Eleven

Virginia Isn't the Only Place for Lovers

Felicity 9:02 p.m.

“Where are we?” I asked him when he pulled over to the side of the road. There were cars parked all up and down the edge of the street.

“Ambler, North Carolina,” he said as he came around to open the door for me.

“I know that, but what is this?” I got out and pointed.

He clasped my hand and led me into the forest. I saw a few flashlights in the distance, but for the most part we were in total darkness.

“This isn’t creepy at all.”

“Shh!” He shushed me, and it was then I heard a few whispers and giggles. The path ahead of us cleared up. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he lifted me up and over a fallen log and set me back on the dirt path.

“I could have got it.”

Hearing a giggle behind me, I turned to see a guy, probably in his teens, copying Theo’s move as he helped his girlfriend over the same log. She blushed and hugged him when he set her back down.

“That’s the response you should have had,” Theo whispered, and I rolled my eyes. Excuse me for not blushing.

In the clearing ahead, I saw many couples gathered in front of a screen where The Notebook was playing. The ground was carpeted in white wild flowers, and in the sky, dozens of fireflies appeared and disappeared. I wasn’t sure where the sound was coming from, but it seemed like it was all over the forest.

“Our seats are ready,” he said softly.

I followed him, but I was studying the couples, some old enough they had oxygen masks on, others so young they still had that embarrassed, awkward expression on their faces as they tried to figure out whether or not to hold hands.

“Everything you asked for, Mr. Darcy.” The man who had taken our bags when we landed stood in front of the only tree in the clearing. On the ground next to him and the tree, there was a blanket, champagne, and a picnic basket. I didn’t think I had ever seen one outside of a movie.

“Thank you.” Theo handed him his keys, and he left. “Sit,” Theo whispered, tugging me down as he dropped to the blanket.

I couldn’t believe this. “When did you plan this?”

“I heard a few women on set saying they hoped we wrapped soon so they could come here. After that it was a matter of making one phone call.” He took two glasses from the basket and handed me one. “What did you think, I’d planned all of this from the start?”

“If not, you’re really good at thinking on your feet.”

“You have to be with my job.” He popped the champagne, causing a few people to turn around. He poured a glass for each of us. “Besides, we couldn’t let such a good dress go to waste. All that would make it better is this.”

He reached up and gently pulled out the hair tie, allowing it to fall down in waves against the side of my face. For the second time that day, I was made aware of just how close he was to me. He tucked a few strands of my hair behind my ear.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. “As always.”

“Thanks. You don’t look bad yourself.” I straightened the glasses he still wore on his face. “You kind of remind me of Clark Kent.”

“So I’m your Superman?” he said with a grin.

“You keep telling yourself that.” I reached into the basket and grabbed the grapes along with a few crackers. I offered him some, and he bent down and bit a grape off the bunch in my hands. I heard one of my favorite lines from the movie and started to recite it. Closing my eyes, I brought my knees up to my chest, making sure to tuck the dress under my legs. I grinned and said every word.

“‘They didn’t agree on much. In fact, they didn’t agree on anything. They fought all the time and challenged each other every day. But despite their differences, they had one important thing in common. They were crazy about each other.’”

I giggled to myself, watching the screen.

“How many times have you seen this movie?”

“A least every other month with my roommates. I probably know the whole thing by heart, but that line is a favorite of mine and Mark’s.”

“Mark? One of your roommates is a guy?”

I glanced to him when I heard the small twang of jealousy. “Yes.”

He took another grape. “How close are you?”

“I met him when I got out of juvie. He’s the cousin of my other roommate, Cleo. He ran away with part of his inheritance. That’s how I was able to get myself grounded and start work afterward. So, to answer your question, we’re as close as can be.” I wasn’t making him feel better. He kept his eyes trained on the screen. “He’s like a big brother, and right now he’s back to dating guys, so you don’t have to be jealous.”

“I wasn’t jealous,” he lied.

“Says the man who tied me to a bedpost for kissing another man.”

“Can the woman who liked it so much that she begged for more really bring it up?” He looked at me lazily.

“Yep.” I grinned, and so did he. “Besides, if anyone should be jealous, it’s me. After all, you do work with your ex-fiancée.”

“I was wondering when you would bring that up.”

“Shouldn’t I?”

“I don’t care either way. If you want to know, I will tell you.”

I thought about it for a moment, going back and forth in my mind.

“You’re over-thinking it,” he whispered, amused. Reaching for the bottle, he refilled my glass. “I was engaged to Violet two years ago. We were dating; she got pregnant. I thought we’d become a family. Then one day she told me she got an abortion because she was asked to dance in Paris.”

“Wow—”

“It gets worse. She told me via a handwritten note. She never gave back the ring either, even after she’d gotten married to someone else a few months later. They were only together a year. I remember being thankful I hadn’t given her my mother’s ring because it was too plain.” He didn’t looked bothered at all, like he was telling someone else’s story, not his own.

“But she came back.”

“There were rumors she had an affair with the ballet director in Paris, so she joined Darcy Entertainment.”

“And you just let her?”

He looked at me, confused. “We needed a dancer. Though you did embarrass her when you upstaged her at the recital.”

“I didn’t mean to, and you’re a better person than I am. I can hold a grudge for years. In fact….”

Don’t, Felicity. I didn’t talk about my past, not with anyone, yet I felt like I could tell him. I heard Cleo telling me not to do it in the back of mind.

“In fact?” He waited.

Exhaling deeply, I faced the screen again. “I haven’t spoken to my father in almost a decade. It was my mother who taught me to dance and play piano. We used to sit side-by-side and play all the time. So many people wanted me to play or dance for them at recitals, at games. I got so many invitations. But I didn’t care about that. I only wanted to show my mother that I could be just like her. When I was eight, she died. Three days later my father brought home this other woman and her two daughters. They looked just like my dad, and they were only a few years younger than me. He didn’t explain anything. To her credit, the woman was never mean to me, but I hated her and I hated him. After I got into trouble, I never looked back. My life…. I’m a mess, Theo. There are days when I feel like there is nothing inside me. Like I’m a black hole. And the people I care about, the people who get too close, they get sucked in and die. No one wants the broken girl. People cheer you on when you’re a kid, but when you’re a teenager or an adult, they say, ‘Why aren’t you better yet? What’s wrong with you?’ I wish I knew the answer.”

He didn’t say anything, and I was grateful for that. We watched the rest of the movie in silence.

Theo I understood why she was so distant now, why she no longer played, and in a way I took comfort in the fact that my initial thought was right: she was just like me. We had both been let down by our fathers and deeply missed our mothers. 

I wondered if that was the reason I was so drawn to her. Maybe something in me saw something in her. Maybe I was looking for things that weren’t there. Either way, I wanted her just like this.

“Did you always want to do this?” she asked.

“Do what?”

“Be Theodore Darcy, CEO of Darcy Entertainment?”

No one had ever asked me that question, so I had never even thought about it.

“I don’t know if I ever wanted to be CEO per se. I know I wanted to tell a story. I didn’t and still don’t care what medium it’s in, whether it’s music, dance, or film. Darcy Entertainment used to be a small indie filmmaker under my grandfather. Then my father, Arthur, expanded on that. Walt only cared about dancing. Arty was always more interested in computer technology. So it fell to me, and I do enjoy what I do.”

“I can tell, Ernest.” She giggled, shaking her head. “I was horrible, but you were great. I almost forgot you were you.”

She thought she was horrible? “How do you completely underestimate yourself and leave me dumbfounded at the same time?”

“You were dumbfounded? When?”

I couldn’t even begin to list the occasions and luckily, I didn’t have to. It started to pour, the rain beating down on everything and everyone in sight. While the others grabbed their things and ran back to their cars, Felicity stood up and opened her arms wide, allowing herself to get soaked.

“You guys aren’t true fans!” she yelled, unable to contain her laughter.

“Why aren’t they true fans?” I asked, stepping up beside her, getting as soaked as she was.

She pointed to the screen. “When else in life are you going to get the chance to make out in front of what is arguably the most romantic movie of this generation? Who lets this just slip by?”

“I don’t see you kissing—” Before I finished, she’d jumped up and latched on to my arm, wrapped her legs around my waist, and kissed me.

They weren’t like our normal kisses, the ones that were prequels to us taking off our clothes. They weren’t lust filled. Instead we kissed each other like we would have been content with only this for the rest of our lives.

I even forgot it was raining.

Felicity 12:04 a.m.

I left a message for Cleo and Mark. “Hey, guys, I’m not sure what time it is there, but I’m heading to bed now. I will tell you all about my day tomorrow.”

After fixing my hair, I adjusted my breasts in the lacy nightgown I wore and stepped back into the bedroom to find Theo still asleep on the bed. I clasped my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. He had taken off his shirt and pants, leaving him in nothing but his boxer briefs and socks.

I guessed I took too long. But he never said anything. Walking over to him, I took of his socks and placed them on the dresser of the house he had rented for our time here. I gripped the covers, but he grabbed my waist.

“Thanks, Mrs. Beauchamp,” he whispered as a grin spread over his lips. 

“You were awake?”

He opened one eye and peeked at me. “I was just resting, but why would I stop you when you were taking such good care of me?”

I was going to kill him. “Oh my gosh, you are—”

“Felicity, are you blushing?”

I jumped back and placed my hands on my flushed cheeks. “What are you talking about? I don’t blush. The room is just hot, okay?”

He sat up, finally noticing what I had on. “Is that for me?”

“No. I always sleep like this. You just haven’t seen it because I never planned to be over at your place.” I tried to hide myself under the covers.

“I thought you said it was hot?”

“Oh my God, Theo, can you just let me off the hook?”

He broke out laughing.

“I’m going to bed. Don’t touch me!” I snapped, more annoyed with myself than him. What was going on? I was the no-strings-attached one. The don’t-get-too-close one. I had walls higher than Mount Everest around me, yet Theo had somehow made me forget all of that.

This was not okay.

“You’re going to suffocate like that.” Theo lifted the covers off my head, and I glared at him.

I stared into his green eyes, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach now. “I don’t know what came over me. We’re just supposed to be about sex.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

He rested his head beside mine. “Why is it supposed to be just sex?” 

“Because I’m not a good person,” I replied. “I’m going to hurt you.”

“When will you move on and forgive yourself for what happened back then?”

I frowned. “She probably would have been a teenager or something now. The woman I hit had her daughter with her. She pushed her out of the way, and I remember her crying over her mother, shaking her. Screaming as the tears poured down her face. But I killed her. That woman hadn’t done anything wrong. Her daughter became an orphan. I did that. That girl, she needed her mother, and I robbed her of that. I know how it feels, and I did it to someone else. How do I move on from that?”

“By letting others help you.”

He didn’t get it. I was beyond help.