In This Life by Christine Brae Read Free Book Online Page B

home after everything I had said to my father.
    “I know, I know,” he whispered, his mouth against the back of my head. “I’m here doing the same thing. But what we both have to realize is that those problems, they don’t go away. No matter how many times we brush them under the carpet, they’ll eventually surface again, worse than they were before.”
    “Are you twenty-six going on forty or something?” I sniffed. “What about you? What are you running away from?” I tilted my head, allowing his lips to brush against my ears.
    He hesitated. “I’m not running away. Like you, my life’s path is pretty much planned out for me. It’s what’s going on around me that’s making me confused.”
    “Like what?”
    “Meeting someone like you, for one.”
    “Oh,” I said, disappointed. I leaned forward until nothing about us was touching.
    He quickly changed the subject. “Hey, what do you say we start walking back to the hut?” he asked as he stood up, offering me his hand. I took it. “Will Dante be looking for you? Should I text him?”
    “He knows I’m with you. No need,” I said as I dusted the sand off my legs and followed him back to his place.
     

     
    “DID YOU WANT to change your, um, thing since you got it wet in the water? I can lend you a brand new pair of boxers,” Jude offered shyly. I was in his bathroom washing my hands and cleaning up the salt water from my face and hair.
    “Do you really have an extra pair? Yes, if you don’t mind.”
    He walked over to where I was and handed me a box of Gap boxer shorts.
    “You packed them like this?” I laughed, lifting my hand in the air and making a twirling motion with my fingers. He turned away as I removed my wet underwear and changed into his boxers. They were loose but comfortable, starchy new.
    “Yeah. Why not? Here’s a t-shirt too.” He reached his arm back, making sure to keep his head facing in the opposite direction.
    “Thanks.” I turned around and swiped a drop of toothpaste across my teeth. “I’m so tired. I think I’m going to lie down.”
    I was woken up in the night by the sound of voices coming from the balcony. The floor creaked at first, light footsteps following after that, and then I heard a woman’s voice. I laid on the mattress and strained with all my might to hear what was being said in hushed voices.
    “What’s the matter?” said the woman. “Don’t you want this? Don’t you want me?”
    “Paulina, you’ve had too much to drink. Let me walk you back to the house,” Jude said.
    “No, no. I don’t want to go back. I want to be here with you. I have wanted you from the first day I saw you.”
    “Please, let me walk you back home.” I heard the floor creak once again. I assumed that he was trying to lead her outside. The sound of footsteps moved in my direction.
    “What is she doing here?” Paulina cried, her bikini top hanging from her neck. She was slurring and swinging, and the uneven bamboo floor wasn’t helping her keep her balance. He slid swiftly towards her, afraid of what she might do next. “Is she with you? Why is she with you?”
    I sat up abruptly, ready to protect myself in case she decided to move any closer.
    “Paulina, please. She’s not with me. She was very tired and fell asleep,” he said, trying to reason with her.
    “What is it about her?” she yelled. “What is it about her that all of you are crazy about? First Dante, and then Delmar. Now you!”
    She stomped out with Jude following right behind her. He was gone for a while , and I wondered, but I refused to let my feelings get the better of me. I walked over to the edge of the house to sit in his favorite spot. The stars were out in full force, both up in the sky and down on the water, like diamonds resting on top of a dark velvet shawl. Its fringes touched the ends of the earth and broke out into tiny little islands. I laughed when I looked down at myself to see a pair of skinny thighs sticking out of oversized