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Chapter 34”Part II: Forgotten Details
“Tell me everything!” Elisha gasps grabbing my arm between her hands excitedly. “Was the date just absolutely perfect?”
I chuckle and shake my head at her rapid questioning, looking towards Trace who is holding very much the same expression as I. Now, guys don’t give details…well at least to other woman and about the date. That is unless the girl was completely wild. To make a long explanation short: guys only give details when those details involve sex or something remotely close to that.
Since you all know Elli I’m sure you will understand that I have no details to report. Don’t get me wrong, I had the most amazing time with her tonight. I mean I don’t think I have ever been on a more perfect date. Sure there were times Elli was acting beyond shy and some awkwardness in the start, but over all I don’t think it could have turned out any better.
“Justin, I’m waiting.” Elisha whines impatiently flopping back on the couch. “If you don’t tell me I’m going to have to call Elli and I’m sure she’s either too busy telling Liz every little detail or crying her eyes out because you make a shitty date.”
There is no possible why that she would be crying her eyes out. I’m one hundred percent sure she had a great time….unless she’s a better actress then I give her credit for. But considering how she wasn’t able to pull off a lie she attempted at dinner I don’t think that’s the case. While we were eating we somehow got on the topic of my first kiss and knowing that I was probably her first and not wanting to embarrass her I changed the subject. And then she just blurts out that her first kiss was when she was nine. All I said was, ‘really?’ and she caved, telling me that I was her first kiss. I must admit I was slightly relieved to hear she was lying. I kind of like the idea of being the only one who’s ever kissed her. As cheesy at it may sound, it makes me feel special.
“There’s not much to tell,” I answer, running my hand over my head and leaning farther back in my chair.
“There must be something to tell,” Trace buts in, “You haven’t stopped smiling since we got here.”
Who’s side is he on? Trace wants details? And he gives me a hard time about being in touch with my feminine side.
“What happened after we left?” Elisha asks, moving closer to Trace as he lazily drapes his arm over the back of the couch just above her shoulders. What I would like to know is what they did after they left.
I chuckle, still not able to remove the grin from my face. They’ll hound me about this until….well…until I tell them. I might as well just get it all out in the open. I’ll just make it quick and more general than specific.
“We ate and talked a bit and then we sat by the pool and””
“Whoa there big boy,” Elisha laughs, “Can you give us a little more to go on please?”
I roll my eyes but comply with her request.
(FLASHBACK)
I smile, watching Elli admire the table setting of all white linens and creamy, vanilla scented candles. I even thought far enough ahead to purchase a dozen of her favorite flowers”yellow roses. I should remember that considering how many I sent her during that last fight we had.
She runs her fingertips over the table cloth as I place the last of our food on our plates. As I turn from the grill and head towards the table, I stop short as her hand inches up her arm stopping just before her shoulder.
“Owe,” She whispers after pinching herself. I’m barely able to hide my laughter and she unfortunately hears my stifled laughter. When she turns to face me I offer a raised brow and her face instantly reddens. Offering no explanation, she takes a seat at the head of the table. I sit to her right after placing a plate of food before her. “This looks wonderful.” She comments sweetly. I only hope it tastes as good as it looks.
“So do you,” I answer back, silently praying that came off as smooth and not incredibly dorky. She bites her bottom lip”an innocent gesture that looks amazingly sexy”and looks up at me with a sideways glance. I feel my own cheeks turn a shade of pink causing a smile to appear on her face. “I would have told you earlier but I didn’t want you think I was saying it just because Elisha brought it up.” I continue sincerely.
She nods, not taking her eyes off her plate. “Thank you.” She mumbles shyly. There she goes again with the shy routine. I just can’t figure out how to get her to open up to me and just loosen up and then stay that way.
“What, no compliments for me?” I tease with a small chuckle. “It’s not easy to look this good.”
“Oh please.” She rolls her eyes sarcastically. “You look good no matter”” She stops suddenly as if realizing she’s actually taking out loud. She bites that thick bottom lip of hers again and I nearly groan right out loud. Ever since the other night that we finally kissed it’s all I’ve been able to think about….especially since she arrived.
“Please, go on.” I laugh and subsequently her blush deepens.
“It’s the apron,” She snorts cracking herself up with her little joke. I look down at my chest and see that I’m still wearing my ‘kiss the cook apron.’
Attractive, isn’t it…..
(END OF FLASHBACK)
“Very sweet Justin,” Elisha gushes. “I wish I could have been there to see ya’ll like that.”
“Yeah,” I grin back, “Is that enough for ya?”
“Not nearly.” Trace answers, lowering his arm to actually rest over Elisha’s shoulders. She snuggles closer to him, tucking her legs underneath her. I seriously would like to know what they were up to tonight that has them acting like this.
“Just skip to the good parts.” Elisha suggests.
The good parts? How do you define the ‘good parts?’ The entire night consisted of good parts. Well some parts maybe could have been better. Like when we were discussing Elli’s first kiss”did I mention that was me?”and I asked her how I did kissing her. Do you know what she said? ‘You did fine.’ That’s a direct quote. It’s not that I was hoping for her to brag about how wonderful I was or anything. I was hoping for a kiss.
(FLASHBACK)
“So how’d I do?” I ask huskily. I sneak one of my hands under the table where I gently part her trembling knees. I both hear and see her swallow”hard. Grasping the seat of her chair, I pull her closer to me. My hands leave her chair and her knees immediately snap shut. I slip my hand to her chin lifting it so she’ll look at me. I lean in towards her slowly, moving my and to cup her cheek. I smile when her eyes flutter shut but halt my advancements, waiting for her to move the rest of the short distance to my lips.
After a few moments she clears her throat nervously and opens her eyes. I sigh in disappointment as she pulls away and tries desperately to put more distance between us. “You did fine.” She sputters out.
Did I just hear her correctly? I did fine? After all that all she has to say it that I did just fine? I think I was pretty clear in that I wanted her to kiss me. Wasn’t I? I mean the only other way I could have been any clearer would be to spell it out for her; literally. Does my breath smell or something? Do I have food stuck in my teeth?
“Thanks?” I answer sounding uncertain. I drop my hand from where it was cupping her jaw. She pushes against the table with her hands and the floor with her feet to move her chair back to where it was before. I watch in what feels like slow motion as the leg of her chair gets caught on the leg of the table and she goes toppling over to the floor, chair and all.
I jump from my chair as soon as my brain starts to function again and over to her. Before I can even stand she gets up and off the floor. I pick up her seat and place a comforting hand on her back. She must be mortified. “Are you okay, sweetie?”
She nods with her eyes closed tightly and fists clenched. She’ll probably leave this part out when and if she tells this story again.
(END OF FLASHBACK)
“She didn’t!” Elisha exclaims tossing her free hand over her open mouth. Her other hand is currently occupied, holding Trace’s left thigh. I raise an eyebrow at the sight but neither seems to notice.
“Sadly that doesn’t surprise me.” Trace laughs sadly.
“She was pretty embarrassed about it.” I laugh along with them.
“And I’m sure she would appreciate you telling us about it.” She smiles through her own laughter. How could I not tell that story? As embarrassing as it may have been for her I’m sure she’ll look back on it some day and laugh”well maybe.
“What can I say? I had to tell it.” I reply smartly before getting back to my story.
(FLASHBACK)
“I don’t see it!” Elli exclaims loudly still surveying the area I’m pointing to. I laugh at her frustration and sit up completely. She does the same, leaning her head back to watch me as I hike up my pants again before sitting down behind her. I slide my legs to either side of her dipping the back into the cool pool water. I feel her breath hitch when I grasp her hips to pull her body closer to mine. With one hand still on her hip I take her left hand in mine, bringing into the sky.
“It’s right,” I begin, my mouth resting next to her ear purposefully as I use my own hand to guide hers to trace the big dipper. “There.” I finish in a breathy whisper, our closeness affecting more than just her.
I bring our hands back down to curl around her waist. She lets out a shaky breath and I try my best to help her relax. I can tell she’s nervous about our current position from her tensed body and sharp intakes of breath.
“Just relax,” I whisper, pressing a soft kiss to her ear. She nods just slightly but only tenses even more. Why is being close to me like this so uncomfortable to her? All the other women I’ve dated would love this attention. I swish my feet around the water, curling my feet under hers and rubbing my toes against her calves. I feel her relax just a little bit as we enjoy the feeling of the water splashing around our legs. A small giggle escapes her putting us both a little more at ease. “What are you giggling about?”
She shakes her head as to dismiss it. “Nothing.”
“Tell me,” I press, nudging her cheek with my nose. She giggles again, squirming in my arms. I hold her tighter so that she can’t move from me. Mostly because I like being with her like this but also because I know what a klutz she is and being near a pool is just asking for disaster.
“I wonder are meteors like stars? Can you make wishes on them?” She howls with laughter. I could just f**king kill Trace right now for letting her watch Model Behavior. How many times did she watch it that she’s able to quote from it?
My fingers leave hers and find her sides, giving her a tight squeeze before wiggling against her furiously. She yelps in surprise and her laughter increases. I can’t help but laugh along with her as she desperately tries to squirm away from me and grab my hands. One of her legs kicks up out of the water suddenly, sending a shower of water to fall over to two of us. She squeals as the droplets collect on her head and shirt.
“See what you did?” I laugh. In response she dips her hand in the water and brings it back up to splash water in my face. “That it! You shouldn’t have done that….”
(END OF FLASHBACK)
“That’s my girl,” Trace laughs so hard I think I see tears starting to form. “I wish I could have seen your ugly mug when she said that.”
“Me too!” Elisha adds.
“I could kill you for letting her watch that.” I mumble still feeling a bit embarrassed. I regret ever doing that stupid movie. I don’t know what I was thinking. Now all it is just great blackmail material and a way to make fun of me.
“She’s quick to have memorized that after only seeing it just that one time.” Trace says, wiping at his eyes. “I’m not even that good.”
“Yeah, I’m a lucky guy,” I reply sarcastically.
“We’re sorry Jay. Just go back to your story.” Elisha apologizes. “Did you kiss her?”
“Not until I dropped her off……”
(FLASHBACK)
I flip my signal off as I pull the car over to the right side of the curb, just in front of Elli’s house. Well I guess this just about wraps up our first date. Hopefully the first of many if I have any say in it. I think our date went rather smoothly at least for the most part. Sure Elli stuttered a lot but she only fell once and tripped maybe three for four times, but that’s really good for her.
After shifting the car into park I unhook my seatbelt and turn to face Elli. She’s staring out the window at her dark house. Not one light is on”her mom must either be asleep our out. Since there’s no car in driveway I’m assuming she’s out. I wonder if I should take my chances and walk her to the door or just say goodnight in the car. I wouldn’t want her mother to pull in just as I was giving her a kiss goodnight”which I intend to do. I haven’t kissed her all night and I’m dying here. Anyway, I wouldn’t want to get Elli in trouble so we better just keep this here.
The unsnapping of her seatbelt breaks me from my thoughts. I see her swallow deeply. She must realize what’s coming so she’s getting all nervous and shy again. I reach across the center consol and grab her hand, yanking it lightly to get her to turn towards me. She does and I offer an encouraging smile.
“Tonight was….”I begin but trail off not really able to find the right words to express myself.
“Perfect.” She finishes, her smile matching mine. I nod and lean towards her only to be stopped by the center consol jabbing into my stomach. Be both laugh lightly. I lift the consol and we both shift closer to one another. I waste no time covering her lips with mine. She sighs sweetly and her body seems to melt as soon as our lips touch. My hand caresses her cheek as my lips massage hers thoroughly. Her hands seek out mine over her cheeks holding me in place and not allowing me to move. I smile against her mouth and pull back taking her bottom lip with me, sucking it gently before releasing it.
“Perfect,” I whisper, using her words from only moments before. Her eyes flutter open slowly and her hands drop from mine and back to her lap. After brushing her hair behind her ears I finally pull all the way away. “I’ll call you sometime this week.”
She nods, her eyes still looking hazing and reaches for the door handle. She pulls it towards herself and pushes the door open. Her legs swing to the side and she slides off the seat only to disappear below the car. My eyes widen and I lean over to the passenger’s seat to watch as she quickly lifts herself from the ground.
“Are you alright?” I ask through muffled laughter.
“Mm-hm. My legs just gave out there for a second.” She answers, wiping the dirt from her backside. Make that two times she fell…..
(END OF FLASHBACK)
“That poor thing just has to worst kind of trouble staying on her feet.” Elisha giggles.
“Don’t I know it?” I answer, smiling thinking of the memory.
“So are you gonna see her again?”
My mind is flooded with memories of the past hours as I reply without any hesitation. “Definitely.”
TBC......
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