“Well, fun, I guess,” Eric replies. “I don’t drink and there was drinking there. Sonya was drunk as a skunk, and somewhat obnoxious. She tried to kiss me again, and I literally had to hold her away, and state, I don’t want to kiss you. I think she finally got the point. Sonya is from another planet I think, because she has never paid any attention to me, other than in passing, and suddenly she wants to….well yeah.”
Frowning, I say, “Not that everything revolves around me, but she really hates me. From what I gather, she has a huge thing for Jeremy, and he wouldn’t touch her if his life depended on it. He may if MY life depended on it, but I would rather die.” Eric looks at me. I roll my eyes. “I am kidding, but no, I think she wants to take away what she can.”
“I would say that you are wrong, but it’s kind of obvious if she knows you…..like…me.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I really don’t like her. I am not one for hating people, so I just thoroughly dislike her. Do you know she called me a freak the first day that you guys met Jeremy?”
Eric gives me a perplexed look. “She did? When we were at the coffee shop?”
Nodding, I say, “Yup, she said something along the lines, that this is this freak’s boyfriend.”
“Geez Isabelle, I am an ass. I should have noticed, but I was kind of busy noticing you. Really, I have been a jerk. You have been next to me for years and I never paid any attention. Honestly, I am not exactly sure why you even like me.”
“You seem like such a nice guy. There are good looking guys here that all the girls have crushes on, but they are so shallow, they can’t see past themselves. You aren’t like that,” I reply. “At least I don’t think you are. You could be a closet jerk.”
That seems to be humorous to Eric. “No, I don’t think that I am. I don’t know though, you will have to tell me.”
“Alright, I will keep my jerk radar up,” I giggle. Eric laughs with me and opens the door to the lunch room for me.
Lunch is nice. We all talk about formal. The girls gush over Jeremy and the necklace. I try to change the subject but it doesn’t work very well. Eric keeps looking at me out of the corner of his eye. I sigh heavily and return the look. He smirks and nudges me with his knee. That one gesture reminds me of Jeremy. I quickly shake my head and try to not think about him.
At the end of the school day, Eric walks me to my car. “How about I pick you up at six?”
“Sure, that’s fine,” I reply. “What should I wear?”
“Clothes would be good,” Eric retorts. I shove him and keep walking. He jogs back up next to me. “Nothing over the top, we are keeping the date simple, so keep the clothes simple.”
I nod. “Okay.” When we get to my car, Eric and I awkwardly stand there for a minute. “I will see you later then,” I finally say.
“Yeah,” Eric responds. “Six.”
“Sounds good, bye,” I say, as I get in my car. He waves and walks away.
My stomach is doing flips all the way home. I am super nervous. Jeremy isn’t home when I get to the apartment, which is good, I guess. I hop in the shower, to start to get ready. Yeah, I know, I took a shower this morning, but I just feel like a need another one. As I am blow drying my hair, Jeremy appears at the doorway. “Hey toots.”
Turning off the blow dryer, I say, “Hi.”
We stare at each other for a minute. “So, you are getting ready for your date, huh?”
“Yeah,” I reply quietly. “How was your day?”
“Long, I had a lot of small projects to do. I love my job and all, but even it can be taxing sometimes. Where are you guys going tonight?”
With a shrug, I retort, “I have no idea.”
“No kissing on a first date,” Jeremy states.
“Jeremy! Don’t start. If we want to kiss each other, we will kiss each other. I don’t plan on jumping in the back seat with him.”
Jeremy points his finger at me. “I will lock you up if that happens.”
“Shut up,” I laugh. “You will not!”
He grins back. “You will just have to wait and see.”
“There is nothing to see. I am not going to be doing anything with Eric. Don’t worry your pretty little head. I will be just as innocent when I come home, as when I leave.”
“I hope so, and I am not saying that as a threat. I mean it. I hope you keep your sense about you. It can be difficult when you start to grow attached to someone, not to jump them at every moment you have.”
I turn my head and look at him. “When did you have that problem, or are you talking about Kaitlin?”
Suddenly, Jeremy stands up straighter and looks at the floor. “I have urges just like the next guy. Just be careful okay.” With that he turns and walks away.
My jaw has to be on the floor. What in the WORLD was that about? Who was he attached to? Jeremy is hiding something from me, but…..why? I thought we were passed that. I turn and stare down at the counter. Do I ask? Do I say something? I thought we were honest about everything. Well then, I guess that means I don’t have to tell HIM everything. I pick up the blow dryer and finish getting ready.
Looking in the mirror, I take a deep breath. I picked out the outfit myself. I have on a sweater dress and leggings. My hair is straight, plus I have a little bit of make-up on. How do I look? “Jeremy?” I yell.
A few seconds later, he comes up to my door. “Yes?”
“How do I look? Do I look alright? Should I change?”
“How about you calm down? You look great, but I always think you look great,” Jeremy declares with a smile.
Whining, I say, “That doesn’t help me! I need to know if Eric will think I look nice.”
“If he has any sense about him he will. You need to relax, Isabelle. You are supposed to be doing this because you are excited.”
“I am,” I say, trying to convince myself. “I am excited, just really nervous.”
A knock on the door startles me. Jeremy raises his eyebrow. “You want me to get it?”
“No,” I gasp. “I don’t know. Yes? What should I do?”
Snorting, Jeremy says, “I will get it.” I stand there awkwardly, as Jeremy answers the door. “Hello Eric,” Jeremy articulates, snapping a little bit on his name. “Come in.”
“Is Isabelle ready?” Eric asks.
As I hear, “Let’s have a chat first,” I walk around the corner.
“No chat Jeremy,” I growl with a smile. “Leave him alone.”
Eric returns my smile. “You look wonderful.”
“Thanks,” I bashfully reply. “You look your usual handsome self.” I see Jeremy rolls his eyes and I want to punch him. “Jeremy, stop it.”
“Wwwhhhhattt?” He retorts. “I am not doing anything…..yet.” He turns his attention to Eric. “You treat her well or you will have three scary guys looking for you.”
Obviously, not bothered by the comment, Eric says, “I figured as much. I didn’t expect any less from you, so she is safe.”
“He is a little over protective,” I mutter, grabbing my new jacket. I don’t think I will wear the old one ever again. “Where are we going anyway?”
“I will let you know when we get inside the car,” Eric answers with a smirk.
Jeremy takes my jacket and helps me put it on. “Thanks,” I whisper. “Okay I am all set.”
“Do you have your credit card and ID?” Jeremy asks.
“Yes, geez, I am fine. I won’t be gone that long. It is a school night.”
He crosses his arms. “I just want you safe. I love you, I am sworn to protect you.”
“Like my knight?” I giggle.
Nodding, he replies, “Yes, because I am your knight. Since day one, remember?”
“Of course, I remember, and I love you for that, but we have to go.”
“What are you going to be doing tonight?” Eric inquires to Jeremy.
Stretching his arms up, “I am going for a ten mile run.”
“Wow, that is a lot of running,” Eric remarks.
“It clears my head, and I need that today.”
I open my mouth to ask why, but then stop. “Okay, have fun,” I finally say. I look at Eric, “Okay, let’s go.”
He opens the door and we walk out. I wave at Jeremy and he returns the gesture. When we get in Eric’s car, I fidget with my coat. “Are you okay?” Eric asks.
“Yeah,” I answer. “What are we going to do?”
“We are going to go walk around the old historic mill house area in the country.”
Smiling, I say, “I have always wanted to go there! They have the cutest little shops and restaurants. Plus, the old buildings, it sounds like so much fun!”
“I thought you would like it, and it’s different,” Eric replies.
“It is,” I happily sigh. It is a bit of a drive, so we talk the whole way. We talk about music and movies. I tell him about the horrible scary movie that Jeremy made me watch, and then other movies we’ve seen, too.
When we get to the little historic area, we park at one end. “This way, we can walk down one side, come back up the other,” Eric states.
“Sounds good to me,” I reply.
We get out and start to walk. “So, you have never been here before?”
I shake my head. “No, my mom never took me anywhere, and this is too far away for me to come on my own.”
“I don’t mean for this to sound bad, but I am sorry about your mom. It has to be hard.”
“It is,” I mutter. “I think about her a lot. I have had no contact with her, but I think that’s a good thing.”
Eric laughs. “You can borrow my family whenever you want. They are absolutely crazy, but good people.”
“I will keep that in mind,” I giggle. “I have Jeremy now and he is probably about ten times crazier than your family.”
“You are really close to him aren’t you?”
Nodding, I reply, “Yeah, I don’t know what I would do without him, and I don’t mean just financially. He takes care of me, in every avenue. I would be at home stuck in the hell of my mother if it wasn’t for him. He is everything.” As I say that, I stutter, “I mean…he isn’t EVERYTHING, but he is a huge part of my little world.”
“That’s a good thing that you have him,” Eric states. “So, you love him, huh?”
“Yeah, I do,” I state. “He is my best friend.” Eric nods and we walk. We go through one of the first historic buildings. I have to stop and read each plaque because that is the way I am. Eric just keeps laughing at me. I finally stick out my tongue at him, and playfully shove him. He comes back, picks me up and spins me in the air. I giggle and yell at him to put me down. We laugh and walk through the rest of the building.
The next place we go is a little shop. It has a ton of funny knick knacks in it. There are a lot of signs that make us burst out laughing. I take pictures of a few of them and send them to Jeremy and Cassandra. Jeremy doesn’t respond, but Cassandra asks where I am. I walk away from Eric a little and send her a response. She immediately tells me I need to call her later.
We spend a lot of time walking around and talking. I am having a good time, but I just feel like there is something missing. Something isn’t right and I can’t place what it is. It is nothing bad, just….it’s doesn’t feel like it supposed to. What am I doing wrong?
Eric takes me to this old fashioned restaurant. People are actually walking around in period clothing. We laugh some more. Dinner is really nice. We talk. Eric makes me giggle a lot.
When we are walking back to the car later, Eric looks at me. “So, did you have fun?”
“Yeah,” I reply.
“We have a ways to go before we get to the car, and we have talked all night, but I still don’t know much about what makes you tick,” Eric says.
I shrug. “I am not sure what you want to know.”
“Tell me what your day is like. Honestly, start to end. I want to know how your world works,” Eric states.
Nodding, I reply, “Okay. Jeremy usually wakes me up by either jumping on top of me or kissing me on the forehead, depending on what mood he is in. We make coffee and get ready for school slash work. Usually, we get into some sort of food fight. He makes comments about coming into the shower. Really, we are never serious. Jeremy used to drive me to school. Now, he kisses me good bye and we go our separate ways. I obviously go to school during the week. On the weekends, Jeremy and I usually just hang around the house. Sometimes, Cassandra and Kent come over. Josh just likes to play video games.”
“What about at night,” Eric remarks. “What do you do after school, when I don’t see you?”
“Homework, draw, harass Jeremy, it depends on the day. Jeremy makes me watch the nightly news, and I want to poke my eyes out. I make dinner for us usually, but he does like to take me out a lot, too. Really, it’s just Jeremy and me.”
Suddenly, Eric stops. “You and Jeremy are really close aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” I reply, coming to a halt. “I love him. He is pretty much my world.”
With a slight hesitation, Eric narrows his eyes. “I am going to say something and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way or get mad at me.”
Very nervous, I say, “What?”
“Well, this is the last thing a guy wants to say on a date with a girl, but…..I think you aren’t really interested in me. I think you are in love with Jeremy.”
My jaw drops. “Huh?”
“Don’t get me wrong, because I am having a blast with you! I think you are great, but you aren’t feeling the same thing,” Eric states awkwardly. “Tell me I am wrong. I would love to hear that.”
Shaking my head, I stutter, “No…I am having fun….of course I am interested in you, and I am NOT in love with Jeremy.”
“Are you sure about that?” He asks.
“I….I don’t understand why you are saying that,” I say a little hotly.
Eric puts his hands out. “I am not trying to make you mad, but you light up when you talk about Jeremy. There is a little glint in your eyes. I mean, I don’t want it to be true, trust me.”
“Well, it’s not,” I mumble, crossing my arms.
Taking a step forward, Eric whispers, “Can I try something? Do a little bit of an experiment?”
“What’s that?” I ask. Eric puts his hand on the side of my face and then bends over and kisses me.
My mind freezes for a second. The kiss is sweet, not exactly what I thought it would be. Jeremy’s is so….different. It makes my pulse race, isn’t that what this is supposed to do? Eric continues to gently kiss me. I kiss back, but……it’s not the same.
When Eric finally pulls back, he says, “I am afraid to ask, but what were you thinking about?”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Better question, who were you thinking about?”
Then it’s like bolt of lightning. My hand comes up to cover my mouth. “No, I mean….I didn’t mean to. No, no, no, this can’t be true. Kiss me again, maybe I was being stupid.”
Eric laughs. “I will gladly kiss you all night, but that isn’t going to change anything. Your heart belongs to someone else.”
“But….it can’t….I can’t…..” I whisper, backing up to sit down on a bench. “I am not in love with him…………am I?”
“I think you are,” Eric replies, sitting down next to me. “There isn’t anything wrong with that. I think he is in love with you, too.”
Turning to him, I exclaim, “No! There is no way! Have you seen him? I know Jeremy. He doesn’t go for girls like me. He goes for gorgeous girls who giggle a lot.”
“You are beautiful, Isabelle. He loves you. It is really obvious.”
I sit there and stare at Eric. “I am in love with Jeremy, aren’t I?”
He nods, “Yup.”
Bending over, I put my head in my hands. “This will change everything. I could never tell him. What would I do? I can’t move out.”
“Jeremy isn’t going to make you move out,” Eric sighs. “You need to
be honest with him. He is your best friend.”
Vigorously, I shake my head. “No, I can’t tell him. I just can’t. He can never find out.”
“What are you going to do, fall out of love with him? It doesn’t work that way. You can’t turn it off like a switch.”
Taking a deep breath, I say, “I can fall in love with someone else though, if I give it time.” Eric laughs. “It is not funny,” I snap.
Eric just shakes his head. “I am not laughing at you, but you are really fighting this. Why not give into it? Just love him Isabelle, see where it goes.”
We stare at each other for a while. “What do I do?”
“That is up to you. You can go home and exclaim, I love you, or you can do something romantic. You need to do it in a way you are comfortable.”
“I am not comfortable doing this at all,” I moan. “I don’t think I would have the guts to say it. Maybe someone else can tell him.”
Chuckling again, Eric says, “I realize we are in high school, but that is really high school and he is older. He needs to hear it from you. If he feels the same way about you, then it’s great that he heard it from your lips.”
“I am so scared,” I whisper. “I can’t lose him.
With a soft smile, Eric takes my hand. “You aren’t going to lose him. I don’t think Jeremy is going anywhere.”
I exhale and stare off into the distance. We sit there for a while, just talking, but I know I have to go home. I don’t want to, but I have to. We finally leave and my stomach is doing back flips. When Eric pulls up to my house, I turn and look at him. “I did have a really, really good time tonight, sorry…..”
“No, I had a blast, too. Am I disappointed? Yes, but I would still like to be your friend. I will be here if you need me through this whole thing,” Eric says, taking my hand once again. “Is there anyone else you can talk to about this?”
Then it’s like a light bulb. “Cassandra!” I whip out my phone and look at Eric. “Can I call her quickly?”
“Of course,” he replies.
I dial her number and wait. Finally, she answers, “How was the date?”
“I need to talk to you, like ASAP,” I exclaim. “It is really important.”
“What’s wrong?” She asks.
The Art of Life Page 48