Stranger Things Have Happened, I Know

Ch 2 & 3

CHAPTER 2

Inside the party as winding down. The TV was on, Taylor was playing cards with Nate, T was flipping thru the channels. He sat down on the couch and put a pillow in his lap. I curled up next to him with my head in his lap and he covered me with the throw. T decided to leave the channel on some sort of mixed martial arts match.

Dave’s hand was under blanket running up and down my side, down my thigh to my knee. Occasionally, he’d tuck my hair behind my ear. My shirt had ridden up a little and he was resting his hand on my bare skin. After a while, Taylor and Nate packed up their cards and said good night. A few of the

other girls whose suite we were in said they were getting ready to crash, too.

“OK, that’s our cue!” I stretched and I stood up. Dave followed behind me.

Taylor came over and hugged Dave and then me. We sleepily made our way back to his room.

“Do you want to come in?” He asked. I nervously looked up and down the hallway.

“I can come in for a minute,” I replied finally. Dave smiled at me. He reached back into his pocket for his key and looked down at me, and paused. He reached in and took my face in both his hands, leaned in and kissed me. He wove his fingers through my hair and cupped the back of my head. I tentatively wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips were so soft on mine, the tip of his tongue was gently flitting against my own. We stayed like this, kissing gently for a few moments, then he released me. He looked down at me, smiling ever so slightly. He sighed, pulling out his key card and opening the door. We stepped inside. He flipped the light and took both my hands in his.

“Are you nervous?” He asked, looking down at me. I was terrified.

“Yeah... you?”

“Nope. But don’t be nervous, you have nothing to be nervous about.”

“I don’t?”

He held my hand and led me over to the bed room. “You are a nice girl. You are, like, a real girl. You’re not some groupie slut or some ditzy model. You're not an obnoxious lush like Carly. I like, actually have respect for you.” I smiled at him. He led me over to the bed and sat on the edge, then laid back down with his head on a pillow.

“Come here,” he said, patting the space next to him. I crawled up the bed and laid my head on the pillow, facing him. He rolled onto his side, so that he was facing me.

“Let’s just talk,” he said.

And that’s what we did. We didn't sleep. We just talked. And talked. And alked. Dave told me about his ex-wife, his divorce, and his daughters.

“I just kept thinking,” he said, talking about his ex, that she'd stop being so ...fake, so pretend. I thought, ok, if we move in together, she'll let her guard down and be herself. Then I thought, maybe if we get married, she'll relax, maybe if we have kids, motherhood will mellow her out. It

just never happened. I finally realized she may just be a cold, fake bitch. It was my fault for thinking she'd change. It felt like I was living with a robot. She wasn't warm, she wasn't real.” I nodded to show I understood.

“I think we've all made mistakes like that. I was with a guy for three years, he was so much fun, but he wasn't my speed, ya know?” I explained, remembering. “I wanted him to be more, to be successful and driven like me. I even helped pay for him to start taking classes at the community college. In the end though, he didn't want to be the person I needed him to be. It sucked.”

“But at least you realized it,” he said. “I think it’s great that you know what you want.”

“Well... I know what I don't want,” I said, putting emphasis on don't. “I can't waste my time any more, I'm just so tired of all the games.”