A/N: So sorry about the wait, it's been a long time. Like I said in a review/message and on my bio page, I am still working on this story. Things have just been chaotic. This one is sort of an extension to the last, but I needed to give you something.
Chapter 21
I can't describe the excitement that swelled in me that moment, nor the surprise. Suffice it to say that I was thrilled beyond belief. But, for some reason, I thought I'd drag it out a bit. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"Huh?" It was her turn to be caught off guard, as she no doubt had been accepting a simple acceptance.
"Well, I'm assuming you've planned something…" I said, trying to sound really excited about the unknown plan. "I mean, you are Ren Stevens and this has been months in coming…"
"Oh, yeah, right…um, well," she searched for an explanation. "I do…have…a plan. I do…"
I don't know why I was doing this, with all she was going through at the moment I could've just made this one thing easy for her. I guess something in me wanted to make her wait a little, because I had waited so long for this moment.
She stood up. "Let's have some food, and I'll tell you about it…" she said in a less than sure tone.
"Ok," I agreed, heading over to the chair beside her bag. I sat down in it and helped myself to some bread. I barely ate anything though, I was so excited and anxious.
"There's jam too, and…"
"Peanut butter, yeah, you already told me, Ren," I said. "So, tell me what you planed for our…first date."
She clapped her hands together. "Right, well, I, uh… it was a surprise. It is a surprise," her face lit up—she'd found a way out! "You have to say yes and go with me if you want to find out."
I smiled, rolled my eyes, feigned an annoyed sigh. "Fine, I guess I could go out with you."
"On a real date, in…public," she said, both reassuring me and informing herself that yes, indeed, she was out now. There was no turning back.
I slipped my bread back into the bag, only having torn a small corner off to eat, and stood up. "So, you want to come over? Or are you going to stay here? Eileen wants you somewhere a little safer, you know."
She nodded. "Yeah, right… could I? Stay with you, that is…"
"Of course," I replied. "That would be why I extended the invitation."
She nodded again. "Right, right," she sighed, looking over at me. "Tawny?"
"Yes?"
"How am I supposed to tell me dad about college?"
"Oh," I answered, scratching my head. "I don't know," I paused. "We'll figure something out though."
She sighed, dropping her hands with resignation. "You know, let's just stay here tonight. We'll go home in the morning. Or you will. I don't know when I'll go home again."
I walked over to her, taking both her hands in mine. "It won't be that long. You're dad will cool off."
She half-smiled and pulled me in closer to her, wrapping her arms around me, and holding me tightly against her warm body.
I slipped my arms around her neck and rested my head on her shoulder.
"Ren?" my voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yeah?" she responded in a matching ton.
"Would you really have delayed Harvard to be with me?" I pulled my head away as I said this, so I could see her face.
"Well, yeah," she replied, seeming a little startled I'd even asked. "And now I'm tempted to use you as my excuse for not going in the fall, except I think my father would kill you. So I won't."
I laughed. "Well, thanks for that."
"Anytime," she smiled.
A few moments passed before another question popped into my mind. "Is there any way you can get your position on the student body government back? I mean, Larry's little deal shouldn't matter anymore."
"I don't even want to try," she said. "The year's almost over anyway."
I raised an eyebrow. "But it's Larry…"
"I know. My rabbi said I really need to work on just letting some things go. So, I'm going to let this go. He wanted me to let you go, you being both a girl and a Gentile—it's ok, he said, but far from ideal. Would you prefer that?"
I laughed again. "No, no. We're fine. Let Larry have his presidency."
"Let him," she echoed. "I have bigger issues to deal with now anyway."
I nodded.
"What about… her...Stacy? Did you…" In spite of everything, the venom was still in her voice at the mere mention of Stacy.
"Yeah, I mean, not formally but she knows. She didn't really let me say anything. But she knows. It's over."
She clearly had something she wanted to say, to ask perhaps.
"Ren, what is it?"
She sighed heavily. "Um, it's just… Amy said something to me, a couple weeks ago…"
"What?"
"She said that…you'd slept with Stacy."
Silence.
"Is it true?" she asked, putting some space between us already.
I didn't look her in the face when I answered. "Yes, we did. Twice."
"Oh," she said, under her breath.
"We weren't together, Ren… you can't be angry with me for this 'cause we weren't together. There's no confusion about that either, right?" The words al tumbled from my worried mouth, as a nervous knot tied itself in my gut.
"No, we weren't," she still wasn't closing the gap between us.
"So?" I pressed, desperate to know why she'd had to bring it up at all. "I don't love her. I never loved her. I love you. You know that." I wasn't calming down though my brain kept telling my lips to stop moving.
"I know," she answered softly, calmly enough. She looked at me funny, tilting her head to one side and smiling. "Why are you freaking out?"
"Wha—well, you…"
"We weren't together. I can't hold it against you. You didn't do anything wrong. It doesn't thrill me that you…moved on so quickly… but it's my fault that you did," she explained. "But you should get tested."
"What?"
"What? Stacy's slept with a lot of people. And I can promise nothing's happening with us if you don't get tested."
I hadn't even though of that but it didn't surprise me that Ren had, nor did I think I had anything, but if she wanted a test I'd give her one. "Ok, sure. What about you though?"
"What?"
"Have you had sex with anyone? Other than your drunken night with me?"
"I knew it was you!" she exclaimed. "Oh, thank God… I was starting to think that it may have been some random person and—so yeah, I did get checked out already."
"Are you serious? You worry too much, Ren."
"I do not, it's a real problem these days."
I nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Let's talk about something else, please."
She grinned, kissed me briefly. "I'm going to go to sleep."
I followed her to the bed where we snuggled up together. She fell asleep within a matter of minutes, both her arms wrapped around me still. I laid awake for sometime, reflecting on everything before drifting off myself.
In the morning we rose pretty early and drove back into Sacramento for breakfast.
A/N: So, I totally don't remember if it's already been established whether or not Ren knew it was Tawny. I checked what I think is the last time it's mentioned—towards the end of chapter 12. Where Tawny claims that she slept with "someone" and waits for Ren's response. Instead of responding on that topic, however, Ren talks about something else. I didn't have time to read much of it, so if this is a repeat, I apologize and I hope it's not.
