Blind Love

Blind Love 8

Blind Love

"So..." Ashley trails off as she sits cross legged from Brandon on the floor. Neither of them have come up with a good idea as of yet.

"Soo...." Brandon repeats mockingly.

Ashley rolls her eyes, then impulsively leans forward and grabs his glasses off his face. "Hey!" Brandon shouts reaching out for them. Ashley quickly tucks them behind her back.

"Nope. You don't need to wear them here. It's just me and I like to see your eyes," Ashley tells him.

"Ugh," Brandon groans.

Ashley feels bad for a moment and decides to compromise.

"Fine. I'll be fair. You don't get to where the glasses now, but when my parents get home you can have them-even though they won't judge you. Deal?

"Whatever," Brandon sighs. "It's not like I have much choice either way."

"Nope. I always win," Ashley tells him. "Anyway, back on track, we really need to come up with our play."

For the next hour, the two look up variations of their play on the Internet to gather ideas. They begin piecing together their own version, which surprisingly goes along easily when they stay on task.

"There. Is that good enough?" Brandon finally asks.

"Hmm," Ashley thinks when an idea comes to her. It's risky and out there, but it could end good. "It's good. But you know what would make it great?"

"What? I'm already agreeing to perform in front of the class. What else do you want us to so?" he asks desperately.

"I think we should kiss," Ashley says simply with a smile. She's a little worried about his reaction, but tries to remain cool and confident.

Brandon's head snaps toward hers nod he stiffens. He seems to be in utter disbelief. "You...you want us to...to..."

"To kiss," Ashley cuts off his stuttering. "It will make it more dramatic-it is drama class. It will be more believable and romantic. Besides, every play we looked at had a kiss."

"Yes, but this is us. We're not two random actors. We're friends," he protests.

"Aw, I'm so glad you finally accept our friendship," Ashley coos. "Anyway, it's not like it will end bad. What's a kiss between friends? It will make our performance so much better."

Brandon mumbles something under his breath that Ashley can't catch. Before she has time to question it, she hears the garage door open.

"Mom's home! Come on, she's so excited to meet you!" Ashley jumps up and grabs Brandon's hand to pull him up. Before they are out of her room, Brandon grabs her shoulder to stop her with his other hand held out.

"Oops, sorry. Here's your glasses, grumpy," she says while plopping them in his hand. He quickly adjusts them before heading out of the room.

Ashley can feel his anxiety and nervousness and tries to comfort him by squeezing his hand. Entering the kitchen, Ashley calls out a quick greeting to her mother.

"Oh honey-" Joanne cuts herself off when she spots the two teenagers occupying her kitchen. She squeals in delight at the sight. "Ashley! Is this...?"

"Mom, this is Brandon. Brandon, this is my mom," Ashley introduces the two.

"Oh, Brandon, it is so good to meet you! I've been begging Ashley to bring you over. No wonder she wants to keep you to herself-you are quite handsome," her mother gushes.

"Mom!" Ashley protest.

Brandon smirks. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Now, you call me Joanne," she tells him. "You two just go in to the living room while I start dinner. Your father should be home soon."

Ushered out of the kitchen, the teenagers make their way to the living room and sit comfortably. Old Friends reruns are playing, and they both laugh at the show they love and grew up watching. In the midst of their laughter, they hear the front door open and quiet down.

"Honey, I'm home!" Ashley hears her father say in his cheerful voice. She's thankful her father is such a happy-go-lucky guy. He'll surely make Brandon feel comfortable.

After giving his wife a kiss, Jerry heads to the living room. He grins when he sees his daughter sitting happily on the sofa with a boy. "Hey, honey! How was school?"

Ashley smiles. "It was great Dad. By the way, this is Brandon. We go to school together and he lives next door."

"Good to meet you, son. I'm Jerry, Ashley's dad. She gets her good looks and charm from me," he laughs.

"Dad!" Ashley protests. "That's not true. Besides, everyone says I look like Mom."

Jerry sighs. "That's true. I never met two more beautiful girls. Ashley's a beautiful girl, don't you agree Brandon?"

Jerry only meant to harmlessly embarrass the teenagers, but awkwardness sets in as Brandon has never seen what Ashley looks like.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Brandon says, "Yes, sir. She sure is."

Ashley blushes ten shades of red through this exchange and sends her father a warning glare. She should have known he would try to tease them, but she forgot to tell him Brandon was blind.

"Why don't we see if dinner's about ready?" Ashley asks to distract herself. Standing from the couch, she automatically reaches for Brandon's hand and they walk together.

"Oh, good, dinner is just finishing up," Joanne says as they walk in the kitchen. "Go ahead and sit, I'll be just a moment."

Taking a seat beside each other, Ashley quietly explains the layout of the table to Brandon and he familiarizes himself with it. Moments later, Joanne sets the food on the table and Jerry joins them at the table.

While filling their plates, Joanne and Jerry keep up a steady conversation about work while Ashley quietly tells Brandon what each dish is so he can get what he wants. It amazes her that he can do as well as he does without his sight. She would have surely spilt everything by now.

After polite dinner conversation over a delicious meal, the teenagers are dismissed from the table while the parents clean the dishes. Going back to Ashley's room, Brandon admits, "Okay, it wasn't that bad. Your parents are cool."

"See, I told you! I knew they'd love you," Ashley smirks.

"Yeah, yeah, they're great. But it was pretty awkward when your dad wanted to know how beautiful you are," Brandon brings up to her embarrassment.

"Oh, shut up! He loves to tease, and it was so embarrassing! I felt so bad since he didn't know you can't see me," Ashley says.

"It wasn't that bad. Sure, he didn't know I can't see, but it's not like I had to lie. I know you're beautiful," Brandon tells her.

"Oh, stop embarrassing me. Enough for one night," Ashley says trying to control her rosy cheeks. Looking for a distraction, she says, "I'll print a few copies of our script for tomorrow and we should be good."

"Great. We finally got something accomplished," Brandon jokes. Yawning, he says, "I should probably get home. Rachel will be worrying."

"Alright. I'll walk you," Ashley loops her arm in his and leads him out of her house and to his. At the door, she looks up at him in the starlight and smiles while he seems oblivious to the happy effect he has on her.

"Well, goodnight," Brandon says as he turns to enter the house. Acting on impulse, Ashley throws her arms around him in a quick friendly hug. Before he even has a chance to react, she had pulled away.

"Goodnight, Brandon! See you in the morning!" she chirps with a smile and skips away.

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