Eighteen Ch. 14

Sunday, February 14^th

I wake up to the smell of bacon. Sitting upright, I wipe the sleep from my eyes and take in my surroundings. Sunlight streams through my window, and I realize that I've slept much later than I planned. Leaving my room, I wander into the kitchen and find my dad standing over the stove. He asks me how my night went; I tell him we had a good time and then fill him in on the rest of the night. This is an unusual moment for us because we're rarely home at the same time, well, awake anyways. He asks about my plans for the day, and I tell him I don't have any. He stops what he's doing, turns around, and looks at me incredulously.

"You don't have anything planned?"

"No. I thought I'd just play it by ear."

"Play it by ear, huh...well, that's brave for someone with a girlfriend."

"Brave? Why is it brave?"

He laughs. "I guess you don't know...it's Valentine's Day."

My ears sting at the revelation, and I can't believe it. How could I be so dense? I'm fully awake now and have to think of something fast.

My dad chuckles, "You okay there, sport? You look kinda pale."

I have to go shopping! I run into my room, throw on some clothes, and dash out of the apartment before realizing that I don't know if my dad has anything planned for tonight.

I run back inside and ask, "Dad, are you doing something tonight?"

"Uh yeah, but not with you in mind." He laughs again.

"I mean, do you have plans here tonight?"

"Here? No. I'm going to a party and will be home around midnight or so."

"Thanks. Have a fun night, and THANK YOU!" I yell as I run back out the door.

I get to the mall and walk around, hoping I won't run into anyone I know. Looking at all the different stores, I try to figure out what to get Christina. There are so many choices--clothes, jewelry, perfume, chocolates, something from that smelly bath store, jewelry...jewelry! That's it!

I pick one of the jewelry stores, and when I walk in, a salesperson comes right up to me. I don't even have time to look around first. I think about walking out and going to another store but decide to give her a chance. I tell her that I'm looking for a gift for my girlfriend, and she gets a sideways grin on her face. I get the feeling that she knows I'm in a tight spot and hope she isn't going to take advantage of it. She shows me some expensive things I can't afford, so I tell her that I will look around.

There is a tennis bracelet with alternating light and dark blue stones in one of the display cases. The dark blue matches Christina's eyes perfectly. I ask to see it, and she pulls it out. It's beautiful. I look at the price tag and gulp because it's more than I can afford. I point to one of their sales promotion signs and ask if it's eligible. She smiles politely and tells me that it isn't but that she'll speak with the manager to see what she can do. They whisper back and forth a few times before she returns and tells me she can give it to me at half-off. I look at the tag again; even with the discount, it's still pricey. My mind scrambles as I figure out how to pay for the bracelet without dipping into my savings. I pull my wallet from my back pocket to see how much money I have on me, and it's filled with the cash Dad gave me yesterday. Perfect! I dig out the needed amount and pay for the pretty bauble. The sales lady asks if I want it wrapped, and I gratefully accept her offer. That's one problem solved.

Now...to figure out what to do for dinner.

I rule out going to a restaurant because all the nice ones will be packed. Besides, getting in without a reservation is out of the question. Thinking about it, I'd rather have dinner with her alone, where it's quiet, so I decide to cook a nice romantic meal at home. It's been a while since I've prepared a whole meal, but I'm sure I can find a recipe to follow. Going into the bookstore, I browse through some cookbooks to see if there's something I can manage. There's a chicken dinner in one of them that fits the bill, so I look at my watch to make sure there's enough time to get to the store and still cook it. It takes reading the recipe five times before I have it memorized.

Driving to the grocery store, I buy what I need. It's a good thing I work here...I know exactly where everything is, which helps me find what I need and get out of there in a flash. When I get home and put everything away, the phone rings. It's Christina.

"Hey, pretty lady, what's up?"

"We haven't talked about it, but are we going out tonight?"

"Of course we are!" I try to sound confident. "It's Valentine's Day. That's unless you have plans with someone else," I tease.

"Don't be ridiculous," she shoots back. "What time should I be ready?"

I look at the clock, and it's already three. I need time to prepare the meal and get dressed.

"Does six o'clock sound good?"

"Six will work great. What should I wear?"

"Well...," I pause, "I'm wearing the new slacks and one of the shirts you bought, so something similar?"

"Sounds good. See you at six, shmoopie."

Shmoopie? How does she come up with these names? After hanging up the phone, I tidy up the apartment and then go into my room to make sure my bed is made and there are no clothes on the floor. After finishing my room, I go into the kitchen and plan the best way to prepare the meal. I decide to get everything ready to cook, do the dishes, cook the meal, do those dishes, and stick our plates in the oven to stay warm while I pick up Christina.

Everything goes as planned, and I scan the table to make sure it looks nice before leaving. Something's missing, but I can't put my finger on it. I go over the setting in my mind: silverware, cloth napkins, wine glasses, salt and pepper shakers, butter dish, bread plate, and then it hits me, the picture in the recipe book had flowers on the table. We don't have a vase, and I don't have time to buy one, but I do have time to get some flowers.

I go back to the store and hurriedly look through their selection and see they have some roses in a vase. I buy those and put them in the footwell behind the passenger seat and get to her house just on time. Jesse answers the door and gives me a cat-call before letting me inside. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor walk around the corner toward me.

"Where's your tie, young man?" Mr. Taylor asks.

"Uh...I don't own one," I stutter.

"Hmm...Seems a guy dating my daughter would wear a tie on Valentine's Day," he says gruffly.

"Oh, Daddy...when are you going to give him a break?" I hear Christina say as she walks up behind him.

Mr. Taylor chuckles.

"You can keep trying, Daddy, but you won't scare him off," she adds as she reaches up on her toes and kisses him on the cheek.

He shakes my hand and tells us to have a good time.

Christina is beautiful! She's wearing a pale blue dress that comes to just above her knees with dark blue heels and some pearls around her neck. She looks celestial.

"Bob, dear...where are you taking me for Valentine's Day?" Mrs. Taylor asks.

"Uh...Uh...," Mr. Taylor stutters as he realizes he's in trouble, and his stern look changes to that of a dog who just got caught chewing on the rug.

"Don't be too tough on him, Mom," Christina says. "He works hard all week and has a hard time remembering things in his old age." She laughs and gives her mom a hug and a kiss too.

Mrs. Taylor starts laughing and then kisses her husband, leaving lipstick on his cheek. I look at him and wish him luck. Christina and I walk out the door when I remember that I have Mr. Taylor's sandals in the bag I'm holding, so I turn around and give them to him. After thanking him, we leave before any more trouble arises.

I tell Christina that I need to swing by my apartment to drop some things off, so she won't be wise to my plan. We pull up; I walk around, open the door, and take her hand to help her out. Opening the back door, I grab the flowers and give them to her.

"Who are these for?"

"You, of course. I don't buy flowers for anyone else."

She gets a smile on her face and follows me upstairs. When she steps inside the apartment, she sees the kitchen table and lets out a soft whistle. "Wellll...look at this. And who is this for?"

"You. I wanted to surprise you, and I want to be alone with you."

She throws me a look like she's impressed as I take the flowers from her and set them in the center of the table. Then, pulling her chair out, I take her hand as she sits down.

"It smells good. Who cooked?"

"I did. Special for you."

She gives me that look again and asks, "You can cook?"

"I can do many things you don't know about."

Again, the look. I get the sparkling cider from the fridge and fill our glasses before taking the rolls from the oven, putting one on each small plate. Our dinner plates are next. Placing them on the table, I warn her that they're hot and then sit across from her.

Taking her hand in mine once again, I look deep into her eyes and say, "I love you, Christina, with all my heart, I love you."

Her eyes are warm, and that soft smile I adore lights up her face.

"I love you too, Tom Griffin. You have my heart; you have my soul...you have me."

She looks down at her plate, "Bacon wrapped chicken roulade, zucchini, and rice pilaf?" She looks back at me. "I'm impressed."

I wait for her to take a bite before I begin eating. We talk and laugh during our meal, and I realize, too late, that I should have soft music playing in the background.

When we finish dinner, I clear the table before asking, "Dessert, my princess?"

"Of course. There's no way I'm turning down your cooking. This has been fabulous."

I take two slices of cheesecake from the fridge, spoon some strawberry topping over them, set them on the table, refill our glasses, and then sit back down. I wait again for her to take the first bite before I eat.

"This topping is fantastic. How'd you make it?"

"It was easy. I unthawed some strawberries, boiled them in some water, sugar, and a little vanilla to a syrupy consistency. I then refrigerated it so it would thicken some more."

Christina gets a weird look on her face and asks, "You un what it?

"Unthawed, you know...they were frozen."

"Listen to what you're saying...I don't think that's a word," she chuckles.

Un...thaw...thaw...oh crap!

"Uh...I feel so stupid right now. I thawed the strawberries...they were already unthawed...uh...I mean frozen. My mom's used that word for as far back as I can remember. I can't believe I never realized it wasn't a word."

Christina laughs and reaches over to take my hand and give it a squeeze. "Don't worry about it. This is wonderful. You've completely swept me off my feet."

"Even though I don't know how to talk correctly?"

Christina laughs some more and says, "Yeah...even though!"

I gulp and run through my head what I want to say before opening my mouth this time.

"I have another surprise, if you'll indulge me," I say in a soft voice.

The look again, but this time she raises her eyebrows. Removing the wrapped package from hiding, I slide it across the table to her. She gently reaches over and unwraps it. She sees it's a jewelry box and looks at me hesitantly. When she opens it, her face lights up like I've never seen it before.

"Wow, this is beautiful!"

"You like it?"

"Like it? I love it!"

"The second I saw it, I thought of you."

"You did?"

"Uh-huh. The dark blue stones match your eyes, and the light blue stones match the heavens from where you fell."

She looks at me again with emotion in her eyes. I get on one knee beside her and fasten the bracelet around her wrist. Standing up again, I take both of her hands and pull her up into my arms. Embracing her firmly, I give her the most passionate kiss I can summon. She wraps her arms around my neck and melts into me as we stand there kissing. For the second time since I've known her, the world around us dissolves; there is only her, her warmth, and her love.

I lead her to the front room and hit the Play button for the music I have cued, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, by Starship. Pulling her into my arms, we dance slowly, studying each other's eyes. When the song ends, I lift her, bridal style, and carry her to the couch. I sit next to her while looking intently into her eyes before we embrace again, continuing where we left off. I have no idea how long we stay like this, but it isn't long enough. She lifts her legs and puts them over my lap, and leans into me as I put my arms around her.

Laying her head on my chest, she says, "You really caught me off guard tonight. I thought you forgot about today, but you surprised me by pulling out all the stops."

Placing my cheek against her head, I hold her tight and say, "I have a confession to make," I pause. "I didn't know what day it was until this morning. I hadn't put two and two together and didn't realize it was Valentine's Day until my dad asked me what we were doing tonight. I'm sorry I didn't plan something more special. This is all I could think of on such short notice." My voice is a little shaky as I come clean.

Her eyes get big as she leans back and looks at me. "You planned and prepared all of this today? My bracelet, you bought this today?"

I hang my head in shame and admit to her that it's all true.

She shifts her body and pulls me into her, and says, "This makes the evening more special. That you could and would do all this just for me is unbelievable." She laughs a little, "You have nothing to be sorry for. You're my Prince Charming, and every day I get to be with you and know you better, the deeper I fall in love with you. Tonight has been perfect, and I don't want anything more or less than what you've given me."

Lifting my head, I look into her deep blue eyes as my heart explodes with love. I kiss her again, and again have no idea for how long. I look at the clock, and it's approaching ten, so I tell her that I should probably get her home. She asks about the dirty dishes, and I tell her I'll take care of them up when I get back.

She punches me in the chest and says, "No way. We'll do them together."

"But your beautiful dress will get messed up."

Christina tells me to unzip her as she stands up. Seeing no downside to this request, I do as I'm told.

Her dress falls to the floor, revealing that she's naked underneath. Her perfect ass is in front of my face, and I can't help but grab her hips and pull her towards me. I kiss first one cheek and then the other before I bury my nose between them and blow a raspberry. This gets Christina to giggle...God, how I love to hear her laugh. I'm getting hard, and the desire to fuck her rises in my loins, so I reach around and finger her pussy. She pulls my hand away and asks me to help her remove her shoes, which, of course, I do. I spin her around, pull her on top of me, and plant a juicy kiss on her lips.

"Let's forget the dishes and make love," I plead.

"If we do that, I won't get home in time."

"Then stay the night with me. We can wake up tomorrow in each other's arms."

"You know I'd love to do that, but I can't. Not tonight."

"Fuck! I want you so bad right now."

"Me too, but we have to focus. Let's get the kitchen cleaned up, and then you can take me home."

"I don't want to take you home."

Christina lets out a long sigh. Then, smiling softly, in the way that she does to melt my heart, she kisses me tenderly on the lips. "C'mon, baby. Let's get this done."

"Fine. Ugh!"

Christina sits up, removes her bracelet, and sets it on the table. We pry ourselves from the couch and go into the kitchen to clean up.

I can't help myself when I see her standing at the sink with her back to me. Standing behind her, I wrap my arms around her and kiss her neck. Her sweet perfume wafts into my nostrils as she melts into me. I want to hold her like this forever, but she hands me a dish towel and tells me to dry. Reluctantly, I let go of her, take the towel, and dry the dishes before putting them away.

It doesn't take long to finish, and when we do, I pin her against the refrigerator and kiss her hard. She wraps her arms around my neck, and we hold each other tight while we make out. Then, Christina puts her hands on my chest and pushes me away far enough so that she can take my hand and lead me back into the living room.

She steps into her shoes before pulling her dress up around her. I give her a fake pout as her bare skin disappears from view. She smiles at me again, and I just want to dive into her. Turning her back to me, she lifts her hair out of the way and asks me to zip her up. Once I get the zipper all the way up, her bare neck beckons me, so I lean down and kiss it. Christina turns around, and we make out some more; this time, her fingers comb through my hair as our tongues chase each other.

We don't hear the door open, and my dad enter the apartment. When he clears his throat, we come out of our trance to see him standing there smiling at us.

"You're home early, Dad?"

"Yeah, a little. Sorry to interrupt your moment," he responds.

"It's okay," I say. "We were just about to leave. There are some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry."

Christina picks u[ her bracelet and puts it on before grabbing the rest of her stuff, and we head out the door. As we leave, I look back at my dad and mouth the words, "Thank you," as he stands there with an inquisitive look.

We walk to her front stoop and make out some more. I can't get enough of her; she's the best kisser in the entire world! Finally, she opens her door and steps in. Before closing the door, she tells me that she'll see me tomorrow. Strolling back to my car, I feel great that I've turned what could've been a disaster into an incredibly successful evening.

When I get home, Dad has the fridge door open and asks what all the food's for, so I tell him what I did.

He slaps me on the back and says, "That's my boy." And we head off to our separate bedrooms, and I fall asleep.

Monday, February 15^th

After our morning swim, the coach gives us a pep talk because our first meet is this Friday. He hands out our assignments for each event and announces the swimmers in the various relays; I nailed the anchor in each of mine! I'm jazzed. He tells us to be sure to shave our bodies before the meet. Shave my what? I ask the coach if I heard him correctly and why we have to shave. Everyone laughs as I look around, clueless. The coach explains that we do this to reduce drag. Shave my body? This will be weird. I ask where we have to shave, everyone laughs again, and I don't get the joke. He explains the most critical areas are the chest, arms, and legs, but it'll be better if our backs and armpits are shaved too. He passes out our swim caps and team suits before sending us off to our morning classes.

Walking into the lunchroom later that day, the girls are sitting around the table giggling. Christina is showing them her bracelet as I sit next to her.

"So, you graduated from Lover Boy to Prince Charming?" Nicole teases me.

"I'm still Tom, but you can call me stud!" That brings a laugh from the group.

The nerdy guy that asked Christina to dance at the Winter Formal walks by and says hi to all three girls.

"Hi Clark," Nicole says, "excuse me guys, I need to do something."

Nicole gets up and walks off with Clark as I look at Christina and Jesse, and they just shrug.

"I think your knight in shining armor is about to fall off his horse," I say to Christina.

She gives me a weird look and asks, "Why?"

"I'm going to be a hairless freak."

"A what?" Jesse asks.

"I have to shave my body hair for our meet on Friday."