Caught Up In You

November 24th, 2011
Thanksgiving
Thursday Evening
Location: Drew’s Home
5:43 PM

“How has boarding school been?” My mother asked, dishing herself a croissant across the table. My relatives turned to look at me.

“It’s been good. I’ve met a lot of people,” I began to say.

“Your mother says there’s a boy,” My Aunt Nyla said.

“Mom!” I exclaimed, my cheeks turning a million shades redder.

“Sorry honey! I was excited. He’s the first guy you’ve liked since…Austin,” she hesitated.

“So what’s his name?” Nyla asked. I rolled my eyes, but then smiled.

“Pacey,” I beamed.

“That’s an…..interesting name,” she said, obviously not liking it. I growled but quickly hid it with a fake smile. Relatives could be so annoying sometimes.

“Has he kissed you yet?” My grandmother asked.

I watched as my father raised his eyebrows as if this were a question of life or death. And in Pacey’s case, it was. My dad was quite intimidating when he wanted to be, especially with my boyfriends. But technically, Pacey and I weren’t even dating. We were just friends that knew we liked one another.

Before I could answer the interfering question, I heard the doorbell ring. “I’ll get it,” I said a little too enthusiastically. When I opened the door, my jaw dropped to the floor. There stood Pacey, holding a beautiful lavender rose. He was wearing a well cropped tuxedo with a purple vest underneath.

His shoes were polished so neatly that I could see my face gleaming in them. His hair was cut short and gelled so he looked like the perfect gentleman. I saw his car parked out by the edge of my grass, silver and shiny.

“This is for you,” Pacey said, holding out the rose. In that very moment, my heart melted. His face broke out into a pure and sincere smile. My eyes met his and I couldn’t help but jump into his arms. Pacey took a few steps backwards, but managed to keep me in his grasp. I wrapped my arms around him and positioned my head in the crook of his neck.

“You came here at the perfect time. Can you read my mind or something?” I asked. He chuckled.

“I wish,” he laughed. After a couple of seconds he put me down and handed me the rose.

“Thank you,” I said, joy radiating over my face.

“I didn’t think it was possible for me to miss you so much,” I said, acting extremely cheesy.

“I know. Living with you for a couple of months has changed my life more drastically than I thought possible,” he grinned.

“Well, come on in. My family has been dying to meet you,” I said. I opened the door wide enough for Pacey to walk in. When he trailed through the hallway, we saw my parents standing by the table, eagerly waiting to see who was at the door. My mom instantly saw the lavender rose in my hands and the wide grin on my face and knew who he was.

“You must be Pacey,” she said, bringing him into an uncomfortable hug.

“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Wethers,” he said.

“Please, call me Judy. Pacey, this is my husband, Jon,” she smiled.

My father stiffly walked over to Pacey and shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Wethers,” he said nervously. My father grumbled quickly and glared at him for a couple of seconds before I pushed through the both of them.

“Anyway, would you like to sit down?” my mother asked him.

Pacey nodded and I grabbed a chair from the kitchen and set it next to me. When everyone was back to their normal seats, we prayed and began eating. “So what brings you here?” my mother asked.

“Well, I only live a couple of hours away from here, and my parents were out of town. I didn’t really want to be alone for Thanksgiving,” Pacey replied politely.

“Do you have any siblings?” she asked.

“Yes, I have an older brother that is currently in the military,” he stated.

Everyone was quiet for awhile as they ate their meals. Before things got back to normal, however, my brother decided to make the atmosphere awkward. “Drew, how are things with Austin?” Ethan asked, chuckling to himself.

Pacey looked at me in confusion. “Who’s Austin?” he asked with a mouth full of food.

“Austin is my ex boyfriend. We talked about how our relationship is completely over,” I said, making it clear that there was nothing going on between us.

My relatives smiled nicely at him, but I knew they all missed Austin. For some reason, they all loved him. They were just going to have to get used to Pacey.

After all, life changes every day, and there isn’t much we can do about it.

~~~*~~~

After the dishes were done and I had set my rose in a vase on my dresser, Pacey and I decided to take a walk. “I’ll see you guys in a bit,” I yelled, hurriedly trying to get away from my family. My grandmother and aunts hugged me on their way out.

“Bye Drew,” they exclaimed, all looking at Pacey as if he were some strange illusion.

“I’m sorry you had to witness that,” I told Pacey when we were walking down the sidewalk and out of my familiar neighborhood.

“It’s okay, my family is just as bad, if not worse,” he said truthfully.

Pacey and I talked and talked until we made it to the park. I led him to the swings and sat down. He wrapped his fingers around the chains on my swing and pushed me into the air. I waited for his warm hands to touch my back as I climbed through the air, feeling the wind swirl against my body.

Each push, I could feel his muscles protract and push me higher and higher. At one point, I felt like I was going to fling over the pole. “Okay Pacey, you’re good!” I screamed, watching as little kids laughed at me. Pacey grabbed my waist and settled me back down to earth.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Showing off?” I laughed.

“Maybe a little,” he said, chuckling. I got off the swing and we decided to walk back.

“Thanks again Pacey,” I said, comfortably lacing my fingers with his.

“For what?” He asked, his face glowing in front of the sun.

“Thank you for visiting me today. I really needed you,” I said. Pacey turned and looked at me in shock.

“What?!” I asked, confused.

“Drew Wethers admits she needs me?” He joked.

“Well, maybe just a little bit,” I confessed, rolling my eyes playfully. He started to lean into me. We were nearing for a kiss. My stomach toppled over like waves. I could feel butterflies pounding throughout me, my heart jumping out of my chest. I grasped his hand tighter, and I felt him squeeze back.

I closed my eyes, feeling Pacey’s chest press up against me as he pulled me towards him. Inches away, I could feel his light breath on my cheek. But right before his lips pressed mine, I heard a faint voice in the distance.

“Drew, is that you?”

Oh gosh.

Austin.

I instantly backed away from Pacey and opened my eyes. I saw him stalking up to me, his face in a twisted glare as he saw us holding hands. “Hey Drew, what’s up?” He said, giving Pacey a quick glance.

“Hi Austin,” I said, trying to keep in my anger.

“This is Austin?” Pacey asked, not looking as happy as he was before.

“Yes. And who might you be?” He asked, still jealously looking at our hands clenching each other’s.

“This is Pacey, my…boyfriend,” I said, finally stating we were official. I looked over at Pacey, watching as his frown turned into a smile. He squeezed my hand in reassurance.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had…” he started to say.

“Yes, I have a boyfriend. Well, if you don’t mind, I have to get back. Bye Austin,” I said, walking away.

“Wait, Drew?” He said. I turned around and looked at him, remembering his exact facial expression. That was the look he gave when he was about to say something that was difficult or painful to say. I rotated completely and waited for him to speak.

“I…I’m sorry for everything I put you through. You deserve better,” he said.

I looked him in the eye and smiled softly. “Thank you,” I said before walking away with Pacey.

After a couple of minutes, Pacey began talking. “What did he do to you?” He asked.

“It’s a long story.”

~~**~~~
November 25th, 2011
Friday morning
Location: Drew’s Porch
9:07 AM

“Thank you for letting me stay the night Mrs. Wethers,” Pacey said sincerely. It was 8 PM by the time we had arrived back at the house, so my mother had asked him to stay. My dad wasn’t too happy about the idea, but he allowed Pacey to stay if he was in the guest room down the hall.

So Pacey stayed over. When I woke up, I turned over and saw him. He smiled and told me he didn’t want to run into my dad, so he hid in my room when he woke up.

“No problem Pacey. It was great meeting you! Watch over my daughter and keep her safe, okay?” My mom asked, giving him a warm hug. He nodded and put his arm around my waist.

“Of course Mrs. Wethers. I hope to see you soon. Thank you,” he replied.

“Bye mom. I love you,” I said, hugging her quickly and kissing her on the cheek.

“I love you too. Have a good plane ride there. Bye,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye as she watched us walk away hand in hand to Pacey’s car.

“You have a really good mom,” he complimented as we drove to the airport.

“I do,” I smiled.

~~*~~
5:00 PM

“It’s so great to be home again,” I exclaimed, jumping onto a couch and sprawling my legs and arms out.

“Scoot over,” Pacey whined.

I turned over and sat up, waiting for him to sit down so I could rest my head on his shoulder. “When you were talking to Austin a couple of days ago, you mentioned me as a boyfriend,” he began saying.

“Yes, and?” I asked.

“So we’re dating?” He asked.

I nodded my head. “I would hope so,” I mumbled. Pacey smiled and leaned back, putting his arm over my shoulder.

“Hey Drew?” He asked.

“Yes?” I asked curiously. Pacey tilted my head up and looked at me.

“I never got a chance to do this,” he said, before resting his hands on my waist and pulling me on his lap. It was happening all over again.

I was glad I wasn’t standing because my knees were weak. I could feel my palms becoming sweaty. My heart pounded so loud I could’ve sworn it was going to pop out and run away. I watched as Pacey’s jaw tightened in anxiety. I observed his shoulders becoming restrained as his hands brushed over my back. I felt goose bumps slowly forming all over my body. A shiver ran through me. I hesitantly closed my eyes. This was the moment I had been waiting for. All of the tension between us was finally going to explode.

I could feel Pacey’s cool breath against my neck as he neared me. I smelled his cologne making its way to my nose, my nerves tightening. I heard his heavy breathing and my chest pounding. I heard the soft patter of the rain hit the window a couple feet away, like a message that now was the time.

And finally, after what felt like hours, his silky soft lips met mine and I instantly lost it. I could feel as the sparks flew around us, an outbreak of happiness pouring through me. I could feel our chests pressed together, his heart beating with mine.

Everything had led up to this moment. And here I was, sitting in his lap, my legs wrapped around his waist, kissing him. I felt his lips waltz with mine, becoming less tense and strained.

I brushed my fingers through his tangled hair, pulling softly and moving my fingers down his neck. The kiss was everything I had hoped and expected it to be. It was pure and innocent, yet beautiful and comfortable all at once.

Suddenly, the door opened and I heard rushed footsteps. “Oh hey guys, don’t mind us," Tristan said as he closed the door. I slowly removed my lips from Pacey, watching his eyes flutter open.

I watched as a smile erupted over his face. He put his arm around me as I rested my head on his shoulder again.

That kiss opened me up to a world of things I had never experienced. That kiss made me realize not only was Pacey the one for me, but I was continuously falling for him every single day. That kiss made me believe in sappy fairy tales and happy endings. That kiss made me believe that Pacey was my knight in shining armor. That was the kiss that started everything.