First Kiss - A Lawson FanFic

Chapter 5 - La Petite Maison

As we walked out past the road leading to Chapman Square, I decided to break the tension by asking Joel a question.

"Um, you know earlier, Ryan called you 'Peat'?"

"Yeah," he said laughing, "that's my surname."

"Oh okay," I said, "Joel Peat."

"Ellie Southwell," he replied, looking at me.

"How did you-?" I began to ask.

"Music exam. Remember?" Of course I remember, I thought.

"Ah, makes sense," I said, "I forgot to ask, how did your exam go?"

"Yeah, good actually," he said, fiddling with his hands, "I think."

"I'm sure you've done great," I said truthfully, "I mean, when I saw you play earlier, you can see just see how comfortable you are. You know, like you're really..." I trail off, searching for the correct word to use.

"At ease?" Joel suggested.

"Yeah," I said, laughing nervously.

"Well, thanks," he said shyly, "that really means a lot." He turned to me with a sheepish grin on his face, and at that moment he looked so lovely that all I wanted to do was grab his face and kiss him. I shook my head slightly to erase the thought, and changed the subject.

"So, where exactly are we going?"

"Well, I thought we could go to a little café or something, if that's okay with you?" He asked. I nodded.

"Cool," he said, clearly relieved, "I know a nice place that's about 5 minutes away. Well, probably only 2 minutes now," he added.

"Awesome. I'm looking forward to it," I replied.

We turned left out onto what appeared to be the high street, with rows of shops and restaurants lined along the road. It felt nice, walking in the sun with a good-looking boy and the sky blue above our heads. I was so conscious of the lack of distance between us, and I so desperately wanted to close it.

A lady with a pushchair came towards us, and Joel moved in behind me to let her through. His hand brushed mine, and for a fleeting moment I thought he was about to hold my hand. I shoved my hand in the pocket of my jacket as we passed the woman, embarrassed at myself for thinking such a thing. As if he would be interested in someone like me.

Joel seemed to sense my sudden change in mood, as he said,

"So, tell me about yourself."

"Um..." I stuttered, unsure of what to say, "I like music, fashion and books." I cringe; God, I sound like such a geek, I thought. But he didn't seem fazed.

"What bands do you like?" He asked, clearly interested.

"Lawson, obviously," I answered, nudging him in the ribs with my arm. Even though it was only for a split second, the feel of his torso against my hand still made me shiver.

"Hey! That hurt," he pouted at me. He looked so attractive it was unfair.

"Sorry," I said, laughing, "I really like One Republic and Coldplay. And Bastille are pretty good too."

"Really?" He said, his face brightening, "I love One Republic too! And John Mayer." His gaze moved away, as he thought of his idol.

"Ooh, does someone have a crush?" I teased. His head whipped round, looking startled. Then he relaxed, realising I was making a joke about his love for John Mayer. He smiled, showing a row of beautiful straight teeth. Wow, he is gorgeous.