She holds the bouquet of flowers to her chest. When I turn my head, I see straight down her dress, and I snap my head back up. The small glimpse I got of her cleavage was enough to make my dick twitch. I’m innocent. I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m just a very tall man who is standing next to his noticeably short, cute friend.
A friend I once dated and have seen naked before. Someone I pined for, for years. And still have the ring I was going to give her.
I also haven’t been touched in so long, and the small physical touches that Ellie gives me set me on fire. I haven’t felt like that from any other woman I’ve been with. I never had that spark. I never craved for them to touch me more.
“Can we just go back to your place?” she asks. “Hang out with Milo? Maybe watch a movie?”
I put my hands in my pockets when I feel them start to sweat out of nerves. Being alone with Ellie at my house isn’t anything new. But after taking her out to dinner, and again, not specifying if it was a date, it could lead to other things. And I don’t want to mess anything up.
“That sounds good. Have a movie in mind?” I ask.
The car pulls up, interrupting our lively conversation, and I open the passenger door for Ellie. I notice how gently she handles the flowers, making sure they don’t hit anything, and lay them on her lap.
“I love this band,” she exclaims when she climbs into the Jeep.
I turn to look at her, catching her eyes on me when I get in.
“I know you do.” I glance at her while Radiohead plays in the background.
I took the cover off the Jeep before I picked up Ellie, taking advantage of the warm weather, we were having today. When I let my eyes wander to her, the night lights streaming across her face give her a beautiful glow.
Her hair flows around her, and I’m taken back to a time when we would take nightly drives as teenagers. We didn’t always have a destination. Sometimes it was just to spend time together under the night sky. I would find a secluded place for us, and we would lay on the hood of the car, talking while the softness of the music played in the car.
That was the first night I kissed her. The first night that I got to feel her soft lips on mine.
I see a smile on her face as she looks out to the ocean. The moon makes it sparkle against its light. She reminds me of that sparkle. Always shimmering.
“I gotta pee so bad,” Ellie blurts out just as we pull up in front of my house.
She rushes out of the car and does this sort of waddle walk toward the house and up the porch. I’ve already passed her, opening the door quickly for her, and she runs inside.
I watch her slip on the hardwood floor as she runs. “El, be careful.”
I put my keys on the entrance table and hear Milo running down the stairs to greet me.
“Hey, buddy.” I bend down on my knees, giving him a kiss on the top of his head while he wags his butt and lets out happy whines. “I know, I’ve missed you too.”
Ellie returns with a sigh. “Whew, I feel so much better. Lighter even.”
I straighten. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
Milo walks to her, and she cups his face and kisses the top of his head.
“Okay,” she claps. “What will we be watching?”
She throws herself on the large sectional in my living room, making herself comfortable. She’s done this a thousand times. She comes over, we hang out and just talk, so why does it feel different? I sit beside her, grabbing the remote to turn on the TV.
She looks at me excitedly. “Ooh, let's do what we used to do in high school.”
“Choose a random movie? I think it was easier with DVDs because we could spread them out and blindly pick a case. How would we do it now?”
She gives me a look that says,are you really underestimating me?and takes the remote from me.
“What genre?” she asks without looking at me.
“Horror.”
“Horror? What are you trying to do? Get me to jump in your arms when I’m scared?”
