Lost Girl

Chapter 6

Diana 
Why am I nervous? It's only lunch, one hour in his company. I spent an hour and a half beside him in a bed watching a movie, so why does this seem to bother me so much? Maybe it's because I spent the time I was allowed to have on the computer watching him sing, watching old videos of him and keeks and whatever I could. I think, so far, my favorite video is them singing "As Long As You Love Me"--you could hear the little lisp in his voice and the hat just tops it off. 
That's probably it. 

I've even picked out an outfit to change into, something casual but pretty much the only thing I had that was cute. Black jeans--they hide stains well, so they're all I own--and a loose shirt with an Indian design on it. A few bracelets and my fake vans finished it, and I shoved them all in my pack. I couldn't wear them into work; I have a uniform for a reason. 

I was kind of hoping he wouldn't be there when I went in to clean, just because it seemed like it would ruin the surprise...or something like that. Maybe I just wanted to pretend it was an actual date, so I wanted the whole butterfly feeling of seeing him for the first time at the door, even if I was the one knocking. 

To my utter relief, and almost disappointment, he wasn't there. I cleaned his room and put new sheets on the bed, amazed that he somehow managed to keep it relatively clean himself. Most teenagers that stay here have rooms that look like a tornado went through them, and they're so not fun to clean. 

I did my last room--finally--and ran into the hotel bathroom to change my clothes, with about ten minutes to finish. I had actually put makeup on as well, just a little bit, nothing too noticeable. When I left the bathroom, I got a few approving looks from my coworkers, people I don't usually talk to, and that made me feel a bit better about myself. Maybe I could pull it off. 

I went back up the stairs, fidgeting with the strap of my purse as I walked. My nerves seemed to fray more with every step, like I was walking to my death or something. I wasn't, obviously I knew that, but it just felt like this was different than watching a movie together. This felt more like a date than just hanging out.

I knocked on his door, holding my breath while I waited for him to answer. Just as I started seeing stars, he opened it, greeting me with a smile as he grabbed something off the counter and slipped it into his pocket before coming outside. I let my eyes trail over him while he did so, kind of amazed at how good he looked. Especially in all black, like now. He wore a short sleeved black button up, black jeans, and all black converse. I had to forcefully close my mouth, considering it would be weird if I started drooling all over him. An odd reaction, considering I didn't usually find anyone truly attractive. 

"Hey, you look...fantastic." He says, shaking his head like he can't believe it. 
"You too." I laugh, and I'm determined, no matter what reservations I have, to pretend like I'm just a normal girl going on a date with a normal guy and we'll have a good time. 
He grabs my hand and leads me down the stairs and out the doors, past the screaming fans, and into a cab that comes from seemingly nowhere. I have no idea where we're going now; I thought we were just going to the cafe down the street, I don't know of anywhere far enough to require a car. 

"Where are we going?" I ask him, staring out the window at the passing scenery. Once you leave the general area around the hotel, all that's left is rolling hills and the occasional tree. The countryside is really pretty here, but I never care to look because that's all there is. And when you see it often enough, it just becomes another thing in the background. 
"It's a surprise." There's a smile in his voice and when I turn to look at him, there's one on his face as well. He's looking at me, and he doesn't look away when I meet his eyes. 

There's only a little seat separating us from each other, but his long legs make it seem even less. Honestly, his knees are touching mine, it's kind of ridiculous. I can nearly feel his body heat, and instead of scaring me--like it should--I want to move closer to him to really feel it, enjoy the feeling of being near him. 
"There's go-carts out here. That's about it." I say, watching his reactions. He just smirks, shrugging. 
"What are you guys doing here?" I finally ask the question that's been on my mind since I met him; the one I never really got around to. 

"We're writing. We do a few interviews here, but mostly we're just writing. It's easier to write in a small town, surprisingly." And it makes sense, as there aren't as many fans and not as much noise to distract them. 
Before I can reply to him though, we pull up and stop along the side of the road, with him jumping out and going to the trunk. The basket he pulls out makes me laugh; I can barely believe that we're going to have a picnic right here. It's so completely cliched that I love it. 
I climb out, glad I wore tennis shoes, and follow him farther into the sparse tree line. 

"Did you cook the food in there?" I question when he finds a satisfactory place to sit. 
He throws a blanket down and we practically fall onto it, groaning like two old people. 
"Of course not; there's a nice store downtown that you can buy almost anything from. Surely you've heard of it: Walmart?" 
I shake my head with a snort, grinning at him. How he managed to make it through Walmart without being mobbed will probably forever be a mystery to me. 

He pulls out two bags of chips and a large bottle of coke, laying them down before reaching in again and coming out with four sandwiches and a cake. A whole chocolate cake. How on earth he fit it in there, I have no idea. 

"I didn't know what you'd like, but I figured one of these things would appeal to you and if they don't, I'll eat them." I roll my eyes, checking the sandwiches to see what they are. 
Ham and cheese with mayo, peanut butter and jelly, one with three meats, mustard, and cheese, and a roast beef sandwich. I pull the three meat sandwich toward me, sticking my tongue out at him when he frowns. 
"You snooze you lose." I tell him, pulling the plastic off and biting into it. 
"Mmm..." I groan, loud and obnoxiously.  
I toss my head back, pretending the sandwich is downright orgasmic, just to annoy him. 
"You're a little shit." He laughed, grabbing the ham and cheese. 

"If you wanted it, you should have said something." I mutter into the next bite, yanking a piece of ham from inside of it to slap on my chin. I grab the end of it and push it into my mouth, knowing I look like a pig but not caring. I don't want to waste the ham, and if I had left it, it might have dropped. 
When I glance at him, he's trying really hard not to laugh while he eats, sitting cross legged and looking away from me. 

When I finish the sandwich, I lick the mustard from my fingers before I grab a wet wipe and clean my hands off. It almost amazes that he had had thought about bringing them; to my knowledge guys just wipe their hands on their pants and motor on. 
"So," He says, taking a wet wipe for himself, "tell me something about yourself."
I lean back on my arms, amazed at the clear blue sky above me. There's maybe one or two clouds, but beyond that... 
"I don't really have the chance to listen to much music, but...as far as I can tell I really like rock music." 
I don't have an iPod or anything similar, so when I use the computer I'm surfing the internet and listening to as much music as possible. Sometimes I even sing along. 

"Do you have a favorite band?" He asks as I bask in the sunlight. 
It's really rare to have a moment in the sunshine, so I intend to sit in it as long as possible. He couldn't have chosen a better first date. 
"I like Godsmack and Nickelback quite a lot." 
"Hey, same here! I mean I haven't heard much of Godsmack but I really like Nickelback. We tend to listen to it before we go onstage." I lower my head to look at him, stretching my legs out. 
"What's your favorite band?" I asked him this time, crossing my ankles. 

I saw him, out of the corner of my eye, as he followed the line of my legs back up to my face. I knew he was looking at them, and for some reason, the perusal didn't disgust me. I liked it. 
"Mm...I like Blink-182 or Nickelback, yeah." He nodded like he was confirming his opinion.
"I actually only know one song by Blink-182. I Miss You, I think it's called."

He laughed.
"Ah, were you looking up our covers?"
I blushed, rolling onto my side and hiding my face. I hate blushing so easily; any emotion brings it up. I felt a foot kick my own, and I kicked back, giggling at the responding curse. 
"That was a little while back, too. Did you like it?"
I didn't lift my face from the blanket, completely turning so I was on my stomach. 
"I did, but really there are some cute videos of you singing too. When you had the little fringe..." I broke off when he kicked my foot again. 

"No, don't remind me." He groaned, "I hadn't controlled my lisp then, so it was still really noticeable." 
I moved again, this time on my back with my head propped on my arms. I watched his face turn a little red as he shook his head, and I was glad that I wasn't the only one that had that problem. I wish I had better control of my emotions, at least when it came to things that made me turn scarlet. I get tired of people knowing exactly what I'm feeling because it's written on my face. 
"It was cute. I liked it." 

He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. It stood on end, little curls peeking through. I felt the nearly irresistible urge to fix it, to run my hands through it and smooth it down again. I bet it's really soft. I bet it feels silky, though I'd find some manly word to describe it for him. I sighed, keeping my hands where they were behind my head.
"Ugh. Do you sing?" 
I snorted, sitting up. For some reason, I couldn't seem to sit still. 
"No. I sing in the shower, that's it." 
"Come on, I'm sure it's good." 
I shook my head. 
"Nope, I can't sing at all. I'm not joking. I can't sing."  

"Do you want to dance?" He asked, and for some reason the randomness didn't seem out of place; it was a totally normal request, to dance in the middle of a sparse grove of trees. 
"Sure, what kind of dancing?" I shrugged, standing. 
"Whatever comes up in the playlist." He stood too, pulling his iPhone from his pocket and hitting play. I recognized the guitar in the first part; Girls by The 1975. 
During the slow part, I pretended that I could do ballet--which resulted in a nice bout of snickering--before we both went kind of wild when the beat picked up, moving our hips back and forth and flicking our hair, even though I was the only one who could it well. I started laughing when I looked over and saw him hip thrusting, going one way and then the other. After a few seconds, I joined in, barely able to stand up straight because my stomach hurt from the merriment. 

"Oh my God." I tried to keep a straight face as the next song came on, but the bashful look on his face made me lose it. 
Salute, by Little Mix. This song, even though I can't listen to it very often, just makes you feel really empowered, makes you want to be sexy. I guess it's the same for men, considering it was on his iPod. I raised a brow at him but danced all the same, going kind of crazy. We both did, honestly, bouncing around and going nuts. 

The song after that, I didn't really know, but it was slower, that much was certain. He moved like he was going to change it, but I shook my head. My heart was pounding, my mind in chaos, but I motioned him closer and he seemed to get the message. 
"Are you sure? I can change the song, you know." He murmured, coming close to me. 
"It's not like we're having sex, it's just a dance." I said, but really I was shaking inside. 
I wasn't afraid, it wasn't that this time, but it was something else. Like his proximity was making me feel something else. I was nervous and excited and happy and strange, and the mix of emotions kind of weirded me out. 

I put my arms around his waist--because I couldn't reach his shoulders without standing really tall, and that was uncomfortable--and he wrapped his around me. It was an extended hug, basically, but it felt completely different from anything I've ever known. He was still warm and he smelled good, but my heart was beating so quickly I was afraid it would pop out of my chest, and we were swaying back and forth with the beat and I liked it. And maybe that scared me, because I haven't ever liked anything like that before, but I liked this. 

If I blocked out the sound of my heart, I could hear his, and it seemed like it was going just as fast as mine, just below my ear. The soft vibrations of his chest told me he knew the song pretty well, and the lyrics maybe scared me too. 
"This feels like falling in love, falling in love, falling in love..." 

I closed my eyes, breathing him in, and his chin rested on the top of my head for a split second. Something in me melted a little, and that definitely scared me. I don't know what happened to keeping myself at a distance, but I wasn't doing it now. My hands were gripping the back of his shirt, and his were rubbing little patterns on my back. I could feel him breathing, could feel his chest moving with the lyrics he was whispering, and this was something else I didn't want to let go of. If I could stay in this moment forever, I would, no matter how scary it felt.
"Kiss me like you wanna be loved, wanna be loved, wanna be loved..."  

When the music stopped, we stood still for a moment, just standing together, until the opening beat of It's Getting Hot in Here started playing. We separated, both refusing to look at each other. 
"Ah...the chocolate cake is still in here." He coughed, sitting down. 

I flipped my hair out of my face and nodded, a bit jerkily. 
"Yeah, we should probably eat that."