*Two Weeks Later* - (June)
Helga's POV:
"You're being so dramatic right now Arnoldo!" I popped the lock on my door and opened it so we could go inside. I tossed my keys on the desk and turned to watch my extremely cranky boyfriend, "Look, you got to inadvertently touch some 18 year old college freshman boob. Most men in your situation would be thanking Jesus."
He paid no attention to my comment, "Why did I let you convince me to go to that party? I'm sticky and I feel like I've been violated!" He was pacing around my room and peeling his margarita-soiled shirt over his oddly shaped head and mumbling angrily to himself. "That girl grabbed my junk, Helga! How are you not throwing a fit? She poured her drink all over me when I rejected her! You just… stood there!"
"Do you really think I'm afraid that some run of the mill, fresh faced freshman is gonna take you away from me?" I scoffed, "Get real bucko." I took a few steps towards him and cupped his package with a firm grip "At the end of the day this-" my other hand reached up and rested against the spot above his heart "and this belong to me. No trashy brunette with big boobs will ever change that." After a few seconds of awkwardly staring at one another I pulled away and began gathering everything I needed to get ready for bed. "Are you gonna stay with me tonight?" I asked, a hint of hopefulness in my voice.
"I smell like tequila and limes," he huffed. "I really should get back to my dorm so I can take a shower-"
"Stay with me…" I pleaded. Our abstinence has been going on for over a month now and I was starting to go a little insane. Every time we'd get even the slightest bit close to getting physical, he would stop us. When I asked him why he gave me this whole speech about how we rushed into the physical part of our relationship before we could deal with all the emotional aspects of it. It's not that I didn't agree with him to an extent, but flat out denying any sexual contact was just plain frustrating! We've been working on opening the lines of communication a lot more recently, and I really feel like we've made substantial progress. But Arnold was still not willing to have sex after all this time! Taking him to this pre graduation house party tonight was supposed to help him loosen up a bit before I tried tempting him again, but it ended up doing the opposite thanks to brunette little miss grabby hands. If Arnold wasn't going to give in on his own tonight, then it was time for me to do some more negotiating.
"Stay with me" I repeated.
He seemed torn about the decision, "I really should be getting home Helga."
"There's a shower here, and plenty of your clothes have been left in my room-"
"I can't, baby… we've been doing so well lately, and I don't know if we're ready to go there-"
"What will it take for you to want me again?" I threw my armful of clothes back on the floor to set my hands on my hips. "I've done everything you wanted! We've been communicating, spending time doing 'normal' activities outside the confines of a bedroom-"
"Wait! You think I don't want you?" his mouth was agape.
"I can only be rejected so many times before I start believing there's something I'm lacking Arnold! What turns you off, huh? Am I too abrasive? Am I not feminine enough? What the fuck is it?"
In one swift movement he moved across the room and pulled me into his arms. The feeling of his bare chest underneath my hands makes me gasp in surprise… it's been so long since I've felt his skin against mine. I'm literally throbbing for more contact. I press my nose into his neck and inhaled his scent. He wasn't kidding, he really did smell like tequila and lime. I wasn't really a big fan of tequila but smelling it on his skin made it completely delectable. My tongue flicked against the length of his collarbone, causing him to groan. His hand wove into my hair and tugged my head back into his line of vision. "I want you so much it drives me insane. Not a moment goes by when I don't think about you."
I rubbed my nose against his and whimpered slightly, "Then why won't you make love to me?"
"We started our relationship physically. It was our communication, our stress reliever, and the answer to everything. When we took sex out of the equation things began improving… I just don't want to derail our work by getting physical too soon. I love you too much to make the same mistake twice." The fingers of his right hand slipped inside the back of my shirt to stroke my skin.
"You have to learn to ease up a little." I tugged on his belt loops, "We're ready..." my hands trailed down to his butt to give him a squeeze.
His arms wrapped around me once again and held me against him, "You're making it really hard to say no."
"The only thing that should be hard right now is you." I gave him a challenging smirk.
He shifted his hips a little until I felt something hard grinding into my hip, "Somehow I don't think that'll be a problem."
"That's it-" I finally snapped, "No more of these games football head!" I shoved him harshly at the foot of my bed, causing him to fall on his back. I wasted no time following him and pinning his lower half beneath me with my thighs anchored at his hips with my hands deftly working on undoing his belt and unzipping his pants. I was practically salivating in anticipation. Arnold made no protest when I began pulling his pants and boxers down, he only watched me with curiosity as he became fully undressed. I stood up on the side of the bed and unzipped my own jeans and tugged them down to the floor.
"Don't I get to play too?" his bottom lip jokingly puffed out in a pout. "Come here." I knelt in front of him in his lap and ran my fingers through his unruly blonde locks. He was practically purring at the contact, "I love you so much." He wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled the spot above my heart. I was practically bursting with joy. Just when I thought Arnold couldn't love me any more than he already does he goes and acts like this. He always knows just what I need to hear. Arnold respects and loves me more than anyone in my life ever has, he loves me for me. I suppose it really did make sense why Arnold hesitated to initiate our physical relationship again. Sex had been our relationship crutch. The actual intimacy was lost somewhere along the way. No amount of sex could replace what I was currently feeling right now, I felt sincerely and truly loved.
"Hmm…" I kissed the top of his head and sighed contentedly, "I love you too, baby."
Both of us stiffened as soon as the words left my mouth. After a moment he pulled back to study me. A wolfish grin slowly spread across his mouth, "You actually called me baby?"
"Yeah yeah, savor it bucko." I reached between us and grasped his erection, giving him several lingering strokes to distract him. "Now, would you rather talk or do this?"
He bit harshly on his bottom lip and suppressed a moan. His hips flexed and released with the up and down motion of my hand, "This… is just fine- oh, shit!" He closed his eyes and shivered violently as my thumb spread the clear liquid against the tip of his erection. After a moment he composed himself enough to open his eyes again. "You're rather overdressed for the occasion Miss Pataki, don't you think?" the palms of his hands cupped my breasts through the fabric of my shirt before grabbing at the hem on the bottom and lifting it over my head. He pulled me down with him against the mattress so he could roll on top of me and place several kisses against the hollow of my throat while he worked on releasing the clasp of my bra and pulling the fabric away. I could feel his erection resting against the bare skin of my thigh and couldn't help but feel slightly distracted by it. I wanted to feel him inside of me once again, I needed it.
I let out a loud gasp of surprise when his hand slipped inside my underwear. "How adventurous are you feeling?" He stared down at me with an eyebrow raised.
"We're NOT doing that… thing." I panted. Several of his fingers were currently probing at my entrance and making it hard for me to think properly.
"I didn't mean that." he chuckled, "I actually… wanted to try…" I could sense the hesitance in his voice as his fingers came to a stop, leaving me a whining mess.
"Out with it already Arnold! Fuck!" I bucked my hips harshly against his stagnant fingers.
"You're always making me feel good Helga… and well, I've never really returned the favor with anything but my hands before." A tinge of red appeared on his cheeks as he looked anywhere but at my face. "I've never actually done… you know… it before, which is why I never tried anything too intricate with you. I'm not really one hundred percent sure what I'm doing."
Ho-ly shit. Arnold wanted to actually put his MOUTH on me? The thought had never really crossed my mind before now. Arnold has always managed to make me come without any extreme measures. I only used my mouth on him because I knew he and I both enjoyed the experience. Was he only offering because he felt like he owed it to me? Most guys would swear that giving a female oral sex was a living hell…
After a long pause Arnold continued his ministrations and shook his head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have suggested it."
"No, Arnold…" I grabbed his wrist and sat up on my elbow, "Nobody's ever… done that to me before. Jason wasn't a big fan of… returning oral sex." He cringed at the mention of Jason's name. It was an especially touchy subject now that the two of them had agreed to become coworkers after graduation in a few weeks. I imagine hearing details about my former sex life with him would make working with him day in and day out somewhat odd.
"So, are you saying you don't want to try it?"
"Well… what if you don't like doing it?" I felt my own blush creeping up.
"I've inadvertently tasted you during the heat of the moment in the not-too-distant past, Helga. I'm not afraid of at least trying it out to see if we both like it. I just want you to feel as good as I do." he crawled over my smaller frame and chastely pressed his lips to mine. "It would make me feel good to do this for you."
I ran my fingers through his hair a few more times and searched his face for any shadow of a doubt, but there was none… only adoration and idle curiosity. "Okay."
"Okay?" he repeated. "Are you sure?"
I responded with a languid kiss against his lips, lifting my hips up off the bed and pressing my warmth against his manhood in a slow, teasing grind. He pulled his lower half away from my advances and began kissing his way down my neck and chest. He stopped briefly at my breasts to caress his tongue over each nipple then continued pressing kisses all the way down to my stomach. He would stop every few seconds to give a soft nip or a lick against my skin. It was intentional torture, and it was driving me insane. Ever since the suggestion left his mouth, I've never been wetter. The anticipation of such a new and unfamiliar experience was exhilarating to me. I let out an anticipatory gasp when his fingers brushed against my core before pulling on the elastic of my underwear. The fabric was slowly pulled down my legs, exposing my body completely under his intense gaze. My eyes clenched shut to allow myself to just feel what was happening instead of watching and overanalyzing everything like I usually do. Arnold wanted to be in control, and I was going to let him explore and do as he pleased.
"Open your eyes." it came out as a breathy command. I slowly lifted my eyelids to discover him lying on his stomach on the mattress and settled between my legs, his face only mere inches from my pussy. Fuck, I'm not going to last at all. "I won't do this if you don't want me to Helga. If you're not comfortable with this-"
"I trust you football head…" my blush darkened, "and I want you to."
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he nodded shyly, "Just tell me if you want me to stop." His hands skated down my naked thighs, spreading my legs open even wider. He looked momentarily confused and intimidated with my most intimate parts on full display before him and free to play with at his will, but after a moment he seemed to mentally calm himself down a little. I didn't know why I was feeling nervous all the sudden. Shouldn't I essentially sit back and enjoy? Wasn't that the point?
Arnold lowered his mouth to give a kiss against my inner thigh, placing the kisses lower until his lips brushed the outer part of my pussy before repeating the process on the other thigh. By the time his mouth reached it again I was already thrashing wildly and panting. I had never felt more aroused in my entire life. The first contact with his tongue to my core sent a jolt through my entire body. The shock caused me to cry out his name and make my back arch clear off the bed. He pulled his head away worriedly to look at me for reassurance that I wasn't objecting. "Don't stop football head!" I snapped. He smiled devilishly at me and lowered his head between my legs once again, this time the contact from his tongue wasn't hesitant at all. A guttural groan escaped his lips as he pressed his mouth fully against me and flicked his tongue against my clit and encased it between his lips to suckle on it gently. "Oh, holy fuck! Arnold!" I tightly gripped his hair between my fingers and pulled his head more firmly against my clit, my hips followed the motions of his tongue and ground against his mouth to their own accord. For someone who's never done this before he certainly knew what he was doing to me down there. My body was thrumming in pleasure, my heartbeat spiking and breath increasing. I've never felt anything like this before. Arnold was everything I could want in a lover and more, gentle and sweet mixed with a dark side that left me clawing his back and calling out with pleas to God. He was always surprising me somehow, and this very moment was no different. He didn't even need to ask me what felt good or what I liked, he simply read my body language and followed that accordingly. He licked and suckled every inch of my lower half to discover which areas I reacted most to. He kept repeating a swirling motion with his tongue that was driving me mad and he knew it. My breaths were coming out shorter and tighter and my body was tense with concentration.
"I'm so close… God- I'm gonna… fuck, please Arnold!" his hands grasped my frantically bucking hips to hold them in place as he continued that delicious swirling motion against my clit. "Arnold!" my thighs juddered and clenched around his oddly shaped head as my body finally jumped over the precipice and into a freefall of my orgasm. Every nerve of my body seemed to spasm all at once, leaving me a trembling and sweaty mess.
As I slowly came back to reality, I noticed Arnold was now lying next to me, stroking my hair and soothing me from my temporary incapacitation. "Are you alright, Helga?"
Another tremor ran through me, but I managed to nod weakly, "Where did you learn that from anyway football head? Fuck!"
He gazed at me through half lidded eyes with a hint of amusement, "I hang out with a bunch of sexually active guys. You hear a lot of tips and tricks over the years." he murmured, his teeth nibbling gently on my earlobe. "Did you like it?" His erection was pressed to my side and making it painfully aware that Arnold was still awaiting his own release.
I nodded and hummed in response, slinging my leg over his hip and bringing him closer to my warmth. "Now it's your turn to feel good." I cupped his face in my hands and pulled his lips to mine. His tongue delved between my lips, and I tasted something slightly salty… shit, his mouth tasted like me. I groaned loudly into his mouth and bit his lip.
He crawled on top of me and rolled his hips over mine, his length rocking back and forth through my already sensitive folds. He reached between us to grasp himself to control the motion, strategically pressing the tip against my clit and making me hiss. I was still reeling from my previous orgasm. "Are the condoms still in the drawer?" He leaned on his elbow and reached out towards my nightstand.
I grabbed his wrist and halted him, "I want to try something tonight, too."
"What is it?" He nestled himself back on top of me and stared down at me curiously.
My fingers idly stroked the side of his face, "I want to feel you inside of me… without a condom."
Arnold's eyes widened to the size of saucers; he even went as far as pulling away from me slightly. "Excuse me? Helga, that's crazy talk!"
"Oh, calm down you yutz!" my palm collided with his forehead with a loud smack, "I'm on the pill. I started taking it again right before this whole 'no sex' debacle started."
"Again?" his eyes narrowed. "You were never on the pill while we've been intimate." after the words left his mouth, he seemed to understand what I had meant, "Oh God, no… you and Jason didn't always use condoms?" He grimaced and buried his face in between my breasts. "You're making this very difficult for me right now."
I grabbed him by his hair and forced his head up, "We were always totally safe, just like we've been Arnold. Me and him both agreed to get tested before anything ever took place without a condom. And you've been tested too… what's the problem here?" I could literally feel his erection deflating against my thigh and I was beginning to lose all hope that we would ever have sex again.
"Why didn't you ever feel the need to tell me about this? Didn't you think I would want to know that another man came inside of you in the past? Especially if you're expecting me to do it too!"
"Oh yeah, I can see how that conversation would have gone; 'hey Arnold, I used to take birth control when I let Jason fuck me. He really detested condoms!' Crimeny football head! Get off your high horse. Hell, you're sitting here acting like I'm some second-class whore when you probably had no problem shooting your load into the holy virgin Trixie!" I shoved him off me and crawled towards the head of the bed. "Just forget I ever fucking asked, okay? You don't have to touch my body without a layer of rubber between us ever again since I disgust you so much." I pulled the covers over myself to shield me from his shocked gaze. I knew I was being overly dramatic and unfair to him, but I couldn't stop my dramatics once I got started. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had become convinced that he would find any excuse possible to avoid sleeping with me, and it was making me mental the more I thought about it. A quiet but audible sob escaped me as I began to shake. Arnold had made me feel dirty… like my sexual past was unacceptable in his eyes.
I felt the weight shift on the bed the moment I began sobbing, he was coming towards me. His hand touched my arm over the sheet, and I flinched. The other side of the sheet lifted, and he crawled underneath it to lay beside me. He scooted forward until our naked flesh was completely pressed together. His arms wrapped around my waist, and I continued to cry softly into his chest while he soothingly stroked my back. "I'm so sorry Helga." he whispered into the top of my head, "please don't cry… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that."
"I should have told you that stuff about Jason right from the start." I sniffed.
"I was just surprised, Helga… it needed time to sink in a little bit. I shouldn't have said the first thing that came to my mind. I'm really sorry…" his lips briefly pressed against my forehead, "You aren't disgusting or any less appealing to me because of what happened with Jason… if anything I'm… a little jealous of him." I lifted my head to gape at him, "He was pretty much your first everything… he got to teach you all the things I never could, and still couldn't. Despite what you said before I've never had sex without a condom. Trixie hated coming in contact with sperm-"
"Okay, first of all; ew. And secondly; I know how you feel Arnold… I'm more jealous of Trixie than you'll ever know. She took your virginity, and no matter what you'll always have a special place in your heart for her because she was the one to metaphorically make a man out of you. You've always been sentimental about that stuff… I was just the second one in your bed. There's nothing special about that-"
"My first time was terrible." he frowned at the memory. "Making love to Trixie was like grinding against a CPR dummy. My first time lasted a whopping two minutes. A part of me is pretty sure I only came so soon because I wanted it to end as quickly as possible. If anyone gave me something to remember it's you Helga. Our first time together was… Amazing. Sex had never felt that way for me before. I had never felt passion, and you gave me that for the first time in my life." my hand sought out his under the covers and laced our fingers together. I smiled softly at him and nodded, encouraging him to continue, "At the end of my life when I look back on the people who made the most profound impact on me, I know your face will flash through my mind, not Trixie's. It doesn't matter if she was my first or not… You were the one that mattered."
"Do you really mean that?" Tears threatened to fall from my eyes again.
"Of course I do Helga… I love you." He placed a chaste kiss against my lips and smiled at me with the love and adoration only he could possess. "Look… I'm willing to try doing this if you still want to. You let me try what I wanted and it's only fair that I return the favor." His compliance was more than tempting… but it wasn't what he truly wanted. I didn't want to make Arnold do something he wasn't going to enjoy. I should have never mentioned I used birth control before. It ruined whatever slim chances I had at actually achieving no barriers sex.
"You don't have to do that Arnold… in fact, we should probably just go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow and start apartment hunting for you again. Let's just forget about this for now." I turned over on my other side so my back was to him. "Good night, Arnold."
"… Are you… mad at me?" he asked tentatively.
"No, I'm not."
I'm angry with myself.
"You're doing it again." I could sense the exasperation in his voice. "Please don't shut me out Helga…" I rolled back over to face him but didn't say anything. "…talk to me."
This was the difficult part of our relationship that always seemed to get in the way… Communication. It was my weakest area. No matter how much improvement we've made in our relationship I always find myself reverting to my old ways when things got tough. The fear of rejection looms over my head like a rain cloud. It follows me everywhere I go.
"Is my past with Jason always going to interfere with our relationship? Sometimes I feel like you view me as his leftovers or something. As soon as I told you that Jason has been inside me before without a condom it was like you thought it would be an insult if you did it too." Arnold seemed surprised that I told him what was bothering me so quickly. Our talks usually included him prodding me for an hour before I broke down and told him what was wrong. Like I said, we were improving… slowly.
"I admit it's a little hard for me to get past the fact that he had you first-" I opened my mouth to protest but he quickly placed his hand over my mouth to silence me. "I only say that because… You two weren't in love. He was using you for your body. The thought of it drives me crazy Helga… you deserve so much more than that. I want to be the one who gives you everything, but I'm afraid the memories from your time with Jason will always haunt you." my heart was fluttering like crazy while he spoke. Arnold wasn't just simply jealous… It was beyond that. He cares about me and how I'm treated. "I love you more than you'll ever know Helga. It scares me how much I do, actually. I'm truly sorry if I made you feel badly about your past… I honestly do respect you." He leaned in for a kiss but hesitated once he was close enough, waiting for my permission. I curled my fingers through his hair and welcomed his gesture, plunging my tongue between his lips and tracing over every inch of his mouth. Any time we made out like this I felt like I was a teenager again, I didn't get much practice when I was a teenager. Luckily, I have Arnold who was always more than willing to give in to my fantasies.
After a few minutes of rolling around on the bed the sheets became tangled along with our limbs. Arnold was resting on top of me and grinding his naked hips against me while his teeth nibbled on my lower lip. My body went completely rigid at the feeling of Arnold shunting his hips forward, the tip of his penis finding my entrance and partially sinking in. "Arnold!" I gasped. "I-… I thought…"
"It's okay." He pushed his length in a little further and whimpered at the feeling of being joined together without anything between us. The sensations wracking my own body were intense. His hips lifted briefly and thrust harshly back into my tight heat. Wordlessly, he repeated the motions, his teeth clenching tightly with every thrust of his hips. The only sounds that could be heard between us were our heavy breathing and moaning of our names. This moment was everything I had dreamed of and more, there were no words to describe how it felt to finally have all of Arnold inside of me like this. It was perfect. I have never felt closer to him- "Oh, fuck! Helga!" Arnold gave a rough thrust and paused with a grunt and buried his head into my shoulder… and that's when I felt it. A warm sensation spread inside my lower half, and I knew what exactly just happened. Both of us stayed completely frozen in our positions.
Several moments later I was the first person to break the tense silence, "Did you… just… come?" my eyes traveled over to my alarm clock. "After less than three minutes?"
He shakily held himself up on his arms and stared down at me in complete horror "I… am so sorry!" He shifted so he could pull out and sit back on his haunches. "I-… I don't know what happened! This hasn't happened to me in years! I'm so sorr-"
"Arnold!" I sat up and grabbed his shoulders, giving him a little shake. "It's okay. It happens."
"I feel like such an idiot right now." he stared angrily down at his now flaccid penis.
"You just got a little too excited. This was your first time without one, you can't blame yourself for getting overly stimulated football head." My hand gripped his arm and tugged him back down to the bed with me so we could cuddle. We lay side by side, completely entangled in one another. I soothed his hair down with my palm and kissed him all over his face still coated with a sheen of sweat. "I'm surprised you aren't seeing the bright side in this Arnold. We're gonna have to practice this a lot until you get used to it." I held his index finger in front of my lips before encasing it in my mouth and sucking on it.
"Hmmm..." his eyes watched my mouth with an intense darkness "I look forward to it baby."
*Three days later*
"This place is exquisite! So charming." Phoebe clasped her hands against her chest and stared around the room in awe. "Don't you think so Arnold?"
"It really is nice." He looked just as moonstruck as Phoebe. "Too nice."
Phoebe had really managed to get us hooked up today. Her roommate from college has a cousin who runs an apartment building here in Hillwood. It's a seven-story building on the east side of town, the building was full of nothing but artsy loft apartments that just screamed 'Arnold'. Her roommate got us an appointment to check out the apartment, and I could tell Arnold really wanted it the longer we stayed here to look at it. The problem was, it IS a nice building… niceness doesn't come cheap in the big city.
If nobody else was going to ask the tough questions here, I would. "So how much does this place run for a month, Miss Santiago?" Danielle Santiago was a tall, well-muscled woman in her early thirties with long flowing hair, perfectly manicured nails and a huge rack. It didn't take a genius to see that she was attractive. I noticed Arnold's surprise the moment we shook hands with her in the office building downstairs. Most apartment managers are old cranky guys with five chins.
"For a one-bedroom loft like this, typical going rate in this area is $1,400 a month-" all three of us visibly tensed when she said the price. I could hardly pay attention to anything she was saying after that. Arnold really liked this place… but it was way out of his price range. "Anyway, I have another appointment for a two-bedroom place upstairs. I'll just let you guys check this place out for a bit. The door will lock behind you when you leave. Call me if you have any more questions, alright?" she held her hand out to Arnold for a handshake, "It was very nice to meet you, Arnold."
"Thank you, Miss Santiago, I appreciate you taking the time to meet with us." All three of us offered her a wave as she left. As soon as the door clicked shut, we all gave each other an unsure look.
"I had no idea the building ran such high rent! I'm sorry Arnold." she softly patted Arnold's arm.
He smiled weakly at Phoebe and took one last look at the apartment. He walked over towards the spiral staircase that led to the loft style bedroom, tracing his fingers along the handrail. "I could afford to live here if I never ate again, had electricity… or wore clothes." he frowned.
"I could deal with the 'no clothes' part!" I chuckled. Two sets of irritated eyes glared at me, "Hey! I'm just trying to lighten the mood here!"
"Why don't we get out of here and get some lunch? My treat."
"You don't have to ask me twice!" I grabbed Arnold by the back of his t-shirt and dragged him towards the front door. "Onward my minions!"
An hour later Arnold still wasn't acting like himself. I get that the apartment was nice, but why was he so bummed about it? We've seen a lot of nice places the past few weeks and he never got so worked up over any particular one until now. I wasn't going to let Arnold's pouting ruin my day with Phoebe, we let him mope at our table during lunch while Phoebe and I chatted it up about me and Arnold's upcoming graduation in two weeks. Phoebe wasn't graduating from her school this year because she was Pre-Med. She had many more years left before she even thought about graduation. I finally got to tell her about my new job at a small publishing company here in Hillwood. I was set to start working after graduation. The only people that knew about it were Arnold and Louis so far. I was beyond excited to finally have some options for my future in writing. This was the perfect gateway to get started.
Arnold's phone buzzed in his pocket, interrupting our conversation and his sulking time. "Sorry." he muttered, fishing out his phone and checking the caller ID. "Hello?… Yeah, I'm at lunch." his brow furrowed. "Seriously? Right now?… Fine… fine! I'll be there in 15." He angrily tapped the end call button and stood up from the table. "Sorry girls, but I need to cut out a little early. Jason called just now saying Marsden needed to discuss something with us and look over some paperwork. You don't mind, do you?"
He placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned down for a quick kiss. "It's fine Arnold. Call me later, okay?"
"Sure thing, baby." He stole another kiss. "See you around Phoebe. And thank you for hooking me up with that awesome apartment building. It was really sweet of you to go out of your way." He came over to her side of the table and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "I'll see you two!" He darted towards the front door of Rider's and took off down the street in a hurry.
"Did he just say Jason called him?" The realization must have barely dawned on Phoebe who he was talking about. "Did I miss something?"
"You know how they're both anthropology majors? Well, their professor is also a bigwig at the museum here in town, and apparently the museum is getting a San Lorenzo exhibit exclusively about the Green Eyed People. Arnold and Jason are the two he chose to archive the material. They'll be the curators once it's completed."
She popped a French fry in her mouth and shook her head in amusement, "That is both amazing and horrifying at the same time."
"Tell me about it." I groaned. "Arnold is already acting weird about this whole Jason thing. He told me they agreed to be cool with each other for the sake of their work, which I appreciate… but I don't know how long Arnold will be able to play nice. He's expressed to me that he's kinda jealous of Jason."
"You know that secretly thrills you." she let out a high giggle and playfully nudged my arm.
"Do you think I actually condone that type of archaic meathead behavior on my behalf?" I held my hand over my heart and gaped at her, "… okay, you're totally right." both of us fell into a fit of giggles.
"Phoebe?"
Oh no…
Both of us turned our heads towards the front counter to see Gerald with a to-go bag in his hand and a look of shock etched on his face. His shock quickly melted into one of joy. He came toward us with a big grin plastered on his mouth and his arms held open for her, "Phoebe! I didn't know you were coming to town! Why didn't anyone tell me-"
SMACK!
The high-pitched sound of Phoebe's hand connecting with Gerald's cheek reverberated throughout the whole restaurant. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see what the hell just happened. A lot of people winced while some laughed. Gerald stood there with his face still turned sideways from the impact, completely frozen in shock. Phoebe reared her hand again and smacked his other cheek. "How dare you! HOW DARE YOU! Do you think you can come up to me and act like everything is just fine between us after finding out everything you've done to two of our dear friends? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING GERALD?… Who are you?"
"WHOA Phoebs!" I quickly grabbed her wrist before she could strike him again. "Stop yelling! You gotta calm down."
"Phoebe… I-"
"You WHAT Gerald? What kind of excuse could you possibly have for your actions? Tell me that Gerald." she planted her hands on her hips in a very sassy, un-Phoebe fashion. She must be really mad at him over this. Gerald's gaze traveled over to me, begging for my help. This was one battle I could never help him with… he made his bed and now he must lie in it. Me and him had our own issues we were still working on, and I wasn't about to get involved with whatever he has going on with Phoebe.
His eyes finally traveled back to Phoebe's unwavering glare. "I've apologized for what I've done to both of them Phoebe… I made a mistake. Yes, it was a massive mistake, but I still tried to set things right. I never thought any of my actions would go this far and hurt so many people. I lost sight of myself… and you." I had to give Phoebe credit; she didn't instantly melt under Gerald's puppy dog look. If Arnold gives me googly eyes, I'm usually a goner. "The only thing I can do now is beg for your forgiveness in hopes that someday you'll see me as the man you once cared about… the one you wanted to be with." With all eyes in the restaurant on him he got down on both knees and took Phoebe's hands in his. "Can I have another chance?"
Gerald was always calling Arnold 'bold'… but I'd have to say that Gerald was taking the cake right now. Phoebe still looked pretty angry, but I think almost any girl would feel a little starry eyed in a public setting like this. She let out a deep sigh and gave his hands a squeeze, "Yes Gerald… you can have another chance." several people hooted and hollered 'Go Johanssen!' when he got up off his knees and gave her a tentative hug.
"I guess I'll leave you two crazy kids alone so you can… ya know… figure crap out." I grabbed my bag off the back of my chair.
"You don't have to leave Helga." She came around the table to try and set my bag back down but I wouldn't relent. I didn't really feel like staying for their inevitable 'Status of our relationship' talk. I've been through far too many of those in my lifetime.
"I'm gonna get going Phoebs, it's fine." I gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "You can call me tomorrow. I'm gonna go back to my dorm and do some more apartment hunting for Arnold to see what I can find."
"You aren't moving in with him Helga?" Gerald came around the table to join us.
"Me? Move in with him?" my brow furrowed.
"That's actually… a rather good idea Helga. Weren't you planning on living with your parents until you found your own place? This would work out perfectly! You and Arnold could move into that loft together and split the cost. It would be in his price range then! He was so excited about that place." she jumped up and down excitedly, tugging on my arm and trying to rouse the same reaction out of me. But I wasn't feeling all too giddy right now.
"You're forgetting one contributing factor Phoebe," I pulled my arm from her grasp "Arnold made it very clear he wasn't interested in having another roommate again in this lifetime."
"You wouldn't be a roommate. You'd be his girlfriend who happens to share an apartment with him." Gerald gave me a pointed look. "Arnold loves all that commitment crap, he'd probably get the warm and fuzzies at the very thought of having his own domestic little life with you."
"I'm not exactly a domestic goddess Gerald… I'm not adorning an apron and heels and a beehive hairdo. I walk around in sweats most of the time and curse I like a sailor, oh and I'm messy as hell. Arnold would HATE living with me."
"What makes you so sure?" He raised an eyebrow in question, "Arnold would lasso the moon for you Helga. Sharing his living space with you would probably give him a thrill. You would both benefit from it, so what could it hurt?"
Damn it. DAMN IT… I hated it when people planted ideas in my head. They were most likely right about Arnold welcoming me into the apartment with him, but was I ready for that type of commitment? Our relationship was rickety at best most of the time… could we really stand living together? The rules would be totally different.
"I'll talk with him about it and see what he thinks, okay?" I huffed in defeat.
"I'm sure it'll be fine Helga. Arnold is a sweetie." she soothed.
"Sure… until he punches you in the face." Gerald mumbled.
Both of us turned to glare at him in unison. "SHUT UP GERALD!"
"So are you finally going to tell me where you're taking me?- OUCH!" Arnold stumbled over a large tree root that was protruding from the dirt path we were currently walking on. I had him blindfolded and was leading him to a secret location. "I let you blindfold me and put me in a car for over an hour, and now we're walking around somewhere that vaguely smells like dirt. If you're planning on killing me and burying me in a deserted location the very least you could have done was let me see the scenery before dying."
"Maybe I drove you around the block for an hour, ever consider that football head?" I quipped.
"Oh God… please be kidding!" He began reaching for his blindfold but I slapped his hand away just before he could pull on it.
"Just a little further Arnold, I promise." I gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and tugged him along behind me. When we reached our destination, I reached up for his blindfold and began untying it, "you ready for this?"
"Ready as I'll ever be baby." with that, the blindfold fell from his face, and he winced at the afternoon sunlight hitting his sensitized eyes. It took his several moments for his eyes to adjust before he could make out where exactly he was. "I remember this place…" he edged forward to survey the surroundings. "This is the same mountainside we hiked to when we were kids, right?" the thought seemed to resonate with him, "We hiked here while I was blindfolded! What if I had run into a wasps nest? Or touched poison oak?"
"You're unscathed, aren't you?" I laughed at his sudden worry about braving the 'wilderness' with just a blindfold and me to guide him. He seemed to notice now that I was carrying a picnic basket and wearing a backpack. "I wanted to do something spontaneous and fun for once. Something away from the city so it was just us, no distractions… I hope it's okay?"
He stepped closer and cupped my face in his hands, leaning down to press his lips to mine. "This is actually really sweet of you. Especially since I know how much you hate hiking." he nudged me with a wink. "What'd you bring us for lunch?" He took the basket from my hand and set it on a log to open it. "You made sandwiches?" a huge grin spread across his face, "This is seriously the cutest 'girlfriendly' thing I've ever seen you do!"
I could feel the giddiness bubbling up in the pit of my stomach due to his reaction to our little outing. I wanted to show him that I could at least try and take care of him sometimes if I wanted to. But mainly I brought him up here to talk about moving in together, I wanted to ask him somewhere peaceful and calm so he could have the time and clarity to think about it. We've only been dating for two months now, was I overstepping some hidden line by asking him this soon if he wanted to move in together? The more time I contemplated it the more I lost my nerve to ask… it was like pulling off a Band-Aid, I just had to do it and get it over with.
If there was one way to butter Arnold up for anything it was to act like a sweet and delicate little damsel. No matter how old he gets, I know it gives him a thrill. I allowed him to set up the picnic for us without protest from me, he laid down the blanket I had stowed away in my backpack and set our meagerly packed lunches out for consumption. We sat side by side, overlooking the vast mountain range below in silence while we ate. Arnold seemed to be in relatively high spirits, just quiet. A part of me realized that the wilderness must remind Arnold of his parents.
Stupid Helga! STUPID!
"I really appreciate you doing this today Helga, honestly." He broke his silence and wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. I gladly fell into his embrace and laid my head on his shoulder, my hand finding his chest and idly stroking it with my fingertips. "I had no idea you were into this type of stuff… you know, romantic picnics on a cliffside, surprising me too! I like the romantic side of you." He leaned down for a kiss. It was too easy to lose my train of thought right now, Arnold was nibbling on my lower lip and caressing my upper thigh beneath his palm.
Focus!
I pulled away from the kiss and stared into his beautiful green eyes. "Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"You remember that really cool loft we looked at with Phoebe, right?" he frowned slightly at the memory but nodded. "I've been thinking about a solution… what if you got a roommate?"
"What?" he blanched. "No WAY… I've had enough of that headache to last me a lifetime! I never want another roommate ever again."
Here goes nothing…
"Well…" I bit my lip almost hard enough to draw blood. "What if it was a girlfriend instead of a roommate?" We both stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. His face was almost unreadable, and it was driving me insane. I suddenly felt extremely stupid for even thinking he would want to ever cohabitate with me.
"You… really want to live with me, Helga?" He released me from his grasp and turned his body towards me. "Have you thought about what that means?"
"I have thought about it… and I think it could work if you wanted to try it out. That apartment made you really excited, and I know you won't be able to afford it on your own. If we split rent, we'll both have someplace to stay. Being around you is just a perk." I playfully jabbed his shoulder.
"It won't be easy… living together, I mean. We'll probably want to strangle each other half the time…" Arnold was doing what he typically does; thinking out loud. He was obviously working out the kinks in his mind to come to a decision. "If we do this… it's a really big commitment. Do you feel comfortable taking that step?"
"Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith." I took his hand in mine, "I want to do this, only if you're comfortable with it." In the end the decision was completely up to him. I didn't want him to feel pressured to say yes simply because I had the audacity to ask in the first place. I wanted him to have this apartment because I knew it was something he really, truly wanted. If he honestly didn't want to live with me, I hope he could just tell me so.
"… Where do I sign?" he smiled.
I really hated having to hang out with Rhonda. I mean REALLY hated it. Ever since we were kids, we've always been at each other's throats in one way or another. She was always looking for new ways to annoy me; and this time she's set her sights on Louis as the trigger. The girl never leaves his side! Anytime I try and hang out with Louis she's always there. It was driving me insane! I was forced to act decent towards her for Louis' sake, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to pretend like I was okay with them dating.
"KNOCKOUT! OH YEAH! SUCK IT!" Louis hopped up from his seat and victoriously thrust his fist into the air. "It took me how long to finally whoop your ass, Helga?"
"Far too long to be socially acceptable Louis." I tossed my game controller in Arnold's lap and laid my head on his shoulder. I had a talk with Gerald earlier and we arranged a time for him to be out of the frat house so Arnold could come over and hang out with everyone. Unfortunately, Danny hadn't been around since earlier that morning and Louis hadn't heard from him since.
"This is so boring!" Rhonda drawled. "Why don't we do something fun snookums? Oh, I know! How about facials?"
"Snookums?" Arnold chortled at the ridiculous pet name. "So tell me snookums, are we all gonna put that green gunk on our faces and get pretty?" me and Arnold gave each other a sideways glance before breaking into a fit of laughter.
Louis tossed his game controller at us and stuck his tongue out. "Hey, that stuff really does make your skin smooth! Don't knock it!" his hands absentmindedly stroked his cheeks.
"You're telling me you actually LET Rhonda play with you like a life size Ken doll?" I shook my head in disapproval. This was an all-time low for Louis. He hated any and all girly bullshit. Louis was the youngest, and only son out of 6 kids. The boy had been tortured most of his childhood. If anyone in our social circle was willing to go to spas and be pampered, it was Danny. He was raised in the lap of luxury as an only child just like Rhonda had been. The only difference between Rhonda and Danny was that Danny acted like a relatively decent human being when it came to interacting with other people. At least his parents had taught him the meaning of 'don't be an asshole'.
"Oh whatever!" Louis flicked his hand towards us with a huff.
"Aw, no frowning Louis." Rhonda pinched his cheek at tapped the end of his nose "Remember; frowning makes wrinkles!" for the hundredth time that night Arnold burst into a fit of laughter at Louis' expense. What the hell did he SEE in Rhonda anyway? Even he could do better than someone as shallow and egotistical as Rhonda Wellington Lloyd. I knew she was messing him for her own amusement, Louis' reasons were less clear to me.
"Wait! Wait a second." Louis held his hand up to silence us from our laughter. His eyes narrowed in concentration. "Do you guys hear something?" All of us fell silent and listened.
After a few seconds I could vaguely hear someone singing terribly off-key in the distance. "What the hell?" I looked over at Arnold who gave a shrug, looking just as confused as me. The singing grew closer to the frat house a few moments later followed by a loud bang on the front door that caused all of us to jump together on the couch in a little huddle. The singing continued a moment later and everyone shared another look amongst each other. "Wait a minute guys… I know that voice."
"Danny." Louis jumped from his chair and ran to the front door to greet his best friend. As soon as Louis unlocked the door and opened it Danny came tumbling inside and landed directly on his face with a loud smack against the ground. All of us winced at the sound it made.
"Oooh… my face hole." he groaned, lifting his head from the hardwood floor to reveal a fresh cut on his lower lip. It didn't take a genius to see by the look in his eyes and his mannerisms that he was completely toasted.
"Good Lord, Daniel. You're shitfaced!" Louis motioned for Arnold to come and help him pick Danny up off the floor. "Is that what you've been off doing all day? Drinking?"
The two of them put each of Danny's arms around their shoulders and carried him over to the couch. "I was at a doctor's appointment today." he hiccupped into the cushion of the couch. "It… sucked."
"What, are you sick?" I sat down at the coffee table right next to him.
He seemed to have trouble focusing for longer than a few seconds without closing his eyes and nodding off. Louis had to smack his arm a few times to jostle him back to consciousness. "The appointment wasn't really for me." his eyelids continued to struggle staying open longer than a second. He looked absolutely trashed.
"Should we just let him sleep?" Arnold glanced between me and Louis.
"I don't know, man… I've never seen him this drunk before. Do you think he'll be alright if we just leave him here? We should at least lay him on his side in case he pukes." Everyone except Rhonda reached out to roll our intoxicated friend over.
From the looks of it, Danny had fallen several times on his way home from whatever bar he had been drinking at. He had several cuts and scrapes on his forearms and hands. As we moved him, we were especially careful not to bump any of his wounds. "Liz is pregnant." Danny slowly opened his eyes and looked directly at Louis. All of us did a collective gasp in horror. Of all the things I imagined coming from Daniel Stockton's mouth, that was definitely not on the list. I think I speak for everyone when I say: Holy. Fucking. Shit.
"WHAT?" Louis fell back and tripped over the coffee table and went straight to his butt on the floor. "She's… pregnant? With YOUR child?"
"Who the fuck else would be the father you dipstick?" I leaned over and smacked him harshly over the head.
"Well, this is certainly a lot more juicy than I could have ever planned on!" Rhonda suddenly became very intrigued by this conversation.
"I swear to God Rhonda, I will rip your tongue out and make you wear it for a tie if you breathe even one word about this to anyone!" I held my fist directly under her nose.
"This really isn't a joke, Rhonda." Louis had finally hoisted himself off the ground and stood between me and Arnold with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh, calm down." she rolled her eyes and sat back down in her original seat.
"Are you alright Danny? And how's Liz taking it?" Arnold always knew the right questions to ask in times like these. It was why everyone loved coming to him for advice.
"She's terrified." another hiccup escaped his lips as his eyes drowsily opened and closed. "And I'm… just plain fucking freaked out. I don't know where we went wrong! I thought we had all the bases covered!" The way his bottom lip was trembling I could have sworn he was about to burst into tears. I couldn't even imagine how Danny and Liz must be feeling right now. I never wanted to know!
"I think you should get some sleep for now Danny." I took his hand in mine and gave it a little squeeze. "If you feel like talking with us when you're not so… inebriated, we'll be here for you. Alright buddy?"
"Mmkay." he yawned. "Thank you, Helga."
My heart practically broke as he spoke. That was the first time he had ever used my first name. The poor guy must be out of his mind…
"If you guys wanna head back to the dorms I can handle him from here. I'll talk with him tomorrow and see what's up. Maybe we can all get together and talk after that." He looked back towards Danny and frowned, seemingly deep in thought. "I honestly can't believe this is happening."
"Me either." I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "But hey, we're all here for him… it'll be okay."
"Helga's right. We're all here for Danny. We have his back." Arnold wrapped his arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze.
Back in my dorm room Arnold and I were being eerily quiet given the life changing events that have happened in the past two hours. We both got ready for bed and got situated under the covers and now both of us laid here in silence staring blankly at my dorm room ceiling, our bodies weren't even touching. I knew neither one of us was going to be sleeping well tonight.
"I can't believe this is happening." my voice came out hollow, emotionless.
"I know." Arnold finally rolled on his side to look at me. He didn't seem as rigid as I was currently feeling about the situation. "I never thought Danny would be the first of us to produce offspring."
"He's going to be another human beings' father, Arnold! Flesh and blood… tied to him for the rest of his life! His life as he knows it is over."
"Well, that's a very negative outlook." He placed his palm against my stomach, stroking it with his thumb. It took a lot of self-control to not cringe at his touch. I was not in the mood for any type of intimacy right now. "Danny might be a bit of a doofus sometimes, but I think he'll be a great dad. He really does love Liz… I think everything will work out-"
"You always look for the bright side Arnold! Just because you love someone doesn't mean having a kid together will be easy or make you a good parent." I sat up on my elbow and gave him an unsettling glare. Arnold really was clueless about the logistics of these types of things. "Some people might start out loving the idea of a child and then wind up resenting that kid later on for ruining their perfect little lives, and when that child grows up they'll most likely not be able to stand the idea of bringing their own children into the world out of the fear of winding up like their parents and continuing the cycle!" I laid back down and covered my face with my hands. Once again, I went on one of my tangents and lost my cool. Arnold seemed a little flabbergasted from my explosion. His eyes were wide and mouth slightly agape.
"Are you saying that you... don't want kids someday, Helga?" I could tell he was trying to read my expressions in the darkness of my bedroom. I really didn't want to have this conversation NOW… This was one subject I was hoping wouldn't come up for many many years. But now thanks to Danny's predicament, childbearing was fresh in Arnold's mind. It made it even more difficult to talk about now that we're planning on living together. What if this changed his mind?
"I have no desire to bring more Pataki spawn into this world, Arnold. Do you blame me?"
"Helga… I've told you over and over already you're nothing like your parents." my body tensed when he scooted closer to me. "Maybe you wouldn't want a kid now, but maybe someday in the future-"
"No FREAKIN way Arnold! It's not negotiable." When his arm began to wrap around me I shoved him off. Nobody would change my mind about this subject, ever. I love Arnold and I want to be with him, but that doesn't mean I want to have any kids with him… they'll have my blood running through their veins too, and I just couldn't be responsible for putting another human being through the pain of being a part of the twisted Pataki clan.
Arnold seemed to be in deep contemplation about what I said. He took my not too subtle hint and scooted far away from me and rolled on to his back. "Someone once told me that all relationships need compromise. Are you telling me you would never consider having a child someday even if you were married?" his brow furrowed angrily, "Do you even believe in marriage?"
I cringed at his question; he must be thinking about our future. The fact that he thought about being married to me someday made me want to swoon, but the reality was Arnold obviously wanted to have kids. "Of course I believe in marriage… but having a child is something I can't picture in my future! How am I supposed to love a child when I barely know what love is? You are the only person in my little universe to show me real love. Would you trust me to shape another human being and sending them out into the world someday? LOOK AT ME! I'm borderline insane football head."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" He sat up to give me an unreadable expression. I held my sheets up to my chin and stared at him with wide eyes. Usually, the only time Arnold used profanity was during the heat of passion, hearing him sound so horrified because of me made me feel a little guilty. "Helga, you're one of the most kindhearted and loving people I've ever known. You were raised in a living hell, but it doesn't reflect on who you are today. I see someone who's afraid of the unknown, someone who has so much to offer…" he tentatively reached out to touch my face. The pads of his fingers traced the contour of my jawbone down to my lips. "I would never try and change your mind about this… All I can do is hope that someday you'll find the strength to overcome what your parents put you through." his other hand lovingly caressed my arm. "And maybe someday you'll want more from me."
No matter how much I wanted it, I didn't feel comforted by Arnold's words. If anything I felt more worried than ever before. This was one thing I wouldn't be able to compromise on… I couldn't force myself to do this someday simply for Arnold's sake. The thought of bringing a child into this world made me feel literally ill. Would he ever be willing to marry someone who was unable to give him the "normal" family he never had? Would I ever be enough?