Plastic Hearts

by De Jong, Lisa

  “Well, why don’t you start by telling me your name? The whole class already knows mine.” He started to tap the eraser of his pencil on his nose while looking right at me with those eyes. It would be so easy to get lost in them. Those eyes could get me into a lot of trouble.

  “My name is Alexandra Riley, but my friends call me Alex. I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and right now I’m majoring in Pre-Med, but my dream is to become a Graphic Artist which is why I slipped this class into my schedule. Anything else?” I removed my arms from my chest and reached for my pencil, writing Dane Wright at the top of my page. I couldn’t believe I just told him all that. That wasn’t something I usually admitted out loud, but for some reason I couldn’t stop myself. No going back now.

  “Why are you Pre-Med if what you really want to be a Graphic Artist? Lots of people end up changing their major, but that’s quite a stretch.” I didn’t look up at him, but I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was taking notes. I tried to discreetly peek over his arm to see what he was writing, but couldn’t read his handwriting. I would love to know what he thought of me after all of this.

  “I have no desire to be a doctor. My father is a doctor and my sister just completed her residency. In my family, if you have a brain that’s what you’re expected to do. My parents are paying for my college tuition so If I switched I would have to take care of everything myself. Plus, they don’t really leave much room for negotiation.” His brows drew together as he shook his head at me. I turned away, deciding a subject change was in order. “Tell me about you.”

  “I grew up right here in the city. I’m 22 years old and decided I was going to return to school and make something of myself. I really don’t want to work in a bar my whole life. Art is something that I know and something that I’m good at, so here I am.” He sat up straight and removed his jacket, revealing his tattoo-covered arms. I couldn’t make out all of them without an obvious stare, but it was a collage of various images. It was almost like he started with one and just kept going until he couldn’t fit anymore on his arm. Usually, I was turned off by them, but something about the coloring and pattern made me want to explore every inch of his arms with my eyes.

  “Did you design your tattoos?” I asked. I wanted to reach out and touch his marked skin. But I didn’t.

  “Yeah, I drew them out and a friend of mine did them in his shop. I have a dragon tattoo on my left arm and a guardian angel with my sister’s name on the other. The other stuff just kind of happened out of boredom.” I wanted to ask him why he had a guardian angel tattoo with his sister’s name on it, but I felt it wasn’t any of my business. He must have noticed my hesitancy because he continued. “Jenna died when I was nine; she was five. Mom had picked her up from dance class and a truck ran a red light, hitting the rear passenger side directly where my sister sat.” His eyes looked away from mine and he began to twirl his pencil on top of his notebook again. His face showed vulnerability and under his hard exterior, I saw something honest and sincere when he talked about his sister. I could only imagine the amount of pain losing a sibling would cause.

  I placed my hand on his forearm. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I meant it. My sister and I were very different, but I would be torn to shreds if I lost her.

  “Enough about me, tell me a little more about yourself. How old are you?” There was a deep sadness in his voice, but it was obvious he was trying to push it down and hide it. All of a sudden having my hand on him felt really awkward so I quickly removed it.

  “I turned 19 over winter break,” I said as I picked up my pen and started doodling on my notebook. “What kind of art do you do, Dane?”

  “I sculpt with metal. Sometimes I weld, sometimes I use fire to heat the metal and then hit it with a hammer to shape it. I can draw, but sculpting is the manly form of art because I get to use power tools,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. His rationale made me smile. Most guys I knew never got their manicured hands dirty and here was one who defined his manliness through his art by using power tools.

  I glanced up from my paper. “I’ve never seen anyone do a metal sculpture before. I’d like to watch that sometime.”

  “You can come to my place anytime,” he said, as he ran his tongue over his upper lip. I should be appalled by the underlying meaning of his words, but I couldn’t take my eyes off his lips long enough to let them bother me. The grin that formed on his face told me that he knew exactly what he was doing.

  “Do you like something you see?” he finally asked.

  My mouth went dry. I wasn’t used to being around someone so forward. When I looked back down at my notebook, it was covered in little hearts. I blushed as I quickly turned it over before Dane could see my newest work of art. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his grin widen and I wondered if I was already too late.

  “Class, I hope you have everything you need to start the second phase of your project. Please take the last few minutes to start thinking about what you would like to do on Wednesday,” Mr. Thomas said, interrupting our exchange. Relief washed over me; I couldn’t stand to look at those green eyes much longer. I could, but I didn’t want to. I needed some fresh air. I grabbed my things and placed them into my bag before getting up from my chair. As I turned to leave, I heard his voice behind me.

  “You looked beautiful the other night. Hope I didn’t cause too much trouble with your boyfriend.” I didn’t turn around to acknowledge his comment, but I felt my face turning red for the hundredth time in the last couple hours. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was happy that he remembered me.

  I went to the student center to grab some lunch before heading to Anatomy. As always, Jade was sitting at a table in the corner of the room that was otherwise filled with boys. During the first week of school last semester, a group of freshman guys came over to flirt with us. I had a boyfriend and Jade didn’t date freshman. After we turned down their advances they never really went away and we’ve eaten with them every day since.

  I spotted Jade as she waved me over to the table. “How was class?” she asked as soon as I sat down.

  I sighed and gave her the short version of my morning class, including my run in with the Sexy Stranger from the club and our first project.

  “Is he cute? I never really got to meet him because I was busy,” Jade said, looking at me with her big green eyes as if I was about to give her some big celebrity gossip scoop. She was a gossip addict; I could see her working for People or Us Magazine, taking pictures of famous celebrities. It would merge her two true loves.

  “I guess he isn’t bad. He has the most intense green colored eyes I’ve ever seen, but he really isn’t the type of guy I find attractive. He has tattoos on his arms and wears a leather jacket. You would eat him up.” He really was her type and I doubted that he wanted anything serious so I could see them working.

  “You know, you should go after him. He might loosen you up some.” She let out a laugh before continuing, “but if you really aren’t into him, maybe you could get me his phone number?” She winked at me before getting up from the table. The thought of giving Jade his phone number didn’t make me happy. It was one thing to say it, but it was another to picture myself doing it.

  I didn’t need a man to loosen me up. My focus was on the future and I would have lots of time after my career was established to worry about finding Mr. Perfect. If the right one fell into my lap before then I wouldn’t shy away from it, but I didn’t see that happening anytime soon.

  Wednesday morning came quickly. I pulled on a pair of old blue jeans and a long sleeved NYU t-shirt before tying my hair up in a loose knot at the top of my head. The project I was going to work on today could get messy and I wasn’t going to take any chances.

  I remembered to grab my hat and mittens before I walked to the Art Center. Temperatures were only in the teens, but the cold air felt cleansing as it hit my face. Dane flashed through my mind on the way to class. He intrigued me because he came off as a typical
cocky college guy, but I saw something more in him. He was different from other guys I knew and I was still trying to decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I took a deep breath before I entered the Art Center in an attempt to get my nerves under control.

  When I walked into the classroom I noticed that Dane was already there and my heart sped up like it did every time I was in his presence. He glanced up at me, smiling briefly before returning his attention back to his notebook. I had to take a deep breath to settle myself down before class began. Having to prepare a piece of art that I would share with everyone had me unhinged and having Dane as my inspiration just compounded my discomfort.

  I spent the entire class painting what I learned about Dane Wright onto canvas using one of the easels at the center of the room. At least I wouldn’t have to spend my time sitting next to Mr. Green Eyes.

  Stealing a few glances at Dane while painting, I noticed that he hadn’t done anything during class other than doodle in his notebook. At one point, I saw Mr. Thomas walk over and say something to him. Dane said something in response and Mr. Thomas nodded and walked away. I was starting to feel anxious that his part of the presentation was going to include a bunch of scribbles on notebook paper. Hopefully, I was more inspiring than that.

  When I was satisfied with the work I’d done, I returned to my desk with a few minutes to spare before class was over. I wanted to look over my Anatomy notes because I heard that Dr. Draper had a habit of giving pop quizzes. My notebook hadn’t been open for more than two minutes when my stomach growled, reminding me that I’d skipped breakfast in order to get to class on time.

  “That sounds like an invitation to ask if you would like to join me for lunch. Nothing fancy, just the cafeteria, but I’ll pay,” Dane said, eyeing me with such confidence that I was sure that he rarely heard the word no when he asked a girl out.

  “Actually, I can’t. I have to head over to the Med Center for Anatomy, which I’ll have to do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday immediately following this class. Just thought I should let you know so you don’t waste your breath asking me again,” I said curtly, crossing my arms over my chest. He stared at me for a minute, letting my words sink in before the sides of his lips turned up.

  “Okay, have it your way today, but eventually you’ll cave,” he said, the cocky grin still on his face. Like an answer to a prayer, class ended and we were dismissed. A leggy blond from the back of the room came up and grabbed Dane’s arm as he walked out. She whispered in his ear as he placed his hand on the small of her back. I would never admit it out loud, but I felt a little pang of something in my chest. Was I jealous? I didn’t know him very well, but I had the distinct feeling he went through women like I went through chocolate. Just another reason to stay far away from Dane Wright.

  I did need to eat so I headed toward the cafeteria to quiet the monster that was growing in my stomach. There was no way I was going to make it without eating something and after what I had just witnessed in the art room, Dane probably wouldn’t be in the cafeteria. I didn’t want to think about what he was doing right now.

  Jade was sitting with the usual crowd when I joined her. She eyed me suspiciously, “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Why wouldn’t I feel okay?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Look at your tray,” Jade said, pointing to my tray. Instead of my normal healthy salad or soup, I had chosen a cheeseburger and french fries. It was something I only did every six months or so and today was a special occasion. My mother never allowed me to eat this stuff at home; it was strictly forbidden. It was just another one of the little ways I could show some resistance without rocking the boat.

  “The snooze button got me this morning so I didn’t eat breakfast,” I said, as I picked up a french fry and popped it into my mouth. Missing the alarm had been a very rare occurrence for me. My friends always joked that I was a walking watch and usually I lived up to that statement.

  I inhaled my sandwich as I listened to Kevin rave about a new bar downtown called Loft 10. “They have a dance floor and the place is always packed,” he said.

  “Kevin, we aren’t old enough to get served in a bar. Isn’t there a campus party with a keg that we can go to instead?” Jade tilted her head to the left and crossed her arms over her chest. Kevin was attractive if you liked the big bulky jock type. He had short brown hair with golden flecks, blue eyes and huge arms; bigger than my thigh, huge.

  “I’ll take care of it. Bring me a current photo of each of you tomorrow,” Kevin smiled, elbowing Chris.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a hand on my right shoulder. I dropped my french fry as Jade and I both turned in unison. “Oh no,” I whispered under my breath as I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Dane was standing so close that I could feel him against my back.

  He knelt down; his mouth was so close to my ear that I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. “Skipping Anatomy to have a cheeseburger, are you? You know, you could have had a free one.” I swear all the blood in my body migrated to my face.

  “She doesn’t have Anatomy until one. Alex would never skip class for a cheeseburger,” Jade said. Thank you, Jade.

  “That makes you free for lunch after Art class. Next time I won’t take no for an answer.” I tried to look down to avoid eye contact only to realize that my head was level with areas of him that I really shouldn’t be staring at. If there were any way to get up from this table without bumping into him, I probably would have run for the nearest exit. He raised an eyebrow when I looked back up. “I’ll see you Friday.” And just as fast as he appeared he was gone, leaving me speechless and flustered.

  Jade didn’t turn back around as quickly as I did. “Holy gorgeous. Please tell me that you’re not complaining about that fine piece of ass being your art partner?” she said, grabbing my arm.

  Kevin interrupted before I could answer her. “That’s Dane Wright. I went to high school with him. He can be a real prick. You don’t want to get on his bad side. I think he worked his way through half the girls in our school and I have never seen him with the same chick more than once.”

  Jade closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Just once would be fine with me.” I was not one for violence, but a big part of me wanted to smack her. Why did I feel so jealous and possessive over this guy who I didn’t even like? Not like that, anyway.

  “Well guys, I would love to stay and chat, but I have to get to Anatomy,” I stood up; I didn’t need to hear anymore. I dumped my tray and exited the student center as fast as I could. Dane might have thought he had the upper hand and Jade might have thought he was cute, but this was ridiculous. What gave him the right to bully me into a lunch date? If even half of what Kevin said was true, I wanted nothing to do with him.

  It was abnormally cold and windy when I stepped outside. I pulled my hat and gloves on as I started the fifteen minute trek across campus. With all the walking I’d been doing the last several months, I hadn’t worried about hitting the gym on a regular basis. This time was also good for centering myself, relieving my stress as I walked from one place to another. My med classes were draining and most of the time I didn’t want to be there, but I pushed through just like I always did.

  “Do you want some company?” My skin tingled when I heard his voice. He had to be stalking me; there was no other explanation for this much coincidence.

  I pinched my eyebrows together as I looked back at him. “I doubt you have any reason to walk to the Med Center.”

  “I do if that’s where you are heading to,” he shrugged with his hands in his pockets. He was looking at me with those eyes again and I felt myself melting under them.

  “Don’t you have anyone else to stalk?” I asked, letting out an exasperated sigh. I was beginning to think I would never get away from Dane. He was popping up everywhere in my life and it was wearing on me. He was disrupting my quiet existence and I was fighting between annoyance and excitement.

  “You’re the only one I want
to stalk,” he said, grinning from ear to ear and leaving me lightheaded. Okay, so maybe a small part of me enjoyed the attention he was giving me.

  “So, I’m your victim of the month?” I asked.

  “No, you’re actually my first victim. I usually don’t have to try so hard,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Yeah? Well you can try all you want because this is all you’re getting,” I said, picking up the pace. A part of me wanted him to try harder and another part was telling me to run. Right now the latter was winning, but if he kept this up it might not stay that way.

  “Hey, Alex?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I won’t have to try for long. I guarantee it.” He looked at me with fire in his eyes and emphasized the last three words by letting them roll off his tongue slowly. I felt warmth spread through my entire body. This guy was really something else.

  As we walked we made small talk about the weather and the layout of the campus; I couldn’t tell you half the things that were said because I was so distracted by his proximity to my body. I felt his arm brushing against mine from time to time and his cologne tickled my nose. We made it across campus in record time, due to the brisk pace I used to try and make our time together as short as possible.

  “See you Friday,” he said, moving one step closer to me. I noticed his eyes were fixated on my lips. I moved toward the door before he could get any closer. I wasn’t going to let Dane kiss me today - or ever for that matter.

  He waved as I opened the door to the main building. “Bye,” I mouthed as I disappeared into the Med Center. I rubbed my thumb the over my lips, thinking about what could have been. I was in trouble. Dane was the most exciting and scariest thing to ever enter my plastic world.