Chapter 15
The limo bumped along the road, the driver clearly not even attempting to avoid potholes. Cici was quiet for the most part of the drive. She had mentioned wanting to talk when we woke up wrapped in each other's arms, but a knock at the cabin door had interrupted that. I rushed out to find Winston there to check on us and make sure the place was locked up properly. It was an added bonus that he saw me half-dressed and Cici strolling out of the bedroom in only a robe. I was certain my relationship with her was convincing to him now.
It was starting to convince me too.
Now in the car, though, I found it harder to avoid the topic. I avoided looking at her as I scrolled my phone. The drive was only a few hours, but a few hours could seem like days when you don't want to talk about something your co-traveler does.
"Drew, I think we should--"
"Look," I blurted out, flashing my phone screen at her. "I found this." I had been checking out my Facebook memories more frequently since Friday night now. I found another one of us when Cici was really young. Something Beck had shared on his timeline shortly after he and I met. It was a picture of us going camping with his grandparents. He had convinced me to come along and Cici was only thirteen years old. She hated anything outdoorsy at that time, and we had picked on her so much.
In the photo, however, she wore pig tails and a bright smile. She had picked a bouquet of wildflowers by the river while we fished and her grandmother snapped a picture of us guys with our fish and her with her flowers.
"I remember that day," she said softly. "You pushed me in the river 'on accident.' Grandpa was angry but you convinced him it wasn't on purpose and made me go along with it by bribing me with ice cream. Not sure I ever got that ice cream." Her eyes sparkled when she talked. I could tell it was a good memory for her too, the sort you laugh about after the passing of time. I was certain, however, in that moment she wasn't happy with me.
"Yeah, I didn't take life seriously back then. I was a bit of a jerk." I thumbed through more pictures on Beck's timeline and saw one he shared of a couple I didn't recognize. "Who's this?" I showed Cici the image and she sighed.
A melancholy look crossed her face as she said, "That's my parents. I'm sure Beck told you they died when I was only a year old. We lived with my grandparents ever since."
I felt like an asshole for bringing that up. I thought maybe it was an aunt and uncle or something, but once I looked at the picture more closely, I could see Cici resembled her mother very much.
"She was a beautiful woman, Cici. I'm sorry you never got the chance to make memories with her." I felt like I should be holding her hand or patting her back or something, but she stayed firmly planted against her side of the limo, as if she were trying to phase through the door.
"Honestly, my grandparents were the only family I ever had and I never missed my parents. Nana and Pop just made me feel loved. It's Beck who struggled. He was eleven when they died. It hit him pretty hard I guess. Nana said he's never been the same since."
Listening to her talk about such a somber topic made my heart heavy. I wanted to change the subject and lighten the mood. Still, part of me still really wanted to avoid discussing the sex we had. She would say it couldn't happen again, that it was a bad choice. I'd argue with her that it was good and why shouldn't it happen again. I liked the peace between us right now, and the sex was incredible. I thought maybe tasting what it was like would really seal the deal and get her out of my system, but it had only fanned the flames. Beck would hate me, but I felt like I needed to know if there was something between us.
"Look, Drew, I think we really need to talk about what happened." Cici picked at a stray thread on her shorts.
I put my phone down and looked out the window, instantly grateful that the driver was pulling off the road into a gas station. The limo shook around and rolled to a stop. And as it did, my phone rang. I glanced down to see Beck's number and shrugged. "I have to take this. It's work."
Cici scowled at me and opened the door. "I'm going to pee." I could tell by the tone of her voice she was irritated with me, but I had no desire to have that conversation and I was glad Beck had called. I was also glad when she shut the door and I didn't have to squirm uncomfortably on this call with him in front of her.
"It's Drew."
"Look, man, why haven't you been answering my calls and texts?" After the showdown we had while smoking cigars I had found ways to use positive misdirection to avoid interacting with him, but that time was up.
"Uh, no service in the mountains." It was partially true. We had wifi, and I had wifi calling, but I had just ignored him on a matter of principle.
"Yeah, well lame excuse." He sounded grumpy. "How did it go? I mean, what did you guys do?"
If he thought for a second I was a kiss-and-tell sort of guy he was wrong, especially when it came to his sister. "Well, I went to the festival and saw the sights and Cici locked herself in the bedroom and worked the whole weekend. We barely spoke."
"What? She said you two had some big project to do together."
