Moments Of Beauty

by J B Heller

  “Yeah, I take pictures here sometimes.”

  And I’m shocked he gave me that much of an answer. But before I have a chance to ask him about it he says he has to go. I can’t deny I’m disappointed, I’ve wanted to talk to him for ages. But he’s not exactly approachable.

  “Oh, okay. It was nice to see you, Hux.” I say, as he begins walking away from me.

  He looks back at me over his shoulder, “Yeah, you too.”

  Then he disappears into the trees.

  Thankfully, dad had already passed out by the time I got home last night, so I didn’t have to put up with his shit. And this morning when I got up he had already left for work. My father was a functioning alcoholic, so he still got up and went to work every day, he just got wasted every night when he got home.

  I’m still riding the high from seeing Eliza last night at the stream, when I walk down the hall to my first class of the day. I catch a glimpse of her dropping the extra lunch bags beside Jason’s backpack as she walks by his form class and smile to myself.

  I’ve always known she wasn’t like the bitches she calls her friends. And I didn’t mean to treat her the way I had yesterday. She’d just startled me. I didn’t expect to see anyone at the stream, let alone her.

  She sees me leaning against the wall outside my class waiting for my teacher to arrive and waves, I look around thinking one of her crew must be around, but none of her friends are here. I look back at her and she’s grinning, at me.

  I frown, why is she smiling at me like that?

  She doesn’t linger though, just keeps on walking by me as if she didn’t just bestow one of her smiles on me. Me, of all people.

  My lips quirk against my will.

  Classes go by quick today, I’ve already completed my assignments way ahead of time so while the other students are given time to get their work done, I lean back in my seat looking out the window.

  Eliza is walking from C Block to A Block, with BJ on her heels. He’s talking to her and she’s smiling politely at whatever he’s saying. I shift forward on my chair and lean my elbow on my desk as I watch their exchange.

  Eventually Eliza stops walking and turns to face BJ, he looks hopeful, but the look on her face tells me she’s about to shut down whatever he’s hoping for. And for some reason, that makes me happy.

  Later that afternoon, I’m walking home from work when a gunmetal grey Land Rover Discovery pulls up to the curb beside me. I glance at it from the corner of my eye and realise Eliza is behind the wheel, and she’s wound down the passenger side window.

  I stop walking and face her fully, she beams at me, “Hey dirty boy, wanna ride?” she asks with a waggle of her brows.

  I can’t stop my snort of amusement, “Ah, I wouldn’t want to get you dirty.”

  Her eyes light up, “I might like it.” Then she winks.

  My response gets lodged in my throat when her eyes fill with heat, what the hell? “Have I missed something?” I ask and she frowns.

  “No, why? What do you mean?”

  I lick my lips, I don’t want to offend her again, but I don’t want there to be any miscommunication here either. “Why are you offering me a ride?”

  She huffs out an annoyed breath, “Just get in, Hux. I was going to get some ice-cream and saw you walking along the side of the road, which I’ve seen you do before but never had the lady balls to pull over to offer a lift.” She shrugs, “But after yesterday, I figured, why not? It couldn’t possibly be that awkward again, right?”

  Scratching my temple, I look down at my dirty clothes, then the cream leather interior of her car, “In all seriousness I really don’t want to get you or your crazy expensive car dirty.”

  Eliza holds up a finger, instructing me to hold on while she unfastens her seatbelt and twists herself around, reaching into the back seat. The move makes her sun dress ride up her thighs so high I can nearly see her underwear. I swallow and avert my gaze before she catches me staring at her crotch.

  “Here we go,” she chirps, throwing a beach towel over the front passenger seat for me.

  Opening the door, I pause, “Where are your friends?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m flying solo. So, get in already,” she demands.

  “Pushy,” I tease as slide into the seat and put my pack on the floor between my feet.

  She laughs and pulls away from the curb, “So, what kind of ice-cream do you like?”

  “Umm, I’m not really an ice-cream aficionado.”

  Eliza slams on the brakes and I jerk forward against the seatbelt. She looks at me, her eyes full of alarm, “You don’t like ice-cream? I don’t think we can be friends.”

  I look behind us and thank god there are no other cars on the street at this very moment. “Are you crazy? What if there was a car behind you just now?”

  She snorts, “I looked in my rear-view first,” she says with a roll of her eyes, then pins me with those incredible irises, “Now, back to the subject at hand, you don’t like ice-cream?”

  “I don’t know, haven’t really had it much,” I lied, I don’t think I’ve ever had ice-cream. It’s a luxury I can’t afford, and god knows my dad has never bought me any.

  Her soft palm lands on my thigh and I jolt at her touch, she looks sad, “What’s wrong?” I ask and wrack my brain to think of anything I could have said to upset her.

  “You poor deprived soul. If I knew things were this bad for you, I would have grown a pair of lady balls a long time ago and taken you under my wing.”

  Now I’m offended, “Excuse me?” I shift in my seat so my back is against the door and level her with a hard glare.

  But she doesn’t back down, “How have you survived this long without the smooth, creamy, cold, goodness of ice-cream being a prominent part of your life?”

  I blink, and tilt my head, “You feel sorry for me because I don’t eat much ice-cream?”

  Her hand is still on my thigh, and she gives it a little squeeze, “Of course I do. What kind of heartless bitch do you think I am?”

  “You’re really strange, you know that?” I inform her.

  She shrugs, turns her focus back to the road in front of us, and moves her hand back to the wheel, “Yeah, but don’t tell anyone. You’ll ruin my reputation.”

  “Your secret’s safe with me, who am I going to tell anyway?”

  “I don’t know, your imaginary friend? They’re gossipy little bitches.”

  “Who?” I ask, because she’s completely lost me.

  “Imaginary friends. You tell yours, then he’ll someone else’s and next thing you know it’s spread like wild fire.” She grins at me for a split second as she slows for a round-a-bout.

  She’s nuts. And I think I like it.

  When she pulls up in front of The Ice-Cream Shack and slips out of the car I look down at my clothes again, I’m filthy. “I don’t think I should go inside. You go get yours and I’ll wait out here.”

  “Alright, I’ll be back in a sec,” she says, then she practically skips through the entry.

  I’ve never seen this side of her before. She’s always been a nice girl, but I never picked up on the crazy vibe she’s throwing until today. Well, maybe a little yesterday too, but in general she comes across as an average sixteen-year-old.

  I definitely like the quirky side she’s showing me though. It’s weird, and kind of cute.

  A couple of minutes later she slides back in behind the wheel, holding one small tub and a rectangular box the size of a box of chocolates.

  “I couldn’t live knowing you don’t know what your favourite flavour is, so I got you a sample pack. I picked all my favourites so you’re sure to find your flavour in there,” she says handing me the box.

  “Uh, you didn’t have to.”

  She sighs, “Just say thank you, Hux.”

  “Thank you,” I say and she rewards me with one of those amazing smiles.

  I got her to drop me at the end of my street instead of taking me to my house. I don’t want her k
nowing where I live. I have a feeling she’d probably show up unannounced one day. Especially since we were apparently friends now, and I don’t even know how it happened.

  Soon as I get home, I put the ice-cream Eliza bought me in the freezer and make dinner. Dad’s in his room, and I don’t want to give him an excuse to berate me today. I’m loving this high that seems to come from being around Eliza, and I’m not ready for it to end yet.

  I pull out a couple of steaks and throw some chips in the fryer while the steaks are cooking, then cut up some tomatoes, cucumber, and peppers to go with our meals. It doesn’t take me long to throw it all together, and as soon as I’m done I plate it up and take mine to my room, knocking on my dad’s door on the way past to let him know his dinner is on the bench for him.

  He grunts back his acknowledgement and that’s the extent of our interaction for the day.

  The next morning I’m walking down the street while eating my breakfast banana and see a familiar gunmetal grey Land Rover at the end of my street.

  As I approach, I can see a shadowy figure inside the tinted cab. It looks like she’s dancing? I tap on the driver’s side window and she winds it down, a huge smile on her face.

  “Good morning,” she chirps, then realises she still holding a hairbrush in her hand and Smells Like Teen Spirit is playing loud on her sound system. She blushes and turns the volume down. “Sorry, I have a habit of performing impromptu concerts in my car, sometimes in the shower too.”

  I nod, “I see.” Scratching my temple, I ask her, “What are you doing here?”

  She gives me a ‘duh’ look, “Picking you up, what’s it look like?”

  “Yeah, I see that, but why?”

  “Because you’re my new secret friend. And I had to know, which ice-cream did you end up settling on as your favourite?”

  Chewing on my bottom lip to keep my smile from showing, I finally answer her, “They were all pretty much the same, cold,” I say with a small shrug.

  Her jaw drops and her pretty pink lips form a perfect O. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  I shake my head, “Nope. What can I say, I’m not a fan.”

  She drops her head to the steering wheel and shakes it back and forth slowly, “Oh, Hux, what am I going to do with you?”

  Lifting my shoulder, I tell her, “Looks like we can’t be friends. Sorry, you’re a cool chick, El.”

  Her head stops shaking and she lifts it to stare at me, “I could bend the rules, just this once,” she says softly.

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  Her intense gaze makes me nervous, “Because I’ve been more myself in the last two days with you, than I have been in the last sixteen years.”

  I swallow past the lump that forms in my throat at her admission. I don’t like the idea of her feeling like she can’t be herself. “Why would you hide who you are?”

  A sad smile pulls her lips to the side, “They wouldn’t understand. Not everyone can handle all this awesome.”

  Instead of replying I walk around the hood of her car and get in the passenger side. “We’re going to be really early, you know that right?” I start walking an hour before school starts so I can take my time and snap a few pictures if I feel like it.

  “It’s okay, we can sit in the car and, I don’t know, talk? You know, like normal people getting to know each other,” she suggests.

  I scratch my temple, “Umm okay, but I’ll bounce before people start showing. Don’t want to ruin my mysterious reputation.” I wink and she rolls her eyes, but agrees.

  She parks at the back of the student parking lot and we sit there talking about music until another car pulls in three spaces away and I see BJ King get out. “I’m out. Thanks for the ride,” I say, as I slide out of the passenger side and disappear into the trees surrounding the lot before BJ notices me.

  A whole week passes the same way, Eliza showing up at the end of my street each morning to give me a ride to school. It’s weird, and think about asking her why again, but after she told me she could be herself around me, I’m inclined to believe her.

  She does act a little crazy when we’re together, but she’s always contained and the model student around the school grounds. I like her the way she is with me, carefree and filterless. She’s actually really funny, and kind of cool.

  This morning being the beginning of a new week I think she might be over it, but she’s waiting at the end of the street when I exit my house.

  I jog down to her and tap on her window, she’s singing into her hairbrush again, winding down her window she keeps singing along to, oh god no, it’s Bieber. I close my eyes and shake my head.

  Eliza bellows into her hairbrush while looking me in the eyes, “Ohhh girl for goodness sake, you think I’m crying on my own, well I ain’t.”

  Walking around to my side of the car, I get in and belt up. She’s grinning and I can’t help but grin back. It’s contagious, when she smiles at you, you have to smile back, it’s an involuntary automatic reaction.

  She pulls onto the road then says, “So, I was thinking we can go somewhere else and chill this morning, if you want?”

  “Like where?”

  A coy smile lifts her lips and she says, “I know a place.”

  I’m intrigued by her secrecy, “So, where is this place?”

  “It’s a surprise,” she says then turns up the stereo and starts singing along with Selena Gomez about keeping her hands to herself.

  I eye her suspiciously, “Are you taking me somewhere to take advantage of me? Cause I should tell you, I’m not that kind of guy.”

  “Right, I’m sure you’re not,” she smarts.

  “I’m not. I swear, I’m pure as snow,” I lie through my teeth and she knows it.

  “Yeah, pure as Jon Snow when he got back to Castle Black after rockin’ it with Ygritte and the Wildlings for a few months.”

  My eyes widen, “You like Game of Thrones? I’m not gonna lie El, the fact that you just used a GoT reference in everyday conversation, is really freaking hot.”

  She shuffles back in her seat a little, pride pouring off her in waves, “I know right? Can you imagine if I said that to Yazzie? She’d think I’d lost my damn mind.”

  “She would,” I agree. Eliza’s friends are a bunch of airheads, from what I’ve observed anyway. I don’t doubt they’d watch a show like GoT if they thought it would score them ‘cool’ points. But I can guarantee they wouldn’t get it.

  A couple of minutes later Eliza pulls up at a little rest area just out of town. Not many people come here, just the occasional traveller passing through. It’s got a pond with a little bridge that goes over a small waterfall, and a walking track that winds around the pond with picnic benches tucked away here and there.

  We get out of the car and start for the path side by side. “You come here often?” I ask her.

  “Yeah, sometimes. It’s peaceful. I come do my homework here sometimes, just for a change of scenery.”

  I like it here too, but don’t come often. It’s a little far out of my way to come when I’m walking home from work.

  “What about you?” she asks.

  “I’ve come here a few times, but not often.”

  We walk in companionable silence until we come across one of the benches and somehow we end up straddling the bench, facing each other. She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and looks up at me from under her lashes.

  She’s wearing another sundress today, and the way we’re sitting has made it creep up her thighs, and I’m struggling not to look down at her smooth, creamy skin. But looking at her face as she peers up at me like that isn’t any better, I can feel my dick hardening in my jeans and swear under my breath, looking away from her.

  “What’s wrong?” she asks, a knowing grin pulling her pink lips to the side in a half smile.

  I narrow my eyes at her, “What are you doing?”

  A look of complete innocence covers her face, “Nothing, why? What do you think I’m do
ing?”

  Crossing my arms over my chest I raise a brow at her, “You know exactly what you’re doing. What I should be asking, is why?”

  “You know how I was telling you about lady balls last week? I grew a pair, remember?” She winks conspiratorially.

  A laugh bubbles up from my stomach, “Umm I don’t know how to tell you this, but I can see up your dress right now, and I don’t see balls,” I tell her, then mutter to myself, “Thank fuck for that.”

  She starts laughing with me, “Damn it, I thought I had this seduction thing down. Obviously you’re immune to my charms.”

  I scoff, “No, I just don’t take anything at face value. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. And the idea of you trying to seduce me, yeah, way too good to be true.”

  She does a little victory fist pump, “So it was working? And if you weren’t such a cynic you totally would have fallen for my seduction tactics?”

  “I’m not a cynic, El. I’m a realist. Big difference.”

  Eliza frowns at me then scoots closer, our knees are touching and there’s barely a foot of space between our bodies. “You say realist, I say cynic. I think this is pretty real myself.”

  I take a deep breath and resist the urge to slam my mouth down on hers just to shut her up, “We better get going, can’t have Miss Perfect ruining her reputation showing up at school with the black sheep,” I say and stand, holding my hand out to her to help her off the bench.

  Her petite hand wraps around mine, she holds tight as she stands and lifts her leg over the bench. Once she’s standing with both feet on the same side of the seat I go to release her hand, but she twines her fingers through mine.

  I’m nearly a foot taller than her, and I look down to find she’s smiling at me, with that damn smile that’s starting to work its way under my skin. “El,” I warn.

  “Doesn’t it feel real to you?” she asks.

  I can’t deny that having her hand in mine feels amazing. “I’m not sticking around, El. I’m out of here as soon as I possibly can be. And I’m not taking anything with me.”