Love and Skate (9 page)

             
God, I was falling hard for this girl.  She didn’t play games or give me whiplash with those games people play when they’re dating.  One minute they’re up your butt and then the next they’re ignoring you.  She didn’t pretend that she was naïve or try to be overly sexy. She didn’t do that thing girls do when you ask them out and they pretend they’re busy or they don’t care.  She was just a natural at reeling me in without even trying.  Heaven help me if she ever really tried. 

             
She asked me straight up when she was going to see me again. 

             
“I have something planned for tomorrow after practice.”

             
“Ok, but I’m warning you.  Sometimes I get cranky after practice.”

             
I could not even imagine this girl cranky or mean or angry for one second.

             
“Ok, I will consider myself warned.  But once you see me you’ll forget crankiness.”

             
“You make me forget all the bad stuff.”

             
“
One day you’re gonna trust me enough to tell me the bad stuff.”

             
“Probably the same day you trust me enough to tell me your bad stuff.”

             
“And what makes you think I have bad things to tell?”

             
The waitress came and gave us the ticket and I paid it right away and let her keep the change.  Nellie got up and we walked out together towards her car.

             
“You didn’t answer my question.” I tugged on her hand to remind her.

             
She leaned her back on her car and looked up like she was thinking.

             
“Sometimes,” she started and reached out to play with the strings of my
hoodie
, “You look like you’re torn.  Like before you kissed me at the library, you looked like you had an angel and a devil on each shoulder.  And you got the same look before you sat down in class today.
And I don’t know if I’m the angel or the devil, but whichever I am, choose me.”

             
I stood stunned.  She had known me less than a week and had me all figured out.  She pecked me on the lips and left me standing there in the parking lot standing on the line that marked where her car was.  But instead of feeling betrayed, I felt freed. 

             
Damn it, I let her drive away while I stood there like a jackass.

             
I got into my car and gave her time to get home before I texted her.

             
O:
You shocked the hell out of me.  You know me so well already.  I am torn sometimes, but I will always choose you no matter what.  And one day, I will tell you the bad stuff.  I will see you tomorrow after practice right?

             
It seemed like hours had passed before she responded.

             
N: Y, see you tomorrow. And I’m here when you need me.  I’ll listen when you’re ready.

             
O: Thx.  
That’s all I could bear to type.

             
N: You didn’t kiss me goodnight. :(

             
O: I will make up for it tomorrow.  Promise.

             
N: Goodnight Owen. 

             
O: Goodnight angel.

             
I drove home and Dylan was still up.  I had to include him in my plan for tomorrow since he was my connection to Amber and she was going to have to let me into their apartment. 

             
He called Amber and we set it all up. After class tomorrow, I had things to do for my girl.  I went to bed hoping that sleep hel
ped me pass the time faster.

             
Thursday morning I woke up with a smile on my face.  I even slept through Dylan’s snoring.  I went to my class
es and texted Dylan throughout the day to make sure everything was set.  Amber was helping the most and once I heard her say that if anyone deserved this kind of thing, it was her.  I didn’t think they were that close, but I took it as a good omen.

             
I went grocery shopping and bought ev
erything I needed and more since she said she needed groceries.
Amber had promised she would be gone with Dylan for the whole night.  But that was ok; I had planned to sleep in the Bronco since my room would be occupied.  It was worth it. 

             
I met Amber at the Union at a quarter ‘til six to get the apartment key from her an
d got to work.  I made her dinner.  It wasn’t much, just baked chicken, sweet potatoes and salad.  I paced the room until it was eight and then checked and rechecked everything to make sure it was right.  I sat at the table and waited for her to come in.  I heard the key in the deadbolt and couldn’t wait to see her. 

             
She came in and let her bag drop from her shoulder in a heap on the floor and threw her keys in the basket by the door.  I heard another thump
which was her collapsing on the floor
and she started talking out loud. 

             
“Somebody kill me. Put me out of my misery.  I’m dying and I didn’t even get to see Owen tonight. Cruel, cruel world.” 

             
I laughed silently.  She had her eyes closed and while she groaned out her soliloquy she raised her hands in the air as if she were Hamlet in the throes of anguish.  It was the cutest damn thing I had ever seen.

             
I cleared my throat and she whipped herself off the floor and screamed at the same time.

             
“Lord have mercy Owen, I nearly pissed myself.  What the hell?”

             
“Surprise!” I smiled really big hoping it would work.

             
“Did you hear my little speech on the floor?” All I could do was nod.

             
“I’m going to take a shower and then I’m coming back out.  That gives you about ten or fifteen minutes to forget everything you just saw. Ok?”

             
She stomped out and went to shower and change.  I set the table and when she came out she glared at me with her hands on her hips waiting.

             
“I tried to forget, I did.  But really you should be an actress.”

             
“Shut up.”  We both laughed and then she realized what was going on.

             
“You made dinner?” She was only looking at the stove.

             
“Yeah, it’s not much but I knew you would be hungry and tired and it gave me an excuse to see you.
Plus you said you needed food in the house.
”

             
She tore open the door of the refrigerator and  stared at it for a while.  Then s
he stood up on the chair next to her and I didn’t know what the hell was going on so I just stood there.  She crooked her finger at me, beckoning me to her.  I stood in front of her and put my hands up in an ‘I don’t know what you want’ expression.  Then I realized that when she stood on the small chair she was as tall as me.  We were
face to face and that’s where she wanted me. 

             
“I can’t believe you did this.” She said but she was looking at my mouth.

             
I reached
out and touched my finger to the
spider bites on her bottom lip and she smiled. 

             
“Everyone ignores my piercings.  Like if they don’t talk about them they will go away.  My mom will act like I have food on my mouth and then say ‘oh…nope…it’s just those things in her lip.’ It’s pretty damn funny.”

             
“That doesn’t sound funny.  And these are part of you and you are so beautiful.”

             
“And you have some of your own.” She said as she ran both of her fingers over my
pecs
and it caused me to shiver.

             
“Yeah, that was a long time ago.”

             
“But you still keep them in.”

             
“Yeah, I like them.  What you don’t like them?” Now my eyes were trained on her lips.

             
“I haven’t really seen them.  I can’t tell yet.” One of her eyebrows popped up as she said it and it made it so much harder not to kiss her.

             
“Oh no.  There are only three things on the agenda tonight. Eating, sleeping and kissing.  Feel free to reverse that order—like now.”

             
And she did.  This kiss was different and new.  It was not the first peck or even the second bolder kiss.  No this was us kissing like we had been
kissing for years and years.  It was easy and we moved together in perfect sync.  Before I knew it, I held her completely flush with my body and her hands were tangled in my hair.
Her left foot ran a trail up and down my right leg and I moved my hips away from her before she knew exactly how much I loved kissing her.
She pulled away after a few minutes and held my bottom lip between her teeth as she did.  We stood reigning ourselves back in and then I cleared my throat.

             
“Ok, you need to eat.  Somehow in all of that I heard your stomach.”

             
“Well good for you ‘cause I didn’t hear anything but you making those noises you make.”

             
“I do not make noises.”

             
“Oh yeah, you totally make noises. That’s why old man library came to shush us.  You were making noises.”

             
“Well, I’ll have to stop making them.”

             
“Don’t you dare.  I dream about those noises.”

             
We both ate and she looked exhausted.  I was going to stay for a while until she went to sleep but just as I was going to ask her Dylan and Amber came in
and they had been drinking.  They weren’t drunk but were clearly tipsy and had forgotten our deal. 

             
“Oh sorry, we forgot.” Dylan whispered as loud and awkward as he could.

             
“It’s ok.  I was just leaving.”

             
“You’re leaving?” Nellie looked like she didn’t want me to but she needed to sleep. I knew she had that early math class in the morning.

             
“Yeah, but how about a real date tomorrow night?”

             
“I can’t.  I have to work and we have team dinners every Friday night when we are in season.  I have to go.  Amber never does, but I’m the team captain.”

             
“Ok, well then I will see you Saturday night then, right?”

             
She stuck her bottom lip out and the last thing I wanted to do was leave.

             
“I’ll text you tomorrow.”

             
“I want you to text me when you get back in your dorm room.  Just so I know you got there ok.”  She had walked with me to the door.

             
“Will do.  Then get some sleep, ok?”

             
“Yeah.”

             
She closed the door behind me and I waited until I heard the click of the deadbolt and the slide of the chain before I walked out.  I drove home a very satisfied man.  Every day that I made her happy it was one more step towards actually coming close to deserving to have her in my life.  I shut the door to my dorm room, went back out to take a shower
and fell happily into my silence surrounded bed.  Then I heard my phone vibrate. 

             
N: R u home?

             
O: Y, sorry, showered and forgot to text you.

             
N: OK, just making sure.

             
O: Ur not sleeping.

             
N: I can now. 
Thx for tonight.

             
O:
Always

             
I sat around
a huge table with my team, most of them. 
Amber was out with Dylan, of course and other girls had plans.  Some were mothers, some were executives and some were party girls.  We all came from different walks of life.