Gem City

Chapter 4-1

“Sweetness” – Jimmy Eat World

“Ho Hey” – The Lumineers

Courtney woke up feeling dehydrated and slightly hung-over, but as she took in her surroundings, images from the night before started to fill her mind. She quickly remembered her promise to check her phone and frantically searched for it. In grabbing it, she groaned as she saw seven text messages from her mom. She had forgotten to call after her arrival the previous day. They read:

M: Hey, did you land ok? Hope you"re having fun!

M: You know you"re supposed to text me to let me know you"re ok.

M: Courtney Michelle Ross, I am very annoyed with you. You better hope I let you go back there next summer!

M: Ok, I am trying to be one of those “cool moms” I read about on my blogs. I know you"re 17, but you still better text me the second you wake up.

M: I want you to know I am failing miserably at being a cool mom.

M: CALL ME! Or text me.

M: Please.

Courtney knew she had to face the music and decided to get it over with. She pressed call and waited for her mom to pick up.

call“Oh my God, I am so irritated with you! Are you trying to give me grey hair?!” her mother yelled.

“I am so sorry! I got caught up reminiscing with Vanessa, and she threw a casual little gathering for me, and I"m sorry, sorry, sorry. I promise I will be on good-daughter duty the rest of my trip,” Courtney swore, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

“A "casual little gathering," ” her mom repeated. “It must have been quite the shindig for you to downplay it that much. I love Vanessa, but I know what a "little gathering" is to her, so you just be careful, got it?”

“Yes Mother. And don"t use the word shindig.”

“Whatever, I"m middle-aged, I say what I want. Did you get to see any of your old friends? I know you miss living there.”

“I did. It was nice to catch up, but really just…easy, to be around Vanessa again. I feel freer here than I do around my friends there,” Courtney explained. “I may have met a boy, though.” The words were spoken against her better judgment. She knew her mom was going to ask her a million questions, but she was just too excited not to tell someone.

“A boy, huh? Tell me more.” Courtney could hear the restraint in her mother"s voice and smiled.

“He has a motorcycle and owns a tattoo shop. You"d really like him, I think,” Courtney said as seriously as possible.

“Ugh. My daughter the comedian. Stop trying to give me a heart attack and just tell me.”

“Okay, okay. No, he"s tall and dark and handsome and all of those other Disney movie adjectives. His name is Ethan and he plays guitar and sings, and I just like him, I think. Knowing me, it"ll probably all go up in flames before it even starts, but I just feel excited about him.”

“A musician? Well, he sounds very nice. Sneak a picture of him and send it to me the next time you meet up. I wanna see this tall and dark and handsome boy.”

“I will attempt to do so,” Courtney replied.

“Now listen to me, just be safe, whatever you do. Do you understand? Like, you do know what I mean by safe, right? I don"t want to embarrass you more than I have to, but I"m trying to be a realist.”

safesafe“Oh my god, Mom, yes I know what you mean, and that"s not a conversation we need to have right now! I am going to go. You"ve made me sufficiently uncomfortable for one morning.”

“Okay! I"m your mother. It"s my job. Have a good day, and you better text me back next time,” she reminded before Courtney hit the red button. She was so emotionally scarred from that conversation that she had nearly forgotten about Ethan"s request.

She snatched her phone back up and didn"t quite know what she was looking for until she saw the little alarm bell on her calendar app. She opened it and checked her schedule for that day. It said she had an upcoming event in fifteen minutes. When she opened the event, she laughed. It read: “Bear claw breakfast with sexy MAN from last night.” She was so caught up in wondering when he had gotten the time to put the alert in her phone that the 15 minute warning escaped her. As it resonated that it meant fifteen minutes from right then, she flew off the bed to look at her appearance. “Oh my god,” she said to her reflection. How the hell am I going to fix this in 15 minutes?! Okay, okay, okay, she breathed. One thing at a time. She searched her suitcase for the magical hair spray that would make her look less like an asylum escapee. She decided a messy side ponytail would at least seem like she had intended for it to look unkempt. She quickly took off her leftover makeup and reached for her glitter eye shadow. She would appear bright eyed and bushy tailed if it took all the glitter in the world. Finally, she furiously brushed her teeth and put on a drop of perfume before glancing at her phone. Three minutes to get dressed and calm herself down. Wardrobe options were limited, because almost everything she owned was wrinkled in a suitcase. She decided on a pair of fitted jeans before raiding Vanessa"s closet for an acceptable shirt. She"d chosen a white strapless top with hot pink flowers when she realized she had no idea where Vanessa was.

15 minuteHow the hell am I going to fix this in 15 minutes?! Okay, okay, okay,One thing at a time.Re-checking her appearance and feeling satisfied that she would not send Ethan away in horror, she went to find her friend. “V! Where are you?” she called as she bounded down the stairs.

“In the kitchen, girl!” Vanessa yelled back. Courtney walked into the kitchen and found Vanessa and Luke making breakfast. The bacon and eggs smelled so good to her post-party stomach, she almost forgot to be surprised that Luke was there.

“Annnnnd good morning to you two.” Courtney looked from one to the other.

“Hey, there, any requests for your eggs? I am quite the master chef,” Luke declared. To demonstrate, he flipped a fried egg in the air and caught it perfectly back on the pan.

“Impressive, Bobby Flay. I would love a fried egg. And bacon. And maybe toast too.”

“It amazes me how much you eat,” Vanessa interjected.

“Well, I am rather amazing. Respect,” Courtney shot back, her face completely serious. Vanessa rolled her eyes playfully, and they heard the doorbell ring.

“Hmmmm, whoever could that be? I think at least somebody finds you amazing, anyway.” Vanessa smiled as she gestured towards the door. Courtney"s heart raced as she went to answer it. What if everything I felt last night was a fluke and he realizes I"m just…me? Courtney had a mental argument with herself and forced her brain to remember that he did show up this morning after all. She started to remember their last encounter in the kitchen and felt her chest tighten. She put on her best self-assured look as she opened the door to Ethan, who was looking incredible in a soft black fitted t-shirt and dark khakis. If possible, he was even more beautiful than she remembered. “Hello there, I believe your name was "sexy mysterious man," right?” she teased him, forcing her voice to sound light and relaxed. Just don"t say anything embarrassing. There wasn"t the excuse of Jell-O shots in the light of day.

somebodyWhat if everything I felt last night was a fluke and he realizes I"m just…me?Just don"t say anything embarrassing.“Ah, you did remember to look at your phone. So, I bought you a doughnut. I"m pretty sure you said your favorite was a bear claw, but I brought a few to be sure,” he said, winking at her.

“Well, as it happens, I prefer them with sprinkles, but I will admit that I"ve never met a doughnut I didn"t like, so hand "em over.” She grabbed the bag swiftly out of his hands and started to lead the way into the kitchen. Abruptly, she felt Ethan grab her hand and pull her back. “Yes?” she asked, confused.

“I know last night I was all about being the bigger man and respecting your virtue, but I really need to do something. Like, right now.” His dark eyes were much more intense, or maybe she was just clear-headed enough to appreciate them. He stepped forward into her space, and she found herself pressed between Ethan and the wall. She dropped the bag of doughnuts on the entryway floor and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. It all happened so quickly she forgot to be nervous, and then his lips were on hers. He tasted faintly of coffee and toothpaste, and this was now her new favorite flavor. He kissed like he had all the time in the world. His hands slipped into her back pockets and pulled her even further into the moment, and heat rose quickly to her cheeks. She had been kissed before, but this was a whole different experience. She could feel the energy radiating between their bodies as he gently kissed her lips again and pulled away slightly. She rested against the wall and found herself having to remember to inhale. She looked up at him again, and he was grinning, his eyes sparkling. “I thought about doing that all night.” He kissed her once more, quickly, picked up the doughnuts, and led her into the kitchen. “Now we can have breakfast.”

Courtney"s brain couldn"t even process what had just happened. She tried to regain her focus and act like a normal human being, but her mind was back in the entryway, reliving that moment, every time he looked at her. Vanessa raised an eyebrow at her as if to ask if everything was okay. Courtney just smiled and waved her off. She knew they could obsess about it later.

“Well, despite the fact that I really wanted you to have a bear claw as a symbol of my new nickname for you, I had a feeling you might be a sprinkles kind of girl, so there are both,” Ethan explained as he put the doughnuts on the counter.

“I call the bear claw!” Luke yelled as he stuffed his face with doughnut.

“Okay then, I guess that one"s Luke"s,” Ethan responded dryly.

“So Fisher, what prompted your little visit so early in the morning? Usually when Luke and I invite you to a post-party breakfast, you claim you have to work. What seems to have changed your mind this time?” Vanessa"s voice feigned innocence.

“I have no idea what you"re talking about. You must be thinking of someone else,” Ethan responded. “And for your information, I do have to work in about twenty minutes, so how about them apples?”

“Nice use of an idiom there,” Courtney complimented, half-joking. “I do enjoy a man who can turn a phrase.”

man“If I didn"t know better, I would think you were making fun of me. But that couldn"t possibly be the case, coming from a vocabulary snob such as yourself,” Ethan challenged, calling her out on her big-word obsession. He slid his arms around her from behind and stole a piece of her doughnut. “That"s my price for getting over your hurtful comments about my awesome idiom usage.”