I am so sorry for the very long wait. With school and a talent show that I was preparing for (which I won my category with my class by the way!) I had no time at all to write and this weekend, I'm all sick and just doing nothing so I made myself finish this chapter! Please enjoy! It's a shorter chapter so I'm sorry. :( I also brought back Emilee because I know many of you liked her! :D
My own review of Jesus, Etc. Part 1: First of all I love Eli and Clare's cuteness at the beginning. When Fitz showed up, I was like, "oh crap…". I loved Sav and Alli's storyline this episode. I know not many feel the same way but the fact that brother-sister relationships are a lot like that, I felt like it was the most realistic of the storylines. Alli IS being selfish and overly dramatic and I feel bad for Sav. If Alli was a good sister, she'd cut Sav some slack. It's one track for Sav's future and Alli can't put her grudge behind her just for that one time? Seriously? And the fact that Alli runs away makes her so much more dramatic. When I fight with my brother I go to my room, not run away. KC and Jenna were kind of likable this episode. I'm not a fan of them but I thought it was cute how KC beat Jenna in changing diapers. But how does babysitting a six year old prepare teenage parents for a newborn? Please explain that to me. And Clare, Fitz, and Eli…I think Eli is being way protective of Clare but I also think that Clare was too fast to forgive Fitz. One moment she's like, "Okay bye" then the next it's "I forgive you." Eli is right to want to protect Clare from Fitz but he's making her decisions for her. And I don't know if Fitz' intentions are true…partly because JEC's acting isn't that great. I AM excited for Part 2 though. It looks like it'll be great. :D
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Eli and Clare's first date will be here. :) And some other drama too, of course. Please review afterwards! 229 Reviews! That's so overwhelming! Thank you all!
Clare was a relationship type of girl. Dating wasn't really something that really crossed her mind. She talked to guys, hung out with guys, eventually became their girlfriends but there was never really any dating in between. Now she was dating two guys, two wonderful guys, and she had no idea what she was doing.
Her date with Eli was coming up and she hadn't told Mark about the fact that she and Eli were talking again, nonetheless going on a date, and she wasn't even sure if she should tell him. It's not like Mark's her boyfriend or anything, they weren't official, but they were sort of together and Clare felt an obligation to tell him about Eli.
But did she really need to? People date all of the time and there wasn't usually that much drama involved. But in Clare's case, the two people she was dating happened to be enemies back in their teenage years. It was no secret that Eli still didn't like Mark and although Mark seemed to be okay with Eli, there was bound to still be harsh feelings still inside him. Clare was playing with the spark, about to start a fire.
The night before her date with Eli, Clare decided to call Mark. They still hadn't made a date after Mark sent her the care package but she did call him to thank him. Mark was just busy with school and work while Clare was trying to keep up with her own school work. Tuesday night, Clare dialed Mark's number and begged that he wouldn't answer so she could just leave a message but when she heard the click, she sighed.
"Hey," Mark said cheerily. "How are you?"
"Great," Clare tried to say enthusiastically. "Just finished doing an essay. How about you?"
"Just got off work," he answered. Mark worked at a pizza shop. "Any reason why you're calling?"
"I can't just call you without having a reason?" she tried to tease, prolonging the subject as long as possible.
"You haven't before, have you?" Mark pointed out.
Clare took a deep breath and just said it. "I'm going on a date…with Eli."
She waited for a few seconds but it felt like forever to her before Mark finally answered. "Oh…" he said with a lingering tone. Clare was biting her lip afraid of his possibly angry and explosive reaction to this big piece of news. "Well…have fun?"
Confused and shock, Clare remained silent for a second before responding to Mark's refreshingly cool yet shocking answer. "Have fun? That's all you're going to say?" Clare asked.
She could almost see him shrugging his scrawny shoulders. "Yeah, what else did you want me to say? Oh…don't drink any alcohol?"
"Funny," Clare said sarcastically. "So you're actually okay with this? I thought that you might be a little…I don't know, put off by the idea?"
"Clare, we're not together technically therefore I'm not in the place to tell you who you can or cannot date. Go on your date with Eli, I don't care." Clare found Mark's tone to be a lot meaner than his previous tone so she grimaced. "Fine, I'll call you soon then?"
"Fine. Bye Clare." Once she heard the beep signaling that the call was over, Clare closed her dropped jaw and softly tossed her phone onto her bed. She expected Mark to be mad but she also expected him to be upfront about it rather than being facetious and mean about it.
Finally, after a few minutes of replaying the conversation in her mind, Clare just decided to forget about Mark for the next few days and enjoy her date with Eli tomorrow. She got ready for bed and laid down. It took her hours to fall asleep as possible date scenarios clouded her mind. Around 3 o'clock she finally went to sleep and around 9, she was already wide awake.
In the morning she was rushing to figure out what to wear. At 11, she got a text from Eli telling her to be ready by 2:30 and Clare spent almost 2 hours trying to figure out if she should wear something comfortable or something more dressy since this was a date. Her mind racked with possibilities such as what in the world could they be doing at 2:30 in the afternoon at this time of the year? It was beginning to get a little warmer but it was still chilly outside so Clare didn't know if she could wear a dress or pick jeans. Thankfully another text came from Eli telling her to wear something casual and comfortable for they will be outside. Clare picked comfortable jeans, an almost dressy top, and a cardigan along with basic flats.
By 2:15, Clare was sitting in her dining room flipping through a magazine and eating cereal when she heard knocking from her front door. She took a deep breath before opening the door and when she finally opened it, a smiling yet nervous looking Eli stood on the other side.
"Hey," he said chuckling. "I'm a little early. I hope that's okay."
"It's fine," Clare assured him. "Do you wanna go now?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"I'll go get my purse," she said and went to go get her purse from the dining room but Eli caught her arm before she did.
"You won't be needing anything that your phone and your keys," he said.
"No wallet or anything?"
Eli raised his eyebrows. "Did you really think that I would make you pay on our first official date? I'm hurt, Edwards! It's like you don't know me at all!"
Clare rolled her eyes and took her phone and keys out of her purse and put them in her pocket. "Now am I good to go?" she asked.
"One more thing…" Eli said. "Do you have sunglasses?"
"I do…" Clare said confused.
"Well you might want to bring a pair."
Clare went upstairs to her bedroom and grabbed her sunglasses from her drawer. When she was going down the stairs she said, "What are we doing that would require wearing sunglasses?"
Eli was already standing at the door and Clare walked out of her apartment and locked it. "It's a surprise Clare, but I'm sure you'll love it."
After five minutes of driving in the car Eli reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of dark cloth. "I need you to put this on," he said and held it out for Clare. She eyed it and immediately pushed Eli's hand away gently.
"No way am I putting on a blindfold! I would like to know where were going, thank you very much. I'd rather now end up in a deserted scary field." Clare wasn't all too fond of surprises and humored Eli with the date surprise right up until this point.
"I'm not going to drop you off in an abandoned field," Eli rolled his eyes. "Come on, I want this to be a surprise and if you know where we are before we get there it won't be surprising. Now please play along. I think you'd rather be surprised with this than know before. Please? For me?"
Eli gave Clare a pouty look and she couldn't resist. That look worked on her years ago and it still worked now. Eli's bottom lip was hanging out and combined with the sunlight coming in through the windows, it made Eli look angelic and sad. Grudgingly, Clare put on the blindfold around her eyes and rested her head back on the seat. She focused on the music Eli's stereo was playing since she couldn't do much else. Her left hand rested on her seat while her right arm was leaning on the passenger door with her hand at her chin. It looked as if she was gazing outside but Eli was sure she couldn't see a thing.
The next thing Clare felt was something beside her left hand. She moved her fingers a bit and felt Eli's fingers next to hers. She figured that he was leaning his hand over as he drove. Clare pulled away hesitantly, not really wanting to hold hands yet since they haven't even gone out on a date. Eli pulled his hand back to him a little disappointed yet understanding. "Sorry," Eli said softly. "I…uh…"
"It's fine," Clare said to him. "Are we almost there?"
"Maybe ten minutes away? It'll be worth the wait, I promise." For the next thirty minutes, Clare was so bored that she was getting entirely too restless. She was a good judge of time and after twenty minutes had passed and Eli hadn't stopped the car, she didn't say anything but wondered where they were. After thirty minutes, Clare groaned.
"You said ten minutes thirty minutes ago," she whined. "Are were there yet?"
"Actually, we just pulled up." Clare heard Eli's seatbelt clicking and his door opening and closing. She waited a few seconds then heard her own door opening and Eli's hand grabbing her own and she was helped out of the car. The first thing Clare heard was a distinct buzzing sound that was particularly loud. She felt Eli's arm wrap around her waist and he led her towards somewhere. Clare felt the softness of grass and that sound gradually increasing and she was very confused.
"Okay, I'm taking the blindfold off now," Eli said. He began to untie the fabric and once it was off, Clare gasped as a gondola and a gigantic colorful hot air balloon was in her vision.
Clare began to stutter. "You're…you, you're taking me on a…hot air balloon ride?"
Eli nodded and smiled and with his arm still around Clare's waist the two walked toward the gondola. A man was standing inside and he was smiling. "Clare, this is my uncle Darren. Uncle Darren, this is Clare." Uncle Darren opened up the gondola and helped Clare and Eli step inside.
"It's nice to finally meet you Clare," Uncle Darren told her. "I've been offering Eli one free ride in this thing for years with anyone he wants and he decided to cash in that opportunity now. Consider yourself very lucky and special."
"I do feel lucky and special," Clare blushed as Eli turned to her. He had this soft and loving look on his face and Clare realized how lucky and special she really was. No one had ever gone out to this great length to impress her and make her feel special.
"Keep your hands and feet in the basket at all times and feel free to look over the edge, just don't go too far over," Uncle Darren winked and he made the basket ascend by holding that silver thing that controlled the fire that was flaming in the basket.
Clare wasn't afraid of heights but once the basket really did get some height she started to feel tense. She walked closer to the middle of the gondola and Eli turned to her. "You're missing the great view," he said. He was standing at the edge of the basket with his arms resting on it.
"We're just really high…" Clare said laughing nervously. She wrapped her arms around herself as they continued to go higher.
Eli held out his hand. "Come on, I won't let anything happen to you."
Hesitantly, Clare took Eli's hand and allowed him to have her stand at the edge of the gondola with him standing behind her. Their hands connected and set on the edge. Clare felt Eli's body heat right up with hers and she was extremely comfortable with that.
"Come Josephine in my flying machine going up she goes…up she goes…" Eli was singing in Clare's ear that line in Titanic where Jack had Rose standing at the tip of the boat. The two had watched Titanic together back in their Degrassi days and Clare told him that this was her favorite part of the movie. Clare blushed and smiled at Eli's breath tickled her ear. She enjoyed the view that was before her. Once she saw that they weren't rising up any higher, she relaxed and allowed herself to rest her body into Eli's.
"This is…amazing," Clare said breathlessly.
"Well…you deserve the best," Eli replied with his chin resting on Clare's shoulder. His lips were very close to Clare's ear and this made them both tense. "Did this idea ever cross your mind when you were thinking about what we would do?"
"Absolutely not," Clare admitted while laughing. "I know you're very adventurous but hot air balloon ride? Didn't think about it. I did have this on my to do list for before I die so thank you for fulfilling a goal."
"Well thank you for agreeing to go on a date with me," Eli whispered into Clare's ear then kissed the ear lobe gently. Clare, out of nowhere, transferred her and Eli's arms around her waist and felt herself get even close to Eli. Eli responded by holding onto her tightly as if she would disappear if he didn't take this opportunity now to keep her.
"You guys want some food?"
Clare and Eli were startled, forgetting that Uncle Darren was still in the gondola. He was holding up a picnic basket and was smirking. "Oh, I didn't even think about bringing food…" Eli said embarrassed. How could he forget to pack food for him and Clare to eat on an hour ride?
"That's why I brought the food," Uncle Darren laughed. "When you went to pick up Clare I had Olivia pack a basket and bring it over. I had a feeling you'd forget." He handed Eli the basket and Eli looked at Clare apologetically.
"It didn't cross my mind, I'm sorry," he said with his head hanging down slightly. Clare took it upon herself to raise Eli's head up and kiss him on the cheek softly. "Don't worry about it," she smiled. "I appreciate this wonderful thought. And thanks Uncle Darren, that was really sweet of you."
Uncle Darren nodded his head and turned away as Eli opened the basket and saw packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a box of chocolate, and a bottle of sparkling cider. "Wow, this is quite the assortment," Eli laughed as he picked up all of the things in the basket and put them on the floor.
"I haven't had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in years," Clare said as she picked up a wrapped sandwich. "Eating it with sparkling cider? So classy!"
Eli chuckled and sat down in the basket beside Clare and started to pour a glass of cider for himself and Clare. She took a glass and held it out to him and they clinked their drinks. "To our first date," Eli said smiling. "And many more to come?"
Before taking a sip, Clare replied, "Many more to come."
Once the balloon touched down on the ground Clare couldn't help but feel disappointed. The date was over and the magic she felt in her heart while spending time with Eli had deflated like the balloon would be doing soon. She was up so high not only in altitude but in feeling. Eli made her feel so special and loved and he went above and beyond what she expected.
"Thank you so much," Clare told Uncle Darren as she gave him a hug.
"Don't thank me, thank that guy," Uncle Darren said as he pointed at Eli who was packing up all of the things back into the picnic basket. "He really likes you. I hope you know that."
"I do," she admitted. "Now I do."
Finally Eli emerged from the gondola and hugged his uncle and then he and Clare started towards his car. "So…what'd you think?" he asked when he opened Clare's door. Clare sat inside and once Eli got into the car, she replied, "Best first date ever. I'm sad it had to end so soon."
Eli gave her a look. "You think this date is over? You really don't know me at all. I wouldn't plan an afternoon date and not spend more time with you in the evening. Part of the reason why I chose to do this is to have more time to spend with you. As much as I love my aunt for making us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, that's not really a proper dinner so you're coming over to my place and I'm making dinner for you."
"Can I help?" Clare offered. "I don't really want you doing all of the work."
"Sure, that'd be great."
During the car ride the two were silent for a little while with only music playing and out of nowhere, Clare sat up and said, "Stop the car. Pull the car over."
Confused, Eli obeyed and pulled the car over and cut the ignition. "What's wrong—"
Suddenly Clare grabbed Eli's head and crushed her lips over his, catching him off guard. The kiss went quickly from a small kiss to a full make out session with Clare practically prying Eli's lips open with hers so she could feel his tongue wrestling with her own. Clare kept her hands around Eli's neck and jaw while Eli, scared to put his hands anywhere else, hand his hands on Clare's waist. The two were leaning over the middle console so they were kissing in an awkward position but neither seemed to care at all. This would be the first time that the two kissed without people watching and not intoxicated. And the fact that Clare was the one to initiated the kiss made Eli all the more happy. He wasn't planning on kissing Clare on their first date, although he may have hoped to, but he was perfectly content keeping it slow. Obviously Clare didn't have the same thought and much rather took this faster.
Eli had to pull away to catch his breath but Clare wasted no time attaching her lips to Eli's neck, making him moan slightly. He felt her smile against his skin and when her teeth sank in slightly, he groaned loudly and pulled Clare back up for him to kiss her again. After a few minutes Eli realized that if they should get back to his apartment so things wouldn't get more out of hand in his car. He pulled away again and against Clare's lips he said, "We should go." Understanding Clare nodded and sat back in her seat. She was red and flustered, her hair a mess and her cheeks warm, and Eli was exactly the same way. He discreetly adjusted himself in his pants and while driving home he thought of the most disgusting things he could think of to make his problem go away.
Once at the apartment, Eli began getting stuff out to make pasta for dinner and Clare sat at the breakfast nook waiting and watching. He was chopping up vegetables and getting the meat and the sauce into a deep pan and had another pan with boiling water for the pasta itself. Clare decided to look through the cabinets and see if she could make a dessert for them. Without a word she began looking through the cupboards and found cocoa powder and flour and everything she needed to make brownies. She started making the mix while Eli was still cooking and they didn't talk at all until Eli had plated the pasta and set it on the dinner table and Clare had the baking pan in the oven.
They had a quick dinner since they were both very hungry and Clare noticed that there was still 35 minutes on the timer. Once Eli set the plates in the sink, Clare turned him around and pressed herself up against him and kissed him earnestly. Smiling through the kiss, Eli pulled her closer with his hands on her hips and kissed back as enthusiastically. This was a much more comfortable position that turning to each other in Eli's car. He was leaning against the counter supporting all of Clare's weight as she leaned on him, her arms tightly around his neck and her toes craning up. In one swift motion, Eli had Clare sitting on the counter and himself between her legs as they continued their very long make out session.
By the time Clare heard the oven timer 30 minutes later, Eli's shirt was off along with Clare's cardigan. She pulled away and Eli turned his attention on her neck. "Stop," she sighed and held back a moan. "I have to turn the oven off."
"I don't care about the oven," he muttered against her skin and continued to kiss it.
"Really Eli, I have to turn it off. I don't want to burn down your place," she said more sternly. Finally she had to pry Eli off of her neck and she jumped down from the counter quickly and turned the oven off. Grabbing a towel, Clare brought out the pan of brownies and set it on the stove. Once she closed the oven door, Eli grabbed her around the waist and brought her to him.
"We have to wait for it to cool, I don't want you burning your tongue or anything," Eli winked. Clare rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around Eli's neck. "Let's wait for it to cool then. What do you wanna do for a few minutes?" she asked him innocently. Quickly Eli had Clare up in his arms and was heading towards the couch where they would spend their few extra minutes doing something they both enjoyed.
"You look all happy and giddy, did you get laid or something?" Emilee noticed that Clare was practically floating while she worked that next afternoon and she couldn't help but be blunt about asking her about why. "Seriously, either you got laid or you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk nor did I get laid," Clare rolled her eyes and replied. "I just…had a really good date yesterday."
"With who?" Emilee asked curiously. "That Mark guy you mentioned?"
"No…" Clare trailed off.
Emilee smirked. "Whoa Edwards, didn't peg you to be a player!"
Clare laughed sarcastically. "I'm not a player. Neither of them are my boyfriend, I'm just…getting to know them both. They're good guys."
"Well, tell me about them both," Emilee said and took a seat down on a stool. No one was coming up to the counter so they had some time. "First tell me about Mark."
Clare started to think of how to describe Mark and looked out the coffee shop and saw him walking towards the door with a bouquet of flowers in hand. "Mark…is heading here right now…" Clare said in disbelief. Emilee stood up and looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "Wow, didn't expected him to be your type. Those flowers for you?"
Mark came up to the counter and smiled when he saw Clare. She walked up to the counter and asked, "What are you doing here?" He held out the flowers to her and she couldn't help but grin like an idiot. She loved flowers.
"I acted like an asshole when I last talked to you. I have no say in what you do with your life but I acted stupid and selfish and dumb and I'm sorry if I made you feel bad, I didn't mean to. I really do like you Clare and I don't want to lose you because I was being a jerk." Clare took the flowers from Mark's hand and whatever harsh feelings she had towards him from the phone call melted away. Clare understood why Mark was acting the way he was and never expected or wanted an apology. He was so sweet to have apologized and have gone through this gesture.
"You didn't need to apologize…" she told him.
Mark shrugged in reply. "Maybe not but I'm still sorry. Call me soon?"
Clare nodded and smiled. Mark left the coffee shop and Clare turned around and saw Emilee with a hand to her heart. "Is the other guy as sweet as him? If so, then you're screwed."
Clare knew that Eli was as sweet as Mark and she firmly believed that Emilee was right. She was screwed. Dating two guys at the same time, both amazing and sweet and different from each other, no matter what she was going to hurt someone.
"The other guy is as sweet as him?" Emilee asked with a dropped jaw. Clare sighed and nodded her head. "What the hell? Where are all the sweet guys when I'm looking for one?"
*I love Emilee, she brings the laughs to this story. :) I tried very hard to make Clare and Eli's first date cute so I hope you guys all liked it! Read my Jesus, Etc. review at the top of this chapter!
Again, I'm very sorry about the long, long wait. Please review and tell me what you think! I love you all so much and I promise to get the chapter out sooner!