Second Chance

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The next day Mallorie, Annette, and Vivien all went to bible study on Tuesday night and as soon as Mallorie entered the sanctuary and found her seat in the back right, she immediately spotted James. Now, Mallorie had been secretly crushing on James for year plus now and had no idea where it all started. James was the church drummer and the youngest of Pastor's son; James was also four years older than Mallorie. At the time Mallorie's infatuation began, James was 21 and Mallorie was 17, since then she couldn't stop thinking about him ever since. James was undeniably handsome with his complexion that mirrored Mallorie's smooth chocolate skin tone and handsome facial features. His dark brown eyes laced with long and thick lashes ignited every time Mallorie caught his gaze; he also had a straight nose and chiseled chin paired with a goatee. But, his best facial feature of all was his full lips; lips that Mallorie had been dreaming about kissing. His kind and attentive personality made him all the more attractive. As Mallorie looked James over, she gladly noted that his muscle were bulging through his casual attire but, at the same time his muscles weren't overly big. As tried to focus on the message that was being preached, she couldn't help but let her mind wander on James. Mallorie loved that he was funny and every time she was with him, her heart raced and threatened to go into overdrive. No matter what happened in reality, inside of Mallorie's fantasies she saw herself with James for many many years, easily turning into a lifetime. Now that Mallorie was a year older, her feelings for James hasn't wavered one bit and they were still as strong as it was the first day she laid eyes on him.

Unfortunately, Mallorie didn't know if James reciprocated her feelings or not; he was nice, kind, and good looking, but he never made any advances towards Mallorie. She honestly felt like he was interested in her one day and uninterested the next. The whole situation was quite confusing and Mallorie wanted to keep her feelings left unsaid and tuck away in her heart where they would be protected. But, for as long as she lived she would never forget James because he was branded into her heart, soul, and mind forever.

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James was sitting on the left side in the middle of the church and as soon as Mallorie walked in, he turned his head sharply and looked at her. To say he didn't notice her was a complete understatement. James had been noticing Mallorie for quite some time now and couldn't keep her out of his head. He didn't know how or when she crawled into his mind, but she took captive and she was all that he thought about. Mallorie was absolutely perfect in his sight; everything about her was right down to her toes. She was a beautiful young woman with womanly curves and a caring personality to match. Although, whenever she smiled, it completely lit up her face and sent his heart racing. But, God forgive him, he could never keep his eyes away from her rosy full lips.If he wasn't the man that he is today, he would've messed around with Mallorie a long time ago, but he matured and he knew that Mallorie wasn't any ordinary girl. Because of that, he knew he had to control himself and put aside his attraction for her. After all, he was the youth leader and not to mention, the pastor's son. He had to focus on his tasks.

When bible study was finished Mallorie went outside to talk to some of the others teens at church. As Mallorie was talking with her friends, she immediately noticed when James came outside; he joined into the coversation greeted everyone.

"Hey everyone." James said as he looked at everybody, then he quickly glanced at Mallorie.

Every time Mallorie was near James she had the uncontrollable urge to open up her heart and pour out her feelings. But, Mallorie did her best to hide the way she truly felt inside, so she gave him a casual smile and then focused her attention on her friend. As Mallorie was talking, James excused himself and said he would be right back, while seconds after, Mallorie's mom called her.

"Mallorie, it's time to go sweetie." So Mallorie said her goodbye and jogged over to her mom and grandmother. When Mallorie got to the car, Annette handed the keys to Mallorie.

"Here, drive I'm too tired to drive right now."

Mallorie smiled and looked at Vivien in the back seat, " No problem."

Then as she started to back out of the church parking lot, she saw James run out from behind her car in her rear view mirror, Oh God. Then James walked up to the driver window and knocked on the window as Mallorie lowered it.

"Uhh, are you tryna kill me Mallorie?" James asked teasingly.

"Sorry James." and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Forgive her James, my daughter still has some major things to learn like looking to see if there's anyone behind her before she backs out." Annette said. Mallorie turned and gasped at her mom while Vivien chuckled in the back.

"Mom! I'm a great driver, thank you very much" Mallorie blushed.

James laughed, "It's okay Ms. Annette. Just let me know when she drives so I can run for my life the next time."

"I sure will son."

"James, I promise I wasn't trying to kill you." said Mallorie, then James turned his warm gaze on her and looked at her for a few seconds.

"Alright, I believe you." he said, "Now you ladies have a good day and drive safely Mallorie." he said pointedly; for the life of her, she couldn't help but stare after him as he walked away.

"Earth to Mallorie" Annette said bringing Mallorie's attention back to driving home.

"Okay okay, I'm driving." and then she took off and drove home.

When Mallorie, Annette, and Vivien all arrived at their house around 8:30pm, Mallorie immediately went upstairs to go take a shower; after she was done she changed into a black t-shirt and grey pajama pants. When she came downstairs, her mom and grandmother had their backs turned to her, but she could hear them talking about her and James.

"I think he likes her." Annette told Vivien.

"Oh yeah, he sure does. I can tell."

"You know, I can hear you guys." Mallorie announced.

"Oh hey sweetie, well good so since you can hear us, how do you feel about him?" Vivien asked.

"Meme, please. It doesn't matter how I feel about him, as far as I'm concerned there isn't anything going between us, I promise. Now that I answered your questions, can we talk about something else?" Mallorie smiled.

"You know Mallorie, you're a bad liar." Annette said and Mallorie mentally chastised herself, she didn't want anyone to know how she felt about James, so now her mom and grandmother both had a hunch as to how she feels. From here on out, Mallorie needed to keep her feelings at bay but honestly she didn't know how long she could keep up with this facade.

"Anywho, did Penn State send you an email?" Annette asked.

"No, but I'll just call them later on tonight." Mallorie replied.

"Okay when you do, just let me know so I can be there with you."

"Okay."

Then Mallorie grabbed a banana and took a seat on the couch where her Annette and Vivien were now sitting and Vivien turned on the television and popped in a DVD.

"What are we watching?" Mallorie asked.

"One of our favorites: Fried Green Tomatoes." Vivien replied with a smile.

Ahhh, Fried Green Tomatoes, a classic. Mallorie loved Fried Green Tomatoes and, this was the perfect movie to take her mind off of her turbulent emotions. So, Mallorie sat back and relaxed into the couch while preparing herself to see this amazing movie. Anything to take her mind off of James right now and Mallorie would eagerly welcome. Unreciprocated love could be such a burden.