He pulled away and reached into the pocket of the jacket around her shoulders, his fingers brushing lightly along the edge of the neckline of her blouse. He froze, and she sucked in her breath. "Pardon me," he murmured then pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "I know it"s not as nice as the real thing, but I wanted you to have this. For your birthday."
"You remembered." She smiled at him, noting the blush that crept over his cheeks. "Thank you."
He swallowed and replied, "You"re welcome. I hope you like it." He handed her the paper.
"It"s beautiful, Marcus." Fallon was touched that he had taken the time to draw a rose for her. His attention to detail was remarkable, and she trailed a fingertip over the petals then clasped the drawing to her chest. "It"s really beautiful. I"ll treasure it always."
He turned his head away, and they both stared out over the lake. She looked him, then reached over and touched his gla.s.ses. "Can you see without these?"
He glanced back at her. "Fairly well. The only reason I"m not wearing my contact lenses is my parents figured I"d lose them here at summer camp, and they"re too expensive to keep replacing." His lips twitched. "I"ve lost about three pairs already since I first got some a year ago."
Fallon laughed, then touched the frames again. "Could I see what you look like without your gla.s.ses?"
Marcus slipped the gla.s.ses from his face. "I like to hear you laugh. It"s such a nice sound."
He turned, and she gasped at the change in his appearance. "Marcus."
Everything seemed to slow down as he bent his head nearer, his mouth hovering over hers. With sudden clarity, she heard crickets and other night bugs humming in the background. She heard Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson"s voices pouring out of the a.s.sembly hall. She heard waves lapping at the sh.o.r.e and the creak of the dock. She heard his sudden intake of breath as he pressed his lips to hers. She heard the roar of her heart pounding as tingly sensations spread throughout her whole body.
In that moment, she knew she would never forget the pressure of his mouth against hers, the feel of the tip of his tongue licking along the seam of her lips, or the experience of their tongues touching softly. She closed her eyes, swept away by the tide of new emotions flowing through her when he breathed her name against her lips.
Marcus pulled away to gaze into Fallon"s eyes, then placed his hands on her cheeks and covered her lips with his a second time. His thumbs caressed her as he pressed soft kisses against her mouth. She heard sighs and was shocked to realize they were hers. She had never imagined kissing someone could be this intense and moving.
They pulled apart at the sound of a discreet cough behind them, and turned to find Erik standing at the edge of the dock. "You kids better make sure you don"t get caught." He grinned as they jumped to put distance between their bodies.
Marcus slipped his gla.s.ses back on, his hands trembling, then pushed himself up to stand, teetering for a moment to maintain his balance. He extended his hand to Fallon, grasped her hands and pulled her up. She slipped the jacket off her shoulders and pa.s.sed it to him, then leaned over and hastily grabbed the drawing, folding it and slipping it into her pocket.
Marcus muttered, "Excuse me," placed a soft kiss into her palm then dashed off the dock, leaving Erik and Fallon to stare after him.
"So, what now?" Erik asked.
"I don"t know," she replied. "I-I"m so confused. I just don"t know what to do from here."
He turned to face her. "Look, I know how Marcus feels about you, so why not give it a shot and see how it works out? You have a wonderful friendship, why not let it develop into something more?"
She sighed.
"Come on, let"s go back in," he said. "I"m sure Marcus will want to have you in his arms again."
She smacked his arm.
"I mean while you dance."
They laughed then walked back into the a.s.sembly hall.
The rest of the dance and the remaining time at camp pa.s.sed by in a blur, with the exception of a few stolen kisses for Marcus and Fallon. At the end of the six weeks, they had exchanged addresses and promised to write, and had maintained contact through letters and occasional phone calls.
Time and distance eventually took their toll on the relationship, and the flow of mail lessened until it stopped altogether.
MARCUS SIGHED AND placed his forehead in his hand. The workweek had been stressful and hectic, the final commute home insane. Between the weather and the reckless drivers, he was amazed he"d arrived at his front door in one piece.
To make matters worse, his concentration had been disrupted by the deejay"s discussion of first kisses. In the twenty years since his first one, he had thought often of the beautiful, auburn-haired girl who"d stolen his heart from the day he met her. Fallon O"Shea had been the plump camper at summer camp, the perfect foil to his skinny geek.
Each time she"d glanced his way he"d felt a thrill from the top of his head to the tips of his fingers and toes, and as an adult he understood now what he didn"t know then. His yearning for her had been that of a young boy experiencing the first rush of hormones. Now, he wanted to see the woman and experience the full power of his desire for her.
To add even more fuel to the reminiscing fire, he"d heard the song that had been playing in the background when they"d kissed. He"d nearly driven off the road when "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" began. As Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson harmonized, he recalled how soft Fallon"s lips had been, how sweet she"d tasted.
In his home office, he walked to the desk and pulled open a drawer. Removing a folded piece of paper, he opened it and smoothed it out on the desktop. He stared at her name typed on the certificate and ran his finger over the letters. Twenty years ago, he"d offered to keep it from getting crumpled while they danced, then had never returned it. He considered it his only link to her and the sweet young love they had shared.
He began ma.s.saging the back of his neck. "d.a.m.n it, Fallon! Where are you?" At the sound of his front door slamming, he groaned. "And why does he have to pick now, of all times, to come for a visit?"
All Marcus wanted was some time to himself; time to let his mind drift and relive the memory of kissing Fallon. The last thing he wanted was to deal with Erik.
"Marcus? Where are you, buddy?"
He steeled himself, preparing for the whirlwind that was Erik. "In here."
Erik came through the doorway, smiling as always, and walked over to clasp Marcus" shoulder. "I have the best idea for tonight."
Marcus lifted an eyebrow.
"Let"s go to a karaoke bar."
He stared at his best friend. "Are you mad? You want to go to a karaoke bar? You can"t sing, and I don"t want to, so what good reason would we have for going?" He narrowed his eyes. "And just how would you know about any local bars, anyway? You"re only visiting."
"I saw it as we drove by yesterday. When we got back here, I looked it up online and found out it was a karaoke bar. Come on, how could you not like a place called "Dutch Courage"?"
Marcus reached to push his gla.s.ses up the bridge of his nose and muttered a curse under his breath. He knew thinking about Fallon contributed to his slipping back into this nervous tic even though he no longer wore gla.s.ses, because he had done this several times since hearing Ca.s.sie LeBeau discussing first kisses.
"You still have that habit? You haven"t worn them for a while now, have you?" Eric asked.
Marcus grinned. "Yeah, when I get agitated, I still reach for my specks. It"s been at least three years since I wore gla.s.ses for any extended period of time, because Amanda hated them, but old habits die hard."
Erik laughed. "Come on, let"s go to that crazy karaoke bar and make fools of ourselves. It"ll be fun."
Marcus started to speak, but Erik interrupted him. "Come on, you seem like you could use some cheering up." He put his hand on Marcus" shoulder. "Is something eating at you?"
Marcus sighed. "I heard something on the radio today that set the wheels to turning in my head. This deejay had people calling in about their first kiss, and I started thinking about Fallon again. And then they played "that song."" He ran his hand over his eyes.
"I"m not surprised you would think about Fallon. You nearly drove me insane that summer talking about her."
Marcus leaned back and tossed a wry smile at his friend. "Yeah, I know. I didn"t see anything else that summer other than Fallon. She was beautiful, probably still is. I could kick myself for losing track of her, losing contact with her." He sighed again.
"She was my life that summer. Everything I"d ever dreamed of, everything I"d ever hoped for in a woman. I can"t believe I found that one true love, my soul mate, at the age of sixteen. I was so d.a.m.n stupid to let her slip through my fingers. I miss her, and keep finding myself wondering what she"s like now. I want to see her again; I need to see her again."
He wrinkled his brow and watched Erik press his lips together. "What are you up to? I can almost see the light bulb going on over your head."
"You need something to take your mind off missing Fallon, and I think karaoke is the answer. I promise I"ll even get up there and make an absolute idiot of myself." Erik laughed then grinned.
Marcus snorted. "Yeah, I know about your singing ability, or lack thereof. Promise me you won"t get up there, and I"d be more likely to go."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever gets you out the door, okay?"
FALLON OPENED HER eyes and stared at the ceiling. She regretted losing contact with Marcus. They had drifted apart, graduating from high school then entering college. As they moved through life, the number of letters and calls dwindled before finally dying off as they neared their respective college graduations.
She was glad she"d kept in touch with Erik even after she and Marcus quit writing. More recently, they had started corresponding through email, and Erik would occasionally share news about Marcus. She decided she would ask Erik about him in her next message.
She sighed. The memory of that night had become sweeter over time, enhanced by the intervening years. She sat up and looked over to the framed drawing on her bedroom wall. Two decades was a long time, and in spite of the many changes in her life, she had kept the birthday drawing Marcus had given her. She crossed the room and skimmed her fingers over the gla.s.s, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Although she"d carried a torch for Marcus for a long time, she"d made forays into the dating world after college graduation and had married at age twenty-eight. Nothing Dan had done in their brief marriage had ever compared to Marcus" drawing, and she knew Dan had resented her for keeping the gift.
Four years after saying "I do," they"d divorced after Fallon found Dan in her bed with another woman. In the three years since her divorce, she had dated a few men, but through the years no one lit the spark in her Marcus had twenty years earlier. She knew deep down that no matter what she said or claimed, the torch for him still burned bright inside her.
She turned on the radio then went to her closet to put together a fun ensemble for the night"s activities. She pulled out a peach-colored peasant blouse and denim skirt. The nearly sheer top clung to her upper curves while the denim hugged her hips, falling around her ankles with a slit that stopped just above her knees. She smiled at the hint of thigh that could be seen with each step. She was proud of her voluptuous, size-22 body and enjoyed showing it off by wearing clingy, form-fitting outfits.
Brushing her hands over the dark blue fabric, she thought again of the kiss from Marcus, remembering the denim skirt she"d worn when their lips had met.
"Enough already. Save that for another day." She straightened her shoulders, exhaled, skimmed her hands down her body, and fluffed her hair.
She smiled as she thought of how much fun she and her friends had on their bi-weekly night out-stuffing their faces then hitting Dutch Courage, their favorite karaoke bar.
FALLON MET SANDRA, Camille, and Felicia, at Oriental Delight, the Chinese restaurant near her house. Over spring rolls, steamed dumplings, wonton soup, eight-treasure chicken, tangerine beef, and sliced pork with black bean sauce, they laughed and talked. As each course was brought to the table, the women drank a toast to friendship and happiness with their tea.
At the end of the meal, they performed their ritual of cracking open their fortune cookies. As each woman slipped the tiny piece of paper from inside the cookie, she read her fortune aloud.
Sandra read hers first. ""Your happiness is intertwined with your outlook on life."" She grinned. "Could this possibly be any more generic?"
Felicia laughed. "Yeah, somewhere there"s a monkey writing these things down, and a machine spitting out the d.a.m.n chimp"s "profound" thoughts." She continued, "Okay, here"s mine. "Go after what you want: there"s no time like the present." Ha! I guess that means I should go for the last spring roll."
Fallon and the others grinned as they watched her snag the final appetizer.
"My turn, my turn," Camille said, putting her hand up in the air. ""There is no wisdom greater than kindness.""
Fallon lifted her small teacup in toast. "Here, here. I will attest to your kindness in an hour of need."
Sandra and Felicia raised their cups in acknowledgement of Fallon"s words. Camille smiled and nodded graciously.
Fallon looked at her fortune and gasped then read aloud: ""Someone from your past has returned to steal your heart.""
"Well, well, well, it would seem that your fortune certainly bodes well for romance." Felicia waggled her eyebrows.
Fallon looked down at her fortune then back up at her friends. "This is crazy."
"What?" Sandra asked.
"First, Ca.s.sie and her infamous afternoon drive topics, and now this. Did you hear it today?" Fallon asked. The other women shook their heads. "Today she asked about first kisses."
"Ah, and that took you back to your sweet sixteen, didn"t it?" Felicia asked.
Fallon nodded. "Of course. After Ca.s.sie mentioned her topic, I couldn"t help but think about Marcus and our kiss. Now I"m wondering what he looks like." She shrugged her shoulders. "And the craziest thing is Ca.s.sie played the song, our song. When I heard "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love," I wondered if I would recognize him if he were to come up to me today. Or for that matter, would he recognize me? Is he still the same sweet guy he was twenty years ago or has he become a total jacka.s.s? Erik recently mentioned in an email that Marcus" marriage ended about as abysmally as mine, so I know he"s single." Her shoulders slumped. "I can"t help wondering why I lost touch with him and what might have happened if I hadn"t."
Felicia placed an arm around her friend"s shoulders. "Hey girl, we all have those guys that we wish we"d kept. It"s part of being a woman, but none of us can live on what might have been. But since you do have that fortune maybe you shouldn"t completely ignore the past."
Everyone laughed and toasted the elusive someone from Fallon"s past, while she hoped the person from the fortune would be Marcus. The four friends finished their meal, paid the bill, and caught a cab to the karaoke bar.
The bar was more crowded than usual, but they had no problem getting a decent table. Fallon noticed many men watching them as they moved across the small dance floor to the available table, although the others seemed oblivious to the admiring looks thrown their way. She wasn"t surprised because each woman was eye-catching and beautiful, and she knew they made a stunning picture.
Felicia"s short, cropped blonde hair contrasted with her milk chocolate skin and vibrant green eyes, and she used chokers and flashy earrings to accentuate her features. Even though the woman had a top-heavy build, Fallon knew she always selected clothing to accentuate her cleavage.
Camille was the tallest of the quartet, and Fallon admired how she showed off her height by wearing spiky heels at every opportunity. Camille"s envy-inducing waist-length chestnut hair and almond-shaped eyes the shade of pewter gave her an exotic look. Fallon appreciated how her friend never slumped nor slouched, but carried her larger body with pride and dignity, wearing clothing to flatter her shape.
And then there was Sandra, slender yet curvy in all the right places, but the smallest of the foursome. She had confided in Fallon that sometimes she wished she were larger, but tried to never let that discourage her when she was in the midst of their voluptuous beauty. Fallon thought Sandra was stunning with her cla.s.sic brunette hair and blue eyes.
Over the din of the crowd in the dimly lit bar, Sandra asked Fallon what had her looking so pensive. Fallon gestured for her friends to draw closer, and the three women leaned toward her. "I"m still thinking about Marcus. I"m sorry, I just can"t help myself."
Felicia placed her hand on her friend"s shoulder. "Girl, I know it"s hard to forget some of the guys from your past, but we all know they rarely turn out to be as perfect as they are in our memories. Face it, Marcus is probably some deformed, hunch-backed ogre, just waiting to capture a sweet, tender morsel like you."
Camille furrowed her brow and snorted. "An ogre? Where"d that one come from?"
Felicia shrugged. "You never know. He might have a bushy uni-brow or walk with his knuckles dragging the ground."
Fallon grinned. "You are too funny. He was handsome in a "smart guy" kind of way. He had these sweet nervous tics of either pushing his gla.s.ses up his nose or running his hand through his hair when he got agitated or excited." She sighed. "It"s probably just wishful thinking on my part, but I"d like to think that he"s still the same. He definitely wasn"t typical as a teen-aged boy. At sixteen, he was telling me I was his personal ray of sunshine and that I completed him."
She closed her eyes then opened them. "I just wish I"d known then what I know now, because I never would have let him go. I"m not even sure why I lost contact with him anyway." She snorted a wry laugh. "I feel like such an idiot, and you know how I hate that."
The other women smiled, and Felicia tilted her head. "You"re beautiful and intelligent, and I wouldn"t be surprised if Marcus thinks about you as much as you think about him." She winked. "I might have told you not to dwell in the past, but it seems like everything is conspiring to keep you there."
Fallon gazed at her. "You"re right, enough about the past, no matter how sweet and wonderful it might seem." She wrinkled her nose and placed a finger in her ear. "Right now, what"s not so sweet and wonderful is that horrible caterwauling." She inclined her head toward the stage.
Camille, Sandra, and Felicia turned and nodded in agreement at the man butchering Queen"s "We are the Champions."
Felicia leaned forward and asked, "Could he sound any more like a cat being skinned?"
Her friends giggled, and Camille said, "Well, Felicia, it sounds as if we"re in need of some relief. Time for you to show "em how it"s done."
"Yeah, I probably should." Felicia grinned. "I just don"t know what to sing tonight. I want something a little different from my usual stuff."
Fallon snapped her fingers. "I know. How about something upbeat, something to get their toes a-tappin"?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"Disco."
Felicia"s eyes sparkled. "Oooh, I like the sound of that. A little something to make people boogie oogie oogie, and that"s it. I"ll be right back. I"m going to turn in my request."
Camille leaned over and asked Fallon, "How about you? Are you going to sing tonight?"
"Yes, I"m thinking about singing one that seems to go along with the theme of my first kiss."