Let Me Be the One (14 page)

I was so happy but as I flew back to school, I knew I had to temper how I
spoke about this with Jenna.  She was still emotional about what she’d endured and I knew she would be for a long time. 

Tom was leaning up against his truck as I came out of the terminal.  When he saw me he came to me, grabbed my duffel, and wrapped his free arm around me.  “That felt like the longest three days, Darcy.  I mis
sed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“How’s Rebecca doing, and Kate?”

I filled him in on everything.  I felt so relieved to be sitting next to him again, with my hand in his.  I felt like we were fi
nally getting back to normal. 

When I got back to our place, Jenna was waiting for me.  “I can’t believe you haven’t sent me any pictures!” I smiled and showed her my phone, which already had over fifty shots.  She smiled but there were tears at the corners of her eyes. “She’s so beauti
ful, Darcy.  So perfect.”

I gave her a big bear hug.  She was trying to be positive for my sake but I knew this had to be hard. 

Tom

Besides making things right with Darcy, I also had to set things straight with some other people.  I saw Chris at the rec and swallowed hard before asking him if we could talk.  “I just need you to know that things didn’t go down the way you think they did that night.”

“I know that now.  If you were looking from where Darcy and I were standing, though, there’s no other conclusion you could have come to.  And I know your history with Liz.  You can’t blame me for thinking the worst.  That girl’s poison”

“I know.  I also just wanted to
apologize for going after you.”

“We’re all good.”

“I’m coming by your place tonight to talk to Nick.”

“You think
that’s a good idea?”

“I d
on’t care, it’s gotta be done.”

Chris opened the door when I came by.  Knowing him, he probably stayed home deliberately to prevent another beating.  Even though that wasn’t my intention, it was probably for the best that he was there.

Chris obviously hadn’t mentioned to Nick I was co
ming by because he looked like he was taken off guard when I walked into his room. He still had the stitches above his eye and I could see that I’d definitely broken his nose.  After a few moments of staring at each other I broke the silence.  “Do you want to explain to me why you did that?  Why you climbed into bed with her and put your hands on her?”

He let out a sigh.  “I heard things were over between the two of you, courtesy of Liz.  I couldn’t believe you would hook up with her when you had Darcy.”  He held up his hand to silence me when I began to speak, “I’ve since heard that it wasn’t true.  But I was drunk and fucking ecstat
ic thinking you two were done.”

I took another step towards him.  I was fighting back the strong urge I had to beat his face again.  “I just came here to warn you, Nick.  If you do that again, so much as touch her or speak to her in a way that you shouldn’t, no one is going to be there
to pull me off you next time.”

He didn’t look mad, just defeated.  He gave a
quick nod and said, “You done?”

“Yeah, I’m done with you.”

A few days later I saw Liz.  She walked up to me as I was talking to Mac and Ben in the quad
.  She looked wary. “Hey guys.”

I answered her, “Hey yourself, I’ve been hoping to run into you.”  Her eyes brightened for a moment.  “Liz, I just wanted to make sure you understand and that I’m perfectly clear.  Don’t come around me and don’t say another fucking word to Darcy. You got that?  I don’t want you at our parties or at the rugby house.  If I’m
there, you stay the fuck away.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little bad as she visibly shrank and her face looked crestfallen but she deserved what she got.

Darcy

The winter was winding down and with the exception of thinking about where I would be come September, everything was good.  Tom and I were back to normal; the awkwardness following what had happened was gone. 

We had spent one weekend back in New York together babysitting for Rebecca so that Luke and Kate could get away for a night.  That was weird in a very good way.  Rebecca was an absolute doll.  She was almost two months old now and she was a happy, easy baby.  Why wouldn’t she be?  She had about ten different people absolutely wrapped around her finger.  Her eyes twi
nkled every time I spoke to her or smiled at her.  I was in love.  And Tom was a natural.  I felt all sorts of swoony over him watching as he cradled this tiny little angel in his big, strong arms.  When Rebecca cried as she was waiting for me to heat her bottle, he rocked her and sang to her until she was staring up at him mesmerized.  I was a little mesmerized myself and I had to admit, taking in that scene made me want to tear my clothes off and maul him.

That part of our lives was back on track too.  Tom was so tender and loving with me but it was intense.  Tom would always hold my gaze as he brought me to the edge and I couldn’t ever get enough of seeing the emotion on his face as he lost himself in me.  He would always hold me tight to him afterwards and sometimes we just stayed like that for the longest time, naked in each other’s arms, talking about our future together.  I had never exper
ienced this in my life and I couldn’t imagine that it could possibly be better with anyone else on the planet.  When I said that to Tom once, he told me that he’d never felt this way before either and that it was because he loved me more than anything.  I loved him desperately.  The thought of being away from him next year…I just couldn’t do it.

At school the parties were picking up.  Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there were at least ten different parties going on in the Village.  People were letting loose the closer we were getting to graduation. 

I had no question about Tom’s feelings towards me.  When it was just us, we were able to talk about pretty much anything with one another and he cared for me in a way that made me feel totally and completely loved.  Whenever we were out, his hand was in mine or Tom had an arm around me.  At parties he was always dra
gging me out to dance, holding his body close to mine.  And when we crossed paths with Liz or anyone else from his jaded past, he made a point of ignoring them and showering extra attention on me.  It was a little ridiculous and over-the-top at times but deep down, I appreciated it.

Liz wouldn’t even make eye contact, let alone say a word to me, and that was just fine.  Nick also kept his distance.  He had texted me to apologize for that night but I thought it best not to respond to him.  I didn’t feel a sense of forgiveness.  That had been the last stra
w.   I just wanted to cut ties.

It was already mid-April and we were graduating May twentieth.  I had received acceptances from Northwestern and UCLA but was declined by Johns Hopkins and NYU.  Being declined by NYU kind of sealed the deal for me.  I hadn’t told anyone, not even Tom, but I’d pretty much made up my mind that I was taking the year.  I was ok with it.  I would have to speak to my dad soon to sort out my future, he was good in the guidance department, but for right now I was going to just enjoy being with my closest friends for the next four weeks.  

Tom, of course, already had his job lined up.  He didn’t join the same firm where his dad was a manag
ing partner, he had gotten a job at another one of the big finance firms.  He would be based on Wall Street and was slated to attend two weeks of training in Chicago for all of the new employees starting mid-July.  I was excited for him. 

With all of my frequent flier miles, Tom and I were going to head off to Spain and Portugal for three weeks at the beginning of June.  I couldn’t wait.  We were planning to backpack, splitting our nights between cheaper youth hostels and splurging to stay in a few nice hotels.  We had spent hours and hours plotting out our itinerary.  We were flying into Barcelona, ferrying over to Mallorca and Menorca, heading north to San Sebastian, down to Salamanca where I
’d attended university, and then further south to Seville and Malaga.  Then we had a few days in Madrid.  Thanks to Luke, I’d scored concert tickets to a sold- show on Tom’s birthday in Madrid; I couldn’t wait to surprise him with that.  Then we were flying to Lisbon and bumming along the Algarve coast for a week.  I was so excited; three weeks of walking the cobblestoned streets of some of my favorite cities, lounging in bathing suits, eating seafood on the beach, and living day and night with Tom…heaven.

Tom

We spent Friday morning loading up my truck and Chris’s with beer, tents, air mattresses; everything you might need to have over fifty people crash at your house.  Mac’s third annual Cinco de Mayo party on Cape Cod was this weekend.  He’d sent out the invite last week.  The text addressed to the girls assured them that the pool would be heated to a warm eighty degrees so bikinis were appropriate attire.  It was our whole crowd and then some of Mac’s friends from home in New Hampshire.  I knew most of the guys he invited, as they all went to UNH and we played them in rugby. 

The last two years the parties were insane; I felt like I needed a full week to recover afterwards.  Mac, Chris, Denny, Dan, Ben and I were heading there ea
rly Friday afternoon to set up. 

Mac put a lot of work into this every year and it was always great.  Tonight was going
to be mostly, if not all, guys and would be a little more low-key.  Saturday was mayhem but Mac still managed to do a fairly upscale spread.  This year he’d arranged for a caterer to come in and cook lobster and man a raw bar of clams and oysters.  The only nod to Mexico was the tequila.  I found this pretty funny because everyone would have been just as satisfied with burgers and also, by the time everyone ate they would be half in the bag.  That was Mac, though, always keeping it classy; the guy had been known to show up to class in a jacket and trousers for no good reason.  

Darcy and the rest of her roommates were driving down Saturday afternoon.  There were a lot of girls coming from school; Mac didn’t have a girlfriend so he wan
ted to have plenty of options.

Mac told me that Liz had approached him last week right after he’d
sent the text out to everyone.  She was angling for an invite.  “I felt bad, like I was kicking a puppy or something.  She just kept at it, Tom.  I mean, damn, that girl is persistent.”

“Please
tell me you didn’t cave, Mac.”

“No, I
told her flat-out not to come.”

“Thanks.  That would have ruined my week
end.”

I had mixed feelings when I heard that Nick wasn’t going to be there either.  Chris told me that Nick had been going home a lot of weekends following what had happened between me, him, and Darcy.  Chris suspected that Nick was getting help for his drinking and other issues.  The few times he did go out, he would have a beer here and there or completely stick to sodas.  I was relieved he wasn’t coming this weekend but felt bad for him at the same time because I knew he had a problem.  While I was glad he was making changes for the better and I wished him the best, I knew that we would
never reconnect.  We were done.

Friday night turned out to be more people than I’d expected.  A group of about
fifteen guys and girls came from UNH and there were at least ten of us.  Of course, a girl I’d hooked up with last year was there.  I was embarrassed when I didn’t remember her name.  When she came over, hugged me and squealed, “Tom, I was hoping you’d be here,” I pulled the, “Hey,
you
, how’ve you been?” 

Within the span of our five-minute conversation I let Amanda—I heard her friend call out to her—know that my girlfriend was arriving tomorrow.  Amanda was a nice girl; she backed off right away.  It would be great if she was the only former fling who would be here this weekend but just from our crew alone there would be at least another two or three girls here that I’d “spent time” with.  No escap
ing the past.

By the time lobster claws were being cracked on Saturday, there were people spilling out of every part of the house.  Mac had a local indie band playing and everyone was starting to go a little wild; the drinks were flowing.  I was happy when Darcy finally got there.  Caitlin had gotten a flat on the way so it was nearly six by the time they all rolled in.  They looked like the hot squad, all long legs and long hair, when they walked in and I saw a crew of the UNH guys practically part like the Red Sea with their mouths hanging open as they made their way through the crowd.  When I saw Paul, one of Mac’s friends, hand Darcy a drink I was by her side within a minute.  “What’s up, Paul?  I see you’ve met my Darcy?”

He rolled his eyes.  “I get the hint, Tom.  Is he alway
s this possessive, sweetheart?”

Darcy smiled and laughed. 
“Yes, but you should see
me
when girls try to chat him up, I’m vicious!”

Darcy never made me feel like I had anything to be concerned about, which was a relief
, because guys looked, ogled, or flat-out leered at her
all
the time.  She always deflected them nicely when they offered her drinks or were getting too chummy with her.  I had now gotten that act down pretty well myself; I never wanted her to doubt my feelings for her again.  Thankfully, Darcy was pretty self-assured; I knew she really didn’t sweat it when I spoke to other girls.  I knew now that she trusted me, despite my history, and that made me love her even more.   

Rene and Darcy were by me most of the night.  Rene was uncomfortable, probably because her old boyfriend, Tanner, was there looking particularly miserable.  She mentioned something about asking for Caitlin’s car to head back early but Darcy convinced her to stay.  When those two, along with Caitlin, Cara and a few other girls headed for the pool I went to help Mac rotate the kegs.  When I was rolling a new keg onto the back deck I saw Darcy standing by the pool braiding her hair over one shoulder as she was talking to Amanda and another girl.  Great.  I decided to keep myself busy on the other side of the pool but looked over there often.  Darcy was in a bikini, as were the other girls but it was Darcy that was drawing the attention of the guys nearby.  I watched as three UNH guys approached them with drinks and Amanda enthusiastically introduced Darcy to
them.  Guys were so obvious.  I wondered if I’d ever been a prick like them, boldly eyeing her from her toes to her tits as they spoke to her.  I’m pretty sure I had been.  Enough was enough.  I made my way over there and slid my arm around Darcy’s waist.  “Hey, Amanda, I see you’ve met Darcy.”  Then I looked at the three guys, “What’s up?  I’m Tom.”

They all backed off some and introduced them
selves.  They were good people and had clearly gotten my message.  Amanda chirped happily, “Oh,
Darcy’s
your girlfriend?  Well, I just met her but I love her already.  I don’t blame you for dropping me, Tom.”             

Darcy looked up at me with raised eyebrows.  “Long story,” I
whispered as I slid my hand down and squeezed her hip.  When Amanda left I explained that she was from long ago.  “I was trying not to come over while you were talking to her but I felt like I had to run interference between you and those three douchebags.”

“Huh
?”

“Darcy, I can’t watch as guys look at your body like you’re a tasty treat.  Please, go in the pool or put a shirt on, otherwise I may w
ind up starting an ugly brawl.”

Darcy batted her eyes at me, all innocent,
and then slid out of my grasp.  “Well, let’s see.  I haven’t kissed—or
banged—
anyone else at this party while you, you’ve had your fun.  Maybe you deserve to be tortured a little.”

With that, she did a slow, sexy strut with her shou
lders back and chest out, as she walked towards the bar where Caitlin was chatting up Chris.  I saw her knock back a shot with Caitlin and then look back to me with a wink and a smile.

I followed close behind and chuckled as I came up behind her and wrapped both arms around her waist as
I whispered in her ear, “Oh, no you don’t.  This hot body, these legs, these beautiful tits…they’re all mine.  For my eyes only.  Do you understand, Ms. Donovan?”

She whispered back, “I wish there was no one else here, Mr. Farrell.  I’d like you to untie the strings on this bikini and do dirty, wi
cked things to me in the pool.”

Now I was sporting a massive hard-on.  “Shit, Darcy.  Start talking about the weather or something so
that I don’t embarrass myself.”

I knew she could
feel
exactly
what I was talking about.  She turned her face to the side and met my gaze with a sweet, shy smile. “I like that I do that to you.”

I practically groaned, “You
always
do that to me.  You always will.” 

Then she turned around and wrapped her arms around my neck.  “I love you, Tom.  I always will.”