“Whoa, baby. That’s happiness to see me.” His widespread fingers pressed firmly against the back of my ribs.
I squeezed his neck, wrapping my legs around his hips—probably showing my undies to every dirty old man who cared to look. He just felt so good to hold; a little piece of the past, with a warmth that could only be human—as if he’d carried some of the Perth sun all the way to the U.S. with him.
I rested my cheek in his neck and let myself cry like a little girl. “I missed you so much.”
Mike’s arms became a band of restriction, stopping air from coming into my lungs. “I missed you too, kid.”
When he went to lower me, I held on tighter. “Not yet. Just...not yet.”
“It’s okay, Ara. Let go. I’m not going anywhere.” He unwound my arms from his neck and placed me on the ground. I pulled my dress down to cover my legs. “Let me get a look at you.” He shook his head, smiling. “You’ve gotten thinner. Are you eating?”
“You sound like my mum.” I clutched the edges of my dress in fists of nerves. “And, yes, I do eat.”
“What’s this?” He reached for my locket.
“Oh, um. A friend gave it to me.” I took it from his hand and dropped it back into place.
“You belong to me?” His brow folded over one eye.
“Ah, yeah. It’s um, a good friend?” I offered, but from the way his lips meshed tightly and his eyes narrowed, I knew he didn’t like it.
“David?”
“Maybe?” The corner of my mouth turned up involuntarily.
He just blinked a few times, then drew a deep breath through his nose and placed his arm around my shoulder. “Should I be worried?”
“Mike? You’ve been here for a whole two seconds. Don’t start.”
“I don’t like it, Ara. It sounds—possessive.”
“You’re just jealous,” I said, smiling.
“Jealous, huh?” His face lit up and his eyes warmed with so much familiarity that all the pain of the separation over these last few months melted away. He grabbed my hand. “So what if I am? You’ve always been my best friend. Then, out of nowhere, you meet some random guy, fall in love with him, and he brands you with his mark. Now, all of a sudden, you belong to him?”
Brands me? A quick breath came cold into my lungs as I reached for the yellowing bruises on my neck—the ones from the indiscretion under the stage. But when Mike’s eyes narrowed as he looked at my hand, I tensed from toes to shoulders, realising that wasn’t the mark he was referring to.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled it away from my neck, gasping loudly when he saw what was hiding beneath my carefully styled, bruise-covering hair. “Who did this to you? Was it him?”
I shrank into myself, looking around. “Mike, stop it. Please. People are staring.”
“I don’t care. Look at you. What kind of a guy would do this to a young girl?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Oh, really. Then what’s the story, Ara?”
“Look, he wasn’t trying to hurt me, okay? Just stop worrying about me all the time.”
Mike grabbed my chin and studied the marks on both sides of my neck. “Stop worrying, huh? Well, it certainly looks like I should be concerned. Have you seen this? Have you looked at yourself? Jesus, girl.” He released my face gently. “What the hell?”
“It was an accident. I—I bit him,” I said bashfully. “We were just playing around. I let him do it to me, and he—well, we got a little carried away.”
Mike’s arms dropped to his sides and disappointment filled his watery eyes. “Did you sleep with him?”
I shook my lowered head. I felt so foolish.
“Ara. I’m sorry.” He looked around the busy terminal, rubbing at the frown on his face. “Just. Why would you let him do this to you? How do you think I feel to come here after missing you for so long, so worried because I can’t be here to protect you, and I find this—” He held his hand out, presenting the bruise. “God, Ara. You should have more respect for yourself.”
“I know.” My face crumpled and fell into my hands. “I already feel bad enough about it.” About wanting him to do it. “I don’t need you making it worse.”
He clicked his tongue, then wrapped both arms around my shoulders, muffling my sobs against his chest. I hated the fact that our dramatic reunion in the middle of the airport was on display to hundreds of people—all watching. “I’m not mad at you, Ar.” He rubbed my back. “Okay? I’m not mad at you. I’m just—” He sighed and pulled back, wiping the tears from my cheeks with both thumbs. “I’m mad at myself. I never should’ve let your dad take you away. I should’ve come after you—or kept you with me.” He sounded utterly defeated.
I shook my head. “He’d never’ve let me stay, Mike.”
“He would’ve let you stay with me.”
I shook my head again. I was glad I came here; glad I met David—even though I was going to lose him. “He didn’t hurt me, Mike. David? He didn’t hurt me. I wanted him to do it. I liked it.”
“Ara? You’re just a girl. You shouldn’t be playing games like that with boys. He should’ve known better,” Mike said in a singing tone. “Look, I’m sorry. I just lost it, is all. I just never expected to see you with bruises.”
“I know. I said I was sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry, Ar. I do get it, okay? I really do. And I’ll let it go. Just, please don’t let him do it to you again. Promise?”
I nodded, secretly crossing my fingers behind my back. I wondered then, if explaining to Mike that David’s actually a vampire might ease his disdain for the whole biting situation—since it could’ve been worse.
When Mike laughed, I half expected he’d read my thought, but he simply shook his head and said, “It’s really damn good to see you, girl.”
“Yeah. It’s kinda weird. I feel like I’m imagining this.”
Mike reached across and pinched me. “Feels pretty real to me.”
“Ouch.” I rubbed my forearm. “That hurt, you know.”
“Grow up,” he said with a grin.
“Hmpf.”
“Shall we go home?” he asked.
“Yeah.” My arms dropped back down to my sides. “Sounds good.”