The Art of Life (14 page)

               
I
start to walk and he follows next to me.
 
“I have never been here before,” I state.

               
“We
come here every other Saturday, sort of a sibling night.
 
Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

               
Trying
not to laugh, I say, “No.”

               
“Growing
up sometimes I wished I was an only child.
 
My sister and I didn’t get along until we got older.
 
My poor parents had their hands full.”

               
“It
must be nice that you guys can do stuff like this.”

               
Eric
nods.
 
“Yeah, it is nice.
 
My sister is pregnant, so I will be an uncle
soon.”

               
“Congratulations,”
I exclaim.
 
“That’s great!”

               
“Yeah,
I think so.”

               
We
come to the bathrooms, and I turn to Eric.
 
“Well, obviously we need to part ways.”

               
With
a chuckle, he agrees.
 
“That’s probably a
good idea.
 
I may get into trouble going
into the ladies room.”

               
“Just
a little,” I laugh.
 
“Well, it was nice
seeing you.”

               
“You
too,” he replies, nodding.

               
I
enter the bathroom and shut the door behind me.
 
Seeing that no one is in here with me, I jump and down.
 
He talked to me!
 
Eric actually talked to me!
 
I can’t believe this!
 
This is great!
 
Quickly, I go to the bathroom.
 
I can’t help but smile as I wash my hands.

               
When
I open the door to the bathroom, I find Jeremy leaning against the wall.
 
“You would be surprised who I just saw,” he
says.

               
Hushing
him, I say, “Shut up.”

               
“He
is already
back
at his table.
 
Don’t worry,” Jeremy says, bending over.
 
“Eric can’t hear us.”

               
“I
am starting to think that you are evil!”

               
Jeremy
just chuckles.
 
He drapes his arm over my
shoulders and pulls me away from the bathroom.
 
“So, did your heart go pitter pat?”

               
“Oh
stop it,” I snap.
 
“I am surprised you
wondered where I was.
 
I figured you
would have had Vicky on your lap.”

               
Getting
a huge grin on his face, Jeremy says, “I will get her number later.”

               
“Is
it that easy for you?” I ask.

               
The
smile of his gets bigger.
 
“Usually.”

               
“You
are ridiculous,” I state.
 
“I mean, how
many girlfriends have you had in the last year?”

               
“Well,”
Jeremy says, looking up.
 
“Do you mean
how many girls have I gone on dates with or how many girlfriends have I had?”

               
I
roll my eyes.
 
“Both.”

               
“I
have had two girlfriends and probably have gone out with like…I don’t know,
eight girls besides that.”

               
Shocked,
I exclaim, “Jeremy!”

               
He
laughs.
 
“What?”

               
“And
you find this fulfilling?”

               
We
get back to the table and Jeremy slides into his chair.
 
“I didn’t say that.”

               
“Then
why date so many girls?” I inquire, curious.

               
“Why not?”
He retorts, almost sharply.

               
Fidgeting
with my fork, I say, “I guess I don’t have a reason why not.”

               
“I…”
he starts, “
Well,
I just like having someone around.”

               
“Then
why not have a serious girlfriend?” I ask.

               
Jeremy
stares at me almost blankly.
 
“I haven’t
found someone to be serious with.”

               
“Well,
you are a great guy, so I don’t think it would be hard for you to find
someone.”

               
He
looks at me and then smiles.
 
“You are
sweet.”

               
“I
am just stating the truth,” I reply.

               
“You
are going to be an awesome friend.
 
Oh!
 
We should go over our friend
creed!”

               
 
With a scoff, I say, “Seriously, a friend
creed?”

               
“Yes,”
he replies, placing his hands on the table.
 
“One, we will never lie to each other.”

               
Nodding
my head, I respond, “That seems like a good idea.”

               
“Two,
we are allowed to pick on each other and it’s encouraged, but hell hath no fury
if someone else picks on you.”

               
A
smirk crosses my face.
 
“Thanks, that’s
appreciated.”

               
“Three,
you must deal with my constant flirtation with girls.
 
It just comes with the territory.”

               
“Oh
geez,” I groan.
 
“Fine.”

               
With
a raised eyebrow, Jeremy asks, “Well, are you going to flirt with me to satisfy
my flirting needs?”

               
“Jeremy,
I couldn’t flirt if my life depended on it,” I retort.

               
Frowning,
Jeremy counters, “We will need to work on that.”

               
“Oh
okay,” I sarcastically reply.

               
 
“Four, you will learn to drive in my car!”

               
Now that I can argue about.
 
“No!
 
I will kill someone or total
your very pretty car.”

               
“I
swear that you will do fine,” he retorts, obviously ignoring me.
 
“Five, I am going to trust you to be my
friend.
 
I haven’t had a real one in a
long time.”

               
“Why?”
I ask, probing for some hint of his past.

               
Immediately,
he says, “Six, we don’t talk about my past.
 
Someone’s past is their past and should be left alone.”

               
“Okay,”
I whisper slowly.

               
Looking
with his beautiful, but sad eyes, he says, “Seven, and the most important.
 
I want us to trust each other.
 
I don’t trust people, but I feel as though I
can trust you.”
  

               
“Deal.
 
Eight, I trust
you with my personal life.
 
I hide it, so
you need to hide it.”

               
Jeremy
thrusts out his hand.
 
“
Deal, that
is our creed.”

               
“Sounds
good to me,” I reply, shaking his hand.

               
“So,
tell me what you and Eric talked about.”

               
I
shrug my shoulders.
 
“Ugh, he mentioned
he never talked to me before.
 
I told him
that was true.
 
He mentioned his sister
was pregnant and they come here every other week.
 
It was a really short conversation Jeremy.”

               
Jeremy
taps his chin with his finger.
 
“Well, he
talked about his family.
 
That is a good
sign.
 
Eric was actually forthcoming with
personal info.”

               
“Can
you not say his name, please?” I quietly growl.

               
Rolling
his eyes, Jeremy says, “Fine.
 
ANYWAY, at
least he is talking to you.
 
That is a
step in the right direction.”

               
Suddenly,
Vicky is beside us.
 
I look up.
 
She smiles at Jeremy.
 
“How is your wine?”

               
He
falters a little bit. “Oh, I haven’t tried it yet.”
 
Picking it up, he takes a sip.
 
“It’s good, thank you.”

               
“I
got you a glass of our better wine,” Vicky whispers.
 
“Don’t tell anyone.”

               
“It
will be our little secret,” Jeremy replies, winking at her.

               
Vicky’s
grin just gets bigger.
 
“Your dinner will
be out shortly,” she says.
 
“If you need
anything, just ask.”

               
“I
will be sure to do that,” Jeremy retorts very smoothly.

               
With
her eyes bearing down on him, Vicky walks backwards and then turns.
 
Jeremy checks her out.
 
“Jeremy!” I hiss.
 
“Put your eyes back in your head.”

               
“Why?”
He laughs.

               
“You
are so obvious about it.”

               
Grinning,
Jeremy says, “That’s the fun part.”

               
I
take a deep breath.
 
“I can’t flirt.
 
Well, I have never tried to flirt.
 
Actually, I have never even been in a
situation that I could have flirted,” I sigh.

               
“Flirt
with me then,” he murmurs, leaning forward.
 
His chocolate brown eyes just stare at me.
 
It makes me nervous.
 
“You look beautiful tonight, you know that
right?”

               
Blushing,
I look away.
 
“I wouldn’t say that.
 
I just look better.”

               
“No,”
Jeremy says, “You are beautiful.”
 
He
reaches his hand over the table and gently puts my hair behind my ear.
 
His fingers slowly trace their way down my
jaw line.
 
My heart nearly jumps out of
my chest.
 

               
“What
are you doing?” I barely whisper.

               
 
He smiles.
 
“Making you blush.”

               
“Well,
stop it,” I snap, totally uneasy.

               
That
makes him laugh.
 
“Why?”

               
“You
are making me nervous!”

               
Jeremy
looks at me and sighs.
 
“What are you
going to do when a boy really hits on you?”

               
“I
have no idea.
 
Probably, have a heart
attack, stutter and fall over,” I groan.

               
“You
have no faith in yourself.”

               
Raising
my eyebrow, I reply, “Would you have faith in yourself, if you were me?”

               
Before
he can reply, Vicky comes up to us with our food.
 
She sets mine down, without saying a word,
but she most definitely talks to Jeremy.
 
That irritates me.
 
“Here is your
lasagna.
 
I hope you like it.”

               
“Oh,
I love the lasagna here,” Jeremy says softly.
 
I am shocked because he isn’t laying it on so thick.
 
He looks at me.
 
“But I also love what Isabelle is having, so
hopefully she will like it, too.”