An Autumn to Remember: A Novel (Elmtown Series Book 1) (12 page)

15

   The movie theater downtown was part of the same building as the Omega Karaoke Centre and was Chelsea’s favorite place to watch movies. For one, she loved the IMAX screen and two, their 3D glasses weren’t uncomfortable like those of the other theaters.

   “It’s going to rain. I knew we should have stayed home. Watched something on Netflix or something,” Jamie said as he noticed the gloomy clouds.

   “Shut up Jamie. You know I don’t mind paying,” Chelsea said knowing Jamie was only uncomfortable with the fact that she paid most of the time when they were out but she didn’t care, spending time with Jamie had become the highlight of her day. “Don’t worry, when you become rich and famous, you can pay me back.” They both laughed.

   She had been riding on buses a lot with Jamie lately and really loved it. Time on the bus made her discover things about the town that she never really noticed. She also got to see strange and interesting characters on the ride; almost crazy quirks and very talkative adults without whom the town would have been very dull as Jamie once said to her. She was surprised to see there were more hippies in town now.

   The bus was unusually crowded that evening probably because of the rain, but they were lucky to find seats behind two older women who both smiled at them.

   “I don’t have time for men anymore,” one of the two women said as Jamie and Chelsea settled behind them. “With this,” she said, producing what surely was some kind of weird sex toy, “all I need is to charge the batteries. Voila!”

   The women laughed heartily then the one with the pink toy looked back and said, “Don’t mind us. If you have a good man, hold on to him darling.”

   Chelsea smiled and nodded. It wasn’t the first time a stranger said something to her on the bus or started a cringe-worthy conversation. Growing up in the protection of an upper-middle-class suburb, how could she have known local Elmtown folks were this entertaining?

   She overheard a conversation about how a new cannabis cookie shop just opened and how a church member bumped into her parish priest buying organic snacks that got one high quicker than a roll of weed.

   They went strange routes and found interesting places she never knew existed or just never paid attention to.

   Chelsea rested her head on Jamie’s shoulder which became a habit whenever they rode on the night buses. She could feel his toned muscles against the side of her face and caught herself wondering how it would feel if she touched his arms and chest with her hands. However, it wasn’t only his body she noticed–she also liked his eyes. She would sometimes have to remind herself to listen to whatever he was saying whenever he looked down at her with those dark eyes of his. She wondered how she missed the fact that her best male friend had the most beautiful eyes ever.

   “Why does it have to rain now?” Chelsea hollered as they got off and ran for the building’s giant doors. Her hair was already wet but at least they were lucky they only had to run a short distance between the bus stop and the theater. There were two couples running ahead of them and one of the guys held the door kindly as they dashed into the theater’s reception.

   “Thank you so much,” Jamie said to him.

   “No problem. Weather forecast got it wrong again today, didn’t they?”

   “I know right,” Jamie responded as he took off his jacket.

   The smell of popcorn, melted butter, nachos and chili filled their nostrils as they stood in line to buy their tickets. The line was long but they still had half an hour before the movie would start.

   When the movie started, Jamie held Chelsea’s hand as she rested her head, with all the dampness of her hair on his shoulder.

   Always underestimating how cold autumn evenings could get, she wasn’t properly dressed, so she started to shiver a little.

   Jamie placed his jacket around her then started to rub the inside of her hand with his thumb softly as if to make her feel better. Then he noticed something that filled him with pleasant wonder. She didn’t only hold on to his arm firmly but she also started writing circles on his skin. Their bodies became so close Jamie could feel the warm breath from her mouth creating goose bumps on his arm. He calculated that breathing through her mouth meant that her lips were parted and wondered if she was just breathing that way or if it mean anything. He knew girls sometimes parted their lips unconsciously when they wanted to kiss but he was probably just reading meanings that weren’t there. After deliberating for a few minutes on the possible chances of Chelsea wanting to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her, he remembered he was supposed to be watching the movie and tried unsuccessfully to follow the story.

   He hadn’t even noticed the horror flick’s gory scenes until Chelsea pressed her face into his shoulder.

   “Are you scared? I thought you liked horror movies,” he whispered.

   “Not scared. Just don’t want him to die,” she said a little louder than him. The blond in front of them looked back and gave them a look of disapproval. Chelsea mouthed sorry, placed her head back on Jamie’s shoulder and stayed that way until the end of the movie.

   “You had your umbrella this whole time?” Jamie asked as Chelsea produced a black umbrella from her handbag. He shook his head and moved pieces of matted hair away from her face.

   “I’m sorry I totally forgot and it was kinda buried beneath all this junk. I really need to declutter.”

   As they stood by the door, she opened the umbrella and handed it over to him which made sense since he was taller. He held her waist with his left hand and held the umbrella over them as they stepped outside into the rain.

   As they stood under a black lamppost, waiting to cross the road, Jamie found courage, turned to face her and drew her closer to himself. He looked down, gazing into her eyes, then stared at her lips. He then kissed her forehead as if to ask for permission. He wasn’t thinking or rationalizing anymore. His feelings were now completely in control of every single thing he did.

   Then he noticed she was looking back intently into his eyes and had parted her lips. This time he was sure it was not just for breathing. There was no need for words because he saw it in her eyes. He saw that she wanted him to kiss her. His lips found hers and held them for what seemed like an eternity. When she kissed him back, touching the insides of his lips with hers, he dropped the umbrella and pressed his lips a little harder on hers until their mouths were completely open.

   He was kissing her and she was kissing him back. It was still raining and they were wet but it was all so beautiful. I must be dreaming, Jamie thought. He let his arms hold her more firmly and she wrapped her arms around his neck drinking his kisses like a thirsty girl in the desert who finally found clean drinking water. They were drenched and people were passing but they didn’t care about any of that. Right in that moment, they were in their own world where nothing could come between them.

   With their clothes wet, lips tingling and staring at each other in the eye, they stopped for breath. It was Chelsea who spoke first. “We are kissing,” she said but he noticed she didn’t say it in any weird sort of way. She said it smiling which meant that she found pleasure in kissing him as much as he did in kissing her. She said it in a way that sounded like it was something she would like to do again. Jamie’s eyes widened with bliss. Kissing her was like floating on clouds.

   Neither of them could think straight anymore.

16

  
The ride home was different. There was only one passenger on the bus, a high school girl still in her private school uniform. The driver asked firmly why she was out this late. Elmtown bus drivers were like that, never keeping quiet or ignoring anything that seemed out of place, like guardians watching over their precious town.

   “I like went on the wrong bus after school and missed my way home completely. The bus was like bound for Rochester.”

   It was her first time taking public transportation. She sat in front, closer to the driver so Jamie and Chelsea had enough privacy far away at the back by themselves.

   They didn’t say much to each other. They didn’t think much either. There was no need for that, for it was a moment to bask in, to feel, to enjoy–talking and thinking could come later. Jamie wrapped his arm around her and planted kisses on her head, her cheeks as they held hands and stroked each other with their fingers. She loved the way she felt when he held her with his hand resting on her shoulder. Jamie loved the smell of her hair, sniffing it in like a drug but instead of a high what it brought was more thoughts of her because scents are linked to memories.

   As they walked away from the bus stop, they held hands and walked slowly beneath the gaze of the stars and the moonlight. The moon shone like a magical fluorescent lamp casting shadows of trees and houses against the backdrop of tarred ground.

   Jamie walked her to the front door, wishing they could stay together longer. He kissed her goodnight and watched as she opened the door. She looked back and blew him a kiss. He caught the invisible kiss and kissed his hand hungrily which made her giggle then she closed the door gently. She was so beautiful when she laughed.

   Jamie retreated from the front door, slowly walking to the side door hoping to never wake up if this was a dream. He went into the basement, saw his mother fast asleep and went into his room.

   He opened up his laptop and pressed the power button. Although he could hear the humming sound of the computer, the screen stayed blank so he bent it a little. It hadn’t done that in a while. He moved it around a few more times before getting lucky.

   He had to talk to someone or else his heart was going to explode. Jerome didn’t like to be bothered when sleeping so Jamie settled for emailing JazzyTee.

JazzChat Inbox

Date: 11-13-2010

From: JazzyTee75

To: BoyFromElm

Hello JazzyTee,

I just kissed her. She kissed me too. It’s crazy. I almost don’t know what to do with myself.

Jamie.

He hit send, closed the laptop and lay on his bed. Then he heard his phone’s text alert.

-
I miss you.

   Chelsea’s text made him realize kissing him wasn’t something she had only done in the heat of the moment, to be regretted later. She hadn’t said anything like, “What was that about?” or, “What’s going on?” She said she was missing him like he was missing her. When she went inside and he stood by the door, he felt like a part of him was leaving him.

   He wondered if this all meant she liked him before and it wasn’t a new development? Ah! I don’t care right now. The most important thing is that she feels the same, he thought.

   He texted her back.

  - I miss you too so much.

  - I’m missing your kisses. You’re such a good kisse
r


  - OMG, you have no idea how much I enjoyed kissing yo
u


  - You can kiss me again tomorrow

  - I sure will if I’m still alive lol

  - Don’t die on me now. Gdnight Jamie, mwah 

  - Goodnight Chelsea, mwah.

   He slept the most wonderful sleep that night.

***

   The next morning, when Jamie woke up, he checked his phone just to be sure everything had been real. He opened his text messages and let out a sigh of relief. It would have been devastating to realize that what had always been his dream was nothing but a dream.

   Reading her text messages again was like the feeling of eating your favorite meal, it tastes new every time. He felt like he had been reborn into a realm of constant happiness, a happiness that not just lingers but beats with every heartbeat and flows through your body with the blood that runs through your veins. The power of love starts to make you feel like you could take on the world and conquer it. Love breathed new life into him. There was so much to talk about, so much he wanted to tell her. He sent her a good morning text message but knew she was probably still asleep at 6:00 in the morning.

   Suddenly he noticed the sound that seeped into his room, the sound of music. He sat up on his bed. He needed to be sure it wasn’t just in his head.

   His mother was playing the guitar? Wow, she hadn’t even touched a guitar since his father died, let alone play one. He recognized those chords. It was a blues love song his father had written a few years before he died and they all used to sing together.

   He opened his door just enough to see her but didn’t want to disturb her from having that moment to herself. He shut the door and checked his email instead. JazzyTee’s reply had been received.

JazzChat Inbox

Date: 11-13-2010

From: JazzyTee75

To: BoyFromElm

Hello Jamie,

  That’s awesome. Told you to stick around didn’t I? *wink* I guess I won’t be receiving emails from you in a while.

  My daughter’s room is all set but she might not be here until Christmas. Logistical issues. I’m off camping this week with my sister’s family. Let me know how it goes OK? Best of luck.

Tim