Jumping Puddles (5 page)

Blake calls just as the movie is ending. Wanting to call him back from my new phone, I “accidentally” hang up. He notices I’m on a cell phone right away.

“Did you get my present?” he asks excitedly.

“No,” I reply as I climb the stairs to my room. “What present?”

“I asked Scott to give it to you today. He didn’t give it to you?”

“When did you give it to him?”

“Last month, while I was home on break. Why?”

“How did I not know this?”

“I’m sneaky like that. Go ask him for it.”

“He went to bed an hour ago,” I tell him as I open my bedroom door, spotting a wrapped package sitting in the middle of my bed the second I turn the light on. “Did you happen to wrap my present in shiny gold paper?”

“Maybe.”

“What about a black ribbon? Does that sound familiar?”

“A little.”

Giggling, I rip the paper open. As I lift the lid off the box, my heart starts pounding in my chest at the thought of what it might be. My eyes land on the ring, and I squeal with excitement.

“I’m not sure you bought me the most beautiful mood ring I’ve ever seen, but if I could wrap my arms around you and thank you right now, I would.”

“I’ll hold you to that in a few weeks.”

“Thank you, Blake. It’s gorgeous.”

“I’m glad you like it. I saw it at the store a few days before I left, and I thought of you.”

“I love it.” I slip the ring on my finger, and after a few minutes, I notice it’s it was a soft pink. I’ll have to remember to look up the different meanings of the colors.

After thanking Blake again, I let him go, remembering what Scott said about using the phone, and crawl into bed. I reflect on the day and how amazing it was. For a girl who, only a year ago, had lost not only her parents but also her Aunt, I sure am lucky to have found a new family. One who loves me, cares for me, and would do almost anything to make sure I’m happy and healthy.

MY BAGS ARE PACKED,
and Alice is waiting downstairs to take me to the airport. My plane leaves in a few hours, and I think I’m more nervous than excited. It’s a short flight, only a little over an hour, but I haven’t been on a plane since I flew here to live with my Aunt. Alice will barely be home from dropping me off by the time I’m calling her to check in.

Blake is picking me up at the airport. He promised to be on time. I want to believe him, but he was at a party last night when I called, and he sounded like me may have been drinking. I tried to call him this morning, but there was no answer. I’m going to be pissed if he doesn’t show up. I have no idea how to get to his dorm and no money to take a cab.

As the plane pulls up to the gate, I cross my fingers Blake is waiting for me. The last thing I want is to be stuck in an airport while he sleeps off his hangover.

Grabbing my purse and slinging it over my shoulder, I power my phone back on and get ready to dial his number over and over again until he answers. Departing the airplane and walking through the tunnel, I try to keep my anger to a minimum. When I spot a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes, the anger melts away.

Dropping my bag on the floor, Blake pulls me in for a hug. I can still smell the party from last night on his clothes. Pushing him away, I take in his appearance. There are bags under his eyes, telling me he got little, if any, sleep. His clothing is wrinkled, and his hair, growing longer and longer every time I see him, is messy. He needs to shave and take a shower stat.

“You look like you never went to bed last night,” I criticize, picking up my bag and walking away from him.

“I didn’t. I lost track of time, but I kept my promise. I’m here,” he replies excitedly as he catches up to me.

“Yeah. You look like shit, though.”

“Charlie, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you. We have all week. I just need to take a shower before we go anywhere.”

Knowing that fighting with him is going to make this week suck, I let it go. We grab my other bag from the carousel and head to his car. His phone rings as we’re about to pull out of the parking garage so he asks me to answer it for him while he pays the parking fee.

“Hello?”

“Who is this?” a nasty female voice asks.

“Charlie. Who the hell is this?” I retort, mimicking her tone.

“Violet. Where’s Blake?”

“He’s busy.” I contemplate saying something rude back to her, considering she’s acting like a grade-A bitch to me, but I don’t. I catch Blake looking at me out of the corner of my eye, so I turn away from him. “Do you want to leave a message?”

“Yeah. Have him call me back.”

Click.

Sure thing. I’ll get right on that. Not!

Tossing Blake his phone I say, “You’re girlfriend is rather rude.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing.”

“Who was it?”

“Someone named Violet. Ring any bells?”

“I think I talked to her last night. I must have given her my number. I honestly don’t remember.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t get so wasted.” I cringe the moment the words leave my mouth, knowing the fight I just tried to avoid was about to happen anyway.

“You’re right. It’s not like I go out all the time, though. My roommate insisted I go to this party last night, and since I’m on break, I figured why not.”

No fight? No push back? I’m stunned silent for a moment.

“Oh. Well, let’s get you a shower so we can start having some fun,” I suggest as he pulls onto the main road.

Blake agrees, and an hour later, we’re at his dorm. He introduces me to his roommate who is headed home for the weekend, leaving me his bed to sleep in. After he’s out the door, Blake disappears to take a shower while I change and freshen up. He’s only been gone for a few minutes when I hear the door open as I’m pulling my shirt up and over my head. I try, but I can’t pull it back down fast enough.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were changing. I forgot my towel.” Blake rattles on while I attempt to get my shirt either up or down.

“Can you please help me, Blake? My shirt is stuck for some reason. I’m not sure what I did.” I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. The fact Blake is staring at me without my shirt covering my chest is embarrassing.

I feel him walk up behind me. His hands slide up my arms and yank on my shirt, freeing it from its grasp on my head. I assumed he would cover me back up but instead he’s removed it, and he’s holding onto it. I cover my chest with my arms and wait for him to back away and leave. When he doesn’t, I glance over my shoulder and find him staring at me.

“Charlie,” he whispers.

Our friendship is on the brink of being compromised. I can feel it. I’ve wanted this moment to happen for so long, but now that it’s here, I’m at a loss. I have no idea what to do. I have no idea what I want. I need to make a decision quick. I can either turn to face him, or I can look away.

I take a chance, turning my body toward his and am rewarded with a sly grin. His hands push my arms away and he pulls me into his chest, hugging me. Not what I expected but okay.

“I’m going to kiss you, Charlie,” Blake whispers in my ear. “I’m telling you so you have time to prepare for it. If you don’t want me to, tell me now because I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, and I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

His words strike deep. I had no idea he’d been wanting to kiss me. In fact, I was certain he didn’t like me like that at all. There were brief moments over the last year that made me wonder but nothing that confirmed anything.

I pull back and look directly in his eyes. I’m ready for this. I want this. I fell in love with Blake sometime between meeting him and when he left for college. It was a slow change. So slow, in fact, I didn’t notice it happening. It’s as if one day I woke up and just knew I was in love with him.

Leaning down, Blake’s lips steal my breath. He has my full attention as they softly move against mine. His tongue teases my lips, asking for permission. I grant him access, and things start to heat up. I move with him as he pushes against my body. My back hits a wall, yet Blake continues to press against me, causing heat to course through my body. Even without my shirt on, I feel warm wrapped in his arms.

When Blake pulls back moments later, I open my eyes to find him studying me. There’s a look of uncertainty on his face. Looking away and taking a step back, he clears his throat.

“I’m gonna grab that shower now. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Then, he’s gone, and I’m left staring at the flimsy wooden door he just closed behind him. Did I do something wrong? Does he regret the kiss? That has to be it. He made a mistake. Maybe he had wanted to kiss me, but now that he knows what it’s like, he doesn’t want to kiss me anymore.

No. I’m not going to let him do this. He’s going to talk to me about what’s going on in his head. I want to talk about it. As silly as it sounds, and as uncomfortable as it’s going to be, we are going to talk about the kiss as soon as he comes back. I’m not letting this linger on.

After changing and brushing through my hair, I sit down on Blake’s bed and wait for him to come back. I don’t have to wait long. The door opens and a half-naked Blake walks in, still dripping wet from the shower. I’m speechless as I watch him run the towel through his hair, attempting to dry it.

My eyes drift lower as I admire every inch of Blake’s chest and stomach. His body has changed since the last time I saw him without a shirt on. His abdomen looks firm, and it’s glistening. I want to reach out and touch it, run my fingers across each muscle, but I don’t.

Instead, I look away and focus on the wooden door. I attempt to occupy myself by following the lines of the wood from the top of the door to the bottom. I get lost over and over again, the lines blurring together as I stare at them for too long. Still, I continue to try while I hear Blake rummage around the room, opening and closing drawers.

“You can stop staring at the door any time now. I’m dressed.”

I turn my attention toward Blake to find he is, in fact, wearing clothing, but not much. His shorts hang low on his hips as if they are a size too big, and his shirt has the sleeves ripped off. My eyes focus on the bare skin when he lifts his arms. His shirt is hanging on by a thread an inch or so above where it ends.

“Where are we going?” I finally ask, pulling myself back together.

“I figured I would give you a quick tour of campus and we could grab something to eat then relax in here for the rest of the night. Tomorrow, I need your help with a project for one of my classes so we’re going to be gone all day.” Blake holds his hand out for me as he finishes. “Ready?”

I want to talk about the kiss. I don’t want to let myself get distracted, but I know that’s exactly what he’s trying to do. We will have this conversation… after we eat since my stomach just growled at the mention of food.

Blake holds my hand the entire walk across campus. We cuddle on his bed and I fall asleep in his arms. He never once tries to kiss me again.

I contemplate bringing it up in the car on our way to Blake’s first “mystery stop,” but I can’t seem to find the words. Maybe it’s not such a big deal. Or rather, talking about it would make it a bigger deal than it is.

As we pull off the main road, Blake lets me in on the secret he’s been keeping. His project is to capture true beauty. It’s rather vague, but he seems to have a great idea about how he’s going to accomplish it. We’re going to visit a few places around the city that are beautiful in a natural way. First up, the hot springs.

Grabbing his camera, Blake leads the way down the trail. As soon as the springs come into view, he removes the cap covering the lens and starts snapping pictures. I follow behind him as he focuses on different things. Finally, tired of walking around in circles, I slip my shoes off, taking a seat at the water’s edge.

Off in his own world, I watch as Blake surveys his surroundings. Every now and then, he pauses, tilts his head in contemplation, and then raises his camera.
Click
.
Click
.
Click
. This continues for hours. The sun is high above us now, so I lie back and close my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun’s rays on my face.

Click. Click. Click.

Pause.

Click. Click. Click.

He sounds closer than before. I shield my eyes from the sun and open them. Blake is standing above me, his camera hiding the majority of his face, but I can still see the mischievous grin he has.

Click. Click. Click.

“What are you doing?” I ask, feeling self-conscious.

“Capturing your beauty.”

I stare at Blake, uncertain of how to reply. My mind instantly flashes back to yesterday, his body pressed against mine, and the feel of his lips. My face heats up, and I can feel the blush as it creeps into my cheeks. I hope he can’t see it with my hands shielding my face.

Pushing myself into a sitting position, I stare out at the water. Setting his camera down in the grass, Blake slips off his shoes and takes a seat next to me, his legs slipping under the water, barely making any ripples on the glass-like surface. Deep breathe in and breathe out. Repeat.

“So, what’s on your mind, beautiful?”