I Need You.

Jasabelle’s POV

The rest of the day went by quickly and before I knew it, people were starting to get picked up. Last to be picked up was Chelsea. Her mom stood by her side as we said our goodbyes. “See you tomorrow?” I couldn’t help but smile at the irony. “Yes. I will see you tomorrow” she reached out to hug me which I returned.

After that, her footsteps were heard then it was silence. Until somebody tapped me on my shoulder. “Jasabelle?” it was a voice I wasn’t too familiar with. “Yeah?” “It’s me. Matt” my eyebrows shot up. What’d he want?

“Your dad sent me. He said he’s busy and he can’t take you home today” surprise, surprise. “Okay.” “He wants me to take you home” I groaned out loud. “Mama told me to never get into cars with strangers. Especially ones that I can’t see” I was shocked when he started to laugh at what I said. He wasn’t laughing because what I said was stupid.

He was laughing because what I said he thought was genuinely funny. I couldn’t help but crack a smile at him. “Look, I promise I’ll take you home and leave. Unless you’d wanna hang out or something” I raised an eyebrow. “We could get ice cream maybe” that sounded so good right now. “Okay. Yeah. Let’s go get ice cream” I felt him grab my hand and we started walking.

We got in the elevator and soon walked outside. We stopped and I heard a door open. He grabbed my hand and helped me into his car. “Thanks” I told him before I heard the door close. Another door opened and I could hear the driver’s seat shift underneath his weight.

“Does it matter where we go?” I shook my head no then the car started up. “So tell me about yourself” he said a couple minutes later. “I hate that question!” “Well it’s not really a question” we both laughed. “Well I’m twenty four. Been blind my whole life. Ya know, since I was born” I looked back over to him. “Gosh, I don’t know. Blue’s my favorite color” he laughed once again.

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself?” I stared at him till he started talking. “I’m twenty eight. I’ve been in a band for about fourteen years. I’ve known my best friends since high school. I’m married but I’m not happy in my marriage” my mouth dropped a little. I barely knew this guy and he was sharing something so personal. That didn’t make much sense to me. We didn’t even get along at the beginning.

“Your turn” it took me a second to gather my thoughts and begin talking again. “I like making new friends” he chuckled. “Can I be your new friend?” I did my best to look him up and down as a joke. “Sure” he put his arm around my wrist and gently squeezed. “My favorite ice cream flavor is cookie dough” more laughter erupted from his throat.

“Mine’s vanilla” I looked back at him. “Just vanilla?” he nodded. “How boring!” he lightly pushed me to the side. “Alright. We’re here” I reached for the door handle when he reached out and grabbed my hand. “Let me” I sighed, making my bangs flare up.

But I still sat there. I hated this. Here was what I thought was a normal guy and he was treating me like everyone else; a baby. I was twenty four years old. I didn’t need to be treated like a fucking baby! A couple seconds later my door was opened.

After I stepped out, Matt immediately grabbed my hand. He led me away from the car and towards another building. I slipped on my sunglasses so the people inside wouldn’t get freaked out by my eyes or stare at them. The ding of a door chime startled me but the coldness coming from the freezers calmed me down. “Hello” an unfamiliar voice greeted us.

“What can I get for you two?” Matt ordered himself a large vanilla ice cream cone then ordered me a small scoop of ice cream cookie dough in a cup. After he paid, he led me back to a table. He pulled out my chair and helped me sit before he sat down next to me. We sat in silence for a couple minutes till he asked me a question that shocked me. “How are you so comfortable with being blind?” I shrugged one shoulder.

“I’m not. Well, with some parts of it I’m not.” “Like what?” I could feel him staring at me. “Being treated like a baby” I put a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth. “Who treats you like a baby?” I swallowed before I answered. “Everyone. Even you” I’m pretty sure he wore an expression of shock on his face. “Me? How do I do it?” “You wouldn’t even let me open my own door” he placed his hand on top of mine.

“Sorry. I just want to make sure you’re safe.” “So does everyone. I’m twenty four years old and I get treated like I can’t even wipe my own ass” he laughed really hard at that. I looked away and continued to eat my ice cream. This wasn’t a fucking joke. I was telling him how I felt and he was laughing! “Hey” I heard his voice suddenly after a few minutes of silence.

I turned back to face him. “I promise that I will try to not treat you like a baby anymore” I nodded. I didn’t believe him but we’d see where this went. I put my spoon back in the bowl only to realize I was out of ice cream. I heard the crunch of his cone before I heard the scraping of his chair.

“You ready to go?” I could tell he was standing above me now. I nodded and I let him take my hand and lead me back outside. My door was opened and soon after I was settled in my seat, I heard his door open. After the car was started, I felt the cold blast of the air conditioner hit me full on in the face. “So where do you live?” I gave him my address, but I somehow still had to give him directions.

After forty minutes and successfully getting lost twice, we finally pulled up outside my house. Matt parked on the street and shut the car off. “I had fun today” he told me. “Me too” I was suddenly engulfed in a hug. I could feel how smooth his skin was.

He had rippiling muscles all over his strong arms. He was warm and even though it was humid outside, I loved that. Surprisingly, I felt extremely safe in them. Eventually, I wrapped my tiny arms around his broad shoulders. He squeezed me before letting go.

I expected him to tell me goodbye and leave but what happened next rocked me to my core. He leaned over and placed his lips on my left cheek. The second they landed on my lips there was a shock that went from the tip of my head to my pinky toe. From what I could feel, his lips were plump and soft. He kept them there for a good twenty seconds before he pulled away.

I didn’t know what to do so I reached for the door handle, yanked it open and jumped out. He didn’t say anything as I fast walked to the front door of my house. I pushed the door open and raced up to my room. Only until I crashed down on my bed, did I hear the car start up and Matt pull away from the curb. My body still shook from the electric shock of the kiss. And strangely enough, it felt good. What the hell is going on?