Barely Breathing

by Rebecca Donovan

Page 12

 

  His cheeks creased around his broad white smile as he examined me curiously. I closed my eyes and cringed, realizing Id just inadvertently told him he was hot. This was going great.

  "Youre just like her," he mused, studying me. "I mean, you dont look like her at all, and she talks a lot more when shes nervous, but youre just like her. She spilled coffee on me the first time we met. "

  "And probably apologized a hundred times while trying to clean you off," I grinned, thankful he skipped right over my comment.

  "I dont think Ive heard someone talk so fast before," he laughed. "At first, I thought she was speaking a different language. "

  I laughed, easily picturing it. "So you met in a coffee shop?"

  "No," he corrected. "We met at work. I work for an architectural firm who collaborates on projects with her engineering firm. We met about six months ago, but we didnt go out until just recently. She refused to go out with me for the longest time. ”

  "Really?" The shock in my tone was heavier than I intended.

  "The age thing," he explained with a shrug. "She kept saying I was too young. "

  "Right," I nodded, remembering her dilemma when she first spoke of him.

  "But its not a big deal, right?

  "Nope. " I shook my head. "Age shouldnt matter. "

  He looked right into me and grinned. I could feel my cheeks changing color again, and I wanted to dump the water over my head to cool them off. I felt like an idiot. I still couldnt hold his eye for more than a second when he spoke to me. Id never had anyone focus on me so intently before, but I wasnt sure he intended to do it. My mother had said he made her feel like she was the only one in the room when he looked at her?and I guess I didnt want to feel that way.

  "Have you decided what youd like to have this evening?" the server asked, setting Jonathans drink down. She glanced at both of us, but her bright smile reemerged when Jonathan looked up at her.

  While he was deciding, I glanced around the room and realized she wasnt the only one who couldnt stop staring. I was slightly amused by the women adjusting their chair positions ever so slightly to get a better look.

  "And you?" she asked, barely making eye contact with me. Every other glance flipped back to Jonathan to see if he was looking at her, but he was obliviously watching me, waiting for me to decide.

  "Ill have the rib eye, medium-rare," I ordered, closing my menu and handing it to her.

  "Are you sure youre okay?" he asked, reading me so easily.

  "You attract a lot of attention, huh?" I stated honestly.

  Jonathan grinned abashedly.

  "Sorry," I floundered. "That was internal dialogue that should have stayed inside of my head. "

  "Youre funny. " He chuckled.

  "Unfortunately," I groaned.

  "They recognize me from the ads," he admitted averting his gaze. He was visibly uncomfortable as he took a sip from his glass.

  "Ads?"

  "I did a shoot for jeans when I was in college, to earn some money for school. "

  "Oh," I reacted. "You think the reason just about every girl in this restaurant is staring at you is because they saw you in a magazine ad, like what, five or six years ago?"

  Jonathan looked up at me with an embarrassed grin.

  "Wow, I did it again, didnt I? I cant seem to keep from saying the most?"

  "Honest," he interrupted. "Youre being honest. Its pretty funny, really. "

  "Im an idiot," I admitted, sinking in my chair. "Hows that for honesty?"

  Jonathan laughed again. I was definitely giving him plenty to laugh at.

  "Okay," he said, trying to sound serious. "Were supposed to be getting to know each other. Tell me something about you. "

  I stared at him blankly, like hed just asked me to recite the capitals of every country in the world.

  "Okay," he soothed. "Play any sports?"

  My shoulders eased up and I nodded. “Yeah, I’m playing basketball right now. ”

  “Are you any good?”

  I released a breathy laugh. “I’m decent. ”

  “You’re better than decent,” he challenged.

  “Why would you say that?” I questioned, my cheeks peaking in color.

  “You laughed, so you’re not comfortable talking about yourself, meaning you’re probably really good. ”

  I shrugged, my cheeks igniting as I adjusted my position in the chair. His ability to read me like a book was a bit disarming.

  “Okay, let’s put it this way. What would the papers say about you?”

  “Umm… I guess they’d say that I’m the co-captain and point guard of the first place team in our division. That I average twenty points a game and was All-American last season. ”

  “That’s impressive,” he admired with a slow nod. I shrugged sheepishly.

  “What about you? Did you play any sports?” I was pretty certain I already knew the answer.

  The server arrived, placing our plates in front of us.

  "Is there anything else I can get for you?" she asked Jonathan.

  "Emma, do you need anything?" He purposely diverted her attention to me.

  "No, Im fine," I answered, trying to keep from smiling. She walked away with her shoulders slumped.

  "What were we talking about?"

  "What sports you played," I reminded him.

  “I played football. ”

  I nodded, pretty much predicting it based on his thick neck and broad muscular build.

  "Dont nod like that," he shot back, "like you knew I was going to say that. "

  "Well, come on," I rebutted, "look at you. " He rolled his eyes. "Fine. ” I continued, “What would the papers say about you?”

  “The papers wouldn’t mention me at all; I spent most of my time on the bench. ”

  I laughed. “Really?”

  "You dont have to laugh," he feigned offense. "I was second string receiver. I just wasnt as good as the starter. " He paused before blurting, "Okay, fine, I sucked. I couldnt hold on to the ball to save my life. "

  I laughed again.

  “But I swam. Still do when I can. ”

  “Would the papers mention that?”

  “I guess they would,” he admitted modestly. “I swam on the team at Penn State. It helped pay for my tuition. ”

  “So you were really good, huh?” I noted, impressed.

  He shrugged with one shoulder.

  "Wait, I thought modeling helped with your tuition?" I grinned.

  "Yeah, that was a onetime thing, and it really didnt pay that much. "

  I nodded, taunting him with a smirk on my face.

  "Shouldnt have told you that, huh?"

  "Sorry," I laughed. "I just think its funny that youre immune?"

  "Hi," my mother greeted excitedly before I could finish. Jonathan stood up to greet her with a hug and kiss?which made me suddenly interested in the food on my plate. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she was dating, and I wasnt quite ready to handle seeing it. I knew I needed to get over it. . . fast. Especially when she sat down with us and kept a hold of his hand throughout dessert, dominating the conversation in her nervous rush.

  I watched as Jonathan hung on to her every word, every so often calming her enough so she actually sounded coherent.

  It was evident that she was enthralled with him and he really cared for her. By the time we were ready to leave, I was. . . okay. She was happy. And that was all that mattered.

  I pulled out my phone to check the time. "Um, I have to go," I said, interrupting my mothers story about the time she accidentally uploaded a YouTube video of singing cats for a presentation. "Thank you for dinner. "

  "What do you mean?" she questioned, sounding slightly disappointed.

  "Evans supposed to be meeting me at the house in twenty minutes. "

  "Do you want to come back to the house?" she asked Jonathan, completely taking me by surprise.

  "Sure," Jo
nathan responded, signing the check.

  Hellooo?! Whats he like? was waiting on my phone when I entered the car.

  Hes nice, was all I texted back to Sara before driving home.

  Evan was waiting for me when I pulled into the driveway.

  "Sorry," I grimaced, as I hurried up the walkway.

  "I just got here," Evan assured me.

  I unlocked the door as my mother and Jonathan pulled in behind me.

  "How was it?" Evan asked before they entered the house.

  "Okay," I responded with a shrug. Evan eyed me curiously, knowing how nervous I had been about the dinner. "Hes nice," I opted, providing him with my canned response.

  "Evan," my mother greeted happily. "How are you?"

  "Great. Thanks," Evan replied, hanging up his jacket. He paused for a moment with the hanger in his hand when Jonathan walked in. Then he took my jacket from me and hung it as well.

  “Jonathan, this is Evan,” my mother introduced. Jonathan held out his hand with a broad smile.

  “Nice to meet you. ” Evan shook his hand in return.

  “You too,” Jonathan responded. There was a strange silence while we all just stood there in the foyer looking at each other.

  “We’re going upstairs to study,” I finally announced, taking Evan by the hand.

  “Thats him, huh?" Evan said, closing the door behind us.

  "Yup," I said, sitting down on the bed. "Thats him. "

  "Not who I was expecting," he stated.

  "Who were you expecting?" I countered, surprised by the contemplative look in his eyes.

  "I dont know," he said dismissively, sitting next to me on the bed. He leaned down and was about to kiss me when we were interrupted by a knock at my door.

  “Hi,” Sara burst in. Then she narrowed her eyes at our frozen posture and rolled them with an impatient breath. “Did I interrupt something?”

  “No,” I replied quickly, struck by her annoyed tone. I slid up the bed to sit against the wall, distancing myself from Evan. “What are you doing here?”

  “I had to see the guy. Your text was pathetic,” she accused. “Holy hotness. He is beautiful. I mean truly beu-ti-ful. Like the kind of beautiful they build statues to worship. ”

  Evan looked at her in amusement. I shook my head with a roll of my eyes.

  “How old is he, like twenty?”

  “No,” I replied like she was insane. “He’s twenty-eight. ”

  “Well, nicely done, Rachel,” Sara stated enviously. "And just think, youll get to see him like every day. "

  I widened my eyes, silently begging her to shut her mouth. Evan’s troubled looked returned. Obviously, he did not share Saras enthusiasm.

  9. Just Not Right

  "Im not sure what Im doing. " My mother stared out the window while leaning against the counter.

  I waited, but she didnt continue. So I prodded. "About what?"

  "Jonathan. "

  I waited again, but she wouldnt say anything else. So I prodded a little more. "What about Jonathan?"