Not Real. Not Imaginary.

PART THREE: NINA. [First date]

I opened my eyes and noticed it was about sundown. I had been asleep for most of the day, and it would be night in no time. I looked around when I remembered Terry was sleeping next to me, but she wasn’t there.

Terry was sitting at the kitchen table, looking at me with a serious and icy expression...or so it seemed for a second.

“I’m glad you’re awake kitten.” She smiled and got up, stretching a little before walking over where I was.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you up, so I didn’t move...and then I fell asleep myself.” I stretched as well and then got up, covering my mouth as I yawned.

“It’s okay. I think now your sleep schedule will be a little messed up, though.” She gently brushed my hair and it made me giggle.

“It’ll be okay. In no time I’m gonna get back to normal; you on the other hand…are you gonna be okay?” I looked at her with worry.

“Don’t worry. My work is very demanding and I am used to spend nights without sleeping or with little sleep. Actually, I’m using my time with you to catch some sleep…finally.” She smiled gently.

“Well..." I was at a loss on what to say or do next; then, looking down at myself, I exclaimed: "I should really take a shower now…”

“And then we should go out. I have a surprise for you.” She said with a bright smile, and I stopped, looking at her confused.

“Oh…do I need to dress up nicely?” I asked, remembering the last time she surprised me back at the Hotel.

“You always do, kitten. Anything you choose will be fine.” She smiled and urged me to go get ready.

After taking a nice relaxing bath, and quickly sliding into a pair of jeans, and a basic, black shirt, I came out to meet Terry, who had already changed since before I woke up. She was wearing jeans again, and a very nice navy-blue silk, button up blouse.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door.

The closer we got to the door, the more I could feel anxiety building up, flooding inside me, like a geiser, to the point I felt like I was drowning.

I had forgotten about the stalker, and, as we got closer to being out of the apartment, I feared he would be out there waiting for us.

“M-maybe we should stay in for the night again...” I said with a trembly voice.

“It will be fun, I promise. I know you are tired, but I did prepare this carefully, for you to relax after all the emotions of these last couple of days.” She looked at me pleadingly, almost like a puppy asking for a treat.

I never thought I’d see Terry making such expressions. She surely was surprising me. She could seem like a cold business woman…but she was warm, gentle and childish inside.

I breathed deeply, trying to gather some courage inside me. I couldn’t let some random person have that sort of power in my life again, making me scared of living. And so, I sighed and walked outside with Terry.

When we got in her car, she made me close my eyes and cover them, so I couldn’t see where she was taking me. She really wanted it to be a surprise.

She pulled over and got out after telling me not to open my eyes just yet, then she opened the passenger door and held my arm, helping me to get out of the car without opening or uncovering my eyes.

She kept holding me, leading me, and telling me when I needed to step aside, or jump some sort of obstacle in the way. Suddenly, the sound of music came from everywhere around us.

“Uhm…Terry?” She had moved away, and I was on my own…confused.

“It’s okay, you can open your eyes now.” She yelled at me; I could barely hear her over the music.

We were in a roller-skating ring; the polished wooden floor reflected the bright light above and the loud retro music really brought a sense of nostalgia, and oddly enough, filled me with an energy rush. There was no one else but us in there, and I felt both, relieved, and uneasy.

“Surprise!” She yelled as she jumped up and down, wearing an excited smile.

I stood there, dumbfounded, taking in my surroundings. That was certainly a surprise. I had always wanted to roller skate, but I had never even owned a pair of roller skates. And I never thought Terry would remember this about me.

“Well...this is indeed a surprise...” I managed to say as I walked closer to Terry, who was already in the middle of the ring. “I don’t know how to do it, though…”

“I’ll help you, just put those on.” She pointed at the counter; there was a pair there already.

They were classic white, boot-style roller skates, with red wheels and a chestnut-colored sole. I put them on, and they fitted perfectly.

I nervously smiled up at her after putting them on, unsure of how to get up now that I had. She came towards me after noticing my insecurity and held my hand in hers.

“It is not as bad as you think, don’t be afraid.” She walked in front of me and her gaze told me she wanted me to do what she was doing.

I followed all her movements, nervously, and slightly shivering, sure that at any moment I would fall, and afraid of pulling her down with me.

She smiled happily, and I could feel my own lips curving into a smile, as I started to get the hang of it, and within a moment, I had grasped enough for her to loosen her grip on my hand, little by little, until she finally released it and moved away, leaving me on my own for a moment.

I managed to skate a couple laps around the ring on my own, very slowly I must add. But I felt accomplished, and I couldn’t stop smiling at the fact that I had managed to do something I had always wanted to do, and had so much fun, even when I was nowhere near being able to do it confidently and at a normal speed.

Terry joined me after she made sure I was okay for a couple of laps, and started to skate at my side, as slow as I was. After a few more laps, she held my hand in hers again.

“How about we try to go a little faster?” She questioned as she slid in front of me, skating backwards…well…it seemed she was just showing off, and I felt like I needed to catch up. So, I nodded.

She pulled me and I managed to match her speed for an entire lap…then another, and then, she got in front of me again, facing me as she held both my hands in hers, and pulled me to the center of the ring, making us turn in circles a couple of times. I must confess I was terrified at first. Then, I couldn’t help but to laugh. It was way more fun than I had believed, and not nearly as hard.

Maybe if I stopped being scared of everything all the time, my life would be easier…but then…How could I not be afraid?

As I was drowning in my own thoughts, Terry moved closer and wrapped her arms around me. And before I could even notice what was going on, her face was leaning closer to mine, and within fractions of second, her lips were firmly pressed against mine.

I felt my eyes widen at the initial shock, when I finally realized what was going on. And then, as her warmth softly permeated from her lips to mine, I closed my eyes and held her back shyly, giving into the unexpected kiss.

She held me even tighter, pulling me towards her as if we just couldn’t be close enough. It was almost as if she wanted us to be one person. Her arms were possessively wrapped around me, squeezing me, her lips were hungrily dancing against mine, and I found myself enjoying it.

The kiss lasted forever, or so I felt. It was like the moment had frozen in time, or maybe it was just me, wanting it to last forever. The warmth of the kiss felt slightly familiar, yet so new to me…and at some point I decided it was too much for me. I wouldn’t be able to resist anymore; I felt like my heart wanted to jump out of my chest, so eventually, I pulled away, keeping my gaze on the floor as her warmth lingered on my lips and body.

“I…I’m sorry…I just…it was…” I was flustered, and couldn’t really articulate any words. I could almost feel the warm glow of my cheeks illuminating the place, I felt that my entire face was like Rudolph’s nose.

“It’s okay, I reckon it was a bit…. unexpected, even to me. I just couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, kitten.” She gently cupped my cheek and slid her thumb over my lips, awakening a sort of…hunger, inside me.

“You didn’t!” I replied hurriedly as I looked up at her, and immediately shifted my gaze away in embarrassment. “I mean…it was a bit…sudden, but I wasn’t uncomfortable. I kinda…liked it…” I confessed while I kept fidgeting with the hem of my shirt, keeping my gaze down and away from hers.

I didn’t see her face, but somehow, I knew she was smiling at my answer. As I stole a sneaky glance up at her, I could confirm, her face was wearing an accomplished smile, and that made me smile too.

As I hid my face from her again, looking down at my feet, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye; but when I looked back up, there was nothing there. I sighed relieved and Terry must’ve realized it because, she leaned forward to try to be at my eye level, looking worried.

“Is something wrong kitten?” She asked as she cupped my cheek and tried to make me look back up at her.

“No, I’m just…a little tired…that’s all” I replied with an awkward smile.

“You’re not a very good liar…which is actually a good thing. Maybe we should go back so you can rest a little more, though. Now I know that strong emotions might be a bit too much for you.” She chuckled and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, carefully leading me out to take the skates off.

“Can we get some ice cream before getting home?” I asked shyly as I put my sneakers back on and placed the skates on the counter.

“That sounds like a good idea actually.” She said, and patted me on the head, very gently, like you would pat a dog after they did something right, and I couldn’t suppress a small, shy smile.

~~~~~

I opened the door, giggling after watching how Terry tried to juggle everything on her own. She had shown a great deal of chivalry since we left the roller-skating place. I mean, she had always been chivalrous, but this was ridiculous.

My giggles came to a sudden halt and my smile disappeared as I saw a familiar face at the other side of the door, and I almost ran to fill that face with all the kisses I couldn’t give her throughout the last couple of days....

Terry peeked behind me when she saw I was just there, frozen still, in the middle of the doorway while, from across the place, Greer smiled bitterly at me, before turning away and disappearing through my bedroom door.