Roses & Thorns (3 page)

* * * * *

CHAPTER FOUR

High
S
chool Sweethearts

(
Rose
)

After
finishing
breakfast
, Mom and I
headed to Kohl's
to look for her swimsuits and an outfit
for my date tonight. Well, hopefully
I would have a date tonight. I
wasn't sure what my plans were going to include since I hadn't actually made the call
yet. But I was confident that Christian and I
would be seeing each other soon, even if it wasn't actually tonight.

"What kind of outfit are you looking for?" Mom asked.

"I'm not really sure. A dress
,
I guess. Something casual
,
but not too boring
. B
ut nothing too over-the-top either."
I didn't want to come off as a desperate slut, but I wanted to show off my curves at the same time.

I watched as she slid dress after dress to the side of the rack, flinging the hangers like they
had personally offended her
. Finally her perusing stopped and she held up a calf-length, strapless sundress.
"How about this one?"

It was light turquoise blue with a simple print on it.
T
he material was a r
ayon
blend
and
shoul
d flow just right
, h
ang
ing
perfectly along my curves. This was the one. I had the perfect pair of tan wedges that would go great
with it,
and I could wear the choker that I
'd
bought
recently
as well.
"Absolutely. It's perfect."
Wow,
that was easy!

Once we
'd
paid
for our things, Mom and I headed to the pool. She was a swim instructor and worke
d at the local training facility
. I knew that M
om wanted to
give her new suits a t
est
run
,
and since it wasn't time for the sun to go down yet, I actually welcomed the distraction.
Anything to keep my mind off making the call that
would hopefully
be the beginning of something wonderful.

When we entered the large square foyer, Mom waved to the attendant who stood behind the counter. This area of the complex was surrounded by glass and full of light. "Hi, Andrew. We're gonna take a few laps in the indoor pool today, if that's alright. We'll be out before the next open swim session starts."

"Sure thing, Ms. Reynolds. Open swim doesn't start until six p.m., so you're good to go," he replied.

We both smiled and then
made our way
downstairs to the l
ocker room
. As I sat on one of the wooden bench
e
s that lined the room, I began
to wonder what it would be like to meet the man
I would
end up marrying. Yes, I had high hopes for tonight.
"So, Mom
...h
ow exactly did you and Dad meet
?
I'm assuming it wasn't by him handing you a card outside a nightclub."
I shrugged my shoulders, feeli
ng a little shy about the topic as I continued to undress.

"Well, no. No poems by the roadside
,
b
ut he was
pretty darn
romantic.
I w
as on the swim team for my high
school
,
and he was at one of the meets
.
I remember after my first race, which I won,
" she said with a proud smile, "
a friend said that she'd seen this guy
c
hecking me out and cheering me on, even though we were competing against his school."
As
Mom
put her things in the locker
,
she
continued
the
story. "I remember looking for him
in the direction
my friend had pointed
,
but didn't see anyone matching her description. Well...about an hour later when the meet
had
ended, I was heading to the bus when I saw a guy standing next to the sidewalk
with a bouquet of fake flowers, and he
was waving
me over.
"

"Wait–Dad brought you
fake
flowers?" I laugh
ed
as I
pulled on one of her new
suits. It was nice being
able
to share clothes with your m
o
ther
.

"
Yes. Don't judge. It was the best he could do on short notice. Anyway....the closer I got, I realized he was really cute
. W
hen he told me that h
e'd run to the art room to try and
make something creative but all he
'd
found were those fake flowers instead, my heart melted."
She giggled as she
finished getting dressed. "
H
ow sweet was it that he even tried to get me anything
?
At that time
,
m
ost guys would have just flipped their collars and
pulled a James Dean, trying to look all cool
, assuming
that I'd worship the ground they walk on. But your dad was different. He made a
n
effort that got my attention, and that's what really impressed me."

"
Oh my g
od. That is so cheesy
, but definitely thoughtful
."

"I know
!
I told you he was
a
romantic. We started dating that month
,
and have been together ever s
ince. We were each other's high
school sweethearts."

I thought about Mom's
sto
ry as I shuffled my feet along the damp, cold hall that led from the locker room
out
to the pool
. I couldn't imagine being with someone for that long and still being in love, but suddenly it
sounded like a pretty amazing goal to have.
I didn't know what would happen with Christian, but
in this moment,
I
actually
felt
like
my heart
was
open
ing and I realized that I was truly ready to find love
for the first time in my life
.

I
'
d
had plenty of boyfriends in
the past
,
but I c
ould
admit that I hadn't been
particularly
serious or very o
pen in my relationships
.
I did
n't have a sad story as to
why, other than the fact that I'
d
always been
highly
motivated to succeed
.
Starting junior year
of
high school, I had signed up for AP classes, so when I went into college
,
I actually enter
ed
as a junior, having attained two years worth of college credits already. This meant that I would be graduating early. I had always
been passionate about setting goals and meeting them,
and was pretty proud that I had accomplished
that
. B
ut it
wasn't without
long hours and hard work
,
and
as you can imagine, that put the boys on the backburner.

Mom's question brought me back to the present. "So, tell me
more
about Christian. What does he look like?"

"Oh man. He's gorgeous. Tall, blonde
-
highlighted hair, toned but not overly muscular. Um...I'd say just about perfect." I stared out the skylight as I floated on my back in the pool. "His eyes are like caramel swirled with honey. And he has a really sweet, gentlemanly demeanor."

"You got all that
just
from seeing him out the window?" She tried not to sound skeptical, but I could tell that she was probably worried that I'd get my hopes up
and then be left
disappointed.

"Yes
,
I did. I
can't explain it
,
but when I w
atched him help that girl
it just made my heart melt. And
Jill said that he was
really
s
w
eet when he spoke to her."

"Well, just keep it casual and don't talk about stuff that's too serious on the first date. And no messing around."

"Really, Mom? You think I'd just jump in bed with some guy on the first date?"
Actually, imagining
how gorgeous
Christian
was
, that didn't sound like a bad plan at all.

* * * * *

CHAPTER FIVE

Good Time

(
Christian
)

After heading up the spiral staircase that
led from our secure lair below ground,
up and out from under the
moveable
dance floor
,
and into the a
ctual
club, I was met with jeers
and smiles. My vampire brothers and sisters had already started giving me crap about seeing this new girl.

"So.
..w
he
re you gonna take
Rose
on your first date?" Bobby asked.

Bobby was the DJ here at the club, and he
also
happened to be my best friend.

"I'm not sure," I replied, "since she hasn't even called yet." I was getting nervous that she wasn't going to call at all. I
'd
thought about running
into town
to
track her down, but
I'd
really
rather not come
off as
the
stalker
-type
right from the get-go.

"Well, if she
does
call, where are you gonna take her?" He just wouldn't let it go.

"I'll probably take her to dinner
and then just walk around town. Is that acceptable enough for you?"
No way was I going to tell him that I already had arranged everything, including reservations and a surprise after dinner.

"No.
That is not acceptable.
You need to show her a good time, and by that I mean
,
a
GOOD TIME
!" Everyone started laughing as we watched Bobby gyrate his hips around and around.

"Well, you can forget that. You know that I would never do that on a first date
.
"
I realized I sounded like an old stick-in-the-mud, but I didn't care. I would never expect a woman to "put out
,"
as they say, on the first date or even on the twenty-first d
ate. I was old
-
fashioned and refused to
let myself fall into th
e modern way of "hooking-up"
like Bobby had.

Just as I was about to say these exact words to him
,
my cell phone rang
. Everyone went quiet.
T
he
anticipation in the air was palpable. I felt like such a
girl
;
butterflies flapping in my stomach
and palm
s
sweating,
I opened the phone
.
"Hello?"

* * * * *

CHAPTER SIX

Excited

(
Rose
)

Once
Mom and I finished ou
r
workout
,
we
got
dressed and headed back to the house. Dad had spent the day doing yard work
,
and was now ready for a
late lunch. I left them to it and
headed for my room
,
wanting some time alone before
I started to
get
ready.

I smiled as I hung my new dress from the hook on the back of my door, smoothing the material under my hands.
After
gathering
all the accessories that I wanted to wear
it
with
, I lay
down on my bed a
nd stared at the blank ceiling. I had to relax a little before I could process all of this. Here I was getting ready to call a complete stranger that I saw, not met, outside of a nightclub alongside the road. Suddenly
my
stomach was do
i
ng flip-flops.
What if I was
making a huge mistake
?

I must have fallen asleep while
contemplating everything
because I suddenly found myself being
woke
n
u
p by my
mom. "Rose. Wake up
,
sleepy head. I
t's almost dark. Did I wear you out in the pool today?" She sat down on the edge of the bed and gave my shoulder a little shake to make sure I was waking up.

"Yeah...I guess. I was just laying here staring at the ceiling and thinking
about tonight
, and I guess I doze
d off."
I p
ush
ed
up on my elbows,
and
once m
y eyes finally adjusted to the changing light in my room
,
I found my mom staring at the ceiling.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked her.

"Well, I'm thinking that we should pain
t
your ceiling black."

"What? Why o
n
earth would you want to do that?" I was giggling by the time I fully sat upright.

"You'll see. But tomorrow, after you've debriefed me about how this date with Christian goes
,
we're starting a project." She
winked as she casually strolled out of my room.

Oh yes, my date with Christian.
I was
so
excited
.
I slung
the covers back
,
jumped out of bed
,
and
bounced towards
the bathroom. I was
g
oing to have to hurry to get ready
in time
,
since I had fallen
asleep
.
I wanted to
be dressed when I
call
ed
Christian
, in case
he did
actually
want to meet up tonight
.

Since I had already figured out everything I was going t
o wear
,
it
really didn't take me to
o
long to get dressed. I'd done my make up the same as usual,
adding
a little extra glitter
y
eye-s
ha
dow on the upper arch of my eyelids
,
hoping to
highlight their light blue color.
I
'd also
decided to give my hair a slight curl on the ends,
which was different from the straight style that I normally wore.
Checking the full-length mirror on the back of my bathroom door one last time, I
nodded. I
was satisfied with my appearance
. N
ow I just hoped Christian would be equally satisfied.
Stop stalling
, I thought to myself. It was t
ime to make the call.

I walked across the room, the soft carpe
t cushioning my still bare feet,
and grabbed
his business
card from the top of my dresser. After making my way to the bed
,
I sat down and took a few d
eep breaths
, t
hen
dialed.
He answered after only two rings
.
"
Hello?"

"Hi
,
Christian
.
This is Rose. Rose Reynolds. You had asked my friend to have me call you tonight." Suddenly, I felt like a complete dumbass. What if he didn't remember seeing me or giving
Jillia
n his business card?
Oh my god
.
I was mortified.

I was seriously on the verge of hanging up
when he responded
,
"Hi
,
Rose. I'm so glad that you called. I was
n't
sure if you would or not, seeing the unusual circumstances
of our first encounter."

Oh thank goodness. He remembered
,
and he was happy that I was calling.
Woohoo!
"Yes, I'm sorry that I was unable to get out and actually meet you that night, but I was thrilled to get your note. It was
very
sweet."

"I'm glad you liked it
. I
t was the best I could do on short notice." He laughed and then I heard a door close in the background. I could now hear the wind
,
so I assumed he
had
just left his house. "Speaking of short notice, I wondered if
I would be able to
actually see you tonight?
N
o pressure
though
,
I'll
understand if you
'
re unable
."

"Actually, I had hoped for the same thing. Did you want me to come down there or did you have other plans?"
Yes!
This was
going exactly like I wanted
.

"I'd be more than happy to come pick you up
,
or you could just meet me at the restaurant. I thought we could have dinner at the steak house on the corner of Elm and 3rd. I've heard it's very good."

"Yes, that sounds perfect. I'll meet you there in say...
twenty
minutes?"

"Sounds great. I'll wait for you outside. And Rose...I really am thrilled you called."

"Me too. I'll see you soon."