Page 35 of Wrapped Up In You
“Let’s stop worrying about everyone who came before and focus on us now and in the future.”
He paused in dispensing his ketchup and looked at me with wide doe eyes. “You say the sweetest things. How do you do that?”
It was my turn to shrug, feeling a little vulnerable myself. “I’m not trying to. I just…when I’m with you, my feelings just come tumbling out. You’ve opened me up in a way I didn’t think was possible. It’s fucking uncomfortable if I’m being honest.”
He laughed. “Good!”
“Good?” I raised one eyebrow.
He finished with the ketchup, then picked up his burger, poised to take a bite. “You’ve got me rattled, Lucy. Off-kilter. I’m glad I do the same thing to you.”
“Wow. Thanks.” I said it with sarcasm, but he was right. It was nice to know we were in this together.
20
HAYDEN
We passed the ice cream shop on our way back to the car, and I tugged Lucy inside, despite being full from dinner. I got a scoop of raspberry and a scoop of double chocolate piled high in a waffle cone. Lucy chose a modest scoop of vanilla in a cup.
We walked slowly as we ate. Temperatures had dropped as the sun went down, so we should have been hustling back to the car to get out of the cold, but I thought neither of us wanted to rush the end of the date. I certainly didn’t.
The Christmas lights had come on now that it was dark, giving the street a festive glow, and it was just as pretty as I imagined it would be. The cold helped keep my ice cream from melting too fast. However, my hands were now really cold, and I thought I’d once again overestimated my ability to consume a large quantity of ice cream. I was starting to become painfully full, but the ice cream was so good that I couldn’t stop myself. In between licks, I contemplated our relationship status.
Boyfriends.
My heart fluttered at the term. Seventeen-year-old me could have never imagined it. However, now that it was our reality, I had some concerns. Were we taking this public? Were we telling our parents? How often would we actually get to see each other? By the nature of my job, I worked mostly nights, while he obviously worked a regular day job. Plus, if I was going to pursue this music thing in earnest, there was practicing that would need to be done and gigs to secure. Not to mention the actual performances. I wanted to rush forward with my usual attitude of leaving those sorts of things for Future Hayden to work out, but Lucy mattered too much for me to just wing it. I didn’t want us to fuck this up.
“So how public are we going with this thing? I mean, obviously, we aren’t going to see other people, but are we telling anyone?”
He tossed his cup in a nearby trash can, and we paused on the sidewalk, turning to face each other. His car was just a few feet away, but I didn’t want to get in until I was finished so I wouldn’t drip my ice cream all over his car. He’d probably kill me.
“I’m basically an introvert, and I keep my personal life private at work, so I’m not sure how many people I’d be interested in telling, but I don’t necessarily want to hide anything either. What about you?”
“I was thinking I’d update all my social media statuses to ‘in a relationship,’ and then maybe we could have a ‘meet the boyfriend’ party. It’d definitely have to be at your place because my apartment is too small. Though I’ve never seen your place. Is it big enough for a party of like thirty to forty people?”
His eyebrows had climbed up his forehead during my little speech and he was looking at me like I’d lost my damn mind. “Oh my god, your face!” I burst out laughing. “Relax, Lucy. I figured I’d tell my roommate, but I wasn’t planning on making a big thing about it. I have quite a few friends here and there, but we aren’t the type to call each other up and gossip about who’s banging who. We’re guys. It’s whatever. I figure it’ll come up organically in conversation when I get together with people. That alright with you?”
He visibly relaxed, his shoulders lowering from his ears. “Yes, of course. That’s totally fine.”
I chuckled at his attempt to play it cool and tossed the last of my soggy cone into the trash can, then licked my sticky fingers. Jonathan cringed but didn’t comment, which I thought was a big step for him. I wiped my fingers with my napkin, then grabbed the front of his peacoat and pulled him toward me, placing a sticky kiss on his lips before pulling away.
He licked his lips. “Chocolate and raspberry. Good combo.”
“I knew what I was doing. I’m an expert when it comes to ice cream flavor combinations.” I grabbed his hand and tugged him toward his car. “Come on,boyfriend,let’s go home so you can fuck me one more time before I leave.”
I smirked as he tripped, then jogged to the car, beating me there.
* * *
Iwas pretty sure my rule-following, very much law-abiding boyfriend broke the speed limit the entire way home, getting us there in record time. I kept my hand high on his thigh the entire time, every so often brushing against his dick with my pinky, purely to torture him. With the way he kept shifting in his seat, I was pretty sure it was working.
When I’d asked him about sharing our relationship status, I’d really wanted to know what we were telling our parents, but when he didn’t bring them up in his response, I’d chickened out and let it drop rather than pressing further. I’d almost asked him on the car ride, but now that I’d spent the entire time teasing him, I’d gotten myself just as worked up and didn’t want to ruin the mood.
I had my seatbelt off before he’d even put the car in Park and raced up the sidewalk, almost slipping on a patch of black ice but thankfully catching myself before I went down. “Watch out for ice,” I called back as I wrestled with the door, trying to get it open. Why were doors so hard to open when you were in a hurry?
He made it up the stairs just as I pushed the door open, and I fell through the entrance with Lucy hot on my heels. We laughed as we raced to the bedroom, tearing off shoes and socks as we went. My foot got caught in my pants near the couch, and Lucy passed me by, pulling his sweater off as he crossed the threshold into the bedroom. The sound of his laughter, the pure joy in it, lit something up inside me. The transformation in him over the last couple of days filled me with gratitude that I got to be the one to bear witness to it. I hoped that our return to reality wouldn’t diminish his light.
I finally freed my foot from my sweats and dropped them, along with my snowman underwear, right where I stood. My hat and hoodie were next, leaving me stark naked in the living room. I stalked toward the bedroom like a tiger on the hunt. “You better be ready for me in there, Lucy. ‘Cause ready or not, here I come.”
