I feel like there are a million little butterflies fluttering around in the depths of my belly. My dad was not too impressed that I had decided to go out on a date with a complete stranger. He always worries too much. Being the daughter of a homicide detective can sometimes be a nightmare.
“Abby, Tommy’s here for you!” my mom shouts from the foyer.
I take one last look at myself in the mirror and grab my handbag then head out to meet my date.
“Hi,” I say softly to Tommy.
“You look stunning, Abigail.”
I blush. “Thank you. You look great too.”
Tommy is wearing a pair of dark denim blue jeans with a black t-shirt and that sexy, black leather jacket. His short black hair is slightly spiked and he throws me a sexy as hell smile that makes those damned butterflies flutter even more.
My mom gives me a hug and whispers, “Be safe,” in my ear before Tommy and I head out the door and to his car for our date.
Tommy opens the passenger side of his 1984 Chevy Impala. I have to say that I love this car. It’s a midnight black with black leather upholstery. I think he’s trying to have the Dean Winchester look from Supernatural but this Impala does not even come close to the 1967 Impala on the series. A smile crosses my face as I realize that I’m on a date with my very own Dean Winchester.
Tommy makes sure that I am in the passenger seat before he closes the door and heads to the driver’s side. Tommy gives me the impression of a man that would love to have the pedal to the metal, but he seems to be obeying all traffic laws during our drive to the restaurant. Maybe he wants to take his time being alone with me? I decide now is the perfect time to start playing twenty questions with him. “So, Tommy, how old are you?”
“I’m nineteen, Abigail. I’ll be twenty this coming October. How old are you?”
“I’ll be eighteen next Saturday.” I respond as he places his right hand on my upper thigh and shoots me a grin that just makes my soul melt. I’ve never met a man that could make me feel this way before. Is this how true love feels?
“So, why were you out shopping this afternoon?” Tommy inquires.
“Oh, prom is next month and Katherine and I were out dress shopping. She really is a difficult person to go shopping with. You would think she was shopping for her wedding or some major event. I swear, I don’t even think she realizes how gorgeous she is.” Damn it, I’m rambling over here. Shut up, Abigail, you’re making a fool out of yourself!
“Well, Katherine is a pretty girl, but I believe I’m sitting next to the most beautiful girl in the entire world. If you ask me, the guy that’s taking you is one lucky man.” He says in a low, husky voice.
Shit, now I have to admit that I don’t have a date to prom. If I’m the most beautiful girl in the world, why am I going to prom stag? “I don’t have a date. At the moment, I am going solo.” I respond quietly. I realize that I’m slightly embarrassed because I don’t have a date to my senior prom.
“Well, we will have to fix that then,” he says with a devilish, yet gorgeous grin. How can he be so charming yet so mysterious at the same time? “Abigail, would it be alright if I escort you to your prom? A woman as gorgeous as you should not go to a formal dance solo.”
I feel my cheeks begin to blush as I look down at my hands. “I would love for you to escort me to my prom. It’s the first Saturday of April.” I say softly. Oh my goodness, we haven’t even arrived at the restaurant and this is already the best date ever! Oh, who am I kidding? This is my first date in my entire life.
We park in the parking lot of the restaurant and Tommy comes over to open the door for me. He holds his hand out to help me out of the car and, as I stand, he gently kisses the back of my hand before entwining his fingers with mine. I must have the world’s most romantic and attentive man. He is my prince charming and my knight in shining armor all rolled into one handsome man.
The hostess seats us at a corner table and places the menus in front of us. Our waitress comes before the hostess has left and takes our drink order; iced tea for both of us, then shimmies away. Tommy glances over at me and flashes his amazing smile that makes my heart skip a beat. This man is absolutely breath-taking. I move my eyes from his and look over the menu.
The waitress arrives with our drinks and takes our order. Tommy ordered a man’s meal consisting of steak and potatoes while I settled for a salad with grilled chicken strips. No way am I going to eat like a piglet on my first date with a hot man.
“Angel, you can order more than a salad,” he tells me.
I feel a flush spread across my face. “I’m watching my figure. The cheer team has one more performance before the end of the year and no one wants to see a fat head cheerleader leading it,” I reply trying to be funny, though I feel that I may have sounded more conceited than anything. What the hell is wrong with me?
Tommy lets out a little chuckle. “Last I checked, you had an amazing figure and you could eat a decent meal and still keep that figure, angel. There’s nothing wrong with a curvy girl.”
His statement makes me blush. He sure knows all the right things to say to a girl. I know I’m not fat, but I don’t want to gain weight in areas that don’t need any weight added to them, like my thighs, butt or hips. That seems to be where I gain my weight.
Our conversation changes over the course of dinner. We are two people, attracted to each other, getting to know more about one another. We talk about anything we can think about. He asks me about my future goals and I ask about his work and his goals for his future. Our question and answer session runs through our dinner, dessert and well after the meal has finished. Tommy glances at his watch and curses under his breath. “We missed the movie, angel,” he says with a little disappointment in his voice.
“It’s okay, I enjoyed talking to you and getting to know more about you than I already knew,” which wasn’t much actually. Tommy pays the check and then takes me by the hand and leads me to his car. My head is spinning and my face hurts from all the smiling that I have done during our dinner. Tommy really is rough around the edges but has the most tender, romantic heart that I’ve ever seen in a man.
Our date ends as he pulls next to the curb in front of my house. He cuts the engine and twists his body so that he is facing me. He takes my left hand into his right and gently strokes my knuckles with his thumb. Oh my, he has big hands and thick fingers. They are not soft, but manly and rough. He’s looking straight into my eyes with his beautiful hazel eyes. “So, your birthday is next weekend. I would love to take you out Saturday night, if you don’t already have plans.”
Aww, Tommy remembered that my birthday is next weekend. I could have sworn my mom said something about men forgetting things women said almost as soon as they said them. I have to say, my mother is wrong about this. Maybe my dad forgets, but Tommy doesn’t. “I have plans in the afternoon, but I don’t have anything planned after. We could go out any time after six o’clock”
“Ok, then I will see you at six, sharp!” he says as he gives me a devilish grin and makes me blush. I wonder what this man has planned for me. Doesn’t he know that women are supposed to be fashionably late? Though I know he’s messing around with that look, a part of me doesn’t want to disappoint him.
He gets out and walks over to the passenger side of the car to open my door. He is such a gentleman. As I step out, he looks into my eyes and places his hands on either side of my face and leans in giving me a long, romantic kiss. I’ve never been kissed before and this is a kiss straight off the big screen. I place my hands over his and kiss him back. When we break free from the kiss, my breath has been taken away and I’m head over heels for this handsome and mysterious man.
I go inside and straight to my room. I look at the clock and notice it’s only eleven, so I decide to call Katherine. I know she’s going to be so jealous of me, but I don’t care. I have to talk to someone about my date.
“It’s about time you call me!!!!” She screeches into the phone.
&nbs
p; I roll my eyes at her, thankful she can’t see my reaction to her statement. “I just walked through the door.”
“What, you couldn’t text me throughout the night?”
Oh yes, this is the Katherine I know. She would prefer me to text throughout a date instead of waiting for a play-by-play at the end of the evening. Why did I think anything less of my best friend?
“Frankly, Katherine, no I couldn’t. That would have been rude and he probably wouldn’t have asked me out on another date next Saturday for my birthday!” I practically shout into the phone.
“Oh. My. God. Abigail Wilkinson has another date with a hot, sexy, dreamy man!”
“Not only do I have another date with him, but he’s taking me to prom,” I say trying to sound calm, cool and collected.
“Again, Abigail. Oh. My. God. You have got to give me details about the date. Please? I’m begging you and you know I never beg for anything!”
After I tell her about my date, we say our goodbyes and then I head to the shower. I have so much makeup on and hairspray in my hair that my shower takes twice as long. I put on my tank top and pair of comfy pajama bottoms and make my way to my room to dry my hair.
I check my phone before heading to bed, as I always do, and I see that I have a text message from a number I do not recognize. I unlock my screen and open the message. My heart begins to race as a smile slowly creeps to my face. Tommy texted me while I was in the shower. I don’t remember giving him my number.
Hey babe. Had an amazing time. Can’t wait to see you next week. Sweet dreams, my beautiful Angel!
Oh my. I’m his angel! I’ve never been anyone’s angel before. I think I might be falling in love with him.
I had an amazing time too. How did you get my number?????
I wait for his response. It doesn’t take long before my phone is alerting me that I have an incoming text.
I called my number from your phone while you were in the bathroom. I hope you don’t mind?
That was creepy, but sweet. I figured he would have just asked but it doesn’t matter. He was determined to get my number and succeeded.
I don’t mind. Sweet dreams.
As I send the text, those pesky little butterflies are fluttering about in the depths of my belly again. I crawl under my blankets and begin to daydream of my man. He is my man right? I sure hope he’s mine because, after all, I am his angel.
* * *
This past week seemed to have been the longest in history, but here I am, a legal adult. I don’t feel any different today than I did yesterday. Looking at myself in the mirror, I don’t look any different either. I don’t see what the big fuss is about turning eighteen. I still have the same rules to follow, even if eighteen is supposed to mean more freedom.
I have a small gathering during lunch time at my favorite restaurant for my birthday celebration. I’m surrounded by the ones that I hold nearest to my heart; my parents, my brother, his friend Jason, Katherine, and our friend Jeremy. The only one missing is my Tommy.
“Hello? Earth to Abby. . .” Michael calls, interrupting my daydream of Tommy.
“Err, sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was asking you about this new boy toy of yours. When are you going to let your big, protective brother meet him?”
I look over and see Jason looking at me in a way I have never seen before. It looks like a look of longing or despair. What is that all about? “Michael, I’ll let you meet him when I know where this is going. No reason to introduce my family to someone that may not be around for long.”
“Well, if I haven’t met him by the time your senior prom rolls around then maybe I should come down to make sure he will take care of my sister and not take advantage of her innocence.”
I blush and attempt to ignore his statement. This is my overly protective brother and who can blame him. He loves me and we have always been close. He never picked on me or made me cry. When I wanted to tag along with him and Jason, he never groaned or grumbled about the “pesky little sister” that wouldn’t let him have any fun. “If you haven’t met him by prom, then by all means, you can meet him when he comes to pick me up that night, ok?”
Mike gives me a smile and nods his head, apparently satisfied. I am pretty sure that if I had ignored his statement, he would have continued on about it. If that had happened, I surely would have been a deep crimson color because Mike has no brain-to-mouth filter. He’s defective like that.
The meal continues on and the conversation jumps all over the place; Katherine is flirting with my brother, Jason and Jeremy are carrying on their own conversation about some football team and my dad is trying to keep my mom’s tears from flooding over. Why is it that my mom cries with every birthday Michael or I celebrate? She had to have known that, with our birth, we would age and, eventually, become adults. Sometimes she makes me embarrassed to be seen with her, but she is my mother and I love her.
My dad looks exhausted. He landed another case at four o’clock this morning and has been working since then and is only taking enough time off to celebrate my birthday. He made detective two years ago, but it looks like he’s aged ten years since then. I really wish he’d slow down on work, but I know that he can’t do that. He has my college to pay for and he is still helping Michael out with expenses, even though he has a full scholarship for college. Maybe I will take a year off from school so my dad can relax and work a little less for a change?
My thoughts are interrupted when members of the waitressing staff come over with a birthday brownie a la mode and begin singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. This is the time of the celebration when I sink lower in the booth. It’s so embarrassing to have strangers singing to me in a full restaurant. I look toward Michael to see that big, shit-eating, grin on his face. Why must he do this to me every year? He always makes sure the staff knows it’s my birthday so they do this. He finds far too much humor in humiliating me.
I finally get back home at five o’clock. I check my text messages and find that I have one from Tommy.
Happy birthday, my beautiful Angel! Hope you’re having a great day and I can’t wait to see you tonight. Miss you.
I smile so big that I am sure I have the same stupid grin that Katherine had when the quarterback asked her to prom, but I don’t care. I am falling in love and I’m entitled to have this “stupid” grin on my face!
I make my way to my closet to pick out an outfit for tonight. I want to look good but be comfortable at the same time, so I grab a pair of skinny jeans, a low cut, red V-neck shirt, and a pair of black Ugg boots that my parents bought me for Christmas last year. I look at my hair and decide to run a brush through it and leave it down. I touch up my makeup and I am ready for my date.
Tommy arrives a little before six and, as I answer the door, I notice that he is as stunning as ever. Tonight, he is wearing a pair of relaxed fit, denim jeans and a blue and white plaid button up shirt, left unbuttoned, with a white t-shirt under. No matter what this man wears, he is always sexy as hell.
“Happy Birthday, angel!”
“Thank you, Tommy. You look amazing.” Oh God, why couldn’t I have just said thank you? I think I am lacking a brain-to-mouth filter myself. My parents have created defective children in that aspect.
“Thank you, Abigail. And you, you are as gorgeous as ever. Are you ready for your birthday date?”
Me? Gorgeous? Oh, now I seriously think that he needs glasses. No way am I gorgeous. “Yes, Tommy, I am,” I respond as I grab my purse and my coat and take his arm as we head out to his car. Mom extended my curfew from midnight to two in the morning. I guess being an adult has its perks. I get my Tommy for a full eight hours tonight.
I am surprised when we pull up to an apartment complex on the other side of town. This is one of the unsafe sides of town, but it’s not the most dangerous place to live in Placid City. The complex is old and painted tan with dark brown trim. It’s not a large complex but not a small one either. Tommy walks me to apartment 4D and unlocks
the door before holding it open for me. It’s a cozy apartment. When I walk in, I’m standing in the foyer. Straight ahead is the living room and to my left is a very small kitchen. I don’t see a dining room and the kitchen is far too small to eat in. There is a nook off of the kitchen with barstools. He walks over to the nook and lights two long candles. I notice two plates of food. It looks like chicken with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans. Oh my, this beautiful man made me a homemade dinner for my birthday. I feel like the world’s most loved woman at this point. I really do not deserve a man as good as Tommy Jackson.
Tommy walks over and turns his iPod dock on. I hear the lyrics from “I Can’t Help Falling in Love” by UB40 begin to play as Tommy walks back to me. He takes my hand and kisses it ever so gently as we make our way to the nook. He pulls my stool out for me and kisses my neck. “You really do look beautiful tonight, Abigail,” he says.
I begin to blush as I give him a small smile. I don’t want to say something that makes me look idiotic or causes me to end up rambling like a buffoon.
“Bon Appétit, babe,” he whispers as he takes his seat next to me.
We both eat while making casual small talk. I’m so over the moon for him that I can’t even look him in the eyes without those pesky butterflies acting up in the pit of my belly. As soon as we finish I instinctively grab the plates and make my way to his kitchen sink. He follows behind me and takes my hand.
“Leave those, Abigail. I will take care of them later. Right now, I just want to be with you,” he says with a half-smile creeping along his face. He grabs my waist and pulls me to him. He leans down and kisses my lips, softly, as his hands move up to my face. He breaks the kiss to look me in the eyes. Oh, his eyes are the most intriguing hazel that I have ever seen. The color seems to dance in the candle light. “Abigail, you have no idea what you do to me, do you?”
On the Edge Page 2