Eloquence

Her black, patten leather flats tapped against the damp concrete as she ventured farther into the shaded alley, pulling at the ends of her hair nervously. She could see him, sitting at the bottom of the stair well, taking in his daily dosage of nicotine before his mother arrived home from her work shift.

Jordan pulled her bomber jacket closer to her body, mentally cursing herself for wearing merely a pair of wet-look leggings out on one of the colder days that mid-November. It seemed as though Jordan had a problem with dressing for the weather. Practicality just wasn't her thing. So, she kept moving toward him, hoping that it was warmer by the buildings.

When she reached the end of the stair well, she stopped, standing before him shyly. She watched his icy blue eyes trailed upwards from her shoes, to her long legs, all the way to her face, looking back into her own eyes. Without exchanging so much as a hello, Andrew extended his pack out to her, offering her a cigarette silently. Jordan accepted it, though she didn't find the caffeine rush as satisfying as Andrew did, and brought it to her lips. He flicked the lighter, and Jordan leaned down, letting him press the flame against the end of her cigarette. As she inhaled, she could feel the smoke sliding down her throat and filling her lungs. In way, smoking was calming, but it didn’t take away from the fact that she hated the idea of herself smoking. Not one bit. But if Andrew liked it, she wanted to like it too, because if she did, he’d see her as an equal and not a child.

She removed the cigarette from her mouth, releasing a lung-full of smoke from between her parted lips. The grey smoke swirled, fogging her vision of Andrew until a gust of wind went past and blue the smoke away. He was still staring right back at her, his ice blue eyes filled with what looked to be curiosity as he watched her. Jordan was becoming uncomfortable in the silence, feeling that it had gone on long enough, considering Andrew had finished an entire cigarette in the time she had been standing before him.

"I'm sorry." Jordan said quietly, looking away from his face.

She was ashamed, he could tell, but for reasons unknown to him. As far as he was concerned, she had done nothing wrong. He was the one that was supposed to apologize.

"But why?" He asked curiously with a furrowed brow.

"I freaked out on you." She said. "I shouldn't have. You didn't deserve it, but I was scared, so I overreacted. I'm sorry."

Andrew shook his head. "No, Jordan, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just... Grabbed you like that. It wasn't right."

"No, it's okay." She insisted. "Andrew, I understand. You're older than I am, and maybe the girls you're used to are different than I am. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Andrew shook his head, but didn't make any move to object. He had learned that it's not very often when the girl admits she was the one in the wrong, and here Jordan was, claiming that she was at fault, so it was only right for Andrew to take advantage of that.

Well, in his mind at least.

"It's okay." He smiled crookedly. "I forgive you.”

She smiled brightly, dropping the butt of her cigarette to the floor, and stepping on it, just like Andrew did when he was done smoking.

“Come here.” He said, patting his knee and holding his arms open. Jordan looked at him skeptically, slowly inching toward him and lowering onto his lap. His arms instantly wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to his body. “You must be fucking cold.” He muttered, rubbing her leg through her leggings to create heat. “Why aren’t you wearing pants? It’s too cold for this stuff.”

“I didn’t think it was this cold out.” Jordan admitted sheepishly.

“Come on, let’s get you inside.” He sighed, and Jordan stood. He stood as well, dusting the back of his dark jeans and pulling her up to the stairs. He helped her through the window, and climbed in himself. He shut the window behind him and helped Jordan remove her coat.

“It’s so warm in here.” She smiled in contentment, rubbing her cold hands together to create heat.

Andrew took both her hands in his, bringing them to his lips and blowing hot air on her finger tips. Her skin tingled, and not from just the warmth, and a small smile formed on her face. His eyes flickered up from her hands, smiling as his eyes met hers.

“Thanks.” She murmured. “They’re fine now.”

Andrew grinned crookedly, giving her hands a gentle squeeze rather than releasing them from his grip. Slowly, he pulled her closer, and guided her hands to rest around the back of his neck. When he was sure she wasn’t going to let them drop, he let go and brought his arms to her waist.

“I’ve missed you these last few days.” He breathed, and Jordan could feel his warm, moist breath ghosting over her face as he spoke. Her eyes fell shut, and she bit down on her bottom lip.

“I missed you too.” She admitted shyly, her eyes fluttering open.

He kissed her cheek, and one of his hands slid up her spine, to the back of her head where he gently guided her head to his shoulder. Jordan giggled, her arms tightening around him as they hugged in the center of her bedroom.

It was times like these that Jordan liked best about spending time with Andrew.