A World of Her Own

Chapter 6

Liora's stomach was in knots as she drove to Jason and Christina's house. It was almost 5:30. She followed the GPS's instructions. Christina had texted her the address yesterday evening and made a point of letting her know that everyone was looking forward to her coming. As Liora had expected, her mom happily agreed to let her go to dinner with her friends. Christina had sounded overjoyed when Liora texted her that she could go. She wasted no time planning out Liora's entire visit. Liora had no idea how they would do even half the activities on Christina's list unless Liora spent the weekend, which of course Liora would not be doing. 

The GPS interrupted her thoughts. 'Make a right at the next light.' Liora pulled onto a quiet, tree-lined street. The houses were spaced far apart with large lawns and lots of trees. She pulled in front of an older-looking, large white house that was tucked in amongst trees and the most beautiful garden that Liora had even seen. Liora was solidly middle-class but it was apparent that Jason and Christina's family came from some money. Not wealthy perhaps but definitely upper-middle class. It was a warm afternoon and Liora was wearing nice shorts and a tank top. Christina had made a point of telling her that she and Jason would be teaching her to play tennis so Liora hadn't wanted to dress up too much. She wore sandals but had tennis shoes in the car as well as a sweater if the evening became cool. 

Liora parked on the street and slowly got out of the car. She was heading up the walkway when a giant, very furry black dog barreled towards her. Christina was just steps behind, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Moose! Moose, no!" she shouted. Moose crashed into Liora, sending her flying. Hearing the commotion, Jason ran around from the backyard and sprinted towards the walkway. Moose chose that moment to plant himself directly in Jason's path. Jason tripped and tumbled onto the walkway, landing directly on Liora. 

"Liora, I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?" Dimly, Liora heard Christina apologizing. She hadn't hit her head but she felt a bit disoriented. Then she realized that Jason was lying on top of her. Heat filled her cheeks. Jason pushed himself off of Liora, his face bright red. "Oh, Liora. I'm sorry. That wasn't really the welcome you were expecting. Are you hurt?" Jason then turned to his sister. "I thought you put Moose in the garage."

Christina looked crestfallen. There were tears in her eyes. "I was trying and then Moose heard the car and raced away from me." There was no trace of her bubbly smile. "I'm so sorry, Liora. Are you okay?" She looked more upset than Liora had ever seen her and Liora rushed to reassure her.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just got the wind knocked out of me." Liora looked at Jason. "I think you might be in worse shape. Are you okay? You're bleeding." Jason's palms and elbows were bloody.

Jason looked down at his hands and grimaced. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit scraped up. I probably won't be able to play tennis tonight though. I know Christina was looking forward to teaching you. Well, she could still do it. I just won't be able to play. But you really took a tumble so you might not be feeling up to it. Are you sure you're okay?" Jason wiped his hands on his shorts and helped Liora up. As had happened the day before, he didn't let go of Liora's hand right away and they stood there awkwardly holding hands for a few seconds. Jason suddenly seemed to remember he was still holding Liora's hand. Instead of simply letting go, he looped his arm through hers. "I'd better keep a hold of you," he grinned sheepishly. He gestured to Christina pulling Moose towards the garage. "No telling when that beast will break away and try to topple you again. He's actually loveable. He was just so happy to see you. I mean, we're all happy to see you but we won't try and knock you over." Then he blushed again. "I mean, I probably did knock you over landing on you like that but I didn't try to." The heat crept up his face. Even his ears were red. Liora started blushing as well. She didn't know how to respond.

Just then, Jason's mom opened the door. She had a warm smile on her face which quickly changed to a look of concern. "What happened? I heard shouting. You look all scraped up, Jason." Jason smiled sheepishly and kept his arm looped through Liora's. "Moose decided to give our guest an over-enthusiastic welcome and knocked Liora over. And then I tripped over Moose and knocked Liora over again. I hope the rest of the evening turns out okay because after that welcome, Liora might not want to come here again."