The Girlfriend Request Read online

  It was his turn to stare at me.

  “What’s wrong?” I yelled over a crack of lightning.

  He didn’t answer.

  “Eli? What is—”

  He stepped forward in one swift movement, his hands cupping my face as he leaned in, his mouth capturing mine.

  Time stopped.

  Then fireworks exploded everywhere through my body as I stood there completely mesmerized. I finally reacted.

  His lips moved even more thoroughly on mine, and his body pressed tighter against me until I wasn’t sure where I ended and he began.

  I gave in to the moment. He deepened the kiss, exploring my mouth, while his one hand moved to the back of my head, fingers caught in my curls. He tasted like cinnamon and rain. My fantasies hadn’t even come close to the reality of kissing Eli.

  After what seemed like forever, and yet not nearly long enough, he pulled back slowly. His eyes never left mine, and he stared at me in wonder. Rain flattened his hair, and glistened on his eyelashes. I swallowed, hoping I did it right. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he sure as heck had.

  He leaned in once more, his lips softly touching mine, brushing my cheek with the pad of his thumb. My knees buckled slightly. Reaching out to steady myself, I grabbed his shoulder, and then wrapped both of my arms around his neck, holding on. He was the only thing I was aware of. Everything else completely faded away.

  I blinked, then tentatively pulled his head closer, needing to feel the pressure of his mouth, wanting to taste him again. My eyes drifted closed as I heard him moan when I touched the tip of my tongue to his full bottom lip and traced it before slipping my tongue inside his waiting mouth.

  I pulled back first this time, blinking uncertainly. I bit my lip when he didn’t say anything at first. Maybe I was doing it wrong.

  He ran his hands through my hair on either side of my head, like he didn’t want to lose contact with me. “Em,” he breathed. He brushed a kiss against my temple, then crushed me against him, holding me tight. He whispered against my ear, “It’s always been you.”

  My heart soared. I closed my eyes, and tried to move in even closer, not wanting the smallest space to separate us. Rain poured down around us, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t care less about getting soaked. The boy I fell in love with that long ago summer day was finally holding me in his arms. It was worth the wait.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Emma

  We headed back about ten minutes later after realizing the rain wasn’t stopping any time soon. Besides, we were both drenched. Of course we’d made good use of our time. I could have kissed Eli forever.

  “Sorry we didn’t make it to the Freeze,” Eli said as we approached my front door, holding hands.

  I smiled. “That’s okay, I don’t mind.” Understatement.

  Pulling the door open, I turned to face him. “We could always watch a movie. We haven’t done that in a while.”

  He wrung the bottom of his shirt out with both hands. “That would be great, but I should really go home and change first.”

  I giggled. “Yeah, me, too. And it’s probably better if you aren’t here for it this time.”

  He held up his hands in mock surrender. “You’re right, though I can’t say I’d mind.”

  I blushed, then pushed him off the step. “Go, come on back when you’re done. Except this time, knock on my door before you come in.”

  He jogged toward his house, waving as he went.

  I walked in the house. Mom and Dad sat together on the sofa in the living room, both reading. I smiled when I noticed Dad absently stroking my mom’s hair.

  “I’m home!”

  Mom looked up, eyes widening at the sight of me dripping on the landing. “Well hello. I take it you got caught in the rain?”

  “Yeah, we did.” I couldn’t stop my crazy grin.

  Her eyes skimmed over me curiously. “Somehow you don’t look too upset about that.”

  Dad lowered his glasses down his nose, watching me now too.

  “Oh. Umm…we just had a good time at the playground.” I turned red. “We came back when we realized it wasn’t stopping.”

  “I see.” Mom’s eyes held a knowing glint. “I’m glad you had a nice time, honey.”

  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that my mom had always suspected how I felt about Eli, and this was her way of saying she was happy for me. A little embarrassed to be so obvious, I excused myself. “I need to go change; Eli’s coming over to watch a movie since we didn’t get ice cream.”

  Dad shuffled his newspaper. “Let’s make sure there are no more surprise entrances.”

  Apparently, he hadn’t mentioned the incident to Mom, since she looked over at him curiously. He just shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”

  Mom nodded. “Well, have fun. We’ll send Eli up when he gets here.”

  “Thanks.” I turned and skipped up the stairs to my room.

  As soon as I walked through the door, I saw the rose sitting on the dresser. Several of the petals had fallen, and scattered around the bud vase. Facts seem to indicate it was from Jake, and there was no way I wanted to start that whole argument again.

  Deciding to play it safe, I grabbed the vase and stuck it in the closet on the floor. After swinging the door shut, I walked over to the desk, picked up the fallen petals, and threw them in the trash.

  It only took a few minutes to change into a pair of navy yoga pants and a soft, long-sleeved shirt. I was drying my hair with a towel when a familiar knock sounded at my bedroom door. Chuckling to myself, I answered it.

  “Don’t worry. I’m dressed this time.”

  Eli laughed and walked into the room. “Damn.” He winked.

  I pushed him lightly. “Stop it,” I warned, giggling.

  He peeked out the door, and then leaned in for a quick kiss. Afterward, he smiled at me. “Hey,” he said softly.

  “Hey back.” It seemed surreal. Eli walking in and kissing me! “So…” I blushed faintly, curling my toes into the carpet.

  He motioned his head over toward the bed. “Why don’t we sit down and watch something?”

  I followed his motion with my eyes, and my mouth went dry. “Um, why don’t we grab some pillows and sit on the floor?”

  A grin peeked through. “Sure, that’s fine.”

  Grabbing some of the large pillows from the bed, I settled them on the floor and sat down, facing the television. He chuckled, shaking his head, and joined me. I turned on the TV. “So, what do you want to watch? Are you hungry? Can I get you anything to drink?” I was so nervous.

  Eli reached over and took the remote from my hand. “Em.”

  “What?” My voice shook a little.

  He reached to turn my face toward him, gently. “It’s me.” He shook his head, eyes no longer teasing. “It’s me.” He brushed the hair back from where it fell into my face.

  It’s not like we hadn’t sat together in my bedroom a million times before, watching TV, talking, listening to music. No matter what else had changed, he was still my best friend in the world.

  I nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I just…” I shrugged, embarrassed. “It feels different somehow.”

  “It is different. But that’s okay. We’re still the same.” He scooted a bit closer. “But, things being kind of different between us isn’t a bad thing.” He paused. “It’s actually a great thing.” He looked into my eyes, his expression open and earnest. “For me, anyway.”

  “It is for me, too,” I whispered.

  “Okay then. Let’s take it as it comes, you know? We don’t have to feel all weird around each other, or try to rush anything.” He smiled. “We have all the time in the world.”

  I smiled back. He always knew what to say to make me feel better.

  “Deal?” he asked.

  “Deal,” I echoed.

  I stuck out my hand to shake, but he grinned and shook his head. “I have a better idea.” He leaned in, slowly, a
nd kissed me. It was feather-soft, and took my breath away.

  “I like your way better,” I whispered.

  He laughed. “Me too.”

  He left shortly after the movie. I would have been more than happy to sit there all night with him, but I figured Mom and Dad wouldn’t be quite so thrilled. Besides, I’d promised the girls I’d give them a call, and knew they’d kill me if I didn’t. So, when he held out his hand to help me up, I accepted with a smile, and offered to walk him downstairs.

  “Okay.” He smiled, and I had to force myself not to brush his long bangs back from his eyes.

  I’d never walked him to the door; any other time he’d always just left on his own. But I kind of hoped he would kiss me again. An official goodnight kiss.

  The plan didn’t work. My parents were still in the living room, which had a clear view of the front door.

  They called goodnight to Eli as we walked past. Mom had that same knowing look, but said nothing. I’m sure she also wondered when Eli got amnesia and forgot how to navigate through our house alone.

  “Ah…well, good night,” I mumbled, tugging at my shirtsleeve.

  He looked quickly into the living room. My parents watched us fumbling around on the landing, clearly enjoying the show, curiosity written all over their faces. How awkward.

  “Good night,” he said softly, before calling more loudly in my parents’ direction, “Good night, Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz.”

  “Good night, Eli.” Dad chuckled into his newspaper.

  I rolled my eyes and opened the door. He stepped outside, mouthing, “I’ll call you.”

  Nodding, I smiled and waved before shutting the door.

  “I hope with all that you at least got your goodnight kiss before you came down,” Dad said dryly, peering over the pages.

  I whirled around, cheeks burning.

  “Oh, stop teasing the poor girl,” my mom scolded him.

  “I, we…I…”

  “Emma, we’re happy for you. Eli is a nice boy. We couldn’t have picked someone better for you.”

  Dad chimed in, “Remember the no closed door rule.” He quickly added, “Except when you’re changing. It’s locked, then.”

  Mom laughed. Apparently, Dad had clued her in while we were upstairs after all.

  I was leaving before this conversation got any worse. “I’m going to bed.”

  “Good night, hon.”

  “Goodnight.” Waving over my shoulder, I flew up the stairs. Wait until Sarah heard what happened, she wouldn’t believe it.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Emma

  I woke up to my telephone buzzing. Rolling over, I untangled the sheet from my arm and patted the floor alongside my bed trying to find it.

  Good morning, gorgeous. :)

  I couldn’t stop my cheesy grin. Definitely a nice start to the day. I tucked the pillow more firmly under my head, and propped myself up enough to answer Eli’s text.

  Good morning! What are you doing up so early?

  Waiting to see you.

  ???

  It took a few seconds for his response this time.

  Do you feel like going for a drive? I thought we could go over to the Falls, hike a little.

  I’d only been there once, with my parents, but I remembered how pretty it was. Trails that wrapped through the woods, natural waterfalls all over. The thought of walking those trails with Eli made me giddy.

  I’d LOVE to!!!! When do you want to go???

  LOL. How about we leave at 10:00. Will that be enough time for you to get ready?

  I glanced at the time. It was almost nine. More than enough time to shower and dress, and grab some breakfast.

  Yep! I’ll come over as soon as I’m ready, ok?

  Sounds good, see you then.

  I jumped up in bed, wanting to get started. A minute later, another text came in from him.

  Make sure to wear good sneakers or boots!

  I rolled my eyes.

  Yes, Dad. ;-)

  :-p

  Laughter bubbled up seeing his message. After I hopped out of bed, I decided I’d better run it by Mom and Dad about going hiking with Eli, though I couldn’t imagine they’d mind. They’d never cared before when I did things with him. Although I hadn’t been dating him before.

  I stopped short. Were we dating? As I went downstairs to find something to eat, I told myself not to worry about labeling whatever we were doing, and just enjoy it.

  Mom was already in the kitchen when I got there, standing at the counter pouring a mug of coffee. “Good morning, hon. Did you sleep well?”

  I nodded. “Yep. Thanks.”

  I walked over to the cupboard, opened it, and rooted around for the cereal I liked. I finally found it behind some healthy junk my parents ate. Chocolatey goodness over cardboard in a box, talk about a no-brainer.

  Mom leaned against the counter, holding her coffee in two hands, blowing it gently. “So, any plans for today?”

  I busied myself pouring cereal into the bowl. “I thought I’d go hiking with Eli up at the falls in a bit.”

  Mom crossed over to the refrigerator. She got out the milk and handed it to me. “Oh, that sounds fun. I’m sure you’ll have a great time.”

  It couldn’t be that easy. I placed the cereal box on the counter, and turned to face her. “Go ahead, say whatever it is you’re dying to say.” I sighed, waiting for the teasing, or questions, or whatever else she was going to throw at me.

  Instead, Mom shook her head, smiling gently. “Hon, I’m not going to say anything negative. I told you last night, I like Eli. And I’m happy for you.” She reached out to smooth my hair. “I’ve known how you felt for a while now, maybe even longer than you.”

  I blushed, and began to fiddle with my spoon, not meeting her eyes.

  “But,” she continued, “I still want you to take things slow. Don’t rush things, Emma.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Okay, good. Just enjoy this time, the newness of it. I know you’ve known Eli practically your whole life, but this is different.”

  I finally looked up to meet her gaze. “How did you know? I mean, how did you know things changed with us without me telling you?”

  She laughed. “Oh sweetie, you didn’t have to say a word. It was written all over your face.”

  Flushing a little, I tried to hide my grin. I grabbed my bowl and walked over to the table to sit down and eat. Spooning some Pebbles into my mouth, I reached for the orange juice setting on the table to pour a glass.

  “Where’s Dad?”

  “He ran to the hardware store. Apparently he’s going to try to fix that loose doorknob in our bathroom.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Dad is? Dad doesn’t even own a screwdriver.”

  Mom waved her hand. “Well, maybe that’s what he went to the hardware store for.” She laughed.

  The front door opened, and footsteps headed toward the kitchen. Dad came into the room, proudly clutching a brown paper sack with “True Value” written across it in red type.

  “I got it!” He proclaimed proudly, holding up the bag. He turned to me. “Morning, sleepyhead!”

  I waved my spoon at him. “Morning, Daddy. So, I hear you’re going to do some home repairs.”

  “Yes, I am. I’m going to start with the doorknob, and then I may even try to fix that leak we have in the downstairs bathroom sink.”

  This would not end well. The last time he tried to repair something plumbing related, we went without water for two days before he caved and finally called a professional. I shook my head but said nothing, shoveling in another spoonful of cereal instead.

  Dad exclaimed. “Oh! Emma, I forgot, there’s something out on the table in the entryway for you.” He smiled teasingly. “I think you have an admirer. It was outside the door when I came in. I didn’t know you were even awake yet.”

  My pulse quickened. Did Eli leave something for me? “What is it?” I asked, breakfast forgotten.

  “Well, go see.”
>
  It took every ounce of self-control I possessed to walk at a normal pace. After all, I wanted to be mature about the whole thing. Mom followed, curiosity written all over her face. In the breezeway, I immediately noticed something wrapped in green tissue paper like you get from a florist.

  Was it another rose? That meant it had to be from Eli, considering yesterday’s events. Maybe I was wrong about the first one and that was from him too. I fought back a grin. I removed the card stapled to the paper. Setting it down for a minute, I peeled the tissue paper back to peek inside.

  “What is it?” Mom craned her neck to see.

  “It’s two roses.” There was no use trying to hide my excitement now. “Look.” I held the pale pink roses out for my mother to inspect too.

  She leaned down to smell them, smiling. “Aw, Emma, they’re beautiful. Eli has good taste.”

  “Yeah, he does.” I set the flowers down, and began to open the card. Wait. What if he said something embarrassing? “I think I’ll read this later.”

  Mom leaned in to kiss my cheek. “That’s fine. A girl has the right to read a note from a boy in private.” She smiled before she turned and walked back into the kitchen.

  I couldn’t wait to see what he’d written for me this time. Once I got to my room, I closed the door softly, and then sat at my desk to open the envelope. It held a small white card.

  You make me smile.

  I grinned, reading his words, as my stomach flip-flopped in delicious excitement. It still seemed unreal that Eli thought of me that way. He’d always been nice to me, but roses? Sweet sayings? It was romantic and unexpected, like something in a movie that you never believe will happen to you. At least I sure hadn’t.

  It seemed silly to hide the notes now that I knew they were from him. I reached up and pinned the card to the wide corkboard above my desk, next to some of my treasured photos and ticket stubs. Opening my top desk drawer, I pulled out the first note, and pinned that up as well. The sight of them tacked up next to pictures of the two of us made me smile like a fool.

  The other rose. It was still in the closet!