Don't Call Me Baby

15 | THE LOVERS

"Sooo...this happened." My mom blinks after Stella leaves the house cursing under her breath. Although I'm still shocked, I can't find it in me to feel sympathy for her.

In fact, I believe she deserved that punch if not many more.

I am too afraid, or angry, or both,to look at Archer throughout the entire dinner so I end up staring at mom and dad who are completely immersed in their own conversation about work. Which meant that it was only me and Archer in the room who were sticking out as sore thumbs at the dining table.

"Can we talk?" Archer suddenly whispers and I finally muster the courage to look at him. That's a big mistake, because I'm instantly immersed in his eyes and my heart takes no time to start beating uncomfortably fast in my chest. After the way mom and Stella acted tonight, talking to Archer doesn't seem that bad at all. I can't believe that for the first time Archer Finn seems like the least troublemaking person in the room.

I nod at his request and we excuse ourselves from the table which stays pretty much unnoticed by my parents.

We grab our drinks, which were a glass of wine for each of us, and we make our way to the backyard. The mere fact that I'm here again with Archer gives me horrendous flashbacks from two days ago but I swallow the worry down my throat, trying my very best to act casual and unaffected.

"So here we are again." I spark the conversation but for some reason adding the word 'again' leaves a strange tension in the air. For God's sake, I've had too much of this awkwardness for a day. For a week. In fact for my entire lifetime.

I go fiddle with the hammock,leaving Archer behind and just when I'm about to jump in it, he comes closer and holds the other end for me.
"Careful, last time you fell pretty hard."

There it is again. 'Last time'.

As if the atmosphere couldn't be any more tense, he decides to drop the bomb right then and there.

"I'm sorry, Jordie."

And I swear, I am this close to falling out of the hammock again.

"Sorry won't cut it, Arch, and you know it." I reply tiredly. I guess I won't be able to go through this conversation without a drink so I swallow the entire content of the glass in one long gulp.

Archer is half impressed, half amused at my action. "You know, I could make a killer joke about what you just did but-"

"No, Archer. Don't." I cut him off but a small part of me is laughing at the joke I know he was going to make.

"Alright. I guess you prefer if we just stay here silently, drinking wine and getting drunk instead of talking our problems out."

"Whatever problem I have with you, Archer Finn, it will be nothing once I get on that plane tomorrow morning and leave for Cali. It's hard to agree with my mom considering her approach to the situation, but what she said is true." I grab the glass out of his hands and drink his wine, as well.
"You will be just another person in the sea of faces, so everything that happened wouldn't matter anymore. You can sleep well at night knowing you and Stella stabbed me in the back like it's no big deal. In fact, you should be sleeping good because, Archer, I. Wont. Care." And with this I end my extremely sad, painful to hear even with my own two ears, rant with a very affirmative crossing of my arms in front of my non-existing chest.

"Oh." He replies as if we were having the most casual talk in the world. "I see what you're trying to say here but now, correct me if I'm wrong, you're still not in California?"

"Obviously."

"And you're still just Jordy Blue from this God forgotten town?"

"Correct."

"And you still have mad feelings for this stupid player Archer Finn, who is standing right next to you at this very moment?"

"Correct." I reply without thinking too much of it. But whatever! He knows I'm still in love with him so it's no big deal to admit to it, right?
Right?

I think I'm drunk.

"Oh." He clears his throat, obviously surprised by my answer. It might be my imagination, but I see a smile forming on his juicy, thick lips that I definitely do not want to kiss right now. "Well then let me tell you that this stupid player Archer Finn is also still in love with you and would love to get a kiss from his very amazing girlfr- ex-girlfriend right now."

"You're getting bold with your words, huh, Arch?" I giggle and he blinks a few times, as if suddenly waking up from a daze.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be like this. I don't know why I said it. It's probably really inappropriate because we both know you think I'm a complete douchebag." He blurts out and I can't help the laughter that erupts from within me.

What a dork.

"I guess you're a bit of a lightweight, mr. Finn, or am I wrong and those words weren't the alcohol talking?" I demand with something strangely seductive in my voice. I never thought I could sound so...daring.

Obviously he hasn't seen this side of me, too, so it takes him a few moments to know how to react. Finally, the already familiar grin graces his beautiful features and I can't help but fall in love over and over again.

I find myself touching his face with my hand before I know what I'm even doing. He rests his head on my palm and closes his beautiful chocolate eyes, while still maintaining that cat grin of his.

"What are you doing to me, Archer Finn?" I whisper close enough to him so that my breath touches his lips as I speak. "Why do I find it so incredibly hard to not forgive you?"

He then suddenly opens his eyes and I realize that we're very close, too close even for my drunken head, but I can't find it in me to pull away. He looks damn beautiful, especially now that the moon has risen and half of his face is lit up by the blue-ish light. The way he looks at me, it almost feels like he can see right through me and straight into my soul, my heart and my brain. He can read me like an open book, just like I could read him when we first met three years ago.
When it was the beginning of everything that led to this moment right now. That led to us.

I've had special moments with him before: the poetry meet ups where we would laugh about everything and anything, the taco date, the sea side date but nothing can compare to how intimate and vulnerable this exact moment is.

Fearful as I am of the future, I am aware that this is probably my last chance to love Archer and to hold him so I do exactly that. I forget about Stella, I forget about the years of nervous anticipation, regret, confusion, disappointment and tears.

I forget everything else other than this moment and the way his face feels next to my hand.

Warm and tender.

Just like my heart right now and that little space in there which will always belong to Archer Finn only.

And then I kiss him, enveloping all of my senses around this moment in time,not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future.

Not thinking about anything at all.