Sweet Silver Lining

Annabelle walked back into the tunnel after running out to the ice, asking Lily if she could keep an eye on Landon while Annabelle and Andrew talked. Lily immediately told her she would and that she wanted the details of what happened later on that night. Annabelle laughed at her, thanking her once again, walking back to find Andrew.

“So, where can we go where no one’s going to interrupt us?” Annabelle asked, avoiding Andrew’s eye contact. She still didn’t know what had come over her when she had intensified the kiss, but she knew she couldn’t let anything like that happen again.

“Locker room,” Andrew replied, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the locker room. Annabelle froze for a moment when his hand touched hers, but she soon followed him inside. She felt like a teenager in high school again with the feelings that were going through her.

Andrew sat down in front of a stall, taking his skates off. Annabelle looked up and saw his name above it, and she sat down next to him, waiting on him to put on his tennis shoes. He looked over at her, waiting on her to start the conversation.

“What the hell was that?” Annabelle questioned, surprised that her voice was so loud. She didn’t mean to yell at him, but she wasn’t happy with what had happened earlier.

“What? This?” he asked, putting one hand on the back of her head, pulling her head close. Once again, Annabelle got lost in the passion and let the kiss escalate. She quickly pulled away after regaining her senses, and Andrew looked at her, confused as to why she had pulled away.

“You can’t keep doing that!” she exclaimed.

“Why not?” Andrew asked, suddenly feeling very courageous. “You seem to be enjoying it.”

“Why the hell did you even kiss me in the first place?” Annabelle asked, raising her voice.

“I thought I already explained that. I like you,” Andrew replied.

Annabelle stared at him, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. He had known her only a short period of time, so how could he already like her? Suddenly, and idea came into her mind, and she got extremely angry at him. “You used him!” she yelled, her eyes wide.

“What?” Andrew asked, confused.

“You used Landon!”

“What are you talking about?” Andrew asked. “I didn’t use Landon.”

“Yes, you did!” Annabelle cried. “That’s the reason that you’ve been spending so much time with him. It was to get to me. What the hell is wrong with you? You use a five year old little boy to get to his older sister? God! What am I supposed to tell Landon when you all of a sudden quit visiting him because you finally realize that you’re not going to be able to get to me?” Annabelle rambled.

“Annabelle,” Andrew yelled, trying to get her to stop talking. She looked up at him, wondering why he had stopped her. “I did not use Landon to get to you,” he stated, and she continued to look at him, unconvinced. “I started liking you after I’d already gotten to know Landon. I saw how you acted towards Landon, and I started developing feelings towards you. But, I never used Landon. I continued visiting him and hanging out with him because I wanted to, not so I could get closer to you,” he argued.

“I don’t believe you,” Annabelle said, shaking her head.

“You know what, you believe what you want. But, it’s the truth,” Andrew stated, angry that she thought he had been using Landon all along. He turned away from her and pulled out a t-shirt from his locker. He took his jersey off, throwing it into the locker and began to put his t-shirt on when Annabelle spoke up.

“You started liking me after you got to know Landon?” she questioned, uncertainty in her voice.

“Yes,” Andrew sighed. “I didn’t even know you when I first met Landon. But, then I started hanging out with him more, and I started to get to know you better. And, the more I got to know you, the more I liked you,” he admitted.

“I’m sorry,” Annabelle apologized, and Andrew looked over at her with a confused expression on his face. “I’m sorry for not believing you and for accusing you of using Landon,” she elaborated. He smiled, and she gave him a small smile back. She couldn’t help but look at his bare chest, and then back up at his face. Before she knew what she was doing, she had already wrapped her arms around him, kissing him passionately.

Andrew tangled his hands in her hair as he slid his tongue along her bottom lip until she opened her mouth for him, and their tongues began battling each other for dominance. Her hands wrapped around his neck, as Andrew moved his hands to the small of her back, where her shirt had went up to expose a small portion of her skin.

Taking control, Annabelle turned them around so that Andrew’s back was pressed against the stalls. She pushed herself up against him, as his hands slid higher up her back. Annabelle’s hands went to Andrew’s chest, where she felt each and every individual muscle.

Suddenly, she backed away from him, apologizing. “I’m sorry. But, we can’t do this,” she told him. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated.

“What…why…what’s...” Andrew stuttered, trying to figure out what had just happened. He didn’t feel as if he had pressured her, as she had been the one taking control at the end. “Did I do something?” he finally asked, not knowing what else to say.

Annabelle quickly shook her head. “No,” she assured her. “That was amazing,” she breathed. “It’s just, we can’t do that anymore.”

“Why?” Andrew asked. “It’s obvious that we both enjoyed it,” he said, trying to understand why she had suddenly stopped. “You don’t have a boyfriend, do you?” he asked, feeling like an idiot for kissing her in the first place while she was in a relationship.

“No,” Annabelle said, shaking her head. “I’m not in a relationship. God, in fact, I don’t even remember the last time I went out with a guy,” she admitted, suddenly turning red as she realized what she had just said. She looked up at Andrew, saying, “Please forget you just heard me say that.”

Andrew gave her a small smile. “Well, what do you say we change that?” he asked her.

“What?”

“Go out with me?” he clarified.

Annabelle shook her head. “I can’t,” she told him.

“Why not?” Andrew asked, once again confused. “You just said you don’t have a boyfriend. So, what’s the problem?”

“Landon,” Annabelle stated.

“What about him?” Andrew asked. “Does he hate me or something?” he added jokingly.

Annabelle gave him a pointed stare. “You know you’re his idol. But, I can’t go out with you. I need to focus all of my attention on Landon. He deserves it. He’s been through so much, and he needs me there,” she explained.

“And, you can’t be there for him and go out with me at the same time?” Andrew asked her.

“I’m sorry,” Annabelle apologized.

“I know you felt the same thing I did when we kissed,” Andrew told her, and Annabelle simply looked down at the floor, refusing to look at him. “Why are you using Landon as an excuse not to go out with me? What’s the real reason?”

“That is the real reason. I want to focus all of my attention on Landon and him getting better,” Annabelle repeated.

“And, what? I’m going to be a distraction for you?” he asked her.

Annabelle looked at his bare chest once again. “You’re a distraction for me right now,” she laughed, not taking her eyes off of his chest. “I can only imagine what I’d be like if we actually started dating.”

“Why not give it a try?” Andrew asked. “I’m not asking you to devote your whole life to me. I just want to go out on a date. What do you say?” he asked her.

“Fine,” Annabelle relented. “One date.”

“One date is perfect,” Andrew smiled, leaning down and kissing her once again.