Chapter 10 #2
Rory parted my mouth with his tongue and rolled it into mine.
We both lifted to our knees on the couch, and our bodies pressed into each other as if we had done exactly this in another life.
I couldn’t control a small whimper slipping from the back of my throat.
I had never made a sound like that before in my life, and he instinctively brought both hands to my cheeks as if he were trying to capture it and take it from me.
His hands shifted to the back of my head, his fingers digging into my hair and securing me in place.
I moved my hands up his back and trailed them over his shoulder blades until they found their way to the back of his neck.
I brushed my thumbs against his jaw, feeling his movements, memorizing his touch and face with my eyes closed.
Rory pulled back to take a breath, and we both smiled.
“Oh my god, Rory,” I whispered.
He softly shushed me, peacefully and happily. His mouth reached for mine once more.
“Oh my god, it’s happening again,” I muttered, having entirely lost my mind.
Rory gently laughed, then murmured against my lips, “Kiss me, Ellie.”
Rory saying my real name did something to me that I couldn’t explain.
It changed my brain chemistry. I pushed my hands into his curly hair, and our bodies shifted, fastening to each other.
I kissed him slowly, deeply. I kissed him in a way I had never kissed anyone before.
We took our time tasting each other. It was as if we were discovering who we really were for the very first time.
His arms wrapped around my waist, pushing my shirt aside so his skin could feel mine.
He enveloped me as if I were breakable yet he wanted to crush me.
The moment we parted, Rory dropped his forehead onto my shoulder. He collapsed into our embrace, and my face pressed into his hair. He smelled like shampoo and freshly cut grass.
“I have wanted to do that for so long,” I whispered. I didn’t know my insides could smile, but they were.
Rory turned his head into me. Our hug tightened. He lightly kissed my neck, then skimmed his lips along my skin to beneath my jaw and my cheek. He looked at me, searching my eyes and finding my heart. “Ellie . . . This is . . .” He shook his head, unable to process what was happening.
“I know.”
We both silently laughed as our lips found each other again.
“Do you have anything to eat, Cains?” Cameron’s voice appeared before his body as he walked down the hallway toward the living room. Rory and I threw ourselves off each other and ended up at either end of the couch. Rory grabbed a decorative pillow and slammed it down over his lap.
“Umm, yup. Pizza in the fridge.” My voice was hurried. Rory slapped his hand over his mouth and snorted, trying to stop himself from laughing.
“Anything to drink?” Cameron asked as he turned the corner.
“Just look, dummy.” Kara followed closely behind Cameron. They both pillaged the fridge. “You guys want anything to eat?”
“Sure,” Rory answered. He stood, fiddled with his pants to collect himself, then took a deep breath and opened his hand for me to stand with him.
We looked at each other for just one more minute. Just two more minutes. Kara leaned back from the fridge to see what was taking us so long just as we dropped our hands and stare, then joined Kara and Cameron in the kitchen.
I couldn’t have gotten to Juniper more quickly the next morning.
It was 9 a.m., and I was on the practice putting green when Jacob and Orson joined me for a putting competition.
Another couple of juniors joined us as well, “the randos,” as Hannah called them.
Caleb joined, and his dad, Albert Davis, decided to sit in his golf cart and watch us.
Well, watch me. I was still waiting for the Campbells to show up when Mr. Davis called me over.
I didn’t want to go over to him, but I did it anyway. After all, he was Caleb’s dad, and he was a member of Juniper, where my parents trusted that I was safe. I had to go, right?
“Hi, Mr. Davis. What’s up?” I turned my head back to my friends and could see Orson looking over at us.
“I went to Portland last weekend and found something that made me think of you.” My stomach rolled as he spoke, his smile revealing his bottom row of crooked teeth.
“What?” I said, surprised. Why would he think of me? I literally never thought about this man, ever.
Mr. Davis reached into the back of his golf cart and pulled out a white bag. He opened it and pulled out a small jewelry box with a delicate green horse painted on top.
“What is this?”
“A jewelry box. Elegant. Effortless. Beautiful. Just like you. You’re growing up into a beautiful young woman, Ellie, and I wanted you to know that I’ve noticed. I want you to have this.”
What? Why would Caleb’s dad want to give me a gift?
I barely spoke to this man. Yes, he watched me.
Yes, he made me uncomfortable. Yes, he would say things that I found confusing and had found reasons to touch me for over a year now.
But . . . he thought I was . . . elegant?
What did that mean? I tried to think about all the compliments my dad had given me over the years.
This didn’t feel anything like that. I needed Mr. Davis to know that I was not elegant, that I was not anything, but I didn’t know how to say that with his narrowed eyes roaming all over me, burning through me.
I could feel my heart hammering at the base of my throat, growing and choking me with every beat, suffocating me. I lifted my head and looked at Orson, who was still clocking our interaction. He whispered to Jacob, who now had his brotherly attention on me as well. Why was everyone looking at me?
“I . . . I can’t accept this, Mr. Davis. But that’s nice of you.” I didn’t know what else to say. Was I supposed to thank him?
“That’s okay. I understand. You’ll have it one day.”
What did that mean?
I started feeling chilled, and tiny black pinpricks came into view. My insides got hazy, like I could feel myself somehow start to blur. It wasn’t my vision. It was me.