Back Into Your Arms
Chapter 24
We got in the car and he began to drive in silence, I connected my phone to his car and played some music.
He looked over quickly.
“Is that my playlist?”
“The infamous “It is what it is” playlist” I said smiling.
“You liked it?”
“A lot”
“You enjoyed listening to my weird songs? My weird taste in music?”
“It is not a weird taste in music, it is a fantastic taste in music”
“What was your favorite song in the playlist?”
“Hmm, that’s a hard one, maybe Amsterdam or Someone To Stay?”
He stopped at a red light and looked over at me.
“What?”
“You genuinely liked them?”
“Yes, yes I did they were added to my own playlist actually. Excellent song choices”
“You really are the girl for me...marry-”
“John!”
He laughed.
The light turned green just in time.
We rode the rest of the way singing the songs we both knew.
We decided to go to a McDonald’s drive through.
John ordered the food in his best deep country accent, we were laughing so hard when they handed us our food.
“She totally didn’t believe it huh?” he asked still laughing as we drove away.
“Nope” I replied laughing. He had a big smile on his face.
“Where to now?”
“Tempe town lake?” I suggested. He nodded and began driving there.
We sat there watching the water, eating our food when he brought up the dreaded question.
“What happened to us talking to your parents?”
I sighed.
“It’s complicated John, I was so motivated the day we came here, but the more I stay here the more I think about it…I just don’t know what I’m going to tell them. I was hoping maybe I’d remember more this week…”
“But you still want us to go talk to them sometime in the future”
“Of course, I do”
“That’s fine, I understand. You’re in a tough situation”
I nodded. I wanted to change the subject.
“So, did you wear v-necks often before?”
He started laughing so hard, covering his face with one hand, embarrassed.
“It was the trend, okay? Have you not looked up videos of the band from back then?”
“I actually, haven’t. Should I?”
“They’re really embarrassing, but perhaps you should”
I took out my phone and handed it to him.
“Show me one”
“Gosh Mel”
He looked up a video and handed my phone back to me.
It wasn’t the best quality but then again it had been posted in 2007.
“Who are these guys?”
“Alex and Ryan, they were some friends of mine from high school who were originally in the band but they left”
“Ah, and this handsome fellow, is you?”
“That’s the handsome fellow you dated”
he said with a grin.
“How old were you?”
“17, I wasn’t 18 yet?” he said scratching his chin.
“Wow”
He took the phone and showed me another video called “The Maine does The Morning Light”
All the current guys in the band were in the video being silly, lip synching to a song.
“That hair” I said to him. He was cute back then, in despite of the emo haircut.
“Should I grow it out again?”
I giggled and put my phone back in my purse.
“I don’t know, maybe that will help me get my memory back?” I joked.
“I’m going to look up more videos of you from 2007 when we get home, it’s like time travelling”
“I really wasn’t very charming back then, I kind of see why your parents didn’t like me, I looked like a-”
I gave him a look.
“I looked like a teenage good for nothing”
“You were good at singing”
“My voice hadn’t even fully gone through puberty yet. Have you even listened to me singing in my first album?”
“You said it, not me” I said laughing.
“C’mon let’s go home” he said standing up.
I nodded as he reached for my hand to help me get up.
His warm hand, holding onto mine.
His hand so much bigger than mine. I felt something I hadn’t before.
I felt happy, giddy, sweaty, confused all at once.
“What’s wrong?” he asked me.
“I don’t know” I said not letting go of his hand. He looked at me confused.
“I-I’ve only known you for less than two weeks…yet, I’m-” I stuttered. I squeezed his hand tighter.
“What?”
“Yet I’m already feeling so much for you, it’s overwhelming, it’s embarrassing, it’s not normal…I think. I don’t know” I said letting go of his hand and beginning to walk to the car.
I was so frustrated with myself, so confused.
It had only been two weeks, it wasn’t normal for me to be at some guy’s house, to know his parents and his friends already.
It wasn’t normal to already feel so attached to someone after only two weeks.
“Mel” I heard him say, trying to catch up to me, I only walked faster.
He grabbed onto my hand. I tried to pull my hand back but he only grabbed onto it tighter.
“It’s not normal but we aren’t in a normal situation”
“I-I don’t know”
“We have history that you unfortunately don’t remember, we aren’t just two people who met 2 weeks ago…”
“Because I don’t remember this history is that I find it weird…like what am I supposed to tell my co-workers? I ran off with a man I met at a concert and had dinner with, I ran off with him to Arizona, lived at his house for a week and half and now we hold hands and call each other every day? We share a playlist on Spotify? I’ve met his parents and text his mom on a daily basis?”
He stopped walking and couldn’t help but laugh, looking down at our hands. He let go of mine.
“We’re going too fast in comparison to the norm huh?”
“Yes” I said grabbing his hand again.
“But do YOU mind it?”
“I-I don’t”
And I didn’t. In the contraire, I loved it. This was a man who my heart had already fallen for before and for good reasons. I didn’t even have to wonder if we were compatible, because the old me had already figured that out for me. She had chosen this man, and now I was just re-meeting him.
“Then what’s the problem? Who cares what anyone else thinks? If anything they will admire you, what you just described is for the movies”
He was right, it sounded like I was describing a chick flick.
“So…are we dating again?”
he asked me, lowering his head to meet my eyes.
Hearing him say it made my stomach turn. I hadn’t dated much and having just recently gotten out of a relationship, I wasn’t sure I wanted to start again.
“Do you want to date me John?”
“I do”
“Why though? Why go through all that trouble because of me? What if, what if I’m not the person you fell in love with back then? What if, I’ve changed and you find you don’t like me anymore?”
“I want to date you again Mel, I want to go through all that trouble, I want to fall in love with the new you too”
I had never seen a man so convinced, so convinced about me.
He looked over quickly.
“Is that my playlist?”
“The infamous “It is what it is” playlist” I said smiling.
“You liked it?”
“A lot”
“You enjoyed listening to my weird songs? My weird taste in music?”
“It is not a weird taste in music, it is a fantastic taste in music”
“What was your favorite song in the playlist?”
“Hmm, that’s a hard one, maybe Amsterdam or Someone To Stay?”
He stopped at a red light and looked over at me.
“What?”
“You genuinely liked them?”
“Yes, yes I did they were added to my own playlist actually. Excellent song choices”
“You really are the girl for me...marry-”
“John!”
He laughed.
The light turned green just in time.
We rode the rest of the way singing the songs we both knew.
We decided to go to a McDonald’s drive through.
John ordered the food in his best deep country accent, we were laughing so hard when they handed us our food.
“She totally didn’t believe it huh?” he asked still laughing as we drove away.
“Nope” I replied laughing. He had a big smile on his face.
“Where to now?”
“Tempe town lake?” I suggested. He nodded and began driving there.
We sat there watching the water, eating our food when he brought up the dreaded question.
“What happened to us talking to your parents?”
I sighed.
“It’s complicated John, I was so motivated the day we came here, but the more I stay here the more I think about it…I just don’t know what I’m going to tell them. I was hoping maybe I’d remember more this week…”
“But you still want us to go talk to them sometime in the future”
“Of course, I do”
“That’s fine, I understand. You’re in a tough situation”
I nodded. I wanted to change the subject.
“So, did you wear v-necks often before?”
He started laughing so hard, covering his face with one hand, embarrassed.
“It was the trend, okay? Have you not looked up videos of the band from back then?”
“I actually, haven’t. Should I?”
“They’re really embarrassing, but perhaps you should”
I took out my phone and handed it to him.
“Show me one”
“Gosh Mel”
He looked up a video and handed my phone back to me.
It wasn’t the best quality but then again it had been posted in 2007.
“Who are these guys?”
“Alex and Ryan, they were some friends of mine from high school who were originally in the band but they left”
“Ah, and this handsome fellow, is you?”
“That’s the handsome fellow you dated”
he said with a grin.
“How old were you?”
“17, I wasn’t 18 yet?” he said scratching his chin.
“Wow”
He took the phone and showed me another video called “The Maine does The Morning Light”
All the current guys in the band were in the video being silly, lip synching to a song.
“That hair” I said to him. He was cute back then, in despite of the emo haircut.
“Should I grow it out again?”
I giggled and put my phone back in my purse.
“I don’t know, maybe that will help me get my memory back?” I joked.
“I’m going to look up more videos of you from 2007 when we get home, it’s like time travelling”
“I really wasn’t very charming back then, I kind of see why your parents didn’t like me, I looked like a-”
I gave him a look.
“I looked like a teenage good for nothing”
“You were good at singing”
“My voice hadn’t even fully gone through puberty yet. Have you even listened to me singing in my first album?”
“You said it, not me” I said laughing.
“C’mon let’s go home” he said standing up.
I nodded as he reached for my hand to help me get up.
His warm hand, holding onto mine.
His hand so much bigger than mine. I felt something I hadn’t before.
I felt happy, giddy, sweaty, confused all at once.
“What’s wrong?” he asked me.
“I don’t know” I said not letting go of his hand. He looked at me confused.
“I-I’ve only known you for less than two weeks…yet, I’m-” I stuttered. I squeezed his hand tighter.
“What?”
“Yet I’m already feeling so much for you, it’s overwhelming, it’s embarrassing, it’s not normal…I think. I don’t know” I said letting go of his hand and beginning to walk to the car.
I was so frustrated with myself, so confused.
It had only been two weeks, it wasn’t normal for me to be at some guy’s house, to know his parents and his friends already.
It wasn’t normal to already feel so attached to someone after only two weeks.
“Mel” I heard him say, trying to catch up to me, I only walked faster.
He grabbed onto my hand. I tried to pull my hand back but he only grabbed onto it tighter.
“It’s not normal but we aren’t in a normal situation”
“I-I don’t know”
“We have history that you unfortunately don’t remember, we aren’t just two people who met 2 weeks ago…”
“Because I don’t remember this history is that I find it weird…like what am I supposed to tell my co-workers? I ran off with a man I met at a concert and had dinner with, I ran off with him to Arizona, lived at his house for a week and half and now we hold hands and call each other every day? We share a playlist on Spotify? I’ve met his parents and text his mom on a daily basis?”
He stopped walking and couldn’t help but laugh, looking down at our hands. He let go of mine.
“We’re going too fast in comparison to the norm huh?”
“Yes” I said grabbing his hand again.
“But do YOU mind it?”
“I-I don’t”
And I didn’t. In the contraire, I loved it. This was a man who my heart had already fallen for before and for good reasons. I didn’t even have to wonder if we were compatible, because the old me had already figured that out for me. She had chosen this man, and now I was just re-meeting him.
“Then what’s the problem? Who cares what anyone else thinks? If anything they will admire you, what you just described is for the movies”
He was right, it sounded like I was describing a chick flick.
“So…are we dating again?”
he asked me, lowering his head to meet my eyes.
Hearing him say it made my stomach turn. I hadn’t dated much and having just recently gotten out of a relationship, I wasn’t sure I wanted to start again.
“Do you want to date me John?”
“I do”
“Why though? Why go through all that trouble because of me? What if, what if I’m not the person you fell in love with back then? What if, I’ve changed and you find you don’t like me anymore?”
“I want to date you again Mel, I want to go through all that trouble, I want to fall in love with the new you too”
I had never seen a man so convinced, so convinced about me.
♠ ♠ ♠
This part originally was written as part of Chapter 23, I just split it into two so that I can spread out this story a bit more. Thank you to my 15 subscribers, I appreciate every one of you guys. I'll try to post tomorrow Tuesday but if not, until Wednesday. Much love for you all!!!