Hearts So Pure

Before Nicole could start telling me what happened, we ordered our food. The waiter walked off, and a smirk formed on Nicole’s face.

“Go ahead,” I said.

“Okay so John and I left right after you two did,” she started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John closed the door behind me, and turned on the lights.

“Are you really sleepy?” he said, rubbing his head.

“No,” I laughed, sitting on the bed.

John smiled, and leaned against the door of our room. He looked at me with those big round eyes. His black v-neck hung over his jeans, and his collar bones peeked out from underneath his shirt.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said quietly.

So we waited until we heard everyone go to bed. Garrett and Leah left- of course. Everyone else fell asleep on the couch, and soon we quietly opened the door and slipped out.

It was a small town, unlike New York had been, so the streets were quiet when we got outside. Standing outside the hotel, I looked down the street, and I could make out two figures walking away from us. They were holding hands, and from first glance I knew it was Garrett and Leah. I smiled, but John didn’t seem to notice.

He pointed to the other end of the street. “I think I saw an ice-cream shop down there,” he said.

We walked until we got there, and when we went inside the place was empty. You could hear the soft hum of a giant fridge in the back.

John walked up to the counter, looking down at all the ice cream. “What do you like?” he said to me.

I looked down, also. There were tons of colors and flavors. Sherbert, Chocolate, Chocolate fudge, Pistachio, vanilla….

“Chocolate,” I said simply.

John ordered two chocolate cones and we sat down. The shop was empty, we were the only customers there. I could feel the workers staring at us, they would probably close right when we left.

I shrank back in my chair, but John didn’t seem to notice. He leaned forward across the table to me and said, “So how are you liking the trip so far?”

I thought about the long hours of driving, the cramped muscles and the lack of consistent showers. I thought about the occasional car sickness, and the lumpy hotel mattresses.

“Actually I-” I started to say, and I looked back at John. His elbows were both propped up on the table, and he was smiling wide at me.

“…I love it,” I said. “It’s nice spending all this time with you.”

John nodded, and said “Yeah, the constant driving, hurt muscles, and van full of sweaty boys doesn’t appeal that much to me. But I’m really glad you’re here, you made it a whole lot better.”

He reached his hand out and held my hand across the table. I blushed, and felt myself tearing up. Wow, I hated to get emotional in public. I laughed, but it turned to this kind of sad gasp, and I buried my face in my hands.

“Oh God,” John said, getting up and walking to my side of the table. “Don’t cry.”

He placed his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him. “You’re just so cute,” I said, sniffling.

John chuckled. “Lets get out of here,” he said, nodding towards the impatient workers.

I nodded, and he led me out the door. The streets were still quiet as ever, and I was looking out at them as I felt John grab my hand, pulling me towards him.

I didn’t have any time to react as he slid his hand around my waist, and pressed his face against mine. I felt chills run down my spine, and I closed my eyes.

His free hand cupped my face, and I felt his tongue slide against mine.

I pressed my face harder against his, and as he pulled away he bit my lower lip softly.

He smiled at me, but said nothing. His hand was wrapped around mine again, and we walked back to the hotel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So yeah,” Nicole said. “Then we walked back to the hotel and fell asleep.”

I smiled wide, looking at Nicole. She honestly hadn’t looked this good in ages. Not that she didn’t usually look stunning, there was just a little more color in her cheeks and her smiles all seemed a little bit more genuine, like she was honestly just happy to be here.

“That’s the cutest thing ever,” I said.

Nicole smiled. “Yeah I know,” she said, and we both laughed.

She had told me about what happened with her and John last night while we ate. We were done now, and I looked over at the boys’ table. Their plates were empty, too. But they were laughing and clanging cups, making a ton of noise.

I smiled. “Ready to go?” I asked her. She nodded and we walked over to the boys.

Soon we were all walking out, and we headed back to the hotel.

When we got back, the boys said they needed to replace some part for the van, so they’d be gone for a while. Nicole and I said okay, and we spent the rest of the day watching TV and walking around the tiny town.

At around eight I got a text from Garrett.

Garrett: meet me where we were at last night. i have something to give you

I smiled and bit my lip. Nicole and I were busy watching a Law and Order marathon. Nicole looked over at me.

“What?” she said.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, getting up. “I’ll be back, okay?”

Nicole nodded and soon she was focused on the tv again.

I walked to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. What did he want to give me? I thought as I looked at my hair. It was loose, and there was a hint of waviness to it. I ran a brush through my hair quickly and adjusted my shirt. This will do, I thought, and walked out.

It was already dark when I got outside, and I walked quickly to the park.

I found the bench that me and Garrett had sat at, and waited.

I played with the hem of my shirt until I got bored, where was he? I propped my elbows on my thighs and buried my face in my hands. Through my fingers, I looked down at the grass.

Suddenly, I heard someone walking towards me. I didn’t have time to react before I saw the tips of some shoes on the floor, the ones that Garrett wore.

I didn’t hesitate to stand up and press my lips against his. I breathed his scent in, was he using a new cologne?

It didn’t matter, I thought, as I placed my hands on his hips. Slowly, I felt his tongue slip into my mouth. My eyes were still closed, and I realized I never even looked at him, I just sprung up when I saw the shoes.

His hand traveled to my hair, and I smiled between kisses.

I pulled away, and was horrified. Looking back at me was Kennedy, his eyes wide.

“Kenny?” I said, my voice hoarse.

“Yeah…” he said. “Oh wait did you think I was…..” and he trailed off.

I swallowed hard, trying to focus on what just happened. I looked down at his hands, and he had a tiny box in one of them.

“Jesus, I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “I thought you knew it was me,”

I looked down at the ground, and I saw his shoes. Black converse. He must have borrowed them from Garrett.