“But…should we be here?”
“Yes, we are fine don’t worry, Winter.”
I could sense a frown on my face.
“They did have this section roped off.”
He laughed a musical sound. “You aren’t going to let this little rope stop you?” But then Austin must have seen the apprehension on my face. Austin whispered against my ear. “Winter, this is our section. We have it all to ourselves.” Then he paused for a brief moment. “I have to admit, I like having you all to myself. When it comes to you, I am completely selfish you know.”
I liked the idea of him being completely selfish, the idea of him keeping me all to himself. Looking at our seats hidden within the dim light, I decided it had definite possibilities then I took off my coat, which he helped me remove.
Austin’s finger gently brushed the corner of my mouth. “What is this smile all about?”
I felt my cheeks turn hot.
“Nothing.”
He gave me his crooked grin, the one which gives the impression of guilt.
“You like the idea just as much as I do,” he commented. “Being together, alone in the dark.” Think of the possibilities.”
I giggled. “You are pretty darn sure of yourself,” I replied, trying to maintain some semblance of control here. After all he wasn’t wrong in his assumptions, but he didn’t need to know that.
I watched his face, the sparkle of life in his eyes, the smile which morphed from guilty to confident and stunningly white. My stomach flipped. My heart started to race, and darn, but he did know.
“Yes, Winter, I’m pretty darn sure,” he said while leaning in toward me.
Inside, I was hoping he would kiss me. I felt him brush his lips to the corner of my smirking mouth. A tremble ran through me. His grin widened, quiet obviously with the knowledge he was not only right but victorious. His piercing eyes rested upon my perking nipples which were poking through the silky material of my brand new shirt.
“Positive in fact.” He ended in a low almost croon.
We took our seats perched high with the perfect view of the stage and rows below us. I watched in complete seclusion while people filed into the theater seats below. Then the lights dimmed, and the stage lit. The curtain rose, and the actors arrived on stage. It was a play.
Austin’s voice was smooth and silky as he spoke in my ear. “I promised my friends I would come watch them. I also thought you might want to meet them after the show.”
“Sure.” I could hear the slight quiver in my own voice. “I would love to meet them,” I said, just a little bit nervous.
He ran the tip of his index finger down my cheek. Every time he touched me I felt it everywhere. It should be impossible, but I did.
“You have nothing to worry about. Trust me; my friends are going to love you.”
I was beginning to wonder if Austin could hear my thoughts. He knew I was worried about meeting his friends, worried I may not be what they expected, and worried they may not like me. I smiled back at him, speechless yet again. The logical part of my brain knew I was here to watch a play, but the less logical part of my brain truly did not care and wanted to stay focused on the perfection of Austin’s face. I finally decided to let the logical part override the less logical part so I tore my eyes from Austin only to return them, hesitantly, back to the stage and the scenes from a contemporary version of Macbeth in front of me.
As the play continued, I felt Austin lean into me. He had wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I rested my head on his shoulder, fitting it perfectly into the hollow. He smells delicious, I thought. It was like springtime rain, fresh and inviting with a mix of his cologne, sweet tempting musk with a bite of hot spice. I took in another breath, allowing the sensation to linger.
At intermission, he kissed me. This kiss was soft, gentle, slow. He was in no hurry with this kiss, and I could have sat there all night just kissing him. Then I sensed something on my neck. Austin placed something around my neck. I moved my hands to my neck to feel, a necklace?
“Austin,” I said, surprised as my fingers outlined what felt like a snowflake. I looked down to see it was indeed a white gold snowflake charm, which caught brilliant within the light and sparkled. Small diamonds were inset into the points of the snowflake. “Oh my God, it’s beautiful.”
With a tilt to his head he ran his fingertip over the necklace ending on the charm. “It’s perfect on you.”
“You shouldn’t have. This is too much money,” I said, still shocked at the surprise gift.
“Winter, I wanted to. I saw it, and I thought of you.”
I started to protest, knowing what was around my neck cost more money than my month’s salary plus tips, but my lips where stopped by Austin’s kiss.
When the actors took their positions on the stage again, Austin pulled back from my lips. He tapped the tip of my nose with his fingertip. I pouted. He smirked, as if he were tickled by my reaction before kissing the tip of my nose. As the play started, Austin allowed me to wiggle myself back into his hold, my head on his shoulder. We watched the second half of the play, tucked away in our own little space in the dark balcony, together, snuggling, and content.
After the show, Austin and I met a large group of his friends at a small quiet diner. When we arrived, hand in hand, I watched the faces of his friends study me, then study him. Everyone seemed to be nice, or at least they were smiling. The room was filled with the smell of coffee, breakfast, and something Italian. It was more than likely spaghetti since the sign hanging on the wall indicated spaghetti and meatballs was their Saturday special.
“Everyone,” Austin announced as we approached the table of eight. “This is Winter Perri.”
In almost perfect unison, I heard eight voices say, “Hey, Winter!”
I blushed. “Hi,” I said.
Austin gazed at me while running the tip of his index finger down my cheek. He obviously liked my blush.
“Winter, this is Ace,” he introduced. Austin was pointing to the short dark-haired boy on the far end of the table with blazing acne. Ace grinned. “Next to Ace is Jen.” Jen waived her long elegant fingers at me. “To her right are Claudia and Bean.”
“Hi,” I said then blurted out without thinking, “Your name is Bean?” I was not sure I heard Austin right. I was a bit embarrassed I had actually asked about his name. My cheeks flushed red hot again.
“Yep.” Bean smiled, filling his rounded face a bright. “Crazy name I know. That really is my name. Most people think it is a nickname but….”
“I know what it’s like to have a crazy name, too,” I interjected quickly, interrupting him while laughing quite nervously.
“Parents! What can you do?” Bean quipped. Everyone laughed out loud.
Austin gestured back toward the table. “This is Wes, Lynn, Jewel, and Will.” They all smiled and nodded.
“We saved you a seat, don’t be shy,” Will said with a southern drawl and a dimpled grin. He was pulling out the empty chair next to his.
“Thanks,” I said. Austin made sure I was seated first before he sat down.
The chatter around the table was about the play, the music, all the hours of preparation and practice it took to put on the show then more technical aspects about lights, sound, cables, and harnesses in which I really did not understand.
“What did you think, Winter?” Jewel asked. Her big chocolate brown eyes seemed kind and inquisitive.
“Oh, I really liked it. I thought everyone did a great job.”
“I am glad you liked our little production,” Wes said. I was pretty sure Wes and Jewel were together by the way they were giving each other goo-goo eyes.
“We tried to get Austin involved but he has been too busy at school working on the big spring showcase. He has a show,” Lynn added. She was pulling her long golden locks into a twist, securing it with what looked like chopsticks.
My head flipped around. I was looking at Austin in surprise. “You have a show?”
Aust
in beamed.
“Austin is far too modest to tell you, I am sure, but he has been working hard.” Ace’s voice was deep, a little husky as he spoke.
“What kind of a show?” I asked.
“A play,” Austin replied. “It is a modern adaptation of a Shakespeare play called To Be.” He shrugged quite casually as if this were no big deal while his finger circled the top edge of his water glass.
“Austin is the lead,” Lynn interjected. “The spring show is in May. So you will need to be patient until then.”
“I really hope to see it,” I replied.
Jewel’s high voice trilled out over the others. “I have no doubt you will be there. Austin will make sure you get a front row seat.”
“You’ll be there.” Austin promised, looking at me with those piercing eyes. I felt my stomach flip.
I leaned over the table toward Jewel. “Um, I need to find the powder room.”
“Down the hall and to your right,” she instructed.
I excused myself from the table and made my way down to the restroom. When I was safely away, I almost fell apart. My hands were shaking, not with fear but from anticipation of the thought of still being with Austin in May. I was also a bit relieved to find everyone, all of his friends, was nice and seemed to like me. I stood in the quiet of the restroom just listening to the slight buzzing sound which emanated from the florescent lights. I took in a deep calming breath. The smell of floral air freshener filled my nose causing me to sneeze.
Austin seemed like a dream. I wondered for a moment if I was actually awake. Maybe I never really met him? Maybe I was not really here in this diner, in this restroom?
I looked at myself in the mirror, touched my face then ran my fingers over the necklace which hung around my neck only to decide I was awake. I also determined I needed to touch up my lip gloss. After I ran a few combing fingers through my hair, I took in another deep breath then walked out of the restroom.
As I came to the end of the hall, butterflies filled my stomach. I could see Austin. I could also hear Wes who was leaning over toward Austin.
“Dude,” he said. “She is beautiful and so dainty.”
Austin gave Wes his guilty crooked smile then said, “I know.”
“I’d be afraid of breaking her. She looks like a china doll,” Wes continued.
“Wes, she has steel beneath that exterior. She just doesn’t show it much.”
I do?
“So you like her then?” Wes asked.
“Yes. More than like, Wes.”
My heart flipped or maybe it was my stomach, I was unsure. This news thrilled me, but I had to remain calm. Austin and Wes did not need to know I heard them.
“Hey,” I said when I returned to the table, trying hard to be calm cool and collected.
Austin held out his hand taking a hold of mine. “Hey.”
Chapter Four
BLISS
It was Thursday. I had traded shifts with Crystal. She had a family outing with Brad on Monday so I took her Monday night shift and she took my Thursday night. Our work schedules were always willy-nilly anyway. Dane liked to “mix things up,” as he would say. However, his “mixing” usually made it hard to know exactly what night we would work, and I had to promise kitchen duty to get last Saturday off. Nevertheless, spending time with Austin and his friends was worth the dirty dishes I dealt with.
Since I had the night off, I of course spent it with Austin. Austin had convinced me to come with him while he worked on his play. I had a lot of algebra to do but when I thought about it, math or my beautiful man, my beautiful man won out with no competition, hands down. Still, I decided to be sensible so I took my homework with me.
I sat in the first row of seats, watching Austin practice. I could not take my eyes off of him so my algebra was put on the back burner. I closed my book, placed it in the seat next to me, and completely gawked at the dazzling man on stage. I was also sure not to miss the many girls, and even a female instructor, gravitate around him. He is like the sun, and people, especially women, seem to drift, circle, hover around him. I can’t really blame them, because I completely understand the pull, though that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
“Excuse me,” I heard a deep husky voice say. “When I saw you from across the room, I passed out cold and hit my head on the floor so I’m going to need your name and number for insurance reasons.”
I turned around to see a tall man, probably Austin’s age, with chestnut colored hair. He was smiling from ear to ear and looking down at me. He was hansom, bold, and a little bit smug.
I laughed. “Um, yeah, funny,” I replied. “Does that line ever actually work?”
He shrugged quite unapologetically then guffawed. “Not yet, but there’s a first time for everything,” he replied. “At least it got you to talk with me, and beautiful smile, by the way.”
“Uh huh.” I dismissed him to glance back toward the stage to see Austin who was now watching us. Something like anger flickered across Austin’s face, but he seemed to control it, if he was mad.
“It looks like Austin wants to kick my ass,” the stranger said rather coolly. “Maybe I’ll catch you later, snowflake. Apparently, I have a date with an ass kicking.”
“What?” I said, befuddled, then grabbed at my snowflake necklace, wondering.
He called me snowflake, and what does he mean by ass kicking?
He winked at me before he headed toward the stage where Austin jumped down from. I watched, more than curious, while Austin and this man talked rather intently. I could tell Austin was none too happy, but it didn’t look like any type of ass kicking was going to take place. The whole encounter took less than five minutes.
After they went their separate ways, Austin hopped back up onto the stage then looked out into the empty audience seats to find me. He gave me his breathtaking smile, but something was not quite right. He ran his fingers through his hair. By that gesture alone, I knew he was anxious.
“Austin?” I said as he drove me back to my dorm.
“What, baby?”
I felt my cheeks blush. “Can you do me a really big favor?”
“Sure.”
“But you don’t even know what it is I am going to ask you.” I replied with a smirk.
“Doesn’t matter, you asked. I’ll do it.”
My eyes went to his tapping fingers. He had one hand on the steering wheel with fingers tapping and one hand on the gearshift. Even though those fingers were curled around the gearshift, they were tapping, too. He was keeping time with the music which was playing over the stereo.
“So it’s that easy?”
He gave me his guilty crooked grin. “For you, yes.”
Wow.
I was really tempted to ask for something crazy or hard, naughty or sexy, just to see what he would say. Then I changed my mind and decided to ask for what I needed. Too much of a chicken on my part, or maybe I was afraid he would really do it, no matter what I asked. If I had the choice, it would defiantly be something naughty or sexy. I watched his tapping fingers for a moment, allowing my mind to drift, and thinking of all the things he could do to me with those long strong fingers.
“I know it’s late, but will you help me with something?” I queried.
“Anything you need,” he replied. He noticed my face. “Winter, why are you blushing?”
I was blushing with the naughty and sexy thing I was too much of a chicken to ask for. However, I decided not to tell him with the purpose of settling for the next best thing, which was still true in keeping with my blush.
“Well, I kind of suck at algebra. I have a paper due tomorrow, and I need help.”
Austin chuckled and parked his car. “So you are blushing, why?”
I bit at my bottom lip. “It’s just embarrassing to admit to my own stupidity.”
“Winter, you are not stupid. Besides, if anyone is stupid it would be me.”
“Austin, what are you talking about?”
“Do you re
alize I have gone the whole evening without kissing you? I am such a moron.” He teased. He released his seat belt, took my face between his hands then kissed me long and deeply. Soon I felt his fingers twining within my hair. “Winter.” He breathed upon my neck as his mouth kissed my jaw line, moved back to my neck, then my throat.
“God,” I muttered and could feel my body shake. My hands roamed down his shoulders then back up. One hand rested on his denim clad thigh, and my other hand wound in his hair. Our lips locked. Our breathing became labored….
We finally left his car after quite the juicy make out session. I giggled under my breath at seeing all the windows fogged. As we proceeded forward I wrapped my arm around his waist, tucked myself up close only to stop. When we were outside my dorm, Austin swooped me into a darkened corner to kiss some more.
“Austin.” I breathed.
“Um,” he muttered on my neck.
“Algebra?”
Weak in the knees and breathless, we finally pulled ourselves apart. After all, we needed to actually make it to my dorm room because I had an algebra paper looming in my future.
I completely lost track of time, but convinced Austin to take a break. He relented. I am sure his surrender was do to my constant whining assertions that I was going to have dreams of nothing but numbers.
“Please stop, babe.” I whined, allowing my fingers to trail down his muscled arm.
He laughed when I snuggled up on his back. We had been lying across my bed side by side while Austin tried to explain the nuisances of algebra to me. He was a patient, long suffering man. He never lost his cool, even when he finally gave up and wrote out the answers for me.
“Baby, you are going to need to know this for the test,” he said.
I sighed. “I know,” I replied then straddled the small of his back with my legs while massaging his neck and shoulders with my hands. I was in this moment, in heaven.
“Nice.” He groaned.
“Austin, can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything you want.”
I could feel him relaxing beneath my still massaging hands. My hands cataloged every line of him beneath the cloths. I leaned forward, which was quite a brilliant move. This allowed my chest to touch his back while I whispered into his ear, “How did I get so lucky? Why did you not already have a girlfriend?”
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