“I guess that’s everything we needed to talk about. Surprisingly, I don’t think you need to change anything in your paper,” she said. For a minute I thought she was going to leave, but she stayed in the same position.
“What are your plans tonight?” I asked, not letting any opportunity slip past me with this girl.
“You love putting me on the spot.” Her mouth lifted at a corner. She tried hard to mask her smile.
“If it keeps you around, I’ll do it all the time,” I said. That earned me an eye roll. “So?”
“I’m off…I have nothing to do except watch Netflix alone.” She laughed.
“We can do that here. Do you want to order a pizza?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t back out now. She chewed on her bottom lip a little, and then looked up at me.
“You found my weakness,” she said.
“Me?”
“Um, nice try,” she said, but the blush that crept under her skin didn’t go unnoticed.
“What do you want on yours?” I asked her as I reached for my phone.
“Just pepperoni.”
Thirty minutes after I called in the pizzas, I entered my room with the boxes and a bottle of wine in my hand. Girls like this kind of shit. Autumn’s eyes lit with excitement as I put her small box in front of her. I poured two glasses and handed her one.
I couldn’t hide my grin. She sat on my bed in yoga pants, watching Netflix, grinning like a kid on Christmas at pizza. She wasn’t interested in going out or what she ate or trying to impress anyone. She simply was who she was. This was when you knew you had found a special girl.
“Thanks. This looks amazing,” she said, opening the box.
“Pops. Best place in town.” I took my place beside her, not wasting any time. I grabbed the remote, pulling up Netflix. “What episode were you on? I know you’re dying to watch it.”
With a small laugh, she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Season four, episode eleven.”
I gritted my teeth, thinking back to that season of Dexter. “I don’t want to watch this season with you.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Why? He cannot get caught! There’s still, like, four more seasons left.”
“He doesn’t get caught. You’ll freak, though,” I said, and she pressed her lips together.
“Way to spoil things.”
“I didn’t spoil anything. I was just warning you,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
“Well, whatever you want to call it, thanks.” I didn’t miss her sarcasm. She tilted her glass back, drinking the entire glass while the opening credits came on the screen. I poured her another glass. She thanked me with a smile.
I had seen this show, and every other show worth a damn, at least twice. So, I was more aware of her as she watched the show, handling the twists and turns. When we started the next episode, I was curious to know how she would handle a main character dying.
She closed the pizza box, letting out a sigh. “He’s finally doing something right. He should have killed that guy a long time ago. At least he’s getting Rita out of town,” she said.
“Yeah,” I said. It was the only thing I could muster up. She was too invested in the show to pay attention to me.
Near the end, we’d finished the entire bottle of wine and all our pizza. She gave me her opinion throughout the show. I liked hearing her thoughts. It was like getting a little peek inside her brain. Leaning back, she relaxed as the wine fills her body.
“Do you ever drink?” I asked, remembering I never saw her drink a lot at the parties.
“A little,” she said, and then her eyes went wide. “WHAT THE HELL! Dexter! You could’ve saved them!”
“The kid’s okay.” I tried to lighten the mood.
“He saw his mother dead! Do you know what kind of trauma that does to a kid!” She looked as if she could shove all the words back in her mouth. We both knew we’d had tragedies in our lives, but neither of us knew the details. The question hung over our heads as neither of us spoke.
“I do,” I finally said. Her face crashed into her waiting hands. Scooting closer I pulled her hands from her face, making her see me.
“What happened to you?” I asked her, hoping she would give me an inch.
“Nothing I’ll ever burden anyone else with,” she said. Her eyes were so sad yet determined.
“Nothing about you is a burden, Autumn.” Her guilt lifted, and the sadness left.
“Why are you so nice to me? I’m an asshole. I push you away constantly yet here you are, trying to get me to hang out with you. What is it about me?” Her eyes bounced around my face, searching for answers.
I looked at hers, hoping the same would happen. Believe me I wanted answers, too. She dragged her bottom lip through her teeth, looking up at me through thick lashes. All my willpower slipped through the window when she looked at me like that.
“I’m trying to figure that out myself, Autumn,” I said breathlessly. “But…I think it’s just…I think it might be just you.” I managed to fumble my thoughts out before I could stop myself.
I didn’t know who leaned toward who. All I knew was that my mouth crashed against hers as soon as the words left my mouth. Maybe that was what we needed all along, honesty. Her lips moved with mine, perfectly in sync with one another. I grabbed the back of her head, pulling her closer. I would never be close enough to her. I knew from this moment on, nothing would be the same. I was right, it was just her. She was my rhyme and my reason.
She pulled back first, looking into my eyes. I rested my forehead on hers, breathless. Don’t get me wrong, I’d kissed more girls than I would ever
