You Complete Me (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Chapter 1

“Erika! Movie at my house, tonight?” Lincoln shouted down the crowded hallway of our high school as students flooded out of several different classrooms.

I nodded quickly as I watched his shaggy, brown locks bounce against the sides of his porcelain face. The light sprinkle of freckles on his nose stood out in contrast to his piercing blue eyes. His 6’2 frame towered above all our peers in the corridor. Spinning around on the heel of my white, dingy tennis shoes, I headed for the school’s main exit. Multiple of my fellow classmates swerved in front of me and crammed out the glass, double doors, eager to get away from the torturous learning facility.

“Erika! Just ride with me!” Lincoln exclaimed as I headed to Maria’s car, another one of my best friends I usually rode with to and from school every day.

I wandered from her Smart Carto his black, two-door Ford Fusion. He opened the door for me as I slid into the cool, black, leather seat and threw my pink, backpack into the back. Once he climbed into the car, we were headed towards his house. When you think of Lincoln Taylor your mind automatically flashes to the large estate his parent own on the edge of town.

The house was four floors and constructed completely of chic, gray brick. There was a towering oak tree that sat in the front yard. When Lincoln’s parents were away on business trips, which was almost always, we’d climb high into that tree and have his housekeeper bring us sandwiches for lunch. Lunch in a tree, classic. There were also small shrubs that dotted the landscape, courtesy of the gardener and landscaper that came to check on the lawn's upkeep almost ever week. Lush, green grass- that was perfectly taken care of- surrounded the front of the house while in the backyard a large, crystal-clear pool expanded across their property. Inside the home was even more marvelous than the outside, but I’ll get to that eventually.

“I’ll have Margret make us some snacks once we get back to my place,” Lincoln said, flicking on the windshield wipers as it started to sprinkle.

“You know I love food,” I laughed, staring out the window at the oncoming storm and thinking about what it would be like to hire someone to do everything for you.

“Why does it always have to rain here? Like I know we live in Washington, but seriously? These storms are getting out of hand,” Lincoln muttered, squinting through the windshield as the rain pounded against the car heavily. 

“If you don’t like the rain you could always go back to Arizona where rain is as rare as diamonds,” I joked, knowing I would miss him way too much if he ever decided to move back to his home roots.

“I haven’t been there since I was three. I barely even remember what it was like to see the sunlight for more than a day in a row.”

I giggled as he pulled his car into the four stall garage that was attached to his house. Max, his golden retriever puppy, greeted us by licking our ankles and letting out excited little yelps when he saw us emerge from the vehicle. After slinging my bag onto one shoulder, I bent down and patted the small dog on the head. I kissed the little patch of fur between his eyes like I always did and stood up.

“Okay, come on!” Lincoln exclaimed, rushing towards the gigantic house with Max and I trailing closely behind him.

Lincoln held the door open for Max and I and plopped his backpack on the grand, mahogany, dining table that never got used, because 95 percent of the time Lincoln was home alone with Margret. Hearing the clunk of my books, I set mine next to his. I giggled as I watched Max struggle to run across the dark, bamboo flooring. He skidded, slid, and flipped on his back as his paws struggled to gain traction.

“Margret!” Lincoln yelled through the empty house.

“Mr. Taylor, I wasn’t aware you were home already. I hope you had a fantastic day at school. Hello, Miss. Evans. It is very nice to see you again.”

“Hello, Margret,” I answered with a graceful smile.

“Margret, Erika and I would appreciate some snacks down in the television room as soon as possible,” Lincoln instructed, scooping up Max around his belly and leading the way down the stairs.

Opening the glass double-doors, we entered into the room designated to relaxation.  Flopping onto the comfortable couch, I took Max from Lincoln’s arms and cuddled him close to my face. His soft fur caressed my cheeks as he wiggled and squirmed in my arms. We watched Lincoln put in Paranormal Activity into the DVD player and images began to project on the screen. The 102 inch television illuminated the whole room with light as advertisements played across the television. 

 “Max, if I get scared, you’re going to have to cuddle with me,” I whimpered to the small dog as his tiny tail shot from side to side with ferocity.

His small, pink tongue bolted out of his mouth and ran up and down my face leaving wet spots in its path while I talked to him. I laughed at the sloppy kisses while Lincoln plopped down on couch with Max and me. I heard Margret bustled down the stairs and a moment later, I saw her peak her head into the room.

“Your snacks, Mr. Taylor,” she said quietly, handing Lincoln a tray of assorted cookies, popcorn, candies, and beverages.

“Thank you, Margret. You are dismissed,” he replied, waving his hand as a sign to her to go away and opening a container of Oreos and popping several in his mouth at a time.

Splitting one apart, he scraped all the vanilla frosting out of it with his finger and offered it to me. That was the thing about being best friends with Lincoln. He remembered every single thing about you. Even the little things like my favorite part of a famous chocolate cookie like an Oreo.

“I know it’s your favorite,” he laughed as I licked it from his index finger and snacked my lips together in satisfaction.

“Thank you, Mr. Taylor,” I answered with a laugh as I grabbed a bag of LifeSaver candies from the tray.

He chuckled as Max crawled across my lap and onto Lincoln’s. Looking at both of the adorable creatures that were sprawled on the couch next to me, I knew there was no other place in the world where I’d rather be than with my two best buds- one being a dog, of course.