Translation of Love (22 page)

I blink up at him. “I’m coming with you,” I whisper. I get up and turn toward Jordan and Alex. “We’re going up to bed guys. Good night.”

“Good night,” they both return in unison.

Once upstairs, I change into a comfy pair of pajamas and join Victor in bed. He pulls me into his side, bringing my head down to his chest. “Baby? Are you okay?” I ask. He’s silent for a while and I wonder if maybe he hadn’t heard me but finally he speaks.

“I don’t know. I mean, yes, for the most part I’m great. I’m happy with you. I’m happy with the work I’m doing on this new album. I just wish that my management would have my back.”

I sigh. “By management you mean your mom?”

“There are others, but yes, ultimately everyone takes her lead.”

I tighten my hold on him. “I feel bad that I’m the reason that you two are fighting.”

“Don’t. Don’t feel bad, Babe.” He kisses the top of my head. “Did you hear my conversation?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“I wasn’t hiding anything, you don’t have to be sorry. I just hate the fact that you’re being put in the middle. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I thought she’d be happy that I’m happy but I guess that’s just too much to ask for. I mean, I’m an adult, I don’t need her approval, Ellie, but it trickles down into the work and makes it harder.”

“I understand.”

“Please don’t put it on yourself, okay? It really has nothing to do with you and everything to do with a relationship that was already strained. I don’t want you using this as a reason to push me away.”

I suck in a breath. “I won’t. I would never use this against you. I wouldn’t push you away because your mom hates me. You’re right, we don’t need her approval.”

“Good,” he says, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Let’s get some rest, okay? We have to get up early.”

“Okay,” I respond, moving up so that my face is nuzzling his neck. Without even thinking about it, I breathe in the smell of him. I’m addicted to the scent. As I close my eyes, I can feel Victor shaking underneath me. Looking up, I see that he’s silently laughing. “Are you laughing at me?” I question, confusion on my face.

“Babe, did you just smell me?”

I totally did. “What? No!”

He roars with laughter. “You did, you totally just smelled me.” I roll away from him, grabbing a pillow as I go and covering my head with it. I wanna be embarrassed but I can’t deny that it’s funny.

“No, don’t hide, it was cute,” he says, grabbing the pillow and rolling me over to face him.

“I didn’t mean to. I just love how you smell.” I giggle.

“That’s sweet, Love. Let me smell you now,” he says, covering my body with his. He digs his nose in my neck, and starts tickling me all over.

“No!” I yell, laughing and squealing at the same time.

“You have to say please, Baby.” He starts kissing the spot that he was just sniffing. All of a sudden, we’re playing a new game.

“Please, Baby,” I whisper.

“Are you begging me to stop, or to keep on?” He kisses my jawline.

“Don’t stop.” I thrust my hips up, letting him know what I want. He doesn’t stop and he doesn’t make me wait.

I’m not sure what time it is when we finally get to sleep, but by the time morning comes, neither one of us wants to get out of bed. Eventually, I manage to get up and drag myself into the shower. It takes some doing but I finally get Victor up. He hops in the shower, while I get my green draped halter tankini on. I put a beaded cover up dress on, along with some flip-flops and my look is complete. I head downstairs and find both both Jordan and Alex asleep on the couch, his head on the armrest and hers resting against his chest. I guess they must have fallen asleep watching TV. I laugh at them because they both look a little embarrassed when I wake them up to get ready. Jordan is quick to pull me aside and tell me that nothing happened between the two of them. I assure her that it all looked completely innocent. Once she goes upstairs, I head into the kitchen to prepare lunch. I pack a large cooler with sandwiches, water bottles, sodas, and a few beers. As I’m finishing up, a knock on the door grabs my attention. I jog into the living room, opening the door for Dad, Gavin and Gemma.

“Hey, guys!” I say, excited that everyone is here.

“Hey, Auntie Elle. Where’s Victor.” It figures that she’d rather see him.

“I’m right here, sweetie,” I turn to see Victor bounding down the stairs, looking mouth wateringly good in black cargo swim trunks and a plain white tank top. Gemma bypasses me and throws her hands around his waist. He hugs her right back. “It’s good to see you, Gem. Are you excited for the beach?”

“I can’t wait,” she responds enthusiastically.

I turn to look at Gavin and Dad. “Really? What, am I not her favorite anymore?”

Gavin shakes his head and chuckles. “She’s moved on to bigger and better, Sis. What can I say?”

“Hey, Joe, Gavin.” Victor walks over and shakes their hands.

“Hi, Son.” It makes me happy to know that both Dad and Gavin have accepted Victor.

“Are we ready to go or what?” I turn again to see Jordan and Alex coming downstairs. I introduce Alex to my family. We grab the cooler full of food, some beach chairs, towels, and umbrellas and we leave, taking two cars to the beach, which is only a few blocks away. We get to the beach early enough that the crowds are at a minimum. Getting in and out early is the key to enjoying New Jersey beaches.

We set up our chairs, blankets, and umbrellas in a cluster on the sand and sit to enjoy the view. In May, the water is usually still too cold to get into but that doesn’t stop anyone from going to the beach. Memorial Day is the official start to summer on the Jersey shore and for most people just being there is good enough. I’m lounging on a beach chair soaking in the sun, eyes closed and iPod on. Sensing that I’m being watched, my eyes flutter open and Victor’s sitting in the chair next to mine, eyes on me. I pull the headphones out of my ear. “What?” I say, with a smile on my face.

He gets up. “Let’s take a walk.” He takes my hand in his and pulls me out of my chair. Hand in hand, we walk down to the shoreline, just close enough that our feet get wet. He touches the string on my tankini. “I like this.”

“Thanks,” I reply, blushing at the compliment.

“You know I have to go back home tonight, right?”

I sigh. “Yes. I know.”

“When the album is done, I’m going to have to do a small promotional tour and then a small concert tour.”

I know that this conversation is inevitable but I hate the fact that he’ll be away for God knows how long. “Which means you’ll be gone.”

He nods. “Yes, it means I’ll be gone.”

I take a breath and slow down. “Don’t take this the wrong way but I hate how I feel when you’re not around. It’s hard, and I hate that because it means that I’m becoming dependent on someone else. I promised myself that I wouldn’t ever do that again.”

He comes to a halt. “It’s not a crime to depend on someone else, Ellie. I know it sucks, but the first time around you got close to the wrong person. I’m not him. Your heart is safe with me, and I feel the same way about you. I hate it when we’re apart.” He starts walking again, pulling us along the shore. “I know that this has happened kind of fast, faster than you may have liked, but it feels right.”

I tug at his hand. “It does feel right. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“You didn’t. I want you to say how you feel. I would never try to filter you. Anyway, the reason that I brought it up is because I was hoping that you could plan to come out with me for some things.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know that you work, but I thought that maybe if you have some time that you can take, you could maybe come out on some of the promotional tour and then if you have time left over some of the concert tour.”

The thought of being out on the road with Victor excites me. I think it would be amazing to see what life is like for him out on tour. “I’m sure we can work something out. I want to spend as much time with you as I can.”

“We’ll make it work, Babe. I don’t want you to worry about it.”

“I’ll try,” I say, feeling a little bit sad. I know that none of this is happening right away but it is inevitable nonetheless. I push the thought out of my mind and allow myself to enjoy the beautiful beach. We walk back to our group and spend a couple more hours on the beach before we pack everything up and leave. After that, we all reconvene at Dad’s house for our annual Memorial Day barbecue.

At Dad’s, everyone seems to be paired off. Gemma had one of her little girlfriends drop by. Victor mans the grill with Dad. Alex and Gavin are drinking beer and talking sports, and Jordan and I are lounging in lawn chairs with wine coolers.

“Victor seems to fit in nicely with everyone, huh?” Jordan asks, taking a sip of her drink.

“I know, right? I don’t even know what to make of that. I thought after the way Dad found out about us, he would be a lot less supportive.”

“Sorry, Elle, but I think that everyone is just happy to see you with someone who treats you well and respects you.”

“Yeah. I’m happy about it too.” It’s hard for me to say those words out loud. I’m happy. They aren’t words that I’ve been overly familiar with over the last couple of years, so to say them is strange. To think that not so long ago, I would have closed the door on any opportunity to have a relationship with any man. I’m still not quite sure how Victor broke through, but I’m so glad that he did. The sound of my phone ringing brings me back to present. I look at the caller ID but it’s an unknown number. When I pick up the phone, the caller on the other end hangs up. It’s strange but not unheard of so I brush it off and enjoy the rest of the barbecue with my family and friends. Before long, it’s time for Victor and Alex to leave. I ride with them back to my house so they can pick up their things. Once their cars are packed, I say a quick goodbye to Alex and then I’m left with Victor.

“I’m gonna miss you,” I say, surprised by my own honesty.

“I’ll miss you too, Love.” He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into a hug.

I rest my head on his chest. “Will I see you next weekend?”

“Of course!” he says, placing a kiss on the top of my head. “You want me to come here, or you wanna come up to my place?”

I blink up at him. “Here. There’s too much drama when I go to you.” I don’t want another run in with his mother. I just can’t deal with a confrontation with her.

“I think you’re right. I’ll be here Friday.” He bends down and kisses me. I fight the urge to tell him how I feel about him, what he means to me. It’s too soon for me to give that piece of my self away. He pulls away from me, gets in his car and drives off, taking a piece of me with him as he goes.

I hated coming into work this morning. I’m grateful for the three day weekend but having Monday off throws me for a loop. I’m sitting at my desk enjoying a cup of coffee when Jacinda pops her head in my office. “Hey, Elle, can I see you in my office, please?”

“Sure,” I say hesitantly. On my walk over to Jacinda’s office, I’m trying to think about what in the world she could possibly want to see me about. I’ve never been called into her office before. I hate my job but my work is exemplary, all of my projects have been completed timely and I haven’t called out sick in over a year. I walk into her office. “What’s up? Is everything okay?”