by Beth Rinyu
“I go to school with Ashton.”
My father nodded, still giving a wary look. “Well, come sit at our table until they are ready to get this underway, Becca,” my father said, taking my hand. I felt myself becoming a little annoyed by his actions. I was having a really nice time talking to Drew and then he had to come in and swoop me away. But I knew better than to argue; at least not here, anyway. Perhaps, I would say something once we got home.
I gave Drew an apologetic smile. “Thanks for the drink.”
“Anytime.” He smiled back as my dad led me away and through the crowd.
“Who was that boy?” my father asked.
“I don’t know, Dad. Just a friend of Ashton’s.”
“Well, Lynn and Edward may be good friends of mine but I happen to know that Ashton gets into his fair share of trouble. You don’t need to be associating yourself with anyone that is friends with him.”
“Dad! Please! I’m not a little baby. I think I can form my own opinion of others quite well!”
“Becca, we’re ready to start!” Mrs. Barrett interrupted.
Even though my stomach was in knots over the entire thing, I was still feeling relieved because I knew that my father and I were about to get into a major battle. She took my hand and led me up to the podium. I stood alongside of the other two girls, keeping my head down, totally tuning everyone and everything else out. God, I just wanted to get this over with, and I wanted to get it over with without spending the rest of the night with Ashton.
My ears finally perked up and my stomach dropped when I heard Mrs. Barrett say, "Our next bachelorette is studying pre-law at Columbia University. Besides being very smart, she is also very beautiful. Meet Becca Keeton.” I walked over to the podium, feeling like my legs were about to give out. I hated being the center of attention, especially for something like this. My head was spinning through the loud applause of the crowd and the shrill whistle coming from Ashton, who was now front and center. "Okay, I will start the bidding at one hundred dollars," Mrs. Barrett said. As expected, Ashton was the first one to bid. Mrs. Barrett smiled at her son. "Okay, we have a bid for one hundred. Do I have one hundred and fifty?" Oh God please somebody, anybody.....but Ashton.
"One hundred and fifty," someone shouted from the back of the room. I tried to see where the voice was coming from, but it was impossible in the dimly lit crowd. Not that I cared; anyone would be better than Ashton.
Just as I was starting to gain some hope that I wouldn't be stuck spending the night with Ashton, he blurted out, "Two hundred," before Mrs. Barrett could even raise the bid.
"Okay, we have two hundred. Going once, going twice......" I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the next two hours of torture ahead.
"Five hundred.” The voice from the back finally made his way up to the front and I couldn't help but smile when I saw the face behind it…Drew. Tonight he would, hopefully, be my date. But for the moment, he was my hero.
Ashton shook his head and high fived Drew. "You win, bro! I ain’t spending that kind of money on any chick unless I know she's gonna be puttin’ out." There were a few gasps and a few laughs from the crowd. I felt my face turn completely red, but, judging by the look on Mrs. Barrett's face, I could tell that she was just a little more embarrassed than I was. She shot Ashton a dagger with her eyes before calling off the final bid to Drew.
Drew approached me and lifted my hand, placing a gentle kiss on it before taking it in his and walking off to our table. "Wow, well thank you. That was really generous of you," I said as we took a seat.
"Well, a good cause, a beautiful girl, it was a no brainer."
"Well, thank you. But I was actually thanking you for saving me from Ashton." My stomach flipped at the cute boyish grin that flashed across his face.
"Oh, come on now, he's not that bad." He chuckled.
"I guess it's just a matter of opinion." I sighed
The waitress came over and took our order and I tried my best to stop Drew from ordering me a glass of wine but he wasn’t paying me any mind. He stared at me intently after the waitress walked away. "So what kind of law did you want to get into, Becca?" he asked.
"Criminal."
He raised his eyebrow at me as if he were surprised. "Prosecuting or defending?"
"Oh, definitely prosecuting. It seems like so much fun putting the bad guys away.” He looked away and nodded. "So how old are you?" I asked.
"Twenty two."
“And what are you studying in school?”
“Business. Not sure where I want to go with that yet, but I have a few ideas.”
I nodded and smiled. “So how come you don’t go back to California and spend time with your family over summer break?”
“Geez, you ask a lot of questions.” He smirked.
“Well, isn’t that what lawyers, or should I say ‘wanna be’ lawyers do?”
His smile deepened and so did his dimple in his left cheek. “You are so right. Actually, I really don’t have any family in California anymore. My parents died in a car accident a year ago.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. “Oh God. I am so sorry for prying like that. You should have just told me to mind my own business.”
“It’s okay. After they passed away, I decided to transfer out here last year mid-semester. I needed a change.”
“Why here?”
“Well, my grandfather has a house on the sound that he left me after he passed away. I would come here every summer to visit growing up and I kind of liked it. So that’s where I live, and I commute back and forth to school every day.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Nope. What about you?”
“A younger brother,” I said as the waitress brought us our wine.
He lifted his wine glass up. “Thanks for being my date tonight, Becca,” he said as we clinked our wine glasses together.
We talked nonstop throughout dinner. He had come from a very wealthy family and when his mother and father passed away, he was pretty much set for life financially. My heart ached while listening to his story. Everyone in his life had been taken from him and he was basically on his own. “Well, I’m really sorry about your parents. It must be really tough to not have that support system in your life.” He looked down at the table and nodded.
“So, you and your parents, are you close?”
I took a sip of my wine and nodded. “Yeah, my parents are great. Sometimes a little too overprotective, as you witnessed earlier. By the way, I’m very sorry for my dad’s abruptness.”
“No worries. It must be tough on a guy having a beauty of a daughter like you.” I felt my face heating up once again over his compliment as I looked away. “Hey,” he whispered, taking my hand across the table. I lifted my head, finally locking eyes with him. “You really need to learn how to take a compliment. A beautiful girl like you is going to be getting a lot of them in life so you may as well get used to it and just accept them with dignity.”
A smile spread over my face. “Thank you,” I managed to get out, feeling his warm hand in mine. As I stared into his eyes, I couldn’t help but think, he wasn’t like most guys my age, who had a limited attention span that only included sex and partying. There was definitely something about him that made him stand out from the others but I just couldn't put my finger on it.
“Becca.” I was broken from my trance as I looked up to find my dad standing over the table. He looked down at Drew and our hands latched together before shooting me a look of displeasure. I removed my hand from Drew’s and cleared my throat. “Your brother isn’t feeling well so we have to get going.”
“Well, Dad, I have to stay. I promised Mrs. Barrett–”
“I don’t care what you promised her, your brother is sick and we are your transportation home.”
“I can take you home, Becca,” Drew chimed in.
I smiled at his suggestion. I wasn’t ready to leave at all. Contrary to how I was feeling in the beginning of the night
about this whole function, I was having a great time here with Drew. “No, that won’t be necessary. Becca can just–”
“Dad, I am staying. I told Lynn that I would do this, and Drew has donated a good amount of money to this charity. I will see you later tonight.” He glared at me in disbelief. Normally, I was always the obedient daughter who never went against my father’s wishes, but tonight he wasn’t going to win this battle. I raised my eyebrow at him. “I will be fine, Dad.”
He shook his head and gave me a cautious look before turning his attention to Drew. “I’ll be waiting up for her to make sure she gets home in one piece.”
“Not a problem,” Drew responded.
He sighed deeply before walking away and disappearing into the crowd. I shook my head in total irritation. “Again, I am so sorry,” I apologized to Drew.
His smile widened. “No need to keep apologizing, Becca. Just forget all about it and let’s have a great time.” I smiled back and was overcome with a strong sense of pride. I had actually stood up to my dad, letting him know that my feelings were just as significant as his. I wasn’t sure if it was the wine or Drew that gave me this newfound inner strength. Maybe it was just a little bit of both.
Much to my dismay, the night was flying by. I had allowed Drew more than his allotted one dance that his bid had covered. It seemed like we were on the dance floor all night. I had lost count of our dances by the fourth one. Any skepticism that I had about him being like Ashton was washed away when Ashton tried cutting in on us and Drew wouldn’t allow him, telling him he had to get his money’s worth. I closed my eyes and leaned my head into his chest as he pulled me closer. I inhaled his cologne with its hints of cedar, spice, and musk and couldn’t get enough of it. He smelled so good. So masculine. His muscular arms wrapped around me just felt so perfect. I wasn’t feeling like my normal awkward self. For once in my life, I was relaxed and not worrying about what I was doing wrong or achieving more. I was content with the moment that I was in. The music ended but we were still swaying back and forth.
“Becca,” he whispered in my ear.
“Hmm….” I didn’t want to remove my head from his chest. I was so relaxed.
“The music stopped. I think that was the last dance of the night.”
“Who says we need music to dance? I want to make sure you get your money’s worth.” I looked up at him and smiled.
He gazed down at me and gave me a sexy grin that made my insides flip. “Whatever you say.” I closed my eyes, ignoring all of the people walking past us to exit and the wait staff cleaning off the tables. For the moment, it was just Drew and I on the dance floor, dancing away to the most beautiful music that was playing in my head. “So, do you mind telling me what song we’re dancing to so I can keep up with the rhythm?”
I looked up at him and giggled. “Hmm??….Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller.” He looked at me strangely. “Don’t judge! My dad always says I’m an old soul trapped in a young body. There’s something about the forties era that’s just so romantic, right down to the music.”
“I’m not judging. I think it’s great that you see things differently than most girls your age. It shows your character.” I stayed in his arms for some time, moving back and forth, not worrying about the time or the fact that I probably had twenty missed calls from my dad. “Hey Becca, I think they’re starting to shut off the lights.”
“They just don’t appreciate good music.” I giggled, finally releasing myself from his embrace. I was hoping that he would ask me out again and that my rejection from his first invite wouldn’t deter him. We walked outside into the warm early summer air and through the beautiful garden area. “So I was thinking, I had a really great time tonight and I was pretty dumb for turning you down the other day when you asked me to go out. So, if you want to ask me again….I’ll more than likely say yes.” I smiled.
He shook his head and laughed. “Well, I would love to, but seeing how you’re so busy, I wouldn’t want to keep you from all your work,” he teased.
“Oh yeah, that. Well, I had some preconceived notions about you in my head because of who you’re friends with, but I think you convinced me tonight that you are nothing like him.”
He stopped walking and stared down at me. “Well, I guess I’ll forgive you for having those notions. That comes with the territory of being a future lawyer. But I think my rejection from the other day would sting a lot less if you asked me out.” He grinned.
“Oh, so you’re going to make me grovel?”
“I cried for days after you turned me down,” he teased.
We both busted out with laughter. “Oh poor baby! You should have asked Ashton for some tips on handling my rejection. Well, since I don’t like to see grown men cry…..” God, I felt so weird doing this, I’d never asked out a guy before.
“I’m feeling the tears starting to form, Becca….hurry,” he joked.
“Do you want to go out with me sometime?” I blurted out.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” he said with a devilish grin.
I shook my head and laughed. “Drew Bryant, would you do me the honor of going out with me sometime?”
“Oh, is that what you just asked? Well, I will on one condition.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I have to see if you’re a good kisser first.”
“Is that so?” I smiled.
“Yup; can’t be wasting my time on a girl that doesn’t know how to kiss.”
“Well, you certainly don’t waste any time, do you?” I raised my eyebrow at him.
“Not when I see something I like.”
He raised his eyebrow back at me and I was gone. I felt my knees melting and my heart began beating faster. His head inched closer to mine as I closed my eyes, finally feeling the softness of his lips on mine and his tongue parting my mouth. I opened my mouth wider to allow him in as our tongues began to dance together in perfect unison, the same way that our bodies did on the dance floor just a short time ago. And just like our dance, I didn’t want this most absolute perfect first kiss to end either. My insides awakened. Everything inside of me wanted him when he pulled me closer, moving his hands up my bare back. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have them all over the rest of my body. As our kiss ended, his hands had moved to both sides of my face while he stared down at me.
“Well, am I worthy?” I joked.
The corners of his mouth slowly turned up into a huge grin. “Yeah, you’ll do.”
He took my hand in his as we walked off to his car. My stomach was doing cartwheels. My lips still had his delicious taste all over them and my heart was opening wider than it had ever been in its entire life.
Mrs. Barrett was keeping me busier than ever with the charity. I was running all over town, all over the state, and a few times even out of state and into New York to deliver information and pick up donations from the different benefactors. I was hoping that soon I would be getting in on the actual ins and outs and the day to day operations of how it all ran, which was my whole reason for getting involved in the first place. Drew and I had gone out on several dates and he always kept me company during all of my travels that Mrs. Barrett had me going on, which I was really grateful for. The benefactors that I would have to deliver to would range from everyday normal people to what seemed to be very powerful people just based on the size of their homes. Some of them had intimidating security guards that looked like they were plopped right out of an action hero movie. They would eye me up like I had no clothes on but they would back right down the minute they saw that I had a guy with me. I couldn't thank Drew enough for taking his time to come along with me. He normally took summer classes or would intern, but he wanted to take this summer before his senior year off completely. I felt a little guilty about making him feel like he had to be my babysitter, but he didn't see it that way and I was glad. I loved spending time with him. He was so easy to talk to about anything, things that I would normally find off
limits with anyone else, even Krista. Not to mention that his kisses just got better and better, making me yearn for him more and more with each one. I didn’t mention anything about Drew to my parents. I knew that my father would not be pleased with all of the time that I had been spending with him, and I was quite certain that he would have made no qualms about letting me know. So, I spared myself the lecture and kept quiet. Normally, I would heed to my father's warnings, but with this I wasn't. Drew made me feel like a grown woman, not a child. He respected me and didn't demand perfection from me like everyone else did. I could be myself completely with him. He didn’t judge me for my imaginative thinking or my love of beautiful sunsets and star lit skies. He allowed the inner girl, the creative one, the dreamer, the one that I had suppressed deep inside of me for so long, to come out whenever I was with him. I didn't feel like Becca Keeton: Perfect student, perfect obedient daughter, and perfect role-model big sister. I felt like Becca Keeton: the girl that I wished I could be.
"So did you want to get something to eat?" Drew asked as we were on our way home from one of my runs.
"Sure, but how about if I cook you dinner at your place as a thank you for giving up all your free time these past few weeks and keeping me company?"
He smiled and my heart flipped. It seemed like he didn't have to do much of anything to have that effect on me and along with the butterflies that he set off in my stomach, I was also noticing the burning desire in other parts of my body. Parts that hadn't been explored by anyone, and every now and then I couldn't help but wonder if Drew would be the first one to get that special part of me.
“Sounds good to me, but I have nothing in my house to cook.”
“Well, that’s what they make grocery stores for, silly.”
“I would have never known that.” He grinned as I pulled into the food store that was right up the street from his house.
“Silly boy.” I giggled, leaning over the console in my car and placing a kiss on his lips. He gazed at me and suddenly I wasn’t hungry for food anymore. The only appetite I had was for him.