answered
neutrally. But on the inside I was so happy my calm tone hadn’t
betrayed my excitement. Now if I could only keep it up until I got
home. I tugged the ends of my cardigan together so I could exhale
and let my gut stay comfortably hidden behind the shield of the
cardigan. I let go of the breath I was holding and felt my stomach
fall off the edge of my jeans. A sly glance down proved the
cardigan successfully hid the bulge. The fabric lay nicely over my
jeans, hiding all my imperfections.
I breathed a small sigh of relief.
You see, it’s okay. Just act
calm. Be cool. All will be okay. I needed the reassurance.
He smiled as he punched in the address.
Uh oh, that smile! What is he up to?
“What?” I asked him. I wanted to know what he
was thinking about now because I’d begun to notice a pattern with
him: whenever he remained quiet but smiled for no reason, it wasn’t
for no reason.
“You don’t live too far from me,” James
answered, sounding satisfied.
I wasn’t wrong about the pattern; his mind
was definitely somewhere naughty.
“So?” What was his point? I wanted him to say
aloud whatever it was he was thinking. I wanted to fight with him
about it.
“It’s just something to think about…” His
voice rang with possibility.
“Actually, it’s nothing to think about, so
don’t get any ideas,” I replied, folding my arms across my chest. I
meant business now.
“Don’t worry, I won’t be sneaking through
your window anytime soon.” His grin spread across his face. He
stopped at an intersection and turned to me.
Anytime soon?!
I needed to put a stop to him. He was going
way overboard with the dirty talk, or whatever it was. The only
thing I knew was that I was uncomfortable as hell with the idea of
him sneaking through my window.
“Dude, even if you wanted to you couldn’t,” I
answered. “My room’s on the second floor, so it might be a little
difficult for you seeing as there’s no tree to climb.” I turned to
the window. Neutral tone: check.
“So your room’s up top, good to know.” He
rejoiced at figuring out another clue.
What! I spun around to face him, my eyes wide, mouth
open.
“It doesn’t matter,” I snapped, “even if you
could fly, you’re not invited anyways.” Neutral tone: uncheck. It
was beyond my realm of expression at the moment.
So there!
“ Not invited yet, ” he responded matter-of-factly. The light turned green and
he made a left.
“Whatever,” I sighed breathlessly, feeling my
energy beginning to dwindle. I wasn’t going to fight him on this
because he wasn’t going to get anywhere near my room anyway.
He followed the speed limit and at the rate
we were going I’d be home in less than ten minutes. I watched the
setting sun through the window, in a few more minutes it would be
gone completely and I’d be stuck in a car with James. Alone. In the
dark.
Breathe! I urged myself.
Change the subject. Maybe I
should bring up something he likes? I pondered, stealing a peek at him from the corner
of my eye. Perhaps if I brought up a neutral, light, fun topic I
could see a different side of him, someone besides the boy who
loved to bring up dirty innuendos every chance he could.
Baseball!
“So… How was baseball training?”
He took his eyes off the road for a second to
grace me with a glance, smiling.
“It’s going pretty good. I’ll probably be
batting in the first game.” His eyes returned to the road but his
voice sounded happy.
Baseball makes him happy. Noted!
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah, I’m the newbie. But Coach thinks I’m
the shit. Not that I blame him, I’m pretty amazing.”
Obviously not humble.
“Well, congratulations.” I didn’t know what
else to say. I didn’t want to rain on his parade even though the
way he kissed his own ass made me want to shut him down,
Annabelle-style.
But I didn’t.
“Don’t congratulate me now. Do it after I win
the first game by slamming an awesome home run.”
“You ever
neutrally. But on the inside I was so happy my calm tone hadn’t
betrayed my excitement. Now if I could only keep it up until I got
home. I tugged the ends of my cardigan together so I could exhale
and let my gut stay comfortably hidden behind the shield of the
cardigan. I let go of the breath I was holding and felt my stomach
fall off the edge of my jeans. A sly glance down proved the
cardigan successfully hid the bulge. The fabric lay nicely over my
jeans, hiding all my imperfections.
I breathed a small sigh of relief.
You see, it’s okay. Just act
calm. Be cool. All will be okay. I needed the reassurance.
He smiled as he punched in the address.
Uh oh, that smile! What is he up to?
“What?” I asked him. I wanted to know what he
was thinking about now because I’d begun to notice a pattern with
him: whenever he remained quiet but smiled for no reason, it wasn’t
for no reason.
“You don’t live too far from me,” James
answered, sounding satisfied.
I wasn’t wrong about the pattern; his mind
was definitely somewhere naughty.
“So?” What was his point? I wanted him to say
aloud whatever it was he was thinking. I wanted to fight with him
about it.
“It’s just something to think about…” His
voice rang with possibility.
“Actually, it’s nothing to think about, so
don’t get any ideas,” I replied, folding my arms across my chest. I
meant business now.
“Don’t worry, I won’t be sneaking through
your window anytime soon.” His grin spread across his face. He
stopped at an intersection and turned to me.
Anytime soon?!
I needed to put a stop to him. He was going
way overboard with the dirty talk, or whatever it was. The only
thing I knew was that I was uncomfortable as hell with the idea of
him sneaking through my window.
“Dude, even if you wanted to you couldn’t,” I
answered. “My room’s on the second floor, so it might be a little
difficult for you seeing as there’s no tree to climb.” I turned to
the window. Neutral tone: check.
“So your room’s up top, good to know.” He
rejoiced at figuring out another clue.
What! I spun around to face him, my eyes wide, mouth
open.
“It doesn’t matter,” I snapped, “even if you
could fly, you’re not invited anyways.” Neutral tone: uncheck. It
was beyond my realm of expression at the moment.
So there!
“ Not invited yet, ” he responded matter-of-factly. The light turned green and
he made a left.
“Whatever,” I sighed breathlessly, feeling my
energy beginning to dwindle. I wasn’t going to fight him on this
because he wasn’t going to get anywhere near my room anyway.
He followed the speed limit and at the rate
we were going I’d be home in less than ten minutes. I watched the
setting sun through the window, in a few more minutes it would be
gone completely and I’d be stuck in a car with James. Alone. In the
dark.
Breathe! I urged myself.
Change the subject. Maybe I
should bring up something he likes? I pondered, stealing a peek at him from the corner
of my eye. Perhaps if I brought up a neutral, light, fun topic I
could see a different side of him, someone besides the boy who
loved to bring up dirty innuendos every chance he could.
Baseball!
“So… How was baseball training?”
He took his eyes off the road for a second to
grace me with a glance, smiling.
“It’s going pretty good. I’ll probably be
batting in the first game.” His eyes returned to the road but his
voice sounded happy.
Baseball makes him happy. Noted!
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah, I’m the newbie. But Coach thinks I’m
the shit. Not that I blame him, I’m pretty amazing.”
Obviously not humble.
“Well, congratulations.” I didn’t know what
else to say. I didn’t want to rain on his parade even though the
way he kissed his own ass made me want to shut him down,
Annabelle-style.
But I didn’t.
“Don’t congratulate me now. Do it after I win
the first game by slamming an awesome home run.”
“You ever
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