Perfection Ch. 04

Tristan had no idea how he felt. As he watched Emily pull her clothing back over her bikini, he tilted his head curiously. Was what they had something special? I mean, he thought, fingering someone the day after they met meant something, right? But it wasn't just about her body, and Tristan hoped she understood that. He had only been in one other relationship, and that had gone horribly wrong. He didn't know much about Emily's previous relationships, but judging by the fact that she was hesitant sometimes, she obviously had something happen to her in the past. It was slightly awkward, how she acted as if nothing had happened. He shrugged off the thought as Emily turned and looked back at him. He quickly jogged over to her and the towels.

"Busy staring at other girls?" Emily asked.

Tristan snorted. "Obviously." He kissed her forehead. "You think you're enough for me?"

Emily smiled happily and picked up her towel. "I thought we were going to eat?"

"Wherever you want."

"The new Italian restaurant just opened across the pier, we could go there."

"Yes ma'am," Tristan replied, reaching for Emily's hand.

The walk wasn't far, but there seemed to be a large line starting at the counter. Tristan grimaced. "Looks like we'll be here for a while." Emily's stomach grumbled, and she groaned slightly. "I'm starving."

Tristan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "We can wait," he said, grinning. Then his grin faded as he noticed a group of people walking towards them. He cursed under his breath. "Becky's here."

Emily swiveled and scowled when she saw Becky and her clique just a bit away. But then she noticed a masculine figure besides Becky, and her eyes widened. Her throat seemed to constrict, and she struggled to breath. She nearly collapsed into Tristan's arms, who looked down at her in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"Tha- That's my ex," she croaked. Tears pooled up in her eyes and one slid down her cheek. Tristan stood frozen for several seconds, before wiping the tear away and pulling her close. He kissed her lightly on her head. Just then, Becky reached the pair.

"Well, what is this?" She taunted, smiling. "Beauty and the beast?" Judging by her putrid expression towards Emily, it was clear who she was calling the latter. Emily remained silent, her eyes shut. But Tristan didn't.

"Why are you here, Becky?"

Becky scoffed. "Am I not allowed to come to the bea-"

"Don't act stupid," Tristan interrupted. "Why are you here?"

Becky's eyes widened. No one had ever spoken to her like that. But she managed to control her anger. Barely. "No reason. Just to let Emily know that Jared and I are dating."

Emily let out a small gasp, and Tristan tightened his grip around her. Becky laughed at her reaction. "So sensitive, just as always." She clicked her tongue as if she were a parent admonishing a mischievous child. She grinned as Jared reached around to hold her hand. Then with a laugh, they walked away.

When Tristan looked down, he was alarmed to see Emily had tears streaming down her face. He led her away from the large line, and held her head against his chest. Her body shook as she cried into his shoulder. Eventually, Emily managed to regain control of herself, and she pulled herself away from Tristan's embrace. "I- I'm sorry."

"No," Tristan replied softly. He pulled her close again. "It's okay. Let's go back to your house?"

Emily nodded and rubbed her eyes as Tristan pulled her towards the parking lot. Once they were back in his car, Tristan leaned back against the seat and sighed. "Do you want to talk?" He had several thoughts running through his mind. Apparently Jared was Emily's former boyfriend, but no one should have that type of reaction when they saw their ex. Emily nodded slightly. "Once we get home?" Tristan shoved his key into the ignition, and pulled out of the parking lot.

---

The two drove in silence until Tristan parked his car in Emily's driveway. There was another awkward silence once the two were in Emily's room. He collapsed onto her bed, and she did the same, staring up at the ceiling. He rolled over and pulled her limp body close to his. She was still shaking slightly, and Tristan held her for several seconds before laying back.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Emily nodded and shifted closer into Tristan's arms. "Jared's my ex, but you probably already know that." She sniffled. "We dated for, like, three months, and I thought that we were meant to be together..." She trailed off. "But..." A tear spilled from her eye.

"But?"

"He wanted to have sex with me, but I didn't think we were ready." She let out a small sob. "So one day he tried to... He tried to force me." She began to cry and shake in Tristan's arms, and he caressed her gently. "I went to the police but they didn't believe me. His dad's the police chief. So the only thing I did was break up with him, and I never wanted to see him again. That's why I was so nervous when we were at the beach."

"Yeah, but when I saw Becky and Jared together... I just- I couldn't handle it and I broke down."

Tristan tightened his embrace, and Emily sighed. She looked up and closed her eyes as Tristan kissed her forehead. He kissed her nose, until their lips met. Tristan pulled away. "Well, we didn't get to eat Italian food."

Emily let out a broken laugh. "Yeah, I guess not." She unconsciously bit her lip as Tristan pulled off his shirt and tossed it into the corner, on top of his bag. He noticed her expression. "We shouldn't. I don't think now would be the right time."

Emily nodded. "Yeah." She felt a warm feeling travel through her. The fact that Tristan was this caring... She looked up into his eyes. "Do you want to watch something?"

Tristan shrugged. "Sure," He sat back down and grabbed the remote. He flicked on the TV. "Anything in particular?"

She shook her head. "Everything is fine." She shivered as Tristan's arm slid around her. She shifted closer until her head was nestled between his arm and chest. As Tristan flicked through several channels before finally deciding to move to Netflix, Emily felt a strange emotion travel through her mind. The two had just met two days ago, yet Tristan seemed to understand her far more than anyone else, besides possibly her parents. But she recalled how she had felt the same way about Jared, only to have everything crumble to pieces just as she began to feel a certain way. She closed her eyes, wishing to herself desperately that Tristan would be different. It was then that Tristan noticed her saddened expression.

"Hey," he said, placing the remote back onto the drawer. "What's up?"

Emily shook her head. "Nothing."

"I can tell when something's wrong, Emily," he said, planting a light kiss on her head. "If there's something up, just let me know."

Emily nodded and was slightly relieved when Tristan decided to not pursue the conversation. He grabbed the remote and flicked on a movie. But something was nagging at Emily's mind. Their conversation had sounded suspiciously like another she had had...

She cursed loudly, and Tristan jumped slightly. "What?"

"I forgot to call Angela," she said. "And it's your fault, Tristan," she grumbled, giggling as Tristan pouted. She grabbed her phone off the drawer. "I'll be back." Tristan nodded and drew back his arm, somewhat reluctantly. He kissed her quickly, and Emily left the room and into the living room, where Tristan hopefully wouldn't hear her from the second floor. She tapped several buttons on her phone and dialed Angela. She picked up after three short rings.

"About time you called me," Angela's voice crackled through the speaker. "I waited for an hour yesterday."

Emily smiled. "I forgot."

"Did that have anything to do with that cute boy you were with yesterday?"

Blushing, Emily coughed awkwardly. "Maybe."

There was a loud bark of laughter from the other side of the phone. "I knew it! Are you guys dating already?"

"I don't know," Emily answered truthfully. "I can't tell."

"Well, as long as he's nothing like Jared, I approve."

"Thanks," she replied sarcastically.

Angela laughed. "What were you doing?"

"He's watching a movie."

"Where?"

Emily faltered slightly. "My bedroom."

"He's at your house?" Angela asked incredulously.

Emily found herself blushing once more. "We... slept together."

There was a silence. "Wow," Angela finally exclaimed. "You guys are definitely together."

Emily frowned slightly. That was what she was surprised about? Not the fact that they had slept together after only a day? "You're not going to remind me that we met a day ago?"

"No," Angela scoffed. "No one actually cares about that. If you feel a certain way about him, then it's good for you that you went for it." There was another pause. "But just make sure... you know." She trailed off.

But Emily understood. "Yeah. I just hope he's nothing like him."

"Me too," Angela replied softly. Then she cleared her throat. "Well, enjoy your movie. I'll see you," She paused as she checked the date. "Next Monday?"

"Yeah," Emily said. "See you then." She hung up the call. Immediately a sense of relief rushed through her. Maybe she was overreacting about how quickly her relationship had evolved. She sighed and headed back up the stairs. Tristan was still watching the movie, so focused on the scenes that he barely noticed Emily enter the bedroom. It was only when she sat down beside him that he registered her presence.

"Oh hey," He said, pulling her close. "Welcome back." He turned his attention back onto the screen. Emily glanced over, watching as the lights from the TV flickered across Tristan's facial expressions. His face contorted into a grin as something funny appeared on the screen. Then he seemed to notice Emily watching.

"Stared at me long enough?"

Emily laughed. "You know it's only five?"

Tristan nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Well," Emily twirled a stand of her hair with her finger. "If that Italian restaurant is an hour away..."

Tristan frowned, pretending to not understand. "Yeah."

"And if it'll be six when we get there..."

"Still don't know what you're getting at here."

Emily let out an exasperated sigh. "You're supposed to say, 'let's go eat at that Italian restaurant'."

Tristan grinned. " Oh." There was a small pause. "Let's go eat?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless."

Tristan laughed. He slid off the bed, clicking off the TV. He pulled on a pair of ripped jeans from his bag that he had brought for the beach. Emily watched quietly as Tristan's muscular chest disappeared beneath fabric. She stood and dressed as well, deciding to go with a pair of jean shorts and the hoodie Tristan had given her a few days ago. His eyes widened slightly when he turned to see Emily in his hoodie.

"I suppose that belongs to you now?"

Emily nodded. Her smile switched into a pout. "You're not getting it back."

"Didn't think so."

----

The restaurant was just as packed as it had been at noon. The line had shrunk, but that wasn't saying much. A woman appeared in front of them with some sort of clipboard. "Table for how many?"

"Two," Tristan replied. He glanced towards the front of the line. "How long is the wait?"

"You'd be surprised," the woman responded with a grin. "Only ten minutes. The line moves a lot faster than you'd think." She tapped her clipboard and walked away after affirming that the two wanted to make a reservation.

"Ten minutes?" Tristan asked once she had walked away. "That doesn't seem possible." The line behind them continued to grow, and it didn't seem to be moving. Emily shrugged. But sure enough, ten minutes later, the two were waiting in front of the same woman.

She grinned. "See?" She grabbed two menus and headed down the large hallway, gesturing for the two to follow her. The restaurant was a lot larger on the inside than it had appeared. There were perhaps, seventy to one hundred tables; and somehow, nearly all of them were occupied. "So, what brings you two here?"

"A date," Tristan replied before Emily could.

"Oh, that's great," the waiter exclaimed, smiling. She led them a few more feet down the hallway before taking a left and leading them to a small table. It was in the corner. Tristan went to ask for one that wasn't so hidden, but Emily shook her head.

"I like the corner tables."

Tristan grimaced. "Corner tables are the worst." He grinned as the waiter sat them down. "But whatever you say, lady."

"Alexander will be your waiter today, he'll be over in just a few minutes." The waiter smiled and walked back in the direction they had come from.

"You know," Tristan said, scrolling through the large menu. "I've never had any of this stuff." He pointed at something on one of the pages. "Besides maybe the pasta or pizza."

"I thought you said you've had Italian food before."

"Yeah," Tristan replied, looking through the menu. "Domino's Italian Pizza? That stuff is amazing."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Idiot." She picked up her own menu. "I think I'll have the..." She frowned as she tried to pronounce the name. "Pasta e fagioli."

Tristan glanced over. "The what?"

With a shrug, Emily pointed. "It's some sort of pasta."

"I'll have a pizza."

"Really," Emily asked. "We go to an Italian restaurant and you eat pizza?"

"Hey," Tristan replied defensively. "Italian pizza is supposed to be good."

Emily laughed and looked out the window to her right. The sun was in the process of setting, and the dimly lit sky was tinted a bright pink. She could see the sunset glinting off of the waves, which crashed against the beach. Hundreds of people were walking along the pier, disappearing into restaurants and shops. Just then, a waiter appeared besides their table.

"Good afternoon, I'm Alexander, I'll be serving the two of you this evening." The voice came from a young man, hair black and slick. He was quite short.

Tristan smiled. "I'll have a pepperoni pizza. A large."

Alexander nodded and scribbled something down on a small notepad. "And for you, ma'am?"

"I'll take the pasta e fagioli."

"It'll take a few minutes, we are extremely busy today. Are you two comfortable with waiting?" They nodded. "Great. I'll be right back as soon as they're done preparing your food."

"He was definitely checking you out," Tristan said, completely unexpectedly.

Emily nearly choked on her water. "What?!"

"He was," Tristan replied, his lips tugging into a smile. "I could tell."

Emily rolled her eyes once more. "Is someone jealous?"

Tristan laughed. "Not in the slightest. Just letting you know, in case you wanted to make a move."

Emily blushed slightly, causing Tristan to laugh even louder. He leaned over the table. "But don't worry," he whispered. "I would never let you." He kissed her forehead quickly before leaning back.

"Really?" Emily grinned. She pretended to stand up. "Maybe I'll go make my move right now."

Tristan's grin faded. "Evil woman."

Emily giggled. "You started it."

Tristan leaned back in the chair and pulled out his phone. It buzzed several times, loud enough for Emily to notice.

"Who's that?"

Tristan shrugged. "One of my teammates." His eyes scanned the text, and his eyes widened slightly. He cursed. "I have a tournament tomorrow. Completely forgot. I'll drop you off before I drive back to my home."

"What's the tournament for?"

"Football. You're free to come watch."

Emily mentally thought of her schedule. She had nothing planned for Wednesday, especially since they had no school. She decide she would ask Angela if she could come. "I'll see if I can."

Tristan nodded. "I'll text you the address." He had just sent the text when Alexander appeared around the corner, holding a large tray that remained steady after years of working as a waiter. "Here you go," he said, gently putting two plates onto the table. Emily and Tristan nodded their thanks, and the waiter disappeared around the corner.

"This is good," Tristan said through a mouthful of pizza. Emily laughed and pointed at her own dish. "This is good too."

The two ate relatively quickly and silently, which made Tristan feel slightly guilty once their date was over. The two were standing outside after Tristan had paid. "Sorry this was so boring," he began, rubbing his arms against the cold. "Let me make it up to you next time?"

Emily went to shake her head, but she realized that the date had been slightly boring. So she nodded. "That'd be great."

Tristan grinned and kissed her gently on the lips. "Let's take you home."

---

Emily lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Tristan had dropped her off and then left for his own home. As she searched through her brain, she realized how little she actually knew about Tristan. She had never met his family, she didn't even know if he knew what college he would be attending next year. Emily sighed and rolled onto her side, staring at a wall. She recalled Tristan's lips brushing against her cheek and she shivered slightly. All thoughts of Tristan suddenly disappeared as she recalled the incident with Becky and Jared. The nerve that she had, she thought miserably. She wasn't jealous, by any means. As a matter of fact, she was more than happy to let Becky date him. Maybe if she got lucky, he would... No, she thought. She wouldn't wish what she had experienced on anyone. Even Becky. She shook herself. Forget about it. She reached for her phone and taped the screen multiple times.

"Becky," she began when the phone finished ringing.

"Emily? Why are you calling me? It's 9." Angela's voice was strained. She let out a massive yawn.

"Are you busy tomorrow?"

Angela was quiet for a few seconds as she checked her mental calendar. "No," she responded. "I'm free all day."

"Do you want to go to Tristan's tournament with me?"

"Who's Tristan?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "You know..."

"Oh," she exclaimed. "The cute one?"

Emily snorted. "Yeah. The cute one."

"What's the tournament for?"

"He's on the football team." Emily grinned. "You might be able to hook up with one of his teammates." Then her grin faded as Angela actually seemed to be considering the idea.

"You know, that's not that bad of an id-"

"I was joking! But can you come? I can text you the address if you can. It starts at 10 in the morning."

"Sure," Angela replied.

"We'll come pick you up at 9, then."

"Now let me sleep in peace, you ignorant little b-"

Emily laughed and hung up the phone. She collapsed onto her back. She felt as if she had butterflies in her stomach. And she couldn't understand why. After all, it was just a tournament right?

How could anything go wrong?

----

Author's Note: The next few chapters will probably be around this length, maybe a bit longer or shorter. If you're new here, make sure to start reading from chapter 1. Let me know what you think in the comments, and make sure to vote, favorite, and follow if you enjoyed! - Possibilit13s