Meet Me at Taylor Park (13 page)

“Me too,” she said.

Brandon looked at her like he didn’t know what to do or say next.

Katie chewed on her fingernails, just staring at her first love.

Brandon shuffled his feet.

Then, he laughed.

Puzzled, Katie said, “What’s so funny?”

“We’re acting like we’re total strangers.”

Katie twisted the ring on her fingers some more, but said nothing.

Brandon approached her and she felt a sudden desire to shrink back, but she ended up standing her ground.

He leaned in and hugged her and she hugged him back, but she could not shake the awkward feeling. It clung onto her like cheap perfume.

When they separated, he pulled back and studied her. “Did you bring the ring?”

Katie took the ring off and handed it over to him. “Here, you can have it back.”

He took it, but said, “No, I don’t want it back. I just wanted to see if you’ve kept it all these years.”

He gave it back to her.

Katie held the ring awkwardly, and then put it in her pocket.

He pointed to the bench in front of them. “Why don’t we take a seat?”

As they approached the worn wooden bench, they saw the initials that Katie had carved into the back of the bench.
KS + BM = Mouth Shape.

They pried their gazes away, and sat down, turning their backs to the carving. They stared into the black night and glittering lights, saying nothing.

She caught Brandon staring at her, like he was trying to figure her out.

She looked away, and without looking at him, said, “So what have you been doing all this time?”

“I got into fundraising for sick children when my friend’s son died of cystic fibrosis.”

“Oh.”

He turned his body toward her. “So did you find your pot of gold?”

The question struck her as out of the blue. Katie looked at him. She could barely make out his expression in the dark, but she could detect raw emotion in his voice.

“No,” she replied.

“I’m surprised you aren’t already a major international fashion designer. With your drive and determination….”

“Things didn’t really work out,” she interrupted.

Brandon moved closer to her, until his knee was barely an inch away. He put his hand on her knee, but she did not respond, even though she felt like she had been jolted awake.

He moved in even closer, until his face was hovering near hers.

“That’s too bad, but I don’t think you should give up trying. I always knew you could do it.”

Katie looked at his lips, which seemed to glow.

He moved his hand further up her leg, resting on her thigh. “I missed you.”

His words were wine to Katie. And she was starting to drink a lot of it.

Before she knew what was happening, he moved in and kissed her. Old feelings poured into her, followed by memories. Memories of him holding her outside of the mall, of lying with him on the trampoline, and of snow flurries outside.

She kissed him back. A sudden breeze blew by and she put her hands in her pockets.

Steven’s cold diamond ring touched her fingers.

Reminded of Steven, she pulled away from Brandon.

Brandon put a hand on her cheek. “Don’t be afraid. I know you still felt something too on that plane. I’ve been dreaming about you all these years.”

He stood up. “Come on, I’ve got something to show you.” He reached out one hand.

Katie looked at this extended hand, and could not bring herself to deny him. She took his hand and stood up. “Where are we going?”

“You gotta trust me,” he said.

She knew that she shouldn’t be going anywhere with a man now that she was engaged, but on the other hand, she was really curious, and even excited.

He stood up, and then winced.

Concerned, Katie turned toward him. “Are you OK?” It was the second time that she had seen him with back pain.

He rubbed his back. “I’m fine, just a little pain.”

She wondered why, but did not ask.

Together, they moved across the park, stopping at a side path filled with branches and bushes.

Katie suddenly knew where they were going. When the branches reached out to scratch her, she moved closer to Brandon. He glanced at her and smiled.

A part of her felt guilty for being with Brandon when she was engaged to Steven, but another part of her, a stronger part, really wanted to be there.

They arrived in a clearing flooded with moonlight. The trampoline was in the middle, but it looked different from before. The legs were rusting and leaves were strewn all over the fabric.

He led her over to the trampoline, and together, they climbed on. Brandon cleared a space for them, and they sat down.

The air was chilly. Even in her jacket, Katie was rubbing her arms up and down. Brandon noticed that she was cold, so he reached over and pulled her into him.

Katie was now face to face with her first love.

Brandon put his hands on her shoulders and then trailed his fingers along the back of her neck. Katie shivered, but not because of the cold.

Brandon pulled her into him, staring her in the face. “I never got to say goodbye to you.”

His hurt face was magnified in the moonlight. “When I went to your house, your mom said that she had already taken you to the airport. She said it was too late. She told me to give up and let you go.”

“And did you?”

He moved back and stopped stroking the back of her neck. “What was I supposed to do? Just sit here and wait for you?” His voice was growing sharp.

Katie felt her body heat up.

“Why didn’t you at least try to contact me? You said you would visit me.” It came out harsher than she had expected.

He did not look at her, but stared at the moon. “I thought I could forget about you,” he said quietly.

Katie cringed. “What do you mean?”

He finally looked her in the face. Katie thought that he looked teary-eyed.

Brandon picked at a spot where the fabric was coming apart. “I thought that maybe if I forgot about you, I wouldn’t hurt so much anymore.”

Katie said nothing, biting on her lower lip. She was lulled into silence.

Suddenly, he grabbed both her hands.

“You were supposed to be with me. You were always supposed to be with me.”

Brandon’s voice was strong, but he trembled as he spoke.

Katie felt that her heart was going to explode. She looked away, and mumbled, “I’ve moved on.”

“How could you possibly move on from us?”

She looked at Brandon. Sweat was rolling down his forehead. His eyes were savage. His chest was heaving up and down.

The painful look on his face made Katie look away, as if she could make it all better by simply not observing.

“You don’t understand,” she said. “I’m no longer the girl you fell in love with.”

“What do you mean? You’re not passionate anymore? You’re not loving anymore? You’re not beautiful anymore?” Brandon surprised her by grabbing onto her hands. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Katie could see the worry in Brandon’s eyes, but there was more than that. She could also see passion, just dying to break free.

“Why can’t you let the past be the past?” she said.
 

He looked into her eyes and Katie felt herself hypnotized.

She felt his chapped hand rub against hers. Inspecting his hands, she asked, “Why are your hands so chapped?”

Brandon withdrew his hands and looked at the ground. “I’ve been working in the sun a lot.”

Before Katie could think about it some more, Brandon grabbed her around the waist and held onto her, putting his head on her shoulder.

He stroked her hair, while muttering, “How could you move on from us?”

The question put her in a somber mood.

When she did not reply, he said, “Do you know when I first fell for you?”

She shook her head.

He was now so close that she could smell a certain musk on him. It reminded her pleasantly of his Brandonness, a mix of spices.

He moved in right beside her ear. “You remember that New Year’s Eve, when you came to see me even though you were at the hottest party of the school?”

She nodded.

He stroked her ear. “And you fed me that chocolate cake? I looked at you, and you looked so beautiful in the moonlight.”

Katie blushed.

Brandon continued, “That was when I knew I had to be with you.”

Katie struggled to remain calm and in control, but her defenses were crumbling inside.

Brandon was now face to face with Katie. He moved in and their noses touched.

For a moment, they froze, just staring into each other’s eyes.

Then, Brandon moved in for the kill. He kissed her, nibbling on her bottom lip while caressing the sides of her face with his gentle fingers.

Overwhelmed by the sensory stimuli, Katie felt herself succumbing. She kissed him back but her mind was screaming that this was wrong.

Steven’s head popped into her mind and she shoved Brandon away.

Brandon’s face was flushed. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this,” she cried. “I can’t do this.”

“Why not?” he demanded.

“It’s been too long. I need to move on from that part of my life.” She knew that she did not sound convincing in the least.

Katie debated whether to tell him about her engagement, but before she could make a decision, he struck like the Blitzkrieg.

Brandon grabbed her around the waist again and yanked her in toward him.

Katie wanted to resist, but she was too weak. In Brandon’s arms, she felt like a passionate woman that had tons of life to live. She had not felt this way in years.

He continued to stroke and caress and kiss her entire body, and Katie collapsed like a building under pressure.

Later, they fell asleep in each other’s arms as they lay on the taut fabric of the trampoline.

*

When the sky was painted with streaks of apricot orange and eggplant purple, Katie roused from her sleep. She was all snug and warm, wrapped in Brandon’s jacket. The air was still cold, but it was a fresh kind of cold. Katie had never felt more refreshed. She looked beside her and saw Brandon asleep beside her, his chest rising up and down.
 

He looked so serene with his eyes closed. She wanted to reach out and stroke his face.She shifted in her position, and Brandon opened his eyes.

“Is it morning yet?” he asked, his eyes half-closed.

“Yeah. See the sunrise?” she asked, pointing to the sky.

He peered in the distance. “Yeah. I remember this really well.”

She remembered waking up with him to the sunrise. It was the happiest moment of her life. They were young, things were simple and pure, and the best was yet to come.

Brandon turned to her. “Do you believe in fate? Do you think that we were destined to meet again on the plane?”

She looked at him in the early morning sunlight. He looked so hopeful. How could she lie to a man like him? Katie felt her stomach roil. She knew that she could not lie to Brandon any longer.

Brandon looked at her, and then moved his head in, puckering up.

Katie shielded her mouth with one hand and backed away. “Wait, don’t!”

“What is it?”

Katie looked him in the face. His face was patient but worried.

She sat up, and looked him in the eyes.

It was completely silent now. It was though all nature had stopped what it was doing and was now eavesdropping in their conversation.

“I’m engaged now.”

The words snuck out of her before she had made a conscious decision. The ugly words disturbed the quiet of the dawn.

He sat up.

She watched as his facial expression went from shock, to disbelief, then to anger.

She felt like a jerk.

For the longest time, neither said anything. Only the robins were talking.

When he finally spoke, his voice was even.

He peered into the distance. “Who’s the guy?”

“Does it matter?”

“Who’s the guy?” he repeated through his teeth.

Katie relented. “His name is Steven. He’s an accountant that I met in New York.” She hesitated, then mumbled, “He saved me there.”

“That is my job. Saving you was always supposed to be my job.”

Katie could tell that he was struggling to conceal his bitterness, but the venom oozed out in his voice. She started playing with her hair, twisting one strand around her finger. “But I’m not the only one you saved.”

Brandon turned back to face her. His face was blank. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw you with that girl the day after we broke up. It was the last day of school.”