Chapter 3- Swimming in Stupidity
After about another 10 minutes I find the address written on the piece of paper my parents gave me. They had sketched a rough map of the important streets in the area, but as neither of their handwritings are even close to decipherable I had to drive around until I found the house with the right numbers on the door, 7731. (Of course, it's not like I had to go very far. This was a pretty darn small town.) So here I am, staring at a little white house (more like cream) with beige trimming. The lawn is green, but not too perfectly cut and there is a wooden porch jutting out from the front with an old, brown chair sitting on it. The whole thing is not in good shape, but there is something about it that makes me like it… Well Ash, here goes. I sigh and pull the keys out of the ignition.
I shiver as I leap out of the car, but grin as the chill wakes me up. I watch the puffs of snow-white breath flutter away from my face, letting it cloud my thoughts with snowflakes and love. Ash, what the hell are you even thinking about!?
Well, that's me for you, random…completely random. "Ash? You're Ash Kelly right?"
A husky voice calls near the door, making me jump. I realize I'm on the path leading to the porch now and jerk my head up. I rush towards the porch, unable to see the speaker's face, which is hidden behind a wooden pillar. What I can see of him is startling though. Who ever it is is shirtless and…MAN have they got some muscles. Their arms hang to the sides, slim, but BUFF. I admire how different they are then what I see in those bodybuilding magazines, looking almost stronger, but not gross. I can't stand big, square, muscle-man men. Then… there are his abs. This guy must have an eight pack or something!!! Even from here I can see the muscles rippling down his sides… there is something almost graceful about the way he stands there… white washed jeans loosely hanging to the floor, a casual but… beautiful stance……… SNAP OUT OF IT ASH!!!
I am so damn weird sometimes!!! Beautiful? Come On!!!
That's when I realize that I am standing right in front of him. I had just been staring like an IDIOT at his body!!!! I feel the heat rush to my cheeks and grind my teeth together in embarrassment, refusing to lower my head. I have never allowed myself to shrink in front of people. Then I realize that my head only reaches to his stomach and my jaw actually drops. Forget the muscles!!! This guy is like 7 feet tall. I feel like a dwarf and I'm almost 5' 8"!!! Who IS this guy?? Definitely not Jacob, he was just a scrawny little kid. Is this a friend?? Are the Black's not home or am I at the wrong house?
I slowly raised my head, tilting it up to see his face. I look him in the eyes and…
I'm swimming in the sun. Rich earthy brown surrounds me, warming me, embracing me as glimmers of soft gold caress my face. I can see smooth, russet colored plains flowing beneath me. The sun slowly forms the shape of a face, a beautiful, glorious face. This is all I can see. I know now that this is all I'll ever need, this face. This is what I need to fight for. I let myself fall in to the shining rays that flow out of his eyes. Yes, the face is a he. I can feel his breath steaming around me, suspending me in an alternate meaning of happiness, far beyond human or my understanding. I reach out toward the face; I need to make sure he is real. I let my fingers brush against his flawless cheekbones, smiling at his absolute existence……………….
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ash you did NOT just do that! You absolute, complete, and total IDIOT!!! I snap back to reality, but not completely. In that… amazing moment I had forgotten everything. I had forgotten who I was. What the hell just happened?!?!? Now I have to deal with some random guy who has probably ran away by now. Then I snap back enough to actually see and realize that the guy is staring at me with wide, dazed eyes, and he is holding my hand to his face. I jerk away and stumble back a few steps, but he doesn't seem to notice. His hand even stays in the same position.
"I…uuuuuuh……………..wh….yeah," I manage to say, finally catching his attention.
His eyes come into focus and he now stares at me with clarity, "Uuuuuh…What?"
"Remember…to your earlier question? I am Ash Kelly."
"Ha……….right………well I'm Jacob."