My skin tingled where his fingers touched. “Yeah, my mother gave it to me,” I said softly, watching as he twisted it around and examined each charm.
“It must be really special to you.”
He let go of my arm. I folded my hands in my lap and concentrated on slowing my heartbeat. When it returned to a normal pace, I picked up my forked and poked at a piece of chicken.
“How much longer do you have in school?” he asked.
I blinked, surprised by the question. “Who knows? I just started the program and only go part time. Four years, I guess. But if tuition keeps going up, maybe more. I can hardly afford the credits now.” Talk about depressing.
He looked at me thoughtfully. “You’ve really got some ambition, don’t you?”
“I love school. It’s the one thing I’ve always been good at.”
After several minutes of silence, he looked at me thoughtfully. “Okay, I’ve got one.”
I was a bit alarmed. “You’ve got one what?”
He laughed. “Another question for you.”
I put my fork down and leaned forward. “Okay, what?”
“What are you most afraid of?”
“Spiders.” The word was automatic and left my lips without thought. I mused over the seriousness of the question and my seemingly trivial answer.
He cocked his head to one side.
“No, really!” I said with wide eyes. “I have an intense, irrational fear of spiders. They completely freak me out. Even the tiny ones.”
“Really? I never would have pegged you as an arachnophobe, you being the science girl and all.” He scurried his hand across the table, as though it were a spider. “Are you scared?” His fingers were inches from my arm.
I stuck out my lower lip. “Don’t make fun of me. You asked, remember?” I eyed his hand, still in its spider-like form, and managed a fake tremble.
He laughed hard and sat back in his chair. “You’re a trip.”
“Can I tempt either of you with dessert tonight?” The waitress appeared suddenly at our table, displaying the sweet confectionaries on a large, round tray. “Cheesecake, tiramisu, lemon bars?”
“Do you want something?” he asked.
I pulled my eyes away from the tray to look at him. “Do you?”
“Nope.” He patted his flat stomach and stretched his strong arms over his head. “I’m watching my figure. But you go ahead. What looks good?”
I pointed at the chocolate cake. It looked mouthwatering. “How could you possibly refuse that?”
“One piece of chocolate cake for the lady,” he told the waitress. “Anything else?”
“Nope.”
“You’re sure? A cup of coffee?” I smiled and shook my head. I really wasn’t even hungry, but the cake looked too good to pass up.
Minutes later, a giant piece of heaven sat before me. It even had a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
“How is it?” he asked after I’d taken a bite.
“Fab-u-lous,” I said in three dramatic syllables. I took another bite and chewed slowly, savoring the flavor of the rich, smooth chocolate. “Wanna try it?”
He reached across the table and ran his finger down the corner of my lips. He then put that finger in his mouth and sucked. “Mmmmm. Tasty,” he said, his eyes burning into mine.
I froze, the fork coming to a standstill somewhere between the table and my lips. I had to force myself to close my mouth.
The waitress passed by and set the bill on the table. Without taking his eyes off me, Chris pulled a credit card from his wallet and handed it to her.
“Are you finished?” he asked after he signed the receipt.
I nodded and put my fork down.
We were standing next to his bike, and just as I was pulling the helmet over my head, I felt his “spider” hand crawl up my side. “Shit!” I screamed, laughing.
He pulled away. “Miss Banks, such language! I had no idea you had it in you!”
I leaned over the bike and caught my breath.
“Are you ticklish?” he asked.
“Yes, very much so.”
“Good to know.” He stifled his laughter before clearing his throat. “Are you ready to go?”
I looked into his eyes, all traces of humor gone. “Where?” I whispered.
“Wherever you want. Where would you like to go, Allie?”
“Nowhere in particular.” I shivered, and wasn’t sure if it was because of a chill in the air or something else. The electricity between us was almost tangible. “Can’t we just ride around?”
He took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders. It smelled like him. It was way too big, but I pushed my arms into it and tightened it around me. I could have drowned in that smell.
***
It was nearly eleven when we pulled up in front of my building. “Thank you for a wonderful evening, Chris.” I climbed off the motorcycle and handed him his helmet and jacket. “I had a great time.”
He set the helmet on the seat and pulled on his coat. The moonlight reflected off his eyes as he looked at me, creating silver slivers against his dark brown irises. “So, are you still not interested? In me, I mean?” he asked.
I could tell from his expression that he was being serious. “I don’t know what I am,” I answered honestly. I liked Chris, more than I was willing to admit, but the last thing I wanted to do was get involved with someone. The wounds Paul had left were just barely starting to scab over, and I couldn’t bear to have them ripped open. “It’s complicated.” I leaned against the side of the building and looked up at the stars.
In three long strides, Chris was leaning into me, pressing my back up against the building. His palms flattened against mine, our fingers interlocking as he held my hands above my head. “Let me help uncomplicate things for you.” He closed his eyes, leaned his head forward, and pressed his lips against mine.
Fireworks went off in my head. I saw nothing, heard nothing, only felt the jolt of heat that boiled my insides. Once the surprise wore off, I leaned in to kiss him back, but he pulled his lips away.
“Just think about it,” he said with an unrepentant grin.
Without another word he got on his bike and took off. I stood beside the building, breathless, and watched the red taillights disappear down the road.
Chapter 14
“I take it things went well last night?” Emily was watching me from over the top of her Celebrity Magazine. I was making pancakes, humming as I whisked the batter.
The smile that spread across my lips must have given her all the answers she needed. She slammed her fists on the table, splattering coffee up over the sides of her mug. “You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?”
I thought carefully before I spoke. “No.” I shook my head as I lifted the corner of a pancake to see if it was ready to be flipped. “Definitely not. I have a huge crush on him, I’ll admit. But I have not fallen for him.” I laughed. “Could you imagine? Me falling for a rock star? Better yet, him falling for me? Let’s live in the real world, Em.” I poured more batter onto the hot griddle.
“So this is just a crush? A stupid, schoolgirl crush has you acting this way?” She was trying to be stern, but I could tell she was holding back a smile.
“Yep. Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time. Dinner was good, and he was so easy to talk to, but we’re just friends, you know? All his family is in Virginia. He doesn’t know anyone around here.” I flipped a pancake and restated the fact: “Just friends. Nothing more.” Whatever reservations I had about the status of my relationship with Chris, I knew it was for the best. It had to be enough.
***
Monday proved to be a hard day. I was having trouble focusing on my work. I led Melody and Sam through a literature lesson and gave them the rest of the morning to work on their literary analysis packets. I sat at my desk and daydreamed about Friday night. Dinner, riding around on his motorcycle, that incredible kiss…
“Earth to Allie, you-hoo!”
I
almost fell out of my chair when Jake came into focus. He was leaning over my desk, inches from my face, waving his hand back and forth. Sam and Melody giggled.
I recovered myself. “Jake, hi! You look better. How’s the nose?”
He reached up and touched it. “It’s good. Do anything exciting over the weekend?”
I smiled to myself but decided not to say anything about Chris. Jake always got so weird whenever his name came up.
“Nope.” I shook my head. “You?”
“I went out with Heather. You know, the girl from audio?”
I didn’t know her but nodded anyway.
“Yeah, she was great,” he continued. “We went to…” He told me about his evening, but my thoughts drifted back to Chris. That kiss had been amazing, nothing like I’d ever felt before. I wondered how serious he was, or if he was just giving me a hard time because he’d heard me say I wasn’t into him. That must be a rare thing for a guy like him. He was probably used to girls throwing themselves at his feet.
“Allie!”
I snapped to attention and looked at Jake. “What?”
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”
I blinked a few times and pushed Chris from my thoughts. “Sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind this morning. What were you saying?”
The greatest thing about Jake was that it was really easy to be his friend. He just wanted someone to listen to him talk, or at least pretend to, as it was in my case. Usually, he didn’t even care if I talked back. I tried to force myself to pay attention as he repeated his story, but I honestly had no interest in his affair with Heather, aside from the fact that he wasn’t harassing me anymore.
He paused and looked at the clock. “Well, breaks over, I should go.” He started to leave but turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot! What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Why, what’s going on?”
“It’s St. Patty’s Day, we’re having a poker tournament in the hotel lobby. We’re starting at eight.”
“That sounds fun! I’ll definitely try. Thanks!” He grinned and headed for the door, kicking the front of Sam’s chair as he walked by. Sam stuck out his leg and tried to trip him. I snickered at their display of brotherly affection.
***
Later that night, I turned on the tube to watch the competition. After this show, there would only be six more episodes left. Things were getting increasingly serious.
Chris was the first to take the stage. An electric guitar played the melody, the tempo had been upped, and more guitar and drum arrangements had been added, but it was definitely the Journey song he’d caught me singing Friday night.
I held my breath through the performance, not sure how to feel.
Something throughout the week usually inspires me…
***
The next afternoon I was at the university heading towards the lab when my cell beeped. I had a voicemail from Chris. He was inviting me to the poker party. “I would have told you about it sooner,” his voice went on, “but it was all just thrown together last minute. I hope you can come.”
Lauren poked her head through the door just as I finished listening. I snapped the phone closed and shoved it in my pocket.
“Let me guess, Chris?”
“How’d you know?” I couldn’t help but grin.
“Aside from the enraptured glow?” she observed. “Any new developments I should be aware of?”
“He took me to dinner the other night,” I admitted. “We went to a place called Gigi’s.”
“And you didn’t call me?”
“I know, I’m sorry! I’m such a bad friend.” I measured out a batch of nutrient agar and told her about the night. “He asked if I was interested. You know, in him.”
Lauren’s eyes were the size of saucers. “What did you say?”
“I told him things were complicated.”
She groaned. “Why would you do that? You’re making it so much harder than it has to be!”
“You didn’t let me finish.” I told her about the kiss. “He said, ‘let me help uncomplicate things for you’.”
Lauren was leaning so far forward in her chair I thought she might fall off. “That is so hot. Oh, my gosh. Do you have any idea how many girls would murder you if they knew?”
“Give me a break,” I groaned. “It was just a kiss.”
She frowned and gave me a pitiful look. “‘Just a kiss? You didn’t feel it, huh? Too bad. Let me guess, no chemistry? Does he kiss like a fish? Or was it too sloppy, more like making out with a great dane?”
I laughed. “Where do you come up with these things? It was great, actually.” I shuddered just remembering. “In fact, I couldn’t imagine anything better. I just don’t understand it.”
“What do you mean?”
“He knew I wasn’t interested.” I told her about how he’d overheard my conversation with Emily. “But he kept after me. Why? He could have anyone he wanted. Why chase after someone who doesn’t want you back? It doesn’t make any sense.” I shook my head. “Why me? I’m nothing special.”
“Geez, Allie, take a Prozac. Maybe that’s what interested him in the first place- you being so unaffected and all. You’re different. You didn’t throw yourself at him. I bet it was a nice change of pace.”
I thought about what she was saying as I counted out a stack of Petri dishes. “So this has all become a game to him? He’s the hunter, and I’m the unwilling prey? And he won’t stop until he has me drooling all over him?”
She frowned. “No, that’s not what I mean-”
“But it would make sense, wouldn’t it?” It made a lot of sense, actually.
The autoclave dinged. I pulled the scalding hot beaker out and set it on the counter to cool.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Nothing. Antonio’s sick, so I’ll probably heat up a frozen dinner and vege out on the couch.” Antonio was Lauren’s husband.
“I’m going over to play cards with some people, wanna come?” I told her where and when but left out the who.
“Really?”
“Sure, why not? Sounds better than chewy chicken and soggy corn, doesn’t it?”
***
It was almost eight-thirty by the time we got to the hotel. Lauren stopped in her tracks and caught my hand when Cynthia walked past. “Allie? Who exactly are we playing with?”
I squeezed her fingers.
Jake caught my eye from across the room and rushed over. “Hey, you made it!”
“I did. This is my friend, Lauren. Lauren, meet Jake.”
“Hi, Lauren,” Jake said as they shook hands. “I forget that Allie has a whole life outside the studio. Nice to meet you.”
“You, too, Jake.” She raised her eyebrows at me and, when Jake’s head was turned, mouthed, He’s cute!
Jake nudged me. “We’re putting another table together. You want in?”
I gave him a playful look. “Are you ready to lose?”
He nearly dragged me across the room. “Bring it!” He pulled a chair out and motioned for me to sit.
Lauren sat beside me, and Jake and three others joined us at the table. The six of us were soon involved in a serious game of Texas Holdem’. My luck started off poor- I was down by nearly twenty bucks, but then things changed. I received a ten and an eight in the hole, and the dealer laid down two tens, an eight, a king, and a jack.
Bets were placed and the battle was on. It was several minutes before everyone but Jake and I had folded. A crowd of onlookers gathered around the table.
Jake gave me a flashy smile. “Sorry sister, you lose.” He revealed his hand- a nine and a queen. “Nine-ten-Jack-Queen-King makes a perfect straight.” He stood up and reached for the pile.
I put on my best poker face and scratched my head. “Um, Jake, it’s been a really long time since I’ve played, but I think a full house beats a straight, doesn’t it?”
His face fell as I fanned my cards out in front of me. The people who were wa
tching us laughed, and a few of them slapped Jake on the back.
I was up nearly fifty dollars when we stopped for a break. I grabbed Lauren and headed towards a pair of overstuffed chairs in the corner.
“I can’t believe you brought me here without warning me first!” Lauren complained. “Look at me, I’m a nervous wreck!” She held up a trembling hand to illustrate. “And I’m wearing sweatpants, for crying out loud!”
“Now you know what I go through every day,” I laughed. “What do you think? Are they anything like you expected?”
She peeked around the side of her chair. “You were definitely right about one thing. Chris is better looking in person than I ever could have imagined.”
“Yes, he is,” I said, turning to look. He had just finished his game and stood up from his chair. He stretched his arms up over his head, yawned, and looked at me.
“Oh jeez, here he comes.” Lauren smoothed her shirt over her pregnant midsection and ran a hand through her hair.
“Hi,” he said, looking at me and then at her.
“Hey! This is my friend from school, Lauren. Lauren, you know Chris.”
She looked at him and made a genuine effort to keep her mouth from hanging open. “I sure do, and I have to admit, I’m a huge fan. It’s great to meet you in person.”
Chris knelt down between our chairs. Looking at Lauren conspiratorially, he said, “So tell me, exactly how good of friends are you? Are you more of the tell-all type or just the occasional study-buddy?”
Lauren returned his smirk. “I proudly hold the official title of B-F-F.”
“Perfect! Then maybe you can talk some sense into her,” he winked at me. “Help her…uncomplicate things.” He stood. “I’m gonna go grab a beer, you two want one?”
Lauren patted her big, swollen belly. “I’ll have to pass. But a bottle of water sounds divine.”
He laughed. “Okay. Allie?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
He walked off, and Lauren turned to me, her eyes bright with mischief. “Not a word,” I said, pointing a finger at her. I knew exactly what she was thinking.
“I don’t know how you do it.”
“Do what?”
“Act so uninterested. If I wasn’t married, I’d be all over that. Have you seen those arms?” She turned to peek at him. “And his yummy, tight little buns?”
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