The Fast Lane

Chapter 9

After Harry ran outside, he put me down on top of the car and began to search my hips for my keys.  Being as ticklish as I was, I began to slap his hands and jerk around.  After a short struggle, he got my keys, stuffed them in his pocket, and quickly went back to tickling my stomach.  He lifted me off the car and carried me to the passenger side of the car where he opened the door and dropped me down into the seat.  He was still tickling me as he grabbed the seatbelt and pulled it across my chest. “Safety first!” he yelled right before he peppered a few little kisses all over my face and shut the door.  He ran around the front of the car and pretended to trip and fall by the driver’s side door.  He opened the door from the ground and crawled in, scrambling to start the car.  ”We must escape before the lunatics try and hold us hostage!”  He shouted excitedly. 

I laughed. “What lunatics?!” 

He held a finger up to my lips as to silence me.  ”The lunatics you live with….” He whispered as he looked slowly toward the front door.  ”They’ll lock us up with your psycho ex and dress us up like little dolls.  Makeup and dresses and heels, OH MY!”  I began to giggle.  I knew he was playing but he looked so serious.  ”This isn’t a laughing matter!”  He was back to yelling.  He threw the car into reverse and sped out of the driveway. “Away we go!” 

We finally got back to his apartment at around four in the afternoon.  He wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to play Uno.  We played about 10 quick rounds, quick because it was just the two of us, but it was still fun.  After that, he poured us both a glass of red wine and had me sit at the bar as he made dinner and talked about his father and mother.  He was quite the chef, scaring me with fire tricks and quick knife movements.  He made us a nice roasted chicken with some sort of herbs, mashed potatoes, and a strange but delicious salad. 

He told me about how his father used to cook for his mother and how his mother used to be a kind and exciting woman.  They were so in love and made sure that Harry and Tom knew it so that they knew how to love their wives later in life.  ”They were always laughing, always kissing, always hugging… that’s how I want my relationship to be with my future wife.  I don’t want us to take things too seriously or ever be stressed.  The only time I ever saw either of my parents stressed was right before my dad died, and even then my mom was joking a little bit about how ‘he had it coming to him’ and he was ‘and idiot for not listening to her from the beginning.’  My father died laughing,” Harry chuckled a little bit.  ”After he died though my mom just became this sour person who thinks she’s too good for anyone.”  He stared out the large window.

I liked listening to him talk about his family, but I didn’t really know what to say.  After a few seconds, I stood up and slowly walked over to him.  I sat down on his lap and put one arm around his neck.  With the other hand, I dipped my finger into his mashed potatoes behind me and made it look as though I were about to eat them, but I quickly wiped them on Harry’s nose and ran over behind the couch.  

"HEY" I heard Harry shout behind me.  I ducked as he dove over me and the couch. I scrambled over to stoop behind the bar.  I could hear Harry stand up.  "Where are you, Love?  Didn’t your mother ever tell you to clean up your messes?"  I giggled and shuffled forward to the end of the bar and peeked around it.  I couldn’t see Harry.  Just as I stuck my head out a little farther, I felt two large hands come from behind, grab my sides and begin to tickle me.  "Gotcha!" He shouted.  I squirmed around as Harry flipped me over.  He straddled me and pinned my arms down above my head.  He stuck his nose in my face. "Get it off!  You have to get it off!" 

I licked the tip of his nose quickly and looked at him.  His green eyes were so vibrant that I felt like jumping into them.  He laughed and leaned down to kiss me.  He turned his head to deepen the kiss like he had done before, but this time we both opened our mouths slightly and began to play with each other’s tongue.  He bit my bottom lip and pulled on it just for a second.  Then he opened his eyes and looked at me.  I was still in the moment, trying to memorize any bit of that kiss that I could before I opened my eyes.  He laughed at me and let go of my hands and finally said “Look, Love.”  I opened my eyes to see him, still straddling me, but looking out the massive window next to us.  I looked over to see what he was looking at.