The Game Changer (17 page)

“You don’t look like you’re dressed to go out,” I say, looking at him, standing in front of me in a t-shirt and basketball shorts.

“I told you, I wasn’t sure if I was up for it. I wanted to be comfortable if a better offer came up... and sure enough, it did,” he says, flopping on the couch and putting his feet up. He’s flipping through my sketch pad, which I left on the table earlier. “These are all so good, but this is my favorite,” he says, staring intently at a picture.

I walk over to see which one he is looking at, I have a feeling I know. He has seen it before. I had sketched it one morning while we were sitting at the docks. It was one of the most beautiful mornings. The sky was all shades of oranges, purples and blues. The sun was just starting to rise over the water. The light breeze was just enough to make little waves in the bay, causing ripples in the water.
There were two fishing boats in the distance that you could barely see, except for the lights. Just looking at the picture brings me there; I can imagine the smell of the water, the sounds of the seagulls and the lapping at the docks. It is one of my favorite pictures, too. It’s a reminder of what that spot means to us.

That morning, Luke was already there when I arrived. He was sitting on the end of the dock, he didn’t hear me approach; he was wearing his ear buds, listening to his IPod. I stayed a little further back, not wanting to disturb him, he looked content. Not only did I want to capture that perfect morning, I wanted to capture him and what he was feeling at that time.

“It’s my favorite, too,” I answer. “Anyway, my dad made a new pasta dish at the restaurant last night, he brought it home. I didn’t try it yet.”

“Awesome. Let’s heat it up before we lose electricity,” he says as he folds up my book and jumps up off the couch and follows me to the kitchen.

“Shit, I got to call Mikey and tell him we’re stayin’ in,” he says, dialing his number. “Yo, what’s up? Nah, I’m staying in.... JJ....
just us.
David’s working.” He rolls his eyes at me and laughs, then continues, “You’re an ass, dude… I’ll talk to you later… See ya.” He is still laughing as he hangs up.

“What?” I can only imagine what Mikey had to say about this.

“You know him.” He laughs, then calls his mom and tells her his plans.

This is great; sitting here, having dinner and talking about stuff. The weather is colder now, so I haven’t sketched at the docks in awhile, which means we haven’t spent much time alone.

Luke loves that my dad’s a chef, especially, since his next favorite thing to playing ball is eating. After we finish with dinner, he helps me clean up the dishes. My dad calls back to check in. He said they have over a foot of water in the streets and are expecting more. The storm is lasting longer than originally reported. Cars aren’t allowed on or off the island since the causeways are flooded until the tide goes out. He probably won’t get home till morning and wants to make sure I’m okay.

“Luke’s here. We’ll either stay here or go back to his house.” I look out the window to see what it
looks like. Our street is flooded and it looks like the lights must have gone out on his side of the street. “We’ll probably stay here. I think the lights are out across the street... Yeah, I will. I’ll have him call right now. If you can’t reach me on the house line, call his cell... I love you, too… Bye.”

I turn to Luke, trying to hide the fact that I’m smiling on the inside. “He can’t get off the island because of flooding. He wants to make sure that either you are staying here or we go to your house. He wants you to check with your mom.” I walk to the window to peek out and conceal my smile. “I think your electricity’s out. Plus, the water looks like it’s up to my waist. We’ll have to swim across,” I say, trying to hide the excitement that we are stranded here alone.

He picks up his phone again. “Mom, are the lights out? Not here. David just called. He’s stuck in AC because of the flooding. He might not make it home till morning, they closed the causeway. I’m gonna hang here since we have electricity. Mom, I know. I will. I love ya,” he says as he gives me a wink.

He looks at me with a huge grin on his face. “We’re on our own.”

“What’s so funny?” I ask.

“You just told your dad I’m stayin’ and I just told my mom, and they’re both like, okay, good. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“Yeah, I guess, but they know we’re friends. I’m sure if you were some guy I was dating, my dad wouldn’t have the same reaction,” I answer.

“True,” he says as the lights continue to flicker. He walks to the window to take a look. The wind sounds as if it will blow down the house. “How ‘bout we take a walk down to the docks? It’s probably awesome right now.”

“No way. We can’t; it’s really bad outside... It’s probably not a good idea,” I say not too convincingly, but having the sudden urge to do something crazy.

“C’mon, it’ll be cool,” he says playfully, nudging me on.

“Okay.” I give in easily, as I excitedly slip on my sneakers. I guess it’s not a good thing that I will follow him anywhere. We both throw on our hoodies and head out the door. The rain and wind are pounding the streets. I can barely walk; it’s as if I will be swept up in the swirling winds. Luke grabs my hand and pulls me along. The water from the bay has already spilled into the street; there must be about a foot or two of water. As we get closer to the docks, the boards are covered by the angry waves washing over them.

“I’m afraid. It’s going to sweep us out! ” I holler out as I pull him back by his arm.

He starts laughing. “Yeah, I think you’re right. I didn’t think it would be this bad, the sky is so black, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen the water this rough, but it looks really cool doesn’t it?” he asks as the lightning lights up the sky over the water.

“Yeah it does and it smells good, too!” We keep a safe distance as we watch a minute longer until we are abruptly interrupted by thunder crashing through the sky followed by a huge bolt of lightning, which seems as if it hits right at our feet. I scream and jump back.

“Holy Shit! We better get back before we get electrocuted!” He laughs hysterically as he pulls me back towards the house.

I try to keep up with him as he drags me along like a rag doll, racing back to the house with a few more thunderous bolts chasing us down the street, I’m yelling at him for what an idiot he is to make us come out here, as he continues laughing. We are both drenched by the time we reach the house.

“I cannot believe you just made me do that!” I yell as I smack him.

“I know; that was awesome. You’re just as bad for agreeing to go with me. It was cool though, right?” he asks, smiling and breathing heavily.

“Very cool,” I answer, unable to hide the grin on my face or stop my heart from pounding. We hang our sweatshirts on the coat rack to dry. I change my clothes and bring Luke a towel. “Do you need me to throw your clothes in the dryer?” I ask.

“Look at you, trying to get me out of my clothes,” he slyly accuses.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” I throw the towel in his face. “Sit there wet for all I care.”

He laughs. “Seriously, I’m fine. Let’s watch a movie before I fall asleep.”

“Am I that boring?” The lights flicker.

“Not at all, but you know me once I get comfortable. Do you have a flashlight or some candles? Just in case.”

I hand him some matches. “Here, light the candles in the family room, I’ll look for a flashlight.”

I find a flashlight in the junk drawer, not that it will be much help, the batteries are low and the light is dim. While I unsuccessfully search for batteries, he yells out from the other room. “Rocky’s on Showtime, do you want to watch it?”

“The first one?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure,” I answer as I make some popcorn and bring a couple of bottled waters into the family room. Luke is already stretched across the couch. He lifts up his legs, so I can sit down. He then puts his legs across my lap.

“Oh, thanks,” I say sarcastically.

“What... Do you care?” he asks as he grabs a handful of popcorn and shoves it into his mouth.

“No, you’re fine.” I sit the bowl of popcorn on his stomach. I’ve seen the movie at least a hundred times and so has he. We don’t care, we agree the
first one is the best; it’s one of those movies you can watch repeatedly and not get tired of it. I’m not sure if everyone feels that way, but everyone I know has seen it at least a hundred times.

“Ah, this is awesome. Don’t get mad if I fall asleep. I am way too comfortable right now.”

“As long as you’re here, I’m fine,” I answer. Actually, I don’t mind if he falls asleep. I can watch him as much as I want and he won’t know.

We aren’t through the first fifteen minutes when suddenly there is another loud thunderous crash followed by a huge lightning bolt that seems like it will crack the house in two. Once again, I let out a horrific scream. We both jump and the popcorn flies up in the air. The house goes dark and quiet, except for the flickering light of the candles.

He sits up next to me, his face inches from mine. “Now what?” he asks with that
up to no good,
beautiful grin, looking right into my eyes.

I lose my train of thought when he looks at me like that. “I… I don’t know... Are you still tired?” I stutter.

“Not really. Why?
What do you have in mind
?” he asks with that same grin.

“Cards? You can teach me how to play poker,” I answer quickly, pulling back slightly. I don’t think that’s what he has in mind by the look on his face.

“Strip poker?” he asks in his flirty, playful voice.

Typical Luke. “Absolutely not,” I shoot back.

“Ah, you’re no fun. Okay, regular poker.”

I find my dad’s cards and chips. I spread a blanket and pillows on the floor so we can stretch out and be comfortable. He deals the cards and we play a few practice hands so he can remind me of the rules. When I think I have the hang of it, we play for real. We decide on the best out of seven. Of course he has to put a wager on the game; whoever loses has to do whatever the other asks. His rules, not mine.

He wins the first two hands. I win the third and fourth. We begin laughing because he can’t believe I have actually beaten him and evened the score. He wins the fifth. I win the sixth.

“Alright, so you think you’re this great poker player now, do you? Are you ready? I hope that you are, because if not, you’re gonna owe me big time. Deuces are wild,” he teases.

I have a nervous, tingling feeling in my stomach because who knows what he is going to make me do, and a bet’s, a bet, so I’ll have to honor it. “Stop stalling and just deal already,” I say sarcastically.

He grins as he deals the hand, believing he’s going to make me pay up. I know as soon as I see my hand that I have him. I only throw away one card. He knows I have a good hand because I haven’t learned how to keep a poker face, yet, and I’m smiling.

Yes! Two of hearts! It couldn’t get much better than this. I know he will try to bluff, which he does. I match his bet and raise him two chips. He calls it. I fan my cards out across the blanket, revealing my hand. His face is priceless as he sees my full house compared to his three tens. I begin to gloat.

“You think you’re so cool now, don’t you?” he laughs as he reaches over and begins to tickle me. He grins as his fingers dance around the sides of my waist. I try to escape, but he pins me down underneath of him as he playfully holds down my wrists.

“Y…Yes,” I can hardly get the words out. I can’t breathe; one because I’m still laughing from being tickled and trying to get loose, and two, because he is so close.

His face is directly over mine. He’s staring intently into my eyes and suddenly the laughing stops. He slowly leans his face closer until his lips slowly come down upon mine. He briefly pauses as if searching my eyes for a sign. If he is waiting for a signal from me to stop, he isn’t going to get it. He slowly releases my wrists and slides his hands into mine, entwining our fingers. He gently kisses me once more. I slide my hands around his neck, pulling him closer. Again, our lips meet and our mouths part. His tongue moves slowly in rhythm with mine. He tastes so good, I’ve almost forgotten how much. I run my fingers through the back of his hair that is still damp from the rain. He relaxes his body over mine, our kisses became more heated. I slide my hands down his back, pulling him in closer as if that is possible. He presses his body into mine and I feel every hard muscle in his body, making me want him more.

I can feel his heart beating in his chest as fast as mine. The sound of his breathing is becoming heavier as he moves his lips over my cheek to my ear, down my neck; kissing each spot softly and sending chills throughout my body. His hands glide gently down my neck, down my side, then across my stomach. There is no one here to interrupt us this time. I have him all to myself tonight. I don’t think it can get any better than the last time I kissed him.

Suddenly, I remember the last time. Why did I have to think of the last time, it didn’t turn out so well. It was weeks before we finally started to talk and get back to normal. It will crush me to lose him again. He senses my distraction and he pulls back to look at my face.

“Are you okay? Am I hurting you?” he whispers as he softly brushes his hand along my face.