Sleeves

Chapter 3

I stay up late, finishing homework, and finally drift off to sleep. The next morning, I wake and smell breakfast cooking. Odd. I stumble down the stairs, rubbing my eyes, and they nearly pop out at the sight before me: my father, dressed in a suit and making scrambled eggs and bacon. Then I know exactly what’s going on, he has an interview.

“Hey kiddo, I made you some breakfast,” he points to a plate filled with delicious food on the countertop. “Oh, wow, thanks dad,” I squeak. He may be calm now, but my father’s mood swings are very unpredictable and I know I need to be cautious if I want to avoid his anger. 

“Well, I have to get going, can’t be late today! Love you, hun,” he kisses the top of my head and walks out the door. As soon as it shuts behind him, I slump in my seat and cover my face. I hate when this happens. Everything will be fine and I begin to hope that maybe this time is different, but then something will set him off and my life will be hell again.

I can hardly manage to move from the table, but I know that I don’t want to be late to school, or else I will have to walk into class late and everyone will stare. I quickly scarf down dad’s meal and grab my bag.

I make it to school just as the tardy bell rings. I don’t have time to stop at my locker, so I sprint down the hall praying that class hasn’t started yet. I am not paying attention the where I’m going and suddenly I crash into something solid, completely knocking the breath out of me. It takes me a moment to realize that I am no longer on my feet but laying on top of someone else.

“Oooouch.” I hear a voice moan. I lift my head up and realize that I. Am. On. Xander.  

His gorgeous face is only inches from mine and his lip-piercing gleams in the bright fluorescent light of the hallway. He smells wonderful, like cologne but also a mixture of his own smell, something musky and wild. I am speechless and I notice that the gap between us could easily disappear if I only move ever so slightly. It takes all of my self-control to stay where I am and not crush my own lips into his downturned, full ones. 

“Oh! I am so sorry!” I breathlessly try to apologize, but my words feels stuck in my throat, and it takes all my concentration just to force the simple sentence out.

“Ugh, no problem,” he sighs, his voice deep and throaty. “Are you a linebacker or something? Because if not, you should be.” I giggle nervously, not quite sure how to respond.

I realize that I am still on top of him. “Oops, sorry!” I choke and quickly try to roll off, but our legs are tangled together and I have to struggle before I can finally stand again. He stands as well and laughs. I look around and cannot control my own laughter, seeing all of my papers scattered down the hall.

“Hey, you’re the girl from the bakery, right?” he asks as he dusts himself off. “I knew I had seen you before.” I blush and look down.

“Yeah that was me. Um, sorry for hitting you, I better let you get to class,” I mumble, too embarrassed now to look at his face.

“Hey, wait, what’s your name?” he asks me in his raspy voice. I look up and stare into his eyes, a piercing jade, and hear myself whisper, “Gracee Wilson.”

“Well, my name’s Xander Blakely, it’s nice to meet you.” He smiles at me, a dimple appearing in his left cheek, and I immediately turn red. It has been a long time since I’ve really spoken to anyone my age, and I know I will probably end up saying the wrong thing to scare him off. Instead of accepting his offer to help me pick up, I insist that he hurry to his class. I slowly gather all of my papers and walk towards my classroom. Just then, the bell rings and I am swept away with the crowd. I spend the next four classes in a daze, rerunning the conversation over and over in my head. I’m still not exactly sure what happened but I do know one thing: I need to stop fueling this dream before the flames get too big for me and I am burned.