Kiss Me

Part I, chapter 8

- VIII -

I didn't wake up until almost noon on Sunday. After my shower, I walked downstairs and made myself a plain toast. I was munching on it absent-mindedly, when my mother walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Steph," she breathed.

"Hey, Mom," I smiled at her.

"How was the party?" she asked, turning on the coffeemaker.

"It was good," I nodded. "Hey, Mom, I need a favor."

"What is it?" she asked and sat on the chair next to me.

"I need a cell phone," I said, finishing my toast and wishing for more, but Danny's words suddenly popped in my head: "If you don't wanna gain weight, stop eating junk..." I sighed and leaned on the table with my elbows.

"Cell phone?" my mother frowned. "Sure, we can get you one. Why though?"

"Well," I sighed. "Since I have friends now, I don't want Eric to eavesdrop on me every time I answer the phone..."

"Ah, yes," she laughed. "Yeah, sure. Let's get you one tomorrow, how's that?"

"Awesome!" I beamed. "Thanks, Mom!"

She smiled and was about to say something when the phone rang. I almost made it, when I heard Eric's cheerful "Helloooooo!!" from upstairs. I cringed.

"Hey, Stephanie," he said a minute later from the steps of the stairs. "It's for you. It's your boy-toy..." and he laughed.

"See?" I said quietly, looking at my mother, and she nodded.

I picked up the phone and looked at my brother.

"Get lost, Eric," I said and he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Eric, I am serious!"

"Eric," my mother said without turning. "You are aware of the fact that I can cut off your internet connection, right?"

That got him out of my sight in a flash.

"Thanks, Mom," I muttered and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?" I said carefully.

"Hey," the phone said casually.

"Oh, hey, Danny... Eric, hang up the phone! I can hear you breathing...! Mom...!" I looked at her pleadingly, and she sighed and got up.

"Eric," she called loudly. "If that phone is anywhere near you when I get up there, say good-bye to your internet for a week!"

I immediately heard the clicking noise when Eric hurriedly put his receiver into the cradle, and I sighed with relief.

"Hey, Danny," I said quietly, walking towards the window.

"What are you doing today, Palmer?" he asked indifferently.

"Not much," I said. "I just woke up..."

"Oh, yeah?" he laughed softly. "Right on. Hey, there is something I wanna show you..."

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously and he laughed again.

"It's a place," he said. "I showed you pretty much everything else last night."

"Right," I muttered and couldn't help but smile at that.

"Come out around five or so, I'll pick you up."

"Okay," I said. "But..."

"Cool," he interrupted me. "See you," and the line went dead.

I frowned and looked at the phone in my hand. I dialed Trisha's number.

"Hey, Trish," I said when she answered. "I got a question for you..."

"Shoot," she said, sounding out of breath.

"What are you doing?" I asked and she sighed.

"Working out," she giggled. "I actually like it... But anyway, what's up?"

"Well," I said, looking out of the window. "Danny just called..."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah... But it was weird, you know? He was all, like, indifferent..."

"What did he want though?" she asked, her breathing almost back to normal.

"He asked what I was doing later today, and told me that he'd pick me up around five..."

"To do what?"

"I don't know... He said there was a place he wanted to show me. And then he just hung up..."

"Hmmm," Trisha said.

"Exactly," I agreed. "So I just wanna ask you... Is it a date or not? I mean, it sounds like one, but he didn't even say bye on the phone. It was like, 'Hey, Palmer, what are you doing? I'll pick you up at five,' and that's it."

"I don't know, Steph," she said slowly. "Danny was always really hard to read, you know? He always seems happy and stuff, always smiling, selling his pills and whatnot... But you can never know what he feels like or what he thinks when he is all happy-looking, you know?"

"Yeah..." I sighed. "Well, I guess I'll find out tonight."

"Call me when you get back, okay?"

"Okay," I promised and hung up the phone.

...I walked out of my house at five o'clock sharp, wearing my size five jeans and an old sweatshirt. Danny's car immediately pulled up to my curb.

"Wow," he snickered. "You are on time!"

"Is that bad?" I frowned, opening the passenger's door and sliding in the front seat.

"No," he shook his head. "Just unusual for a girl... They are always at least five minutes late."

"I didn't know it was a rule," I muttered, pulling the seat belt across my shoulder.

Danny grinned.

"It's not," he said and threw the car into gear.

We drove for almost an hour when Danny finally took an exit and slowed down.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," he said shortly and fell silent.

After a while, I recognized the road.

"Are we going to the Needle?" I frowned. "I've been there before, Danny... I was born in this city, you know..."

"I know," he grinned. "And yes, we are going to the Needle. But not to the famous spot... You'll see," he said again.

The Needle was a local sight that attracted lots of tourists during the day and even more teenagers during the night. It was probably the most famous 'make out' spot. Even I heard of that in my home-schooled shell of safety. The Needle was nothing but a huge obelisk that stood on top of the hill. It was built almost a hundred years ago, and I had to admit, it looked pretty impressive. I went there with my Dad several times; he loved it. I didn't care about it because the place was always crowded. "So it's not a date," I thought. "Since we are going into the middle of the zoo..." Suddenly, I felt something stirring inside me that suspiciously resembled disappointment.

And then Danny suddenly turned his car away from the obelisk, and I looked at him in surprise. He gave me his usual half-smile and kept on driving. Finally, he parked the car on the side of the road.

"Here we are," he said softly and got out.

I slowly opened the door and climbed out of the car. I couldn't believe my eyes. We were somewhere on the side of the Needle, I could see the obelisk, but somehow, we were in a really deserted spot. There were trees and bushes everywhere, and not a single person in sight.

"You like it?" Danny asked quietly without looking at me.

"Yeah..." I breathed. "How did you find this spot? And how come there is nobody here?"

"Found it by mistake a couple of years ago," he said. "It seems like people either don't know about it or don't care. Both possibilities are fine with me... I come here often..." his voice trailed off.

I slowly walked closer to him and just stood there, looking at the breathtaking view in front of me.

"You can see almost the entire city from here," Danny murmured and I nodded.

"It's gorgeous..." I muttered and he turned towards me, his gray eyes reflecting dying sun.

"Yeah," he said, and just like that, he started kissing me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and suddenly, felt incredibly weak at the knees. He lifted me up so easily as if I weighed ten pounds and not almost a hundred-twenty-five. He sat me down on the hood of his car and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Palmer..." he murmured after a while.

"Mmm?" I asked without letting him go.

"You are messing with my brain," he sighed and pulled off my sweatshirt.

I didn't say anything to that, because by then, I suddenly forgot how to speak.

...We were sitting in his car almost two hours later, his shirt laying somewhere in the back, his dark hair messed up. I briefly wondered what I looked like, but somehow, it didn't matter. He was smoking lazily without looking at me. I pulled a cigarette out of his pack and he silently handed me the lighter.

"Thanks," I muttered and lit the cigarette carefully.

"Careful with that," he said casually.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slowly blowing smoke out of my nostrils.

"You have an addictive personality, Palmer," he finally looked at me.

"Right," I laughed. "Thank you, Mr. Freud!"

He shrugged.

"You can smoke all you want," he said indifferently. "I am just saying that you were born an addict."

"How would you know?" I snorted, and he looked at me calmly.

"I sell drugs, Palmer," he said. "I know an addict when I see one."

"I can quit anytime I want," I shrugged and he laughed.

"Uh huh," he took a cigarette away from me and flicked it through the open window.

"Hey!" I protested, and he shut me up with his greedy mouth.

"Danny..." I breathed several minutes later. "Is this a date?"

He paused and slightly pulled away from me.

"Why?" He asked finally.

"Because I can't figure out if it's a date or not," I said, stroking his chest with my fingertips.

"Does it feel like a date?" he asked indifferently.

"Kind of," I said carefully, and he shrugged.

"Then it's a date," and then he was kissing me again.

...He drove me home at almost midnight.

"See you tomorrow," he said calmly and I just blinked at him.

Trisha was right – Danny was impossible to read. I couldn't figure him out at all. First, he was all over me, and two hours later, he looked like he couldn't care less about my very existence.

"Okay," I said, trying to sound casual and he grinned.

"Palmer," he said. "You are so easy to read..."

"Well," I muttered. "And you are not, so good night."

"Night," he said and pulled me towards him.

This time, his kiss literally took my breath away. He was so gentle that I almost cried.

"Danny..." I muttered, and he immediately pulled away.

"Later, Palmer," he said with laughter, and I pushed him away with frustration.

"What the hell is wrong with you..." I muttered and got out of the car.

"Let's not open that can of worms," he laughed and drove away without looking at me.

I carefully walked into my house and saw light underneath my Dad's office door. I tiptoed upstairs when I heard him laugh at something on the phone. I was always a little upset by my parents' lack of interest in me, but right now, I was thankful for that. I quickly brushed my teeth and decided to phone Trisha, even though I realized that it was really late. I knew she would never forgive me if I waited until morning to tell her how my night went with Danny. I picked up the phone and winced when I heard my Dad's voice. I almost put the phone down, when he suddenly laughed softly and said:

"Make sure you are wearing that black thing that I like so much."

I froze and tried not to breathe into the phone.

"I can picture it right now," he was saying meanwhile. "Can't wait to see you this weekend..."

"George is leaving Friday morning," the woman's voice breathed and I couldn't believe my ears.

"Mrs. Freeman?!" I thought in astonishment. She was the wife of his business partner.

"Okay," my Dad murmured. "I'll see you then," and he hung up.

I stared at the phone, and finally, punched in Trisha's number. She answered almost immediately.

"Stephanie!" she hissed. "I can't believe you!"

"Sorry," I said quickly. "I just got home..."

"Tell me everything!" she demanded in an urgent whisper, and I obliged.

"Huh," she said when I finished. "It sounds like he is in love with you..."

"Don't be ridiculous!" I laughed softly. "Danny?!"

"Well, duh..." she said quietly.

"Trish," I said patiently. "Danny and I are just..."

"Ugh," she said. "Don't say those words, they are disgusting! Trust me though; he is acting so strange because you told him all that nonsense about Tyler so he doesn't want you to think that he cares..."

"No, that's not it," I said with frustration. "Danny is not in love with me! And I am not in love with him!"

"Maybe you are not..." she said and I interrupted her.

"End of story, Trish! Tyler is the one for me, okay?"

"Whatever," she breathed with annoyance. "I gotta go, see you tomorrow."

"Bye," I said and hung up the phone.

I carefully went downstairs and ate almost an entire box of ice cream. I didn't care about the whole bulimia thing right now. My Dad's words still rang in my ears, and then suddenly, I remembered Tony's face and I just shook my head. My family was beyond messed up. I went back to my bedroom and felt much better after I made myself purge in the bathroom. I went to bed thinking about Tyler but I dreamt of Danny.