Virginal Headlines: Love Between The Headlines

by Knoebel, Candace

  He let out a sigh that seemed to melt away all the momentary tension. “Can we start over? This is serendipity and all. I don’t want to waste it on something that once was. Something that has nothing to do with us.”

  He had a point.

  I squeezed his hand. Painted a smile across my lips. “Let’s go.”

  Crash into Me

  I’d been caught off guard when I bumped into Poppy.

  It had been almost a year since I’d last seen her. Since she showed up to my place when Fin was at work to pick up her things. She’d been a wreck, plowing through the apartment like a mad bull.

  Though Prim had compared Poppy and me when it came to love, there was one major difference between Poppy’s story and mine. I never had to struggle with admitting anything to myself, because I never had anything even remotely close to what Finley and Poppy had. She practically lived at our place. They were inseparable. Always laughing. Always playing.

  She was the only woman I’d ever known who had the ability to steal the snark right out of Fin’s mouth.

  I hadn’t understood when she rejected his offer. Or when he called up the first girl he could find that night just so he could erase his hurt. I tried to talk him out of it, but Finley wasn’t the type who took advice.

  The truth was I’d always envied what they had. I’d never met a girl who twisted me inside out the way Poppy had done to Fin.

  Well, not until Prim.

  We were walking downtown toward a taco joint. Since I’d learned of Prim’s love for tacos, I knew the first chance I had, I’d bring her to this place. It was all the rage. Lines wrapped down the sidewalk just to get a taste. Luckily, it was still early, so the rush had yet to come.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket when we approached the restaurant, Prim happily gazing at all the buildings around us with a certain wonderment that made my chest warm. Pulling my phone out, I peered at the screen. It was from Gwen.

  Harrison is asking for you. Should I tell him you’re on the way?

  I glanced over at Prim, who was gazing into the windows we passed. I hadn’t expected to bump into her, but as soon as I did, I knew I couldn’t let her out of my sight. I didn’t know when I’d see her again.

  And that was so unlike me.

  No. Tell him… I paused, trying to think of something suitable. Believable. Tell him I’m in the middle of an interview for a new piece, and that I’ll call him later.

  It was a partial lie. Though I wasn’t in the middle of an interview, I had met with people earlier that morning. I’d been on my way to the office to start working on the post when I bumped into Prim.

  “Everything okay?” Prim asked, her words sweet.

  “Yeah. I just needed to wrap something up at work.”

  Her headphones were wrapped around her neck. A bright yellow amongst the gray of New York. “So where are we going?”

  I pointed to the taco place. When the sun rose in her eyes, this weird rush of heat settled in behind my rib cage.

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Trust me. I’d never kid when it comes to tacos.” I pointed to her headphones. “What were you listening to?”

  She took them from around her neck, then placed them over my ears. The soft strings of a guitar played as a man’s voice crooned eclectic notes. “Dave Matthews Band. They’re my favorite. You?”

  I placed the headphones back around her neck. “I’m a little of everything kind of guy.”

  “When I was younger, I was obsessed. Ugh. His voice. It was everything. I mean, it still is, but boy could he really reach down into me.”

  I pulled the door open, the spicy scent of meat and corn flooding the air. “I was big on Less Than Jake. You ever heard of them?”

  Her eyes were closed as she took in a large, sated inhale.

  I grinned.

  “No,” she admitted once the moment had passed.

  I grabbed a menu and handed it to her. “They’re a ska band.”

  She took it, eying the limited options. “Ahh… yeah… punk music was a niche I never really fell into.”

  “What?” I feigned shock. Stumbled back a step as if she’d just shot me. “Then I’m afraid we can’t be seen together.”

  The small pull of laughter that sang out of her woke something inside of me. “Music is everything, isn’t it?”

  “The world wouldn’t be bearable without it.”

  After a few thoughtful seconds, she declared, “I think I will try one of each.”

  A girl with an appetite. I liked it.

  “I’ll do the same. You can’t go wrong here.”

  We stopped in front of the register. I ordered two of everything, then managed to get my card out before she could.

  A girl who liked to pay. I doubly liked.

  “Here we are.” I picked out a small booth and set our number on the table.

  “Is this how you romance women, Mr. Pierce?” she asked as I waited for her to sit before I did. “Take them to taco joints and insist on paying?”

  “Is it working?”

  Her smile was playful. “I’ll keep you posted.”

  A waitress came by with our drinks.

  After taking a sip, I pushed mine toward her. “Try this. It’s on the secret menu.”

  She glanced at the glass, eyes preying over the straw. A rosy flush pressed behind her cheeks.

  I chuckled. “I don’t have cooties.”

  “I know.” She pulled it toward her. A second later, she placed her lips around the straw and pulled.

  I wasn’t expecting to react the way I did to the shape of her lips around a straw. The subtle pink hue that screamed sex, a jarring contradicting against her doe-shaped eyes. I could see her on her knees, looking up at me, sending me over the edge.

  “Oh my God. This is amazing!”

  I had to pry my eyes from her mouth. “Right?”

  She pushed the drink she chose toward me. A cinnamon concoction I’d had before. “Here, try this.”

  Now I was the one getting the sweats over putting my lips where hers had been. “Pretty good.” It was a lie. Cinnamon was one of my least favorite flavors.

  “Yeah, but yours is so much better than mine.”

  The way her eyes were lit made my stomach tingle. My chest expanded with a brightness I hadn’t felt before. She was happy. Her eyes were pure and clear, showcasing every emotion in the brightest hue.

  “Do you want to switch?” I pushed mine toward her. I didn’t want that look on her face to disappear.

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah,” I said with a brisk nod.

  She pulled the straw from the drink, licking the end.

  Jesus, her tongue was sexy. She was doing things to me unintentionally.

  “You know, when I was growing up, I wasn’t allowed to have things like this.” She pulled the straw into her mouth.

  Oh, fuck.

  “Really?” I coughed to hide the crack in my voice. Placed my gaze on the menu. Anywhere but on her lips that were fucking driving me crazy.

  “Yeah. My mom and dad are health nuts. Sugar was only consumed on special occasions.”

  “That would explain the junk food obsession then.”

  She grinned, putting the straw back into the glass.

  Thank God.

  “Every girl’s rite of passage into womanhood is a period of rebellion. I’m just taking my stand a little late in the game.”

  Her words were like a snake charmer, conjuring a chuckle from me.

  “How about you? Any rebel stories about your parents?”

  My body shifted unwillingly in response.

  “That bad?” She must have picked up on my hesitancy. Scooting forward, she moved the glass aside.

  “I’d call it the usual.”

  Her mouth quirked into a small form of a frown. “There is no usual when it comes to childhood.”

  A moment later, our tacos were delivered, and I couldn’t have been more relieved for the change of subject.

/>   She dove right in, proving her love for tacos. Commented on each meat, each flavor with such joy, it was a wonder she hadn’t become a chef. She knew every flavor, down to the origin. Gave a backstory to how it came to be.

  “With the way you speak about food, I’m almost certain you trained with chefs.”

  “Nah. I just watch a lot of Food Network.”

  When we were finished, we sat back, bellies full and smiles floating between us.

  “This was so much better than pizza would have been,” she admitted. “I’m glad I bumped into you.”

  There was that tone again. Dismissive, but not in the sense she didn’t want to be around me. More like… she was giving me the out. The chance to agree and part ways without any awkwardness. I’d come to realize that about Prim. As if she’d spent her entire life training to make others feel like they didn’t have to keep her company.

  She was insane if she thought I’d let her go.

  “What are you doing now?”

  She was going to have to learn that about me. I didn’t need to be given an out. Not when it came to her.

  A small giggle chirped past her lips. “Sitting here with you.”

  “You want to maybe walk somewhere? Anywhere?”

  Her smile grew. “Sure.”

  After leaving, we headed down Fifth, blending in with the sidewalk traffic that had a mind of its own. We chatted a little about the city. Surface level stuff. I think she was trying to be respectful of my past whereas most women would continue to push, trying to peel me like an onion until they had consumed every last inch of me.

  “Oh!” she said, stopping outside the window of a record shop. “Let’s go in here!”

  It was a small shop, crammed with aisles of old vinyl records. At Last by Etta James played overhead, filling the small, dusty place with life.

  “I just love the smell of vinyl, don’t you?” she asked as her hands skimmed over the dust jackets. Her feet nearly skipped down the aisles. I stood back, watching her. Admiring her. The dusty pink jeans that hugged her waist and complemented her small but supple ass. The off-white cashmere sweater that fell perfectly against her breasts. The ankle-high army boots that suggested she was still fierce beneath all the soft colors.

  My hands shoved into my pockets. “I can’t say I’ve ever even listened to a vinyl, let alone smelled one.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Why, Mr. Pierce, I don’t think we can be seen together.”

  The grin she pulled from me smoldered.

  “Come here.” She waved me closer. Her delicate fingers pillaged through a row of vinyl with expertise. “This one.” She plucked one from the bunch, then held it up to her nose. A second later, the vinyl was under mine and I was standing there in the middle of the shop sniffing a piece of plastic like a weirdo. If anyone realized who I was and snapped a photo, I’d be called a lunatic online. Certifiably insane.

  But the thing was, with Prim, I didn’t care.

  “It smells like an era gone by, doesn’t it?”

  I tried. Really tried to experience what she was experiencing.

  When she laughed, I felt my shoulders go lax. “It’s okay,” she said. “Not everyone gets it. I’m a little on the weird side.”

  She slid the record into its spot, then headed farther into the store, back into a corner where old record players were displayed.

  “My grandparents had one like this. My grandpa used to put on all kinds of records, and I’d just lay there with him on the carpet and listen for hours and hours.”

  The sad lilt to her tone told me he had passed on. There wasn’t a single thing hidden in the way she carried herself. She was an open book for anyone to read. A heaven everyone should have the pleasure of experiencing at least once in their life.

  The music shifted as she ran a finger over the record player. And then she spun around, her eyes as wide as her mouth.

  “Crash into Me! This is my favorite song! Dance with me?”

  She didn’t give room for a choice. Her arms were thrown around my neck, then next thing I knew, we were slow dancing in the back of a record store. I was tense at first, worried about how it’d look but, slowly, that worry gave way into something much deeper. Much more important.

  I slid my hand over her back. Memorizing every inch on the way to the precious arch. Pulled her a little closer as the lead singer wove a story that seemed to melt the world away. Her body molded itself to mine, the notes of the song weaving an invisible string around us, pulling tight, until her chest was pressed against mine.

  How many women had I danced with? Slept with? And yet there I stood trembling as if it were my very first time. Thinking about the way her breasts felt against my chest. The warmth of her skin and the closeness of her lips gave me a hard-on I’d soon have trouble hiding from her.

  I wanted her. God, did I want her.

  Her head rested against my chest as our movements slowed to a small, soothing sway. Her hips moved in sync with mine. “What this song makes me feel… it’s something I want. Something I’m… I’m scared to experience.”

  I wasn’t prepared for the jarring of her words. I knew what the song was about. It didn’t take but seconds to piece together what she meant. It all made sense. The openness of her eyes… as if she’d never been hurt before. The innocence in her shyness, as if she’d never been taken. Used up. I stilled with her in my arms.

  She was a virgin. Had to be.

  I pulled her even closer, a sudden need to protect her from the world building inside my chest. A desire to keep her from harm pulling at all my senses.

  My heart slammed off beat when the song ended and our movements stilled. When her head tilted back and her eyes met mine. My heart tripped over itself. It was like she carried the universe within those twin blue orbs. Where all the truths to every secret lied.

  “Wow.”

  It was all I could say. All I could do not to kiss her right there.

  Her large, round eyes retracted from mine, a shadow moving in. “Grayson… there’s something I have to tell you. Something I…”

  “Don’t.” I cut her off before she could say anything more. I didn’t want to know. Whatever it was, I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted this moment to remain as it was. Unsullied.

  She adjusted the bag on her shoulder. “Walk me home?”

  I loved the town she lived in. It didn’t hold the same erratic pace as the upper east. It was calm. Casual. We boarded the subway, which was only mildly packed.

  “Look,” she said, pointing to a storage facility. “Every morning I pass this place and see a little old woman sitting outside of her unit. It’s full of stuff. Overflowing. She doesn’t know it, but I wave to her. It’s become a habit to look for her. If I see her, I know I’m going to have a good day.”

  “And here I thought you’d be a reader. Nose in a book. Headphones on.”

  “Oh, I am.” Opening her tote, she revealed her Kindle. “But I don’t plug in until after I spot her. It’s an OCD thing.”

  The announcer came over the speaker, telling us we’d made it to her stop. After getting off, we walked the block to her tiny apartment, then paused outside the doorway.

  “Do you want to come up?” she asked as she fiddled with the key in the doorway.

  “Sure.”

  Her apartment was stifling the moment she opened the door.

  “The damn radiator!” After moving over to the one in the kitchen, she fiddled with the knob.

  “Here. Let me help.” I took her from room to room, showing her the best way to adjust them, then helped her crack the windows open to let some of the heat out.

  “You’d think I’d be getting the hang of it after all this time.”

  “It takes time.”

  She picked up the remote and pressed the power button. “Want to watch a movie?” A second later, her feet shifted. “Unless, of course, you have plans. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that.”

  “No. No. I don’t. I can stay.” />
  I loved the way her smile moved. It was like the first rays of the morning sun spreading over the horizon, scaring away the night.

  After scrolling through Netflix, she stopped on the horror genre. “Do you like horror films?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good. They’re a guilty pleasure of mine.”

  We snuggled up on the couch with a bag of Hot Fries between us. When the scary parts came, I made sure my hand was close enough for her to grab should she want to. It was so middle school, and I was loving every second of it.

  By the end of the movie, she walked me to the door, a sated smile to her lips. “This was a lot of fun, Grayson.”

  “It was, wasn’t it?”

  There was a moment then… when I knew she wanted me to kiss her. The way her eyes were half open. Her lips licked into a glassy slate. My heart jumped off beat, ushering me forward, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was scared. Entirely afraid of what kissing her would do to me.

  Instead, I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Miss. Amberly.”

  I almost missed the flicker of confusion that crossed through her eyes when she quickly turned from me. “Until next time.”

  What Will Be, Will Be

  The next morning was brutal. One of those mornings not even a gallon of caffeine and a thousand middle fingers could remedy.

  Everything that could go wrong, did.

  It started with my coffee.

  By the time I took the first sip after heading to the subway, I realized they didn’t add milk or sugar. Then, the subway was thirty minutes late due to construction. And when I finally squeezed my way onto the train, there was nowhere to sit, let alone stand. I was wedged between multiple bodies, all men, who ensured their crotches were pressed against me.

  Instead of reading, I spent the entire trip praying it would be quick and some of them would get off before we made it into the city.

  When it came time to go underground, I tried to peer over a shoulder to see if the woman was at her unit, but I couldn’t see past the man’s height. I knew then it would be one of those days. Darkness enveloped the subway as it drifted underground. I let my thoughts ponder on something other than the man’s crotch pressed against my side.