by Emma Knight
“Yeah, exactly!” Dana said.
“So?” Rachel asked. “What’s the problem?”
“The problem is that Sam has liked Brian forever now, and she thought he was going to ask her out soon,” Dana said.
“Huh?” Rachel asked sounding confused.
“Brian is Sam’s guy. She’s been after him for a while now,” Dana said.
“Well, how was I supposed to know that? She didn’t mention anything to me,” Rachel said.
“You should really tell him you can’t go out with him tonight. You have to back out of it. If you want to be friends with us, you will do that,” Dana said.
Rachel couldn’t believe what was happening. Was she really just given an ultimatum to be her friend?
“Listen, D. Thank you for telling me this, but Brian asked me out. I didn’t do anything wrong here,” Rachel said. “I like him now. I’m not going to just drop him like this,” Rachel said.
“Rachel, you better drop him if you know what’s good for you. You’re practically a new girl here, and you don’t want to lose the few friends you still have. Trust me, it’s for your own good,” Dana said.
Rachel couldn’t believe the words coming from Dana’s mouth. Since when did she care more about Samantha than her? This was all too crazy for her and she couldn’t take it anymore. She was angry at the situation and even angrier at the ultimatum that she’d just been given. Of course she wanted to keep her girl friends, but at the same time, she really liked Brian. She didn’t know what to do.
“I’m only telling you this because I’m your friend, and I don’t want to see you make a mistake,” Dana said. “I don’t want you to lose your friends all because of some guy.”
“This is really unfair,” Rachel said. “I can’t help it if he asked me out. He clearly likes me and not Sam. What can I do about that? Cover up my feelings?”
“That’s what I’d do,” Dana said with a snicker. “You’re not being a good friend.”
“Listen, D, I’m going through a lot right now. This is the last thing I should have to worry about. You guys all need to cut me some slack here,” Rachel begged. “I did nothing wrong and I’m going to keep our plans tonight. I’m sorry if you or the girls get upset by this, but that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Ok, if that’s your choice. That’s what you’ll do. But don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Dana said.
“Whatever,” Rachel said, as she turned to walk out of the bathroom and back towards Brian. “I thought we were better friends than this.”
Rachel couldn’t believe what had just gone down in the bathroom. She couldn’t believe her BFF Dana just treated her like that. It was unspeakable. She was upset and angry all at the same time. Not to mention, now she felt guilty for going out with Brian. She hated that she felt that way, but her girlfriends were important to her as well. She didn’t want to lose them over a guy, but at the same time, she didn’t know the whole back-story. The whole situation was unfair to her and she felt mistreated.
“Hey Babe,” Brian said, as he motioned her over. “We’re next, what do you want?”
Rachel looked at him and then back at Sam and Amy, who were standing close by.
“So, what will it be?” he asked again.
“Oh, sorry. I’ll have Starburst,” Rachel said, looking in at all the candies on the shelf.
“That all?” Brian asked. “A drink?”
“Sure, a blue slushy!” Rachel said.
“I’ll get a large one, we can share it,” Brian said.
Rachel smiled at him and shook her head.
She couldn’t help but look back at Sam, Amy and Dana as they all stood in a huddle talking and whispering and looking over at her. She felt awful and uncomfortable. Part of her felt bad for Sam, but the other part was mad at her. She couldn’t believe that Dana had just told her to leave Brian and not talk to him anymore. Was she joking? Was she serious? She was dumbfounded by the whole situation, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin her night. She was out with the guy she had a crush on, and nobody was going to get in the way of that.
She looked back at Sam one last time and caught her rolling her eyes at her. She was so offended by that, she took Brian by the hand and gave him a big hug right in front of her. She knew it was rude, but at the same time Sam was being rude.
“Let’s go get our seats,” Brian said.
“Yeah,” Rachel said.
“Back row?” Brian asked.
Rachel didn’t know how to respond. She knew what happened in the back row. It was almost as if he were asking her if she wanted to make out the entire movie. She was speechless. Part of her wanted to say yes, but the other part of her wanted to wait a little bit. She didn’t want to risk sounding like a prude though, so she said, “Ok, whatever you like.”
As they entered the theater, she was surprised to see that the entire back row was full. There were no open seats. In fact, the entire theater was jam-packed. They would be lucky to even get a seat next to each other at this point. The poked around and walked up and down the aisle looking for two seats together. Then, Brian spotted them.
“I see two, right over there!” he said.
Rachel followed him over to the seats and as they were scooting around the dimly lit theater she realized the only two seats available were directly in front of Dana, Sam, Penny and Amy. She couldn’t believe her luck. Just when she thought she’d get alone time with Brian, this had to happen.
The previews started and Brian reached over and held her hand. She felt a little uncomfortable by this, but only because she could feel Sam’s stares like daggers going into her body. She liked his touch though, it was comforting to her and she felt the same way about him. She was head over heels for him. She’d had a crush on him for years, and now, since she’d returned, it was turning into a reality. She couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest girl on the planet.
The two sat there holding hands and sharing the slushy out of the same straw. Rachel knew that Sam was getting more pissed off each second the two of them sat there. It was hard for her to focus on the movie, while all she could think about was Brian and Sam. She hated that they were sitting right in front of her. She turned to Brian after about twenty minutes of the movie and said, “You like it so far?”
“Eh!” Brian said. “It’s alright. Thought it would be better,”
“Yeah, me, too!” Rachel said. “Any chance you wanna get out of here?”
“I was hoping you’d ask!” Brian said.
“Let’s go!” Rachel said, as she stood up slowly and shimmied he way out of the aisle.
She didn’t look back to see if Sam was watching or not. She was almost certain she was staring at them leaving, wondering where they were going, and if they were going to do anything together. She could sense the jealousy oozing out of Sam’s body as they left the theater. She so desperately wanted to turn back and shoot her a smile, but knew that would be too mean. After all, she wasn’t a mean person; she just didn’t like how she was being treated.
When they got into the parking lot, there were a lot of kids smoking and drinking. A cloud of smoke hit her in the face and she waved it away coughing. She hated the smell of cigarette smoke and made a vow to herself never to smoke. It was a gross addition, and one she didn’t want any part of.
“You smoke?” Brian asked.
“Ew, no!” Rachel answered. “You?”
“Eh, here and there, why?” Brian asked.
“Really? That’s bad!” Rachel insisted, giving him a playful slap on his arm.
“Yeah, I’m going to quit though!” Brian said.
“You better! I don’t like smokers!” Rachel said.
“Well then, I will quit right now!” Brian replied.
Rachel laughed and said, “Thanks!”
Rachel saw Brian look down at his watch and then say, “It’s still early, do you want to stay out?”
“What time is it?” she asked.
“It’s only 8 o’clock,”
Brian answered. “You still have two more hours!”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll do something else,” Rachel said.
She didn’t know what he had in mind, but hoped he didn’t just want to go back to his place. She hoped he didn’t think she was that type of girl. If he did, than he’d be in for a rude awakening. She never did anything with a guy on the first date aside from kiss them. And even then, she’d only kiss them if she were really into them. She wasn’t a casual dater, and had to really like the person before going out with them. That’s why tonight was so special. She’d had a secretive crush on Brian for as long as she can remember. She never told her friends, because frankly she thought it was out of the realm of possibility. She thought a guy like Brian would never like her, and she didn’t want to get her hopes up for nothing. She also didn’t want to look like a failure in her friend’s eyes’ if she never went out with him. But in hindsight, she should have mentioned it. That way this whole thing with Sam never would have happened. She was still waiting to see the implications of her actions and knew when she went to school the next day she’d have to face the music, but for now, she’d enjoy the rest of her night with Brian.
“So what did you have in mind,” Rachel asked, bracing herself.
“Hmm,” Brian said, “There’s this cute café in town, I think it just opened up a few months ago. We can make s’mores, there’s chocolate fondue, hot chocolate, ya know.”
Rachel was pleasantly surprised at his idea and really respected him for suggesting it and not suggesting going back to his place for a “movie.”
“Really? That sounds awesome, I love chocolate fondue!” Rachel answered.
“Well, then chocolate fondue it is!” Brian said, as he shut her car door.
“When did this place open?” Rachel asked, trying to put the pieces of her amnesia puzzle together still.
“I think it opened at the end of the summer, but I’m not sure. I haven’t been there yet,” Brian said.
“Really? Why not?” Rachel asked.
“Guess I didn’t have anyone special to go with!” Brian answered smoothly.
“Aw! Well, thanks for waiting for me!” Rachel added.
“Anytime!” Brian said, as the drove off.
When they arrived to the café, Rachel looked around at the dimly lit, romantic ambiance of the place. There were plush couches that lined the walls, and curtains up for privacy between them. There were comfortable chairs that surrounded a large communal table where people were working on laptops and writing in journals. Then, sitting on the couch, she saw couples snuggling up to one another, sharing hot coco or making s’mores over an open flame on their table.
“This is the coolest place I’ve ever seen!” Rachel said, looking around.
“Yeah! Isn’t is great?” Brian said, looking for a hostess.
“Hello there, can I help you?” the hostess asked.
“Yeah, two please,” Brian, said. “For dessert!”
“Where would you like to sit?” the hostess asked. “A couch or chairs?”
Rachel was hoping he’d say couch so they too could snuggle up to one another.
Brian looked at Rachel and then back at the hostess, “A couch, please!”
“That cool with you, Rach?” Brian asked.
“Yeah!” she said, smiling.
The hostess took them to a quiet couch in the back of the café. It was in the corner and cordoned off by beautiful curtains. It was a private couch, perfect for a first date. She was excited that they’d left the movie and even happier to be spending the rest of the night here with Brian.
The two sat down next to each other on the couch and opened their menus. The server came over and lit the candle that was sitting unlit in the middle of their table.
“Can I get you two started off with anything?” the server asked, looking at Rachel first. “Miss?”
“Oh, I’ll have a hot chocolate with whipped cream, please!” She said.
“An you?” the server asked.
“I’ll have the same,” Brian added. “Thank you!”
“Do you know what you’d like for dessert this evening or do you need a few more minutes to look over our menu?” he asked.
Brian looked over at Rachel and said, “Chocolate fondue?”
Rachel nodded and smiled. “With extra strawberries, please!”
“Can we do the chocolate fondue for two, with extra strawberries?” Brian asked.
“Sure thing! It’s fantastic, have you had it here before?” the server asked.
“Nope, first time!” Brian said.
“Well, you two are in for a real treat,” he said, as he jotted down their order and walked away.
“It’s nice to be here with you,” Brian said, turning to her. “It’s refreshing to finally go out with someone who’s down to earth and everything.”
“Oh, well, thanks,” Rachel, said. “It’s nice to be here with you, too!”
“So, why’d you start this year now?” Brian asked. “I mean, where were you the past few months?”
Rachel dreaded that question, but knew it was inevitable that he’d ask it. She didn’t know how to address it either. She didn’t really know where she was, but she’d look like a total freak if she said she forgot. What did that mean anyway?
“Well, I was away,” Rachel, answered vaguely.
“Yeah, I heard you moved! How was that?” Brian asked. “Apparently not so good if you and your bro are back here so fast!”
“Yeah, we are happy to be back, that’s all I can say!” Rachel said, trying to dodge the question.
“So, what’s new with you? How’s the ski team doing this year?” Rachel asked.
“Oh, ski team is number one this season. It’s so nice to finally be back on the slopes. We’ve been lucky the weather got colder this year than last. Last year, we weren’t able to hit the slopes until January, so we had indoor practice all the time. It was a drag. But we get to the mountain at least 3 days a week now!” Brian said.
“That’s awesome, I’d love to be on the ski team!” Rachel said. “I’m not the best skier, but I love it!”
“You should so join, there are a few spots still open, and the season just started a few weeks ago!” Brian said.
“Really?” Rachel asked, sounding interested.
“Yeah! Totally, come tomorrow, Coach Croak will be happy to have you, I’m sure of it!” Brian said.
Rachel thought about it for a moment and then said, “I guess I could come and check it out. I mean, I don’t have any equipment or anything.”
“That’s fine. A lot of us rent at the mountain. They have good deals on season rentals and you don’t have to wait on long lines,” Brian answered.
“Ok, I’ll go. You convinced me!” Rachel said.
“Great!” Brian said, smiling at her and inching towards her to put his arm around her.
A moment later the server came back with their chocolate fondue. “Here it is!”
“Thank you,” they said in unison.
“Can I get you anything else for the moment?” the server asked politely.
“I think we’re ok for now, thank you!” Brian said.
The two sat there, eating dipping their fruit and marshmallows into the fondue. Brian dipped a giant strawberry into the chocolate, then turned to Rachel and said, “Open up!”
Rachel opened wide and ate the strawberry off of his fondue fork. She returned the gesture by dipping a marshmallow and feeding it to him. A bit of chocolate dripped down his lip and she moved it with her finger.
Brian laughed and said, “Thanks, sweetie.”
A moment later, Brian scooted closer to Rachel and then, for a moment, she took a whiff of his body and found it to be irresistible. It wasn’t a specific cologne smell; it was the scent of his skin, of his body odor, of his inner workings that turned her on. It was a strong smell, like nothing she’d ever experienced before. It was strange, but she wanted to taste him. She wanted to taste his body right then and the
re. He moved even closer, their bodies touching, and she looked him up and down, focusing on his neck, and watching his pulse go in and out. His large adams apple, protruding out of his neck, made him even more desirable. She couldn’t resist him. It was a feeling foreign to her and she didn’t know what to do. Her heart was racing as she sat there, staring at his body, watching it come closer to hers. She could feel her body changing and her mouth watering. Brian leaned in towards her mouth to kiss her and the second his lips touched hers, she felt a protruding in her mouth. It felt like her teeth were growing or something. It was scary; she didn’t know what to do or what was happening to her. She quickly jumped back and moved away from Brian hoping the distance would calm her down.
“I’m sorry, Brian. I’m not feeling well,” Rachel said.
“What’s wrong?” Brian asked.
She couldn’t stand there and look at him for one more second. She wanted him desperately, but not in a normal way. She couldn’t explain it. She just had to get out of there. She stood up and ran out of the café.
CHAPTER 11
Rachel ran home, in the freezing cold and could barely catch her breath as she got to her front door. She was surprised by her speed getting home, but figured she was high on adrenalin from the night. She couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened with Brian. She knew she was acting weird and figured she’d ruined their budding relationship. She was distraught about the feelings she was having at the café and knew that it wasn’t normal. She didn’t know what had happened to her or what had gotten into her. When she entered the house, she broke down and started sobbing uncontrollably. The tears kept streaming from her eyes and down her cheeks.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” her dad asked as he came running down the stairs. “Are you ok, what happened?”
Rachel couldn’t catch her breath to answer him, she was hysterical. Her hormones were raging out of control, and she couldn’t pull herself together.
“I’m..I’m fine,” Rachel said, sobbing through her words.
“You’re clearly not fine,” here dad said, with a look of concern.
“You’re right, I’m not fine!” Rachel said, now in a yelling tone. It was almost as if she couldn’t control her rage and anger. She started storming through the house yelling, “I hate this! I hate everyone! I’m so angry!”