I've Found You

Chapter 7

We turned the corner and I got my first good look at the Melbourne shopping center. I let out a low whistle at the sight of it. We had some decent sized malls in Toronto, but this put even the Eaton’s Center to absolute shame. It was safe to say I was in heaven…I think I might have even drooled a bit.

“So what exactly do you need to buy?” Jai inquired, interrupting my train of thought.

“Just an outfit for tonight. I didn’t quite expect to be going to any parties this early into my trip so I have nothing appropriate to wear.”

“I’m sure you’d look fine in just about anything but alright. Lead the way Val, I’m following.”

“You make it sound like I actually know where I’m going. Christ, I’m probably going to get lost in the first five minutes. I have an excellent shopper’s sense, though. I’ll try to put it to use.”

Jai and I wandered around for about an hour or so, popping in and out of stores, shoulders brushing occasionally. It was as we were entering a cute little denim shop that I started to notice this weird vibe I’d been getting all afternoon, but hadn’t quite been able to put my finger on until now. It was like the air was static charged, and there was something about it drawing me closer and closer to Jai. I’d never felt something like this around anyone before, and I had no clue what to do about it so I decided to put it off as my imagination for now.

I ended up purchasing a pair of high-waisted light wash denim shorts from the aforementioned store and a strapless blue lace top that matched my skin tone perfectly. I had a pair of black Jeffery Campbell Lita’s at home that would match the whole outfit perfectly. I was finally set to go. All I needed to do now was get my grocery shopping done.

We picked up the bare essentials from the supermarket in the mall and started the journey back to the apartment. Much to my dismay, Jai insisted on carrying all the bags and refused to let me help even one bit. Regardless, we’d started up some conversation about who had a weirder family during the walk home and within what felt like minutes we were standing at the elevator doors, waiting for our ride up. Finally, we heard a little “ding” noise, and the elevator doors slid open so we could step in.

I clicked the button for floor number seven. The elevator began its usual ascent for about ten seconds before the lights started flickering. I immediately clutched the railing and felt my heart rise up into my throat. I’d been trapped alone in an elevator once before when I was younger and ever since that incident I’d been scared shitless of a second occurrence. The elevator stopped. The lights went out completely. Jai apparently had no issues at all with the fact that we could very well be stuck in here for hours, and perhaps run out of oxygen before they got to us because he stood in the corner, relaxed as ever, with only a slightly confused look on his face. I, on the other hand, could feel my heart rate rising by the second and a feeling of paranoia building up in the bottom of my gut. I was assuming I probably looked as though I’d seen a ghost.

He must have noticed my fear because he found his way over to my side, took hold of my hand and asked, “Hey, Val are you okay? You don’t look like you’re doing too well…”

“I’m scared, Jai. Being trapped in an elevator has been a fear of mine since I was little.”

He started rubbing little circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.

“Come on, sit down with me right here and we’ll play a game or something to try and get your mind off of it, alright?”

I made an attempt to swallow the fear that had now fully built up in the back of my throat and sat down across from him on the floor, matching his cross legged position. In the back of my mind somewhere I noticed that weird, magnetic atmosphere I’d felt around us earlier in the afternoon.

“S-so what are we playing?”

“How would you feel about a classic game of truth or dare?”

“Really, Jai? In an elevator?” The idea struck me as absurd at first, but after a moment I started giggling. I realized he’d successfully managed to calm me down a bit. “Okay, well who’s going first?”

“I will. Truth or dare?”

“I’ll take the easy way out this time and pick truth.” was my response.

He thought for a moment before snapping his fingers and saying, “I know! I’ve been wondering this since I met you yesterday. Why’d you come to Australia?”

Uh oh…I wasn’t planning on having to explain this to anyone. I considered lying and using the “visiting family” excuse I’d fed to all my other friends, but for some reason I found myself unable to look this boy in the eyes and tell him anything other than the truth.

“In all honesty, I came here to see if there’s a place in the world where I actually fit in. I feel like no one back home understands me, and so I thought that maybe by coming here I might learn something about myself and maybe develop some real friendships while I’m at it. I’m sorry if that sounds weird to you.”

But Jai didn’t look weirded out at all, in fact he looked as though this was something people confessed to him every day. “Fair enough. Okay well it’s my turn now, and I pick truth.”

“Hmm, alright, let me think for a second. Okay, here’s a good one. Why did you ask for my number yesterday? You had a group of screaming girls standing right in front of you who would have been more than willing to spend a day with you, so why’d you ask me?”

“I asked you because I wanted someone to get to know the real me. I wanted to spend time with a girl who didn’t have any preconceived notions about me through what they’d seen on the internet. The fans are great and all, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I want a chance to be normal, you know? Anyways, it’s your turn now. Truth or dare?”

Huh, that wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I shook off the sincerity of what he’d just told me and responded, “Dare.”

“Okay then, I dare you to kiss me.”

I stared at him. And stared some more. And a little bit more. Had he really just asked me to kiss him while we were sitting on the floor in the middle of a broken down elevator? Things were silent for a few seconds while I continued to stare at him, dumbfounded. Eventually he looked down and started speaking again, and I think I might have even noticed a bit of a blush rise to his cheeks.

“I’m sorry if that made you feel awkward, Val, but I’ve been feeling this weird tension in the air around us all afternoon and ever since the lights went out in this elevator I’ve just really wanted to kiss you.”

I blinked a couple of times before the meaning of what he’d just said sunk in.

“I knew there was something strange about the atmosphere between us! I thought I noticed it before, too, but at first I assumed I was going crazy.”

“No, you’re definitely not the only one who noticed. So will you get over here and kiss me already?”

That was all he needed to say. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his hesitantly at first, trying to keep the kiss nice and gentle, but he apparently was having none of that. His body responded to mine immediately as he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me forwards so I was straddling him. I felt his tongue trace along my bottom lip, practically begging for entry, so I opened my mouth and let him in. His hands rested firmly on my hips while our tongues moved in time with one another, my hands twisted tightly in his hair. I felt more than I heard the light moan that escaped from the back of his throat as he started to gently rock our bodies back and forth at a steady rhythm. I had just started to feel my breathing getting heavier as Jai pulled me in closer to him, situating me more firmly against his now noticeably hard crotch, when the lights suddenly snapped back on and a “ding” announced the opening of the elevator doors.

I looked up to find myself face to very shocked face with Norman, the doorman, and a mechanic who had apparently been working on fixing the elevator while Jai and I were practically dry humping each other on the floor. How did I always manage to end up in these situations?