Poems For Daniel

Seven

"I'm glad you decided to come on this date with me, Safaree," Jeremy bashfully smiled. "Oh, it's nothing," I smiled slightly and spoke modestly. We were sitting at a table of a fast food restaurant, waiting for our food to be announced ready. "What made you want to come on this date anyway?" he inquired. "I don't know... I'm glad I did though," I spoke, messing with the straw that stood in my drinking cup through a lid. Jeremy smiled just before our order number was called. He stood and grabbed the food while I took both of our drinks. We walked outside and got in his Jeep. He drove us to the park. It was peaceful in the area, and it felt as if it was just us there. We sat on the hood of his vehicle and broke out the burgers and fries while music semi-blasted due the keys still sitting in the ignition. "I really like you, Safaree... Like, you just drive a nigga crazy," he spoke softly. I blushed as he grabbed my hand. Our fingers locked before he spoke again. "Look at our hands, Baby girl." I did just that. "Don't they fit perfectly?" his voice was so quiet. It was as if he were whispering. I gazed up at him, watching him just admire our intertwined fingers. His thumb caressed mine before his eyes snapped up at me. "What?" he cracked a smile, asking why I was looking at him the way I was. "Nothin'," I shook my head with a slight smile. "I want to show you something. Just wait here," he smiled, taking his hand from mine. He hopped off the hood of the truck and walked toward the passenger side. While he was getting whatever he was getting, I stole a few of his remaining fries. By the time he returned, I was done eating and was throwing away both of our trash. He returned with a professional camera in his hands. "This is my baby," he smiled. I smiled slightly before he motioned me towards him. "Let me show you how to use it." I hopped down from where I was seated and approached him... "Turn around," he spoke. I followed his instructions. He draped the neck strap on me and moved his arms around my waist. Butterflies fluttered my stomach as he held the camera with both hands. "You press this to take the picture and..." his voice trailed off in my head.

I wasn't paying his lecture any attention, but damn... He looked good while talking. He looked at me from the corner of his eye before licking his lips and looking down with a shy smile. "What?" he asked, letting out a bit of a nervous laugh. Heat rose to my cheeks as I looked down. "Nothing," I shook my head with a slight smile... Daniel never caught me staring... Maybe I need to brush up on my "staring-while-they're-not-paying-attention" skills. Maybe Daniel knew I was staring, but decided not to say anything... Mhm. I was over here thinking I was slick all of this time... "So, yeah... And you press this to..." Jeremy's voice trailed off again. I couldn't help but take in the fact that his arms were just there and just halfway wrapped around me... It was like he was teasing me. We're so close, and I'm getting the real thing, but I'm not getting the entire real thing... His voice faded back in before his arms removed themselves from around me. "So, what if I just took a few pictures of you, Mr. Model?" I smirked, facing him. "Mr. Model? Nah, that's not me," he smiled and shook his head. "Yes, you are. Look," I spoke before snapping a picture of him. "No, Safaree! No pictures!" he smiled and hid his face from me. "Jeremy, just come here!" I grabbed his hand. "Nope!" he pulled his hand away before running around the car. "Come here!" I laughed, chasing after him. I eventually caught him and pinned him to the passenger side door by the jacket. "Take a picture," I smiled, holding up the camera. "Nope," he detached the camera from the neck strap and held it to where I couldn't reach.

"Jeremy, this isn't funny!" I smiled, jumping to reach the camera. He chuckled. "Yo' short ass," he laughed. A laugh slipped from my lips as I stood on my tip toes with my hand on his shoulder. "Jeremy," I whined, my hand ever so close to the camera. I almost lost my balance, but Jeremy wrapped the opposite arm around my waist and held me close. "Be careful, Shorty, I don't want you to lose your..." he paused, realizing how close we were while I took this moment to gaze into his beautiful brown eyes. "Balance," he finally finished his thought. We stared into each other's eyes for a bit longer before our lips met... Electric butterflies sparked up within my stomach and my insides felt fuzzy. His arms wrapped around me completely as the pace of our kissing sped up. After a moment or two, I pulled away from the kiss. I looked down, my cheeks burning a tomato-y red. Jeremy bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck as if he were nervous. After a moment, we looked at each other again before laughing nervously and looking down.