Gifted

Chapter Eight

Nolan brought me to his parent's house for our "hang out" date, a large secluded estate with its own stables. Nolan was adorable; he actually cooked dinner himself. Although he didn't have much to cook with nachos, he did prepare a lot. And he had movies rented; I imagined him scrambling around after he walked me to my dorm. The thought of him pushing a cart around a grocery store just did funny things to evoke the butterflies.

"I wasn't really sure what you wanted on your nachos," he laughed, "So I just kind of got everything I could think of." The shiny marble island in the kitchen was crammed full of cut up vegetables and toppings.

I pursed my lips together. "I would've been happy with anything. This is amazing." I flashed a smile that I'm sure did nothing to conceal the feelings Nolan stirred inside me. "Thank you."

Nolan caught my wrist as I reached for the tortilla chips, and I instinctively stopped. He pulled me into him, and I let myself mold against his chest. It felt good. I could feel his heart beating against my face. His arms encircled me, and for a moment I was lost in his strong, safe, arms.

I felt his finger slip under my chin. Slowly, he tilted my face up to his. I searched his deep blue eyes, and my palms started sweating nervously when I realized he was about to kiss me. He brought his other hand up to cup my face; tracing my cheekbone with his thumb. I felt the warmth spread in me, and I couldn't get my heart to stop racing, no matter how much I pleaded with it not to give away my excitement. He continued to cradle my head and bent down to brush his soft lips across mine.

It stole my breath away, and I gasped a little in surprise. Nolan took this as an invitation, and it was definitely welcomed. His lips pressed against mine, and we were locked together in a kiss that bordered on bliss. For those few moments, I didn't have a care in the world, only Nolan and the way his lips caused warmth to course through me.

We eventually broke away. Nolan's cheeks were flushed, and he had a new gleam in his eyes. We piled our plates, and Nolan ushered me into a family room with a gigantic TV. I stuffed myself with the opportunity of good food; not of the cafeteria variety. The movie was mediocre, but the snuggling felt amazing. I rested my head on Nolan's shoulder, and though I didn't intend to fall asleep, I couldn't fight it in the safe warmness of him.

Sunday afternoon I sprawled across my bed listening to Kenzie talk about a shopping trip she had been planning in Boston. Iris sat quietly on the floor leaning against the bed while Kenzie commanded our attention in my desk chair. I could feel Iris was no more excited than I about any shopping trips. Though we humored Kenzie, I was extremely happy when her curiosity changed the subject.

"I forgot to ask, how was your date last night?" Kenzie turned her gaze on me.

"It was..." I watched Kenzie's anxious face, even Iris turned to look at me, "...good." I couldn't help smiling.

Kenzie's eyes lit up. "He kissed you didn't he?"

Iris blushed for me.

"Oh you two are so cute together!" Kenzie gushed. I was happy for her motor mouth for once and relieved I didn't have to state the obvious. And in usual Kenzie fashion, her mind was already on the next subject, "Oh! So did you guys ever get to see that new guy?"

Iris nodded. "I have him in my English class."

"Chase?" I asked.

"I don't have him in any classes, so I didn't get his name, just saw him," Kenzie said.

"I have him in homeroom," I explained. "We've talked." I didn't say anything more because I didn't really want to relive the experience in the cafeteria. I also wanted Kenzie to move on to the next subject.

"He's so cute." No such luck. "Iris, you're single." Kenzie smiled big, gears turning.

"Oh," Iris shook her head, "I don't think so." She laughed nervously.

"It would be perfect! Six of us, triple date!" Kenzie gushed.

I sat up on the bed. "When are we going to go on one of your trips we talked about?"

Finally, a distraction, "Trips?" Kenzie's forehead scrunched.

"Yeah, you were talking about football games and art museums..."

"Oh! I completely forgot! I'll have to get on that!" Just like that she was off on a new tangent. Iris sighed in relief at the apparent shift of attention knowing she wouldn't have to worry about a blind date any time soon. By the time our girls' movie night ended, Kenzie had already booked all of our weekends for the month. Of course, this only lasted until she became distracted with the next thought.

I was already daydreaming about my next date with Nolan. I felt horrible for falling asleep on his shoulder. However, he had not disturbed me and let me sleep until the movie was over. I apologized profusely with my cheeks flaring in embarrassment, but Nolan simply brushed the hair out of my eyes, kissed my forehead and told me not to be silly. The kiss goodnight had been just as amazing as the first kiss and I eventually made it up to my room still breathlessly replaying it.

A little later, we finally trudged downstairs to the cafeteria where Nolan and Gray were already waiting at our usual table. We had a late dinner, and since I was exhausted, I didn't stay long after eating; my head started to hurt. So after promising Nolan we'd talk later I excused myself to my room and laid down in the comfort of my bed. Luckily, I had already finished my homework, and surprisingly I fell asleep easily despite the earliness.

I dreamt of the guy with amber eyes again. The usual calm ease of our relationship was comforting, but I could tell something was wrong. His body seemed tense and he kept trailing off in the middle of a sentence, as if there was something on his mind. I pulled myself into his lap as usual, and he brought his face close to mine. I ran my hands up to the back of his neck, tangling my fingers behind his neck. He bent his head down and kissed me.

It was different than before, in some ways more emotional. My body tingled with goose bumps similar to when my hair changed and the kiss felt so right, so familiar. However, fear began creeping into my mind; it was telling me something wasn't quite right. His kiss was too urgent, too desperate, and even though I only kissed him once before in my dreams; I knew how it should feel. I pulled back, and he cocked his head watching me curiously.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What do you mean? You're the one that stopped kissing me-"

"No, I mean you're kissing me weird, like a good-bye kiss. It feels final." Alarm struck me. "Are you leaving? Am I not going to see you anymore?" My voice took on an annoying shrill.

He laughed it off like I was silly, but even the laugh wasn't right; it was humorless, automatic not genuine at all. He started to wave it off, but I held his eye narrowing mine accusingly. He bit his lip, and I fought the urge to point out how much I do that myself. This wasn't the time to share a light laugh over our similarities. I knew something was coming, something big; I just didn't know what...yet.

His face hardened, instead of lying by telling me nothing was wrong; he turned to me and said, "I'm sorry."

"For what? What's going on?" My fears confirmed I sat up straight bracing myself for the unknown.

"For what I'm about to do to you...to myself, to everyone. It's necessary." He was babbling almost to himself, and it poured out in a flood I had to struggle to catch. "I'm sorry," he repeated.