Kissing a Fool
by Kelli
Chapter 10
*Knock knock*
"Can I come in?" mama asks as she pokes her head inside my room.
"Sure," I say, adjusting the spaghetti strap of my dress. "Does this look okay?" I ask as I turn around to face her.
"It looks more than okay," she says walking up to me. She turns me around and finishes zipping up my dress. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks, mama," I say, looking down at my dress and smooth it out.
"You okay? You seem a little nervous..."
I turn back around to face her, but study my hands instead of looking up at her.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
She lifts my chin up with her finger. "This is your mama you're talking to. What's going on?"
I furrow my eyebrows together. "I'm not sure. I don't know why I feel this way..."
She takes my hand and leads me to the bed to sit down.
"What way?"
"I mean...this is Pete."
She nods.
"My best friend..."
She nods again.
I shrug. "I'm doing this to help him."
"Going as his date?"
"Well...Kimberly thinks that we're boyfriend and girlfriend so we're going to act like that..."
She smiles coyly. "Oh I see."
"You know...hold hands and maybe hug once in awhile..." I continue.
"But you guys already do that a lot."
"Yeah, we do," I say, studying my nails.
"Then it shouldn't make you nervous," she says, taking one of my hands in hers.
"I know but..." I bite my lower lip. "What if we have to do...more?"
Her eyes get a little big. "More? Liiiikkkkke?" she asks softly.
"Like kissing?" I reply almost as softly.
She tries hard not to smile but it doesn't work very well.
"I know that sounds silly," I say, squeezing her hand a little tighter. "But this is Pete we're talking about..."
"I know, baby. Just let him know you don't feel comfortable kissing him."
"But what if I do?" I ask before I even realize I said it out loud.
"Then, go with the flow..."
I shut my eyes.
"I mean, we already did at the New Year's Eve party. I mean not like tongue down your throat kissing but it was a nice kiss," I say, remembering back to that night.
She touches my cheek with her free hand. "You're blushing."
"No, I'm not," I say, shaking my head. "I just don't want to make things weird between us."
"You won't." She glances at her watch. "He should be here soon. Need me to help you with anything?"
"I'm wearing your necklace tonight...will you put it on me?"
"Of course. It will go beautifully with that dress."
I nod and go get the necklace.
Pete pulls up into the driveway.
"Okay, he's here. How do I look?" I ask my parents as I turn around to face them.
"Gorgeous," mama says as she smiles at me.
"Maybe it's a little too low cut," daddy says.
"Justin, it is not. It's perfect."
I smile.
"I just want this night to go well for Pete."
There's a knock on the door so I turn around and open it.
"Hi," I say.
"Whoaaaaa...hey there. I must be at the wrong house, I was looking for Ashleigh Timberlake?" Pete says as he looks around.
I put my hand on my hip. "You act like you've never seen me in a cocktail dress before."
"Oh uh...well, I've never seen you in a cocktail dress that looked like that before," he says, smiling mischievously.
"Yep, she's changing the dress," Justin mumbles to Britney so Ashleigh can't hear, which makes Britney nudge him in the stomach with her elbow.
When Pete notices my parents standing behind me he cocks and eyebrow.
"Why do I feel like I'm on a prom date?"
I laugh. "I just happened to walk downstairs and called my parents to come see how I looked when you drove up. It's all a coincidence. Come in a second," I say with a sweeping motion.
"Thanks. Hi Justin," he says, shaking my daddy's hand.
"Hi Pete," daddy says.
"Hi Britney, you look wonderful, as always," he says before kissing my mama's cheek.
"Well thank you Pete. I must say, you're looking even more handsome tonight. I think you'll impress these people very much," she says smiling proudly at him.
"Aww, thanks. I hope they are impressed. We'll see," he shrugs.
"I know they will be," I say, wrapping my arm through his.
"First they'll be impressed at what a handsome couple the two of you make and then you'll wow them with your talent," mama says.
"Handsome couple?" I ask. "Mama, I think that term is outdated."
"It's never outdated as long as there are good looking couples around," she says, folding her arms across her chest.
Daddy reaches over and rubs her back.
"I think what she's saying is that people will notice the two of you together, so they'll be interested in why you're there and who you are..." he says.
Pete starts to chuckle. "You guys crack me up. We should get going, just in case I get lost," he says, looking down at me.
"Okay, let me get my wrap," I say walking over to the chair where I placed the red sheer wrap that goes with the dress. He helps me drape it around my shoulders. "Thank you."
"Have fun you two. And good luck Pete, even though you won't need it," mama says.
"We'll be rooting for you," daddy says.
"Thanks. You guys are making me more nervous than my mom and dad did," he chuckles.
"Well, we're proud of you too," mama says.
We wave one last time before getting into his car.
"That was strange," I say as I shut the car door. I look down and notice that I have a little more cleavage showing because I'm sitting on my dress so I raise up off of the seat a little and adjust the top part of the dress. When I glance ahead again I notice out of the corner of my eye that Pete is staring at me so I quickly turn to look at him, which makes him turn his head to look straight ahead.
"Enjoying the view?" I ask.
"I've seen your driveway," he says as he starts the car.
I laugh as he starts the car and drives off.
"Thanks for doing this for me," he says, breaking the silence after a few minutes down the road.
"You don't have to thank me."
"Did you cancel a big date for this?" he asks.
I look at him.
"A big date?"
He nods.
"Sure," I shrug.
"Oh...sorry. I hope it didn't ruin things for you with him."
I giggle.
"I'm sure Ben will get over it."
"His name is Ben? That must be weird going out with a guy who has the same name as your..." He looks over at my smile and then nods. "Oh, it was your brother."
"Yeah, I was going to take him to a movie."
He reaches over and takes my hand, which is something he's done many times and I've never thought anything of it. Tonight, when he lifts it to his lips and kisses the back of it, I tense up a little.
"You hungry?" I ask, trying to make light of the situation.
"Why, because I'm nibbling on your hand?" he chuckles. "No, I'm just getting us used to tonight."
"Oh, okay...well then," I say, leaning over enough to reach him. "I guess I'll help warm up." I place a kiss on his cheek and sit back down.
"That's tame," he says with a swipe of his hand. "That's not new for us."
I chuckle. "No, but it's something a girlfriend would do..."
"My girlfriends would have turned my head so that they could plant one right here," he says, pointing to his mouth.
"And then after they clean up the wreckage from the car crash I'm sure I'd feel like we've practiced enough..."
He laughs. "I can drive while kissing."
"Well, I'm not going to test that theory."
I turn up the radio and start singing along with it. A duet comes on and we start singing it together.
"Damn, we sound good together," I say as he turns into the driveway. Suddenly I realize that we're here and I pull my purse out and check my makeup and fix my hair.
"I like your hair pulled up like that," he says, noticing what I'm doing.
"Oh, thanks. It shows off the necklace," I say.
"And the beautiful neck..."
He gets out of the car and hands the valet his keys as my door is opened for me.
"You have your portfolio?" I ask him as he comes around the car.
He holds it up.
"Okay," I say, letting my breath out.
He holds his arm out and I lace mine through his.
"Here goes nothing," he says, as he leads me up to the front door of the house.
We're greeted at the door by a server who takes my wrap and takes Pete's jacket. We walk into a larger room, more like a living room with a piano where there are a few guests already gathered. Kimberly notices us right away and smiles and nods. She holds up her finger to let us know she'll be with us in a second.
"Care for a drink?" someone asks us.
I take a glass of wine while Pete orders a beer.
"My favorite photographer," Kimberly says as she walks toward us.
Both Pete and I shake her hand.
"You both look wonderful."
"Thank you, so do you," Pete tells her.
"Thank you. Oh I see you brought the portfolio. I'd like to look it over before we talk to Mr. Gorman. I've already talked to him this evening and I have an idea of what he's looking for..."
"Sounds good."
"We can go in here and look them over."
We start to follow her but when we get to the doorway she turns and says, "Ashleigh, why don't you go mingle with the guests, I know a few of them have some of your work already. It might be a great selling tool."
Pete begins to protest but I stop him. "Sure, I can always use more buyers," I say, patting his arm. I lean up and kiss him on the cheek before they walk into the room.
I start to peruse my surroundings and overhear a conversation about an artist who is a good friend of mine in New York.
"I wouldn't call that a blue period," one of the men chuckle.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing you talking about Sammie Mitchell. She's a dear friend of mine," I say.
"Is that so?" another gentleman asks.
I smile and nod. "And I wouldn't call it her blue period either, she was using more shades of violets and purples."
"And you are?"
"Oh sorry, I'm Ashleigh Timberlake," I say, holding my hand out to him.
He smiles and shakes my hand. "Is that so? You do favor your mother a little."
He introduces himself along with the two other men and lady who are in the group.
"I didn't mean to interrupt," I say.
"You weren't," the woman says. "We were just talking about different artists we like...I was just about to bring your name up. You're the talk of New York art world right now."
"Oh, I am?" I ask, trying to hide my surprise. "Well, that's nice of you to say."
"I've seen your earlier work," another man says. "I was surprised to find out you were only a teenager when you did those pieces...they were very mature."
"Thank you," I say, feeling myself blush a little.
"I haven't gotten a chance to stop and say hello," a new face to our group says.
"Alex, it's a wonderful gathering," one of the men says.
"Yes it is, thank you," Alex says. "How are you all doing tonight?"
The five of us all nod and smile and say what a wonderful time we're having and that's when he notices me.
"You seem very familiar to me, but I'm afraid I can't place the name," he says holding out his hand.
"Alex darling, this is Ashleigh Timberlake," the woman says.
A slow smile spreads across his face. "It is a pleasure to meet you, then. I'm Alex Gorman."
I put my hand in his and suddenly he pulls it to his lips to kiss the back of it.
"It's nice to meet you."
"I've been eyeing a painting of yours lately," he says, standing closer to me. Basically he's pushed his way into the group so they go their separate ways and walk around the room.
"And which one is that?"
"It's of a mother and a son, a friend of mine owns it."
"Oh wow, yeah, I haven't thought about that one in a long time. It was given to Mr. Rudolph as a gift, he's a dear friend of the family."
He chuckles. "Yes, I know. Did you come here alone?" he asks, looking around.
"No, I actually came with my fr...boyfriend, Pete Chasez. I believe you're going to be looking over his photography portfolio this evening."
"Oh right, Kimberly was just talking about him. So, he's your boyfriend?"
I raise my eyebrows and nod.
"Well, talent must run in circles then. I look forward to seeing his work."
"You'll love it, he does an amazing job."
"Well, where is he?"
"I can go get him."
"Please do," he says.
"Okay, I'll be right back."
I walk over to the room and push open the slightly ajar door. I look around the room to find Pete and Kimberly standing over a table, looking at his photos. Kimberly is leaning into Pete and her hand is rubbing his back.
I clear my throat.
"Pete?"
He turns.
"Oh hey."
"Hi, I just met Mr. Gorman and he says he has time right now to look over your portfolio. Should I show him in here?"
Kimberly briskly walks toward me.
"That's my job, I'll go get him," she says, breezing past me.
I walk over to Pete, who holds out his arm so I go to his side and wrap my arm around his back. "I think I ruffled her feathers."
"I have a good feeling about this," he says, kissing my temple.
"Me too. He's very excited about art," I say, looking up at him.
My breath catches a little when I notice how he is looking at me.
"I think now is a good time to practice...they'll walk in on us," he says softly as he leans down toward me.
I think my knees would have buckled if I hadn't been holding on to him and he hadn't been holding on to me.
Our lips met and honestly, it felt like we've done this before. His lips softly caressed mine and I barely felt his tongue brush against my lips.
"You're going to be very excited about this..." Kimberly's voice right outside the room breaks us apart.
I clear my throat and when I look back up at Pete, I notice he's wearing some of my lipstick so I quickly wipe it off.
Kimberly smiles knowingly at us as she and Mr. Gorman join us.
"Pete Chasez, this is Alex Gorman," she says.
"It's nice to meet you, sir," Pete says, shaking his hand.
"You too. I have to admit this young lady here sings very highly of your work. I hope you don't let me down," he says, slapping Pete on the back.
"No sir," Pete says.
I step out of the way and watch as Pete and Kimberly show him the photos they've picked.
"This one is my favorite," Mr. Gorman says, holding up one particular shot. He studies it carefully and then glances at me and then smiles. "Well no wonder, you tend to see the people you love in the best light."
I give him a confused look.
"Certainly you've seen this," he says, holding the photo out for me.
"Actually, she hasn't...not in print," Pete says, rubbing the back of his neck.
I get a little choked up when I realize it's the picture of me and the Santa Barbara sunset. Since I can't say anything I nod my head and smile, handing it back to Mr. Gorman.
"Well, Pete, I'm very impressed. I think we could do a whole series using your photography. Kimberly, I'll be in touch."
"Thank you, Mr. Gorman," Kimberly says.
"Pete, good work. I know I'll be seeing more of you soon. Ashleigh, next time I'm in New York, I'll be stopping by your gallery."
I chuckle. "Thank you Mr. Gorman, I'll look forward to it."
He leaves the room and Pete bends down and lifts me up in an embrace and he laughs.
"That felt good," he says.
"You did a wonderful job...congratulations," Kimberly says as Pete sets me back down. "I'll see you a little later, I'm going to go mingle more."
"Thanks," Pete says as she leaves. "And thank you," he says, tapping my nose.
"Why?"
"Kimberly was saying we needed to wait until later in the party and she was going on and on about that and here you bring him in, right off the bat."
"Oh well, it was a coincidence that I was talking to him..."
"Just say you're welcome," he says.
"Okay, you're welcome," I giggle.