by VJ Erickson
***
Taylor took a few bites from her sub and set it down. It tasted fine, but she always found herself too distracted to eat much on first dates. Besides, Eric didn’t seem to be particularly interested in his food either. He took one bite out of his sandwich and set the rest down untouched.
They talked about their time on campus so far, but they avoided the topics of Joseph and Hannah. Eric seemed to find humor in everything, even Addison. When Taylor asked him if he was really going to try to get Addison in trouble, he insisted that he was just “goofing” with her. “Goofing” struck Taylor as an accurate way of describing Eric’s outlook generally.
She didn’t want to put Eric on the spot or get involved in family affairs, but he was easy to talk to and fun to be with, so Taylor was beginning to feel that maybe it was okay to be a little intrusive. Certainly his brother felt no qualms about getting in her business. Turnabout, she reasoned, was fair play.
Feeling emboldened, she asked, perhaps more bluntly than she intended, “So why doesn’t Joseph like me?”
“Who says Joseph doesn’t like you?” he replied.
“Joseph, mostly.”
“I doubt he said that. Joseph likes everybody. He’s weird that way."
“I’ll give you weird, but if he likes everyone, he’s got a funny way of showing it.”
Eric chuckled at this.
“Well, he likes everyone but me, but that’s a given, right?” he said.
“Why is that a given?”
“We’re brothers. We love each other, but we don’t like each other."
Taylor thought about her own brother and wasn’t sure she agreed with the sentiment. She liked and loved her brother. Still, Taylor was beginning to feel confident that Joseph’s unusual behavior really was just sibling rivalry. She was not the problem, or at least not her specifically. She could be anyone, and Joseph would still be overbearing because maybe that’s just the relationship that Eric and Joseph had.
“But enough about him,” said Eric. “Every time I try to pay attention to you, somehow he becomes the center of attention.”
“Sorry...” Taylor began, but Eric cut her off.
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “I just want you to be the center of attention for a change.”
Taylor didn’t think that would make for much of a change; she already felt like all eyes were on her since the moment she arrived on campus. Still, she was flattered. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, and she pretended to turn to look at something off in the distance to hide her blushing.
Eric reached over and softly hooked his index finger under her chin, guiding her back to face him. His touch was surprisingly gentle, and Taylor immediately forgot any sense of self-consciousness. Those sky-blue eyes were mesmerizing, and the light dancing across the surface of the pond reflected in them.
“You’re very pretty, you know that?” said Eric.
“Pretty average,” Taylor replied, inviting him to argue with her.
“No,” he said firmly, “pretty pretty.”
“Okay, pretty pretty then."
They were both silent for a moment, and then Eric began to lightly trace the back of his fingernail from the tip of her chin to the underside. Taylor shivered as his finger reached the top of her neck.
“It’s a beautiful evening,” he said softly.
“Mmm hmm,” was all Taylor could muster.
Eric continued to trace his finger down her neck, and Taylor could feel warm tingles bursting from every pore of her body. He reached her collar bone and stopped to look into her eyes. Self-conscious, she turned her head slightly to the side, but did not look away from him.
After lingering a moment, he began to trace his finger down further. Taylor reached up and placed her hand on his to stop him. She told herself it was just because they were out in the open, but regardless, she was not ready for his tender touch to turn more intimate.
Eric looked disappointed, but only for a brief second. He took her hand in his and moved it to her knee where his hand lingered as well, gently placed on top of hers.
“Would you like to go somewhere more private?” he asked her.
Taylor considered agreeing for a moment, but her doubts over the past couple of days crept up in her mind. Besides her assurance to Hannah that she would stay out in the open with Eric, she wasn’t sure she was ready for where he seemed to want to take this.
“But it’s so nice out, isn’t it?” she said, dodging the question.
Eric held her hand with both of his hands and looked earnestly into her eyes.
“C’mon, I just want to talk,” he said softly.
Taylor regarded this statement with suspicion. Clearly he wanted more, and she wasn’t sure that she was ready for that, having only met him yesterday.
“We were talking,” she said, feeling herself become a little defensive.
Eric kept staring directly into her eyes. Taylor noticed the same dark shadows pass across his eyes that she had seen when she first met him. She did not turn to look to see what was casting the reflection this time, however.
“I just mean that it would be nice to get more comfortable,” he said.
“Like... more intimate, you mean?” she asked.
“If you like,” he replied with a devious smile.
“I don’t like. Not on the first date."
His forehead furrowed, and he tightened his grip on her hands.
“I mean it.” he said, his face growing dark. “We should go somewhere else.”
As he said this, his voice had an edge to it, one of frustration, nearly anger.
“And I mean it,” Taylor replied, matching his tone. “Not on the first date.”
She pulled her hands from out of his grip. The shadows in his eyes were racing. She wondered what could be causing this reflection, but was afraid to turn away from him.
He raised his voice again. This time, it was nearly a yell.
“You WILL come with me!” he demanded.
“I WILL not!” she replied with the same force.
Eric just sat there looking furious, his hands shaking. Suddenly any affection Taylor had for him vanished. Joseph and Hannah were right, she decided. This boy was trouble, and she wanted very much to get away from him.
She stood and walked a few paces towards the dorms and then stopped to look back at him. She was about to say something—good-bye, good riddance, she wasn’t sure what—but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead he had his head down and was muttering to himself angrily. Taylor decided against interrupting and kept walking.
Eric made no effort to follow.