Tempting Fate (8 page)

She waited and every time the door opened, she turned to look. Her heart raced and then almost stopped when another strange face came through the door. When the class started she looked around slowly again. Not one face in the crowd was his. When she gave up, she was sad. Even if there was still time for him to show up, he wasn’t there now. Abby pulled out her old tape recorder again, she knew she was not going to pay attention and take notes. Every second that passed by was longer than the last, until they were gone and class was over without Westly anywhere in site.

Abby walked back to her dorm slowly thinking about it. Maybe she would call Melissa and tell her everything, get some advice. She was acting ridiculous; she didn’t even know him that well. Maybe he really was all a dream, just her subconscious telling her she needed to get out more. Have some fun, flirt; Westly was so perfect in her mind that there was no reason he should be more than a dream. She didn’t take her eyes off the ground ahead of her until she got to the front door of her dorm. Paul was at the front desk when Abby stopped by to check for mail. “Hi Paul, any mail for me today?”

“No Abby, are you expecting something? Because if it comes later then I’ll bring it up to you when it does. If you want me to that is.”

“Just wondered, not expecting anything in particular.” Truthfully Abby was hoping he would have dropped a note for her at the front desk. “I’ll see you later Paul, going to go study.”

Paul’s eyes were not looking at her but past her. She didn’t know what to make of the look on his face so she turned to look over her shoulder to see what he was staring at. Westly was leaning against the wall with a pizza in his hands smiling at her.

“Hey you, going to study, huh? Guess I’ll have to eat this whole pizza I bought by myself then.” He was trying to look sad as Abby approached him, but there was still a half smile on his face.

“A pizza, well how I could I turn that down? It is the best way to a girl’s heart.”

“Really, I thought food was the fastest way to a guy’s heart?”

“Well in that case,” Abby smiled and took the pizza box from his hands, “I have this pizza and I just can’t eat it all by myself. Would you like to join me?” She could not help but giggle at herself. That was quick and it was good. It just might have been considered flirting; maybe she wasn’t so bad at it after all.

“Abs it smells delicious and I thought you would never ask. I would love to join you. Thank you.” His smile was bigger than ever and it set Abby’s heart on fire. “Your place or mine?”

“Mine is closer, come get it while it’s hot.”

With that Abby was walking to the elevator with Westly right on her heels. Where did this burst of confidence come from? Abby didn’t care, but she wanted it to stick around that was for sure.

They were about to get in the elevator when she heard Paul call out to her, “Call me at the front desk if you need anything Abby, I’ll be right here.” His voice had started out as she would have expected, like a father’s; but Paul’s last few words sounded more like he was pleading with her to not go with Westly.

Abby covered her mouth and tried not to laugh as the door shut. Oh dear what was Westly going to think of that? She didn’t have to guess.

“Is that guy worried that I’m going to hurt you or something? I didn’t know you were seeing someone, maybe I should go.”

“No, no that is just Paul. He is a nice guy, really nice, just a little like an over-protective father to some of us girls around here.”

“Can’t say I would blame him.” He was smiling as the elevator doors opened and he let her lead the way. “Can I hold that pizza for you miss while you open the door?”

“Why thank you sir,” Abby said, handing the box over as she pulled out her keys and opened the door. “Um, can you give me one second? I just want to make sure that the room is clean.”

“Sure, I’ll be right here waiting.”

“Thanks.” She really wanted a second to scream into her pillow, but there was no time for that now.

Abby knew her room was clean, it always was. She ran to the side table at the end of her bed, turned the phone’s ringer off and turned the answering machine’s volume down. The last thing she needed was her aunt calling and saying something about him with him right in the room. She was already nervous as it was. One quick look in the mirror and she was back at the door.

“I saw that,” he said with a very mischievous smile.

What? How did he see anything? She was racking her brain as he started laughing. Abby could not hide the paranoia in her voice as she desperately asked, “What did you see?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to see if you would fess up to something or tell me what you hid.”

“Come on in,” Abby said rolling her eyes, glad, she did not tell on herself. “Um, I don’t have a table or anything we can sit on the bed if you like or the floor.”

As Abby sat on the bed across from him, she was suddenly in awe of what was going on. Just a half hour ago she thought she had scared him off or he was not even real at all. Now he was sitting on her bed about to eat a pizza and…what then, talk? Go somewhere? Abby had no idea what was going to happen after they ate, so she ate slowly just in case he was going to leave when he was done.

They were quiet for some time as she watched him looking around her room. Abby didn’t have anything special on her walls aside from her overly-stuffed calendar and a big poster of a palm tree on a beach. There were just a few pictures on her shelves. One frame held a photo from the previous summer with her grandparents; the other was of her and Aunt Melissa on stage at the country bar where her aunt sang nightly. Another shelf held a family photo of Abby with both her parents and her younger sister taken on her graduation day.

After awhile he looked down at the bed. Abby could see he was clearing his mouth to speak, so she did the same.

“You like blue I take it?”

“Not really, why do you ask?” What in her room gave him that idea? Her shirt today was teal and yesterday her sweater was cream. She did not wear a lot of blue.

“The blanket on your bed is blue, so I just thought that maybe it was your favorite color.”

“Oh that. No I bought it at the store before I came to school this year. It was the only color left and they were on sale. My favorite color is purple.”

“Blue is my favorite. I think it looks the best on me, but I wear a lot of black. Why is purple your favorite?”

“When I was about eleven my father’s mother passed away and there were some purple roses at her funeral. My mother let me take them home and put them in my room. I loved the way they looked, and it has just been my favorite color, and flower, ever since then, but I don’t really wear it a lot.”

The conversation took off from there with ease. When they were done with the pizza, Abby moved it to the computer desk and sat back on the bed. As they talked and repositioned, they moved closer and closer together till one of their legs were touching the others. Laughing and talking, it was starting to be very natural to Abby, and she was having a good time.

She placed her hand on her leg very close to his; maybe he would take her hand in his. With a smile he started to inch his hand closer and closer to hers and her heart began to race faster. She sat there waiting and just as he was about to touch her hand, there was a knock at the door.

“I’m coming, hold on,” Abby rolled her eyes as she got up. He was so close; she was going to kill whoever was at the door! As she cracked the door open, she saw that it was Paul. What did he want?

“Um, hi Abby I was just checking on you. It had been a couple hours and, um, well I um just wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine Paul, thank you. I’ll talk to you later okay? Kind of busy right now.” Abby did not know if she should be flattered or very mad at him for ruining a nice moment.

“Oh you still have company over huh? That guy’s over still; the one that was downstairs waiting on you? I forgot about him, sorry. Well I’ll see you around.” Abby knew he hadn’t forgotten but felt bad that he looked upset that Westly was still there with her.

“No big. It’s alright, thanks for checking. Bye”

“Bye, Abby.” Abby closed the door and was mortified; maybe it would have been better if she had just never answered the door. Then again he would have kept knocking then or come back every ten minutes to check on her.

When she looked back at Westly, he was smiling at her. Where was she supposed to sit now, she had been so close to him. Could she go back to the same spot, or did she have to work her way back into it again? Abby sat down at the edge of the bed less than a foot away from where he was. Thankfully Westly answered that question for her and moved towards her still smiling.

“Does dad think I should go home now?” Abby could see he was trying so hard not to laugh but by the end of the question, he was rolling. Abby couldn’t help but laugh herself.

“Yes, I guess he thinks so, but I don’t want you to so I hope you will stay a little longer.” Abby blushed as she said this and she knew he could see it. Westly reached up to touch her cheek, and she just turned redder under his hand.

“I’ll stay as long as you like Abs; I’m in no hurry. But I am getting hot. Do you mind if I take of my sweatshirt?”

“Oh yeah, sure. Did you want me to open the window or turn the heat down for you? Sorry, I keep my room kind of hot. I guess it’s the Texas in me.”

“No this should be fine. Texas huh? You like the heat?” When Westly stood to take off the sweatshirt, his shirt underneath came up at first too, revealing a rock hard stomach. Abby’s jaw almost dropped; wow was all she could think.

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking when I got dressed.” Abby pulled her eyes away from him. He caught her staring at him “I wish I was wearing more than this undershirt.”

Abby looked back up to see that he was wearing a plain white sleeveless shirt. One of the kind people had started to call a “wife beater.” He must have thought she was staring at that. Then she looked at his arms, the strong ones he had wrapped around her the night before. They were perfect. Muscular like they had been earned working in the field all summer; not that over-done look some guys had. Like they spent hours and hours in the gym every day trying to get them as big as they could.

“Oh no, you’re fine don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I did not mean to stare, but your shirt came up and I saw your stomach …and,” Abby shut her mouth and looked at the ground, her cheeks raged red again. Why did she need to say that? When she looked back up he had that half smile again and one eyebrow was raised like he was questioning in his mind where she was going with that statement. Oh, dear! What must he think of her now?

She felt the bed move as Westly sat back down beside her. With one hand, he pulled her hands from her face, and with the other, he lifted her chin. “Are you alright Abs?”

She raised her eyes slowly and looked into his, “Just not using a filter before I speak for some reason, it’s embarrassing.”

“I like when you say what is on your mind. Your eyes always look so deep in thought and I don’t know what you are thinking and it drives me crazy.”

Abby smiled at him. When she looked into his eyes, she thought the same thing just then, what was he thinking? She wished he would just kiss her now and then that would be the end of their conversation and she could be in his arms again like last night.

“Like right now, what are you thinking? Please tell me I need to know. Just say it please. You really can make me crazy.”

“I, I was wishing, I mean wondering, I mean thinking about if you were going to kiss me.” Oh no why did she say that? She could not think of anything else to say and the smile on his face was getting bigger and bigger.

His hand moved to the side of her face and his other caressed down her arm. He was inching closer to her face and Abby thought she was going to pass out. The warmth of his hand on one cheek and she could feel his breath on the other. She closed her eyes and waited.

Her breath caught in her throat as the whisper of his voice and the heat of his breath was right against her ear. “Wished, wondered, or wanted?” Then his lips just barely touched her ear, her head started spinning and the world around her dissolved.

It took all she could to find her breath and speak, “Wish, yes wish.” It was so quiet she wondered if he had heard her.

Then his lips were pressed to her cheek, soft and warm. He moved the hand on her cheek to her hair. Slowly and softly her breathing came back to her. For a split second she wondered if she should move away. In that second his lips were against hers, and she melted against him. It was better than anything she could have imagined. Every time he moved away she melted closer.

Slowly the hand on her arm moved to her back and she was sinking backward. He laid her down slowly and never stopped kissing her. Slowly Abby placed her hand on his arm. This was heaven and she knew it in that second. Her mind was yelling,
Don’t stop, please, stay here with me forever
, when a noise startled her.

“Abby you are never going to guess what just happened. Paul is at the….” Melanie stopped in her tracks at the edge of the bathroom door and looked at the ground. “Oh my gosh! Abby I’m so sorry I should have knocked. I’ll just go. I’m so sorry. Oh my gosh!” Melanie shut the door as she left, red and looking at the ground.

Abby was sitting up at that point and she turned from the door to Westly. He was leaning on one arm and looking at her with a smile. Somehow Abby found herself not caring and wanting to be back in his arms. The sunlight was starting to go down in the window, but she didn't care. She turned her body more, grabbed his hand, and placed her head on her pillows pulling him closer to her.