I apologize to everyone for the long delay on this.
I just kept adding to the chapter.
Also, Happy late Christmas and New Year.
Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Still in the flashbacks for a bit. Gail has to remember everything before we continue on in their present.
10.
"Aren't you…? How…?" Steve mumbles as he spots me in the kitchen on his entrance.
"What's wrong Steve?" I ask after he spends a while closing and opening his eyes.
"How are you here? I just heard noise coming from your room on my way down. So how can you be here and there?" He asks confused.
That explains it. Holly's still asleep in my room, and Steve has no idea she stayed over.
Shit.
"Well I'm clearly not in my room." I point out and he rolls his eyes at me.
"If you're not there… Then who is? Cause I'm sure I heard noises." He questions. I only answer with a shrug as I go back to eating my cereal. It's midday and instead of having actual food, I was too lazy when I woke up to prepare anything, so cereal was the choice. Also it seems that the parents have woken up earlier and left already.
"Did you meet somebody after we left?" He's getting a bit excited now.
"No." I say and continue eating.
"You brought someone back home! You met someone!" He's definitely getting more excited than he should be.
"I didn't." I give him a serious look as I put my plate down and reach for the juice.
"But wait, how long did you stay after? Cause you were meant to take Holly home." He remembers that I would barely have time to meet someone, and that I had a responsibility to take care of.
"Holly's fine." I assure him.
"Then who's in your room?" He's being to inquisitive and I'm sure that if I don't tell him soon, he'll go up and check.
Before I could tell him though, a third voice joins us.
"Hey." The voice sounded shy.
"Hey." I answer back.
Steve does a double take when he sees her.
"Holly?" He then turns to me and repeats, "Holly?"
Holly ignores his behavior as she addresses me. "Sorry about last night. And for falling asleep in your bed."
"Don't worry about it." I assure her. "How are you feeling?"
"Like my head's exploding." She says, then she gets my drift with the question when I give her a pointed look. "Better." She adds.
So I get up to get her a glass of water and an aspirin, which she takes with a warm smile.
Steve's still dumbfounded and giving us weird looks that I can't understand.
"Want anything to eat? It's noon, we can get lunch." I offer and she nods in appreciation.
"But first, can I use your shower?" She's uncertain and shy when she asks that.
"Sure, I'll lend you some clean clothes to wear." I offer.
She then turns around and starts her path towards my room, and I trail behind her.
Steve who's been quiet through the hole exchange stops me by grabbing my arm and then he waits till Holly's a few feet ahead before he hisses at me.
"What the hell Gail?"
"What?" I ask not understanding his question.
"Holly was drunk last night." He states while still hissing.
"Your point being?" I question still not understanding him.
"Are you kidding me?" And then when he utters that question it dawns on me.
"Seriously Steve?! You know me better than that." I'm the one hissing at him now. "She didn't want to go home, and I didn't know where else to take her."
He opens his mouth to answer but I raise a hand to stop him.
"And I know she was drunk, so I gave her a change of clothes, and she fell asleep!" I add.
"In your bed?" He adds a question.
"Yes she slept in my bed. I didn't." I point out the last part, then I shrug out of his grasp to follow Holly.
"Sorry." He calls after me.
I make it to my room and find Holly standing awkwardly in the middle of it, not sure what to do.
You'd think it was her first time in it and she didn't sleep over last night.
I follow her gaze however and I find her staring at the wall I hang my drawings on. And my sketchpad, the one I've drawn her in, right on the desk by that wall. Closed, luckily. I forgot all about it last night. So here's to hoping she didn't get a look at it.
"These are really good." She points at my wall, when she sees me in the room.
"Thank you." I answer, and before she can add anything or comment more on my wall, I stride over to the drawers and hand her a few clothes.
"These should fit." I comment as she takes them from me.
"Thank you." Damn her warm smile.
I get my self out of her sight and move towards the bathroom.
"Everything you'll need should be there. Clean towels are in the cabinet." I explain and when she nods her confirmation I leave the room, grabbing my sketchpad on the way out.
I find Steve sitting on the couch i the living room. So I flop down next to him.
"Sorry about before. I know you'd never do anything like that. I was just shocked to see Holly. I didn't expect you to be that nice to her." He immediately starts explaining himself.
"I can be nice when I want to Steve." I remind him. "Besides, it's hard to stay mean to Holly, when she's way too nice that it's disgusting."
He looks at me a bit intently. There's no way he's seeing right through me. He's not that perceptive and I'm not that obvious.
After a couple of seconds he nods with a "you're right."
Then he picks a channel on TV and we silently watch it.
Half an hour later Holly has joined us.
She surprises Steve however when she doesn't sit next to him, but instead sits next to me. Can't say I wasn't surprised either.
"Hey,you okay?" Steve asks her.
"I'm good." She flashes him a smile.
"Casey's an ass. She should've at least let you enjoy last night without drama." He adds.
"It wasn't that bad a night." She corrects him with a shrug.
Before Steve could say anything, she asks about lunch.
I give her a smile and get up.
Steve doesn't however so I smack him on the shoulder.
"Get up you idiot. Let's get dressed and go eat." I tell him then stride right passed him, and make my way towards my room to change my clothes.
We ended up going to the nearest Pizza place. And afterwards, we came back to our house. Steve offered to drop Holly off, but I could tell that she didn't want to go home just yet, so I offered to take her back home, if she'd want to come back with us and watch some TV show reruns with me. Steve was up for that idea and he offered to drop her off later as well if I couldn't.
We ended up watching FRIENDS reruns, and then an episode of a new show called BONES which Holly had been watching.
We spent the evening sprawled on our couches, all three of us watching TV, until the parents came home and Holly commented on how late it was an how she should be getting home.
Steve had fallen asleep on the couch, so I smack him lightly on the head to wake him up.
"Find a bed." I tell him when he opens his eyes in alert.
Then I ignore him as I gesture with my head for Holly to follow me out.
I drive her home in silence. The only sound in the car is the radio and Holly humming to whatever's playing. It's a comfortable silence.
When I get to her hotel, I park right in front of it so she can get out. However before she can leave my car with her thank you, Case exits the hotel and is very close to reaching the car.
"I can drive off?" I offer. "You can stay over again, or I can come back when she's not in front of the hotel."
"Thanks, but I think it's best I face her. It's inevitable." She then gives me a smile and exits the car with a 'see you soon'.
Casey is close enough to eye me as I put the car on drive and drive off.
A few weeks later, after we went back to school and I've gotten more familiar with Steve's friends and their lunch table, Stephanie approaches me with something unexpected.
I was halfway through my lunch when Stephanie grabs my attention.
"Hey gail." She calls out and I can feel everyone's attention at the table turn to me. "Do you do murals?"
"Huh?" I ask as I swallow the bite I'd already taken.
"Murals? I know you're great on paper, but can you draw on walls?" She elaborates more on her question.
"Uh, I guess so. Why?" I'm confused by her question. She must have a motive to ask.
"My uncle wants to renovate his coffee house. He's redesigning the whole interior and he was thinking about doing wall murals, so I told him I'd ask you before he hires someone else. So can you do it?" She sounds hopeful and Steve next to her has a giant grin on his face.
I don't even consider saying no. It's an art job, and I get to draw something that people will have no choice but to see when they walk into the coffee house, and in addition it's a payed job, which means I can add to my stash of money.
"Sure. When do you need me to check out the place and start on samples?" I ask her.
"Anytime you want. Today if you can. My uncle's at the shop, you can talk to him about details then." She says and I nod. I can do today.
"Also, she and I are going to the shop after school, so join us please." Holly points at Stephanie as she tells me about their plan.
"Sure. I'll meet you there then." I say and Stephanie squeals with delight as she claps.
After school I follow them to the coffee house.
When we walk in, I notice that the furniture is less than it was last time I was here. I guess the owner already started renovating.
"Stephanie, hey!" A girl behind the counter welcomes her.
"Hey Lana! Is my uncle here?" Stephanie asks the girl.
"He's out back. I'll call him." She then taps a guy on the shoulder and points to the counter, probably telling him to take over, as she makes her way to the back to call Stephanie's uncle.
Stephanie walks towards an empty table, while I stand there but Holly drags me along to follow to the table. We sit and I start drumming my right hand fingers on my left hand.
Steph's uncle joins us about three minutes later, and Stephanie does introductions. She then tells him that I'm the artist she told him about. He then starts telling me about his renovation plans and where he needs his murals. Once he's done I get an idea for the drawings.
"I can give you rough sketches in a couple of hours or so. See if you like them." I offer.
He looks impressed. "Sure. Let's see what you got."
With that said he gives Stephanie a cheek kiss and walks back to the back of the shop.
"I'll be over there, sketching." I point at an empty table need theirs.
"Why can't you just stay seated here and sketch?" Stephanie asks me.
"Yeah, I don't think I'd concentrate much here." I answer, leaving out the reason why I wouldn't concentrate. Holly.
"Okay. We'll be here." Stephanie nods in understanding.
"Would you like something to drink? I'm going to go get coffees for us." Holly offers me before I can leave the table.
"A coffee would be nice." I tell her, listing how I like my coffee and then leave to the other table as she follows and leaves to the counter.
Five minutes later Holly is placing a coffee on the table in front of me, next to my sketchbook. I give her a warm thank you smile which she returns, then without a word she makes her way to the table which Stephanie is situated on. And I continue on sketching in silence for a while, before I grab my iPod from my bag and listen to music.
Two hours or so later, I've got a few sketches ready, and I'm placing my pencils in their box and back in my bag. Holly notices that, her and Stephanie had been sitting at that table since we got here. They drank coffee and eventually started on their homework.
So Holly gives me a questioning look with a raised eyebrow, and somehow I can tell that she's asking me if I'm done with that look so I nod. I see her then say something to Stephanie, and Stephanie gets up to walk to the counter, probably to get her uncle, while Holly comes over to my table.
She takes a seat next to me and takes a look over my sketches.
"These are really good." She comments. "Like really good." Then she meets my eyes and I try to keep a blush from forming on my face, because she's looking at me a bit adoringly and intently.
If only she realized the effect she had on me.
"Thanks." I say trying to suppress a blush and masking it with a smile.
A few seconds later, Stephanie's uncle shows up, and I extend the sketches towards him. Then I launch into an explanation of what each sketch is, what the colors will be,
and how they'll be drawn around the place.
When I'm done he nods, gives me a smile and says: "You're hired."
"Really?" I ask. I've never done murals before.
"Of course. These are great. Just give me a brief of what materials you'll need and how much they'll cost, also an estimation of how much you will charge me for your work. Then we can start as soon as you can. Just let me know a couple of days before, so I can close the shop when you start work" He tells me.
"Well how soon do you need them done?"
"As soon as you can." He urges.
"Then how does this weekend sound? I can start Friday." I say.
"The day after tomorrow?" He asks and I nod.
"That would be great. What would you need me to have here for you?" He inquires about the materials.
Sometimes, as far as I learned so far, we buy the material needed and then we add to our bill when we give it to our customer. His method is better though.
"A few spray paints, some paint, and A few brushes." I say. "How about I write them down for you?" He nods at that, and I grab a paper from a notebook in my backpack and I start writing what I'll need.
"Great. I'll have everything here for you on Friday. The shop will be closed and ready." He beams at me.
"Great. I'll be here right after school." I inform him and with a smile he leaves us.
"I knew you'd be perfect for this." Stephanie squeals excitedly with a clap.
Holly giggles at her behavior which catches my attention.
We sit there for ten more minutes. Actually, I sit there for ten more minutes, and then I excuse myself to leave.
Holly surprises me when I stand up and grab my back, she stands up too, and before I know it, I'm being hugged by her.
It takes me couple of seconds to realize what's happening before I return the hug, and try hard not to melt into it. Because if I do, might not let go soon.
When she releases me, I am sure my cheeks are red. There's no way I can fight this blush, so I say quick goodbyes, and leave.
On Friday after school I came with Stephanie who had the keys to the shop, she opened it for me, and she left me in there to work, after she pointed out where the music dock was and I plugged my iPod into it. I managed to sketch on two walls, before it was time to leave. I called her to come back and lock up after me. So she handed me the key for saturday, since I told her I planned to come work early, and she wanted to sleep in. She trusted me with opening up the shop, and promised to come help once she's awake, since I told her that tomorrow I'd plan on starting with the colors and the actual painting once I've got the last mural sketched on the wall.
So on Saturday I come in at 8 AM. I grab my own coffee on the way. Actually I have a coffee pot made and ready, and I bring it with me. After I've had toast for breakfast.
I had planned on skipping it, but I woke up and found mom in the kitchen already spreading jam on the toast for herself, before her shift. She was surprised to see me in the kitchen that early. At first she assumed I was going for a run, but my attire told her otherwise. I was wearing rather old clothes, ones that I'd be fine with wasting away with paint. So when I explained to her why I was awake, she made me have breakfast with her, because I wouldn't want to ruin my work and embarrass myself, all because I didn't get some food.
That was the only reaction I got out of her about the job. She didn't look impressed or happy for me because of it. She just commented on how I wouldn't want to embarrass myself. But I was rather used to her antics and I let it go. Which is why I eat in silence, and leave to the shop right after she leaves.
When I get to the shop, I do as I did the day before. I plug my iPod into the speakers, and get to work.
First I continue on finishing up the sketch on the last wall. And two hours later after I'm done with it, and I get ready to start adding colors to the other murals, the door chimes, indicating someone's walked in.
I get myself ready to announce that the place was closed, even though the fact the window blinds are all down should announce that it was closed, unless whoever entered was Stephanie.
However when I turn around expecting Stephanie or a stranger, I end up being met with a warm smile and brown eyes.
"Good morning." Holly greets.
"Hi." I greet back, giving her a questioning look.
"Thought you might need some help, since Stephanie tends to really sleep in when she wants to." She explains her presence, and then she removes the bag she had around her shoulder and places it on one of the empty tables.
"So where do you need me boss?" She asks, and gives me a playful smirk and I fight to keep myself together.
I'm in the shop alone with Holly. And she keeps smiling at me.
If she plans on spending all day with me doing this, I doubt my heart will handle it without revealing my feelings.
"First. Your clothes might get ruined, you okay with that? Or do you need me to get you the robe from my car?" I ask, indicating to her outfit. Which I try hard not to gaze at.
"I'm okay with that." She confirms. She then takes a looks at the sketched outlines I've finished on the walls. "Wow. These look really good so far." She compliments.
"Thanks. But this is the easy part." I say. Then I lift off one of the small brushes off the quilts that were placed on the floor, and I hand it to her.
"How good are you with paint?" I ask handing her the brush.
"Uh, I don't know?" She answers and I give her my own smirk, before I start instructing her.
Around 3 PM, Holly announces that she's going to get us lunch. We were working so intently we forgot about the time. She asks me what I wanted to eat, and I told her anything would be good.
By the time she's back, I'm half way done with the mural.
She places the bag of food on the table, and comments on the mural. "You're really fast. This looks really good so far."
"Well there isn't really much detail, and this isn't really a big mural. Besides, I asked for acrylic paint. It's faster to work with it." I explain with a shrug.
"Still fast and dedicated." She comments. "Is it safe to leave the mural and come eat?"
"Yes." I chuckle. Then I excuse myself to go wash my hands before I join her at the table.
We chat about different things as we eat. The conversation remains light.
When we're done I thank her for lunch and she gives me a heart melting smile.
Before we go back to work though. Stephanie and Steve walk in.
"Hey guys, how's it going?" She asks.
And then all four of us get to work.
However, it's still me doing most of the work.
By the end of the day, the first mural, which was the biggest of the three was done.
Before we can stand to admire it, Stephanie gets a call from her mother and Steve ends up taking her home. So it ends up being me and Holly.
I start packing the paint. Closing the lids and putting everything back in place, while Holly stands there looking at it.
"A mural in a day. How long do you think it'll take till you finish the whole thing?" She asks, not taking her eyes off the mural.
"Monday? Tuesday max." I say.
"That's' really fast. I know Steph's uncle expected it to take up to three weeks. He'll probably pay you extra." She comments.
"Nah, I'm only giving it the time it requires. These are simple." I tell her as I finish completely packing up and I unplug my iPod.
"If this is what you call simple, then I'd like to see what you'd call detailed." She adds.
And I give her a smile that she cannot see, as I stand right behind her.
The proximity is intoxicating and I let myself get lost in the smell of her shampoo for a while, as she admires our work.
"If you were a guy I'd probably get a crush on you." She says with a slight chuckle, and I catch the lie, as I notice the side of her cheek heat up, and turn red.
Could she really? Is it possible she could have a crush on me? Even if I wasn't a guy.
So I take a chance and walk closer, till my front is brushing against her back. I try to keep my heart rate in check as I come closer and whisper in her ear.
"I don't really have to be a guy for that to happen." I whisper and I can feel her body shiver as her breath hitches.
Yes. I guess it is possible.
But I can't push it.
So before anything else happens. I extract myself and change the subject.
"Come on, let's go. I'll even treat you to dinner." I say, as I grab my stuff.
She turns around and does the same.
"I wish. But dad's expecting me. I'm helping out at the hotel. He's got this big event happening in two hours, and I volunteered to be the hostess, since our usual hostess called in sick." She groans out.
"Some other time then." I say and indicate with my hand for her to lead the way to the outside.
Once we'e outside, I lock up and we each head to our cars.
"What time you coming in to work tomorrow?" She asks before we get into our cars.
"Same as today." I inform her as I open the car door.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." She says. "Goodnight." She adds as she gets in her car.
"Goodnight." I tell her before she closes her door, and I get in my car.
The next day, Holly does show up. I didn't expect her to, considering she was helping her dad at work late, but she does show up, around noon. Coffee at the ready, and smile plastered on her face.
I don't let her buy me lunch again however, since I order pizza before she even mentions lunch. And we take a break for food just like the previous day. Then it's back to work.
Holly however, leaves earlier than I do, saying she has a bit more of homework that she's put off for sunday. So I finish up and leave, knowing that I'm so close to being done.
Next day, I come right after school for a few hours, in order to finish the last mural. Tuesday, I come to add the finishing touches. And my signature to the murals.
Wednesday, I hand the key to the place back to Stephanie.
She calls her uncle and tells him that I'm done with the murals and that he can meet us at the shop after school is over.
Us though in her context meant her, Steve, Holly, Bibby, Bibby's girlfriend and me.
When we enter the shop, Stephanie's uncle is already there inspecting the work done.
I try to read his reaction. I'm guessing that he likes it so far. And I let out a sigh of relief when I notice that.
He notices our presence and greets us warmly after. Then he takes me aside while the others stare at the walls in amazement. Even Holly, who's helped me with most of it.
"These are amazing!" Steph's uncle beams. "You work fast, and give great outcomes. I see big things for you." He complements.
"Thank you."
He then takes out his check book and starts writing his name.
"just give me a number" He tells me without looking up from his book.
I'd done some research the night before on how much to charge for murals. Since I did three, I'd be making some good money. However, he did buy all the materials, and he is Stephanie's uncle, so I downplay the price.
When he hears it, he looks up in surprise. " The guy I talked to before Stephanie recommended you was gonna charge me at least triple that amount. So are you sure of your pricing?" He asks and I nod.
The other guy was probably more experienced, and probably had an art degree. I'm just a high school kid, and this was my first mural work.
"Well, if you're sure kid." He then writes a number, signs the check and hands it to me.
When I look at it however, I find that he's given me a little less than the double of the amount I'd asked for.
"This is…" I start to tell him that it's way more than what I am charging but he cuts me off.
"Well deserved. Really. You did great work and in so little time. I expected at least three weeks." He complements again. I watch him for a few seconds as he admires my work and I conclude that it's futile to argue with him.
"Thank you." I say.
"No, thank you! For the great work." He says back. "How long till I can finish the rest of the decoration?" He asks after a minute.
"Well since I used acrylic, it should already be dry. But I'd say wait one more day before you do anything else in the shop. Just to be safe." I answer his question.
"Noted." Then with a smile and an excuse me, he goes towards Stephanie.
"Great job." Holly's next to me before I can even notice her moving towards me.
"Thank you. I got help." I remind her.
"Oh yeah? Who from?" I can hear the teasing in her tone.
"Some nerdy tall brunette." I answer and I can see the start of a lopsided smile form on her lips. I take a chance with the last part. "Very pretty too."
Once that's said I can see her cheeks heat up, and I give myself a silent triumphant exclamation of victory.
"So, I kind of still owe you dinner." I say, in order to dissuade the atmosphere I got us into with my comment.
"Owe me?" Her expression turns into questioning.
"You couldn't make it on saturday, and I want to thank you for your help." I remind her. "Unless you don't want to go though."
"No I do. How does this weekend sound?" She asks, lopsided smile taking over her face.
"Perfect." I say, and turn my attention to Steve who's come to join us.
The next day is Thursday, and it's four PM, I'd been home for an hour, so I make my way to my room, turn on my iPod and plug my earphones in, before I finish up on homework. An hour later I'm done with that, and I don't feel much like drawing. So I grab my stress ball, lay on my back on the bed, and toss the ball up into the air, then I catch it.
And I keep doing that for a while, as I hum along with the songs playing, until I feel a figure standing in my bedroom doorway.
"Holly?" I question as I take my earphones out and she looks a little upset.
"Hey. Sorry. Steve and Steph have a date, and Jenna and Chloe are busy, and I just had to get away from the hotel." She starts to explain her presence. "I did text you to warn you I was coming though." She adds, and I reach for my phone to see that she did indeed text. "Your dad let me in."
I sit up to face her. "Sorry. I didn't check my phone."
"If you're busy I can leave." She points at the door behind her.
"Don't be silly. Listening to my iPod as I throw a ball up in the air cannot be considered as busy. Come in." I scoot even farther and pat the bed for her to join me on.
She takes the invitation and comes into the room. She doesn't just sit on the bed however, she plops down on it, as she lays down on her back, knees meeting the end of the bed, and her hands placed at her front.
"You okay?" I ask her, getting as comfortable as her.
"Yeah, sorry. It's just Casey's home. Some professor is away till next week, and she got a few days off and decided to come stay at the hotel for a while, and she insists on being annoying." She starts her rant.
"You gotta stop saying sorry. And what did Casey do this time?" I have a feeling that it's something to do with me again.
"She's just pushy. Always trying to tell me what to do." She groans out.
"That bad?"
"Last year she kept begging me to date her friend Cole, because she believed we'd make a perfect couple. I ended up giving in and actually dating him. It however didn't end very well, and she was not on my side when things went down hill." She scoffs.
"And what is it this time?" I ask.
"She doesn't approve of some of my friends. She's been disapproving for years, and now she's being more pushy than before, since I haven't been listening to her before." She answers me. Vaguely, but I know what she means.
"You mean Steve." I conclude.
"Yeah, and now you." She doesn't hide that fact. "How did you know?"
"Steve said something about it when she crashed the new year's party and got you upset. He didn't tell me exactly why though." I tell her.
"I think you know why." She says in almost a whisper.
"Because of me." I say more than ask.
"In a way." She takes a deep breath. "I know the rumors about you. I've heard them all. I've seen Steve fend off a few of them. But I don't believe them, not because Steve told me not to. He didn't tell me anything - He says it's your story to tell, but because there's no way any of those stories are true. I know who spread them and he is not a man to trust. So there's gotta be more than you beating up some guy for the fun of it. I'm sure he must have deserved it."
I guess it's truth time. I haven't talked about this in ages.
"I'm not saying this because I want you to tell me the truth, but I'm only saying it because I know that I'm right and my sister is wrong. I've met you, I know you, and they can't be true." She adds.
I don't think I've trusted anyone the way I trust Holly, not in a while, or even ever. I guess it's safe to tell her everything. I want to tell her everything.
"I did beat him up though." I interject. "But yes, he did deserve it. How do you know him?" I ask even though I now the answer to that question.
"He was in Casey's class. He was also Casey's then boyfriend's best friend. And a friend of my then boyfriend. So they were influenced too. My ex, Cole, Hated Steve. He even tried to get me to stop hanging out with Steve so I dumped him. I didn't even want to date Cole, so Steve wins. But I didn't believed them. Tom was always a jerk, and I never understood how they couldn't see it." She answers.
"I don't know which stories you've heard, or which one he spread out. But I've heard a lot of stories. The one I heard the most was that I was so drunk that night, and I kept pushing him, and then I started hitting him, and he was too gentleman like to hit a girl, so I kept beating at him till the cops broke us up." I scoff at the story that people believe about me. "Funny enough, I didn't even have a drop of alcohol that night. Unlike him."
Holly understands where this conversation is going now. She gets the drift that I'm about to open up to her, so she turns to me in surprise and her warm brown eyes catch me off guard. So I falter with my words for a bit, then I turn away from her gaze to get my focus back. I clear my throat to stop my voice from going hoarse or cracking and then I continue, knowing that Holly is still watching me.
"It was three weeks or so before school starts. I was fourteen. It was my friend Hanna's birthday, so we decided to head out to celebrate. There were four of us - That was around the time I've come to the conclusion that I liked girls - We went to Jimmy's. Our parents, well mine mostly knew the owner so they trusted the place. And we couldn't really do much without word getting back to them. And to top it off, the place was not on the main roads." I start off by telling her what happened.
"That's the place up a small hill off the main road right? It's the only thing up there?" She interrupts to question.
"Yep that would be it." I confirm. "I was leaving the place earlier than the girls, since the family had to head up to the cabin the next day, so mom was supposed to pick me up on her way back from her shift. When she called, I thought she was calling to say that she was waiting for me outside, so I already said my goodbyes and went outside to answer the phone. But she wasn't outside and when I do answer, she tells me that she got held up late, and that there's a squad car coming to pick me up. Two cops in the area who are at the end of their shifts, so she sent them my way and they should be there in two minutes. So I thought since I already said my goodbyes, that I'd wait for them by the parking lot and I informed her of that. However it didn't go as smoothly as I thought it would."
"A few seconds after I hang up, Tom Rogers walks out. I thought I was lucky since he walked right passed me, because I'd already heard about how much of a jerk he was. But I was wrong, because once he noticed me he walked back towards me. He introduced himself with pride, and I was sure he was drunk. Probably used a fake ID. I ignored his introductions, I didn't even answer. But he didn't take a hint and he offered to give me a ride home which I rejected. He didn't leave though. He kept trying to start a conversation, I kept ignoring him until he reached out and touched my face. That's when I flinched and threatened him to never touch me again. Of course his pride wouldn't let him leave me alone. So he kept trying to touch me, which is when I snapped his hand behind his back and pushed him away with another warning, he got mad and tried again with much force that time, so I was more aggressive in pushing him away, which led to a few punches on both sides. I guess that's when the cops that were supposed to be picking me up showed up and broke us apart. They called another squad car cause they realized that they couldn't put us both in the same one, and they put him in the car they already came in, while we waited for the other car to come they asked me what happened."
"I of course told them exactly how it went. Besides, the guy clearly looked drunk, and they believed me. So they called my mom and told her that they'd be bringing me into the precinct, and explained the situation. I knew she'd be pissed off when I get there. I was supposed to be the golden child, never getting into trouble. I was the kid with the perfect scores, perfect people reading skills and she expected a lot from me. Especially since I was always the best in all the fighting classes she signed me up for. So getting a call about me starting trouble wouldn't go well with her… Eventually the second squad car arrived and we were taken into the station. He was taken into questioning, and I was sitting outside telling my mom what happened. They had performed the HBT on him, so my story was really checking out, and I'm sure the place had camera footage, if needed to have proof."
I turn to look at her and I find her staring at me intently as I tell the story. With understanding in her eyes, so with an other deep breath I look away again, face the ceiling and continue.
"What they didn't prepare for was who his father was. When James Rogers walked into the precinct and my mother stiffened I knew that trouble was there. The best lawyer in the city was here to defend his son. The guy immediately talked his way in, and tried to twist things around. Eventually, that meant that if I wanted to press charges against his son, we'd end up in court. In the end it was me, my parents, Tom and Mr Rogers in one room, as they talked things out. Apparently he can make sure that we'd both be at fault, I did hurt his son after all, even though I have a cut on my lips and a bruise on my shoulder to prove my self defense. I knew that if we got to court, the law was on my side. The guy was drunk, underage drinking, and the footage of the club would be enough to show that he came on to me. But I was fourteen. What say could I have?"
"My mother didn't want it to get as far as a court. A peck cannot go to trial. Especially since I'd be charged with the notion of attacking someone. Even if my attack was justified. But mother was scared of what Mr Rogers could bring to the trial, and how he'd defend his son. So after a while in that room, my mother and Mr Rogers came to an agreement. My dad didn't say anything because he agreed with me, and I wanted to get to a trial. I wanted to show the asshole that he couldn't do what he wanted and get away with it. I expected my mother to be on my side, the side of the law, the side of right. I expected her to face the lawyer, and show him that we're not scared of his big fancy suit, but she gave in. And all charges eventually were dropped, and we were to act as if nothing happened, while Tom walked out, after his dad only payed the fine for his underage drinking."
I feel Holly's hand holding my own then. I don't know why, but her hand is there, in mine.
"They just let him go?" She asks. "But you did nothing wrong, and he did everything wrong. I'm sure your parents could've put him in jail easily."
"Yeah, but mother ignored my bruising and decided to steer clear from trouble. Which pissed me off immensely. So I made it clear once we got home after that, that I was very disappointed and mad at them. And then I made it very clear that I will not be attending the same school as such a scumbag. So they agreed to let me pick the school I wanted, to make up for it. Which is why I picked the boarding school. I wanted to get away from them. They didn't send me away, I wanted to go away." I add.
"I thought they sent you there because you blew something up." She asks and when I turn my face to face her, she has her eye brows raised in question.
"They weren't for it at first, but they came around." I shrug in answer.
"Because you blew something up?" She caught on that I didn't deny the blow something up incident.
"I didn't blow something up." I defend weakly and she gives me a disbelieving look. "Okay." I give in. "I burned down a tree. But that was an accident, and it was Steve's fault." She still looks at me in disbelieve. "Okay it was my fault. But he was there, and the fireworks were his."
She laughs when I add the last bit. A hearty laugh.
Then to my surprise she hugs me. I'm laying in bed, with her next to me, and she's just turned next to me to hug me while we lay down. So her right arm is around me, pulling me close, and her face is by my neck, so close that I can feel her breath on my skin.
"Sorry all of that happened to you. And I'm sorry that the jerk has spread out stories to make himself sound good, and you didn't get the chance to defend yourself." She breathes into my neck and I try not to shiver at the feeling. I guess her hug is supposed to be soothing.
"I didn't want to talk about it after that. I didn't want to be dragged into his life in any way, and I didn't want a reason to feel responsible in case he ever hurt anyone. I felt guilty enough hat I didn't fight hard enough to make him feel justice. So I didn't want to defend myself and still fail. I didn't want someone to get hurt and have myself to blame because I could've tried hard enough. I wanted to go away, and just forget he exists, because after that, anything that could happen is on him. He's the one building himself up." I don't know I'm making much sense, but she seems to understand what I mean, because I feel her nod into my neck and I feel her hold on my tighten. And this time, I do shiver at the feeling of her closeness. And I wonder if she knows the effect she's having on me. If she's doing it on purpose? If she is feeling it too.
"Thank you for telling me." She hums after saying that.
We sit there in silence for a while after that, with her still hanging on to me, and I'm pretty sure she's already heard my heart rate pick up it's pace more than once. But she says nothing.
After a few minutes of sitting there, saying nothing, I decide that it's getting too much to handle. Because all I really want is to reach out with my arm that's under her and hug her back. All I want is to turn my face and rest my nose on her hair and inhale it's scent.
I need to get away from this situation before I do anything I'd regret. Like kiss her.
So I decide to change settings.
"So how about a bucket of ice cream and bad TV?" I offer.
"Sounds great." She answers but she doesn't let go immediately. She waits a minute before she gets her arms off from around me. I take advantage of that moment, and get up off the bed and stand in front of her. I reach out my hand to help her up and she takes it, sending tingles where her hand touches mine.
She doesn't let go of my hand as I drag her down the stairs, and in all honestly I didn't want her to. And once downstairs, I get a bucket of ice cream from the fridge and we both sit right next to each other on the couch in front of the TV.
I hand her the remote to choose what she wanted to see.
She settles on some new show called Bones. I groan at first at her choice but then I let it go, and watch it with her. She got so lost in the show and too focused on it, and I can see why it fascinated her.
So we watch the whole episode, and when it's done, she changes the channel and she settles on some teen show on The N. The show had two girls at the beach and one admits to the other that she likes girls.
Holly shows interest and asks me what show it is.
I tell her that I have no idea and she sounds surprised that I'd said that.
"Really, never seen it before." I answer her questioning gaze.
"Well let's watch it then." She settles back on the couch, deciding that we need to watch it.
"Okay?" I don't understand her reasons for us watching it, but I relent.
When the episode ends, an episode shorter than the one of the previous show, I can see questions in Holly's eyes and she's about to ask them, so I divert the conversation.
"Hungry? I think the parents are working late, so join me for dinner? Otherwise I'd have to eat alone." I say hoping she'd agree then. Even though the direction everything is taking tonight makes me nervous, I don't want her to go. Not yet.
"Sure, what did you have in mind?"
We order in, we eat, and have light conversation. It's only when Steve gets home, does she comment on how late it's gotten, and decides that it's time to leave.
I ignore Steve's questioning looks, and make it up to my room.
I hope I'm not in this alone, because there's no way this crush is unrequited.
"Hey!" Steve and Stephanie greet me in surprise as they find me sitting at a table in Stephanie's uncle's coffee shop, and without asking they take a seat at my table.
"Hey." I greet back and go back to my coffee.
"You went for a run?" Steve asks and I look down at my outfit and lift up my eye brows in a duh motion.
It's a saturday morning and the weather was nice.
"Hey!" Holly has joined the group. I can't believe I didn't notice her in the shop already. She places her coffee next to mine and takes a seat next to me. "I didn't know you'd be here." She says to me.
"Needed a coffee after my run. It was nice out so I took an early run." I don't know why I'm explaining to her, when all Steve got was a look.
"I should run with you some time. If you don't mind? I'd need to exercise from time to time." She asks and I tell her that she's always welcome.
Then Stephanie gets Holly's attention and I go back to focusing on my coffee, and picking at my muffin.
Bibby and a girl he's been dating for a while joins us later, as they drag a table next to ours and sit down and they pick up on the conversation.
Everyone's in the conversation while I listen in silence, as I steal glances at Holly, and at times I find her doing the same.
It's fifteen minutes later when Bibby's girlfriend reaches for her ringing phone in her pocket, and gets up to answer the phone outside.
When she comes back, she says that the caller was her mom and that she's needed at the house, and asks Bibby if it's okay for her to leave him there.
He gives her a peck on the lips and she leaves. I follow her with my eyes till she's out the door. Then I shrug and go back to my coffee.
holly notices my stare though, because I feel her whisper "What?" in my ear.
Should I tell her why I followed the girlfriend with my eyes? Or should I just leave i? There's no harm in telling her I guess.
So I lean in to whisper back, since I don't want Bibby to hear.
"She lied." I tell her.
"Carla?" She asks in a hushed voice. Right that was the girlfriend's name. In answer I nod at Holly.
"What she lie about?" She is still whispering.
"She probably is needed at home, which is why she left. But she twirled her phone too much when she said it was from her mother. So I don't think it was her mother calling." I tell her.
"How can you tell?" She questions.
"I'm a Peck. I'm trained to tell." Somehow she looks impressed when I say that.
"Should we tell Bibby?" She asks.
"Nah. I doubt it's anything bad, she'll tell him I guess." I didn't catch that she didn't like Bibby, so I doubt it's anything big.
"What are you two whispering about?" Steve interrupts us.
"None of your business." I tell him and he gives me a glare.
Holly chuckles, and answers for us.
"Just making plans for the day." She tells him and I give her a questioning look to see if she truly means it, and she nods. Besides, I owe her dinner, and we agreed to have it this weekend. So when Steve looks away we truly do plan our day.
All while we talk, I find Steve giving me looks that I don't want to decipher. He's catching on to my closeness to Holly. And I ignore it.
By the time I'm done with my coffee and muffin, I get up to walk back home. Holly however doesn't let me walk back, and follows me out to offer me a ride. Her excuse for insisting on a ride, is that we get to hang out earlier.
She's going to exhaust my heart from all the lopsided smiles she gives me. She just used one to convince me to accept the ride.
"How'd you really know about Bibby's girlfriend?" Holly asks me front he couch we're sitting on, popcorn bowl in hand, watching movies. We'd agreed to hang out and watch movies and go to dinner after.
"I don't know. I've just always been a good observer. It's all based on human behavior." I start explaining. "Or it's just the way I'm trained to be. Mother really did a number on me when I was young. Perks of being the golden child then." I scoff at the last part.
"Can you tell with everybody?" She questions.
"If they're lying?"
She nods.
"Yes."
"Can you tell with me?" She asks. I can, but should I tell her I've noticed when she's lied? I can, and I have. But I can't tell her that I've caught her lies, not when her lies are to hide that she likes me. Maybe.
"Well have you ever lied to me?" Divert conversation.
"No?" Her no sounds like a question.
"Then no." I say.
She squints her eyes at me and watches my face for a few seconds. I raise my eyebrows in question at her.
"What?"
"Now You're lying." She says.
"How would I be lying?" How can she even tell? I place the pop corn bowl in front of me, on the table.
"I don't know. Your expression gets more focused when you lie?" She tries to explain.
"And you're asking me how I know when someone's lying? What is that? Can you tell too?" I don't even try to deny that I was lying then.
"No, just with you. And you didn't deny it. So that means you have caught me lying to you." She accuses.
"But you just said you never lied to me, so how would I catch a none existent lie?" I try to defend my previous answer. Not sure if I should get into the truth. Not unless she gives me a sign to go for it.
"I don't know. But you're hiding something. So spill." She points out.
Okay, here's a chance to be taken.
"How are you sure I lied? Observe me a lot to tell that easily?" I ask.
Her cheeks redden at my question, and her gaze falters away from mine. I guess she does observe me a lot.
"I mean, since you can't read others like you claim to be able to read me." I add, and if she can truly read me, then she knows where this is going.
"You're not denying that you're hiding something, or that you lied, when you say things like that. So when did I lie?" She still won't meet my gaze as she says that.
Here's another chance to take.
"I think you know." I tell her, and she turns around to meet my eyes when I say those words.
"Do I?" She doesn't sound confused. I'm sure she knows.
"Yes. Otherwise you wouldn't be asking." I point out.
"And what makes you sure that it was a lie?"
"The fact that you're not denying it. And that you know exactly what I'm talking about." I'm sure she knows that I mean when she said that she'd get a crush on me if I was a guy. I'm sure being a girl isn't stopping her.
I can read worry start to build in her features, so I jump at the opportunity to assure her.
"But it's okay. I mean, I'm still here aren't I?" I remind her that if she knows me as well as I think she does, then she'd know I'd have shunned her out, run from her, if I didn't reciprocate the feelings. Feelings I wasn't sure she had until she pushed with that question.
She is still looking at me so intently. And I'm scared to blink otherwise I'd miss a sight of her intense brown eyes.
And before I know it, she's leaning in, and my eyes widen in surprise first, because I never saw this coming. Her taking the first step, going for the kiss, before we even get to talk. I never saw it coming, because I never thought I'd even get a chance to kiss someone like her.
But here she is so close.
And when her lips finally touch mine I melt. I close my eyes anticipating the collision of lips.
She touches her lips to mine first, with her lips remaining on mine for a few seconds. Then she leans back, I open my eyes and I find that she has hers still closed. Then before I can react of say anything, she attacks my lisp again, more fiercely and this time, she goes for a real kiss.
Her lips are so soft on mine, and my heart might stop from how fast it's going. I can't believe this is happening.
She lifts her hands to capture my face, as the kiss continues.
She tastes like Pop corn and Vanilla, and her hands on my cheeks feel so warm.
I place my hands on her back, hoping that the kiss continues. Because I've never felt this way from a kiss before.
She angles her face better and that brings her flush to me, front pressed to mine and I shiver at the feeling.
She pauses for a second, her lips barely touching mine. And I fear she might stop, but then she goes back for the kiss again.
However, the kiss doesn't continue because a few seconds later, she suddenly stops and pulls back. She looks at me wide eyed.
"I'm sorry." I don't know what she's apologizing for.
Before I can make sense of her behavior, she's off the couch and putting on her shoes.
"Where're you going?" I ask dumbfounded, still breathless from the kiss.
"Sorry." She doesn't answer, only apologizes again.
"What for? Holly?" She doesn't answer me this time.
She finishes putting on her shoes, she grabs her keys, and leaves without a word.
Leaving me there clueless on the couch.
What just happened?
I don't hear from her the rest of the day. I text to ask her if she's okay, and she doesn't answer back.
I guess I screwed up.
But I'm not the one who went for the kiss. she did, so is it really something I did?
It's been two weeks since the best kiss of my life, and two weeks since Holly's acknowledged me.
Sh didn't answer my texts the first few days, then she ignored me when we're at the lunch table, and she only addresses me if she has no other choice than to say Hello, and all my attempts at a conversation fail. Even if she's stealing glances at me when we're in the same room, people don't notice us.
Steve however does ask questions.
He notices the radio silence Holly's been giving me and he asks me what I did.
He doesn't ask what's wrong or what happened, no, just what did you do. He's always sure that I'm always at fault wit everything. And that kind of gets us into a fight. I was already mad and confused about Holly's behavior and I took some of my frustration out on Steve. Which I apologize for.
The silence between me and Holly doesn't end, until Spring Break.
Steve insists on going to the Cabin for the week. Mom and dad apparently accepted that we go and take friends with us.
So he's taking Stephanie, Bibby and his girlfriend, Holly, I'm sure he asked Jenna, Chloe and Brian, and he wants me to go.
I wouldn't have hesitated if it wasn't for the fact that Holly would be there, and I'm sure that from the silence she's been giving me that she doesn't want me there.
I debate whether I should go for a while. But then I realize screw it, I will.
Holly's the one that kissed me. She's the one that kissed me and walked away. She's the one that kissed a girl that likes girls, giving her the wrong impression apparently and then left. I should be the one giving her the silent treatment, not the other way around.
So I agree to go at the last minute. I surprise Steve that morning as I meet him at his car before he gets in, with a carry on bag being dragged behind me.
"Whatever! Will we need me to take my car or do we fit?" I ignore the excitement he's showing and go straight for my questions.
"Well Jenna, Chloe and Brian can't make it, they just called to say they can't. So if you're coming, we'll need a second car yes." I'm guessing they'd planed on taking one car since there were five of them and they'd all fit in Steve's car.
But if those three can't make it, then it means that There will be two couples there, and then me and Holly.
"Okay. Who's riding with me?" I unlock my car and put my bag in the trunk. Here's to hoping he doesn't say Holly.
"Can you get Bibby and Clara? I'll pass by Stephanie and Holly. Then we can meet by the road and drive off behind each other?" He plans out and I nod in agreement.
I do as planned then. I pick up Bibby and Clara, and then follow Steve to the cabin.
We take our bags out of our cars and meet at the front door. Holly hasn't given me a glance and I can't take my eyes off her. This will be a long awkward week.
Steve unlocks the door and ushers us in. He gives a small tour of the house and leads Bibby and Clara to a room, points at his and Steph's room, then he leads Holly to a room, that will be next to mine, since I'll probably take the room I always get in this cabin, and he points it out for me again.
Each goes to his room to place their bags and take a breather before we assemble back in the living room and plan our day.
"So what are the plans for today?" Stephanie asks as we take seats.
"We can go into town and grab food? Or something?" Steve offers. but no one agrees.
"Can we do that tomorrow? I think we're tired from the ride and we all had to wake up early." Stephanie declines the offer gently.
"So what do we do for food?" Bibby asks.
"We got supplies, There' s a bag full of just groceries and such." Steve points to a bag he placed in the kitchen. "And we stocked the fridge a bit. So we can cook."
"Any of you good at cooking?" Stephanie asks then.
"Gail?" Steve asks me before I can even offer my help.
"What?" I act oblivious to his intentions.
"Care to cook for us?" He asks and I raise my eye brows at him.
I wait a few seconds before answering.
"Whatever. But I'll be doing it for me, because if I don't' cook, none of you goons will feed me." I play it off as a selfish act.
Then I get up to go to the kitchen and Steve follows me with an "I'll help."
.
Less than two hours later, the food is done and being plated.
We sit at the table to eat, and we spend the time with random conversation, while Holly just sits there in silence, mostly staring at nothing.
We remain like that till the end of dinner.
After, I take away the dishes and tell them I'll do them.
Only because I didn't want to remain around Holly, and I needed an excuse.
My plan to steer clean of Holly doesn't work though, because she follows me into the kitchen with an offer to help.
I of course let her help, and we do the dishes in silence, as I wash and she dries.
By the time we're done Holly's looking at me the same way she was looking at me before she leaned in for a kiss. I had to clear my throat to bring her back to attention.
I was too busy watching her that I forgot that I had a glass cup in my hand and it got chipped as I accidentally hit it with the side of the sink and then cut my finger on it. A small cut.
"Son of a…" I hiss when it happens, and I immediately put my wound under water.
"You okay?" Holly asks as she notices.
"Yeah just a cut." I answer her, as I take it away from the faucet and grab a paper towel to put it around it as I walk towards the drawer we keep the band aids in.
Holly however takes a step closer to me with an extended hand.
"Let me see." She offers to help and I think about whether I should let her help or not.
But I settle on not. I don't think I can handle her touching me right now.
"I got it." I decline her offer to see and help.
"Gail?" She half pleads but I ignore her. I just grab the band aid from the drawer and the disinfecting bottle. I clean the wound above the sink.
"Gail?" Holly tries to get me to talk to her again but I keep ignoring her.
"So you're just gonna go back to ignoring me now?" She asks, and I give her an incredulous look at that.
"I will be ignoring you now?" My tone has slightly gotten higher and I remember that there are other people here so I tone it down. "You're the one who's been ignoring me for weeks, so you don't get to ask me that."
Then I look away and take apart the band aid.
"At least let me look at your wound." She offers again.
"I got it." And with that I wrap the band aid around me finger.
"Gail…" She pauses after saying my name. "I'm sorry." She adds.
"For what? Kissing me?" Is that what she's apologizing for? Or the walking away? "You kissed me Holly. You know I like girls, and you just kiss me, then you ignore me for weeks. You knew I liked you. You knew that, otherwise you wouldn't have pushed with your questions, and you just kiss me then. Only to walk away."
"Gail…" Why does she keep saying my name?
"I just… I can't deal with this right now. We'll talk later, if you want to stop ignoring me by then." I know that we need to talk. That she's trying to talk and I should listen. But I'd only gotten to the realization that I'm not the one at fault the day before and I needed the anger to take it's course before I can speak to her without reminding her of the error she'd committed.
Also a part of me is actually scared that she will tell me that it was all a mistake.
Which is probably how it will go.
So I leave her in the kitchen and join the others.
The next morning I wake up early, before everyone else. I needed to clear my head after that and a run would help, so I put on my running clothes and go for it.
When I come back over an hour later, everyone is still asleep.
I grab a bottle of water an drake it to my room.
That's when I notice that I was mistaken. Not everyone's asleep.
Holly's awake. She's in my room, in her shorts and tank top and she's looking at my sketch pad.
SHIT! I left it open to the sketch I was working on yesterday. A sketch of her, and I'm sure that's the one she's looking at.
She faces me when I walk in.
"I'm sorry, it was already open and I got curious." She explains herself. I don't give her a response, because I don't know what to say.
"Can we talk?" She asks, taking a step closer.
I nod, and just go to sit on the bed. She just stands there however in place.
I give her a look telling her to go on, and talk.
"I'm sorry." She apologizes again, but before I interrupt she continues. "Not for the kiss. I wanted the kiss. But for running away and ignoring you. I just freaked out."
"Why?" I ask. "Why would you run if you wanted to kiss me?"
"Because I wanted to kiss you again and again. I'd never wanted to kiss someone as much as I want to kiss you and it scares me. Because that kiss made me feel more than I've ever felt in my life. Because I never thought I'd like a girl this much. I thought I liked boys, but I guess I was wrong, and that relegation scared me too. And well I was scared of everyone else. Like Casey, because you're Gail and I like you, and she hates you. And then my brain started playing tricks on me with thoughts that maybe you didn't like me the way I liked you. That I'd lose you just because I liked you. But I ended up ignoring you because I couldn't hide my feelings and the only way to defend against you was to ignore you. And I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I doubted that you might like me. I'm sorry for kissing you and bolting." She apologizes again and again.
"Okay, you can stop saying sorry now." I interrupt her, and her lips lift into a half smile.
"Does that mean I'm forgiven?" She asks hopeful.
"Sure." I shrug and her smile widens.
She turns back to my drawing.
"Your drawing is amazing. Thank you for drawing me." She says and I wonder what she'd say if she saw all the other drawings I have of her.
She reaches out to grab the sketch pad, but I beat her to it and close it, before she can get the idea to flip through the pages. Her hand then ends up on top of mine.
She doesn't extract it though. She keeps it in place, but her eyes are still pointing downwards, looking at our hands. So I turn my hand around to capture her plan in mine, hoping ht emolument would get her to look at me. And she does meet my eyes eventually. The intensity of her eyes melts me. And the atmosphere has changed, turned serious. And I just wanted to kiss her.
"Do you still want to do it?" I ask in a whisper.
"Do what?"
"Kiss me?" I take a step closer.
She turns towards me and takes her own step closer. Our faces are barely an inch apart. "Yes." She whispers onto my lips.
And I kiss her. A kiss that starts like the first one we've shared. Slow and testing. Then it turns to passionate, as She pushes into me, and our bodies mold together.
We kiss till I can't stand anymore, so I walk us backwards to the bed.
I sit on it, but she doesn't sit next to me, she instead straddles my lap, and places her hands behind my neck, while mine rest on her hips and the kiss continues. After a few moments, I feel her mouth open and her tongue asking for permission which I grant, and the sensation then was amazing, too good that I moan and I'm sure I heard her moan back.
She eventually pushes me back on the bed, with her on top. As the kiss intensifies and continues.
When a noise is heard in the cabbing she stops, and sits up, her legs still straddling me. I sit up, so we'd be in our previous position.
"You okay?" I whisper when she leans her forehead on mine.
"Yeah." She gives me a pen on the lips to prove she is.
Then another noise can be heard.
"I guess they're waking up." I sigh, because now the moment is gone.
"Yeah." She gets off me and stands in front of me then.
"Are we okay?" I ask needing to know.
"We are," She answers with a smile.
"So can I take you out on a date then?" I give a smile of my own.
"Yes."
"Good. Because I want to take you on many."
I get up and peck her on the lips.
"I need a shower. I'm sweaty from my run. But you've noticed already." I wink and she blushes.
Another noise is heard and Holly starts to walk out of my room.
That's when I notice. Her behavior. She gets away every time a noise can be heard.
"Holly." I say and she stops in place, so I get closer to her again. "They don't need to know." I assure her. "They can know whenever you're ready." Especially since she mentioned that she's scared because her sister hates me, and she's never liked a girl, so even though she didn't say it, she's scared to come out.
She gives me a grateful smile at that, and a peck on the lips.
"I'll see you out there." I tell her.
"We can steal kisses later." She winks then before she leaves my room.
And I stand there in place for a while, replaying what just happened before I go shower.