“Okay, Okay, stop it, Katerina,” Brooklyn glared, a warning note in her voice.
Kat put her hands up. “Whatever, Brook. Just making an observation.” Brooklyn looked up at Seth. He was laughing, and staring at Kat. Brooklyn’s insides twisted. Why was it that Seth always went for her best friends, but never her?
Brooklyn grabbed Natalia’s arm, who had been watching this in a detached sort of way. Natalia had been half detached ever since Jeremy left. Brooklyn was so angry at Jeremy for leaving her. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t right that he expected her to wait so long for him. She was young, what was she supposed to do? Not go out at all, stay home on weekends? It was like turning into a nun.
“Let’s go, Nat,” she said. Natalia looked up, surprised, but obliged. Seth and Kat, who were talking rapidly, followed them, followed by Romeo and Harold, carrying all the bags.
Kat gazed around the penthouse. “Nice digs, Brooklyn,” Kat said appreciatively. One thing that that always annoyed Brooklyn about Kat was her weird vocabulary, probably picked up form her mother.
“Thanks,” she said, grinning and bearing it. “Drinks?”
“Love to,” Kat smiled.
“Shall I mix some?” Seth asked.
“Awesome!” Kat said in her high soprano voice, letting go of his arm.
“Shall I give you ladies a tour?” Romeo asked Natalia and Kat. Brooklyn almost gagged. He was trying too hard.
“You do that, little brother,” she said, following Seth into the kitchen. She felt Romeo’s glare on her neck.
Seth turned when she walked in. “Hey! Your friend is really cool, you know? Katerina?”
Brooklyn’s whole body froze right then. Sometimes, she hated Seth for being so clueless. “Her name is Kat. And stay away from her.”
Seth looked surprised. Taken aback, he said, “I’m sorry, Brooklyn. But why do you want me to stay away from her?“
Brooklyn cut him off, searching for the best excuse she could find. “Because—Because, um, just— Romeo really likes her. And he’s my brother. So let him have her,” she said, disgusted as she said the words. Romeo and Kat? Kat and Romeo? It sounded horrible in every way.
Seth looked startled. “I don’t like Kat. I mean, I like her, but not like that.” And then he started laughing. “Katerina—I mean, Kat, and Romeo? But he’s your little brother and she’s your friend? That’s kind of, I don’t know, weird.”
Brooklyn relaxed and then she was laughing too. Suddenly, neither of them felt so uncomfortable. “It’s really nice to see you,” she told him.
He wrapped her in a hug that set her nerves on fire. “You too, Brook. I’ve missed you.” They pulled apart. “I never really got to ask you how Princeton was. I was thinking of transferring there this year, but ended up not doing it,” he said. His remark filled Brooklyn with nameless horror and yet excitement at the same time. Seth being there every day, where she lived and studied. The constant reminder that he didn’t love her? But what about the closeness of him, every day? It was so bad and so good, at the same time.
* * * * *
“So what do you think of Brooklyn? She lives with you, right?“ Simon asked.
“How do you even know her?” Averil asked, adjusting the airplane seat so that it reclined. She felt the person behind her kick the chair in indignation. She pulled it back up.
“We met, really randomly, at Dean & Deluca’s in junior year. Well, her senior year, but whatever. It was a really weird day and we hung out only a couple times after, but I do know her and her brother, who, by the way, knows your boyfriend,” Simon said, his voice getting bitter on the last two words.
“Oh, yeah, Ty and her brother are best friends, I remember. Oh my god, I can’t believe I get to see Ty. It’s really been too long,” Averil said, practically bouncing in her seat.
“We’re on an airplane, not a trampoline, Averil,” Simon reminded her.
“Uh, fine, but I have so much pent-up excitement,” Averil practically squealed.
They landed shortly and Averil and Simon hailed a cab that drove them to their loft on the Lower West Side. They never did make it inside however, because sitting in front of their door, looking older than Averil remembered, was her mother. Her face held more lines than it used to, and her shoulder length blonde hair was now streaked with silvery grey strands.
Loraine Scott stared at her daughter, wondering how she had grown up so fast. “Averil, honey, please come home?” she said, to the point.
Averil stared at her mother. This was far from what she had been expecting. She didn’t remember her mother being so nice. She didn’t remember her asking instead of ordering. “Mother, this is all so sudden. How about I call you?”
“Alright, Averil. But please do think about it. I love you, and I don’t want things to be bitter between us forever,” she said sadly. Averil watched as her mother’s small figure made her way forlornly down the street. Somehow, when you didn’t see her face, she seemed very alone. But Averil let ice creep over her heart where her mother was involved. She shouldn’t let herself feel guilty.
Averil stood up. “I’m going to go see Ty. Simon, you want to come with me?” He shook his head.
“Okay,” Averil said. She bounded to the door and hailed a cab that drove her to Ty’s apartment. She rang the doorbell, giddy with excitement. When he opened it, she threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Ty!” she squealed.
He was startled at first, but then his thin arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer. Averil inhaled his unique scent of cigarettes and lemon soap. “Hey,” he said, pulling back. He leaned down and brushed his lips with hers, sending shivers through her. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him harder. She couldn’t believe she had lived without him for so long. She felt his nimble fingers in her hair and reached up to twine her own into his midnight colored locks. She heard him whisper her name again and again, and felt his left arm at the small of her back, pulling her closer. His lips were on her throat now, her jaw, her lips. He was her oxygen—she couldn’t live without him.
When they finally pulled apart, his eyes were dark with passion, his beautiful, artist’s hands shaking as he traced her face with his fingers. He pressed his forehead to hers, looking into her eyes. “I love you.”
Averil let out a sharp breath. He loved her? He’d never said it before. He brushed a stray hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I love you too,” she answered, meaning every word.
He wrapped her in a hug. “I missed you so much. You have no idea,” he told her.
She put on a mock hurt look. “You think I don’t have any idea? I know how much I missed you, don’t I?”
Ty smiled. “Okay, you’re right.”
“I know I am,” she grinned up at him.
“And I love you for that,” he said, and then he covered her lips with his again.
Five minutes later they were seated on his sofa, her head on his shoulder and he played with her hair. “How was it? The semester at Princeton. You’ve never told me about your friends.”
“Their names are Natalia, Katerina, and Brooklyn. But you know Brooklyn. Romeo’s sister.”
“Natalia, Katerina, and Brooklyn? Weirdest names ever.” Ty laughed.
“Katerina goes by Kat, and Natalia goes by Nat or Natalia, and Brooklyn is Brooklyn.” Averil continued. “Kat’s like an energetic ray of sunshine, always happy, always positive. And Natalia has bubble gum pink hair.”
“Pink hair? My friend at NYU has a girlfriend at Princeton with pink hair.”
Averil shook her head. “Not possible for it to be him. Nat’s boyfriend left for London, so he doesn’t go there anymore.”
Ty sat up again. “Yeah, Jeremy left for London. Shooting a movie, right?”
Averil turned to him. “It is him! It’s so crazy how people connect the world, like a dot matrix. You never know how you’re connected to someone.”
“I know.”
“I just feel so bad for Nat. I mean, one and a half years without him? That would be horrible. I couldn’t live through that,” She turned to Ty, her eyes serious. “You’ll never leave me like that, right? Say you’ll never leave me.”
Ty looked straight into her blue eyes and she stared straight into his midnight black ones. “I will never leave you. I promise,” he said, and he twined his pinkie around hers.
Averil stretched up to kiss him, feeling like she could never be more at home than she was now. This was Ty; this was who she was made for. She loved him and he loved her. How could there be anything else?
“I won’t leave you either,” she said. “Not even if you beg me to.”
Ty reached around her and grabbed a Sharpie from the coffee table. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Watch,” he said, smiling his beautiful, crooked smile.
He led her to the small table that held only a lamp and poised the Sharpie on it, before he began to write. “Ty! Aren’t you renting all the furniture? You can’t do that!” Averil gasped.
“I’ll pay for it if I have to. We need to imprint this moment,” he said, pulling her down to kneel with him at the table’s level. When he was done, she read it.
It read—
Forever: Ty & Averil
— in his beautiful handwriting.
He wrapped his arms around her, as she ran her hands over the newly printed words. “You are really romantic. You know that?” she told him.
“I do try to be the best at whatever I do,” he smiled at her.
Suddenly she stood up. “I want to do something too. Where are your Converse shoes?”
“Why?”
“Ty,” she begged. “Just give them to me.”
He stood up and wrapped his arms around her. “Okay, okay,” he kissed her on the forehead and went to retrieve them.
When he did, she took them from him and uncapped the Sharpie. On the white part on the front where his toes would be, she wrote on both the shoes,
Forever
* * * * *
Seth watched Brooklyn all throughout dinner, the way she laughed, the way she smiled, the curve of her mouth as she talked. College suited her, he thought. She’d never looked more confident or happy. And he’d never felt more in love with her. But telling her would mean getting turned down. Getting laughed at by her. Seth knew he wasn’t brave enough for that. He despised himself for being so weak, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words to her, no matter how much he reprimanded himself. He was afraid—there was no way around it. He was a coward, he knew.
But still, he liked to watch her. He was so glad the awkwardness between them had dissolved. He longed to ask her if she had a boyfriend. Romeo, however, beat him to it.
“So, Brook, anyone special in Princeton?”
Brooklyn shook her head, but Seth could see redness flush her cheeks. She cast her eyes down, hiding a small smile. “No, no, there isn’t.”
Kat piped up eagerly. “Not yet, there isn’t. But there will be. Carter Jules keeps staring at her in the library and asking her to study together. He so obviously likes her. It’s like he’s captivated by her presence. It’s really sweet to watch.”
“I know,” Natalia put in. “And he’s good looking and smart, so I don’t know why you won’t take him up, Brooklyn.” She turned to the rest of them. “He’s got these beautiful hazel eyes and floppy gold hair, plus he has a 3.95 GPA. I have no idea how he does it, but he seems to be perfect in all aspects.”
Seth felt his heart sink. No, he felt his heart plummet into the depths of despair. How could he compete with that? “He’s from California, isn’t he?” Kat asked.
Brooklyn nodded. “Yeah, but he’s actually coming here. He’s interning somewhere in the city.”
“Oh my God! We have to go meet him. No, you have to go meet him, Brooklyn!” Kat practically yelled. She really was excitable.
Seth looked around the table. Brooklyn sat at the head, and on either side of her were Kat and Natalia. Beside Kat was Romeo, and to Natalia’s side was an empty chair left for Cecily, who would probably not be coming for dinner. He sat across from Brooklyn, watching her.
Brooklyn nodded. “Yeah, maybe.”
Seth stood up. “I have to leave. It was nice meeting you, Kat and Natalia.” He turned to Brooklyn and Romeo. “And I guess I’ll see you two soon.”
Truthfully, he didn’t have to go, but he couldn’t sit there any longer and listen to Kat and Natalia plan Brooklyn’s date with her perfect new boyfriend.
Harold gave him his coat and he took the elevator down into the lamp-light night streets of New York. Park Avenue looked amazing at this time of the night, with all the Christmas lights flickering and the snow falling. He loved the way the light reflected on the pure, white snow. Because of all the decorations, Christmas was easily Seth’s favorite holiday.
He went home, walked into the parlor, and then stopped in surprise. Sitting there was CeCe and Emma with their parents, talking to his parents and Alec. CeCe Blake looked so much older than he remembered and she was obviously filling her mother’s shoes perfectly. She was already wearing the pencil skirts and blouses and the pearl necklaces her mother habitually wore. Her blonde hair was wound up into a French twist, and sitting beside her mother, she looked exactly like a younger version of Della Blake. Emma, on the other hand, had always been a little wild. Right now, she was wearing golden leather jeans, a black figure hugging tank top, and large stiletto heels. She wore dark gold eye shadow and blood red lipstick. Her outfit would look ridiculous on anybody but her, and she looked perfectly put together.
She smiled at Seth. “Hello Seth. It’s been a long time.”
Everyone looked up at him when she said that, noticing his presence. “Oh, Seth, how nice it is to see you!” CeCe cooed, sounding exactly like her mother.
Emma rolled her eyes at her sister, making Seth want to laugh. He had always liked her. She had a certain fire to her that was endearing. Like she didn’t want to conform to all the social graces and requirements of living in the class that she did. Della and her daughter had many fights, Seth knew. “Oh, stop trying so hard, CeCe,” Emma said, irritated.
CeCe shot her a glare that would make Brooklyn’s mom proud and said in a voice that was trying very hard to appear composed, “Emma, darling, don’t be rude.”
Emma rolled her heavily lidded eyes again and threw herself back on the couch, kicking her legs up and resting them on the table. Seth saw his mom cringe. He smiled. Sometimes, being with Emma helped him break out of his rut. The one where his life was full of social obligations and everything his mom wanted him to do.
“Am I the only one who finds this get-together a complete and total bust?” Emma whispered to Seth.
“Nope,” he answered.
“Good,” she nodded in approval. “You have a soul.”
He laughed. “I guess. What have you been up to, Blake?” he asked.
“Um, let’s see. Trying to stay away from home so that mom doesn’t set me up like she did for CeCe. Check. Trying to break up with the long time boyfriend without succeeding. Check. Wishing I was back in college. Check.”
“Wonderful life you’ve got.”
‘I know,” she smiled. She looked him in the eye. “You’re not as bad as I thought you were, Draycott.”
“Why would you think I was bad?” Seth asked, putting on an offended face.
“You realize you like exactly like the perfect preppy boy? Right?” she said, half laughing.
He put his hand over his heart. “I’m so hurt,” he said dramatically.
She laughed. “But you’re not that bad. Lose the sweater, though,” she said.
He sighed and took it off, loosening his tie in the process. “Better?” he asked.
She nodded. Suddenly, his mother turned and saw his discarded cardigan on the floor. “Seth! Put that back on. It was a Christmas present. And do up your tie
again. You look horrible.”
Emma and Seth exchanged a look and rolled their eyes simultaneously.
* * * * *
Averil awoke when the blanket was pulled completely off of her. She gasped as the cold hit her and sat up. She blinked and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes to find Ty, sleeping beside her, wrapped in the blankets like a cocoon. It was such a funny sight that she forgot about being so rudely woken up and burst out laughing.
It woke Ty up fast and he sat up, untangling himself from the blankets. “What’s going on?” he asked sleepily.
“You woke me up,” Averil said.
“Correction. You woke me up,” he said, smiling lazily at her.
“Uh, uh. You turned and pulled all the blankets off me, thereby oh so rudely awakening me,” Averil told him with mock annoyance.
“Guess what day it is?” Ty asked.
“What?”
“The day before Christmas. Christmas Eve is this evening, and we have to do something special together.”
Suddenly, Averil’s happy expression turned sad.
“What?” Ty asked.
“I didn’t tell you. Yesterday, my mom came to my apartment and tried to get me to move back with her. I told her I’d think about it. I really do love her, inspite of everything. Maybe I’ll go to her house for Christmas. It will be a nice reunion.”
Ty forced a smile. He had wanted to be with Averil alone, tonight. Just the two of them. It had seemed perfect to him, but now, his entire plan was gone. But he loved her, and she looked at him with a pleading look in her blue eyes, so he smiled. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”
“Great. I need to get down to the apartment. Wanna come?” Averil asked.
Ten minutes later they were sitting in a taxi, on their way to the apartment. “I feel like it’s all my fault. I was so mean to her,” Averil confessed.
Ty shook his head. “You don’t have to go anywhere with your mom.”
“But I do. She pays for my school, and I feel like I don’t thank her for it. Maybe I am a horrible daughter. I mean, I don’t want to spend Christmas with her, when really the only reason I go to Princeton is because of her.”
“Okay, that’s true. But you can’t stand each other, so are you doing any good, really, by going back? She’s your mother—she should be paying for your education.”