Gem City

Chapter 13

“She Looks So Perfect” – 5 Seconds of Summer

“First Time” – Lifehouse

Courtney tried not to let her mind wander too far as she got ready. Vanessa was right. She was thankful she at least knew something was going to happen, and wasn"t sitting around in yoga pants and a cheer t-shirt. Once her make-up was done with an acceptable amount of sparkle, she took a look at the whole package. She hardly recognized herself. The girl in Vanessa"s full-length mirror looked calm… confident even. She took a few deep breaths to help her feel like she looked. She saw Ethan"s car pull up and started downstairs.

“Don"t you dare come down here yet,” Vanessa scolded. “He needs to wait on you to make an entrance; did you learn nothing from Clueless?”

Clueless“So unnecessary,” Courtney complained. She didn"t want to make a bigger deal out of whatever this was than it needed to be. The doorbell rang and Courtney hung back, reluctantly taking Vanessa"s advice.

She heard Ethan come in “Hey, V. Did you keep my secret?”

“The parts that needed to be kept, yes. The line was a little fuzzy on others.” Courtney came the rest of the way down the stairs because she felt silly standing there listening to their conversation about her. She took in the sight of Ethan at the door, holding a bouquet of pink Gerbera daisies. He was wearing a dark gray button down, open over a black t-shirt. His dark hair was perfectly messy in the way that she liked. The look on his face was something new, though. She took it to mean Vanessa"s attempt at a makeover had worked, and she blushed.

“You like it?” she asked, doing a quick twirl in her long dress, her hair brushing the bare skin of her back.

“That would be a serious understatement,” he replied, still staring at her. “V, I officially forgive you for whatever part of the secret you gave away.” He patted V on the head, causing her face to turn into a glare. Bending down to kiss Courtney on the cheek, he gave her the daisies. “I know nothing about flowers, but these made me think of you.” Just, seriously? Pink daises. She melted a little bit.

Just, seriously? Pink daises.“They"re perfect.” Vanessa took them to put in a vase in the kitchen.

“Are you ready for your pre-birthday birthday?” So that was what this had all been about. She understood the surprise element now, though her birthday was still three days away.

“In fairness to Ethan, he did want to pull this off on your actual birthday, but I told him I wasn"t giving you up that night. He knows not to mess with me,” Vanessa explained upon her return. She discreetly put something into Courtney"s purse, but waved her off when she raised an eyebrow.

“That is a true statement,” Ethan admitted. “You"re a little scary when you wanna be.”

“Don"t you forget it,” she told him protectively.

“Okay, okay. Where are we headed on this most special of occasions?”

“All part of the surprise, sprinkles, just enjoy the ride.”

Courtney sighed but said goodbye to Vanessa and let Ethan open the car door for her. She turned around and kissed him in earnest before getting in. The whole thing was already something out of a storybook, and they hadn"t even made it to the horse drawn carriage part yet. “What was that for?” Ethan asked, his hands still on her waist. She just shrugged her shoulders coyly. Sinking into his sporty car, she felt the energy of the evening. At that point she didn"t care where they were going, as long as she got to be with him. She realized, amused, that this was technically their first date alone.

“Is this your first date protocol with all girls?” she teased.

He looked at her curiously for a moment before responding. “Nah, this is all you, baby. You make me want to make you happy.” Her heart jumped as it always did when he looked at her that way. The mood shifted to something real despite the fantasy feel of its beginning. She held his hand tightly as they drove through downtown Gem. Ethan pulled his car into the drive of a small blue Victorian house, not far from where Courtney used to live.

“Is this your house? I grew up literally two streets over, on Sweetwater Drive,” she marveled as she got out of the car.

“Really? I don"t think I knew that. In an alternate universe, we could have been neighbors, and I would have been pulling your pigtails because I liked you in the second grade,” he mused, pushing her non-pigtailed hair behind her ear. She smiled at the thought. “So, um, before we continue on this adventure, I should probably let you know that you"ll be meeting my mom and sister inside.” Courtney"s eyes widened slightly. “Don"t freak out, it"s just for a minute. My mom is chaperoning Taylor"s Girl Scout overnight tonight, but she insisted on meeting you first. I assume to make sure you"re not a harlot trying to seduce her only son into bed.” He grinned. “I asked Vanessa if I should tell you sooner, but she said you"d just stress, so here we are. Are you all right? My mom"s cool, and she already likes you, I swear.”

“Ummm, yeah, I"m cool.” I am so not cool. I am the opposite of cool. I am a fiery hot volcano of anxious lava. She breathed in and out as discreetly as possible, trying to get over the initial surprise. “Parents generally like me, I just had to process what I"m walking into. It"ll be fine. Let"s go meet your family.” This was more to convince herself than him. It dawned on her that he had just divulged that his mom would be gone for the entire night. Some of Vanessa"s comments from earlier started to make more sense. He led her up the stairs with his pinky hooked in hers. They walked into the house and she was reminded of her own little Victorian around the corner. The dark stained wood floors, brightly colored rooms, and historic crown molding- this was her kind of house. It smelled of cinnamon and vanilla, making Courtney wish she had eaten more earlier.

I am so not cool. I am the opposite of cool. I am a fiery hot volcano of anxious lava.“Ethan, is that you?” his mom called from the kitchen.

“No Mom, it"s your other son bringing his girlfriend to meet you for the first time.” He used the "g" word again, Courtney thought. Maybe it"s just easier than saying "girl from Phoenix I think I"m in love with," she told herself.

He used the "g" word again,Maybe it"s just easier than saying "girl from Phoenix I think I"m in love with,"“Courtney!” His mom said knowingly as they walked through the kitchen door. “I"ve heard so much about you, I feel like I know you already,” she relayed, shaking her hand. “You"re absolutely beautiful, Ethan"s description did not do you justice,” she complimented.

Courtney blushed. “Thank you, Ms. Fisher,” she responded.

“None of this "Ms. Fisher" nonsense, call me Mary,” she insisted. “Now, Taylor and I are heading out in a minute, so no crazy parties here, got it?” Mary gave Ethan a knowing look. “Taylor! Come and meet Courtney before we leave!” she yelled. Footsteps came rushing down the stairs.

“Courtney? Hi! I"m Taylor! Ethan says you like Harry Potter, is that for real?” his sister questioned precociously as soon as she entered the kitchen.

Harry Potter“Always,” Courtney replied knowingly, a gleam in her blue eyes. Taylor"s own eyes widened.

“She is a fan!” She giggled and helped her mom put their things in the car.

is“Call if you need anything, Ethan, I"ll have my cell. Try not to burn the house down. Courtney, so lovely to meet you, I hope we"ll see you again.” Courtney"s heart sank a little when she realized she probably wouldn"t get to spend much more time with his family. They backed down the driveway, leaving Courtney and Ethan alone, really alone, for the first time. They looked at each other; Ethan lifted her up onto the kitchen counter, and his lips were on hers before either of them blinked. They kissed slowly, without fear of anyone interrupting them. Heat between them built quickly, and she pushed off his button-down so she could feel his arms around her. He pulled back slightly, his arms still holding her tightly.

“So, I"m good with this being our whole evening, but I did actually plan a dinner and a cake and whatnot, just so you don"t think I led you here under false pretenses of a birthday celebration.” She wanted to ignore dinner and ask for a tour of his bedroom, but her stomach said otherwise, both from hunger and holy crap we"re alone in his house.

thisholy crap we"re alone in his house“All right, what"s for dinner, chef?” She played along. Ethan explained that he had observed her bizarre eating preferences, and decided upon a homemade pizza with salad, and a ginormous chocolate cake, with zero fruit, for dessert.

“Aw, you do pay attention!” she said admiringly. “I was mildly afraid you had planned for caviar and snails or something. I love me some pizza. Do you need help getting anything prepped?”

“Nope, it will be ready in ten. You can go out on the deck if you want while I finish up.” She grabbed her sweater and went outside to find simple candles burning on a table set for two. Her heart melted a bit more. She enjoyed the cleansing evening air and the fact that she felt perfectly at ease there with him. Her shoulders relaxed and she let what was left of the sunset wash over her. Ethan soon emerged with pizza, salad, and cucumber water.

“You really did chat with Vanessa,” she declared over the water. “This is amazing. I can"t picture a better birthday dinner.” They chatted effortlessly about his sister"s reaction to her Harry Potter answer, his relationship with his mom, why they moved to Gem and why she had moved away. He didn"t go into too much detail, but she gathered that his dad wasn"t around much anymore.

didHarry PotterBefore he brought out the dessert, he offered her a disclaimer. “I realize that you"re going to think I"m insane when you see the size of this cake, but you"ll get why when you read what"s on it.” Courtney"s interest was piqued, plus, well, dessert. He brought out the largest sheet cake she"d ever seen, the length of it easily spanning Ethan"s shoulders, and she burst out laughing.

“Okay, I get the warning now.” He set it down carefully in front of her with a number eighteen candle burning on top. She looked down at the cake, and in pink icing it read:

Courtney Ross,

Will You Go To Homecoming With Me?

He began to explain as she read. “I know it"s not until September, but I just thought if you could ask your mom-” Courtney put her finger against his lips to quiet him. She blew out her candle and said, “Yes. Whatever it takes to get there, just yes.” She then left the cake and pulled him by his shirt nearer to her. Their intensity from earlier returned tenfold. She needed to be closer to him and kissed him intently, loving the way his fingertips felt on her back. When she reached for his belt buckle, though, he took a step back.

“What"s wrong?” she asked, feeling confused and slightly embarrassed, hoping she hadn"t misread their situation.

His words rushed out quickly. “Well, um, I had planned for a lot of things tonight, but that wasn"t really one of them. I don"t have any… protection? If that"s even where you want this to go. I"m trying not to treat you like a delicate flower as requested, and I want you, you have no idea how badly, and I could go to the store or something, I just thought you"d want to wait until homecoming. I didn"t want to, like, put pressure on tonight. I thought I could get a hotel room after the dance, or we could-”

“Right now, the dance is a beautiful hypothetical, Ethan,” she interrupted. “But tonight? It"s not hypothetical, and I have never been so sure of anything in my whole life as I am about you. I don"t need a Cinderella homecoming night to want to be with you. I just want you.” The fairy-tale reference made her think of Vanessa"s metaphor from earlier, and something dawned on her. She grabbed her purse while Ethan looked on, confused, to find exactly the item they needed with a sticky note that said “Just In Case- V”. She left the note on the table and pulled Ethan inside.

They continued what they had started. He seemed to treat her with a new reverence, lightly running his hands up her back. He kissed her with a gentle certainty, and slowly backed her up the stairs to his room, never letting his hands leave her skin. The space was small and simple, but it suited him. His guitars hung on the wall, a laptop sat on a small desk, and a gray graphic print covered the comforter. He guided her down on the edge his bed and kneeled in front of her, evening their height. “I love you,” he said softly, kissing her neck. She pulled off his shirt and ran her hands over his chest. Letting him take the lead, he pushed down the strap of her dress with his fingertips and kissed her shoulder.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.

“Yes,” she answered certainly, pressing into him. Neither of them looked back after that.

The event itself wasn"t at all like she had expected, between health class at school and her second hand knowledge from friends and movies. There was the heat that was always between them, rising and falling, but it also felt like she now understood what people meant by making love. There were no fireworks, and the earth didn"t move, but her heart did. As he held her and played with her hair afterwards, she felt like she finally knew why it had never worked out with anyone else. She was supposed to have waited for him.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, kissing her softly.

“Better than.” She interlaced her fingers with his.

“Do you want anything? Water, cake?”

“Just you.” He relaxed and tightened his arms around her.