Girl of Mine

Chapter 6 - For the foreseeable future

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Rosalie's POV (Sal)

With the sound of the car motor slowing down and a key turning, Elvis shifted in his seat, looking at me with a genuine smile on his lips. The air was still filled with faint summer heat as the rain had just stopped, leaving water streams on the car. Still, I itched to get into warmer clothes as the night fully set in. Even so, his soothing warmth calmed me when he reached for my hand that lay gently in my lap.

«Listen, I had a great time. And I heard what you said. Girls don't take this sort of thing easily. So I guess what I'm asking is, if you're okay?» His voice was soft and low, and every word said was of caring nature. It seemed like he had thought through asking me this.

I closed my eyes shortly before opening them and meeting his. They seemed worried. Attentive looking. «Yeah.. I will be.» I breathed heavily.

He nodded and squeezed my hand once before letting go—unbuttoning his seatbelt. Gazing at me for a few more seconds to ensure I was fine, I gave him a delicate smile letting him know I meant it.

Out of the car, he walked next to me towards my green front door. Red brick was towering in front of us, with four sets of windows going upwards.

«So this is me.» I slowly stopped and turned towards him. «Thanks for tonight. It was... Nice.» I said with a friendly smile.

«It was, wasn't it?» He said, with a gentle smile of his own. Meeting my eyes and then looking towards my door, his lips parted. «I better get going. If I ever get back in town someday, I'll come knocking on your door.» Distancing himself from me, he gave me a wave. «Goodnight, Sal.» He ended with a bit of a somber but affectionate smile dancing on his lips.

«Goodnight, Elvis,» I said, very much thinking I would never see him again.

◌ ◌ ◌

Late August of 1956.

The coolness in the air was a clear sign of the coming fall. It was still one week left of August, but I could see the end of summer closing in on me.

I woke from the most light sleep I'd ever had, by a pillow knocking me in the head.

«Ah! Regina quit it.» I said, trying to sound as annoyed as possible—to have her drop it at once. In the background, I could hear her and Rachel trying to conceal their laughter. We were up into the long hours of the night, and I was nowhere near rested.

«Oh shut up, Sal. We're heading down to the lake. We couldn't just leave you here, dumbass.» Regina said, with no concealing of her language either.

«Fine,» I mumbled down into my pillow. «I'll be there in a minute. Go ahead before me.»

«Fine by us.» They said, agreeing, before exiting the room, laughing at something they probably had talked about earlier.

As I slid out of bed, I squinted at the harsh sunlight catching my eye. I tried to cover my face with one hand as I walked through my summer mansion bedroom. The room had white, beige, and brown colours all throughout the interior. I already missed my soft layers of duvet, blankets, and pillows as the floor was too cool for my bare feet.

The floor had two mattresses for Regina and Rachel, and I had to step carefully not to break any of their stuff. I had found that the two of them weren't the neatest of house guests, and I was reminded by seeing the huge spot of Regina's blue nail polish that I knocked over a few weeks ago. My wall had new pictures of us, plus old ones of my childhood best friend, Patty. I also kept a picture of myself as a five-year-old hanging in a golden frame. My parents didn't want to take it down, and even though I remembered thinking it wasn't that cool looking in the middle of my teenage years, I had sort of gotten over it. It was sweet and endearing thinking of that time. I had grown.