14. Meg: Sister Talk

Chapter fourteen

Meg – Sister Talk

Drew's fierce brown eyes lock with mine and I can feel my stomach fill with butterflies. What is it about him that makes me lose control of my thoughts and reactions? His gentle smile helps take away the uneasiness of the terrifying ride the moment he moves closer. My cheeks feel warm, my hands are shaky, and my thoughts are going a million miles an hour wondering what is going to happen next.

Drew's eyes are still locked on mine until they start moving from my eyes, to my hair, to my lips. I bite my lip and look down at my lap, not knowing what to do in this kind of situation. That ‘situation' being dangling by what feels like a few thousand feet in the air, in a rickety bucket, on a ride that could tumble at any moment.

His hand caresses my face as he gently lifts my chin to meet his eyes again. I feel myself leaning into Drew as he does the same until our lips finally meet. The touch of his lips sends a fiery heat through the rest of my chilly body, waking up all of my senses.

My cheeks and neck feel incredibly flushed. My heart flutters, no, pounds in my chest. My head is light and dizzy but the feeling is something I've been craving for what seems like my whole life.

For the first time in a very long time, I feel truly alive. I silently beg the heavenly powers to let this moment last forever.

We pull away from each other with a jolt as the ride wakes up again, descending from the sky as it takes us back down to earth. He takes my hand as we step off the ride, my body still reeling from the entire experience.

Once we start walking, I look over at Drew, who is smiling.

"See, nothing scary about heights."

I bump his shoulder with mine as a grin forms on my face. We share a laugh as the crowds begin to die down. Soft thunder starts to roar across the sky and the rain begins to fall, making everyone run for cover.

"Does it ever not rain in this town?" Drew asks.

"It's summertime in Florida, what do you expect?"

I laugh as we make our way to the empty park gazebo for shelter. He keeps close to me, staring up at the sky. As Drew watches the lightning dance across the sky, the look on his face mimics the look of wonder when a child sees something magnificent for the first time.

His eyes are enchanting and soft at the same time. His smile lights up his face and makes me wonder how someone who has been grumpy most of his life now looks so happy and magnificent.

"Let's get you home," he says, after the light rain ends, guiding me towards the main road.

Our walk home is quiet but it isn't awkward. We simply enjoy each other's company as fallen palm leaves crunch under our feet, the rain slowly dying down. The world around us looks truly beautiful.

The streetlights reflect off of the wet pavement and drops of rain shimmer on the leaves overhead that still cling to their branches. As we approach my cottage, I realize that I don't want this night to be over just yet.

The front porch creaks as Drew walks me up to the door. I turn towards him, taking in his features again, finding myself trying to memorize them as best I can.

He smiles as he brushes my damp hair away from my face and kisses my cheek softly. The smell of the fresh rain fills my senses, making me feel safe and comforted.

Then the porch light turns on over our heads. My sister is signaling that it's time for me to come in. Really?

"Goodnight, Meg," Drew says, after another long, delicious kiss. And poof, he heads off.

Oh, how I love the way he says my name, I think to myself as I open the door.

The house feels warm and toasty. I notice that Mia has the heater going. I hear her footsteps down the hall in her bedroom, which tells me that she wanted me to come in but she also wants to go to sleep. I don't blame her. She's been working fifty to sixty hours a week lately.

"Care for a debrief?" I poke my head into Mia's bedroom. She's sitting up, book in hand, reading by her bedside lamp.

"You know if you keep smiling like that all the time, your face will stick," she smirks.

"You're hilarious," I roll my eyes. "Would you like to hear about my night, or shall I get ready for bed?"

She smiles and pats the foot of her bed. "Spill it."

"Well, after we enjoyed cotton candy and slushies over a very stimulating conversation about childhood memories and life philosophies, he convinced me to go on the ferris wheel with him," I say.

Her eyes widen and her jaw nearly drops as she muffles her giggles with her hands.

"Is this guy Superman or something?" she asks. "Can he walk on water and turn water into wine too? Because I wouldn't mind a nice dry red every once in a while."

"Very funny," I say, over her giggles.

"And I'm guessing by the wet hair that you two shared a kiss in the rain?" she asks, dramatically holding her hands to her heart.

"We actually shared two or three kisses in the rain," I correct her, emphasizing the ‘two or three' dramatically.

"Sounds like a pretty good date to me," she says.

"He's something special…I'm just not sure how to handle it."

"I think you're handling it just fine," she offers. "I haven't seen you this giddy over someone in a long time."

"That's the thing. I'm crazy about him but I'm so scared I'm going to somehow screw it up," I confess. "Before we met tonight, I was terrified I would say something stupid or do something that pushed him away, you know?"

"Like this one date is going to make him wake up and realize I'm not as great as he thinks I am." Not to mention that he lives in New York City, not here.

"Okay, Miss Overthinker, calm down. From what I've seen, he seems like a real man, and real men don't get scared away by someone's goofy side. Which I believe is what you're referring to when you worry about saying something stupid," she argues. "As far as I'm concerned, you've got the man in the palm of your hand, so it's going to take a lot to push him away."

"I thought the same thing with the last guy, and look what he did," I point out. The Ex Who Will Not Be Named was seemingly perfect in every way until he started going out of town for work a lot. Suddenly, "work" had a name, and that name belonged to my former best friend.

"Knock that off right now," Mia says sternly. "That's not fair to Drew."

"What's not fair?" I ask, as her sudden shift in tone catches me off guard.

"You can't compare Drew to the last guy you were with. They're two different people. And as cynical as I am about love and romance, I know that you shouldn't be looking back at the past when you have a really great guy standing in front of you in the present. Not to mention, he's way hotter than the ex," she adds.

"It's easier said than done, but I'll try," I promise her.

"Just take things one step at a time, okay?" she asks. "Like I said before, take your time getting to know each other and if things are meant to be, they'll be."

"Have you always been this wise, or are you learning something in these romance books?" I say, peeking into the pages of her current read.

She swats my hand away. "Something like that."

"Oooh, it must be something spicy if you don't want me peeking." I poke her.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?" she asks, kicking me out.

"I'm guessing it's a vampire boyfriend book," I tease, as I head back to my room.

"Hey, sis," she says. I stop in her doorway and turn back towards her.

"Yeah?"

"You look happy." She grins.

"Yeah." I smile, thinking of Drew's face. "I am." I make my way down the creaking hallway to my room, where I change into dry pajamas. For the first time in a while, I lay down on my bed and stare at the ceiling without looking for answers about the day that I had.

I'm perfectly content knowing Drew kissed me on the top of a ferris wheel, a ride that usually terrifies me. We enjoyed slushies and festival games and played the question game and we had fun. I actually enjoyed myself.

Another smile stretches across my face as I bury myself under my covers, lay my head on my pillow, and close my eyes. As I relax, I hope I will dream about Drew, the kiss, everything.

Could this be truly real? A forever love of my own?