by Lauren Runow
“Are you close?”
“Yes, Drew. So close.”
“Now, put your fingers deep inside you and flick them back and forth, keeping pressure on your clit.”
I moan so loud that I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. I’m flying so high, climbing and climbing some more.
“Yes, Sharee. Right there. Are you ready? Come with me,” he says more as a grunt.
I topple over, coming hard around my fingers. My entire body freezes, and I ride the waves rolling through me.
My head falls back, I drop my phone, and my eyes clench shut as I find my breath again. When I do, I can’t help but laugh as I realize what just happened. Once I’ve come completely down, I grab the phone and bring it back up to my ear.
“Did we just …” I ask in disbelief.
“Fuck yeah, we did. If the real thing is anything like that, I’m in trouble.”
I laugh. “Yeah, me too.”
“So, you felt that?”
“In my toes? Oh, yeah.”
“You’re my girl, Sharee. This. Us. I’m sold.”
“And you haven’t even kissed me yet,” I say with a giggle.
“I don’t need to. They always say, when you meet the one, you just know. I never understood that. But now, especially after that, I know.”
“Me too,” I say, trying to fight the tears filling my eyes.
“We got this. We can do this. We met during this quarantine because someone up there knew we would make it through. I have no doubt now. I can’t fucking wait to do that for real.”
I laugh. “Many, many times.”
“Many times for sure.” He chuckles. “Go get cleaned up and call me right back. You can curl up with my pillow, and we’ll watch a movie together.”
I agree and hang up the phone.
Before I stand, I smile in absolute disbelief. I’ve definitely met the man I’m going to marry. The worst time of my life is turning into the best.
17
Day 17
April 12
It’s Easter, yet in the little bubble I currently live in, you wouldn’t know it. Every Easter, my sister and I normally make the trek back to our mom’s house to have dinner together and hang out. I dye eggs with her kids, and she enjoys the time, not having to worry about the mess her kids are making.
It is always a fun, simple day; looking back on it, I realize I took it for granted. Whoever thought something as normal as hanging out with family would be taken away from us?
I thought about still dyeing eggs, but right now, I kind of want to save my eggs for breakfast for the next week, so I don’t have to go to the store. I guess a tradition takes on a different meaning now.
Both my mom and dad called, and I talked to Shelly, too, but otherwise, my day has been spent watching E:60 on ESPN. Who knew ESPN had such touching stories that could bring you to tears?
When I see The Notebook is on a different station, I curl up even more and settle in for the good cry I know is coming my way.
During the movie, my Ring app keeps going off. Since I can hear the kids from across the street outside on their bikes, having Easter egg hunts, I ignore it and continue to watch the movie.
Halfway through, I hear a knock on my front door. After pressing pause on the movie, I hop up and head to the door, thinking one of the kids threw a ball over my fence.
When I open it, I see Drew standing on my sidewalk with his favorite hat on, slacks, a dress shirt, and a smile.
Not jumping into his arms is much harder than I thought it would be after last night. I have to hold my hands together in front of me to stop myself from doing so.
“Look at you, all dressed up,” I say.
He glances down with a smirk. “Mom still made Easter dinner, and she wanted me to bring you some.”
I smile as I cover my heart with my hand. “She’s so sweet. I wish I could have you come in.”
He shrugs. “It’s okay. I have something for you. Come here.”
He steps off my porch, and when I come outside to join him, I see my entire driveway is decorated in an elaborate design, colored with chalk.
I squeal in surprise. “Did you do this?”
I turn to him, and his face is covered in the biggest, proudest smile.
“Happy Easter,” he says.
“I didn’t know you were an artist.”
He shrugs. “It’s just for fun.”
“For fun? Oh my God.”
I stop to take in the entire drawing of flowers, eggs, and even a bunny. Happy Easter is written across the center.
I check out his clothes and then his hands. “How is chalk not everywhere?”
He chuckles under his breath. “I changed my clothes in the car before I knocked on your door.”
“You had this nice outfit in your car?”
He nods like it’s no big deal as he glances down at what he’s wearing. “Yeah, it’s Easter. I didn’t want to show up in torn jeans and covered in dust. I was so worried you’d come outside and ruin the surprise too. Glad I was able to finish.”
“You can thank The Notebook for being on TV. When my Ring kept going off, I thought it was the kids,” I say, pointing across the street.
They all come running as their mom yells to make sure they keep their distance from us.
“It turned out so cool!” one of the girls says.
“How long did it take you?” I ask.
“A little over an hour,” Drew responds.
“An hour? It feels like you’ve been working on that all day,” one of the boys states.
I giggle at the way they busted him. He shakes his head and turns toward his car after telling me he’s getting the food.
As he walks back he’s carrying a mini ice chest. When he’s within a few feet, he places it on the floor and opens it up, grabbing a few plates from inside and handing them to me.
“Dinner for you. My mom said, next year, you have to come over in person,” he says as I take them from him.
“That’s very sweet of her. Let me go place it inside.”
When I get to my kitchen, I take a peek and see a full ham dinner with all the side dishes, and on the other plate are slices of both berry pie and apple pie. My mouth waters from the sight of it, but I cover it up and put it in the fridge before I head back outside.
Once I’m out front again, Drew smiles big. “Okay, now, you have to find the eggs I hid for you.”
“You did not.”
“It’s Easter. Of course I did!”
I grin as I start to search. “Are you going to give me hints?” I ask. “Like, tell me if I’m hot or cold?”
He chuckles under his breath. “Nope. You’re on your own on this one.”
I let out a huff, totally kidding, and then go back to searching.
I find a few plastic eggs in the flowers and then some in the plants I have on the side of the yard. When I peek in between my front stoop and plants, I see a bright orange bag.
I look up to him and then back to the bag that I know wasn’t there before. “Is that an egg? I mean, is that something you put there, or should I be afraid someone hid their dog poop on my porch?”
“Dog poop?” he asks with his head tilted down like, Are you serious right now?
“Hey, you never know what people will do nowadays,” I say with my hands up in defense.
“Then, no, it’s not dog poop. Pick it up.”
I do and see it’s a San Francisco Giants bag. I reach in and pull out a jersey. Immediately, I drop the bag to the floor and hold up the jersey, flipping it around and squealing when I see 24 written across the back with MILLER on the top of it.
I pull it into me. “Do I get to keep it?” I ask with the biggest smile across my face.
He laughs. “Yes. That one’s all yours.”
I open the buttons and slide it on over my shirt. Once I have the buttons closed again, I spin around to show it off. “How do I look?”
“Amazing,” he says with a huge grin.
He laughs. “The Miller name’s never looked so good on someone.”
I literally swoon, right there, wanting to fall into a puddle at his feet. After a beat, I inhale, regaining my wits, and ask him, “Stay for dinner?”
A smirk covers his face. “What do you plan on having?”
“I slaved over this ham dinner. I only have a little though, and I’m not sharing, so you’ll have to stay a few feet away and sit there and watch me eat, but I swear it will still be fun.”
“Probably the most fun I’ve had in weeks. Count me in.”
I turn with an extra giddyup in my step and run into my house to heat up the food his mom plated for me. I stop in the mirror to check out my new jersey. I’ve never been so proud to wear something in my life.
18
Day 18
April 13
I flip the bottle I ordered online in my hands, wondering if I’m brave enough to actually do it. This black mask says it does amazing things for your skin and cleans out your pores, but I’ve heard it’s a little difficult to get off.
An idea pops into my head, and I pick up my phone, dialing Drew.
“There’s my favorite girl,” he says as he answers.
“Whatcha doing?” I singsong.
“Nothing,” he singsongs back. “But I have a feeling you have something up your sleeve.”
“See, that’s why this is going to work between us. You already get me,” I say with a huge grin on my face.
“Well, that depends. What are you trying to get me into?”
“I was about to do a black facial mask and thought it would be fun if we did it together.”
“A black facial mask? Is this what it’s going to be like, living with you? You’ll get me to put on avocado masks and paint your toenails when I’m not on the road?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Look at it as our bonding time.”
“True, and I guess it’s good for my skin with all the dirt and sweat that’s normally on it. So, yeah, I’m in. What do I need to get?”
“Come over, and we can stand outside to put it on. Then, you can drive home because it needs to sit for twenty to thirty minutes.”
“Let me get this straight. You want me to drive to your house, put something—which I assume, by the name of it, is black—all over my face while standing in your front yard for everyone to see, and then drive back to my place with it still on my face?”
“Uh-huh!”
“Okay, just making sure I had it straight. On my way.”
“Bye!” I singsong with a laugh.
When he pulls up, I’m sitting on my porch. I see he’s clean-shaven and grin even bigger. Now, he’s going to get the full effect.
“Okay, what’s this mask I’m putting on my face?” he asks as he approaches me.
It’s getting harder and harder not to wrap my arms around him and really say hello. Instead, I throw the bottle his way.
He looks it over and then turns his attention back to me. “Am I going to regret this?” he asks.
“Probably.” I grin. “That’s why we’re going to do it together. Just make sure to not get it near your eyebrows or hairline.”
“So, it’s a good thing I shaved today?” He rubs his chin.
I nod. “Very. Now, you can get your entire face.”
He takes a deep inhale and opens the lid. “Here goes nothing.”
He squirts some on his hand, and I hold up the mirror, so he can see what he’s doing.
“It’s really thick,” he says as he rubs it around.
I try not to giggle at the way he looks with black goo smeared all over his face.
When he’s finished, he smiles at me. “How do I look?”
“Like the best boyfriend ever. Here.” I hand him a clean towel to wipe his hands off.
“Your turn.” He picks up the tube and tosses it to me.
I squeeze it on my fingers and rub it around as he holds up the mirror with the towel covering his hand. Once my face is covered, I stand up straight and smile at him as I clean my hands.
“We’re so cute.” I reach for my phone. “Here, we have to take a picture.”
“You do realize this is the first picture we’ve taken together, right?”
I smile even bigger. “Then, it’s even more perfect.”
I turn around and take a selfie of the two of us with our faces covered.
“You have to text that to me,” he says. “I can already feel this thing starting to harden. I’ll call you when I get back to my place, and you can give me the instructions on how to wash this off.”
I raise my eyebrows and try to innocently look off to the side while rocking on my feet.
He eyes me suspiciously. “Is this the part I’m going to regret?”
I hold up the picture, showing him how cute we are together in it. “It will make great memories for sure.”
He shakes his head and walks back to his car, turning to point to me before he slides into the driver’s seat. “You owe me for this.”
“I’ll make it worth your while as soon as we’re off this quarantine.”
He stops and stares at me, his eyes turning darker. I blow him a kiss and run back inside.
A few minutes later, he calls, and I can hear his mom in the background.
“You hear that?” he asks me. “Yeah, that’s my mom laughing at me. Apparently, she’s well aware of what these so-called black masks are.”
I try to hide my giggle. “We’re creating memories, remember?”
“And meeting under the quarantine isn’t enough?” He chuckles under his breath. “I feel like I can’t move my face.”
“Only a few more minutes. We’re almost there.”
“Yeah, but now, I’m more afraid to take it off.”
I hear him walk into a room and shut the door.
“Does your mom think I’m crazy?” I ask.
“She thinks I have it bad for you for me to be willing to do such a thing.”
His response makes my heart soar. I love how open he is with his feelings. There’s no guessing on what’s going on or where we stand. It’s refreshing.
“What’s going to happen when everything’s back to normal?” I ask.
“With what?”
“With us?”
“Well, we’ll finally be able to have sex, which I can’t tell you how bad I’ve been looking forward to that …”
My face flushes with heat at the thought, and through the mask, it feels even weirder.
“Besides that.” I try raising my eyebrows but my face keeps me from doing so.
“Maybe it’s best we met this way. We’ll already be used to the long-distance thing. I’m not going to lie; I’ll be gone a lot. But then, in the off-season, I’ll be around a lot, and you’ll probably get sick of me.”
“Never.”
“Ah, you say that now.”
“Just keep doing silly things, like putting on face masks with me, and I’ll never get sick of you.”
“Deal. Now, can we take this thing off yet?”
I place the call on speakerphone and put the phone down on my counter in the bathroom. I inhale a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”
He switches his call to speakerphone, too, and when I hear him grunt, I try not to laugh.
“Actually, I lied. I’ll never do this again,” he says.
“Oh, come on, baby,” I taunt.
“Have you even started?”
I stare into the mirror, too afraid to try it yet.
“Come on. You have to remove it sooner or later,” he singsongs, making me regret ever doing this to him.
“Okay, on three, we both pull really hard. Ready?”
He sighs into the phone. “You’re lucky I like you.”
“I know. Okay, one, two …”
“Three,” he
says when I don’t continue.
He rips his off, and I only make it a few centimeters. I hear him yell as he makes his way around his face, grunting and growling.
“Oh my God! Fuck! Ah, it’s … almost … okay, and it’s off!” His voice is full of relief. “Fuck me, that was painful. How far did you make it?”
I bite my lip. “Not far. I can’t. I can’t do it. It’s like waxing. I can get things waxed, but I can’t do it myself.”
“Oh, yes, let’s talk about that. What exactly do you wax?”
“Drew!” I stomp my feet in frustration. “I’m scared!”
“Come on, Sharee. You got this. I know you can do it.”
I slowly peel the mask, and the pain is unreal.
“You have to just rip it off, like a Band-Aid,” Drew says.
“Yeah, this is why I don’t wear Band-Aids!”
He chuckles under his breath. “Do your best. I’m on my way.”
I press the End Call button and continue to try to torture myself by removing a centimeter at a time. Why I ever thought this was a good idea is beyond me.
I step outside when Drew says he’s here. As he gets out of his car, he’s wearing a cloth mask over his face, which is, of course, made with San Francisco Giants fabric.
“How far did you make it?” he asks.
I lift my chin to show him where only a tiny bit has been pulled off.
“Come here,” he says in a calming manner, motioning for me to join him on the sidewalk.
When I stand at his feet, I glance up at him with sadness written all over my face. “Help me,” I beg, trying to frown but the mask won’t let me.
His hands reach up to my face, and before he goes for the mask, he takes the time to brush my hair out of my face, and then he cups my cheek. I lean into his touch, loving the way it feels against my skin, even with the mask between us.
I look up into his eyes, and my breath hitches. I’ve never been so close that I can see his eyes like this. The gold flakes shine in the bright sky, and I instantly feel secure with him near.
He takes a shaky breath and then rubs his lips together. “Are you ready?”
I nod. It’s going to hurt like hell, but with him doing it, I know I can make it through. Right now, I feel like I can do anything as long as he’s next to me.