Ford Escort

24 - Waterfall

Eli didn't say a word as we made our way down the street, the chill of the evening air was cooling the heat burning under my skin, and I was starting to feel more at ease. The farther we walked from Simon's house, the more conscious I became of how close his hand was to mine, and the way our footsteps were in sync.

It was becoming more and more unbearable to be next to him and not reach over and touch him. Something about him drew me in, I wanted to bury my face in his shirt, run my fingers through his hair. Maybe it was the alcohol but tonight it was even worse, even as we walked in silence, my self discipline grew weaker by the second.

"You feeling any better?" He asked, his soothing voice breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I am." I kept my eyes on the sidewalk in front of me.

"Your face is still pretty red," He reached up, his finger gently brushing against my cheek, "You're really warm. Does that happen every time you drink?"

His touch sent a chill down my spine, my skin tingling and my heart racing. I was in trouble now, there was no more lying to myself, I wanted him.

"I think so." I stammered, "I don't really drink much."

"You don't say." He laughed, "Then why are you at yet another party?"

"Ava."

"Right, that makes sense." He paused, "You guys are pretty close then, right? I'll bet it's going to be pretty hard to leave her."

"Yeah, I'm going to miss her a lot."

His hand brushed up against mine, only slightly, and my breath caught in my throat. Was he feeling the same jolt, or was it just an accident that he'd barely even noticed?

"I'm sure you guys will figure out a way to stay friends." His voice didn't sound shaky the way I knew mine would if I tried to speak again. I cleared my throat.

"I'm sure we will," My voice was definitely shaky, "I think I'm good to head back now."

I turned on my heel, being careful not to look up at him as I started back towards Simon's. He fell in step with me, and we were quiet again as we started back the way we'd come. The heat in my face had fully subsided and a chill set in, as the clouds overhead blocked out the moon. I didn't realize I was shivering until Eli placed his jacket over my shoulders.

"God damn it, Eli." I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and finally met his eyes, he looked shocked and confused, "Stop it."

I shrugged of his jacket and shoved it into his chest, he frowned. "You were shivering. Sorry for trying to be polite, I guess?"

"That's the whole issue," I groaned as a sprinkling of raindrops misted my skin, "You're funny, and respectful and chivalrous and unbelievably attractive and I'm just trying my best to resist you."

Alcohol, even in small doses, definitely made me more honest.

"Well then why don't you stop?" He asked, matching my tone as he wrapped his jacket around me again, "Stop trying to resist it if it's so difficult."

The rain started to come down harder, and my shivering increased, but I removed the jacket once again and threw it back at him.

"Because I'm leaving!" I shouted, "And I don't want to be back in California thinking of you all the time!"

"Well that's just not fair, because I already think of you all the time!" He draped the jacket over me one last time, holding it closed as he pulled me up against him, so I couldn't take it off.

"We barely know each other!" The rain soaked my hair, and shouting was becoming necessary just to be heard over the increasing downpour, "These feelings aren't real, it's just lust! It'll fade!"

"I don't want it to fade!" He squinted down at me as the rain dripped from his eyelashes, "I've never felt this way about someone I barely know. I know it's bat-shit crazy, and maybe it is just lust, but ignoring it and hoping it'll fade isn't an option for me."

"Eli.."

"Tell me you don't feel the same way!" He challenged, "Tell me you don't want me too, and I'll leave you alone."

"That's not the point!"

"Then what is?"

"I don't want to get hurt! I don't want either of us to get hurt!"

"It's already going to hurt," He released his grip on the jacket and moved his hands to cup my face, "It's too late to get out of this unscathed. So we might as well go all in and see where it takes us."

"I'm just going to break your heart.." I warned, as his eyes held my gaze.

"I'll take that risk."

He leaned down an pressed his lips to mine, and kissed me like I'd never been kissed before. It wasn't a hungry, sex-crazed kiss, the kind of kiss that preluded all of my encounters with Mr. Ford. It wasn't sloppy and desperate, like the first kisses of boys I'd grown up with. It was a different kind of hungry, a different kind of desperate. The way his hands slipped into my hair, the way our mouths moved in sync, he kissed me like it was the only thing that mattered in that moment.

I slid my arms up over his shoulders, stretching up on my tiptoes to close the distance between us. I was freezing and wet and I couldn't care less, I could've stood there kissing him until we both got hypothermia, but he pulled back once my shivering became borderline convulsive.

"You're freezing."

"I'm fine." I lied, my teeth chattering.

"Your lips are turning blue." He noted, his own lips taking on a faint blue tint, even in the dim lighting of a nearby streetlamp, "Let's go get you warmed up, okay?"

We ran the remaining two blocks back to Simon's, Eli blocking as much of the rain from me as he could with his body. I didn't realize how much of a scene we would be causing until Eli swung open the door and the two of us stepped back into the smokey foyer, dripping wet. Every eye in the room was on us as we trudged up the stairs, leaving a small waterfall in our wake.

"Oh my God, Roni!" Ava's voice called to me from inside one of the second floor bedrooms as soon as we'd reached the landing, she rushed over, her eyes wide as she took in my soaked state.

"Why are you always dripping wet? Where did you go? We promised not to ditch each other, I was worried! You didn't answer your cell." She took over for Eli, leading me to the bathroom without giving him a second glance.

"Shit, my cell." I reached into my drenched jean pocket and pulled out my waterlogged phone, "It's definitely ruined. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ditch you I just needed a walk."

We made our way into the bathroom and she locked the door behind us, taking Eli's coat off of me and dropping it on the floor. She turned the shower on and indicated for me to finish undressing, I did my best with my shaking hands until she finished adjusting the water temperature and came back over to help me.

"You're going to catch you death." She scolded as she stripped me down, "You probably already caught a cold, it's freezing outside."

"It wasn't raining when we left." I mumbled.

"Well, you've been in Maine long enough, you should know better by now. And even if you don't, Eli definitely does."

She removed the rest of my clothes and lead me over to the shower. The water wasn't even hot enough to cause steam but it burned against my chilled skin. She went to work gathering my clothes off the bathroom floor as I eased my way under the searing stream.

"Did you two go on a walk together, or did you take off again and he followed you?"

"I just needed some air." I replied, keeping my answer vague until I knew how much I wanted to share with her.

"Well, I'm going to go see if I can use Simon's dryer for your clothes, and tell Eli he's a moron for not stopping you from running out in the rain. I'll be back with a towel."

"Ava?" I called as she made her way back out into the hallway.

"Yeah?" She turned back, her stern expression made me smile.

"You're my best friend, and I love you."

She smiled and shook her head, "You're so drunk right now. But I love you too."