Monday, August 8, 2011

Chapter Nine

This chapter is brought to you by this song:  Today was a Fairytale - Taylor Swift


“Hey Alex,” I choked out.  Her jaw dropped and with the poor lighting in the hallway, I was unable to make out her full facial expression.  After what seemed to be an eternity, she spoke.

“Where is Race?”

“Probably at home with Denise,” I said evenly.

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

“Well, I heard you needed a date to the wedding this evening.”

She slowly moved towards me and scoffed, “Heh, is that so?”

“Yup.”

“Are you saying you are my date?”

“Do I look good enough to be?” I asked, unable not to keep myself from smiling.  She looked me up and down and twirled her finger in the air to motion for me to spin around.  I obliged her and spun around on the heels of my dress shoes.  “Well?” I asked, lifting my hands for an answer.

“I guess you’ll do,” she answered, obviously hiding a smile of her own.

I left out a laugh, breaking the tension heavy hallway.

“Sam?” she asked after we both stopped laughing.

“Yeah?”

“You will stay away from the alcohol tonight.”

“I’m at your service tonight, my lady,” I bowed to her.

She rolled her eyes and giggled.  It was so good to hear her laugh in my presence; especially since it been a week since she had even said more than two words to me.

“So are you ready Miss Alex?”  I asked, picking up her small hand in mine and kissing it.  I had all the plans in the world to lay it on thick tonight.  I was also going to ignore the fact that she was in a wheelchair and just look at her for the beautiful girl I had originally noticed at the club.  I had a feeling that today was going to make or break anything that could possibly be between us.  I’m not even sure what I do want to have between us right now.

“It’s now or never, I guess,” she shook her head as if she was still trying to grasp what was going on.





I was speechless.  I’m never speechless.  I did not expect this at all.  Tomorrow morning Denise will be getting a visit from me and I will be kicking some ass, even if it was just with my loud mouth and fists.  I wanted to tell him to leave, but then I would end up with no ride to the wedding and there was no way I would be missing this.  Sarah was my best friend since we were in elementary school.  The only reason I wasn’t in the wedding was for the simple fact that I had told her I wasn’t comfortable.

Plus, there was no way in hell I could turn him away, not looking the way he did.  He cleaned up well, looking quite like the endearing prince charming I had pictured him to be when I first met him.  Of course that was before I found him to be all awkward and not so much of the person I had hoped for.  It’s his green eyes.  I can’t turn away from those green eyes.

“Holy shit, you washed your Jeep?!” I exclaimed kind of abruptly as I wheeled myself out towards the passenger side.

He laughed and shrugged while he opened the door.  “Since Denise said you were wearing light blue, I didn’t want to take the chance of you getting dirty because of it.  I’m high enough on your shit-list.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at this last comment and smiled at him.  “Well, you just went down the list a few notches if it makes you feel better.”

He smiled back at me and scooped me up into his arm, holding me for a minute longer than usual as his green eyes sparkled while looking into mine.  “I’m just glad to hear you speak to me again,” he said sincerely before setting me in the seat and closing the door.  The butterflies instantly flew into my stomach.  This could be a long night.

The wedding was beautiful.  It was a big outdoor, extravagant ordeal, something I personally would never choose to have, but I could still appreciate it because it was Sarah all the way.  I sat at the end of an aisle, so that way I could watch Sarah as she walked into the down to her future.  Having Sam sitting next to me kept me on edge throughout the whole ceremony, especially when the pastor asked everyone in the congregation to join hands.

My hands dwarfed in size compared to his and I was slightly surprised when he laced his fingers through mine and kept them laced together even after the prayer was done.  I looked over at him, but he just glanced over and looked forward again, I rolled my eyes when I saw him attempting to hide his smile. 

Sitting there, holding hands, put me back in Jr. High when holding hands at the movies was the craziest thing you did.  My finger tips were tingling and my mind was reeling a mile a minute.  What does he think he is doing?!





When the prayer was done, she tried to release her grip, but I just acted like I didn’t know the prayer was done and kept holding her hand.  I liked how it felt in mine, it felt natural.  I was sitting next to a beautiful girl at a wedding and it was hard not to kind of get caught up in all the romance.

I have to admit, I felt a little uncomfortable being at a wedding where the only two people I knew was Alex and the bride, who I met at her Bachelorette Party none the less.  Awkward!  However, we made a big joke of everything when Alex and I met with Sarah and her groom in the receiving line.

“You are supposed to leave all evidence of the Bachelorette party behind, not bring him to the wedding!” Sarah squeaked before leaning down and giving her best friend a hug and then kissing me on the cheek.  I was quickly introduced to the groom who asked if I would be kind enough to give him my autograph later on in the night.  Of course I agreed.

Soon it was just Alex and I left on our own during that awkward time called the Cocktail Hour.  It was fun watching people trying to be polite when the waitresses would come around with the food trays, but they were so hungry at this point that they would sneak as many bacon wrapped scallops off the tray without looking greedy.  Alex was quick to point this out.

“Look at that lady over there!  I think she paid the waitress to just stand there so she can eat the whole tray!” she laughed, pointing over at a plump lady in a gaudy bright red dress that was probably a few sizes too small.

We were sitting off to the side from where everyone was congregating, enjoying a cocktail.  I sat on the rock ledge wall, where a small waterfall that had served as a backdrop for the ceremony, emptied into a reflecting pool.  Alex was right beside me.

“That was the same lady who pinched my ass,” I exclaimed.

“Now that’s funny!” Alex snorted.

“You just snorted.”

“Yeah?”

“That’s not very lady like,” I picked.

“Just because I’m dressed like one, does not make me one, I’m afraid,” she smiled broadly at me, reaching across the space between us and plucking at the collar on my jacket.  “And besides, don’t even think you have me fooled wearing this fancy suit.  I know you’d be jumping in this little pool thing with by the end of the night if you got all liquored up.”

“You’d do that?”

“You don’t know the first thing about me…” she smiled shyly before taking a sip of her drink.

“But I’m learning.”

This statement made her stop, take a breath and then look up at me.  “You seem totally different tonight,” she said simply.

“I’m trying to start over.  I feel like I’m missing out on something with you and I want to find out what it is.”

“Did Denise feed you lines?”

I laughed at this and shook my head.  “No, but Cogs did.”

“Figures,” she rolled her eyes before going back to her drink.  “Well, the one thing that isn’t changing from before, I’m still stuck in this wheelchair.”

“We’ll see about that,” I winked back before taking her glass and getting her a refill.





Dinner was a blast.  Sam and I were the highlight of the table it seemed.  Everyone was asking us all kinds of questions about our professions.  A couple times I felt some tears start to well-up in my eyes, but Sam leaned over at one point and whispered, “If you cry, you’re going to ruin your face paint.”  This of course made me laugh and he would purposefully change the subject back to him and his crazy hockey stories.

After dinner, the dreaded dancing began.  It was okay watching all the specialty dances, but soon it was at the free-for-all dance point and we were left sitting at the table.  The familiar awkward feeling began settling in once more.  I sighed, took a sip of my water and sat back in my chair.

“Soooo, do you want to dance?” Sam drew out, surprising me as I felt his warm breath in my ear.

“Now come on Sam, you’ve known me long enough to realize I can’t dance.”

“Says who?!” he scoffed, sitting back in his chair, beginning to loosen his tie and undo the top button of his shirt.  He had already shucked off his coat before dinner.  I just narrowed my eyes at him.  “Don’t glare at me Fletch.  Trust me, I have an idea.”

“I don’t think I’ve trusted you yet,” I frowned.

“Well, it’s a new start, so you can try this trust thing out,” he announced before standing up and scooping me up into his arms before I could even protest.  Next thing I knew, I was out on the dance floor with him.  “Wrap your arms around my neck, I won’t let you fall,” he whispered into my ear, causing goosebumps to cover my uncovered skin.  “I refuse to let my beautiful date not be seen on the dance floor.”

People were looking, some were trying not to be obvious about it, but I could feel their eyes burning holes all over us.  However, Sam seemed oblivious.  I reluctantly wrapped my arms tightly around his neck sucked in a breath as he left my feet drop towards the floor.  At least I thought they were going to hit the floor, I realized he put his feet underneath mine and soon we were moving around the dance floor with his arms locked around my waist to hold me safely.  “You comfortable?” he asked, smiling down at me.

I nodded and smiled nervously back.

“Good,” he grinned and before I knew it, we were twirling around the dance floor to some ballad.  It was all surreal.





At first she held on for dear life, but as night wore on her grip lessened and it was obvious she was becoming more comfortable.  I too relaxed and allowed myself to enjoy this intriguing girl I was holding close to me.  Despite being at a wedding where I basically only knew one person, I was actually having a lot of fun.  Alex kept me laughing with her one liners and her smiles kept me wanting to say and do more things to warrant more smiles.  There was nothing about this that reminded me of the year long relationship I had just been in.  This reminded me more of how things were supposed to be when getting to know someone you liked.  With each passing moment, a new thing was learned.

We were dancing to Taylor Swift’s Today was a Fairytale and soon my obsession was revealed.

“Are you singing to this song?” she asked, quite amused.  Her head had been resting on my chest, but now she was looking up at me with a curious smile.

“Maybe…”

“Are you a big Taylor Swift fan?” she asked in a mocking tone.

“So what if I am?”

She seemed to find this very funny because soon she was turning red from attempting to keep in the majority of her laughter.

“How is this funny?”

She took a breath for a moment to calm herself before she started in.  “Well, you act all tough by having Theory of Deadman constantly blaring out of your speakers in the Jeep, but here you are being all soft with Taylor Swift.”

“She’s hot, okay?”

Alex rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Typical guy answers…”

“You shush, little girl,” I teased, quickly twirling her around when she didn’t expect it, causing her to squeak like a mouse.  “Besides, you have no right to be jealous.”

“Jealous?  Jealous of what?!”

“That’s exactly my point.  You have nothing to be jealous of because you’re with me and not her…”

“Oh Lord.  Just make yourself sound like you’re the Prince of England or something.”

“Well, you’re the one who said I make you nervous!” I reminded, obviously treading on flirting territory.

She bit her lip and rolled her eyes.  “I’m not falling for that.”

“Whatever, I’ll just have to read your eyes.  You don’t hide secrets that well in those liquid ambers.”

She blushed at this and looked away.  After the song was done she asked to go back to our table for a break.  I scooped her back up into my arms and walked her back over to the empty table.  I paused before setting her down.  We both were looking at each other, like we were waiting for something to be said or done but Sarah yelled out from across the room that Alex needed to come over to the bar and do a shot with her.  Before she could look back at me, I set her back down in her chair and watched her go over to the bar with her friend.  I just sat at the table trying to figure out what kind of craziness was going on between us. 

“Soooo…”

“Yes?” she turned to me on the ride home.  I gave her my coat for the ride home since the Jeep was completely open.  She looked like she was going to drown in it as she snuggled down into it.

“Was I an okay date?”

She laughed brightly at this and shook her head back and forth.

“No?!  You mean I put this monkey suit on for nothing?!” I scoffed.

“No!! I didn’t mean that!” she squeaked.  “You were an awesome date.  A surprise, but definitely awesome.”

“So am I more fun to hang out with than John?”

“Now you are just asking me questions that could get me in trouble…and I ain’t getting in the middle of whatever you two have going on.”

I couldn’t help but just laugh at this.  “So can I have a second date?”

“I don’t think you should push your luck, Gagner,” she looked over at me with a playful smile that said I was officially off her shit list.

However, even though I could have, I didn’t push it any farther.  My mission was accomplished tonight.  She opened up to me and I was finally learning more about “Fletch.”  What caught my attention the most?  It had to be the way she handled herself.  It was obvious that when she was comfortable with her surroundings, her strong personality showed through and her smile could light up a room.  There was nothing fake about Alex.  What you saw was what you got and after tonight, I was enjoying everything I got.

6 comments:

  1. Loved this. It was abso-freaking-lutely awesome. Sam was so perfect. I absolute loved when they were dancing on the dancefloor.

    Props to Sam. He sucked it up and things turned out going really well! Im super happy :)

    Can't wait for more!

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  2. Sam singing Taylor Swift on the dancefloor. Whata softie <3

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  3. this brought back memories of my first ever slow dance with my soulmate. it felt incredible. it was magic.

    every single time i read an update i'm just left wanting more! you are an awesome writer HockeyFireChick. you just made my day=)

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  4. Great chapter! So glad Sam and Alex are getting along.

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  5. Yeah...Sam got a do over...This was a very sweet chapter and I loved it! Can't wait for the next one!

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  6. You were the prince
    I used to be a damsel in distress
    You took me by the hand and you picked me up at six

    I choose to take the final two words out of what I just typed, and then it's like the story, where he picked her up and twirled her around the dance floor!
    Because that was, by far, the sweetest thing he could have done. Ever.
    I'm just gonna go wrap my arms around myself and hum slow songs while I dance around my room at the cuteness between the two of them in this chapter!!

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