Okay, thank you to the few people who have sent me reviews! Most of you said the same thing,"WHY DON'T WE KNOW MORE ABOUT TRIPP???" Weellll, that is going to be explained in about ...2 chapters. And as for Blue's Parents, they are goning to make an apperance soon as well. Trust me things are going to get "complicated". Well this is where we left off so enjoy!
I was surprised that Tripp wasn't threatened by Grey, but it was the opposite. He was interested in him, or more interested in why Grey was so important to me. Everything happen so fast this morning that time seemed to stand still when Tripp was gone.
It was about time for lunch, but going back to the Quotations Coffee and Cafe might seem a bit weird. So I turned the corner past a toy store and made my way to Rocky's Soda Shop. Walking through the front door was like traveling back in time. There was candy that you could scoop into little bags, and toys, and ice cream parlor, and a little diner type setup. Strolling over to the ice cream counter, I felt my mouth begin to water as I read the flavors to myself; Rocky Road, Very Cherry Dark Chocolate, Minty Cappuccino, Banana Pudding, and my favorite, Tutti-Frutti Sunrise But that wasn't an actual lunch, and the famed freshman fifteen was something I was going to try very hard not to fall victim to. So I pried myself away and walked over to the dinner. Behind the counter was a girl with dark blonde hair, she had a tattoo of a bird just under her right ear. Flipping through her teen magazine, she looked up as I approached, and folded her page down, pencil already poised to take my order. Flashed me a smile that said, "I don't really want to be here, so don' give me any trouble." She reminded me of my math teacher from sophomore year.
"What can I do ya for?" Her southern accent was so strong that if it weren't for my dad's family being from Tennessee then I wouldn't have been able to understand more than a word or two.
"I don't know, I haven't been here in a while, what do you recommend?" I was starved but nothing on the menu caught my eye.
"Well the soup of the day is good, but it's too hot for that, maybe a cold drink, like a milk shake and a hot dog with fries or chips?" I couldn't tell if she was just humoring me, or if she was actually trying to figure out what would be best for me to eat.
"You know that sounds great! I'll take one of those and... heck could, I change that milkshake to a root beer float? It's been too long since I had one of those." She walked back to the kitchen and hung my order on the shelf ringing the bell. A hand reached out and grabbed the order then going back to work. " So do you live here? Or just working until school starts?" I had some time to kill and maybe she could end up being a cool person to hang with.
" My uncle owns the place, so I work here year round, I finally saved up enough to go to the community college though, so I wont be here much longer." She looked at me expecting me to say something, but I was stumped. Luckily, the chef rang the bell and she walked back to get my order. " By the way my name is Teresa, in case you were wondering." She yelled over her shoulder. Wow, that would not have been my first guess. When I think of a Teresa, the first thing that comes to mind is Mother Teresa. This girl didn't seem to come close to that description.
"My name is Blue, I'm going to B C in the fall. So what all is there to do in your spare time? I mean obviously the mountains, but what about the night life?" This was one aspect of Brevard my dad and I had never explored.
"You, want to know about the night life?" Teresa's expression was one of pure shock. I didn't give of a goody-goody vibe, that was for sure, so why did it come as such a shock?
"Yeah, I do. Why is that such a shocker." My voice came out sounding hurt, I couldn't help it.
"Sorry, it's not you. Just most of those artsy squares that go to B C have there musical instruments shoved so far up their-"
"Teresa, watch your mouth around customers!" A man about my dad's age came out from the kitchen with a towel over his shoulder. He looked at me for a moment and then scanned around the empty store as if expecting a huge crowd to appear out of thin air. But it remained just the three of us. "Oh, well if it's just you and your friend would you mind keeping it down a bit? Hi, I'm Teresa's Uncle Zack. Nice to meet you." He extended his flour covered hand out to me. We shook hands for a moment. Then Teresa butted in and shooed her uncle back into the kitchen.
"Sorry about hat, he assumes anybody who talks with me for more than a minute is automatically my bestest buddy in the whole wide world. But you know what they say, When you assume you..."
"Make an ass out of you and me! Yup, my dad used to say that all the time, until he heard me say it one day. But hey maybe we could hang out sometime, I'm new in town, and like I said earlier I haven't experienced any of the night life around here." I said all this while finishing of the last of my hot dog. "This was great, but I've gotta go meet a friend, who promised to show me some apartments. How much do I owe ya?" I fished through my purse, but Teresa reached over and stopped me.
"This one's on the house, just don't be a stranger once school starts. Okay?" She looked into my eyes, sending me messages that said, "Don't make me regret this."
"I wont, in fact here's my cell number," I scribbled it onto my napkin "call me if you wanna chill some time." I was already late to pick up Tripp, so I ran out the door, and down the street waited for traffic to clear. Then I turned left down to Quotations, and nearly ran smack dab into a huge great Dane. But the horse type dog moved just in time and I continued my girly sprint down the street until I reached my car. Tripp was there, leaning against the passenger side door as if he knew I would be late and would have to come running down the street just in time to see him look all cool and nonchalant. "You, are late by, fifteen minutes." Tripp looked up at me with a mock look of hurt on his gorgeous face.
"I know, I'm sorry," I had to pause after every other word to catch my breath. "Went into Rocky's and got side tracked, met a nice girl though. How was work?" I doubled over and nearly fell face forward into the pavement, but Tripp grabbed my arm sending a tingling sensation up and down my body. I had to get over the fact that this guy was freaking gorgeous if I wanted to be able to function properly around him. I'd never really had this problem before, in fact it'd been the exact opposite in high school. Me cool and composed and not giving a shit about what people thought about me, and guys nervous and fidgety, not sure of themselves.
Now I am the one at loss for words, unable to make any sense. And this guy, this confident, smart, good looking, did I mention good looking guy was all to blame, at least that's how it seemed at the time.
"Work was okay. But not as great as watching you run down Main Street like a maniac." He smiled down on me and winked.
"Well I really need to find an apartment soon. I can only afford the hotel I'm staying at for another week or so. Do you know of any places up for grab?"
"Well this close to the beginning of the semester you'll be lucky to find much at all. Lucky for you I happen to know a place."
"Oh yeah? What's it like? Doesn't have to be fancy or nothing just a kitchen living room, bath, and a bedroom maybe some bookshelves but I could buy one of those."
"Not fancy aye? No I can actually go show it to you now if you like. You'd have a roommate but I can assure you this guy is honorable"
"Guy? I don't care how honorable the guy is my dad would kill him none the less."
"Does Daddy have to know every little detail in your life? Come on just check it out, please?"
"Okay but just a quick peek."
"I can guarantee that's all it'll take to get you hooked on this place." As he said that I noticed a gleam in his eyes that seemed oddly familiar.
He gestured to the car door, waiting. I pulled out the key chain and unlocked the doors. He walked over to the driver's side and I threw him the keys. We drove down about twenty feet and he turned right onto Brevard Campus. There were Towne Houses and apartments he turned in to the driveway of an all brick house. I real life no kidding house! Already it was more than I had expected to find on such short notice. I had to remind myself that there was no way that I could live here as long as the other occupant was a guy.
Tripp switched off the ignition and hopped out of the car. "Are you ready to enter paradise?"
"We'll see Mr.HotShot. So far so good." We walked up the concrete walkway and as I was reaching to ring the door bell Tripp pulled out a key from under the doormat. "Now I ain't from around here but, I'm pretty sure that it's still a federal offense to break in to somebody's house."
"No, no, not if you are friends with the owner." He pushed the door open and walked in as if this were all no big deal.
"OOoo000oooOOkay," I stepped over the threshold and felt guilty, "but I am not..." I trailed off as I realized I truly had walked into paradise. There were floor to ceiling bookshelves on the walls in the den an oversized leather couch, a butter yellow kitchen with light blue curtains, and a hallway that lead to three doors two of which were shut. I looked into the living room and saw the biggest TV ever! Almost floor to ceiling, and more DVDs than I could count. A cat was lounging in the window sill which looked out over the next-door neighbor's garden. "This. Is. A-AMAZING! How did you ever find out about this place and who decorated it's..."
"Perfect in every way, I know. That's why I bought it." He smiled at me and slumped into the couch looking smug as ever.
"You own this place? Are you gay? No offense but it's perfect! Like too perfect for a guy to create. It's exactly what I dreamed of finding. Are you really offering to rent me a room here?"
"Wait you have to see the bedroom. And no I am not gay but my old roomy was VERY gay, good guy great fashion sense just a bit.. not normal" I raised an eyebrow at Tripp suspiciously .
"Why exactly do I have to see the bedroom?" The farthest I had gone with a guy was when I let Billy Hartman go under my shirt last summer, and I had no regrets it wasn't right then and it wasn't right now.
"Don't go getting the wrong idea, it's just that the bedroom is the best part, and I know you'll absolutely love it." He got up off of the couch and grabbed my hand, leading me down the hallway. There were no windows in the hallway so it got a darker as we left the airy living room. He pushed open the closed door on the right and gestured for me to enter. The lights were switched off and thick curtains blocked out the