I Don't Want To Solve Your Problems, I Have My Own

I stared at my phone for days, willing it to ring. I couldn’t call her…no, I wouldn’t call her. If she wanted to talk, she’d call. It wasn’t until Wednesday that my phone rang.

“Hello?” I said.

“Hey Evgeni…it’s me,” Ashley said quietly. I felt my heart skip a beat, which was unusual.

“Hey Ashley,” I smiled.

“So, I kind of was wondering…well, would you want to meet up tonight? Grab some dinner or something…I kind of owe you an explanation,” Ashley muttered. I swallowed roughly.

“Uh…yeah, sure. That’d be cool,” I said.

A few hours later I met Ashley outside of a small Chinese restaurant. It wasn’t in the nicest part of town, but I shrugged it off and couldn’t help but feel the grin that spread across my face as I saw her standing there.

“Hey,” I said. She nodded and simply walked into the restaurant. Things were rather quiet for a while, but every few seconds I looked up from my menu to see Ashley watching me. It wasn’t a creepy watching either; it was more of a relaxed curiosity.

“Evgeni…” she started.

“Geno,” I reminded her.

“Geno, I’m sorry about last night,” she said as the waiter put down two steaming hot plates of food.

“Why are you sorry?” I asked.

“I shouldn’t have run out like that…” she muttered.

“Look, if you weren’t comfortable then it’s fine. I totally understand,” I said, fumbling with the chopsticks I had been given.

“No, I wasn’t uncomfortable, I just…are you having some trouble with those?” she chuckled, watching me drop the chopsticks once again.

“A little,” I admitted sheepishly. She leaned across the table and her tiny, warm hands took both the chopsticks and my own hand in them.

“Let me show you…here, hold them like this,” she said, placing one almost like a pencil, and the between my index finger and my thumb.

“Okay…” I said, moving them slowly. Her fingers lingered on my hand for a brief instant, and my face flushed. She quickly removed her hands and watched me work the chopsticks. Wow, I’m actually doing it. I look like an idiot though.

“There you go! Anyway, like I was saying…I wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, I was probably too comfortable. I’m not very good with guys…I’ve had one too many fallouts, so I just got a little scared is all,” she explained before picking up a piece of her chicken and eating it.

“I see…but uh…I’m not the type to go around hurting people, trust me,” I said. I almost whispered it, and hoped that the pain in my chest wasn’t evident on my face. I looked down at my beef and broccoli and picked at it awkwardly with my chopsticks. I could feel her eyes watching my every move, and when I looked up I found myself staring into the most brilliantly blue eyes I ever saw. I can’t believe I never noticed how pretty her eyes are.

“That’s a relief,” she smiled. I nodded and took a bite of my food.

“How’s your food?” I asked.

“Awesome as usual. You wanna try it?” Ashley asked.

“Sure,” I said, reaching over with my chopsticks. She slapped them away with her own and picked up a piece of chicken.

“Open your mouth,” she commanded.

“Wha…” I started.

“Open it!” Ashley laughed. I did as she asked, and she popped the pleasantly spicy chicken into my mouth. Her face was just as red as mine felt, and I chewed slowly.

“Do you want to try mine now?” I asked. She nodded, so I picked up a piece of the beef and placed it gently in her open mouth. Our eyes locked, and she smiled softly as she chewed.

By the time we were done eating, it had been almost 2 hours. Time really does fly when you’re having fun! Ashley was incredibly lively as we walked out of the restaurant, especially for someone in a cast and boot. I didn’t want to leave her, and I think she noticed.

“Do you want to walk it off?” Ashley asked, looking up at me.

“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” I said quietly. Her delicate fingers wound through mine as we walked, but I welcomed the touch. I felt a few drops of rain hit my forehead and I cursed silently. Damn it all, why does it have to rain now? Ashley simply grinned and kept walking. We found ourselves near a little park, and she led me over to one of the benches beneath a street light. I sat beside her and wrapped my arm around her tiny little shoulders. Why is this so natural? The rain started to pick up and I looked at Ashley.

“Do you want to go home? I can walk you there,” I said.

“No, I don’t mind a little rain if you don’t mind it,” she said quietly. I shrugged and let her snuggle into my side. She seemed so comfortable with me, and I didn’t mind it one bit. I had only known her for a short while, but in those brief few weeks, she had been both a joy and a mystery. The rain dropped heavily from the sky, dampening my black cotton tee. Ashley simply looked up at the sky and followed the raindrops with her eyes. It wasn’t long until it was pouring, and my hair was plastered to my head. Some of my heavy curls fell in front of my eyes and Ashley swept them aside with her good hand.

“Should your cast be getting wet?” I asked stupidly.

“I don’t give a damn,” she said before kissing me. I grunted in surprise and then kissed her back. She slid into my lap and wrapped both arms around my neck. Her tongue pressed against my lips and I gladly opened them, heat flushing my face. My hands traveled up and down her sides, and I took a mental note of how nice her curves were. The kiss grew heavier, and I was tempted to just peel off her clothes right there on that park bench when she broke away from me. We both stared into each other’s eyes gasping for breath, with the rain soaking us to the bone, when Ashley let out a chuckle.

“What, am I that bad?” I asked.

“No. This is just so…cliché. I mean, a girl starting to fall for a complete stranger and kissing him in the pouring rain? I should go before this gets any more story book,” she laughed, slipping off of my lap.

“But…” I started. She kissed me gently on the lips and started to walk away.

“I’ll call you, I promise,” she called before vanishing into the pouring rain. ”A girl starting to fall for a complete stranger…” Wait a second, she’s falling for me?