Hunter's Chance

t w e n t y - o n e

"Is this dress too short?" 

James looks over at me with a smile and then he reaches over and rests his hand on the tiny space of bare skin just above my knee. This is his way of calming me down, his thumb lightly sweeping the skin just there and I hate to admit that it works. "They're going to love you." He reassured me. 

-

"It's just brunch baby, nothing to get all wound up about." He says from the other end of the door just as I sit down on the ice cold floor of my bathroom. 

"Oh, it's so much more than that James and you know it." 

I can see the shadow of his shoes in the tiny slot at the bottom of the door. Somehow I know that his eyes are closed, his hands are holding his body weight up against the wall and he has his forehead pressed to the door.

"I want my family to get to you know you like I know you." He whispers as he taps his finger on the wood.

I don't mean to but at the sound of his voice, I scoot closer to the door, closer to him.

"But you hardly know me." I whisper back repeating the same tapping pattern that he made.

I watch the shadow of his feet from under the door as they take a giant step back. He's offended. "I know you." 

"No. You don't really." I laugh to myself. 

"I do though," he challenges back. "I know that you rub your feet together when you're tired."

"No I don't." I whisper to myself before looking down at my feet just as they begin their routine. I roll my eyes when he continues; "I know that you have exactly nine freckles on your right shoulder and fourteen on your left. You chew on your straw when you're done with your drink. And I know that you'll only eat ice cream if the bowl has milk in it." He says and lets out a laugh. I instantly smile at the sound.

"I know that you purposely don't make plans ahead of time because you're scared that what's right in front of you won't last." He whispers and I feel my face fall. "But Rae, that's not going to happen, not with me." He says so certainly. 

I sit there in silence for a minute or two before I push myself up off the ground and open the door. James is now sitting on the opposite side of the hall. He tilts his head and the corners of his lips upturn to a smile. He lifts his arm up, silently gesturing for me to sit by him. I crawl over to him and cuddle up into his chest as he wraps his arm tight around my back. When I look up, he's looking down at me with that same smile taking over his face. I can't help but laugh and look down at the ground.

"Okay." I finally said. "I'll meet your family." 

-

"We're here." He says squeezing my bare leg and pulling me from my memory.

I look down at my lap, and lace my hands through his as we pull down the driveway. He gently gives me a few squeezes and when I look up, my eyes widen at the sight in front of me. The massive red-bricked house sits on what I'd assume is five acres of the greenest grass I've ever seen. There are flower gardens throughout the entire front lawn and massive trees that provide the perfect amount of shade. We pull through the roundabout driveway and I watch as James rounds the truck to my side. 

It's been three weeks since the night that hell froze over and I finally took the plunge in what I like to call the James Taylor whirl pool. I've learned some of the staples to a relationship. One being that you can't ever order a meal without the other picking off your plate and another being that it's only slightly inappropriate to grab ass in public.