Page 70 of Pete and His Precious

“It is. But it’s the same idea.”

“I see.” And I do, but I also appreciate the fact that he doesn’t care that she’s beating him, and plays anyway. That really says what kind of a man he is.

“Would you like something to drink?” I ask.

“Sure. I’ll take water, although I prefer it in a glass, and not my lap, if that’s okay with you.”

“I deserve that,” I say, chuckling as I stand up.

I bring back the waters without incident, and we sip, while we chat a little more about the drawings.

“I think that you can practice with what I’ve given you. And I think the more that you work the better you get at it.”

“Are you saying you can’t give me any more lessons?” he asks, and I wonder if that’s disappointment in his voice.

“I’ll give you as many lessons as you want. But I do think that practicing on your own will be just as beneficial in a lot of ways.”

“All right. I commit to practicing at least thirty minutes every day between now and the festival. Unless, well unless something comes up.”

I like that. That he wants to try to make sure that he doesn’t make a promise that he can’t keep. A lot of people aren’t concerned about that kind of thing. He’s definitely a man with the kind of character I’ve been looking for.

Chapter 26

Pete

I am disappointed that our lesson is over. It’s been more than three hours, and it’s past midnight, so I should be running out the door. She needs her sleep. But, I don’t want to leave. My legs feel like they have weights on them, and I find myself trying to linger by the table as she stands in front of me, talking.

I realize I can take my glass to the sink for her at least, and that will give me a couple of extra seconds. What kind of guy am I that I’ll do anything for a couple of extra seconds with the girl I’m interested in? We haven’t talked about anything that I really want to talk about, like whether or not she would consider being with someone, even if she hasn’t reached the goal she wanted to in her career.

I know she was clear about it, and that’s what keeps me from saying anything.

But as I reach forward for my glass, my bird says, “Pete and his precious! Pete and his precious!” And I don’t know if it’s the sudden, shrill notice of his voice, or maybe an unconscious thing on my part, or maybe I really am just clumsy. But I stumbled forward, and as Zoe tries to get away from me, she trips on a chair leg. I reach out to grab her. Her hands are flying, the way you do when you’re just reaching out to anything to try to keep yourself from falling backwards. She grabs a hold of my shoulders, and somehow we end up face-to-face, holding onto each other, like we’re hugging.

I’m looking at her, and she’s looking at me, her eyes startled, her mouth open, her breath quick, and then somehow, her hand stops grabbing a hold of my shoulder, and starts moving along it. It goes behind my neck, and down my back and it feels soft andperfect, and before I know it, my head is lowering as hers raises, and I’m kissing her. Really kissing her.

Or maybe she’s kissing me. That’s how it feels, since I’m struggling to breathe and my heart feels like it’s doing crazy somersaults in my chest and the world seems to tilt and sway and then go away completely, because kissing Zoe is the only thing I’m thinking about.

It wasn’t just a little, accidental kiss. It was a huge, full on, this is everything I ever wanted and I’m completely immersed in it kind of kiss.

Every nerve ending in my body is humming, as I slowly pull my head up, and look into her eyes.

I’m not sure what my face looks like. Amazed? Befuddled? Like I want another?

Hers... I think she looks happy. But maybe that’s just the way I want her to look.

I don’t know what to say. Don’t know what to do. I haven’t kissed a lot of girls. I don’t think it’s right to kiss someone that I’m not planning on marrying. I certainly didn’t plan on kissing Zoe. But, she’s the kind of girl that I would marry in a heartbeat. Actually, she’s the only girl I’ve ever met that I would marry in a heartbeat. If she asked me right now I would say yes. Then I almost snort over that, because it’s supposed to be me that does the asking, right? But I wasn’t even thinking about asking her. It just seems... Too early. Even though I know that’s what I want. I know, it’s fast, but... I guess sometimes when you know, you know.

So, like the smooth, sophisticated guy I am, not, I say, so romantically, “I need to go.”

She blinks, like my words have surprised her, which of course they have, because after you kiss a girl, you’re not supposed to just run away from her.

But, I drop my arms from around her - somehow they’ve managed to grab her close and I’ve got both hands spread across her back, and I’m not even sure when that happened. I turn, grab my birdcage, and walk to the door.

I feel like an idiot. I should have had something to say. Something at the least marginally intelligent. Like, I really like you, can we be exclusive? Or something. I don’t know. That sounds dumb too. Especially when I know she doesn’t want to be exclusive. She doesn’t even want to have a boyfriend. She told me that very clearly. And I was supposed to launch a charm offensive, not kiss her.

Somehow I’ve managed to mess everything up, and I know I’m mucking up even worse by leaving without saying anything, but my hand’s on the doorknob and I’m pulling the door open, moving the cage and thinking that I should say thank you for the lesson, and then I remembered I never paid for it.

I threw cash in my wallet because I knew I was going to be paying for the lesson, and so I pull my billfold out of my back pocket and grab the money I had put in.

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