kissing my cheek. "I love you, David."
Danielle's hands were on my arm. "His skin is clammy. And his pulse is weak."
Amber replied, "Normal signs of shock. Just give it time, he'll come around as long as we keep him warm." Amber's voice quivered at the end of that, and then I heard her quietly begin to cry as the immediate medical emergency faded and her emotions settled in.
"Amber? Are you okay?" Danielle asked.
Amber let out a shivering sigh and then said, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I knew he'd be surprised to see me, just not THIS surprised."
Danielle said quietly, "It's been kind of an intense morning. Your arrival was probably just the final blow." She exhaled loudly and then looked up. "What ARE you doing here?"
There was a quiet pause as Amber gathered herself. "I had to come home. I had to see him. I never planned for THIS to happen to him."
"What happened out there?" Danielle asked, accusing anger creeping into her voice.
"We went for a walk. One minute we were trying to figure out what to say to each other and the next he was kissing me." Amber paused to take a breath. "The next moment he was holding his head and screaming without restraint. Then he went into shock."
Everyone went quiet for a few seconds, and then Cherys piped up, "Remind me never to kiss you."
Danielle snorted, and the mood in the room lightened up considerably.
I felt a hand settle onto my forehead and another go to my throat. Amber sounded relieved as she said, "His pulse is slowing down and he's breathing easier."
Danielle commented, "His color is coming back."
Cherys sighed happily. "He's going to be alright." I felt a new hand on my arm, stroking me lovingly. When it was gone, I heard Cherys ask, "So when did you get back in town?"
"Late last night," Amber replied. "I could barely wait until a decent hour to come here this morning."
Danielle's voice came softly and yet had a strong undercurrent of protectiveness in it. "And what are your intentions towards my little brother?"
I heard Cherys inhale sharply and Amber hesitated before answering. But after a while, she said simply, "I want him back. I know it's terribly selfish of me, but I want him back. I transferred to the University here. I want to be with him."
Danielle's voice came back confused. "But you onl