It's just like the movies...
Elizabeth drove home from the gathering, probably a bit too fast, but she was too distracted to notice. The white plastic box in the seat next to her had taken on a life and personality of it's own. It's contents were too valuable, too fleeting. She pulled into the driveway of the compound, tucked the box under her arm, grabbed the grocery sack from the floor and ran inside, giggling.
She opened the door to her room, looked around and frowned. She really needed to learn to keep this place cleaner. She quickly darted around the room picking up dirty clothes and throwing them into the hamper while she talked to the coons. She told them that tonight was a special night and she needed them to understand. She straightened piles of magazines and in the process found the tape Philip had made for her. She put it in and played it for the thousandth time. She pulled the pink flowered comforter up on the bed and arranged the flower shaped pillows and stuffed animals in what she thought was a "designer" way.
After taking the coons out to the back yard and doing a little last minute straightening, Elizabeth opened the box and laid two red flowers on the bed. She pulled several pints of ice cream out of the grocery sack and set them on the desk. Just then the knock she'd been expecting came to the door. She turned off the tape and took a deep breath before opening the door.
"Hey Philip, come on in."
Awkwardly, they sat on the bed, both trying to accommodate the other, neither realizing the other doesn't want accommodation. They took the flowers and ate them. Elizabeth, having done this before knew what to expect and watched Philip intently. She welcomed the beautiful rush and reveled in seeing Philip experience this for the first time. Elizabeth's heart is always on her sleeve, but tonight in particular she made no attempt to hide her emotions. She smiled widely and bounced up from her seat with a spoon in one hand and grabbed a pint of ice cream without looking at what kind it was. She spooned out a huge bite and let it melt in her mouth with her eyes closed.
"Don't you just love ice cream?"
The two fell to talking for quite some time. As often happened with them, the conversation turned to their previous lives and how much they missed it. They discussed the future and the things they will miss out on. They both got quiet as they contemplated all of this. Philip looked at Elizabeth in a way that only one person had ever looked at her before. That boy got the tar beat out of him by her brother and until now she had never understood why. Her heart fluttered, her cheeks flushed even more red than they'd been before. Her mind raced. She had no idea what to do, she had no experience with this. As he began to lean in, she closed her eyes and decided to let Philip figure out what to do. Tenderly, tentatively, he pressed his lips her hers. She felt like her heart would beat right out of her chest. She wanted the moment to last forever, and indeed that's what it felt like. Philip pulled back with a shy smile as Elizabeth sat, dumbfounded but elated. Once she managed to restart her train of thinking, she reached over and put a hand on each side of Philip's face and pulled his lips to her own. She kissed him long and hard, running her fingers into his hair and down his back as her did the same to her. Elizabeth felt like she was floating. Eventually, but all too soon for Elizabeth, dawn approached.
"Can you stay here today?" she asked. "What happens next isn't fun at all and it can be kinda scary. I'd feel much better if you was to stay with me." She led him to the bathroom explaining on the way that they'd need to sleep in the bathtub so there was less to clean up in the evening. The unpleasantness that followed, Elizabeth thought, was way more than worth it for what had happened tonight.
She opened the door to her room, looked around and frowned. She really needed to learn to keep this place cleaner. She quickly darted around the room picking up dirty clothes and throwing them into the hamper while she talked to the coons. She told them that tonight was a special night and she needed them to understand. She straightened piles of magazines and in the process found the tape Philip had made for her. She put it in and played it for the thousandth time. She pulled the pink flowered comforter up on the bed and arranged the flower shaped pillows and stuffed animals in what she thought was a "designer" way.
After taking the coons out to the back yard and doing a little last minute straightening, Elizabeth opened the box and laid two red flowers on the bed. She pulled several pints of ice cream out of the grocery sack and set them on the desk. Just then the knock she'd been expecting came to the door. She turned off the tape and took a deep breath before opening the door.
"Hey Philip, come on in."
Awkwardly, they sat on the bed, both trying to accommodate the other, neither realizing the other doesn't want accommodation. They took the flowers and ate them. Elizabeth, having done this before knew what to expect and watched Philip intently. She welcomed the beautiful rush and reveled in seeing Philip experience this for the first time. Elizabeth's heart is always on her sleeve, but tonight in particular she made no attempt to hide her emotions. She smiled widely and bounced up from her seat with a spoon in one hand and grabbed a pint of ice cream without looking at what kind it was. She spooned out a huge bite and let it melt in her mouth with her eyes closed.
"Don't you just love ice cream?"
The two fell to talking for quite some time. As often happened with them, the conversation turned to their previous lives and how much they missed it. They discussed the future and the things they will miss out on. They both got quiet as they contemplated all of this. Philip looked at Elizabeth in a way that only one person had ever looked at her before. That boy got the tar beat out of him by her brother and until now she had never understood why. Her heart fluttered, her cheeks flushed even more red than they'd been before. Her mind raced. She had no idea what to do, she had no experience with this. As he began to lean in, she closed her eyes and decided to let Philip figure out what to do. Tenderly, tentatively, he pressed his lips her hers. She felt like her heart would beat right out of her chest. She wanted the moment to last forever, and indeed that's what it felt like. Philip pulled back with a shy smile as Elizabeth sat, dumbfounded but elated. Once she managed to restart her train of thinking, she reached over and put a hand on each side of Philip's face and pulled his lips to her own. She kissed him long and hard, running her fingers into his hair and down his back as her did the same to her. Elizabeth felt like she was floating. Eventually, but all too soon for Elizabeth, dawn approached.
"Can you stay here today?" she asked. "What happens next isn't fun at all and it can be kinda scary. I'd feel much better if you was to stay with me." She led him to the bathroom explaining on the way that they'd need to sleep in the bathtub so there was less to clean up in the evening. The unpleasantness that followed, Elizabeth thought, was way more than worth it for what had happened tonight.