Chapter Twelve: Could Of, Should Of, DID.

Enjoy! So sorry for not getting it out when I said I would...I am now forbidding myself from making any chapter release date promises. Haha, oh well...I hope you like it!

 

Chapter Twelve: Could of, Should of, DID.

 

“Do you really have to go? You can’t stay for just another half hour?” Johnny pleaded, his bright blue eyes begging me to change my mind. He was in front of me but walking backwards so that we were facing each other, and so that I could feel even guiltier.

 

I sighed loudly and shook my head.

 

“It’s not like I want to leave, Johnny. You know I would much rather stay here with you, walking along this beach, talking, but I just can’t. I told you what my father’s like. He would kill me if I skipped math!”

 

“I know, I know,” he agreed but let the sadness linger in his voice. He no longer walked backwards, but drew back to my side. His head hung in disappointment, watching his bare feet shuffling the white cold sand.

 

Desperate to make him happy again, I walked closer to him so that our arms and shoulders would touch. Then slowly, I reached for his hand, intertwining our fingers, and if possible bringing myself closer to him. His hand and fingers were warm against my icy cold ones.

 

“You could have told me you were cold,” he whispered in his husky voice. The words tickled my ear, and I shied away, giggling like a ridicules school girl. He laughed at my reaction, then gripped my hand a little tighter and tugged on it.

 

“Look at me Azzurra,” he pleaded. This time, it was playful with no traces of sadness which caused me to smile and giggle even more.

 

I refused to look at him, playing along, although I was desperately cold and would have loved it if he wrapped his arms around me. I was not at all prepared to go to the beach in the middle of October, but I would have gone anywhere as long as I didn’t have to sit through another class where Seth was the subject. It had to be at least sixty-five degrees, and I was still wearing my uniform, just a skirt and a short-sleeve button up. With the sun out, I was able to stand the chilly air, but when the cool breeze traveled through, making its way from the water, my bones screamed with displeasure.

 

“What’s so funny, girlie?” he teased, letting go of my hand and poking my side. “What’s so--Hey! Get back here!”

 

Before he could poke me again, I took off in a run, laughing and stumbling my way up the shore. Sand flew everywhere, shooting up my legs and flying behind me, showering Johnny who was close behind, very close.

 

“I…got…you….NOW!” Johnny yelled as he lunged forward with outstretched arms.

 

A shriek of laughter came from my lips as his arms wrapped around my stomach. His body slammed into mine causing me to lose my footing which sent us both hurtling towards the ground. I closed my eyes, anticipating a face full of sand and the weight of Johnny crushing my back, but it never came. Instead, I felt a gush of wind and my head bounced lightly off of something firm but soft.

 

Shocked, I quickly opened my eyes. All I saw was a pale blue sky that could’ve been almost grey, and a few seagulls flying past. This was definitely not sand, let alone a face full of it.

 

A small groan came from underneath me, and Johnny’s arms wrapped themselves tighter around my stomach. I managed to maneuver myself enough to turn around while still fixed in his arms. Placing both elbows on his chest and placing my hands under my chin, I giggled, waiting patiently for Johnny to open his eyes. He groaned again, twisting his face into what I hoped was mock pain.

 

“Johnny dear, are you okay?”

 

He said nothing and continued to make faces. Scrunching my nose, I racked my brain for something, anything, to get him to speak. It would have to be something playful, something that would either make him laugh or get him excited. Johnny groaned yet again, whipping his head back and forth.

 

I laughed. “Are you practicing for class? Is expressing pain the subject?”

 

Although I was laughing while I asked the questions, they were serious ones. During our walk, we talked about everything. We chatted about our families, friends, our hobbies, and even our food preferences. But the subject we spent the most time on was school. I learned that Johnny was in the year above me, making him a junior, and that he didn’t attend a local public school which I had originally thought. He attended Coral Reef Magnet School for the Arts which was a private school, but had some exceptions to rules. Being allowed to dress however you wanted was an example of an ‘exception’.

 

The goal of the school was to produce graduates that were very well trained in two subjects of the arts. Johnny only had to take two classes a day, each being two hours long. I gaped at the length of the classes, but was even more surprised when Johnny claimed that two hours was far too short to complete anything significant. This year he was taking Drama III and advanced Visual Arts IV. He told me about a couple of projects they were working on in his art class. Currently, he was sculpting a coral reef that he saw when he was out in the gulf surfing. Johnny described everything in an eloquent manner, making sure to give me the names of all the fish he saw, along with the colors that decorated their shimmering bodies. He spoke using his hands, moving them around in front of him, trying to use them to explain the sculpture better. I had smiled at him, watching his eyes blaze with excitement as he shared something with me that was so important to him.

 

 In drama, he had said that they were learning to ‘become the character’, and that his instructor wanted them to take the personality of the character and use it in the real world. The point of the exercise was to see if you could get people that were of course, oblivious to what you were doing, to believe that your emotions were real. So I assumed that that was what Johnny was trying to pull on me.

 

But Johnny shook his head, keeping his eyes closed tight.

 

“Hmm…” I said thinking out loud, “what am I going to do to get you to talk?”

 

Eyes still closed and arms still wrapped around me, Johnny pursed his lips. I stared wide-eyed at his face, and suddenly, I became very nervous. I wasn’t sure if I…could. Could I kiss him? Could I break my rule and let another boy into my life? Could he be the one…the one who would set me free from the bond that formed so long ago when Am-he left? Could he…

 

I let my eyes scan over Johnny’s tanned face, taking in the innocence that flowed off of it, and then stopped at his lips. They sat there patiently, waiting for my decision. Then without thinking twice, I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against his. His lips eagerly captured mine, creating a rhythm that sent an unfamiliar current through my body.

 

When the kiss was done, I pulled away, slowly opening my eyes. Johnny’s bright orbs were staring into my dark blue ones. Excitement was evident in his expression, but there was also uncertainty of what to do next. He was waiting for my approval.

 

I smiled and blushed lightly before returning my lips back onto his.

 

Yes…he definitely could be the one…

Author's Note

I need your guy's help! Was the "kissing" scene realistic? Did it flow with the chapter? I cannot tell you how insanely insecure I feel about that part, so any feedback on it, whether it is criticism or not, would put me at much needed ease. Thank you so much for reading!! ♥

Reviews

[Anna Writes]

"His lips eagerly captured mine, creating a rhythm that sent an unfamiliar current through my body." i think this is realistic enough...^^ it showed Johnny's reaction and how Azzurra felt when he kissed her. And what mattered to me is how they feel at that moment and not every technical details of the kiss...^^ i like this chapter coz i get to know more of Johnny. And i like how you ended the chapter...you said he "could" be the one so that left me wondering if he'd really be the one...:)

[An owl on the moon]

Such a sweet expression that captures the excitement of discovering love! Very well done!

[Adeline]

Excellent way to end the chapter! Can't wait for more! :)

[Lena M. P.]

It had just the right playful banter and new expectation that you find with innocence. I enjoy the byplay of these two and feel that they embody the goodness of youth, the purity of first loves. I think you did very well sending this message.