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“Elle, have you been taking your preventative?” her mom asked her, sounding kind of exasperated. I sat by the girl’s feet and made myself comfortable.
She blushed and buried her face in her hands, rolling in toward the back of the couch.
“Hey, nice to meet you,” I said jokingly. I slapped her ankle lightly. “I’ll go first, my name’s Cal and women fall at my feet.”
“Haha,” she said, still hiding her face. But I could see her beautiful smile through the spaces in her fingers, perfect white teeth and full, pink lips. Jesus, she was gorgeous.
“We should probably go,” my mom said like we were an imposition.
“Oh, no, she’ll be all right. Please stay. She gets breakthrough seizures when her stress is high. Lord knows we’ve had a year full of them. Let me put on some coffee.”
From the very first glance, something inside me just clicked and fell right into place. I knew she was special, someone I wanted to know. I knew already that I wanted her all to myself, but I was getting ahead of the situation. How could you feel protective of someone you just met?
“I’m legendary at first impressions,” she said sarcastically. She tried to sit up, but I waved her to lay back down.
“Listen, that was probably the most memorable introduction I’ve ever had in my life. I felt like Elvis for a second. I’ve never made such an impact before.”
It was almost uncomfortable looking into her eyes. Not because of her beauty, but because of the fierce connection I felt like it was leaping out and putting my freaking soul in a headlock.
“Come to South Vale, they said. You’ll love it here, they said. The house has a pool. You can meditate and soak in the hot tub to level out the stressors.”
“They sold it to you pretty hard, huh?”
“I’m a hard sale. Christ, you want to get a cup of that coffee they were talking about and get the hell out of here?”
“Are you allowed to have coffee or even walk in your state?”
“Haha, a comedian. Help me up and maybe I won’t throw you in the pool, fully clothed.”
I helped her to stand and her hand on my forearm felt like it would burn a fucking fossil into my skin. If I thought her eye contact was killer, her touch would annihilate me. Maybe I’d pass out now and they’d have to fan me awake, stick smelling salts under my nose so I wouldn’t be crippled by her beauty or the intense draw I felt toward the girl.
Ellison, did you just fall into my life for a reason?
I kept a hand on the small of her back as we made our way to the kitchen. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure if it was too forward, but I didn’t want her to fall down again. I could smell the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee which mingled with her fresh powdery scent.
She poured us two cups of coffee, as our mothers had already made their way into the
Kraft’s garden, and we sat down at the island in the kitchen. I found myself staring into the beautiful pools of her eyes, lost in the moment. Sure. I’d had crushes before, but this was something different, it was a connection and all I wanted to know was if she felt it too. I was glad my father couldn’t see me all wrapped up in some girl I’d just met, he would have kicked my ass. After her seizure when her eyes opened back up, I felt a rush of relief. When she fixed them on me, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Just like now. So I took a sip of coffee, which I didn’t usually drink, and reached out and grabbed her hand instinctively.
“So South Vale’s got you so messed up you’re passing out from stress? Sounds about right.”
“That’s reassuring. My parents talk about this place like it’s Shangri La.”
“Well, it’s what you make of it, I guess, like anything.”
I watched Ellison’s long fingers circle her mug, and she brought it to her lips, taking a drink. I never thought I’d be jealous of an inanimate object, but I wanted to be that mug, cradled in her hand, caressed by her lips. Lips, which were full and pink as she alternately sipped and blew on the hot liquid. I could see her tongue hit the edge of the glass and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
When I looked up, my mother was staring at me through the glass door to the patio with the most peculiar smirk on her face.
I was sure she thought I was gay, which I didn’t have a problem with, it kept their expectations at bay, especially the ones about hooking up with some club whore.
The way I saw it, I didn’t want to rope some innocent girl into my family’s psychodrama. I just figured when I got out of here, I would meet someone, but I’d be worlds away from the club and the deviance therein. Once I was distanced from my father and all the insanity, I’d hoped to meet a woman and have a family, create my life in opposition to everything he stood for. What he was, was what I never wanted to be.
