"Renee', we are in the living room!" Chelsea called out to me while I went upstairs to put my things in Brooke's room. I caught a glimpse of my reflection, my hair had already begun to look frazzled as it began poking out of the messy bun I prepared a while ago.
Walking into the living room, I saw someone I was not expecting to see.
Jake Richardson. His broad chest poked out from his tight black shirt, and his brown eyes lit up when they saw me. I felt my heart pounce in my chest like a monkey ready to get out of it's cage. My nerves were getting all out of wack, and I began to feel flushed with heat.
I suppose I had a confused look on my face because he seemed to notice. "Hey Renee'. I was just going hang out with the guys." he stated, referring to Justin and Tony. I looked up at him, and couldn't help but to feel so short compared to him. He must be at 6'2", taller maybe.
"They are right outside." I put a sly smirk on my face so that he wouldn't think I was trying to get rid of him. I saw Chelsea and Brooke staring at me as if expecting me to jump into his arms. I decided to give them the look.
What the hell are you guys doing? I mouthed to them as he walked past me to go outside. When they heard the front door shut, they began to explain themselves.
"Alright, Tony asked Chelsea out before school had started," Brooke started, rushing her words a bit too much.
"And we didn't want you to be the only one without a date for this weekends plans! Oh boy it is going to be a blast." Chelsea finished as she began to hop up and down on her toes with excitement reminding me of a seal.
I acted as if I was oh-so-bothered by them trying to hook me up with Jake by rolling my eyes. "Alright, what are the plans then?"
I got a rush of words from the two of them, quickened to such an extent thatbi could barely keep up. Tonight we were all going see The Bride of Chucky in the drive-in movie theater down town. Small town benefits. Tomorrow we were going to Gwen Rose's party, which was apparently supposed to be the hit of the new school year, and I suppose Sunday we will be resting up.
By nightfall, Chelsea was finally dressed, and compared to the rest of us, you would think that she was on the Red carpet. Her dress was a nice shade of green, and it flowed gracefully down to her ankles.
"You do realize that no one will be able to see you." Justin chuckled as if he had just said the next best joke. We all rolled our eyes as we went to our vehicals.
"Hey Renee', would you like a ride?" I turned to see Jake running to me before I drove off. I shouldn't have, but I glanced at his features for a bit too long. he broad chest, his masculine jaw. Oh how I longed to just reach out to touch the beginnings of a beard. His eyes stared into mine with his lips into a crooked smile.
He noticed.
"Uhm. Yeah - sure. " my mind was fuzzy. I grabbed my purse and took my keys out of the ignition to take him up on his offer.
"Wait, are you wearing P.J's?" laughter began erupting out of my lungs.
"Of course. It's a drive in." he shrugged casually, smiling. He must have changed because I definitely would have noticed the Batman symbols all over his legs earlier.
His Chevy had that new car smell mixed in with my favorite cologne, Axe. I placed my purse over my over exposed thighs and fidgeted a bit too much. Maybe I was a bit nervous.
"You've seen the Chucky movies before haven't you?" he asked, trying to get me into conversating with him.
"Hmm, the first one. Not even all the way either, I couldn't finish it."
He looked shocked. "What? Really, you couldn't be scared of a little doll could you?" he nudged my arm as he laughed.
I tried explaining to him my fears of dolls... and clowns.
We sat in silence for a while before he reached to turn his radio on.
The songs blaring out of the speakers seemed to relax me a bit. I sang along in my head, too bashful to break out in song in front of him. As I peered out of the window, I caught glimpses of the sun setting.
The sky had a variety of pastel colors, shifting from warm reds to cool blues. It was breath takingly beautiful how the falling and the rising of the sun could have such an effect on the sky. I felt a strong desire to run, just to feel the earth beneath me.
There were about thirty cars. Fortunately for us, no one really took advantage of the glorious night. We all arrived at the same time. I grabbed my teal blanket I had thrown into his backseat and headed towards the gang.
Tony, Justin, and Jake decided to wait in the expanding line for us while we grabbed us a suitable spot.
There was enough room for all of us to put our full sized blankets together. Total, it was a greats size to just sprawl out on the floor.
"He is definitely interested!" Brooke and Chelsea agreed. Sure, I wasn't blind. I could tell that there was something, but after my last relationship, I have been beaten to the core. I didn't know if I was capable of letting anyone in after Lee.
"So, what do you think?" they interrogated further.
"I'm - you two know how I feel. What I've been through. To go through that again, -"
"Listen, you can not give up on love. If you give up on love, you're basically giving up on yourself. From what the guys have told me, he is a great guy." Although I understand exactly what they were saying, I couldn't come to terms with taking down that wall that has protected me for so long.
After being abused by the one person I gave my all to, I moved with my mother. My dad walked in on Lee getting ready to pound my fragile skin once more. Furious, my dad told him that he better get his ass out of his house before he does something Lee won't like. All the while he had a shotgun in his hand, shaking with anger.
Even though Lee was going to be graduating next year, my dad thought it would be in my best interest to go on the opposite side of the country. Here I am. Before I could explain any further, the guys came back lugging around armfulls of drinks, candy, and popcorn. Justin sat next to Brooke. Tony next to Chelsea, and of course Jake next to me.
I tried to keep some what of a distance, but it was a bit difficult to do so. We layed ourselves down on the blankets, and by then the sky was filled with bright stars.
I turned my head to see Jake looking at me.
"What?" I smiled, feeling flattered.
"Oh nothing." he turned back to the widescreen. Before I could question him any further the movie began.
I could feel the awkward tension between us during any sex scenes that came on the screen. Just like clowns, I am petrified of dolls. When you mix a serial killer with a doll, that just. . . doesn't work well for me.
I tried to not even pay any mind to the movie and just look up the stars. That way I wouldn't have any nightmares, but anytime I did so, I can feel a pair of beautiful eyes piercing my face. The sensations it brought to me were endless. I had butterflies swarming my gut.
Great! When I look at the screen, I see, Tiffany is it, jumping out of the oven. .
I didn't realize that I had flipped over to my side until I felt his chest next to me. The warmth radiating from his body was comforting, and I wanted to get close- No!
I walked away and left. I had to breathe. I couldn't breathe. Honestly, I was scared. Being vulnerable means that I will gey hurt. Taking a seat next to the cars, I just tried to relax on the pavement. It didn't help much that the couple in the car right next to where I was sitting was going at it. Every bounce of the car made me sick.
"Are you alright?" Jake sat next me, placing his hand on my shoulder. I tried ever harder to ignore the couple having sex next to us.
"I had to breathe." I finally said after regaining my thoughts.
"Need to get out of here?"
"Could you just take me back to Brooke's please?" he nodded as he lifted me off the ground. I could sense his strength from his pull.
On the way to Brooke's, I layed my head on his window, wincing every time we hit a bump on the rocky road. It didn't occur to me till just then how tired I really was. The warm air blasting on my face helped me to relax, and I just felt myself falling asleep.