Picturing Different

by Nikki Kwiatkowski

  “Then I really don’t know why you’re here.”

  Ashlyn bit her bottom lip. It had been a bad idea. When she thought about what she had told Tripp in the library, she was ashamed that she thought for a moment that she could begin to repair things between them, especially in such a short amount of time.

  “I’m sorry.” Then, trying to save a little bit of her dignity, and sounding as upbeat as possible. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Fifty different thoughts ran through Tripp’s head when Ashlyn turned to leave. The best thing for the both of them, especially for him, would be for that to be the end. He should have just gone home, and she should go about her evening, whether that meant going home, hanging out with Emory, or going out with the team. Unfortunately for him, despite how shallow it might seem, she looked incredible, and the narcissist in him desperately wanted for her to have dressed up for something other than a baseball game.

  Even though his ego was shredded from earlier, the fact that she had come to him said enough.

  “Wait,” Tripp sighed. The little voice inside his head was groaning and telling him what an idiot he had become, a glutton for punishment.

  Ashlyn slowly turned, her expression something along the lines of hope and fear.

  “Are you hungry?”

  Ashlyn clasped her bag with her camera tightly. Without answering his question, “Were you planning on joining the–”

  “No,” Tripp quickly interrupted.

  Ashlyn took in a deep breath realizing what that meant. If she went with Tripp, it would end up being just the two of them. She fully thought he’d just give her a ride to Flip’s Grill, or maybe a ride home.

  That was a lie. She really didn’t know what she expected. All she knew was that after crying half the afternoon, after seeing him play, after he walked away in the parking lot, she had to make a decision. It just so happened that it led her to the very spot she now stood.

  His next words were a bitter pill to swallow. “Just a friendly bite to eat. That’s all,” he said. He coolly held his hands up in a surrendering fashion.

  “No. I mean, yeah. Of course. Yeah. That’s fine,” Ashlyn fumbled.

  Tripp’s brows rose, silently asking her if she was okay and she felt her cheeks heating.

  She had to get a grip. She was the one who told him there were no feelings. She was the one who said they could only be friends. So, she could not be the one to become flustered at the idea of being alone with the guy.

  Tripp nodded to his vehicle and they walked around to the passenger side, much to Ashlyn’s surprise. Then he had to chip away at her just a little more by opening the door for her.

  It’s not a date. It’s not a date. It’s not a date.

  She repeated the words over and over. She couldn’t give Tripp the wrong idea, not while Eric was still very present in her life.

  From the moment they got in the vehicle together, everything was awkward. The banter they used to have was gone.

  Tripp couldn’t take the weirdness between them. This wasn’t what he intended for the night to be when he asked Ashlyn to meet him; however, he was still going to go with what he initially planned on doing. It wasn’t a grand gesture, but it was also already after eight on a school night.

  “I’ll be back in just a second,” Tripp told her once he parked at the Ghiaccio Nero Pizzeria, leaving Ashlyn slightly confused.

  Ashlyn: This is so weird. I never should have done this.

  Emory: Ugh! Whatever! Just know, if you really want to keep it strictly platonic, you probably shouldn’t kiss him, AGAIN!

  Ashlyn: Not helping.

  Emory: Just be nice to the guy. No one here can believe that he messed up his home run streak.

  Ashlyn had noticed that Tripp’s head didn’t seem to be in the game the way it had been in the past. A sick feeling came to her when she thought about what she said to him in the library and if that could have had any effect.

  Before she could respond any further to Emory, she saw Tripp coming from the doors of the pizzeria. For just jeans and a black t-shirt, he still looked incredible.

  Tripp opened the door to the backseat and put the boxes in. It wasn’t until he got in the driver’s seat and buckled up that he met the pair of inquisitive and confused eyes. He could almost see the wheels in her head turning.

  “What,” he laughed, suddenly feeling at ease with her.

  “You never said what your plans were, so I’m a little lost here,” Ashlyn admitted.

  Tripp still held a deathly gorgeous smile. “No plans. Just a bite to eat between friends, just like I said.”

  Despite being exactly what she wanted, Ashlyn couldn’t help but wonder how many times they were going to keep pointing out the just friends thing.

  Tripp watched from the corner of his eye as Ashlyn perked up and glanced around once they turned down her street.

  “Relax.” He veered to the side of the street beneath an oak tree that blocked the blinding streetlight from streaming into the car. “So you don’t miss your curfew,” he pointed out.

  Tripp proceeded to getting out of his vehicle and opening the driver’s passenger side door where his bag was. He dug around for a moment and retrieved an iPad. He then threw his bag from the passenger seats toward the back. He came back to the driver’s seat, but didn’t get in, only rolled the windows down about four inches each.

  “You can go ahead and get in the back,” he casually said as though it was completely obvious to Ashlyn what was going on.

  She undid her seatbelt and did as suggested, already queueing a million questions in her head.

  When Tripp was content with the windows, he closed the door and hopped into the backseat as well, the box of pizza with the most enticing smell separating him from Ashlyn.

  He toyed around on the iPad, but could feel the tension radiating from Ashlyn. From the light of the screen, he knew that she could see the smile on his face.

  “What’s going on,” she huffed.

  “Well,” Tripp began, placing the iPad between the two seats in front of them. “For the sake of time, since it’s a school night, dinner and a movie.”

  “Uh huh,” Ashlyn hesitated. “And we’re in the backseat of your car like a block down from my house.”

  Tripp took a smaller box off the large one and place it on the floor. He handed Ashlyn some napkins from a stack. “Well, if we went out to dinner, just the two of us, it might give off the wrong impression. We could have gone to my house and done the same thing, we actually have a home theatre,” he pointed out. “However, I have a nosey brother and meddling mom. I’m still a little new so I wasn’t sure of any spots that didn’t include a lot of traffic, and I wasn’t going to go to some random parking lot. If you want to continue this, I suppose we could just go the extra block or so to your house?”

  “No, this is fine,” Ashlyn quickly answered.

  “Don’t want to bring me home for something other than homework?”

  Ashlyn had to be honest with him. “Something like that.”

  Tripp quickly changed the subject. “I have a couple movies downloaded. Action or romance?”

  Ashlyn choked on her spit.

  “Right. Action then.”

  “Wait, what,” she gasped. “You didn’t let me answer.”

  “I just figured that your response meant that you couldn’t do romance right now.”

  Ashlyn let out a frustrated breath. “I can do romance.” Quickly realizing how that sounded, she tried to clarify. “I like both genres. I was just surprised that you had any romantic movies.”

  “So…”

  “I don’t care. You pick,” she grumbled.

  “Nope. Ladies choice,” he insisted, motioning to the loaded screen of movies.

  Tripp easily assumed that Ashlyn would pick one of the action movies. Who would want to watch a romantic movie alone with a guy they were just friends with? However, she surprised him when she settled on a romantic comedy.

  “I n
ever asked you what all you liked on your pizza, so I played it safe,” he told her when he opened the box.

  Ashlyn felt her stomach rumble as she looked at the gigantic cheesy and greasy pepperoni pizza between them. “This is perfect!”

  Just as Ashlyn reached for a slice, the movie started. They both sank back into their seats and could not have been farther apart. Several minutes later, Tripp ended up sprawling across the seat and digging for something in the back.

  He handed Ashlyn an icy cold bottle of water while he had an orange sports drink.

  “You keep a cooler in your car.”

  “Only on game days,” he said quietly and pointed back to the movie.

  Tripp pretended to pay attention to the movie, just in case Ashlyn was one of those girls that would quiz him to see if he was actually paying attention or ask him his thoughts on it.

  He would have much rather preferred a quiet restaurant with nice conversation, but he felt like he was still walking on eggshells with Ashlyn, and oftentimes, conversation is what got them in trouble.

  It was painful to focus with her being so close. Had their conversation in the library gone differently, she’d be cuddled in his arms right now, not leaning into her door.

  Once the pizza was finished, Tripp cleared the space and put the box in the back with his bag and cooler. “I hope you’re not full.”

  Ashlyn laughed and grabbed at her stomach. “Are you kidding me? That thing was huge!”

  He reached for the smaller box he had placed on the floor much earlier. “Yeah, but I ate like two-thirds.”

  Ashlyn eyed the box, fully knowing that she could not eat another bite of whatever greasy goodness it contained.

  A smile came to Tripp’s face when Ashlyn’s eyes widened upon him opening the box.

  “Cannoli?”

  She reached for the box and Tripp pulled it away. “I thought you were full?”

  Ashlyn rolled her eyes and scooted from where she was plastered against the door closer to the center. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  Tripp couldn’t help but bring himself closer to the middle as well. He took one out and handed the box with the other to Ashlyn.

  He thought he might lose it when a small moan escaped from her lips after taking a bite.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled with a full mouth. After swallowing, “Are these strawberry?” She held hers closer to the screen of the iPad for light. “Wow, they are. They’re amazing.”

  “Glad you approve.”

  Just then Ashlyn’s phone went off. Tripp tried not to be curious, but her body immediately tensed. While he couldn’t read the message at first, from the corner of his eye, he saw the name at the top of the screen. He was relieved to see it was only Emory.

  Emory: Eric’s was at Flip’s picking up food. He asked where you were.

  Ashlyn: What did you say?

  Emory: That you bailed so you could get an article written.

  Ashlyn: Thank you.

  Emory: That’s not the strange thing. Then he asked where Tripp was, and why he wasn’t out with us celebrating another win.

  Ashlyn swallowed heavily, not liking the sound of that. Another message came in which gave her a sense of relief; however, she couldn’t help but think that Eric knew something, and more than anything, she didn’t want him bringing any harm to Tripp.

  Emory: Look, I don’t know what the deal is. Deacon actually covered for Tripp, said he sucked at the game and didn’t look well, probably went home.

  “Remind me to both thank and insult Deacon for that,” Tripp said, pushing his shoulder into Ashlyn.

  It was then that Ashlyn realized that they were sitting only a few inches from each other now. She pretended to be offended and pushed him back. “Ugh. Personal space.”

  Tripp paused the movie and turned, placing one leg beneath him, so that he was directly facing Ashlyn. “Is everything okay with him,” he asked with great seriousness.

  Ashlyn played dumb. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “He’s asking about you, and now me.”

  There was no way that Ashlyn was going to tell Tripp about Eric’s threat. “Well, that’s probably because we’re the only two not there.”

  “Does he think anything is going on between us?”

  She hoped not. “No, and that’s because nothing is going on between us.”

  Ashlyn’s phone went off again, only this time she laughed and held it up to Tripp.

  Dad: How was the game? How did the Scott boy do?

  “That is so weird,” Ashlyn sighed, and quickly responded.

  Tripp wished that she would have showed him her response. “Why?”

  “I don’t know what you said to my dad, but he’s a fan.”

  Tripp grew quiet and uneasy. “Nothing.”

  Ashlyn watched him carefully. “No. Tell me. What were you and my dad talking about at my party?”

  “I told you, baseball.”

  “Come on, tell me. Are you in trouble? Were you asking for his legal expertise,” Ashlyn teased.

  Ashlyn sucked in a breath when Tripp leaned in impossibly close to her. His expression a mix of seriousness and playfulness, his eyes exceptionally dark in the dim lighting.

  “If you’re so curious,” he began soft and low in a deep voice that sent tingles down Ashlyn’s spine. “Why don’t you ask him?”

  Ashlyn took a moment to compose herself from the scent of Tripp’s cologne that the night breeze happened to catch. It was intoxicating and it filled her head with thoughts that she shouldn’t be having, given what she told him many hours earlier.

  “So, it wasn’t just baseball? Why won’t you tell me?”

  Tripp’s eyes moved slowly from her eyes to her lips and back. “Not the time.”

  In just that moment he knew what crap the library had been. He wanted to pull his hair out in frustration. He saw with his own eyes the effect he had on her, so why would she insist that she didn’t have feelings for him?

  From the moment he met her, every instinct told him to back off, to go after a girl that was much easier. Rachel would have been easier. He wouldn’t have to try so hard. Something about the girl before him was just too different to pass up.

  Finally, he broke the spell and leaned against his door, his feet on the long seat and his knees drawn up. Ashlyn took off her shoes and did the same, their toes only inches from one another.

  It was already after ten. Her house was only two minutes away, she could just go home, but something about Tripp Scott suddenly intrigued her more than before.

  “Where was your favorite place to live,” Ashlyn asked.

  Tripp’s eyes widened in surprise. It wasn’t even in the realm of possible things that he expected her to say. “Why?”

  Ashlyn’s eyes fell, becoming embarrassed. “Well, when you were texting me, you knew who I was, and I told you everything, but you were always vague and didn’t talk much about yourself. I know now that’s because you didn’t want me to know it was you.” Treading lightly with what she was about to bring up, “I guess we would have continued like that had that whole library thing not happened.”

  Library thing?

  Tripp tried to hide his amusement with how nervous she was bringing up their first kiss.

  He shrugged. “Sorry about that. I just really wanted to get to know you.” He saw an uncomfortableness in Ashlyn’s body language. Did she really want to only be friends? He had never met a more confusing girl. “Anyway, my favorite place. I guess I’d have to say Georgia.” Ashlyn’s eyes shot up, her brow drawn together with curiosity. “I don’t remember too much, but that’s where I was born and lived until all the traveling started.”

  “Oh, right! Your grandparents still live there,” Ashlyn added, remembering that’s where Tripp and his family went for spring break.

  Tripp’s eyes brightened at the fact that she had tucked away that small piece of information. “Yeah…”

  Chapter 25

  Tripp pulled into Ashlyn’s
driveway. “I’m so sorry about that.”

  “No. It’s my fault. I lost track of time,” she sheepishly admitted.

  They never did end up finishing the movie. It really didn’t matter. It was one of those predictable ones where the couple has a miscommunication but ultimately ends up getting together in the end.

  Tripp put the vehicle in park and Ashlyn undid her seatbelt.

  “Wait,” he insisted.

  Ashlyn bit her lip and tried to calm her nerves as Tripp quickly exited the driver’s side and ran around to her door. He opened it for her and held out his hand to help her out. Once she stepped down, she turned back to grab her camera bag off the floor, taking a moment to reflect. This was not at all how tonight was supposed to go. More than anything, this was not supposed to feel like a date.

  “You don’t have to walk me up.”

  Tripp closed the door and motioned to her front steps. “I know.”

  “Then why are you,” Ashlyn asked teasingly as Tripp walked beside her.

  “Because I’m a gentleman.”

  Despite that she missed curfew by fifteen minutes, she couldn’t help but realize how slow their pace was to her front door. Was Tripp going slow and she following suit, or was it the other way around?

  Ashlyn pressed her back into the front door, not knowing how this was supposed to end. When Tripp took one too many steps forward, Ashlyn sucked in a sharp breath.

  Tripp immediately saw the look of terror on her face. Little did she know, his only intention was walking her to the door.

  “I’m not going to try to kiss you,” Tripp laughed.

  Ashlyn tried to hide her surprise, and maybe a little bit of disappointment. She couldn’t let him see either. “I’m glad you realize that can’t happen anymore if we intend for this friendship to survive.” Ashlyn cringed when she said that. What the hell did she just say? Who says that? She couldn’t believe something so stupid just flew out of her mouth.