Misguided Truths: Part One (3 page)

“For a moment there I thought you’d actually planned on going through with that whole date with Brandon thing,” Rachael, my older sister calls over. “I’m glad you’ve come to your senses, Holly.” She adds, peaking over the glossy magazine she’s currently reading.

“What are you talking about?” I ask her, checking my pockets to make sure I have everything I’ll need. Cash, for a cab home when he realizes I won’t be falling at his feet and caving into his sexual needs. Cell phone, so I can call Rachael and let her know I’ll be back hours before midnight. And, my door key. Yes. I think I’m ready to go.

She stands up from the couch that she’s been lazily sprawled across for most of the afternoon and walks over to join me in the hallway, “You’re actually going to go out with him?” A look of mortification spreads over her face. From that alone I can tell that she has obviously heard the same things that I have about him. I check my hair in the hallway mirror, and see her appearing in the reflection behind me, leaning herself against the opposite wall. “Where is he taking you, anyway?”

“I have no idea,” I simply shrug as I fasten my light blue denim jacket.

I know it’s a Saturday night, but I decided earlier this afternoon that I’d dress down. It’s unlikely that he’ll be taking me anywhere other than to a party or an underground bar or someplace. We may even end up in the local park, so I didn’t want to go to too much effort in getting all dressed up to only embarrass myself. It’s not a real date. It’s merely to prove, to myself more than anyone else, that I had a severe lapse in character judgment when I thought he might actually be someone that I’d like to spend more time with.

A knock on the door alerts me of his arrival.
Here we go.

“I’ll see you in around an hour!” Rachael nudges me on my left arm with her elbow as I turn to walk over to the front door. “You want some pepper spray?”

“I’ve got a neat right hook and a flexible knee if I need to use them!” I assure her through a small laugh. I turn and glance over my shoulder, making sure that she’s gone back through to the main room before I go to meet him. Rachael has a way with words that make even the most confident of people tremble in their boots.

“Hey,” I greet him, pulling the door closed behind me as I step onto the porch.

“Hey back,” he answers with a smile. He’s standing a couple of feet away from me, with his hands tucked firmly inside his pants pockets. “You look … um …”

His gaze roams over me from head to toe and then back up again, his eyes now meeting with mine. “You look really nice.”

I smile, step by his side, and then we make our way down the steps and along the pathway towards his car, “I wasn’t sure where we were going. Is what I’m wearing okay? I can go back and change if ...?”

He stops walking
, clears his throat, and then turns to face me, “Holly, you look great. Really,” he nods as he turns back away, picking up his pace as we near the sidewalk. Stopping by the passenger side of his car, he opens the door up for me. “Your carriage awaits.” He smiles, though his voice is quieter now.

I climb inside
, and I swear that I just saw an expression crossing over his face that I wasn’t fully able to read. Was it disappointment? Is he disappointed? I’m sure I saw him frown for a split second when I answered the door, and now he’s looking even more uncomfortable.

I watch him as he fiddles around with a couple of things by the steering wheel, and the refreshing scent of his cologne begins to assault my senses. He smells nice, and he looks …
really nice.
He’s definitely made an effort. His dark purple fitted shirt emphasizes his physique. And, now I’m staring.

“So, where are we going?” I ask, turning in my seat and a little more in his direction when he switches the ignition on. I notice his eyebrows furrow a little and his lips tightening into an almost straight line when I ask.

“It’s um … it’s a surprise,” he turns for a glancing moment and throws me a small, and what I think to be, forced smile, before he pulls out and begins to drive down the block.

The drive is quiet. I keep my gaze directed out of the passenger side window so I can try and figure out where it is we’re heading.

The silence is becoming a little uncomfortable, and when I look back over to him as the car slows to a complete stand still, I notice his hands are tapping the steering wheel to the beat of music although the stereo isn’t even on, and he’s biting down on his lip.

“Brandon?”

“Yeah?” he answers me, still seemingly lost in thought as he switches the ignition off and unclips his seatbelt.

“You seem distracted. Are you okay?”

“No. No, I’m good,” he answers again, not once looking over in my direction as he grabs his wallet from the compartment beside him. He lets out a sigh before opening his door and climbing out.

Gazing out of the window, I now see where it is he’s brought me
, and can’t help a small smile spreading over my face. One mainly from amusement. Well, it’s not some underground place.

It’s lucky I didn’t dress up after all, which makes me feel a lot more relaxed. When I first opened up the door back at the house to greet him, I really thought
that I saw his face drop as I walked out to meet him. I must have been imagining it.

We’re at a funfair. He brought me to an amusement park.

For a ‘first non-date’, it’s definitely the last place that I’d been expecting. But, I have to admit. I love the funfair.

We both exit the car and walk around to meet one another by the trunk.

“Nice choice,” I say, raising my brow while throwing him a grin. “You’ll score a point if you throw a tub of candy floss my way while we’re here.” I joke with him, noticing his shoulders appearing to relax a little from my words.

“Points, huh?” he grins back at me as he tilts his head towards the park’s entrance. “Come on, Holl’s. Let’s go have some respectable fun.” He places his right arm gently around my waist
, and rests his hand on my hip as we walk.

Do I like that he’s touching me in the same way I see so many couples touching each other?

Yes.

Should I?

No.

No, I really s
houldn’t.

***

“You were scared! Just admit it and then you’ll score another point!” I laugh almost uncontrollably as we walk through the exit way of the huge rollercoaster that’s made Brandon’s whole demeanor change.

“Scared? You think I was scared? Never!” he laughs back, placing his arm around my shoulder this time as we head towards a hot dog stand. “So, tell me. This whole point’s thing … how am I doing so far?”

Honestly? He scores a ten. Telling him this now though will just make him think that the time has already come for me to apologize for my incorrect assumptions.

Disrespectful? Well
, he hasn’t been tonight, though I’m pretty sure that he’s been on his best behavior primarily because he’s trying to prove his point.

It’s almost ten o’clock as he places our order.

This evening has been a whole lot more fun than I’d imagined it to have been. I’ve even had to turn my cell phone onto silent. When I hadn’t returned home by nine o’clock, Rachael was messaging me persistently, wondering how I was and what was going on.

I answered one of her messages, telling her that I’d be back soon and that everything was okay.

“And …?” he takes a seat opposite to where I’m sitting and crosses him arms over, resting them on the table as we wait for our food to arrive. “Have I managed to persuade you that I’m actually a really nice guy? I mean, c’mon. I haven’t even tried to touch your breasts once!”

“If you had have tried then you would be rolling around on the ground with your best friends missing!” I answer, noticing a slight sparkle entering his eyes.

He hasn’t tried anything. He hasn’t tried anything at all, and when I see him glancing at his watch for what must be the third time in the space of a half hour, I’m pretty sure he’s about ready to head home.

Once our order arrives
, we eat our food in almost silence, and then make our way back to his car. Listening to one of the local radio stations as we head home, he taps the wheel while singing quietly along to a couple of the rock songs that are playing back to back.

Is it really so bad that I’m feeling slightly sad that our date has come to an end already? It’s most likely that it is, I know this. I thought I would have been home at least a couple of hours ago, with Brandon heading back to his place with a couple of black eyes. But, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

Although I know that he has been going all out to be the ‘respectable guy,’ and he’s not usually like this, sweet and funny, I don’t know … “The verdict?” Brandon’s voice interrupts my thoughts, and that’s when I realize he’s already parked up outside my house.

“I …” I smile as I grab my purse from the side door. He’s watching me with curious eyes and raised eyebrows. “Fine.” I answer, seeing the small grin he was wearing over his lips widening some. “You passed.”

I unfasten my seatbelt and turn to face him. I guess I should thank him. We’ve had a fun evening together. When I look into his eyes, I notice something missing. He’s wearing a mouthwatering wide smile, but his eyes aren’t smiling along with it.

“You know … that’s kind of a shame.”

His words don’t make any sense to me and I keep watching him as he climbs out his side. He walks around the front of the car, and then opens up the passenger door for me again.

As I stand and meet with him on the sidewalk just by my front gate, I notice his shoulders are tensed
, and he’s rolling back and forth on his heel while raking a hand through his raven black spikes.

Standing only a foot or so away from him, I don’t say anything and neither does he. He’s glancing around and looks nervous about something.

Eventually, the silence is broken.

“Well … goodnight, Holly,” he finally says, his voice low and if I heard right, a little shaky. “I guess that we’re, um … even.”

“Yeah, I guess we are,” I answer him. My heart’s beginning to pound so much harder and faster in my chest than normal when I see him taking a step closer towards me. Our bodies are only a few inches apart when I feel something warm brushing against my right hand. I look down and see that he’s taken my hand in his. When I look back up at him, he’s holding his gaze firmly on mine. “Holly?” His voice is raspy as he whispers my name.

Think, Holly. Think! Is he going to kiss me? I don’t want him to kiss me. At least, I don’t think I do. Do I?

Kiss me … Kiss me … Kiss me …

He leans forward and the delightful smell of his cologne invades my senses again. His eyes are still open and are deeply searching mine, causing my breath to catch from the intensity gleaming from within them. His smile begins to fade as he nears me, and I can feel his breath breezing lightly over my face.

I lick my lips and lean closer, but then I see something flash into his eyes. He moves his head to the side, and instead of feeling his mouth on mine, he places a soft, lingering kiss on my left cheek. I don’t move. I feel disappointed, but then just find myself to be relishing from his closeness.

His lips linger over my skin
, and before I can think straight, I brush my cheek against his, close my eyes, and then move until my lips are hovering over his mouth. Bringing my hands up, I place one on either side of his face and lightly stroke his cheeks with my fingers. I stand on my tiptoes and feel as the kiss begins to deepen.

I’m kissing Brandon. Brandon Taylor. The man-hoe of Olympia.

He wraps his arms tightly around my waist before pulling me firmly up against him. His lips are warm and soft as he slides his tongue into my mouth. Stroking his fingers through my hair as we continue to kiss for a few moments longer, I feel him pulling away a fraction. He’s smiling at me, with his beautiful blue eyes boring into mine.

My mind begins to go into overdrive as images of what I saw at the party last night filter inside.

Him and Heather in the bathroom …

I back away some more and notice that his eyes are widening, his mouth is twisting downward, and his eyebrows are furrowing. I feel my cheeks heating and my heart hammering even harder in my chest as I continue to step away from him.

“I’m sorry, I thought that …” his voice trails and he looks confused. His entire expression becomes guarded, and I turn quickly on my heel and head down through the gate, walking briskly so that I can get inside. “Is that it?” I pause on the porch steps when I hear him call after me. Turning around slowly, I see him walking casually towards me.

“What were you expecting?” As he draws closer, the light reflecting from the streetlamp reveals his newfound smile. “Oh … right.” Of course. A kiss isn’t enough for him. He expected me to be like all the other girls. Swooning and pining and begging for more.

He eyes me with caution. “No. No, that’s not what I meant,” he takes a step closer. “I’d like to take you out again, Holly.”

The door opening up from behind me interrupts my line of thoughts
, and when I turn around, I see Rachael standing in the doorway. She glances between the two of us. “Holly, is everything okay?”