Dizzy

Chapter 21

~ Dylan ~

"You just want me close to you."

I flop into the oversized chair in Ziah's living room and rest my feet on the ottoman. I called her today-okay, first thing this morning-and as soon we knew our siblings would be out doing whatever it is they do all the time, I came over.

"It's big enough for two, and it's the only piece of furniture that directly faces the TV."

I let her get by with her excuses when she smiles. Every time I look at her, I see her last night. How she looked up at the sky, water shimmering down her body as she soaked it in. There was none of that typical girl stuff, worry about ruining make-up, hair issues, or whatever. She just took it...wanted it...and somehow, that one moment-the way her hair molded against her face, the same strand that's driven me crazy for months now-destroyed all my resistance.

And she smiled.

Then all sorts of other thoughts started pounding down on me. How she gives me crap, the look of murder in her eyes when I spilled my drink on her that first night, and how she now looks at me in a way I never knew I wanted a girl to look at me.

It was like I woke up, and it wasn't dark anymore. I realized it before, but not until that moment did I comprehend how much I like this girl. That I actually want to give her those things she wants. That she's worth it. Worth the risk of being left behind. And maybe, just maybe that would never happen. She might not be like Mom.

Of course, what came out was "I'm trying," but it got us here. So that's okay.

She puts the movie on, and now she's moving stuff around, putting stuff away that can wait. Sitting in this chair together was her idea, and now she's nervous.

"Sit down, Hanes. If you freak out, I'll freak out. Let's just watch the movie."

She falls in beside me. My arm is around the back of the chair, and she's pressed up against me but still sort of stiff. It's crazy how she can just go for things sometimes but is nervous others.

"I can't believe you burned the popcorn." Hopefully my teasing will loosen her up.

"I told you I can't cook."

"That's not cooking."

She just shrugs and laughs a little, and I love that I can be close to her like this and still tease her.

The movie starts, so I pull her close and finally, finally she loosens and molds herself against me.

We're about through the movie, and I can't stop thinking about the fact that I'm sitting here watching a movie with her. That I'm okay just chillin' with her instead of pulling her to my lap and kissing her. I mean, I definitely want to do that, but this is okay, too.

Suddenly, I need to tell her, want to make sure she knows I'm not playing games with her. "There's no one I could watch old movies with like this. No one even knows I watch them. Just you..."

"I like being with you, too." She somehow gets what I tried to say.

And then I'm looking down at her, and she's looking up at me. "We're close." I say, which is ridiculous. Of course we're close.

My hand moves to her cheek and then my lips press against hers. I kiss her gently, as though she's breakable, when she's anything but.

Then I grab her waist and pull us even closer than we were before. This kiss feels different than our others. She's definitely a voodoo girl. Maybe not angry, but she's cast a spell on me that makes me crazy and makes me want her more and more.