Crimson
Another Vampire Love Story
Chapter One:
The Beginning
After a long day, you curl up on the couch with a warm blanket and the thoughts of the day just sputtering around in your mind only to be left with nothing to do. You turn on the television hoping for some good old-fashioned American entertainment. A movie is on. The girl is standing there, calling after the guy with every fiber of her being, hoping that he'll hear her so she can say what she has to say. As usual, what she has to say is that she did something wrong and now she realizes that all she ever wanted to do was be in love with this guy. Countless times this happens. Why is it always the girls that make the mistakes? Is it because we are women that we're forced to assume a feminine definition? I am a woman so I have to be deceitful or vindictive or maybe even a little scatter brained? No! I am a person; a human being. This is my standing opinion. Movies that include a woman falling in love with a man after confessing that she made the biggest mistake of her life are the most pathetic, over-used films in existence. It just doesn't happen that way in real life. Most of the time, it's the other way around.
Today Mrs. Hawker was lecturing us about the functions of subatomic particles. Yeah, sorry I wasn't interested in hearing about why college science was so amazing. I was a bit agitated to begin with. I hadn't eaten in almost three days and it was starting to take its toll on me. All of this added up to me sprinting at the fastest "normal" pace I could manage out of there as soon as the hour was over and I could finally get back to my dorm. I needed time. I wasn't ready.
As soon as I was safely inside, I closed the door and locked myself up tight in my room. My ring was weighing me down like it was made of solid gold over fourteen carats. Out of impulse, I threw the curtains closed and curled up in my bed, chucking the ring across the room with all my might. He was here. It didn't even have to be in person. Just the thought, the mental picture of him in my mind, made him seem like he was here, standing right in front of me with his gentle eyes and award-winning smile.
A weak mind slips if you let it. Mine slipped all the way back to last year when everything seemed so perfect; back to the beginning.
It was my first day of my senior year in high school back home in Wolfcrest. I was determined to start trying to make something of myself. I would be a part of the crowd and stop earning the official brand of the loner. Don't get me wrong, I had friends. I mean, I wasn't Miss Popular but I had childhood friends that I carried with me through the years until that point. We would go to the movies together, talk about the strange things that always seem to happen in high school and tell each other everything, no secrets.
All of that changed that day… all because of him. Cal Moretti was the new kid that year. New kids in a small town like Wolfcrest tend to get noticed but he would have stood out in any crowd. His eyes were a perfect shade of green, almost a rogue leafy color. You could spend hours staring into them trying to find the forest within. His hair was the common slightly spikey hairdo, dirty blonde almost.
I was innocently walking to my first period class when I suddenly ran into him. I hadn't seen him. All of a sudden he was just there, like he had materialized out of nowhere.
When we collided, I dropped my books all over the floor and I was quick to apologize. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—I, uh, sorry. I'm such a klutz." I dropped to my knees to gather them as the other kids continued to walk past, completely detached from everything else in the world.
He did the same, calm and cool. "You don't need to apologize. I shouldn't have been standing around." He picked up all the books I hadn't already stacked back in my arms and held them out to me. "I'm having a little trouble finding my class."
I took my things and neatly placed them back into the right order, according to class. "I could help you, if you'd like. What's the class?"
"Mr. Brady's French class?"
When I realized that he was in the exact same class that I was in, butterflies began to flutter around in my stomach. He was so cute, and polite, too. Half the boys in that high school wouldn't waste their time with you unless you were willing to go "all the way" with them without even getting to know them first. The only other guy who was that decent was Ben Whitman and that was because he believed in actually treating a girl like a human being.
"Um, yeah. It's right over there." I pointed to the room without moving toward it.
He flashed his pearly whites at me, and that's when I was hooked. "Thanks for your help." Like every other normal person, he turned and went into the room.
I was still stuck in the hallway—that is, until I snapped out of it and darted into the room. My lack of skill in the foreign language repelled me from sitting anywhere else but the back corner of the room. I pretty much owned that desk. No one else dared to ever sit there.
Beside me as usual was my best friend, Tara. She was one of the few people in my band of friends. That day, she was paying particular attention to the new kid. She measured and psychoanalyzed every movement in great detail during lunch when we finally had time to really talk.
"Cal Moretti is perfect for you! He was looking right at you the whole time." Tara gave me a crooked brow and glared. "Did you talk to him?"
"Does dropping my books all over the floor and helping him find the French room count?" I deflected the inner meanings she might have had attached somewhere to that question. I focused all of my energy on eating my lunch.
"Absolutely it does! I can't believe you didn't tell me!"
I chuckled. "Tara, we couldn't speak until now. When was I supposed to tell you? Besides, I don't think it's that big of deal. I doubt he's interested in the girl who stumbled all over herself on her way to class." I pointed out matter-of-factly.
She nudged me. "You don't know that. And until we do, you are not going to mess up your chance to get to know him. Deal?"
I grinned, knowing she was just living her dream through me. "Deal."
For the rest of the day, I noticed his presence in almost all of my classes except for math. I couldn't look at him without blushing but at the same time I couldn't look away. His eyes, his hair, his lips, I took it all in one at a time. More than once, my teacher would catch me off guard to ask a question about the topic I hadn't been paying any attention to. And every time, Cal would cover for me by answering the question as if it were his name that had been called instead of mine. All in all, it was too embarrassing for me to take so as soon as the last bell had rung I went to my locker without taking any detours to get my stuff and leave.
Instead of going my usual way, I took a shortcut through the park. For some reason I didn't understand I sat down next to my favorite willow tree by the water hole. I just wanted to take in the scenery again. I was out there until it started to get dark, merely watching the ducks bob across the water.
That was where the second encounter took place. Cal was sitting on a bench near the far edge of the park. I pretended not to see him there but then he called to me.
"Evelyn, isn't it?"
With hesitation, I turned to face him. "Um, yeah. Hi."
"Care to join me?" He asked, patting the seat beside him.
"I'm actually on my way home right now. It's my turn to set the table for dinner."
He immediately got up and came to me instead. "Is it alright if I walk you home? I'd feel awful if I knew you were walking home alone in the dark."
That confused me a little bit. He didn't even know me. Why would he care? However, I wasn't about to refuse him. "Sure."
As we trekked on, the silence was replaced with a more awkward form of silence.
"So, you're new in town, huh?"
"Sort of," he began. "I've actually lived here before. I was away but, yes, I just got back."
"Really? Where were you before you came here?"
He smirked at my pathetic excuse for small talk. "Around. I didn't stay in one place for too long. My family and I were born to travel." He looked down at me. "Do you normally go to the park after school?"
"No."
Cal waited a moment. "Would you care to elaborate?" I caught a hint of a grin on his face.
"Uh, I just don't, I guess. I used to when I was a little girl but I guess it's lost its appeal." The last time I had been there was the summer of '99. My mother had told me to go play for a while so she could get her work done. She'd given me a dollar for ice cream and I was out of there. I innocently pranced around the playground until I got extremely bored and went back home. When I got back, there was an ambulance and a handful of police cars surrounding the house. As I passed them to the front door, I saw their faces, glum and yet somewhat apologetic. Minutes later my only living parent was pronounced dead. She'd accidentally fallen down the stairs, fracturing her spine with internal bleeding. The park had reminded me of this event and I never went back.
My expression gave me away. "I'm sorry if I've upset you."
I shook my head, eyes closed. "No, it's fine. The park reminds me of my mother."
"What happened?"
"Stair accident."
He nodded. "I understand. My parents died as well. I'm living with my uncle."
"I'm sorry," I apologized. I looked over at his face. He didn't seem too sad, so it wasn't a recent event, but the torture was still in his eyes.
I was mesmerized by his eyes to the point of ultimate clumsiness: I tripped over a tree root and almost fell on my face, scraping the palms of my hands and dropping my stuff everywhere. "Oh, great." I whispered to myself. I examined my raw hands and sat down on the sidewalk.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he picked up my things and put them back in my bag.
To check, I rolled up my pants to expose my bloody knees. "Shoot." These are my good jeans. When I tried to stand, I only teetered and just about hit the ground again!
Luckily he caught me this time and swung me up into his arms. With my bag slung over his shoulder, we made it the rest of the way to my house. We continued to talk about our current living situations. His Uncle Louis lived on the edge of town in their family mansion. They were quite close, it appeared. Cal always had his old room for when he comes to town. I told him about my Aunt Fauna from my dad's side and how she was demoted to the parental guardian status.
He put me down when we got to my front porch and handed me my bag.
"Thanks," I said with a smile.
His smile was much more brilliant than mine. Even his teeth were perfect. "You're welcome."
I took out my keys and unlocked the door. I turned to say good night but by the time I did he was nowhere in sight.
Confused and yet somewhat excited, I ran inside and up the stairs to my room and immediately called Tara to apologize for being late. I was supposed to pick her up from her shift at the grille so we could hang out at her house.
"I'm so sorry. I'll be right there. I just got to clean up first."
"What happened? You sound kind of flustered."
I wedged the phone between my ear and my shoulder to give me the ability to scrub the blood off my knees and pants and talk at the same time. "I ran into Cal on the way home and tripped on a root. He had to carry me home because I fell so hard."
The excited squeal that followed made me nearly fall backward off the side of the tub. "Girl, I can't believe you pulled it off! He is so into you."
"Maybe. I don't know. We'll talk about it when I pick you up. See you in a minute."
"'Kay, bye."
After I bandaged my kneecaps and my hands and changed into my pajama pants, I went to my bag to take out my wallet. It's usually right on top but for some reason I couldn't find it. I turned that thing inside out but I still didn't see it. I needed my license and my money just in case. My mother, had she been alive, would have killed me if I left without them. More searching led to more disappointment. Bag it, I thought. Everyone knows everyone around here. If, for some outlandish reason, I ended up getting pulled over I could let them know what happened and everything would be fine.
With this in mind, I grabbed my keys and my cellphone and bounded down the stairs to the front door where Aunt Fauna was standing with her arms folded and her foot tapping repeatedly.
"Where are you going?"
This wasn't the Fauna I knew. "Um, to Tara's."
A smile replaced her grimace and she stepped aside. "I guessed as much. Just joking around. You two have fun!" She called as I ran out to my car in a full sprint.
"I will!" I called back to her, tearing the driver's side door open and climbing in. And on to Wolfcrest Bar and Grille I went.
Well, almost.
Not ten blocks away from the grille, I saw flashing blue and red lights in my rearview mirror. I quickly pulled over and went over the story in my head. I forgot my wallet. I'm sorry, I'm a little out of it at the moment. I rolled down my window when a person walked over to my car and began speaking without even meeting his or her gaze.
"I'm sorry, I forgot my—"
"Wallet?" The person finished my sentence with a low chuckle.
I peered out my window and saw Cal with his heavenly grin standing by my car. "How did you—?"
"I found it on my way back to my house."
"I figured as much. Actually, I was wondering how you knew this was my car? And what's with the squad car?"
"I'm in the good graces of the sheriff. I asked him if he could give me a ride so I could give this back to you." He took my wallet out of his pocket and handed it over.
Slowly, I took it and threw it on the dashboard. "Uh, I'd love to return the favor. If you want, I can take you home."
He smiled. "That's okay. You look like you have somewhere you have to be. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Try to stay upright until then, okay?"
Kill me now and feed me to the monkeys. He's making me melt. "I will. See you tomorrow." I beamed.
"See you then." He tapped my car and waved as he spun towards the sheriff.
I rolled up my window and nearly died right there in the front seat of my SUV. I hardly remembered even driving to the grille. It was like I rolled up my window only to appear in the parking lot a second later. Of course, Tara was waiting out front giving me the famous "Tara glare" all the way to the car.
"You're double late."
"And I'm double sorry. I had another Cal crisis."
Tara got in with lightning speed after she heard his name, shut the door, put her seatbelt on and was instantly ready to listen all about it. "What happened?" She asked, overeager.
Naturally, that's all we talked about the whole way to her house and for most of the night. She psychoanalyzed every word and action until I suddenly didn't know what to think anymore. Could he really be interested in me? Average, orphan girl Evie? He was an orphan himself which evened out the playing field but he was amazing. I could tell just by spending that short amount of time with him that this was true.
Ah, the human condition. How sweet and innocent I was back then. Nowadays I'm stuck in a college dorm room with no friends and no one to care. I suppose that's the life I had chosen for myself. FYI, roommates don't count. They weren't built to be friends with. They're just the annoying people that you're stuck living with until you can live by yourself once again in blissful silence.
The next day of my senior year was spent exchanging looks with Cal Moretti. After school, he offered to drive me home. That's when he asked me out on our first date. I humbly agreed and went inside to video chat with Tara. She helped me pick out my outfit for that night—a purple blouse and black skinny jeans with my mother's amethyst tear drop necklace and earrings—and coached me on what I should talk about if the chore of picking a topic fell on my shoulders.
I raced to the door when the doorbell rang Saturday night. I was so eager to see his handsome face again. There was so much to learn about him that I felt like I could talk to him for hours and never truly understand who he really was. He was a man of mystery, the new kid on the block. No one but him knew who he was.
When I opened it, he was standing before me in a t-shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket. Adonis was staring at me through his leafy green eyes, smiling at how uncool and speechless I was. "Hi." I finally gasped.
"Hey, Evie. Are you ready to go?"
My Aunt Fauna came up behind me and stood by my way out. "Don't keep her out too late." She warned, pretending to be sweet with her hair down in playful reddish brown curls. "I'm Evie's Aunt Fauna." She held out her hand across the threshold, easing up from her fake "parental guardian" routine.
Cal shook her hand, his homely grin still set in place. "Cal Moretti. It's nice to meet you."
"And you…" I could tell from the calculating look on her face that she was making her final decision about him right then and there.
"EVIE!"
I slowly turned away from the memories to glare at my roommate right in the eyes. "What?" I growled. My insides were ripping at themselves, at my flesh, trying to escape from my body. If this girl didn't leave my presence, she would surely get strangled.
"It's your turn to load the dishwasher."
"No, it's your turn," I corrected, looking her straight in the eye.
She blinked her wide eyes before she came to and nodded. "You're right. Sorry."
"Close the door behind you." I hissed over my shoulder at her as I curled back into myself. To remember.
Yes, Fauna Richards was judging Cal.
"I'll have her back at a respectful time, Miss Richards."
At that point I was practically jogging out the door for his car before she decided that he was anything other than perfect. I left her standing in the doorway with her arms folded and her lips pursed, eyes squinted at us as we got in and Cal drove away.
"I'm so sorry," I apologized. "My aunt is kind of… well, she hasn't been the same since my dad died on duty."
"Was he a policeman?"
"He was Wolfcrest's Fire Department Chief," I corrected casually. My father had saved hundreds of lives, some repeatedly, while he was alive… or so I was told. My mother, Sherry, used to tell me all about him. He'd passed away the spring right after I was born. I was only five or six months old when he left me alone with Mom forever. Naturally, she kicked the bucket five years later. For all I knew, she had thrown herself down those stairs from depression.
He noticed the change in my expression and eased off the subject. "My father was merely the son of a rich man. He hadn't earned an honest man's wages one day in his entire lifetime. My mother was his wife, so she was equally rich." He took his eyes off the road to look at me. "You're lucky to have had honorable parents, even for a little while."
I gave an honest effort at smiling but all I could manage was a quarter of a grin. "Thanks." After this strange turn in the conversation, I couldn't remember a single one of Tara's tips. So, I continued in the only way I could see possible. "You never did tell me how it happened." My curiosity had not been forgotten in the shuffle of madness.
He shrugged. "It's been a long time since it happened. I've been used to not really talking about it." He realized this wasn't deterring me from the path and continued. "Uh, it was a 'caught in the crossfire' kind of accident. They were walking down the street on their way back to their car when two men were exchanging gunfire on the street. They died instantly."
"That's awful. It must have been hard for you."
"It was but, like I said, it happened a long time ago."
Men and their ability to bottle up or ignore their emotions; I envy them. "Did they ever find who did it?"
He shook his head. "And I doubt they ever will. That place was a war zone." He pulled into the parking lot and shut off the engine before he got out and opened my door for me. Then he offered me his hand. I got out as well only he didn't let go once I was out. Together, we entered the restaurant. He even let me pick where I wanted to sit.
When we walked in, I saw Tara standing by the booths to the right. She gave me a thumbs up and then pointed to her open tables while Cal wasn't looking.
I led the way over to one of the tables for two and sat down. He pushed in my chair and did the same. He was either trying too hard or he was actually polite. Coming from a rich family that could be possible but I couldn't be sure just yet.
Tara came to our table with menus and set them down before us. "Welcome to Wolfcrest's Bar and Grille."
I giggled. "Hi Tara."
"Tara?" Cal asked with bewilderment. "I didn't know you worked here."
"Yup, got to earn gas money somehow. Can I start you guys off with something to drink?"
"I'll have a coffee." He replied.
"Water for me, please."
She wrote it down on her pad, stuffed the pad in her apron and said, "I'll be right back with those." Then she walked away. As she did, she spun around and winked at me. That was good, I suppose. She'd have to translate later.
Cal looked into my eyes as we waited awkwardly in silence. He was probably trying to avoid continuing our terrible conversation.
I grinned. "Will you excuse me for a second?"
He nodded. "Sure."
"Great. I'll be right back." I sprung to my feet and sped over to the coffee machines where Tara was standing. "Help me! I forgot what you told me to talk about." I whispered to her urgently.
"Evie, if you are already stuck it means you have to calm the heck down. I'm not going to be able to help you through your entire first date. Give him a minute to talk. I'm sure he'll have something to say to you. He wouldn't have asked you out if he didn't." She reminded me, putting glasses on a small round tray.
"Right…" I gave her a hug and slowly trudged back to my seat.
Cal had gotten so bored that he had folded his napkin into an origami crane. He glanced up at me as I sat down. "Do you like it?" He inquired with a low snicker.
Smiling—and secretly beating myself up for being so nervous for no reason—I answered, "It's beautiful." I was also slightly impressed. My creativity back then was practically nonexistent.
He pushed the crane aside to make room for his hands which he folded on the table—on his right hand, I noticed a rather large and gaudy, black ring. Then he peered at me. "So, is this your first date?"
I blushed. "Is it that obvious?"
"No," He contradicted. "I'm just experienced with reading people. I'm honored to be the first." He took my hands in his and looked even deeper into my soul. "There's no need to be nervous. I promise, you're safe with me."
As soon as he said that, I felt calmer and less flustered. If the grille had spontaneously caught on fire, I would have remained at peace. To remove the unintended silence, I said, "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself and then I'll believe you." If I wasn't mistaken, I was accumulating some game.
Tara came with our drinks and pulled out her waitress pad. "Are you two ready to order?"
"Chicken salad, por favor."
He chuckled. "And I'll have the steak, medium rare."
"Cool beans. You kids have fun. Your food will be ready shortly."
He turned to look at her until she was out of earshot. "What would you like to know?"
"Everything."
Without any further encouragement, he started shooting off facts. "My name is Cal Michelangelo Moretti. I was born on August 27th and I'm eighteen years old. A couple weeks ago, I moved in with my Uncle Louis. We live on the Moretti estate on the edge of town. I'm a Virgo, my favorite color is green and I'm a chocolate addict." He grinned. "What about you?"
"My name's Evelyn Anastasia Richards and I'm seventeen years old. I've been in Wolfcrest my entire life, as did most of my ancestors. I'm a Scorpio, my favorite color is red and I love vanilla." I stuck out my tongue and grinned. Our hands were still touching on the table.
"I'll have to remember that. What do you do when you have time to yourself?"
Time to myself? It never seemed like I ever really had time to myself. I always had the lingering feeling of everyone else's problems to do anything truly alone. "Uh, I suppose I would read or listen to music. You?"
"The same. Occasionally, I'll write. What kind of music do you listen to?"
"Pretty much anything. My dad worked as a DJ on the weekends to bring in extra money and when he died, I inherited all of his CDs. What do you write about?"
This seemed to be more of a sensitive subject than the others. It took a second for him to recover from the invisible bolt of lightning. "Life, mostly. At the end of the day there always seems to be a lot to write about."
"Maybe I'll get to read a little sometime."
"Perhaps." He chuckled. "I may just spare you from the torment. Have you ever tried to write?"
"Tried, I guess. Attempts aren't the same as doing."
Cal smiled. "But it's a start. I'm sure if you really put your mind to it you would be able to." Then he sat back in his seat with a smirk. "Just a thought."
If he only knew how well I was doing now. It's all his fault I'm doing this. "Perhaps." I needed to find something else to talk about quickly before he asked—.
"Give me your most embarrassing moment."
It's amazing that I had only known him for so long and yet I almost knew what he was thinking. "Are you requesting because you're going to give me yours or is this an 'I'm going to watch a girl squirm and then leave with her dirty little secrets' kind of a moment?"
"Not at all. If you'd like, I will tell you mine first and then you can decide whether or not you wish to tell yours."
"No, that's okay." Living my entire life as a klutzy kid, almost every moment of my life was embarrassing. How could I possibly choose one? I've done everything from accidental dumpster diving to running into Cal in the hallway and dropping all my books. The most embarrassing moment would be the latter. The fact that I found him even the least bit attractive made everything a whole lot worse. Should I tell him? Well, I did. "I ran into you in the hall… literally."
He laughed and gave my hand a squeeze. "But look what has happened since. Isn't that worth something?" After he took a moment to breathe, he said, "I told my friend I liked a girl and he told everyone I knew, including the girl. They ended up dating. Who do you think wins?" He looked up.
That's when I realized Tara was standing there with our food, listening to our every word. "As I am slightly biased in this situation, I'm going to have to call it a tie." She set the plates of food in front of us and took a step back with the tray at her side. "If you guys need anything, just holler." Again, she left us alone.
I wanted to die. Dating was a terrible ordeal for me as was socializing with anyone other than Ben Whitman or Tara Healy. Cal was cute and for some reason I felt like I could talk to him but at the same time I wanted to bolt out of that restaurant faster than a bat out of hell.
As if I had told him so myself, he grinned and called Tara over. "Actually, do you think we could take this to go?"
"Sure thing," she replied and went to go get boxes.
He turned to me. "I was planning on taking you somewhere else, if that's okay."
Home would be nice, I thought. "Absolutely. What did you have in mind?" Maybe he really will take me home. I definitely wouldn't be okay with that, and yet I would. Mixed emotions much?
"It's a surprise."
Surprise: just a shorter way of saying "I don't know yet, but you'll figure it out when I do."
Tara gave us boxes for our food, some plastic silverware, and a couple of to-go cups. After that, we were ready to go. To where exactly, I still didn't know yet. We were silent as we got into his car and drove to the secret place. It was dark as it was before, if not more so. I couldn't see anything that wasn't lit by a street lamp. Everyone was out partying or dating or spending their night the way that they usually do. For the first time ever, I was doing what everyone else was doing. Conformity wasn't exactly my agenda. I was the individualist who remained alone on the weekends if I could help it. Tara was the one who got dates. I was the loner… but not anymore.
Cal pulled over to the side of the road and got out with the plastic bag with our food in it and the cups, one in each hand. I followed his lead, distracted by my surroundings. It was kind of creepy out after dark, eerie really. We walked through a cluster of trees, past an old watermill to a small bridge that sat over the top of a trickling waterfall. There was a railing that ran along both sides of the bridge but there was plenty of space for a person to slip their legs through the bottom and that's exactly what we did. We let our legs dangle over the side of the wooden bridge and rested our arms on the plank that ran through the middle to prevent people from falling off into the large stream below.
As we sat there we ate and talked more comfortably about ourselves. Somehow we ended up talking about where we would see ourselves in twenty years. I had always dreamed that I would become a writer even though I have no talent in that area. It just sounded like the right solitary job for me. It was either that or working in a cubicle, answering phone calls from people who needed my assistance for something they could easily do themselves if they stopped to think for a minute. Maybe a suicide hotline—although more people would probably feel like killing themselves after speaking to me.
At that last part, Cal laughed and quickly disagreed. He thought I was a very entertaining person and they would stay on the line just to talk to me for hours and hours. Then he explained that he also wanted to write and it was destiny that we had met. I think that last part was meant to be a joke but he sounded completely serious.
He had me home promptly at ten o'clock. We stood awkwardly on the front porch waiting for me to figure out where I had put my keys and get the door open. I finally found them in the inside pocket of my jacket and quickly put the correct key in the lock. I turned around to say goodbye half-expecting him to have disappeared as he had before. Unlike last time, he was still standing there with a smile on his handsome face.
I still felt a little funny, not knowing what I should do or what was appropriate dating etiquette. "Uh, would you like to come in?"
"Sure, that would be great."
I stood back a little bit to let him in. His first step was hesitant and his grin got bigger when he came in all the way. Weird, right?
"I'll give you a little tour of the house." I looked around to make sure my aunt wasn't around or at least downstairs. I took him around the downstairs and sat down on the couch when we were done. I made sure there was a little space in between us because if Aunt Fauna saw us any closer than half a foot apart she'd start freaking out. Oddly enough, Ben and I could sit as close together as we wanted and she didn't have a problem with it. I think it was the fact that she didn't know him yet that made her hesitant to trust him. We'd have to change that.
Cal and I talked more about our future and our past. We stayed as far away from parent-related talk as we could; we didn't want to disturb either of our currently peaceful states. After another couple of hours, Fauna came down from her room to say goodbye. Before he could leave, I asked if Cal and his uncle could come over for dinner tomorrow night. This was the opportunity I needed to get him in her good graces. She agreed and practically kicked him out the front door.
As soon as he was gone, I went upstairs to my room to spend the rest of my night alone. I texted Tara to let her know how I thought it went then I gave her all the details when she thought my personal opinion wasn't good enough. She concluded that it went well, for my first date. She was a little disappointed that neither of us "made a move" but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Her prediction was that he would kiss me on our next date. We were going to have to talk more about it when she came over tomorrow morning. I really wanted this dating thing to work out. I needed to stop being alone.
