Kissing in Cars

Chapter 6

"Can you please tell me where we're going?" I asked Chris who had pulled me from lunch and was dragging me by the wrist to an unknown place.

I was nonchalantly eating lunch with Amanda like every other day when he practically yanked me up and kidnapped me. This was the third time I've asked him where we were going and the third time he's ignored me. I didn't fight back though, even when he took a sudden left and took me up a stairwell that I hadn't known existed. Now we were walking through a small hall way which I'd never been in before.

"Chris," I whined impatiently and he chuckled.

"Almost there," he said and I huffed. By now his grip on my wrist lessened and he let it slide down until we were holding hands. I looked from our hands then up at him to see that he wasn't even paying attention. I, however, was blushing furiously. A few seconds later, though, he suddenly stopped. I looked at him in anticipation.

"Close your eyes," he ordered. I gave him a skeptical look but sighed and obeyed anyway. I felt his hands rest on my shoulders to lead me. He shuffled me around a little until I was right where he wanted.

"Do you trust me?" he asked. He was so close I could feel his breath on my neck, sending shivers through me.

"I trust you," I stated and after a pause I heard a click and I was suddenly met with a burst of cool wind hitting my face. I felt Chris lightly push me forward and when I breathed in a could smell a mixture of fresh air, plants and pine cones.

"Open," he whispered in my ear and my eyes widened once I saw the view in front of me. We were on the roof in a square shaped hole with three walls standing about 10 feet off the ceiling floor and a glass dome above us. There were four long planters on the ground, two on each side of me, with various types of flowers growing out of them. There were even a couple of bird houses standing. The most magnificent sight, however, was directly in front of me. There was no wall, and since we were pretty high up you were able able to see the tops of the multicolored trees from the forest behind the school. It extended out into the horizon and the weather was perfect, cool and crisp. I vaguely felt Chris walk up next to me but I was in a trance. It was so beautiful and tranquil. I could imagine myself sitting here for hours with just my poem book and my thoughts.

"It's nice huh?" Chris said.

"It's amazing," I replied dreamily. I walked up to the edge of the roof and sat down. I smiled slightly as I saw two birds who looked like they were playing tag. Chris sat down next to me, our arms touching. I could feel his goosebumps from the wind and there was no doubt that he could feel mine. I sighed and we simply sat there for who knows how long, enjoying the view. We listened to the birds chirping and the rustle of the leaves in the wind and the sound of each others' hearts beating and in that moment everything was okay. Everything felt right.

After a while, and I mean a long while, it was Chris who broke the silence.

"I found this place in the middle of freshman year," he said and though I knew he was talking to me, it sounded as if he was talking to himself. "It was still cold out, but I didn't mind. I was just looking for a place to be alone, you know? Just me and my thoughts. There was a lot of shit going down in my life and..... I don't know. I needed a good thing a guess. A thing that could never be taken away and would always remain good, no matter what. And then I found this place."

I listened curiously as he practically told me his whole backstory. I wondered what exactly he was dealing with at the time but decided not to push it or he might stop talking all together. So I remained silent.

"Granted it was pretty run down when I found it," he chuckled,"but I saw the potential in it. I was captivated by the scenery and the calm. So I decided to make it look more appealing. I bought those planters and the bird houses and I've been maintaining the place ever since. I like to take pride in all this. It was my way out of this hell of a world."

Listening to him talk made me realize that he and I had a lot more in common than I originally thought. We've both been through a lot of shit and we were both looking for a way out. My solution, however, was more permanent but it's the same situation.

"You did a great job. This place is so cool," I said and he grinned proudly.

"How many people have you had up here?" I asked and I didn't mean to but there was a hint of jealousy in my voice.

"None, before you. Like I said, this was my escape. It was all I had left. I didn't let anyone know about it ever. I couldn't risk ruining it." I sighed, the jealousy now gone but now replaced with guilt. What if I accidentally ruined it? How could he trust me with something so important to him?

"Why show me?" I asked and he paused for a moment.

"Because you're special," he stated finally as if he was just realizing it himself. "You're different. You're the only person that can genuinely make me laugh and smile and forget about everything. Plus, I wanted you to see that I'm not just some no good jerk. I've got some good in me. Even if it is slim, it's there. And I wanted you to know that I'm trusting you with it, because I haven't opened up to anyone like this in a long time. But I trust you, Matt. And hopefully, one day, you'll be able to trust me too."

I was speechless. I had no idea what to do or say or think. So I said nothing. With our shoulders and knees touching and a slight wind chilling us, I slowly slid my fingers until they awkwardly intertwined his. He jumped at the sudden gesture then stared at our hands for a moment. I was afraid he was going to push me away until he maneuvered his hand so that my fingers fit perfectly between his. I looked up to see him smiling slightly at our hands as he slowly rubbed his thumb against mine. Then his gaze travelled upward until his eyes met mine and it was then that I realized just how close we were to each other. Our noses almost touched as he stared intently into my blue eyes with his brown ones. My cheeks began to heat up and I looked away so he wouldn't notice my nervousness but his hand lightly pushed my cheek so that I was looking at him again. His hand never left as he compassionately stroked it with his thumb and his eyes briefly flicked down to my lips. He hesitantly leaned forward and for a moment I was stuck. I couldn't comprehend what was happening. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. A sudden impulse took over me as I leaned toward him too, then quickly stopped myself once I realized what I was doing.

Now our noses were touching. I could feel his warm breath against my cold lips. His hand was still on my cheek. Our fingers were still entwined. We were both still. Then I sucked in a breath as I saw him move forward again. I closed my eyes in anticipation and waited..... but all he did was lightly graze my lips with his, then he kept going, and I felt them slide along my cheek until he reached my ear.

"I'll see you in Math," he whispered then swiftly got up and walked to the door. I stayed where I was, completely shocked and slightly upset until I saw him turn around and quickly wink at me before walking out the door. The butterflies once again fluttered in my stomach until I quickly came back to my senses. I quickly stood up and looked around as if someone might have possibly saw what had just occurred.

I almost kissed Chris Lee.

And I liked it.