by Magan Vernon
He nodded, putting his hand at my back and motioning me toward the rear of the house. My body tensed up from his touch, and he quickly removed his hand like it was on fire. Keep it together, Monica. Don’t freak out.
I didn’t think I was wearing the right shoes since they poked through the green lawn with every step. But I was too busy noticing the beautiful house to care. Once we got around to the back we were greeted by a large deck with a gazebo at the end. The deck extended down to wooden dock that stretched almost the entire length of the house.
“This is gorgeous,” I said, staring at the water. It was so crystal clear I couldn’t believe it was actually a lake. I swore I could even see the tadpoles swimming.
When we got to the dock, Trey spread the blanket out and then sat down, patting the seat next to him. “I thought I should try something different. You didn’t seem like the type of girl that would be impressed with a fancy restaurant, but I thought this might do it.”
“Mission accomplished,” I said with a small laugh before I carefully sat next to him, making sure to keep my legs crossed in front of me. I didn’t usually wear dresses and was very aware that I could show my lady parts at any moment. “Now what did you pack for our picnic?”
“I’m glad you asked,” he said, opening the basket and pulling out two wine glasses.
“Uh, I, uh don’t drink,” I stammered. Bad things happened when I drank, and I didn’t want those bad things to happen with Trey. I hadn’t had a drink in over four months and I wasn’t about to start again.
“Relax.” His charming smile crossed his face as he pulled out a bright yellow bottle. “I don’t drink either. This is sparkling lemonade. My mom used to get it for me and my brothers when we were kids and when I saw it, I couldn’t resist.”
“Oh, good.” I breathed out a sigh of relief.
He poured it in the two glasses and then pulled out a large box of sushi, two long sushi plates, chop sticks, soy sauce, and two little bowls for dipping. “I took a guess and just hoped you were a fan. I got some of everything, so hopefully there should be something you can stomach.”
“No, it’s great; I love sushi.” I watched as he opened the box and every single one of my favorite rolls stared back at me. “I just didn’t expect this to be the first choice for a picnic dinner.”
“I’m full of surprises, Miss Remy,” he said, his eyes locking on mine.
The butterflies were back in full force, knocking on my stomach and putting my libido to work. I was going to have to stop staring at him so much, or I would lose control. To stop myself from turning into a horny mess, I took the chopsticks and a plate, grabbing a few volcano rolls and some Philadelphia rolls, putting them on the plate.
“So, tell me something about yourself,” I said, pouring the soy sauce in one of the little bowls.
“Something about me? I’m sure you’ve already done plenty of Internet searches to figure out everything you want to know.”
That was true. I did do a lot of Internet searches on him, mainly to make sure he didn’t have any sort of arrest records. Luckily, he seemed to be pretty clean cut.
“No, tell me something I can’t find on the Internet. Something real.”
He twirled his chopsticks between his fingers. “How about you tell me something real. Something no one else knows about you?”
I shook my head and pointed a chopstick at him. “You first.” After I said it I popped a piece of sushi in my mouth, so I wouldn’t be able to say anything else.
“Okay, fine.” He looked at the blanket and then back at me. “My dad didn’t want me to go to Central.”
I almost choked on my sushi and had to pat my chest and take a drink of lemonade before I spoke again. “What? Why not?”
“Well, I didn’t expect that reaction.” He took a small drink before he spoke again. “My dad and both my brothers went to Dartmouth, but I wasn’t like any of them. Trigg was the star football player in high school, and Tripp was the honor’s student who could have any girl he wanted. I was just Trey. I didn’t want to continue to be compared to them, and I knew how bad it would be at Dartmouth if I didn’t live up to the expectations of my brothers and father before me.”
He pushed a piece of sushi across his plate before he continued. “I told my dad I wanted to go to a state school and said something about it being good for his campaign. He didn’t buy it, of course, but eventually agreed that I could come to Central. So, naturally even though I went somewhere other than Dartmouth I still had to join the same fraternity as my father and brothers, and now they’re sort of getting used to the idea of the youngest Chapman son not being an Ivy Leaguer.”
I widened my eyes. “So, you don’t actually want to be in a fraternity?”
He shook his head. “I never said that, Miss Remy. But I already answered one question anyway. It’s your turn.”
I popped another piece of sushi in my mouth, pondering my answer as I chewed. Once I swallowed it, I finally spoke. “When I was in sixth grade I purposefully misspelled a word in the state spelling bee competition.”
“Whoa, conceding to your opponent,” Trey joked.
“It’s not funny,” I said, but couldn’t hide the smile on my face. “Okay it is sort of funny, but my parents were so pissed. They wanted me to go on to the National Spelling Bee in DC and had all these big plans, but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to deal with all that pressure, so I purposefully misspelled xylophone.”
“I’m sorry for making fun of you.” Trey put his hand on mine. It was so warm that it made the rest of my body feel like it was on fire. For so long I just focused on the political side of him that I hated, but there was a very real side, a softer side that I was really starting to fall for.
“It’s okay, fraternity boy, I’m sure I’ll come up with more things to make fun of you for.”
He leaned in, locking my eyes with his. “Don’t tell me you’re going to say you can’t be with me because I’m the governor’s son and in a fraternity.”
I shook my head slowly, biting down on my bottom lip to resist the urge to kiss him. “I think I can get past all of that if you can get over the fact that I’m not the middle school spelling bee champion.”
He leaned even closer. “If you don’t stop biting your lip, I’m not going to be able to concentrate on a word you say.”
I unhooked my lip from my teeth and moved forward, nibbling at Trey’s lower lip and then letting it go, running my tongue across it. “Is that better?” I whispered.
He didn’t say a word, instead he put his hand to the side of my face and pulled my lips to his, gliding his tongue along mine and running his fingers through my hair. I put my arms around his neck, deepening our kiss. He pushed aside our picnic with his free hand, breaking down the barrier between us. His tongue continued its dance with mine while his hands roamed my body. Everywhere his fingers touched sent electricity straight through me. Once his lips moved from mine and down my neck, I let a soft moan escape.
“Oh Monica, you’re beyond amazing,” he whispered in my ear before gliding his tongue along my earlobe.
I wanted to give myself to him, right there on the deck. I needed to put the brakes on, but he was the one to do it first. He pulled back, putting his hands on either side of my face. “If you don’t say you’ll be with me, I’m not sure what I’ll do. I’d probably still send you flowers every day until you say that you will. What you do to me is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced, and I don’t want to go another day without being with you.”
I ran a finger down the length of his jawline. “I don’t know if I’m ready for something serious.”
He let out a puff of air through his nose. “We can take it as slow or as fast as you want. I’m not going to force you into anything you don’t want to do. I just can’t stop thinking about you since the first day we met, and I don’t want to stop.”
I swallowed. I hadn’t put myself out there in awhile, and I’d never had a guy profess anything like that to me, not even p
revious boyfriends. “Okay, we can see where things go from here.”
“I can take that answer, Miss Remy, for now.”
I could pretend I had it all together, but if Trey knew the real Monica, I wasn’t sure if he’d still be saying all the things he was.
Chapter 11
By the time I got home, Sam was gone, and she wasn’t there when I got up for work the next morning, which was fine with me. I packed my messenger bag with books and prepared for another day of work, but as soon as I set foot in the coffee shop I knew Melanie wasn’t going to let me do anything.
“Oh good! You’re here! I want to hear all about last night!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, putting my bag under the counter.
Melanie leaned against the espresso machine. “Don’t play coy with me. I didn’t help you pick out a dress not to get the deets.”
I sighed dreamily thinking about Trey’s arms wrapped around me, and the sun setting over the lake. “It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
“And?” Melanie raised her eyebrows so high they disappeared under the black baseball caps we were forced to wear.
“We drove out to Lake Central and went to one of his dad’s friend’s lake houses. He packed a picnic, and we talked and laughed and—”
“Annnnnd?”
“And not that far, but there was a lot of kissing,” I said, hoping that everything wasn’t revealed in my face which was probably already turning crimson.
“So does that mean you two are, like, boyfriend and girlfriend now? Did you make it all Facebook official and what not?”
I shrugged. “He never asked me to be his girlfriend, but it was basically implied. I don’t think anyone ever actually asks that question anymore. That’s reserved for notes in middle school or something. Besides, I told him I wasn’t ready for that step yet. We are just taking it slow.”
“So what happens now?” Melanie pushed off the counter and shook one of the bags of coffee beans and then poured it in the grinder.
I tilted my head. “What do you mean what happens now?”
She turned on the grinder, catching the grounds in a coffee filter before shutting it off and placing it in the coffee pot. “You know, are you going to start wearing pearls and attending political rallies with him?”
I laughed so hard I practically snorted. “Oh, God, no. I’m just seeing the guy. It doesn’t mean I’m going to turn into some political wifey type overnight. I could never pull off the Jackie O look.”
Melanie put one of the big carafes of coffee in the brewer and turned it on before she looked at me. “Seriously, if this guy is some political mogul, you’re going to have to get used to those types of things. How can you even date someone with different views than you?”
I’d thought about the same thing. Many times. But Trey was a good politician-in-training and a very good kisser. It was a fiery combination that always kept me on my toes and left me wanting more.
I swayed from one side to the other. “We’re both pretty well-educated on our sides of things. We can have a real discussion about our political views without it going down to an all out spar. I like someone who challenges me, and I think he feels the same way.”
“And what about when daddy dearest finds out about Trey’s liberal girlfriend with the eyebrow ring?”
I instinctively reached under the brim of my hat and touched my eyebrow ring. It was never a big deal to anyone in Kappa and now Melanie was the second person to bring it up. As if it were a big sign that ousted me as some sort of liberal troublemaker. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
My cell phone vibrated from my bag so loud it made me and Melanie jump.
She put her hand to heart with a gasp. “Let me guess, the boy toy?”
I rolled my eyes and slid my phone out of my bag, unlocking it to reveal one missed message from Trey.
Just woke up, and all I can think of is how gorgeous you are when you smile. Do I get to see that smile again tonight?
“What did he say?” Melanie reached for my phone, but I was faster and darted out of the way, quickly typing back my response.
Maybe, what did you have in mind?
“This is cruel and unusual punishment!” Melanie squealed.
“He just asked what I was doing tonight. That’s all,” I said.
Before she could respond my phone buzzed again.
Some of my fraternity brothers are hanging out at the Alpha Mu house.
Normally I hate these things, but I have to show up once in awhile.
Come with me?
“What did he say now?” Melanie whined.
I turned the phone toward her, it was easier just to show her rather than explain it.
“Seriously?” Melanie’s voice rose slightly. She knew I wasn’t a fan of fraternity parties or parties in general. “What are you going to tell him?”
I turned my phone back to me and typed back the first thing I could think of.
That doesn’t really sound like my sort of thing.
“I said it wasn’t my thing. We’ll see what he says.”
Melanie shook her head. “A conservative fraternity boy. I think you just broke every single one of your dating rules.”
“I guess he’s the exception to my rules.”
My phone buzzed with another quick response.
It’s not mine either. We’ll spend one hour there and then I’ll take you to a movie, your pick. Does that work?
Melanie was hovering over me, probably reading every word of the text, but I said it out loud anyway. “He asked if I would just go for a little while and then he’ll take me to a movie. Should I do it?”
“Do you think you can do it?” Melanie knew me too well. For someone whom I never talked to in high school, she quickly became one of my best friends. I guess a night of ice cream and baring secrets could do that to two people.
The thought of even going near a fraternity house made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The last time I went to any sort of a party left me in tears. I wasn’t the same girl I was at Taylor that never missed a party. My whole body tensed up just thinking about it.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
I’ll think about it. I texted back.
What was there to think about? I was either going to go, or I was going to decline. But if I didn’t go, what did that leave for our future? Would I always be left out when he went out to parties? If neither of us drank then I wouldn’t have to deal with having someone hold my hair while I puked or waking up with a giant hangover. The possibility of going could help me to face my own fears, just like dating again did. Maybe it was time I tried.
I sent another text before he could respond.
See you after work.
***
After a few hours of work and only one customer, I made the walk back to my apartment where Sam was waiting on the couch, painting her toenails a hideous dark color. She stopped painting them as soon as she saw me walk in and practically sprang up from the couch. “I have been dying to talk to you!”
I groaned, setting my bag down on one of the stools at the breakfast bar and my hat on top of it. “You aren’t here to lecture me about seeing Trey, are you?”
She shook her head. “I mean, I don’t understand it, and I think it’s weird, but oh my fucking God, the guy bought you six dozen roses!”
I glanced at the counter behind me in which all my roses gathered like a giant, red army. “Yeah, it is pretty cool.”
“The last time Mac got me flowers was my corsage for senior prom,” Sam said.
“I guess Trey likes flowers.”
“And he must seriously like you. I mean, I seriously thought the dude might be gay, but wow.” She tapped her bare foot on the tile floor.
“He’s definitely not gay. He’s actually pretty great.” I couldn’t hide my smile. Just thinking about Trey made every part of me feel happy from my fingers to my toes. He was
the ray of sunshine that finally poked through the dark clouds hovering through my life for the past few months.
“You aren’t going to turn into some Republican Barbie now, are you? I can deal with the flowers and him hanging around here SOMETIMES, but I don’t want to sit here and argue about gay marriage and gun control.”
“Why does everyone just assume I’m going to turn into a good political darling? We just started dating. I’ve never changed my political views for a guy, and I’m not going to start now.”
She held up her hands. “Whoa, just checking.”
“And if I did turn into a Republican Barbie with a pink suit and blonde hair?”
Sam put her finger to her chin, tapping it and staring at the ceiling. “That all depends. Slow and torturous death or quick and painless?”
“Hmmm.” I went into her same thinking pose. “That depends. If I start talking about cutting welfare and wearing only designer sunglasses, then probably just get it over with.”
She put her hands down. “Deal.”
“But seriously,” I said, thrusting my hands in my pockets. “You aren’t going to freak out on me or Trey, are you? That time in my room was not cool at all.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know that was really bitchy of me, and I was too hyped up to even realize what I was doing. I’m still really sorry about that, and I promise that I won’t interfere with your relationship, no matter what I think of the guy.”
“You know, he’s actually not that bad once you get to know him. He’s really smart and funny.”
“And good in bed?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Oh, please! I’m not the kind of girl that jumps in bed on the first date.”
She shrugged. “You never know.”
“Yeah, okay.” I walked into my room shutting the door behind me. I pulled out my phone and texted Trey.