My dad looked at me as I entered the foyer. I ran to him and gave a big hug. "Thank you daddy, it means so much to me and it's not even the car, though I love it more than anything. It is the fact that you pay attention to me, and you honestly are the best dad ever," I said into his shirt.
He held me tightly, "you are the best thing that ever happened to me Lily bug, never forget that."
I pulled away from him, "dad, there is a party and Eli asked me to go with him, so that I can meet the kids from my school." I looked at my dad, "will that be ok?"
"Of course, honey. I want this move to be as easy as possible and I want you to be happy. I will take Midnight for a walk," He gave me an intriguing look, like he had something on his mind. "So," he starts. "Eli, seems like a great guy."
I looked at him and laughed. "Really dad, we are going there? But yes from the two days that I know him, he seems really nice."
"Should we order something for dinner?" my dad asked.
"Yes, please. I am starving and I do not want to go somewhere I do not know and have my tummy grumbling." I winked at him.
He laughed. "Well you do have a monster there when you are hungry. I will order Indian and we will go shopping for groceries tomorrow. We need homemade food too."
I went up to my room and started looking through the few clothes I unpacked. I found a skin tight jeans and a red lace top and paired it with knee high boots and my favourite leather jacket. I added silver earrings and a charmed bracelet my dad gave me when I turned 13. It was a heirloom from my mum's family. It had a double infinity sign with the sun in the middle. It had blue diamonds on the charms. I really loved it. It is weird but it makes me feel more alive every time I put it on. I had a quick dinner with dad and then went up to get ready. At 7 pm, Eli knocked on the door. I ran down to open it before my dad did. As I opened the door, I realised I had butterflies in my tummy. Eli stared back at me in stunned silence as he looked at me from head to toe for a few minutes, so I decided to check him out too. He wore black jeans, a blue t-shirt that showed his six pack and he also had on a leather jacket. He looked hot.
"Hmmm, hi," I said to break the silence.
"Damn, you look hot," he said, with his blue eyes sparkling.
I smiled at him. "So do you, wait what is your surname?"
He laughed. "It is Reed. I guess we never exchanged that. What is yours?"
"Carter. And no we did not. But then again we do only know each other for like a day," I replied laughing.
We got to his car, which was the sleek yellow Camaro, I was admiring yesterday.
"Gosh, I absolutely adore your car. I was admiring it yesterday, when we got here. I should have known it was you who owned it," I told him with a smile.
He looked at me, "well your car is so awesome. I am so jealous, and wish I thought to ask for a Ferrari." He looked at me thoughtfully, "maybe I should get my dad to move and maybe I can get a Ferrari too," he winked.
He got to the passenger seat and opened the door for me and waited for me to get in and then closed the door and walked to driver's side. I must have had a shocked look on my face, because he started laughing when he turned to ask me if I was ready to go.
"Sorry, it's just that you do not get too many gentleman now days, who open doors."
He smiled at me, "my mum always told me, the one thing a girl will always remember is how you treat her. So always treat her like a queen and especially if you like her, make sure you do everything you can to ensure she does not forget you."
I looked at him in wonder, trying to figure out if he was real. Even though we literally just met a day ago, I realised I really liked him.
I smiled at, "you really are the sweetest guy I have ever met."
We made small talk as we drove to the party, which was being held at a house by a lake. One of the of the kids in Eli's class was throwing the party at his family's lake house. The road leading up to the house was bumpy. As we got closer, there was cars lined up all over the yard. I looked up at wonder at the house which was stunning and looked more like a mansion then a small lake house.
I looked over at Eli to find him staring at me. I looked around and realised we had already parked in one of the four parking spots and this one had his name on it.
I laughed nervously, "sorry growing up in New York, I am not used to this lifestyle. My dad wanted to bring me up not with money so we did not live a lavish life, even though we could have. So being surrounded by all this money takes some getting used to. Parties in New York was usually held at someone's apartment or a park."
He smiled at me with a look of wonder, "you really are something. All this money makes you uncomfortable?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"No, someone has to be paying close attention to you," he said with a wink. "Can I confess something?"
I looked at him curiously, "sure."
"I have never opened a door for anyone but my mum before," he said nervously.
I looked at him in shock. "Now that is a bit hard to believe. You probably had many girlfriends, or been on a lot of dates."
"Actually, I have never really had a girlfriend but I have out on a few dates. Football, my family and friends are the most important aspects of my life. I have never met a girl that I want to do things for," he said. "Except for now," he whispered under his breath.
I turned to him in shock. "You feel it as well, don't you?" I asked him.
"Oh God, yes. I thought I was the only one and I did not want to say anything in case I scared you away. And it is crazy, but I feel like I have been waiting for you. Is that weird?"
I looked at him, "no, this feels right. Like I am home and all I want is to be near you."
He smiled at him and got out of the car and walked to my side and opened the door. He pulled me in his arms and all I could feel was the electricity running through my skin and my heart beating a mile a minute. It just felt right. He put his forehead against mine. I was much shorter than him but the heels of my boots helped me, gain some height.
"I want to kiss you so badly right now, but I do not want our first kiss to be outside a party and where everyone can see us. I also want to kiss you when you are my girlfriend. Which you will be soon," he said with a wink.
I laughed at him and got up on my toes and kissed his cheek. "Well that will have to do for now."
I turned and walked up the pathway. I stopped and looked at him, "by the way, I would like that too and I cannot wait to be your girlfriend."
He rushed up to me, picked me up and spun me around. "Me too. And you will be soon." He took my hand and we walked up the stairs to the house. Loud music was blasting through the windows. When we got to the front door, Eli opened the door for me and led me inside. The house was packed with teenagers everywhere. There were kids making out everywhere, on the stairs, in the dining room, in the kitchen. As we walked through the house, people turned to greet Eli and many of them stared at me.
I tightened my hold on Eli's hand and he turned to look at me with a concerned look. I suddenly felt self-conscious as people started whispering. I kept hearing the name Cara as we walked past and I tried to remember where we heard it from. As we walked towards the backyard, where the lake was, I saw three guys standing near the door. Eli stopped by them and pulled me close to him. He turned to me and smiled, "Lily-Anne, these are my friends and teammates. Owen Reed, Caleb Jones and Isaac Garcia," he said has he pointed to the three really good looking guys. "And guys, this is Lily."
Owen, was tall with black eyes and blonde hair and had a built of a wrestler. Caleb, was more lean with brown hair and blue eyes. Isaac looked more Latino with black hair and hazel eyes. I smiled at each of them and waved, "hi, nice to meet you guys." The each smiled and shook my hand. "It is nice to meet you too, Lily," said Owen. "Are you new in town?"
I gave him a playful look, "is it that obvious? Do I have a 'I am lost' look?"
He laughed, "oh, definitely. It is like I want to save you and take you away."
I hit Eli on his arm, "you told me it wasn't obvious and no one could tell."
Eli rubbed his arm, "Ouch that hurt, and I never lied."
Owen laughed again, "nah, I am playing with you. We all grew up together and not many people move here. It is kind of a closed off place. So everyone knows everyone."
"That is going to be so strange. I grew up in New York and I only knew the people in my apartment building at school and my favourite café. This is going to be interesting."
I looked around as more kids came into the kitchen and it got a bit too stuffy. Eli grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. The backyard was filled with more kids but a campfire was set up near the lake, which had a few camp chairs but was empty.
Eli lead me to the campfire, which I guessed was their place. As I looked around I noticed another campfire that was really busy. Four really pretty girls sat on camp chairs talking. As if they could feel my gaze on them, they turned and looked at me. The girl in the middle looked at my hand in Eli's and her entire face turned red. She look pissed off as she got up. I turned and looked back at the guys and saw that we were at the campfire now. Eli led me to a chair, sat down and pulled me into his lap.
"Is this ok, or do you want your own chair?" he asked looking unsure.
I smiled at him and whispered, "this is great. I want to be close to you."
He looked at me relieved, "thank God, because I want you close too. I need to be touching you." He winked at me.