Kat wrapped her arms and legs tighter around the man in front of her. She still wasn't sure about the motorcycle. She would much rather travel in something with doors, and a roof. But she had to admit it was nice, though she expected the thing that was nicest about riding on Patrick's bike was getting to cling to him the way she was. The hardness of him felt delicious against her and she could allow herself the luxury of holding him like she was without hating herself for it. Being independent and empowered didn't really grant her the opportunity to cling to a man so desperately without the excuse of bodily harm, at least in her mind.
They stopped at a light and he put one foot on the pavement to steady the bike and raised a hand to the middle of his chest, placing it over hers and giving them a a quick squeeze. " You're okay." He called over his shoulder. " I won't let you fall off."
The helmet made it hard to hear, but she got his point and reluctantly loosened her grip, just a little.
" There you go." He nodded to her, encouragingly. " Relax. This is supposed to be fun."
She felt his chest shake with a chuckle when he started off again and her arms immediately resumed their death grip.
They moved through the streets a touch faster than she thought they should have been going and she thought several times about letting herself look around and enjoy the scenery. But the urge to rest her head on Patrick's shoulder was too great and despite the bulky helmet, that's what she did. Now she understood why so many people didn't wear them. It was an annoyance and she wanted nothing more than to rid herself of the barrier between them. Her sense of self preservation wouldn't let her do that, of course, but she wanted to so badly it drove her crazy. The feel of his shoulder blade under her cheek would be wonderful.
Since she wasn't looking around her, she was surprised when they pulled up in front of a house and stopped. She found herself unfamiliar with the area of town they were in.
" Where are we ?" She asked as she yanked the helmet off and let him go.
" I just need to stop here to a second. There's something I forgot." He informed her, getting off the bike and giving her a smile.
" This is your house ?" It was a moderate sized house, plain and simple in structure. Nothing special or out of the ordinary about it. One story, white siding, a tiny little porch devoid of any sort of decoration. The yard was fenced by chain link and a sidewalk ran from the porch to the street.
He nodded. " What ?" He asked as she eyed the place critically. " You were expecting the Bat Cave or maybe a crypt ?"
" No," She smiled at his attempt at humor. " I don't know what I was expecting really. It's nice though."
He laughed. " Well, it isn't a grand palace, but it's home, at least for now. Give me a minute. I'll be right back." He turned to go inside before turning back to her. " Unless you'd like to come in."
" Is your Mom home ?" She asked, tentatively as she started to get off the bike herself.
" Work." He shook his head.
" Would you rather I wait here ?"
" No, you can come in. I've seen where you live. I guess turnabout is fair play." He shrugged.
" Well, this isn't exactly turnabout. I didn't have to stalk you to find out your address."
He unlocked the gate and held it opened for her with a laugh. " I didn't stalk you."
" You followed me home from school one day. I think that qualifies."
He stopped at the front door and used his key to open it before giving it a shove and allowing her entrance.
Once inside she stopped immediately and reached back for Patrick, grabbing his hand with hers as she looked down at what appeared to be around a hundred pounds of dangerous looking dog.
Patrick dropped her hand as he went down to one knee and called the intimidating animal over to him. The dog, a dark brown mutt with a huge tail that thumped insistently against the hard wood floor got up and sauntered over to them, lowering his head to Patrick's hand in expectation of getting his ear scratched.
" This is Spock." Patrick announced. " He won't hurt you unless you're beef flavored and," He stood up and put an arm around her waist while his lips nuzzled her neck. " Last time I checked you weren't, so you're safe."
She slapped at him playful and bent to pet the dog as well. The entire back half of him shook with the force of his tail wagging when she scratched behind his ear.
" Spock ?" She raised her eyebrow at Patrick.
He shrugged nonchalantly. " Mom's a fan."
" We've known each other for months. How is it that I didn't know you had a dog or a house for that matter ?" She stood back up.
" You know me, I like to keep the mysterious thing going." He smiled. " So now you know. I have a house and a dog and in a minute, if you follow me, you'll see that I hate to do laundry and my room is as big of a mess as you might expect it to be."
The first thing she noticed when he stopped outside of a door at the end of the hall was the posters. They seemed so cliche and not him. One depicting a motorcycle, of course, nearly covered the entire door, another a toxic waste symbol in bright yellow announcing that those entering should beware.
She should have listened to the sign. It had warned her, after all. He had even warned her. It shouldn't have been a surprise and really it wasn't. It was exactly what she expected it to be. Clothes laid in piles everywhere a spare surface existed. She thought there might be a desk with a chest of drawers beside it, right inside the door, but it was hard to tell under all the clutter. Empty food cartons, papers with messy scrawl and again clothes on top of clothes covered their surfaces almost completely. The bed, a full size with a mattress that sagged in the middle and a metal headboard with rusted patches here and there, was thrashed. Dingy, black cotton sheets were only attached to two corners, opposite ones, making a strange sort of diamond shape across its expanse. A rumpled, worn comforter that might have been blue plaid at one time now looked pale blue from where it could be seen falling off the foot of the bed and cascading onto the floor in a heap. A black leather jacket was thrown careless over the back of an office chair that had definitely seen better days. And again, posters, a hot blond girl straddling a Harley, a tie dyed mushroom surrounded in back velvet, she was pretty sure it was black light active because there was one mounted on the wall over it and a poster of Bob Marley holding his guitar at a mic stand. The one that did surprise her was of the album cover of the Beatles, Abbey Road. She owned the album itself so she recognized it immediately. It looked newer than the others and not as dusty or worn. A table sat on one side of the bed, holding a red lava lamp, an alarm clock and an assortment of bottles and cans of everything from beer to soda to energy drinks. Apparently he was a collector, she smiled to herself. The other thing that surprised her was the overcrowded, rickety bookshelf on the other side of the bed, with titles that included everything from the classics to the latest mystery novels.
She raised her eyebrows at the books and gave him a smirk. " You can read ?"
" No," He shook his head. " I have them here to impress girls. Did it work ?"
She scanned the titles, some didn't surprise her, Frankenstein, Bram Stoker's Dracula, the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe. Others took her aback, Leaves of Grass, a collection from Robert Frost and many more. " Poetry ?" She commented going over to the shelf and letting her fingers bump along the well worn spines.
He shrugged in response but said nothing to confirm or deny it.
" I never took you for a poetry lover." She smiled, still perusing the titles.
" ' She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies And all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspects and her eyes.'" She heard his low, silky voice reciting as he came to her and put his hands on her waist.
" Lord Byron ? Now I am impressed." She leaned back against his chest without realizing she was doing it. Something about his voice saying those words had be-spelled her completely. Just when she thought he couldn't be any more perfect, he amazed her all over again.
" Oh, there's plenty more where that came from." He whispered against her ear.
" You really do have all the moves down, don't you ?" She asked, turning in his arms and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
" How else would I be able to bang all the chicks I've banged ? I've worked hard at perfecting this technique."
" Why can't you just admit that your a big softy ?" She smiled.
He sighed and pulled her closer. " Because if I did, how would I know you'd still respect me in the morning."
She let her fingers run through the hair at the nape of his neck and he leaned his head back into her touch. " How do you know I wouldn't respect you more ?"
His eyes caught hers and something passed through them that sent a shiver down to her toes. The next thing she knew he was kissing her and it was heaven. His lips danced with hers, colliding perfectly. His hand splayed over the small of her back, large enough to cover the entire expanse while the fingers of his other hand surrounded her waist and flexed into it deliciously. She sighed into him, enjoying the feel his body so flush against hers.
When he pulled away it was only for long enough to catch his breath before he kissed her again. Then they were stumbling, falling backwards until they found the soft mattress behind them. His body twisted at the last minute so that he landed to her side instead of on top of her, but his lips never left contact with hers.
Then just as quickly as it started he pulled away and stood up, hastily moving to the foot of the bed where he paused and pulled his hand through his hair. A deep breath later, he was grabbing the jacket from the back of the chair and heading towards the door.
" This is what I forgot. We should get going." He told her with a glance over his shoulder before he left the room.
Kat scrambled to her feet still disoriented by his sudden withdraw. The abruptness stunned her and left her feeling suddenly cold and a little rejected. She had no idea what had happened, but she was sure that she wasn't pleased that he stopped.
She staggered, getting ungracefully to her feet and feeling very grateful that he had already left the room and wasn't there to witness it.
" Wait up." She called once she was in the hall.
He stood from where he was again bent down scratching the dog and turned to look at her. " What ?"
" What was that ?" She asked, catching up with him finally.
He opened the door for her and she went out first, watching as he closed it behind him and locked it up tightly. " I didn't want to get distracted. We have plans, remember ?"
" Better plans than that ?" She asked herself under her breath. She thought she'd said it low enough for him not to overhear, but he turned back to her and smiled.
" Oh, I plan on revisiting that conversation later. Trust me." He assured as he settled onto the bike and handed her the jacket. " Take this. It can get a little chilling where we're going."
It was a short ride on an uncrowded road to get them where they were heading. Kat smiled as she realized he was pulling into the same turn off they had come to on the day she'd walked out of school with him. She would never forget that particular day. Not only had she jeopardized her chance at Brown that day, but she had also realized that she liked Patrick Verona a little more than she would ever admit out loud. It was the first time she really understood how much his opinion of her mattered to her.
He pulled into an empty place not far from the beach and turned off the bike. She was still holding him to her chest a little too tightly when he reached up and put his hands over hers where they were locked in place right over his heart. He squeezed her joined hands for a moment.
She tugged off the helmet and placed it on its holder behind her then re-wrapped her arms around him since he made no move to leave the motorcycle just yet and she was happy to stay right where she was, too.
Her cheek came to rest on his shoulder and he leaned back into her taking one of her hands in his.
She wondered how long they could stay like this, so peaceful and serene. Neither of them angry or feeling the need to shout at the other. It was rare for them and she wanted to drag it out for as long as she could.
Finally he shifted and she let him go, removing herself from the bike and watching as he did the same and chucked the keys into the front pocket of his worn, ragged blue jeans.
" You brought me to the beach ?" She smirked. " This isn't a surprise. I could have easily guessed this."
His smile when he returned hers was smug and self congratulatory. " Oh, but I'm not done."
Taking her hand he lead her out to the sand and stopped for a handful of minutes to let his eyes wander over the horizon.
" Is my surprise out there ?" She asked, scanning the ocean to find anything out of place.
He shook his head. " No, but someone once told me that you should never pass a place like this and take it for granted. He said it was important to stop and appreciate it every time like it was the first time you'd ever seen it."
She watched him as he spoke and nearly lost herself in the far away dreamy look in his eyes as he watched the oceans waves crash against the shore.
Deciding that that was probably the best advise she'd ever heard, she drew her gaze away from him reluctantly and let herself soak in the majesty in front of her as well. Without realized it, she found his chest and let herself sink into his warmth while they just silently stood and looked out before them. His hands came to her waist and his head rested on her shoulder.
" I could get used to this. It's so beautiful." She whispered into the gathering wind.
" So could I." He sighed and she turned her head to see that he was no longer looking at the ocean, but at her instead.
She gulped down the sudden storm of her emotions at catching the look in his eyes. She wasn't ready for him to be looking at her like that. She wasn't ready for any of this. It was all so.... romantic and unrealistic. He wasn't that guy. The guy that spouts verses of poetry and takes long walks on the beach. And she wasn't that girl either. The girl that giggles every time he has something amusing and flips her hair and cares about whether her make up is smudged. They weren't these people. As far as she could tell they weren't even a couple. Yet here they were doing something very couply. The togetherness, the emotional side of the whole thing was causing a lump in her throat and she had a sudden urge to run. Run as far and as fast as she could.
She found herself wanting nothing more than to escape. She didn't know how to be this person. She was certain it wasn't her wanting to grab hold of him and cling to him for as long as he let her. It couldn't be her that felt her heart racing so fast she thought it might explode. It couldn't possibly be her turning in his arms and pulling him down for kiss that seared her lips and caused her stomach to flop. Making out was one thing, but this was more. There was so much more in the kiss it terrified her. And if his shaking was any indication, it scared him as well.
" We should go." He announced as he pulled away from her and took her hand again. " It's this way."
With a sigh on her lips, she let him lead her along the beach. They walked for a short distance down the shore until he started to slant off towards the parking area again. She thought at first they were leaving until she spied a splash of color intertwined among the rocky outcroppings.
Just as she realized he was leading her towards a cave, off set into the rocks, several large drops of rain landed on her shoulder, streaking down the protective coating of his leather jacket. Patrick wasn't so lucky and by the time they ducked under a tree that was protecting the entrance of the cave, his plain gray t-shirt was sticking to his skin in several places.
He turned to her with a smile as he started towards the entrance. " I found this place a while back. I come camping here sometimes. You'll like it."
She stopped walking when she saw the yellow tape stretched across the archway. It read ' Danger' in bold black writing and she was inclined to listen to such announcements.
He tried to tug her forward as she dug her heels into the sand and he turned back to her.
" What ?" He asked.
" We shouldn't go in there. There's apparently danger in there." She told him, pointing at the warning.
He laughed. " I put that there."
" What ?"
He pulled her along with a determined grip that left her helpless to do anything but tag along behind.
" I put it up so no one would go into the cave before we got here. I didn't want anyone to find your surprise and help themselves to it." He explained as he ripped the tape down and ducked under the archway.
She had to duck a little as well to keep from hitting her head, but once inside she straighten and narrowed her eyes in an attempt to see into the dimness. " A dark cave is my surprise ? Ah, Patrick you shouldn't have, really. There could be bats or animals in here. Are sure this is safe ?"
She heard him laugh as he dropped her hand and started digging through his pockets. " Yes, it's safe. Like I said, I come camping here. Nothing's living in here except us."
A clap of thunder resounded outside and she decided that the cave might be the lesser of two evils.
She was just about to find a place to sit when fire suddenly exploded in Patrick's hand and the cave lit up marginally.
" Just stay right there and close your eyes." He told her. " Let me get everything set up."
She rolled her eyes instead until he gave her a look that said he wanted no argument from her. " Will you please just trust me and do what I say for once ?"
She huffed as she sat down on the cool, damp ground, crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. " This better be good, Verona."
" It will be." He assured her.
She heard him rustling around with something, smelled the sharp odor of wood burning and saw the brightness shift through her eyelids. She was trying hard to do as he asked, keeping her eyes clenched in an effort to behave, but it was excruciating.
" Can I look now ?" She asked impatiently.
" Not yet." He informed her. " Just a few more minutes."
" This is ridiculous." She pouted.
" Don't be a baby. It'll be worth it. I promise."
More rustling and she almost opened her eyes regardless of his warning. It was killing her not knowing what was happening around her. Another clap of thunder turned her head towards the cave entrance but she kept her eyes closed all the while.
"It's really starting to come down out there. I'm glad we made it in before it really got going." He commented from some distance away from her.
She didn't answer, instead folding her arms over her chest again and sticking her bottom lip out in response.
Suddenly he was in front of her, kneeling down and grabbing hold of her lip with his, pulling it between them and sucking it on tenderly, before giving it a nip. When he pulled away she could almost hear the smile in his voice. " See that's what happens when you pout. If you stick your lip out like that someone is going to bite it." Her tongue nearly came out before he laughed and stopped her with a warning, " Same goes for that. I dare you to try."
She almost took him up on the offer, but her curiosity got the better of her and she stopped just in time.
" Can I look now ?" She asked.
" Yes, you can look now."
He was the only thing she saw at first, since he was kneeling in front of her and pushing her hair from her shoulder. Then he moved to the side so she could take everything in and she couldn't help the smile that took over her face.
A fire was trying to take light in a stone fire pit in the center of the small cave. It smoldered and crackled as the dry twigs he used began to catch. He had a blanket laid out beside it, an old comfortable looking, red plaid, wool one. To the side of it sat a basket and beside that a box that she recognized immediately as a laptop computer. He had several candles lit around the edges of the circular shaped floor space.
" What's in the basket ?" She said getting to her knees and easing towards it.
" Come find out." He offered as he got to his feet long enough to go to the basket. Once there, he took time to take off his boots before settling Indian style on the blanket. She followed his lead, slipping off her shoes before taking her place beside him. Their knees brushed against each other as he leaned over and grabbed the picnic basket. She watched in delight as he reached in and produced several fruit filled containers, several more vegetable filled containers, some crackers and cheese. The last thing to come out was two bottles of water and two bottles of juice.
" Nothing with a face." He smiled at her as he arranged the spread in front of them.
" This is wonderful. " She breathed as she reached for a carrot stick and popped it into her mouth.
" I told you you would like it." He continued to smile.
" How did you do all this ? When ?" She asked, taking a piece of broccoli this time.
" I skipped the last period. But my mom is to thank really. She owns a deli. I asked her to make up the basket." He shrugged.
Her eyes raked over the spread of cheese, fruits and vegetable for a moment before finding the laptop " What's that for ?"
" This, of course." He said as if she were an imbecile. He grabbed the laptop and started to fiddle with it for a few minutes before music started to spill from its speakers.
Birds flying high, you know how I feel
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze drifting on by, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn; It's a new day; It's a new life for me, yeah,
It's a new dawn; It's a new day; It's a new life for me; and I'm feeling good
He sat the laptop aside and moved closer to her, putting one arm around her and nuzzling her neck as the sweet, soulful sound of Nina Simone echoed through the cave.
Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River running free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn; It's a new day; It's a new life for me and I'm feeling good
She leaned back into the crook of his arm and closed her eyes voluntarily this time, letting the sound of the storm, the music and the feel of him rush over her and take her to a different place.
Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterfly having fun, you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done, that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world and a bold world for me
Stars when you shine, you know how I feel
Scent of the pine, you know how I feel
Oh, freedom is mine and I know how I feel
It's a new dawn; It's a new day; It's a new life for me and I'm feeling good.
" Wow," She breathed quietly as the song finished. " This is..." She stumbled, for once at a loss for words.
He chuckled as he let his fingers run through her hair. " Now that is something. I can't believe it."
She shifted so she could see his smirk. " What ?"
" You, speechless. I never thought I'd see the day." He laughed as she elbowed him in the side. "Must you always be so violent ?"
" Only when I'm around you. Usually I'm a pacifist." She turned her body towards his and leaned in close to him. " I guess there's something about you that inspires violence in me."
He rolled his eyes at her. " Oh, lucky me. Is that the only tendency I inspire in you ?" He asked just a whisper from her lips.
She let her fingers trail from his shoulder to the middle of his chest. " Not always." She murmured.