"You cold?” Ryan asked.
I frowned. What he said made no sense to me. I literally burned from his nearness. “Huh?"
"You shivered."
Well crap, he noticed. “Oh that. Sometimes it just happens. It's like I get a little twinge or something crawling up my back. I'm not cold, really.” Okay, so the explanation sounded stupid, but what was I supposed to say? That I was thinking about having to drink blood? That would've gone over well. Another thought entered my head. If Ryan ended up being my ‘boyfriend', how in the world would I keep my vampire status from him? I had enough trouble hiding it from Mandy.
"I see. Sparkie, you seem nervous. What's up?"
"What? Nervous?” I giggled. “No, I'm not. I'm not nervous at all. Why would I be nervous?” The words spilled out of my mouth like a turbo charged Amazing Amanda talking doll. Well, that should really convince him I'm not nervous. He must think I'm the biggest dork ever.
He chuckled. “If you say so."
The waitress returned and set a glass of water in front Ryan, then strategically placed her chest in front of his face, exaggerating the effort it took to lean over and place my glass in front of me. Ryan leaned back to give her more room. Could he seriously not notice her intent? Or did he just not care enough to give her the time of day? Either way, his actions thrilled me. Another point in his favor.
"Your desserts will be out shortly,” she said in a curt tone, then left in a huff.
Guess she didn't care for Ryan's reaction. Or lack of one.
Alone again, I reached out and snatched my water, hoping to postpone any more conversation on the subject of nerves. I bumped my lip with the glass and spilled the ice cold liquid down my front. I gasped in surprise, holding the water out in front of me.
"That's freakin’ cold."
Crap, twice tonight I had spilled something cold on me. At least it wasn't sticky stuff this time.
"Here, let me help.” Ryan grabbed his napkin and began to dab some of the water from my chest. When he realized just how close he got to my boobs, he blushed. “Sorry."
I sat the glass down. “It's okay. One napkin isn't going to do any good. I'll just go to the bathroom and use some paper towels."
"Okay.” He scooted out of the booth and let me pass.
I rushed to the bathroom and started to absorb some of the liquid. Figures the one time I needed one of those hand dryers I hated to use, none could be found. My turquoise Holister shirt turned dark where the water had spilled. And the indigo patch on my jeans looked like I had peed myself. Real attractive. While Ryan racked up the good points, I continued to lose mine, entering well into the negative numbers. I just hoped he wasn't keeping track.
By the time I returned, we had an unwelcomed guest sitting right smack dab next to Ryan. Well, maybe he didn't see her as unwelcomed based on the way he laughed at whatever she said, but I sure did. Why didn't he ignore her the way he had the horn dog waitress?
Neither one of them appeared to notice my approach. I bit my bottom lip and narrowed my eyes. Heat traveled from my neck to my cheeks. What was the deal? Just when I thought Ryan really liked me, he acted as if Val meant something to him, too.
I cleared my throat to gain their attention. Both snapped their glance my way, acting surprised to see me.
Val revealed her predatory smile. “Gee, Cheyenne, you look like you took a swim in the sink."
"Ha ha.” I said with no humor in my voice whatsoever.
The witch wasn't going to move. She really pushed it after what she'd done to me earlier at school. I glanced at Ryan and gave him the what-the-heck look. He shrugged. Oooh! How dare she plop her big butt in my place. Ryan asked
me
out, not her. I stood there, waiting for her to get the message. Of course she got the message. She wasn't stupid. But she wasn't moving either. She wanted to play it that way, did she? Okay fine.
"Beep beep. You're sitting in
my
place.” I couldn't help but emphasize the ‘my.’ Not that it fazed her in the least. She turned her head and glanced at the empty place on the other side of the table like I should sit there now. Oh no she didn't! “I don't think so. And who invited you anyway?"
Again, she plastered that fakey smile on her face. The one that always made me want to smack her. “Why, Ryan did."
Gauging by the surprised look on Ryan's face he did nothing of the sort, although he didn't bother to deny it, which really pissed me off.
I placed my hands on my hips and glared down at Val. “I suggest you move, or I'll be doing the moving for you. Your choice.” Dang, a bit aggressive for me, but I didn't care. I had one nerve left, and Val was all over it.
She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She slid her way out of the booth, making sure to give Ryan a nice view of her butt as she turned and stood. “Bye, Ryan."
Deciding not to move, I stood my ground. She could figure out how to get past me. I wouldn't give her an inch. She all but snorted when she had to push her way through. Still irked, I plopped down into the seat.
"Wow, that was intense,” Ryan said.
I cut my glance toward him. “Yeah, and thanks for the help."
"What?"
"Never mind."
The waitress appeared with our desserts. I grabbed my fork and took a bite of my warm lava cake. Mmmm. It was eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head good. Nothing improves a mood like chocolate. I must have had that goofy euphoric look on my face because when I looked over at Ryan, he was grinning like a doofus.
"What?” I asked even though I knew the answer.
"All I can say is thank goodness for chocolate. You were about to take my head off a minute ago.” He nudged my shoulder and waggled his eyebrows.
I couldn't help but laugh. “Yep, you came pretty close to losing it—your head, that is."
With the tension lifted and my spirits greatly improved, we had a great time getting to know one another. I learned all kinds of interesting things about his family. He seemed to be very close with them. I liked that. It spoke volumes about his character. You don't see that very often anymore. And he adored his little sister. It really showed on his face when he talked about her. Very sweet.
And the best part—Val didn't bother us the rest of the evening. Life was good. I had no idea where she slithered off to, and I didn't care as long as she left us alone.
Time ticked away, so I pulled out my phone to check. “Dang. It's 10:45. I have to go."
"Yeah, I figured it was getting late,” Ryan said. “Don't feel bad. You're not the only one with a curfew. I have to be home by 12:00."
I didn't want it to end, but my parents expected me home on time. And with all the recent happenings, they were stricter than ever.
On the way to my house, we continued to talk, laughing and having a good time. But, the closer we got, the quieter it got. It became obvious we both had something on our minds. Did he wonder about the same thing as me? The walk to the door? Kiss? Or no kiss? Was it really a date? Were we girlfriend and boyfriend? I had no idea where our relationship stood. Or did we even have a relationship?
After we pulled into the driveway, Ryan jumped out of the car and rushed to my side. He swung my door open and with a grand flourish, he bowed and swept his arm across his chest in a wide arc. “My lady."
I giggled. He could be so silly. I had to wonder if he watched historical movies or really liked history because he sure enjoyed acting the part of a chivalrous knight. It seemed to come natural for him.
He grasped my hand and helped me out of the car—the hand he continued to hold all the way to the front door. The anticipation of what might happen next sent adrenaline rushing through me. My heart thumped wildly in my chest. Could he hear it? Could he feel the pulse jumping around in my body through the connection of our hands? Oh, God, the tingly flutters in my stomach increased until I felt like I dropped straight down from the top of a rollercoaster. For a minute, I thought I might hurl the chocolate lava cake I had scarfed down earlier.
When we reached the porch, he turned me so I faced him, holding both my hands in his.
Omigod, here it goes
. I could barely breathe. What was I supposed to do? I mean, I had never kissed a boy before. Well, not
that
kind of kissing. I had seen it on TV, of course. And I had heard girls talk about it at school, but I had never done it. What if I did it wrong and he thought I'm a dork?
His lips moved and I comprehended he spoke, but with the pounding in my ears I could barely hear his words—something about having a good time. I think. My palms grew sweaty. I couldn't understand his words. I felt woozy.
Ryan bent his head down, inches from my face. His warm breath fanned across my face. He smelled like chocolate. I couldn't help but wonder if he would taste like chocolate, too.
"Sparkie?” he inquired, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I swallowed and widened my eyes. “Huh?"
He let go of one of my hands and brushed back the lock of hair that had fallen across my face. I sucked in a breath and held it. Would he kiss me now? Oh no, my lips were all rough from the cold weather and I forgot to put on my cherry Chapstick. It'd be like kissing a porcupine. Great, I'll be known as the dorky porcupine kisser. I ran my tongue along my bottom lip to check. Good, not too bad.
Ryan gasped. I lifted my gaze to stare into his eyes, and I almost gasped, too. His amazing crystal blue eyes had darkened to a deeper blue. Or maybe it had to do with the porch lighting. Either way it sent ripples of warmth to my lower abdomen. Something I had never experienced before.
He leaned in closer and I barely suppressed the rising squeak lodged in my throat. The scent of chocolate and cinnamon mixed together, reminding me of my granny's sheet cake she used to make just for me. My eyes slightly closed, anticipating the press of his lips to mine.
Then the porch lights flicked off and on, off and on, off and on. Startled, I squealed and threw my arms in the air, clipping Ryan right under the chin, knocking his head backward.
"Oh, Ryan, I'm so sorry.” I held his face in my hands, looking for any instant bruising from my sudden attack.
He reached his hands up and removed mine from his face, holding them firmly in front of him. “It's okay. Don't worry about it. You barely ... grazed me."
Grazed, my butt! I knew I had hit him pretty hard. I couldn't believe I had just done that. “The lights are a signal from my parents that it's time for me to come in. Real subtle."
Ohmigod! That means my parents had probably looked out the peephole or the window next to the door. How freakin’ embarrassing. Had they seen Ryan about to kiss me? Or at least I think he was planning to do that.
He laughed. “Well, at least your parents care enough to look after you. Many don't even bother."
"Yeah, I guess."
How old was he anyway? His mature thought process spoke of a much older person. Maybe his family raised him old fashioned-like. That would explain the opening of car doors and such.
"Well, you better get inside or the neighborhood might get another light show.” He winked, letting me know he teased.
"No kidding. Like it wasn't embarrassing enough the first time."
Ryan lifted my hands to his face and kissed each knuckle. I couldn't help but wonder what those lips would have felt like pressed to mine. Thanks to my parents, I wouldn't be finding out tonight.
"Goodnight, Cheyenne. Sleep tight.” His gaze roamed over me briefly, causing my face to flame. “I'll be dreaming of you tonight."
I gulped. “I'll be dreaming, too."
Ryan smiled, then turned and headed to his car.
I'll be dreaming, too? Oh, my God! Did those words really come out of my mouth? Could I be any lamer? Besides, it wasn't like I'd be dreaming because I sure as heck wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. Not after all this.
As I watched Ryan drive off, it dawned on me that I still didn't know if we were ‘going out’ or not.
No sooner had I walked inside, my cell phone rang. Ryan. I had already set his number with a special ring tone, our song—
Be My Forever
by Dark Knight.
"Hello,” I answered.
"I miss you already."
My heart twittered. “You just left."
"Say you'll go out with me tomorrow night. It's Saturday, you know?” His voice vibrated in my ear, so deep and silky.
"Oh, I...” Crap! I almost forgot about the trip into the cave with Mandy. “I can't. I have plans.” Silence greeted me on the other side of the phone. “I'm sorry. I'd like to—"
"It's okay, Sparkie,” he interrupted before I made an ass out of myself. “Maybe Sunday? I don't think I could go a whole weekend without seeing you."
Boy, he sure spread it on thick. But, did he really mean it? My gut told me he did. “I'll have to check and see what's going on.” I had no idea what my life would hold from day to day.
"How about I call you tomorrow?"
"Sure."
"Night, Sparkie. Don't forget to dream of me."
He hung up the phone before I had a chance to reply. Good thing since most of my words fell into the dork range. I sighed and slipped my iPhone into my pink Coach purse my grandparents had sent me for my birthday.
"So, how did your
date
go?” Dad asked, startling me half to death.
I clutched my chest, gasping for breath. “It was fine. Do you think you could chill on the light show though? That was really embarrassing,” I bit out. My tone rang of irritation, but he had scared me, sending my blood pressure straight to the roof.
The look he shot me silently chastised me for my rudeness.
I forced myself not to roll my eyes. I didn't need a prolonged conversation with Dad. “I'm going to bed."
"Goodnight then.” His lips compressed back into a tight line.
I raced halfway up the stairs, then stopped and mumbled, “And it wasn't a date."
Mandy's horn sounded, signaling me the time had come for our ill-fated trip back into the cave.
"Bye, Mom, Dad. Mandy's here. I'm leaving."