***Chapter Twenty-Nine***
Later that evening, I headed to the skate park. It was later than the last time I was here. No one but me occupied the space, and that was good. I needed no distractions as I skated around the park. I’ve been working on that trick Drew showed me, and it worked pretty good. I felt I got the hang of it once I added movement. This was the first real trick I’ve learned on my board and I couldn’t stop doing it. Though it made me miss Drew.
If I hadn’t been so angry at him, I would have invited him to come. He still ignored everything that happened, along with not talking to me. I couldn’t decipher what his deal was, but it wasn’t helping anything. All it did was made me angry that he seemingly just stopped all communication. We’ve gotten so close and it felt as if he threw it all away. On top of that, it was his idea to kiss. We’d still be fine if he didn’t ask for it! I’m getting angrier the more I reminisce.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last long, as Drew showed up at the park as well. It was awkward to see him, as we were the only ones here. Had I known he was coming, I wouldn’t have. He wanted to ignore me, then I’ll do the same back. Two could play this game, but I was going to do it better. There’s no way Drew was getting away with acting like I didn’t exist anymore.
Drew skates around as the night air consumes us. The atmosphere felt dark with the sound of wheels spinning against concrete. Silence taunting either of us to speak. I wouldn’t break, not with the way he completely blew me off the other day. It’s like I wasn’t even with them when we went out. He was a different person, but the only thing I couldn’t tell was why? Why did things suddenly change?
The silence didn’t last long as Drew spoke up first. I guess since he saw me not jumping; so he did first.
“I see you’re still talking to Keegan,” is the first thing that comes out of his mouth.
I ignore him and continue to skate.
“I told you, he’s not all that he seems,” he reminds me. I still ignore him and this frustrates him. “Annabelle, I’m talking to you.” He hops off his board.
Following suit, I give him a tight-lipped smile, not wanting to have this conversation. “You know Drew, I’m thinking many people aren’t what they seem.” I was referring to him.
The look on his face was priceless. It’s like he knew I was talking about him and still didn’t expect me to say that. How could he blame me when he completely changed after everything transpired? Everything he wanted to happen. My emotions were out of control when I saw him all over Juliana. A lot more than he usually is, and it hurts. Sharing an intimate moment between us unlocked a can of worms that wouldn’t be shoved back down. I can’t outright tell him how I feel, but he was going to get the gist of it.
Scrounging up his nose, Drew frowned. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?” I could hear the anger in his voice.
I rolled my eyes, feeling the tension rise in the air. “It means you’re the one who did a whole 360 turn on me!” I yell at him. “We kissed Drew and now you’re acting like…like…”
“Like what?” He urged me to spit it out.
“Like an asshole!” I yell once more.
Usually, I’m not one for cursing. At least not heavy curse words, but there were no other words for me to describe it to him. He was being an asshole, with no explanation for why. Even when I spoke, he brushed it off like I wasn’t even there that day. All he ever did was stare at me. Stare like I’m supposed to understand what he’s communicating with his eyes. If I had the power to read his mind, believe me, I would. That’s not the case and it will never be the case. I wish he would just be honest with me and say what’s on his mind. It’ll save us both the trouble.
Hearing me call him an asshole; his facial expression softened. It’s not every day that I say things like that to him. We’ve gotten to where I’ve felt more comfortable talking to him. So comfortable that I always wanted us in conversation. Being around Drew has made me fall more for him every single time. It’s like he doesn’t notice how much that admiration in my eyes is because I long to be with him, to be close to him. Now here he is trying to throw it all away. Like the time we’ve been spending meant nothing.
Again, Drew’s face turned red as he looked to the ground. “I’m…I’m not trying to be an asshole, Annabelle.” He responds softly.
“So you were just using my emotions to gain brownie points or whatever it is you guys do to score.” I may have jumped to conclusions.
His eyes shot up in shock at me. “That’s what you think I was doing? Trying to score?” He asked me like I was way off base.
I nod. “If there’s another reason, I’m ready to listen to it.” I try to get him to tell me, but he goes silent again. “That’s what I thought.”
Rolling my eyes, I turn around towards the exit of the skate park, only to be met with Drew’s hands grabbing my hips to pull me back. He pushes me up against the gate as gently as he could before crashing his beautiful lips against mine. I try to fight him off, pushing as hard as I could with my hands. However, Drew took both of them, pinning them above me. Without being able to fight, I sank into him, inviting him to kiss me deeper than last time. My body sinking against the cold metal of the gate.
This isn’t what I was expecting him to do, but I couldn’t deny the butterflies. The feeling of his tongue colliding with mine set a fire in my stomach no one could put out. My heart pounding faster the longer we stayed locked together like this. Good thing it’s only us here, otherwise things would be awkward. For a third time, Drew kissed me and I couldn’t feel anything but desire. Deep down, I knew we shouldn’t be doing this again. Yet it somehow felt different. He didn’t ask for it to happen, he just did it, making me think there’s more to why he was ignoring me. I guess I jumped to conclusions out of anger.
Parting his lips, he let go of my hands, only to caress my cheek afterwards. I shiver, not only from the cold, but from his gentle touch. The look in his eyes is different tonight as the moonlight makes his green orbs look dark. It reminded me of how I look at him, answering some of my questions. Things weren’t simple like I wanted them to be. Given the context of what Dre said, there was more going on than Drew simply dating Juliana. It’s more complicated than that and I’m not sure I was ready to hear just yet.
Sighing, Drew kept his gaze locked on mine. “Annabelle, I wasn’t trying to ignore you after…everything.” He says, calmly.
I crossed my arms. “Then what were you doing? I’m just confused.” I admit. “You see how I look at you?”
He smiles, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “I love the way you look at me. You don’t think it drives me crazy?” He asked.
My cheeks turn red hearing him say that as I look away. “Then-then why are you pretending like nothing happened?” I questioned.
Drew scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. “If I could summarize, I would, but I can’t just drop everything to be with you.” He explains. “As lovely as that may be, it’s more complicated than just breaking up with Julie.”
My eyes look back up at him in glee. Did I just hear him correctly? He said things were more complicated than just breaking up with Julie, but would he do that? Would he end their relationship to start one with me? Maybe I’m still delirious from the kiss because there’s no way I heard him right. If that were the case, does this mean Drew feels the same way about me too? There were so many things running through my head at this point. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the words he was saying to me. Though, it confirmed a bit of where his head has been at.
Sort of understanding, I didn’t ask for more explanation. “Can we at least stop acting like the other doesn’t exist? It’s annoying me.” I say.
He chuckles, agreeing with my notion. “Yeah, we can stop pretending.” He smiles, but then looks sad again. “I’m sorry Annabelle. I’m still learning to process my emotions in healthy ways.”
I did one of his moves and turned his face toward me. “Don’t be sorry,” I smile. “We can work on it…together.” I say softly.
Shaking his head, he pulls me in for a hug, as I can feel him smiling against me. I didn’t think that would make him happy, but it did, and I’m glad. He’s told me how out of control his emotions used to be. I still don’t have all the details on it, but the Drew that I know is perfect in my eyes. Everyone can lose control of how they’re feeling sometimes. It’s human nature to not be in control 100 percent of the time. So, if he says he still needs to work on it, then that’s what we’ll do together. We were still friends before anything else.
I thought too soon though, because I’m dealing with a guy that’s full of surprises. There’s never a dull moment with Drew, whether it’s good or bad. I couldn’t tell what this moment was, but he seemed adamant about it happening. The only thing his question left me was confused.
Letting me go, Drew looked down at me with this mischievous grin on his face. “Ok, I have one more proposal I want to give to you.” He says, almost confident it’ll happen.
I look on confused, but ready to listen. “Oh, ok, what is it?” I was kind of nervous.
He bit his lip, not sure how I was going to take what he wanted to propose. “While I figure some shit out, would you maybe like to try being friends…” he trailed off.
I laughed. “Drew, we’re already friends.” I respond to his nonsense.
“You didn’t let me finish,” he chuckles. “Friends, but with secret benefits?
***
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