All I Wanted

(Deano.)

When I woke up the next morning, Vince and Micah were no where to be found. I went searching for them and finally found them in the living room. Vince had his legs propped up on the coffee table and Micah was sitting on his legs facing him. Micah grasped Vince’s two pointer fingers in between his little hands. Micah giggled when Vince made a funny face. I couldn’t help but giggle too.

Vince looked up at me when I did.

“Hey. How’d you sleep last night?” he asked me.

“Pretty ok,” I replied. Actually, it was the best sleep I’d gotten in a long long while.

“Well, it’s not storming anymore. If you’d like to go home and change,” he chirped. I noticed that he was already dressed. He had on a cute t-shirt with a red “Lock Ness Monster” on it. He also had on skin tight grey skinnys. Sohnot.

“Yea. I’ll probably put on some pajama pants and lounge around,” I sighed.

I sat myself next to him on the black couch. I gave Micah one of my fingers and he stuck it in his mouth. Ok then.

“No. You can change so we can go out,” he replied.

“Eh? Who says I want to go out with you again? Last night was bad enough,” That wasn’t a lie or anything. Really…

“Well, I can tell that you really feel differently,” he reached up to brush the hair out of my eyes.

The touch and movements were all to familiar as I slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Wha…?”

I took off running for my clothes. I ran into his room and threw them on as fast as I could. When I got back downstairs Micah was in his car seat and Vince was ready to go.

“Where are you going?” I asked him.

“Taking you home. You know, if you really don’t like me that much, just say so,” he sighed.

I gulped. Now I kind of felt bad.

“I-It’s no-n-not you,” I mumbled.

“Hmm?”

“It’s a long story that I do not with to discuss with you. But it’s not your fault.”

“Oh. Ok,” he whispered back to me. “I’ll just take you home. You don’t have to go out with me.”

I knew I wasn’t making a mistake but I said “No. I’ll go with you.”

He smiled. “Let’s go then.”

***

On the way to my house I sat in the back and played with Micah. When we got there I ran upstairs to get a shower and change.

I put on dark blue skinny jeans over knee high socks. I also put on a black v-neck t-shirt with the “Fox” logo in purple blue and green up the left side. I slipped on plain black Vans and grabbed a black and blue DC jacket. I got my Blackberry off of my nightstand and slipped a belt through my belt loops and I hopped down the stairs.

To say I was a tad nervous was an understatement.

It was set off even more when I walked into the living room and saw my mother talking to Vince and playing with Micah.

I love my mother very much but I knew she didn’t like what I’d become. I didn’t like what I’d become. But some things can’t be changed.

“Are we going?” I asked.

My mother looked up and sent me a sly smile. It’s the closest thing to happiness she’s shown towards me in a few years.

“Yea. Let’s head out. Thanks for letting me have Deano for the day,” he smiled. What a suck up.

“No problem. And you better bring that kid back here some time!” she demanded.

He chuckled, “Will do.”

I growled and walked out of the door.

“Hey, I wanna go see Dakota and Sky just for a bit, then we’ll have the rest of the day. ‘Kay?” he asked.

“Whatever,” I complied and followed him over to Dakota’s house.

“So,” he started, “I hear you have a thing for Dakota.”

“I hear you do to,” I replied cockily.

“Did.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled out Dakota’s house key from my back pocket. He’d given my mother his spare and I took it to get a copy.

Don’t. Say. Anything.

I know that I’m crazy.

Dakota is just special to me. Even if I’ll never be with him. Sky deserves him more than me anyway. Even if I don’t acknowledge that fact. Dakota is special because he’s overcoming something tragic. I wish I had the guts to be like him. But instead I’ve locked myself away. I’ve become an asshole. I wish I hadn’t sometimes. Sometimes I wish I was still Sky’s best friend.

But it’s just not like that.

Anyway, I unlocked the front door and walked in. Vince gave me an odd look. I shrugged it off though. The house was eerily silent. Vince shrugged and stalked toward the kitchen with Micah in tow.

“They must not be up. We should make breakfast,” he suggested.

“Whatever.”

“Is that all you ever say?”

“Whatever,” I said jokingly.

He chuckled, knowing I was joking.

Vince got to cooking while I got to eating.

Eventually, Dakota and Sky found their ways downstairs and Vince asked Dakota to watch Micah so we could go out. That wasn’t awkward or anything.

We left after we ate.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I hoped into his Tahoe.

“You’ll see.”

“I don’t even know why I’m going anywhere with you,” I grunted.

He rolled his eyes. I bet he was getting tired of my attitude. Good.

“Look. You don’t have to like me enough to date me, but does that mean you can’t even be my friend? I just don’t get how your brain works.”

I guess he has a point.

“Fine. Friends. That’s it though.”

He smiled widely. “Great.”

“So…so you like tattooing people?” I tried to converse.

“Yea. People are fun sometimes. I hear wicked stories. But then there are the people that make me re-sketch 50 million times.”

I giggled. “That’s gotta bite. Does that happen often?”

“Not anymore. We had this one girl who thought she was just the shit. She had me redraw 10 times and she still wasn’t happy and she was screaming at me. I ended up kicking her out. Now we have a rule. 5 redraws and you’re done,” he rambled.

I smiled. Like, actually smiled. Being around Vince without the ‘let’s date/fuck’ pressure was quite nice.

“I’ve always wanted a tattoo,” I mused.

“I could give you one. Friends discount?” he said.

“Mkay.”

"So earlier. You kinda freaked out. Is there a story there?" he probed.

"Yes," I mumbled.

"Could you ever tell me?"

I liked how he didn't ask me to tell him but if I ever could tell him.

"Maybe. Sometime."

"Ok."

The rest of the ride to wherever it was we were going was filled with random conversations of nothingness.

“We’re here,” Vince said as I started to doze off.

I looked up to see a big sign for ‘Cedar Point’.

“No. I’m bad with roller coasters. Not gonna happen,” I whined.

“Don’t be a baby,” he got out of the car and dragged me out with him.

“Asshole.”

He dragged to the biggest one he could find. Shit.

“No. Please don’t do this to me! I can’t take it,” I wailed.

“Come on. You can cling to me,” he winked.

“AH! No no no no no!”

***

I got of the roller coaster. I threw up when I got off. Then he dragged me to a few more. I threw up some more.

Finally, he decided to go to the water park. I like water. And apparently he’d stashed two sets of swim trunks when we got here. Sneaky.

We made a plan to go down the slides then get into the lazy river before going home.

I got to the tallest slide when I finally found out Vince’s weakness. Heights.

Half way up the swaying metal stairs, his has paled. His knuckles where white on the railing.

“Are you scared?” I asked.

“N-No,” he stuttered.

“No you know how it feels.”

The line was moving so slow.

I’m gonna be a ‘friend’ here I guess.

I rubbed his back slowly. “You’re ok. We’ll be off soon,” I cooed.

He seemed to relax. But only a little.

“You know, I could be an ass like you were about the roller coasters. I’m sooo nicer than you.”

He chuckled. “Whatever,”

“Oh! And you know I threw up from that. You’re just being a pussy.”

His head snapped around to face me “Thanks so much”

“You’re so welcome.”

The line came to us finally and I chose the orange colored slide. I sat in the front and Vince sat behind me. His legs wrapped around my waist and his hands gripped my shoulders.

We took off and at first Vince screamed but he soon joined in my laughter.

For the first time in a long time I thought ‘This is nice.’