Eloquence

Jordan tugged the coat closer to her body, crossing her thin arms over her torso to hold in as much warmth as physically possible. Her teeth chattered loudly, and she could see her breath in the chilled air. She looked to Andrew, who looked perfectly content in the bitter cold trying to bend her frozen fingers. Andrew seemed to sense her discomfort without actually looking down at her, and grasping her hands in both his his warm ones. He brought them up to his lips, blowing hot air against her fingers and lightly kissing her knuckles.

"Not too far left, Jordan." He said softly, pointing ahead. "There's the building."

"Will it be warmer in there?" She asked, grasping tightly onto his hand.

"Well, when my friends and I would come here last winter, it was always cold. So, one of us brought a space heater and there's been big, heavy blankets brought up there and left, so yes." He paused, smiling down at her. "It will be warmer."

Jordan visibly perked up at the mention of heavy blankets. "Can we hurry then?"

"It's in running distance." he stated. "We can run there, if you want?"

Jordan shook her head, and Andrew grinned, stopping the both of them. She looked at him curiously, watching as he bent down and wrapped his arms around her knees. In one swift motion, he was standing upright again, with Jordan's surprisingly light body draped over his shoulder.

"Andrew!" She shrieked, slapping him on the back.

He merely laughed, taking off in the direction of the building.

"You're going to drop me!" She cried out, gripping handfuls of his jacket in her palms. "Andrew, stop it! I'm going to fall!"

"I wouldn't drop you, babe." He said, and Jordan melted at the use of the pet name.

Within moments, much quicker than if they had continued at the pace they were going before, they arrived at the front of the building, and Andrew gently set Jordan back on her feet. She was disoriented for a moment, holding onto Andrew to keep her balance, but quickly gained back her composure and opened the door. She gestured for Andrew to go in before her, and he laughed, shaking his head and pushing Jordan gently through the door before him.

"Ladies always go first." He insisted, stepping inside behind her and spinning her around to face him. "It would be wrong if I let you hold the door open for me."

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'chivalry is dead'?" She smirked, raising a single brow at him.

"Yes, I've heard it." He nodded, returning the smirk. "But it's a load of bullshit."

Jordan giggled, following him toward the stairwell and climbing up, step-by-step, until they reached their floor. Grinning, he took hold of her hand, pulling her toward the Burgundy door and picking the lock with the bobby pin he had kept from the last time he had taken her up here.

"It's dark." Jordan noted, looking around.

"Which is why we turn on the lamp." He laughed, walking to the center of the room and picking up the old, antique lamp from the floor. He turned the dial three times until the yellow glow illuminated the entire room. "See? Not dark anymore."

Jordan merely nodded, slipping her hands out of the pockets of her coat. "So, why did you take me up here again?"

"Because you said your Mother was away, so you can stay out all night." He smiled, walking toward the pile of folded blankets in the corner of the room. "And because this side of town is generally deserted, and so the lights aren't as bright over here. The stars are brightest here."

Jordan walked toward the window, surveying the night sky with pursed lips and squinted eyes. "You're right. They are."

Andrew grinned, pulling two of the large blankets from the pile and carrying them toward her. He let them fall to the floor, gently reaching his hands up and sliding off her coat from behind. He then proceeded to wrap one of the blankets around her shoulders, and give her waist a gentle squeeze. "Warm?"

"Yepp." Jordan nodded, watching as he made his way to the space heater situated by the lamp and flicked it on. "Come sit with me, Jordan."

With one last glance up at the inky, blue sky, Jordan turned to Andrew and lowered onto the floor beside him. Andrew leaned toward her, pressing his lips very lightly to her cheek before bending across her and grabbing his black back pack.

"What's in there?" She asked curiously.

Andrew merely shrugged, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, a lighter and two cans of Cola. Jordan eyed the cigarettes, reaching over and grabbing one of the cans of soda in her petite hands.

"You should try one, you know." Andrew said quietly, pulling the tab on his soda.

"Try what?" She furrowed her brow.

"A cigarette." He said, watching the way her head snapped in his direction. "See if you like it."

"Andrew." She said quietly, shaking her head from side to side. "No."

"Oh, come on." He pleaded, squeezing her knee gently. "Just have one. If you don't like it, you won't have to do it again."

Jordan let out a loud sigh. "Fine."

He grinned, fishing out another cigarette from the box for Jordan and handing it to her. He showed her how to hold it, pushing his between his lips and reaching for the lighter. With a simple flick, a small flame flickered from the top, and he grinned, lighting his quickly. He then reached for Jordan's, using his free hand to bring it to her lips and press the lighter to the end.

"Okay, now suck in." He smiled. "Not too much though."

Jordan did as she was told, inhaling from the cigarette slowly. Her throat and her lungs burned, and it left an awful taste on her tongue. She choked, coughing and sputtering out the awful, gray smoke from her nose and mouth. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she glanced up at Andrew in horror, as he watched her with a smile on his face.

"Don't worry." He kissed her cheek, lightly stroking her hair. "It happens to everyone on their first time."

Jordan shook her head, holding it away from her.

"It'll get better after a few drags." He laughed, pushing her hand back toward her. Reluctantly, she placed the cigarette to her lips, and sucked in just like before. It didn't irritate her throat the way it did the first time, but it still wasn't at all pleasant, but she continued until she had finished her cigarette. She wanted Andrew to accept her, even if it meant doing the things she didn't like doing.

Andrew leaned closer, kissing her jaw right below her ear. She felt his warm palm coil around the back of her neck, and his cool fingers pressed just below her jaw. His lips trailed kisses from her ear, her cheeks and finally, to her mouth, and he shifted his body so he was sitting in front of her rather than beside her. He sighed against her lips, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he pulled her closer. Jordan kissed him back eagerly, her small hands letting go of the ends of the blanket and latching onto the collar of his shirt.

"You're so cute." Andrew murmured, pushing her hair away from her right shoulder to expose her neck. He placed one chaste peck on her neck before pulling her into his body completely and wrapping her in both their blankets.

"Thanks." She said quietly, resting her head on his chest. "So, my sister is coming over next weekend for a visit."

"Oh really?" He grinned crookedly. "Is that a good thing?"

She nodded her head. "She brings me a huge box of clothes every time."

"Why?" He raised his brows.

"Well, she works in the fashion industry. She does all the fashion shows and photo shoots and fashion weeks, so she usually gets to pick through everything after the shows and shoots and take what she wants." Jordan explained. "So, she brings me home all these designer clothes every time she visits. That's why I've never really gone shopping. She's been doing it since I was ten years old."

"So basically, you've been wearing Gucci since fifth grade?" He laughed, and she shrugged.

"Well, kind of. I don't know if it was Gucci I was wearing. Just designer names." She smiled up at him. "And I'm thankful because my Mum would never buy me these clothes."

"How old's your sister?" He asked, winding one of her ringlet curls around his index finger.

"Twenty-five." She smiled up at him. "Will you meet her when she comes here?"

"I don't know." He bit down on his bottom lip.

Jordan frowned. "Why not?"

"Well, are you sure it's such a good idea?" He asked. "I mean, I'm three years older than you, and i don't think anyone would approve of our... Relationship. If that's what you'd like to call it. I'm not sure if it's such a good idea. It would still be weird if we were just friends."

Jordan was silent, for what felt like an eternity for Andrew. He didn't intend to hurt her feelings, he was just saying what's true. Nobody would approve of their relationship. He was basically taking advantage of the young girl. He knew that she would never say no to him, so he used it to his advantage to get affection when he wanted it, or to get her to try new things like smoking. If she introduced him to her parents, it would be a catastrophe. It would just be best to keep their relationship a secret.

"Andrew." Jordan said quietly, staring down at her hands. "Do you like me?"

Andrew blinked. "Of cou-"

"But I mean really like." Jordan cut him off, tilting her head up to look at him. "Like you would for a girlfriend."

Andrew bit down on his fleshy lower lip, leaning foreward to peck her forehead. With a small smile, he continued playing with her hair and pulled her body even closer until she was on his lap. He kissed her lips very briefly and pulled back, brushing her fringe from in front of her eyes.

"Yes, Jordan. I like you like that." He nodded.

Jordan grinned. "I like you like that too, Andrew."

"Well, good." He chuckled, resting his head on top of hers. "Then we're perfect for each other."