Chapter 3

"First kiss "

I spent all night thinking about the date; how we almost kissed, how he grabbed my hands so much, his face, the smile, it was just too much to handle, I didn't expect this at all. All I wanted was to go to sleep fast so I could see him in the morning, that was first of my "to do" list. I thought about calling Meagan but it was a bit too late so I just sent her an email giving her all the details. I knew she was not going to believe me, especially since Vincent fit the description I'd given her of that other guy I'd seen in the bus this morning.

Maybe I saw it coming somehow and I had a dream about it, maybe it was my mind playing some trick, or maybe it's true what they say; we can only remember about 5% of a dream and I completely made the guy up, but I remember his face and when I think of Vincent's face, it's pretty much the same thing; his hair was the same, his pale skin, the smirk smile, and his eyes, those weird amber eyes, that's what called my attention the most. Was there a possibility that Vincent had been on that bus today? I thought I was losing it, but maybe that was it, I mean after all, he does drive pretty fast, he could've easily made it to Indianapolis and back before my dad and I got to Shelby, but how did he know where I was? How did he know I was going to take that bus? And then, what about the other boy I dreamed of? Was I ever going to see him?

I fell asleep pretty fast, and as expected, I had a dream about Vincent. I was next to him, he was holding my hand, and I saw two people behind me, a guy that looked like he was 17 years old, and a girl, she looked a little older, about 18 or 19. They both looked happy to see me, and happy to see Vincent also, but then the girl looked down, like disappointed. I looked at Vincent and he smiled, it all became a nightmare when another boy arrived, but I could only see his shadow; I knew it was a boy because of his body build. He was talking to the 17 year-old boy, and judging by everyone's expressions, neither of them were very happy. The morning became too bright for me to continue sleeping and the dream started fading slowly. I was still thinking about it when I woke up, but I was too busy trying to eat breakfast as fast as I could to call Vincent and do something together.

"Morning there" my dad said

"Morning dad"

"Are you going around town today?"

"I plan to, maybe start getting used to my new car" I said smirk, trying to distract him from the thought of spending time with the neighbors; something clearly bugged him about it.

"Are you going to see Vincent today?" he said deflecting what I'd just said.

"I don't know"

He grabbed his bag and kissed me in the forehead before putting on his jacket to go to work.

"See you later kiddo" he said as he walked out the door.

"Bye"

Right after he left I heard my phone ring upstairs. I ran thinking it might've been Vincent, but then I remembered I never gave him my number.

"Hello?"

"Hey baby! How is it going in Shelby?" my mom said

"Pretty good mom, dad got me a car, can you believe it?" I said amused but disappointed, I really was wishing it could, by some miracle, be Vincent.

"He told me all about it, that's why I was calling you. Do you like it?"

"Of course I do!"

"So tell me about the neighbors" she said, probably with a wide smile on her face. If my dad told her about the car, he most likely told her about "the neighbors"

"They are pretty nice people, I'm glad they moved here"

"And the boy? What is he like?!"

"He's… great mom" I said letting out a giggle

"Well, I'm glad hun; it's good that you found someone to spend some time with. You know you could stay longer than 2 weeks if you want, as long as you come back!" she said. She sounded genuinely happy, I wondered if she was really ok or trying not to sound like the other night.

"No, mom, I'll be back the 20th. Don't worry about it."

"Ok, well I have to go to work, I miss you"

"Me too mom"

"See you then. I love you"

"Love you too"

I hung up the phone and went back downstairs. What was left of my cereal was already soft so I threw it away. Then the house phone rang. I picked it up in a rush again. It was more possible for him to have the house number!

"Hello?"

"What are you doing today?"

My heart seemed to skip a beat, I sighed; his voice was like a song, so harmonious. I was completely stunned by it. After the hyperventilation was over I took a deep breath.

"Nothing"

"Ok, my sister and I are going to –blank- with some friends. Do you want to come?

"Sure" I said without thinking

"Be ready in about 30 minutes, I'll pick you up"

"Okay"

I rushed to my room and picked a peach tank top I had and some washed out blue jeans, I damped my hair a bit and let it down, then raced to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Even though I didn't like to put much makeup on, I figured lipstick wouldn't hurt. My bag was ready to go; I had my keys and my phone which were pretty much all I had to put inside. I called my dad to let him know what I was doing, he groaned a bit but he just said not to get home too late. By the time I was done the phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Are you ready?"

"Yes"

"Cool, come outside"

My head started spinning again, I felt like I was going to pass out. I grabbed my bag and walked slowly towards the door, I knew he would be in the other side when I opened it, so I was taking my time to relax and not look like a total maniac. I could see his shadow standing right in front of the door, just waiting for me. I opened and looked straight at his face. He smiled when he saw me and kissed me on the cheek after he said hi.

"Hey" I said, and also smiled

He grabbed my hand and walked me to his car. This time it wasn't a mustang but a black Corvette, brand new I suppose, it was extremely shiny. I couldn't help but getting fixated on it, my jaw probably hung open again.

"This is your car?"

"Yeah, my sister's is full" he giggled and opened the passenger's door.

"No wonder" I said bewildered

He repeated last night's routine and got into the driver's seat. We parked a few blocks down and I figured this was his house. It had big windows, and it looked pretty modern. He told me to excuse him for a minute to get a few things for the road. I waited in the car and, like every girl most likely does, I snooped around while he was gone. I found a couple of CD cases underneath my seat. He was into classic music, I would have never guessed. I saw him coming so I put everything back in place, I didn't want him to think I was some kind of psycho stalker or something.

"Sorry about that" he said as he got back in the car

"It's ok" I said smiling, it was so easy to be around him.

As Vincent drove off to the beach I thought about what it would be like to meet his sister, I bet she was as nice as him though. But I was just sort of… worried I guess. I'd never met a boy's family before; I'd never even had a real boyfriend before, so there had been no need of meeting anyone. Not like Vincent was my boyfriend anyway, it wasn't as bad as I was making it seem like. But I think it was ok to be nervous, especially because it was him, and he was just so perfect. I wondered how I would look standing next to him… I was so average compared to other girls. I remembered how he said last night that I was unique, and I couldn't help but think why; I think there are other girls out there prettier and better than me. All of the sudden the fact that we weren't speaking hit me. I was so focused thinking that I forgot to actually talk to him, this made me worry even more, what if he was thinking about the same thing I was thinking? What if he noticed that in day light I'm not that pretty? I panicked; I didn't know what to do or what to think anymore.

"So, how old is your sister?" I said trying to keep my breathing at a low volume.

"You decided to talk" he said smiling

"Sorry about that" I said wary

"She's 20, and don't worry about not talking" he looked at me with a delicate expression on his face. I paused.

"Ok, so she's 20, and you are 19?"

"Something like that"

"Cool, I just turned 19 as well"

"Yeah, you dad told us" he laughed

"Seriously, is there something my dad hasn't told you about me?" I shook my head and laughed. Then I turned to look at him. His face was rigid, looking forward, and he was still smiling. He looked back at me and his smile grew wider, then he looked down at my hand and grabbed it, and looked back into my eyes.

"I like you" he said, "You make me laugh"

I just stared at him like in a daze, searching for words to reply with. Nothing was coming out other than my astonished looking eyes focused right on him. He held the smile, and my hand, and faced forward. I just kept staring at him. Pretty much for the rest of the ride; sometimes picturing what it would be like to kiss him, some others thinking how his hand felt so soft to my touch, and how he was always a bit cold. My heart kept racing every time he smiled for no reason. I figured he was thinking about how I wouldn't stop looking at him so I would look away for a few seconds. And then he would look at me and he would make me look back without thinking. I had never felt this way before, like I was going to need him for the rest of my life to feel good. I had met him a day ago and this was just so ridiculous it didn't feel right, but I couldn't fight it.

After what seemed like a short ride, Vincent parked next to a big blue house surrounded by trees. There was a tiny path in the right side that led to the beach; it was so short you could see the people in the other side. We got off the car and walked through the path. The music got louder and the closer we walked the more nervous I got about meeting Hanna and her friends. Once the path was clear of bushes and trees I was able to see the beach. It was a pretty cloudy day, like usual, so I figured we weren't going to swim –which, by the way, was completely appropriate because I wasn't ready to let anyone see me in a bathing suit. Vincent held my hand a little tighter and smiled at me, and then Hanna came out of the crowd to greet us.

"Hey, you must be Sarah" she said shaking my other hand.

"Yes, hi" I said smiling

"I'm Hanna, Vincent's sister" she smiled back

My mouth probably hung open when I saw her; she was just as beautiful as her brother. Pale skin, dark, long hair and the same color eyes. "I see you guys are already bonding" she said, smiling even wider now; she had a fun expression on her face, like she had been waiting for a long time to see us together.

"She's all I was hoping to find" Vincent said looking at me. I blushed obviously and smiled, then he held my hand tight and started walking towards the crowd. His walk was smirk like he was proud of being with me, that amused me; having such a pretty sister I was positive all their friends were just as handsome, I was sure preparing my head not to fit in. We didn't take two steps before I called Hanna's attention again.

"Ok, Vincent, stop overwhelming the poor girl, come and meet the people" She grabbed my hand and pulled me away from Vincent. "You might find one or two cuter than my brother" she said to my ear; I just looked back at Vincent and tried to picture someone more beautiful. I couldn't.

When we got to the middle of a circle I saw a bonfire, there were around thirty boys and girls of about our age sitting, or standing, and talking around it. I looked at everyone with an odd face and started laughing to myself because they all seemed to be too much too good looking for me to come and ruin the picture. I was so average in that group it was almost sad. Hanna started laughing and stared at me.

"Listen, no one here is that pretty, believe me, some of them have the worse attitudes ever. You, however, have a beautiful mind and future ahead of you" she said after she shook me a few times. I was totally embarrassed at the thought of having said those things out loud, and confused because I couldn't remember doing it, but the connection between my mouth and my brain seemed to be failing lately.

"What?" Hanna said with a weird expression on her face.

"I didn't say anything… did I?" I replied to her question, I could tell she wasn't expecting that reaction when she widened her eyes and let go of my hand.

"Hanna…" Vincent called at her.

"Sorry, I... I didn't know…" she looked at him and then back at me. Her ace still stiff.

"What? You didn't know what?" I said confused

"Nothing, don't worry about it Sarah" Vincent said when he was already next to me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me far from the crowd to a nicer quieter place by a hill.

"What was that all about?"

"My sister is very outspoken sometimes"

"But she didn't say anything wrong, I was the one who…" he cut me off putting his finger on my lips.

"It's not your fault, so stop saying that" he smiled now, the smirk smile I like so much, his eyes were so kind, and somehow looked darker today, more brown than the gold I'd seen a yesterday. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. Missed again I thought. He giggled.

"I'm worried" I said looking at the floor

"Why is that?"

"I think I'm saying stuff out loud when I think lately"

"You say stuff out loud?" he let out another giggle, "Maybe I'm just reading your mind"

"Yeah, right… that must be it" I laughed

"Sarah… I've been waiting for you for about 10 years now"

"How is that even possible? How did you know I existed? I just don't get it"

"You will… but I can't tell you anything just yet. I promised your…" Vincent turned his head towards the crowd, he seemed angry, I had no clue what he was talking about, so I couldn't even respond. "I'll be right back" he said.

He walked to meet his sister who was about 40ft away it looked like they were screaming but I couldn't really hear anything. He was saying he promised someone he not to tell me something, but what was it, and who did he make the promise to? My… what? My parents perhaps, but they've always told me everything.

After the argument Vincent came back and told me he had to go home. I didn't mind I figured as long as I was with him it didn't matter where. It was a silent ride back. We hardly said two words, I thought maybe I'd said something wrong, maybe he discovered he didn't like me or maybe his sister didn't like me. This last part terrified me; I didn't want her to think I had been rude earlier. I felt awful… Vincent wasn't even holding my hand like before. I knew we had rushed into things. Just like my dad said, I'd completely underestimated him; I thought he was making no sense, now it was very clear.

Once we arrived home, there was no staying, or walking me to the door. Vincent just stared at me for a minute, and then held my face. He said he had to go for a while because his parents had gotten another offer and they were considering it. They were moving to Italy. My jaw fell open, I didn't want to hear this, I didn't want to leave. He promised he'd stay behind to stay with me for one more week, I was just wishing I could go with him. Then it happened; he got closer to me, his voice sounded like he was in pain, a horrible pain, a few tears came down my cheeks while I saw my little fairytale come apart, and then he kissed me. His lips were cold against mine, but it was a cold that felt nice. His smell was so sweet, so inviting. My mind was drifting away; I stopped feeling everything around us and just focused on one thing; his lips stroking mine in a way that would make anyone want to cry out of frustration. I still had no clue how it could be that this boy could be so much in sync with me, how it felt that his lips belonged where they were right now, I still had no clue how his magic worked on me, maybe he wasn't human, maybe he was some kind of angel or a superhero.

I wanted the moment to last forever, but like most my wishes, it came to end unexpectedly. He backed off slowly, still touching my face, his eyes were closed, I opened mine to see him because his beauty was just as good as that kiss. He moved his hand from my cheek down my neck, and he rested it there for a few seconds, my heart was beating extremely fast, he smiled amused and then said I was unbelievable. He opened his eyes then and looked straight into mine, they were vague because I was still thinking about that kiss, how I wanted more, how I needed for him to stay with me. His face turned hard, he looked like made out of stone, his eyes drifted away from mine and his playful smirk became a serious frown. He said he had to go, I didn't bother asking why, I could already come up with a thousand reason of why I wasn't good enough for such a God-like creature, much as I wanted him I couldn't object. He got out of the car and opened my door, like always, he said he'd see me soon and kissed me again in the forehead; I almost automatically knew I might now see him for a while. I gazed at the night sky and then back at him, his face still serious. He got into his car and started the engine, as he drove away I stared at his car. He didn't go home.