by Jo Cattell
“But that’s not the point,” Nick stated as he continued to look for her. That was what she just said, and now that he thought about it, she might have been right.
“No, the point is you’re jealous that you’re not going to have that much time together. Can I give you some older brother advice?” Mark put both of his hand Nick’s shoulders and shook him a little. “Too much time together isn’t a good thing. I know you like her, Nick. Everyone does, but if you want to keep that, you need some time apart. She’s a good kid, and if you don’t screw that up, you may have something really good to look forward to. So go find her, get on your knees, and tell her you’re sorry and let her do what she wants to do. Stop acting like a spoiled brat who can’t get his way!”
“I’m not acting spoiled,” Nick said under his breath as he looked down at the ground. He hated when Mark did this.
“Yes you are. You and Kevin both act this way when you don’t get what you want. I’m taking Max to the food court, then to shop for you guys. If you don’t find her or she breaks up with you, call me,” Mark said as Max rushed off.
He found her sitting with Gabbie and Dave at the food court. She wouldn’t even look at him.
Dave laughed when he sat down and put his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Welcome to the club man. I’m in the hot seat, too. She hates the movie we’re going to.”
Gabbie shot him the finger.
“Chloe—” Nick started.
“Don’t start with me,” she warned him.
“Can we just talk?” Nick thought about what Mark said and hated that he was right. He tried to reach for her hand but she crossed her arms. “You’re seriously going to do this? All I want to do is talk about this.”
“I’m not doing anything. I just don’t feel like talking to you right now. And I don’t need your approval for anything in my life. I’ve done fine without it so far.” She squinted her eyes as she said it, and it made her look kinda cute.
When he laughed, she got up and walked away again.
“If I were you, I would let her cool off. She doesn’t like being told what to do,” Gabbie said as she sat with her arms crossed, staring him down.
“Gabbie, he’s just trying to make up with her. You know, like we should. I promise if you let us go see this bloody, space guy flick, I will get you something nice,” Dave said, trying to coax Gabbie into giving in. He leaned over and was rubbing her legs, giving her the eyes that usually led to them to being all over each other.
“What time is the movie starting?” Nick rolled his eyes and got up to find her yet again, not really wanting to see them go at it.
“In about an hour. Wait, we’ll go with you.” Gabbie laughed at Dave’s expression and got up to follow Nick.
* * * *
Chloe stood in front of the window at the jewelry store and looked at the silver charm bracelet. It reminded her so much of the one her mother used to wear. It was the one thing she wished she could have had, but her father saw fit to bury it with her mother.
“Oh, my God, Dave, that’s the ring I want when we get engaged,” Gabbie said as she snuck up on her and put her arm around Chloe.
“Gab, keep looking, you’ll be lucky if you get diamond dust. I told you, Sweetie, I’m not made of money like you guys. We’re going to live in an apartment on the wrong side of town. It’s time you realize that.” Dave laughed at her.
“Even if I have to pay for it myself, that’s what you’re getting me. Come on, let’s go and look.” Gabbie grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.
Chloe took a deep breath and put her hand to the glass. Maybe if she saved up a little extra money, she could get it for herself one day.
“What are you looking at?” Nick asked. He didn’t want to fight with her.
“It’s not important. Just something silly that reminds me of someone. Like I said, not important,” Chloe replied and started to walk away.
“Chloe, I’m sorry. You were right.” Nick grabbed her arm before she could walk away again.
“About what?” She turned around, curious as to what he thought she was right about.
“I am spoiled and I was acting childish. I shouldn’t have acted like that and you don’t need my approval. Somehow, you will find time for us and I will just deal with it when you can’t. So, please forgive me for acting like a stupid jerk and tell me you still want to be with me.” He took her hands in his and smiled in a playful way. He gave her the cute, little puppy dog eyes he gave his mom when he was in trouble. He even went so far as to try the pouty lip.
“You are such a loser sometimes.” She laughed, shaking her head at him.
“But you want to be with me still, right?”
She closed her eyes and smiled as she shook her head. “God, help me, I don’t know why, but I do. I’m sorry, but I have to do this. If it takes up too much time, I’ll quit and try to find some other way to come up with some extra money. For now, this is the best way,” she explained. She didn’t want to be away from him, but with the way things had been all her life, she didn’t want to take a chance and lose whatever future she had left.
“Babe, whatever you want to do, I will try to be a good boyfriend and support you. If I start acting like this again, smack me,” he suggested and hugged her.
They went and found Gabbie and Dave, then left for the movie theater.
At the movies, they ran into the other part of the group, Tiffany and Tabitha. Both were there with someone new.
Tabitha was working hard to break her new guy in.
Tiffany, on the other hand, was belting out orders she expected to be followed.
She’d been going off on something when Nick put his arms around Chloe and whispered into her ear, “You need some new friends.”
Chloe giggled and kissed his cheek.
“Chloe, bathroom, now!” Tiffany ordered, waiting for her to follow.
Rolling her eyes, Chloe winked at Nick, and then followed her into the bathroom.
Tiffany continued her rant as Gabbie reapplied lipstick to her full pouty lips. Tabitha was adjusting her bra to make her breasts stand out more.
Chloe just sat on the counter, listening to them and wishing she was in the theater with Nick already, instead of having to deal with this ‘girl drama.’
“So, Chloe, how goes it with the altar boy? Is he good in the sack?” Tabitha purred with a questioning smile on her face.
“Yeah, are you no longer the ‘Virgin St. Chloe’?”God, I hope so. You need to loosen up,” Tiffany added while she filed her nails.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there’s nothing to report. We aren’t like that. In fact, we were messing around the other day and I got a little freaked and started to panic, and he was really sweet about it.”
“What freaked you out? Did you feel his hard dick pressing against you or something? It’s supposed to be like that, St. Chloe.”
Tiffany always had a way of making Chloe feel stupid. “Ah, no, it was just that, I mean…” She was getting tongue-tied and hated that she couldn’t come back at her.
Tabitha put her hands on Chloe’s shoulders. “You do realize that if you don’t do something for him, he won’t want to deal with your virginal crap for long and dump you, right?”
“Nick isn’t like that.” Chloe defended him. At least, she hoped he wasn’t like that.
“Oh, my God. They’re all like that! Sure, he was okay with it this time, but he’s gonna to get tired of waiting for you to put out already. Best way around it is to just give him a blow job and hope that will hold him over for a while,” Tiffany instructed.
Chloe looked over at Gabbie, who agreed, “Yeah, I hate to admit it, but they’re right. You have to do something for him if you want to keep him.”
“So, what do I do? I mean, what would he like?” Chloe was confused as to how to handle this situation, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized they could be right.
Tabitha smiled. “I got this one.�
�� She laughed and explained in vivid detail about how to please Nick.
After the movie, Dave dropped them off and Nick called Kevin for a ride home. When he hung up, he smiled at her and the way she stood there, biting her nail. “What’s going on in that head of yours? You got that faraway look again.” He pulled her into his arms.
Chloe stared at him and thought about everything Tabitha had explained. She knew Shelly wasn’t home yet, and given how long it took Kevin to get there, it would be a little while. She bit at her lip, thinking about what would be the best way to do this. Slowly, she leaned in and kissed him. Her hands were on his chest, and as they kissed, she could feel him getting into it more. She slowly kissed his cheek, down to his neck, and then soft, sensual kisses by his ear. “I’m sorry about the other day, when you wanted to go further and I stopped you,” she whispered.
“Mmm, Baby, I said it was okay.”
When her lips returned to his, she softly bit his bottom lip, and then ran her tongue along the top one lightly. “I want to make it up to you, now, if you want.” She was trying to sound sexy like Tabitha, but it came out shaky.
He laughed at that a little. “What are you talking about?”
Chloe tried to be seductive but she knew she was a far cry from it. She looked down and took a deep breath. Slowly, she let her hands run down his chest to the button of his jeans. She stopped, remembering that Tabitha had said to make sure he was hard first; it was easier that way. She leaned in and kissed him again, making sure that they were so engrossed in the kiss she could let her hands go further. When she touched him, he jumped.
“Chloe, what are you doing?” He sounded a little shocked
“Umm, relax. Let me take care of you.” She felt the heat in her cheeks. But this was what they said she had to do to keep him. Hands shaking, she started to unbutton his jeans.
He grabbed her hands. “Stop, this isn’t like you. What makes you think I want you to do this now?”
Chloe put her hands to her face, embarrassed that she even listened to her friends. “I just thought that this is something you wanted. I mean, Tiffany and Tabitha said that if I didn’t do anything for you, you would get bored and leave. Tabitha told me what you would like and told me how to do it. I just thought—”
“I should’ve known they had something to do with this. I don’t know if I more pissed at them for telling you that this is what I wanted or you for even thinking they were right.” He pushed past her to look out through the window.
“Nick, I’m sorry. It’s just I sat there and they kept going on about how I’m going to lose you if I didn’t do something to make up for when I freaked out.” She tried to explain to him.
He looked really upset by what she thought he wanted. “Chloe, I like you for who you are, and if I’m going to break up with you, it won’t be because we aren’t having sex or you don’t do anything sexual for me. Don’t you understand that I like you because you’re not like that? If I’m going to break up with you, it would be because we weren’t getting along or one of us cheated on the other one. Please, just relax and stop listening to them.”
She couldn’t look at him. All she could do was nod her head like a child, afraid to speak.
He walked over to her and took her into his arms. “Don’t try so hard to do things you think I will want or like. As we go further, I want it to be because we want it together. Okay?” He kissed her forehead.
“Okay. I will try to relax and take things as they come.” She laid her head on his chest and held on to him, loving the smell of his cologne as he held her.
“And what else?” he said, trying to coax her.
She laughed a little. “I will not listen to my friends or let them tell me what to do.”
Kevin beeped, signaling it was time for him to go. He kissed her quickly and they left the mall.
* * * *
When school came around on Monday, Nick cornered Gabbie before Chloe got to homeroom. He wanted to know if she had any clue about what Chloe had been looking at and why they had put her up to the whole ways-to-keep-him thing.
“It had to be the charm bracelet. Her mom had one. It was her grandmother’s or something. I remember her talking about it after her mom died. Her father buried it with her and Chloe was so upset because her mom had always promised it to her. I don’t know what the charms were, though. Chloe never mentioned them. And Tiffany was the one who was on her about it. She kept calling her St. Chloe, and Chloe hates that,” Gabbie explained.
Nick pushed Tiffany and her ideas out of his mind and went back to thinking about what to get Chloe. “So, do you think that would be a good idea for Christmas? I’m stumped on what to get her.” He hoped that this would be it.
“I think she would love it. It would show her you are paying attention to her. Make sure that you get her a charm of a rose and a ladybug,” she suggested, thinking about what others to get her.
“Why those two?” he asked, hoping he could get some more info out of her.
“The rosebud is for the roses; her backyard’s full of them. In the spring, you should see it. Her mom loved roses. And the ladybug, well, as funny as it will sound, the day of her mother’s funeral, a ladybug landed on her hand. Crazy, right? Because her mom died in November, but there it was. I would not have believed her unless I saw it. She would kill me since I’m going to tell you this, but she has a ladybug tattoo on her ankle. She keeps it hidden by a band aid, but it’s there. Look in her paintings, too. You will always find a ladybug as a tribute to her mom,” Gabbie continued. She sat up alert now, as Chloe entered the classroom.
Chloe sat down and noticed both of them smiling at her. “What’s up? Do I have something on me?” It was almost as if they had a secret they weren’t telling her.
“No, Babe, you look great. I was just wondering when I am going to get to see your tattoo,” he said, teasing her.
Chloe smacked Gabbie’s arm. “Gabbie, you promised.” She looked embarrassed that he now knew about that.
He tried to hide his smirk.
She hid her face. “Stop, it was something stupid I did and I keep it hidden, so leave it at that.”
He pulled her hands down and kissed her on the cheek. “I want to see it someday. Don’t be mad at Gabbie. She told me out of the kindness of her heart,” he joked.
* * * *
Gabbie seemed like she was going to protest but Sister MM called the class to order. Chloe debated on telling him about the job, but he had to find out, and if they were in class, he couldn’t make too much of a scene. She took out a piece of paper and wrote: Please don’t freak. I got the job at the art studio. Folding it, she hit his leg and passed it to him. She watched him open and read it.
He showed no outward reaction. When the sister turned her back, he wrote something down and passed it back. That’s great! When do you start and are you going to be able to get out of work for Christmas break?
She braced herself and replied:
Today, after school. I work Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday morning. So you have me the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. The studio is closed after Christmas until after New Year’s. You’re not mad, are you?
She passed it back. This was killing her. She knew that after what had happened at the mall, he was going to be mad. She just hoped he would understand and not make too big of a deal out of it. She tried to concentrate on the notes she was supposed to be taking, but he was taking a long time to write her back. She glanced at him and he was folding the note back up.
Then, he looked at her and winked.
When she went to reach for the note, he held her hand there for a minute. His hand was warm and she loved how when he let hers go, he slowly slid his away. She took a deep breath and opened the note, waiting for the rant she expected to see.
How can I be mad at you? I know what you are thinking, and I won’t freak out. I know you have to do this. Save time for me next Friday night, please. I want to take you to that win
ter festival. What time are you getting done?
She smiled and folded the note. She had not been to one since she was little. Last year she was going to go, but backed out at the last minute because she was alone and didn’t want to come home to an empty house. Now she had someone to go with, and although the house would be empty, she kinda liked it. It would mean he could stay for a little while and they could talk or…Chloe felt herself blush. It felt so strange that just the thought of him sometimes made her blush. She often thought of that morning after Thanksgiving, when they’d been in her room
She glanced at him as he took notes, his chin resting on his hand as he wrote. She started to daydream about him until the bell rang. In the hall, Chloe grabbed his hand and pulled him into the stairwell. He looked at her confused, and before he could ask what was up, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He dropped his book bag and put his arms around her, pressing her closer to him. Her lips parted and she kissed him deeper, running her fingers through his soft curls. Just as he seemed to begin to enjoy it, she pulled away and touched his lips with her finger. He grabbed it and looked at her with a bemused smile. “What was that about?” he asked.
She bit her lip, thinking about what she wanted to say. “Yes, to next Friday night. I get done at eight, maybe sooner.” She shyly smiled, and then headed to class.
* * * *
When the following Friday night finally rolled around, Chloe had gotten done at seven and told him to pick her up at her house. The weather men on TV had been calling for snow all day and by the feel of the air and the clouds, it looked like it could start at any time. Before he could knock, Chloe opened the door.
“Little excited to go?” He laughed when she jumped into his arms.
“Just a little. If it isn’t too late when we get done, do you want to come back here?” she suggested.