Perfect Impurrfections

Cinderella is a Horrible Role Model

Chapter 32

Crystal stood on her small porch looking at the young man standing on her bottom step holding a wilting bouquet of wildflowers. She had no idea where he had gotten them, but from the lack of professional presentation it was clear he had taken them from someone's yard. The stems had jagged edges speaking to being torn by hand that were drying in midmorning sun. She would guess they hadn't gotten a drink of water since being plucked. It was a sight that made her feel bad for the flowers but no matter how sad they looked she knew accepting them would offer false hope to the teen holding them. Sighing deeply Crystal geared herself up with confronting the young man. The fact that he had found where she lived settled uneasily with her. She feared if she didn't figure out a way to nip the problem now that she was going to have to get a restraining order against him.

"What are you doing here Alex?" She asked making sure her annoyance was loud and clear.

"I came to bring you these and tell you I was thinking about you." He smiled brightly while moving to take the next step up. Crystal scowled at him not liking that he was completely oblivious to her feelings. Perhaps he wasn't and simply chose to ignore what she wanted. While she had been polite whenever she had to interact with him over the past week she had been clear that she still wasn't interested in a relationship with him.

"Alex I'm going to have to ask you to leave. There's nothing I can do about you taking my class since that makes you a customer of the gym. However, coming to my house uninvited is beyond inappropriate and I don't appreciate it." She crossed her arms tucking her hands beneath as to thwart any attempt he might make to hand her his offering. His smile dipped briefly but reasserted itself just as fast. She was running through her options on how to get rid of him when a familiar farm truck came driving down the street. The obnoxious sound of the broken tail pipe echoed off the townhouses as the truck puttered into her driveway before coming to a stop. Crystal rolled her eyes wondering what she did in a past life to deserve the shattering of her peaceful day off. Alex's attention had been locked onto the newcomer since the truck pulled in. It was the only good part about the hell that was about to break loose. Crystal wasn't sure which way things were going to go and entertained thoughts of slinking back into her home before it started playing out. She watched as her grandfather exited the cab of the rusted old clunker. There was a bit of extra pep in his bounce as he hopped out onto the drive slamming the door behind him. She squinted her eyes watching the elderly man saunter his way up the sidewalk roguishly. Her suspicions were confirmed by the mischievous twinkle in his eye as his aging gaze met hers. Someone had spilled the beans to her grandfather. She had no doubt that Casey's mom had called her mom. Whether her own mother had ratted her out or her grandfather had eavesdropped on the call it was clear he was here to see how their progress was going. Probably even thought he could needle things along. As her grandfather's attention turned from her to Alex, Crystal groaned silently.

"Who are you and what business do you have here?" Her grandfather bellowed at the youth when he was close enough to be heard clearly. He eyeballed the young man as he took his time reaching the front steps.

"I'm here to give my girlfriend some flowers." Alex answered looking the elderly man over with curiosity. Crystal glared at Alex not liking that he was making unfounded claims on her yet again.

"Your girlfriend huh?" Her grandfather asked taking in the look of pure anger she had directed at the young man. Alex nodded his head vigorously.

"Yep." Alex chirped happily ready to turn his attention back to the reason he had come over.

"Does she know she's your girlfriend?" Her grandfather asked causing Alex to fumble in thought. The old man smiled walking up to the teen before placing his well-worn hand upon his shoulder. "I only ask because that's my granddaughter young man. She doesn't seem to be thrilled to have you standing here either." He pointed out. Alex's eyes snapped between them shocked by the turn of events. Crystal nodded her head in answer making it clear that what the old man said was true. A brilliant smile lit the teens face as he turned back to the elderly man beside him.

"Nice to meet you sir." Alex stated thrusting his hand out towards her grandfather. Playing along he took the boys hand giving it a slight squeeze and a vigorous shake. Crystal had been so wrapped up in the two of them that she failed to notice that someone else had joined their little party.

"What the heck is going on?" Casey whispered into her ear making her shriek in surprise. This drew the attention of the other two that had still been shaking hands below.

"Well hello Casey! How have you been young man." Her grandfather called out looking overly excited to see the new addition. Crystal cringed knowing that whatever the old man was cooking up now was going to end up embarrassing her. Casey chuckled quietly enough that Crystal was the only one who caught the noise. Obviously, she wasn't the only one who had figured out her grandfather was up to something.

"I've been doing fairly good. Just trying my hand at hunting sir." Casey admitted lightly while glancing in Crystal's direction. When she saw the look that passed between the two of them she got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Hunting huh. Managed to nab your prey yet?" Her grandfather jovially played along. Crystal made a sound of disgust watching the two of them banter at her expense.

"Just about. First, I have to return something." Crystal took a subtle step back wondering if she could make it inside before things got any worse. Alex for his part watched the two men as if he were watching a play unfolding in front of him. At this point, the fact that Crystal was still there didn't seem to faze him much.

"You should always return things. Well you should probably do that. The sooner the better I say." Her grandfather offered in approval. Crystal looked to the door as her heart raced in her chest. She wasn't sure what was going on and didn't want to stick around any longer. She had only managed to take a step when Casey's hand moved in front of her face.

"You left this at my house the other night and I wanted to return it." Crystal stood speechless staring at his hand. More like the thing in his hand. He tilted his open hand a bit so that the sunlight caught the glitter in its rays. Dazzling purple spots danced across his hand as the pasty twinkled in his palm.

"What is that?" Asked Alex as he tried to take a step up to get a better look. He was stopped by her grandfather who still had his hand on the young man's shoulder. The three of them stood waiting for Crystal to do something. Her breathing was coming in short pants as she looked at the pasty in horror. Gone were any thoughts that maybe he wouldn't remember their night together. She looked up at his face seeing the smirk upon his lips and the challenge that was sparking in his eyes. Slowly she took a step back keeping her gaze locked with his. Casey followed matching her step for step. In the background she heard Alex begin to say something, but her grandfather regained his attention.

"Has anyone ever told you how to preg check a heifer boy?" Her grandfather's words were asked lightly but there was a hidden meaning Crystal could hear.

"No sir." Alex answered with a slight shaking coming from his voice. He no longer sounded so sure of himself. Crystal would have glanced to make sure he was okay but was afraid to remove her eyes from Casey.

"Speaking of checking for pregnancy." Casey started causing Crystal to gasp in fear. The thought had never even crossed her mind until he had said something. Her fearful gaze shot from him to the twinkly pasty and back. Under all the pressure she said the only thing that came to mind before bolting through her door.

"That's not mine it's Anna's!"