I felt him pull me even closer, tightening his grip on me. “No. I don’t regret it, Joey. How could I regret the best night of my life?” he said quietly, and placed his lips over my forehead. “Don’t worry, Joey, I’m not thinking about any plan … but if I do think of one, I’ll make sure to run it by you first to see if you approve, okay? That way, you’ll be able to veto the stupid ones.” He grinned.
“Okay. Sounds good to me,” I said, burying my face on his chest.
Then I remembered another very important question. “Hum … Tristan?” I called out in a serious voice now.
I felt him tensing up, because I’d called him by his full name. “Yes?” His tone was a little worried.
“What about Caroline?” I asked, dropping the bomb. I might as well know about it now.
He remained in tense silence for a couple of minutes, and then he sighed loudly. I could actually hear the mechanisms of his brain whirring and clicking in the dark, trying to think of the best way to say this to me. “This will sound bad for me, but, I promised you the truth. And the truth is I was only using her, to make you forget about me and move on with your life. I knew that if you thought I was with somebody else, you’d … give up on me.”
I did a little happy dance inside my head. “So … you don’t really have feelings for her?”
“God! No! She’s so shallow and clingy! She’s the opposite of everything I like. She’s the opposite of you.”
A huge smile spread over my face. “And you guys never … ‘you know’?” I asked, making air quotes with my fingers. That was the million-dollar question. I had to know for sure. I watched him frowning at me in the dark. The moonlight drifting through the window gave me a good view of his features. I could also see his bright gray eyes clearly, and I was watching intently for his answer.
“Never, what?” he repeated, trying to understand, and then finally he did. “Oh, okay. ‘You know’ – got it! No. We did not! We didn’t do anything,” he stated firmly.
“Because she was saying some pretty wild things about what you guys had been doing … you know …” I told him, still looking directly into his eyes.
I could actually see him blushing in the dark now. He coughed, really embarrassed. “She was? God, no wonder you were that mad at me! Now I understand all the torture you put me through, if you really thought I had … but no! No. I only kissed her properly once, when I knew you were looking at our way, by the lockers. And then we held hands and hung out sometimes, but even that was excruciating to me! She is such a pain in the a—” And then he stopped abruptly, remembering his “no cursing” rule, and continued in more educated terms. “Sorry about that. I meant to say, she was very … annoying.”
I smiled, seeing him blush again. He blushed even more when he cursed by accident. It was the cutest thing. I didn’t say anything after that, and he glanced at me in concern. He clasped his hands around my face, making me look him directly in the eyes.
“I swear to you, Joe. Nothing has ever happened between me and Caroline. Can you see? That I’m telling you the truth?” he asked, anguished. “I’m actually grateful for your ability now, that you can see that I’m telling you the truth!”
“Yeah. I see it,” I said sadly. “I’m sorry about lying to you about that, Tris. I just don’t know how to switch it off, and I didn’t want you to always be afraid to look me in the eyes. It killed me every time you avoided looking at me, for fear I might read what you were feeling. That really sucks. I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, and looked down.
He nudged my chin up with his thumb, making me look at him again. “You don’t have to be sorry for your gift, Joe. It makes you even more special than you already are. I’m the idiotic one that has been lying to you, and didn’t want to get caught. But that’s in the past. I won’t ever be afraid to look at you again, because I’ll always tell you the truth from now on, no matter what, remember?” he said, smiling sincerely.
He leaned in to give me a soft kiss. “I’ll break up with her tomorrow,” he said slowly, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.
“And do it nicely, because she may be annoying and a pain in the ass, but she’s done nothing to deserve to be treated so badly by you or me, specially not over this stupid plan of yours!” I warned him. No one could ever say I was not a fair person.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, stroking my hair.
I looked up to see if he was making fun of me, but he just smiled kindly, so I snuggled back against his chest. I suddenly felt tired to death. It had been such an overwhelming night, so emotionally draining. Everything was so intense. I was exhausted.
“Joey?” he asked softly.
“Hmm?”
“I don’t know how is this supposed to be done now, but … you said you love me. And I love you. And after what happened tonight … I know I might not have much time left, but I have to ask you. Will you marry me?”
I choked out loud and turned to look him straight in the eyes, cupping his face gently between my hands.
“Tris, we have a lot of dating to do before we start thinking about marriage, all right? Marriage is for much, much later. Trust me on this,” I said calmly, trying to make him understand.
He sighed loudly. “I’m being old-fashioned again, aren’t I?”
“Yes, very much so. But it’s okay, you’ll get the hang of modernity eventually.”
“Okay,” he said with a cute pout.
“Let’s not talk about serious stuff any more tonight, all right? I’m so tired,” I mumbled, my voice coming out a little muffled.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said again, and kissed the top of my head.
He cradled me into sleep then, passing his fingers through my hair gently and humming a soft lullaby close to my ear. I was asleep before he ended his song.
Chapter Thirty
Secret’s Out
I woke up to the sound of voices in the room. I remained still, lying on my side with my eyes closed, trying to discern the source of the noise. My brain still felt sluggish and blurred. One of the voices in the room was definitely Tiffany’s; I’d know her high-pitched tone anywhere. The other one was … Seth. It sounded like him. My brain began to function in a faster mode, the cotton-candy feeling disappearing like a weak fog.
I also suddenly realized I wasn’t in my bed. This one seemed different somehow, softer. It smelled of Tristan. Then I registered his heavy arm draped around me, his hands enclosing mine, his face leaning behind my neck. I was in his bed. I’d slept in his bed! I remembered the previous night and a smile appeared involuntarily on my lips.
“See? She’s waking up!” Tiffany’s voice was so up-close that I stiffened and opened my eyes, startled.
“Hey, honeydew!” she greeted in a low whisper, trying not to disturb Tristan behind me. “I gather you had a nice evening after all! I was worried about you two all night, cos you left the poker game in such a storming way! But I guess everything worked out fine, right?” she said with a wide grin.
I just stared at her and blinked, trying to gather my thoughts.
“Okay. I think that’s enough, Tiff,” Seth intervened. “You were worried, we came, we checked them out. Everything’s fine. Let’s leave them alone now,” he said, amused, trying to drag her away from the bed.
“But … but … we hardly talked! She didn’t say anything yet! I need to know!” she whined, while being pulled by Seth. Then she wriggled free and ran fast towards me again, her blonde curls bouncing widely with her long steps.
“Hey, Joey, listen,” she whispered urgently, while Seth walked back to retrieve her. “We’re going to have a picnic-lunch-thing at midday, by the big oak tree. We’re waiting for you two, okay?” Seth grabbed her arm and pulled her away softly again. “If you don’t show up, I’m coming to get you! You hear? I’m waiting on you! I need to know ever-y-thing!” she squealed in Seth’s arms.
I raised my head a little, and saw Seth smiling and shaking his head in amusement, with Tiff firmly in his grasp, and then t
hey stepped outside and he closed the door softly behind them. Tiffany was really dying to hear what had happened last night. She couldn’t even wait until I was up, for crying out loud!
I shifted slowly in bed, trying to look at Tristan. He sighed deeply and moved over, releasing me from his hold and lying on his stomach, his face turned to the wall. I could only see his jawline now, but almost nothing of his face. I turned to him and wrapped my arm around his smooth chest. He looked so peaceful sleeping, his breathing deep and slow, making his chest rise and fall in a quiet, steady rhythm. Last night had been such turmoil that I hadn’t had the chance to enjoy the full view that was Tristan’s bare chest. Now I had time enough to appreciate it all. I traced my fingers softly over his chest and down his ribcage, and then shifted sideways to his hips, outlining all his muscles. I wanted to memorize each and every one of them, every curve, every line, every single part of him.
I traced my fingertips softly over his stomach. His breathing rhythm changed when I started playing with the small, soft trail of dark hair that started right below his belly button.
“You keep touching me like that, Joe Gray, and I won’t be held responsible for my actions,” Tristan said quietly, turning his head to face me. He gave me a mischievous, crooked smile, squinting his eyes a little because of the bright light in the room.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” I blushed and took my hand off of him.
“You didn’t,” he said softly, and then his eyes adjusted to the light in the room and he opened them completely. His gray eyes were so bright, they almost looked like glowing silver rings; the effect was mesmerizing.
“I woke up with Tiffany and Seth bustling around the room and talking to you. At first I thought I was dreaming,” he said, laughing. “But Tiff wouldn’t shut up and then I felt you touching me. I thought it was about time to wake up,” he said, with a playful side smile on his lips.
“Yeah, Tiff woke me up too,” I mumbled, a little unsettled by the way he was looking at me. “Did you … um, sleep well?”
“I think it was the best night of sleep I have ever had,” he said, looking dreamily at the ceiling. Then he glanced down and caught me staring at his chest. Drooling over was perhaps more accurate.
“Enjoying the view?” he teased, his eyes burning as he watched me. “Because I’m sure enjoying mine,” he said, pointedly staring at the front of my shirt.
I tried to avoid blushing and failed miserably. “I wasn’t staring!” I quickly denied, which made my lie even more transparent. I pushed the sheets away and stood up, all flustered.
Tristan chuckled at my mortification and leaned over, grabbing me by my waist and pulling me back into bed with him. “I’m sorry, Joey. I didn’t mean to make you embarrassed. But you have been driving me crazy all these days, walking around in tiny towels, low dresses and tight jeans!” he said, pulling me into his arms, bridal style again. “Not to mention you have the most beautiful legs I have ever seen, and you look out-of-this-world-good in my T-shirt.” He buried his face in my neck and trailed soft kisses all over it.
I shivered and tried to squirm out of his grasp, afraid that he might catch on and make fun of me.
“All right! Okay! Stop it now. I need to go to the bathroom, and brush my teeth, and tame my hair, and take a shower, and … stuff.” Flustered, I wriggled out of his lap and got out of bed. “Apparently, we have a lunch appointment at the oak tree. Tiffany said she’ll come and get us if we’re late!” I warned, leaving him pouting on the bed.
“Do we really have to go? Can’t we just stay here in bed all day long?” he asked in a hopeful voice.
“No, we can’t, Cocoa Puffs,” I said, grazing my fingers through his hair.
He glanced up with a quirked inquisitive eyebrow. “Cocoa Puffs?”
“Yeah, I think I need to have a cute nickname for you, since you have one for me.” I smiled teasingly. “And Cocoa Puffs is my favorite thing in the mornings,” I said, pinching his cheeks, looking down at him hungrily so he would know he was my favorite thing in mornings too. “Plus, Cocoa is awesome because I love chocolate, and since you sometimes disappear into thin air, Puffs is quite fitting for you, don’t you think?”
He eyed me playfully, trying to stifle a laugh. “Since we are in the cereal-naming basis, couldn’t your favorite be Tony the Tiger?” he said, chuckling hard now. “Or Lucky Charms, or Captain Crunch! You can call me Tiger, Charms or Captain!” And he cracked up laughing at his own puns. One of Tristan’s favorite things about the twenty-first century was the amazing range of cereals he got to enjoy – he was like a big kid whenever Mom and I dragged him grocery shopping.
His face brightened again. “Maybe I can join you in the shower … to speed things up?” he suggested, full of eagerness and mischief.
I laughed at his hopeful voice. “I don’t think so, mister.” I tsked him, pushing him back on to his bed. “You already got lucky yesterday, but you owe me a proper date, you know? With dinner, movie, the whole shenanigans!” I chuckled, pointing my finger at him. “You caught me off guard yesterday, but don’t think I’m usually that easy!”
He blushed, a little embarrassed, and fumbled with his feet. “I-I don’t … You’re right. I haven’t been treating you right, Joey. I will give you the best date you ever had!” he promised me with a bright smile.
We both showered and dressed, but just as we were about to leave, Tristan’s face turned serious. “I was wondering if maybe now would be a good time for us to tell the whole truth about me and the magic ‘situation’ we’re in. To Seth, Josh, Sam, Harry and Tiffany. We can tell Seth and Tiff today at lunch. And we can tell the rest of the guys we’re not brother and sister too,” he blurted out, an anxious look on his face.
I stared at Tristan in silence, not knowing exactly what to say. “We know we can trust them. They’re like family, right?” he added. “I’m just sick of lying, Joey. I don’t want lie to them anymore. I don’t want to lie to people I care about any more,” he pleaded wholeheartedly.
I nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. “All right. They are family. We can trust them with this. And I’m sick of lying too. Let’s do this,” I agreed. To hell with all the secrets!
We headed to the oak tree, Tristan walking beside me with a sprint in his feet. He seemed very happy now that we were telling our friends everything. It seemed like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders.
I could already see Seth sitting on the grass below the big oak tree, just a few feet away from us, with Tiffany right in front of him, with her back to us.
As we reached them, Tristan greeted Seth with their cool male handshake thing, but before we could all sit down, Tiffany jumped in with, “Okay, boys, you go along and buy us some food now.” That was my Tiff. Bossy to the core. “We’ll be here, you know, talking about random things, like school, grades, homework, whathappenedwithyoutwo-lastnight, essays for the semester, that sort of things,” she said sneakily.
Seth laughed and signaled to Tristan. “Okay, girl talk time, we’d better hurry off now.”
“Actually, we sort of have something really important to talk to you guys about first,” Tristan said, with a hesitant smile as we both sat down on the grass next to Tiffany. Seth gave us a curious look before sitting beside his anxious girlfriend. Tristan cleared his throat, and then he told then everything, while I leaned against the oak tree, watching them.
Their reactions raged from disbelief, to worry, reluctance, awe and finally settling for simple acceptance at the end. Seth’s eyes were a little wide and scared, but he seemed to genuinely accept everything we’d told them, while Tiffany looked mostly confused. There was this huge sense of relief after Tristan was done explaining things, like it was somehow easier to breathe now. I was actually really surprised at how easy this whole “secret reveal” had been. I always imagined that nobody in their right mind would ever believe us. But Seth and Tiffany accepted this extraordinary tale with such open hearts and minds, it was uncanny! r />
“Thank you so much for being our friends, for believing in us, for wanting to help us,” I said. “I can’t believe how lucky we are to have you in our lives,” I said in a choked voice. I was trying really hard not to cry. “And thank you for not thinking we are crazy people telling freaky ghost stories.”
“It’s all right, Joey. We believe in you. This actually explains a lot of questions we’ve been asking since we’ve met you two … and it’s so surreal, it must be true!” Seth said, wrapping an arm around me and looking curiously at Tristan. “But this sure explains Tristan’s weird illness every month, and your scary nightmares. Also Tristan’s wacky way of speaking, his old-fashioned habits, his complete and utter lack of technology knowledge … Yeah, it explains a lot,” he mused thoughtfully.
“Hey!” Tristan complained, a little miffed. “I think I’m ‘modernizing’ pretty well here! No one seems to be noticing that,” he grumbled, with an adorable pout. I tried hard not to giggle.
“Yeah, right. You’re still complete rubbish at Xbox! And sometimes you say things like ‘swell’, especially when you’re too excited over something. I thought it was the weirdest thing ever, but now that you’ve explained, it makes perfect sense,” Seth said, while we all laughed hard at Tristan’s flustered face.
We ate lunch then, sitting in the shade of the big oak tree, answering a bunch of questions they still had about Tristan and his past, our New Year’s story and everything that had happened after that. After a while we were laughing and feeling a lot more cheerful. Tristan sat glued to my side with a soft smile on his lips, while I leaned my head on his shoulder, and Seth and Tiffany bickered relentlessly over stupid little things. Watching my two friends snapping at each other, while Tristan stood protectively by my side, made me feel like everything was right in the world again.
Seth watched me lean against Tristan, and smiled. “I’m glad this stupid fight is over. I’m glad Joey put some sense back in that thick head of yours, man!” he said cheerfully to Tristan.