Rainbow Eyes

I woke up on Monday morning, feeling a feeling of dread yet excitement surge through me. I wanted to see Ian, yet I didn’t. And I was feeling somewhat guilty. I hadn’t told Rephaim anything about Ian. Yet I didn’t want to jinx it.

I found Hanna in the bathroom, applying makeup. “How long have you been up?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “An hour.”

I nodded, ducking behind her to grab my hairbrush. I brushed my hair an then quickly side-braided it, brushing on some concealer. I changed into a pair of jeans and a striped top, pulling on my Converse. Hanna had just finished applying her makeup. She plugged in her hair straightener. She straightened her bangs, leaving the rest of her hair wavy. She glanced over at me. “Want me to do yours?”

“Huh?” I asked.

She sighed, exasperated. “Your hair.”

“Um, no, I’m fine,” I answered, going back to lacing up my converse.

She sighed. “Come here.” She yanked me off the bed, and I tripped over one of my shoelaces.

She undid my braid and ran her fingers through my hair. It felt so weird, having this newly met person doing such an intimate thing. She clamped her straightener over my hair and ran it down. About 20 minutes later, my hair was pin straight. And we were nearly late for school.

“Thanks,” I smiled at her. “It looks really good.”

“No problem. Tomorrow I’m doing your makeup,” she joked. I laughed, shaking my head and ducking out of the bathroom.

*~*

I stepped into English class, my cheeks burning as I took my seat next to Ian.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hi,” I mumbled back.

“Nice hair,” he told me.

‘Thanks,” I blushed.

Halfway through class, I came up with an idea. I wanted to talk to Ian, get to know him better. I really didn’t want there to be this awkwardness between us all because of one kiss.

I nudged him. “After work, you think we could hang out somewhere and talk?” I asked him.

His eyes widened. “Really? You mean that? You’re not gonna flip out on me again?”

“As long as you don’t try to kiss me,” I said back in a flirty way.

He winked. “It’s a deal.”

I started to say something but then my English teacher glanced over at us. “Aurora and Ian, you two can flirt after class.”

My cheeks burned and I glanced down at my notebook, continuing to copy down my notes. I didn’t look up.

After school, I put on my art smock (an old lab coat) and got to work on the mural. I was painting a giant flower today, one complete with different brush strokes, sponge blending, and different shades of yellow-orange. More shimmery ones, lighter ones, darker ones…. It was really turning out well.

“Wow,” Ian breathed from behind me.

“Thanks,” I started to say, but then noticed what he was wearing. Only a pair of swim trunks.

“Really?” I gestured to his bare chest.

He grinned. “You like?”

“Shut up. I just want to know why you’re wearing that around the house.” But I couldn’t help noticing his defined arms and abs.

“I’m going swimming,” he rolled his eyes.

“You have a pool?” I asked enviously.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“Lucky! The only time I get to swim is on swim team,” I sighed.

“Well, you could come over anytime and practice in ours. I’m the only one who uses it. I love swimming too,” he answered genuinely.

"Thanks,” I smiled.

“You should race me,” he answered.

“Right now?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah, why not?”

I gestured to my art smock. “I don’t have a swimsuit with me.’

“So?” he winked. “Skinny dipping.”

I rolled my eyes. “No way in hell.”

He laughed. “I know. But how about next time you bring your ‘swimsuit’ and we go swimming?” He made air quotes around ‘swimsuit.’

I punched him in the shoulder and he laughed, raising his hands.

“Alright, well, I’m gonna go swim some laps and then by the time I’m done showering we can go out somewhere,” he told me, picking up a towel off the kitchen island and leaving the door.

All I could do was stare at his sexy hip muscles as he left.

*~*

Ian sat at the end of the couch in the room as I cleaned up my paint supplies, towel-drying his messy hair.

“So, where do you wanna go?” he asked me.

“I don’t care,” I shrugged.

“Alright.Well…how about somewhere to eat?”

‘Nowhere fancy, though.”

“Okay. How about Taco Bell?” he grinned.

“Sure!” I answered. Truth was, I hadn’t had Taco Bell in awhile. But it was still my favorite restaurant.

We left in Ian’s car, and I turned the radio up to a Pink Floyd song.

Ian looked surprised. “You like Pink Floyd?”

“Sure. They’re my favorite band,” I answered.

“Mine too,” he said quietly.

We sat there in silence, listening to the music when Ian broke the silence.

“I feel like you understand me,” he said even more quietly.

“Really? How so?” I asked.

“Well…you love Pink Floyd, swimming, and you seem like the type of girl who wouldn’t just give herself to any guy. I like that. And you admit that you’re not perfect. You don’t care about your looks. Even though you’re really pretty,” he blurted.

“You think I’m pretty?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he mumbled. I could see the back of his neck turning red in the rapidly fading sky.
“Thanks,” I smiled. Truth was, no boy had ever called me pretty. Sure, Rephaim complimented me when I dressed up for some event, like on Saturday in my bikini, but he’d never come out of the blue and said, “Aurora, you’re pretty.”

Ian didn’t answer, he just kept driving.

I shrugged, pulling my sketchbook out of my bag to sketch his face. It really did look good against the pink sunset.

I quickly sketched the smooth curve of his lips, his strong and steady jaw line, and hi shaggy-ish hair. As we stopped at a red light, he glanced at my sketchbook. “Is that me?”

“Yeah,” I answered, adding some shading to the car window behind him.

“It’s really good,” he answered, touching my hand.

I smiled up at him, and he leaned in a little bit, hesitant. My heart pounded. I kinda did want to kiss him. I inched a little closer to his lips, and closed my eyes. He leaned in and—HONK!!!!
The light had turned green and cars sped past us, honking their horns. Ian hastily shifted the car into drive and began to drive, not saying anything.

I was pretty sure I was blushing bright red.

We pulled into the Taco Bell parking lot, and walked in.

“What do you want?” Ian asked me as we stood in line.

“Uh, I guess a Crunchwrap Supreme,” I answered back. I was really hungry (I hadn’t eaten since lunch) and a Crunchwrap was my favorite thing to eat.

“Same here. And a taco,” he answered back. I smiled.

“Anything to drink?” he asked.

“Just water,” I answered.

When it was our turn to order, Ian said, “2 Crunchwrap Supremes, a taco, water, and a Coca Cola,”

“Ok, that’ll be $21.57,” the lady answered.

OH SHIT!!!! I didn’t have any money!

My face turned bright red as I fumbled for my wallet, pulling out a crumpled $5 bill.

“Do you want me to pay—I mean—” I stuttered.

Ian laughed, putting his hand on mine. “Your money’s no good here, babe.”

“Babe??” I laughed. So did he. I smiled at him, still wondering if I should let him pay.

“Are you sure?” I asked him.

“Positive,” he smiled back as he slid his AmEx.

We ate in silence, until I pulled out one of the Hot Sauce packets. “These things are so cute. I love what they say on them,” I told Ian.

He grinned, picking one up to read it. “I guess it’s just you and me now,” he read in a perverted voice, raising his eyebrows. I burst out laughing, swatting the packet out of his hand.
We laughed, ignoring the stares we got from nearby diners.

Ian cleared his throat. “So what did you want to tell me?” he finished his Crunchwrap, picking up his taco. I was only halfway done mine.

I sighed. “Well, I wanted to say that I’m really sorry I just freaked out on you for kissing me. I was a little harsh on you. I guess I’ve just had so many people hurt me before that I’m not sure if I could trust you. I’m really sorry.”

Ian’s eyes met mine. “Aurora, its fine. But I just want you to know that I’m not your mother or your father or whoever hurt you in the past. You can trust me.”

He slid his hand across the table, and just like that, my fingers locked with his.