Bet Me

Chapter 16

James POV

"Katie open the door!" I pound on her apartment door furiously feeling my fists go numb with each forceful knock. I needed to get here to tell her I was done with the plan. I couldn't let Savannah know she was originally a part of some stupid bet, that would ruin my chances all together.

"Oh hey James." One of Katie's roommates I may have hooked up with previously answered the door. She twirled her fingers in her hair and looked like she was going to throw herself at me at any second.

"Hey have you seen Katie?"

Her body language changed quickly as her arms folded across her chest. "She's at Jakes lake house this weekend with his family."

Katie had told me she was going to move on with another guy but it was shocking how fast she actually moved on. Hanging out with someone else family was a big deal to people like Katie and I. 

"Why don't you call her?" Her friend continued, clearly wanting me to leave since I wouldn't do anything with her. Her pink lip gloss looked shiny and tempting if Savannah wasn't on my mind. 

"Her phone's off. I already tried." My desperate voice trails off, wanting to hold on to any sort of help I could get. I stared at her for awhile, practically wanting to beg for help before I walk away feeling the disappointment follow me.

I hadn't been to the gym in a few weeks with everything going on. After my intense workout, I felt refreshed enough to continue with the events going on. My abs and chest felt extra tight as I walked down the campus sidewalk peeling my eyes open for Savannah. 

"Savannah!" I spotted her instantly and rushed over to her quickly. To find anyone else on campus so easily would have been a long shot, but not with Savannah. Even if she didn't have class that day, she liked to walk around campus with her notebook collecting the little bits of inspiration she could to jot down. My arms wrap tightly around her waist as I pick her up and kiss her on the lips softly feeling her energy collide within me. 

"Hey what was that for?" Her giggle sounded cuter than ever before as she kissed me back wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. I felt her energy as loving and eager as mine, I squeezed her tighter feeling her blue flowy shirt rise up a bit. It felt great to feel loved like this. I never wanted this feeling to go away. The whole world felt like it stopped and slowed down just for us. With any girl that I was with before, I never would have wanted to kiss them in public like this but with Savannah, I wanted everyone to know she was mine. She deserved to be shown off and that was exactly my intentions.

"I have something I want to ask you." Her legs wrapped around my waist tighter as I held her up to me by her butt. I looked deeply into her soft eyes smiling intensely. 

"Well I have to go to class soon so why don't you just tell me right now?" Her hair was tied up in a high pony tail today, something I've never seen her do before. Her smile lines looked dainty and adorable on her happy face. She looked eager for whatever I was about to tell her,which made me even more confident to ask her out.

I took a deep breath, planting one more kiss on her plump pink lips. I had never asked a girl out before in my life. To say I was nervous, would have been an understatement. "Yeah so uh." I looked to the ground at back her. "I'm just going to say this. I'm not much for romance or anything." I felt the pressure building up.

"Hey James. Do you want to be my boyfriend?" She lifted my head back up to face her as she kissed me slowly again. Her hair brushed my cheeks lightly as I felt the softness of her lips again. I smiled and let her down gently. "I'll see you later James."

"Yeah." I smile feeling the butterflies flutter up my stomach. I walked away almost running into everything that crossed my path. Her positive vibe was on my mind that entire day.

"Lonley paths cross each other for once. 

Their distance intertwine and make a straight road to follow. 

The  paths on their own are dark and narrow, only for one lonely soul to venture on. 

The roads intertwined combine to make something bigger and brighter for two souls futures. 

They live in harmony now that they have each other."

"How was that?" I looked towards my mother sitting comfortably on her living room sofa sipping on a cup of tea. After asking Savannah out, I found myself back at my mothers to tell her the great news. There was no one I would rather share it with than her. 

"Sweetie that was beautiful. What's that from?"

"Me." I proudly announce as I look at her changed expression form into a bright smile. "You know, the best inspiration comes from the personal experiences." 

"I never knew you were creative. I thought you were going to do something your father does, like business."

"I didn't know what I wanted to do until I met this girl mom, you have to meet her."

She smiled sweetly as she walked towards her piano bench. Lifting the seat up, I see her pull out several folders. She walks back over to the sofa and pats the seat next to her. "Come here son."

The canvas had beautiful rows of painted blue and light beige. Another drawing was noticeably a self portrait of my sweet mother. I smiled as she gave me the pieces of paper that held her paintings.

"Your father never really liked my paintings." Her hand goes to caress the back of my head as I continue to rummage through some of the best artwork I have ever seen. "He told me he could get me a nice secretary job at his office. But that's not what I wanted to do. I wanted to paint. Your father said it would never pay the bills."

"I'm sorry mom. He's wrong though. You're truly amazing." I wished I would have talked to her sooner. At that point, I had felt bad about my decision to keep her away from my life.

She takes the paintings and puts them back in the piano bench. Walking briskly back towards the couch, she turns on the television and searches for something to watch. "Thanks sweetheart but ever since he told me that, I figured he was right. Why try to be an artist if I wasn't sure my passion would pay the bills?"

"I never knew dad was that way. I figured he would always want you to go with your dreams." A knot formed at the pit of my stomach and the guilt had risen inside me just thinking about it.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about our relationship, James. A lot of the times there are good reasons why something didn't work out, but it's never just one sided."

I knew she was right but the words felt unfamiliar and sounded different. I had never thought about relationships that way, possibly because I never let myself have a real one of my own. I knew being with Savannah wasn't going to be all sunshine and roses, but keeping the bet from her didn't seem like the most logical thing to do.