I opened the door revealing him in jeans, hooded sweatshirt and backwards blue baseball hat, that perfectly matched the depths of his eyes. A grin spread across his face, highlighting that dimple I loved so much, as he stood taking me in.
“See, I was right—much cuter than Sanders.” I smiled; and turned to lock the door. We walked to his Jeep Wrangler and after helping me up into my seat he took his place next to me. The drive was comfortably quiet as my eyes focused on him as he mindlessly shifted gears and kept his attention on the road ahead of us. The only time Corey took his eyes off the road was when he turned to see me watching him. Each time a devastatingly beautiful smile spread over his face. He’d run a finger down my nose, pinch my cheek and even once at a stop sign his fingertips brushed delicately down the length of my face. For the first time, I didn’t allow myself to over think the gestures. Being near him again was truly the only thing I wanted.
At the theater we arrived in time to catch one of two movies: a chick-flick or some action packed bloody film. Without asking me, Corey picked the chick-flick and I didn’t bother hiding my sigh of relief. Watching blood and guts spilling all night was the last thing I needed. While we walked to the concessions stand I found myself unable to control my need to be closer. Lacing our fingers would have felt much too intimate and throwing my arm over his shoulder, would have been awkward with the height difference. So, I settled on linking my arm through his. Corey looked down at me with surprise but smiled and gave my arm a tight squeeze of acceptance.
The movie was great and the whole time Corey’s arm rested along the back of my seat. We laughed together at all the same parts and it made me smile to see he was enjoying himself. The movie came to an end much too soon; I had half a mind to ask if he wanted to stay for another but didn’t. I wasn’t ready to go home yet but I had a good feeling I wouldn’t be going in alone tonight. Honestly, I would go anywhere as long as I was near this man.
The jeep pulled into the driveway behind my car and we both hopped out. Corey waited for me to get to the front of the jeep then proceeded to wrap his arm around my shoulders, to walk me to the house. Once at the door he patiently waited for me to get it unlocked and flick on the entryway light. After stepping in I realized he hadn’t moved to follow.
“Want to come in?” I asked, in case he suddenly felt an invitation was necessary.
“No thank you; I should be getting home.” He flashed a grin. “But thank you for tonight; I had a lot of fun.”
“I did too.” My answer was genuine but that didn’t hide my curiosity at the excuse to leave. Corey walked up the steps to close the space between us and placed a kiss on my forehead before backing away again.
“Have a good night, Danielle.”
“Night.” I watched him walk back to his jeep and wave goodbye as he drove off. It was hard to say how much longer I stood in the doorway staring after him but for the second time that day, I was prompted to use the phrase:
What the hell just happened?
* * * *
The house phone was clutched in my hand. It lit up and rang louder than usual. I knew I needed to answer her call. You could only put something like that off for so long before the time was up and you couldn’t possibly run from it anymore. If I didn’t have my Grandmother breathing down my neck about it, I’d probably continue ignoring the problem indefinitely. A part of me wished Corey was there to hold my hand. Maybe he’d even tell me I was being stupid for getting so worked up about it but he wouldn’t judge me. Corey has never once made me feel like shit for the family issues I was oh so blessed to be a part of; he understood it like no one had before.
Stop Danielle! Those feelings were there clearly because I was weak when it came to my mother—that was all. I exhaled to silence those needy thoughts and