Chapter 19

“So tell me again,” said Anna excitedly, as she sat crisscross style by Lizzy’s bed. “He took you out ice skating, and then kissed you, TOTALLY out of the blue?” Anna’s smile almost consumed her face in eagerness

          Lizzy flopped down on her bed. It had been one week since Christmas break ended. Which made it about two weeks since she and Braden kissed. She wanted to tell Anna the kiss was awesome"which it totally was. But she also then felt the need to express how disappointing the aftermath was. Yes, the kiss was wonderful, but for the past two weeks, nothing had really stayed the same between she and Braden. And not in a good way.

But Lizzy continued.

“I mean, he was all like, ‘I really want to kiss you right now’ and everything, but I still didn’t know he was going to do it. It was amazing. We basically stayed out there all night.” Lizzy replied.

          Anna’s mouth dropped. “All night?” She said as she got up from the floor, beaming in anticipation. “So when did you finally go inside?” She asked.

          “Well,” Lizzy began. “The second time he kissed me,” She took a breath in, “It felt like it lasted forever, and when we finally got back inside, I couldn’t sleep, so I basically just stayed up until the sun rose, which wasn’t too long after I went up to my room.” Lizzy said, constructing a small braid out of one of her white-blonde tresses.

          Anna’s eyes enlarged. “Wow,” she said, “That’s mad.”

          “It’s absolutely crazy,” Lizzy reflected. “And you’re the only one who knows…so, keep it on the down low, or, you know…” She trailed off. “I actually don’t know what would happen if anyone would find out.” She said pensively, finished her braid.

          Anna crinkled her thin eyebrows. “Well, it might seem a little sketchy, since you live together.”

Lizzy sighed. “What am I going to do?” She asked to rhetorically. She almost introduced the fact that Braden has been ignoring her since the kiss.  

She flopped back down onto her bed. She decided to bring it up…just in future tense. “…Would if he starts ignoring me? What then? Or…would if he…just stops being interested in me?” Lizzy pretended to be genuinely concerned about that happening. Though it seemed it already had.

          Anna flopped down next to her. “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” she said.

          “But would if it does?” Lizzy said, still trying to get advice. She started to undo her braid anxiously.

Anna sighed. “Well, If he kisses you again then you know--”

          Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

Both of them jumped.

Lizzy’s back stiffened. “Um, you can come in!” She looked at Anna with a nervous expression.

The door opened.

It was Gwen.

Lizzy felt an ocean of relief wash over her. At least it wasn’t Sylvia or Jerry.

“Hey,” Lizzy said.

“All right?” Gwen said. She looked toward Anna. “Sean’s leaving now, so…” She trailed off.

“Oh okay,” Anna said. “I guess that means I have to go,” she paused. “Bye Lizzy!” She smiled, pulling her in for a hug. “Bye Gwen,” she said. Anna walked out the door, waving one last time.

When she heard Sean and Anna reach the bottom of the stairs, Gwen plopped herself down on Lizzy’s bed.

“So,” she said. “You have a good time with Anna?” She asked.

Lizzy grinned. “It was awesome to finally see her after two weeks,”

Gwen nodded. “Same with Sean,” she said. She then straightened up. “So…you told her all about our vacation to the lake, right?” Gwen began looking around the room, in an innocent manner.

“…Yup,” Lizzy said apprehensively. “Pretty much.”

Gwen smiled like she was up to something. “All about…sledding…and ice fishing…Christmas day…ice skating…” Gwen stressed. She looked at Lizzy suspiciously.

“Yeah, all about that,” Lizzy said. Then she paused. “Except for ice skating…’cause, you know, we never got around to that?” Lizzy said.

Gwen looked like a dog that just caught a car. “Oh that’s right…we didn’t get around to that.”

Lizzy was trying to conceal her flushed face. “Right.” She said quietly.

Gwen looked as if she were about to explode. Her lips curled in a mischievous manner as she took in a breath to speak. “Yup…no ice skating for us…especially not you or Braden.”

Lizzy couldn’t hide it any longer. Her face turned as red as stop sign. “…Yeah…” She said weakly.

Gwen suddenly burst out in laughter. “Look, Lizzy, I know my brother snogged you.” She said.

For some reason Lizzy was surprised that Gwen said it so straightforwardly. Nonetheless, she decided to ask the simplest question.

 “How did you know?”  Lizzy asked.

Gwen laughed hysterically once again. “Well, for one, I overheard you and Anna having a little ‘chat’ just a few minutes ago…but that’s not even why. The way he acts around each you…the way you act around him…it’s just SO ridiculously obvious.” Gwen smiled widely. She then cracked up all over again. “I’m sorry,” she said, “This is just so funny.”

Lizzy’s face had yet to return to its normal color. But she had to say something. “Um,” She laughed uncomfortably. “You’re not going to tell--”

Gwen cut Lizzy off. “Of course not. It’s no big thing…I just think it’s right adorable.”

The red color on Lizzy’s face faded. Still, she kind of felt like a patronized 10-year-old. “What do you mean?” She asked.

Gwen laughed again. “Oh, you know…my brother falls in love with the exchange student. Said he wouldn’t of course, but you know Braden…” She tilted back her head, looking at the ceiling.

Lizzy crinkled her eyebrows. “He said that?”

Gwen smirked. “Mhmm,” she said. “We were talking once right after break ended, when you weren’t around and…” Gwen took a breath in, pretending to be wistful. “He just told me that he’d rather not fall for you because…you live so far away, and you know how long-distance things can be, right?” Gwen raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows. “He mentioned he was going to start being more reserved.”

Lizzy felt a mixture of worriment, anxiety, and fear, with an unfortunate finesse of panic enter her brain. She had no words.

“But, you really have nothing to worry about,” Gwen said, getting up from Lizzy’s bed. She walked toward the door.

Lizzy sighed, but not the least bit relieved.

“Just, Lizzy?” Gwen said, about to exit.

Lizzy turned her head in expectation.

”Don’t be surprised when he breaks your heart.”  

Then she left.

 

                                ~

The chatter and excitement coming from the forever buzzing Covenson Hills Mall seemed like an annoying paper cut to Lizzy. Obnoxious, almost unbearable, yet there is nothing you can do about it.    That is how she felt about basically everything after what Gwen had told her, in addition to the fact that Braden had yet to act completely normal around Lizzy; everything seemed to be moving at the pace of a wounded animal. The skies were always gray, the sun never visible. Lizzy almost saw it as a metaphor to her life as it was. She was the closest to miserable she had ever been since she had arrived in England. 

She sighed as she saw an elderly man and his wife approaching the counter at The Shake. Here we go. She thought to herself. She attempted to produce a relatively pleasant smile. She lethargically moved toward the register.

“I’ll get it!” Tim shouted out of nowhere. He was just as bored as she was; just somehow, he entertained himself by taking people’s orders, and letting Lizzy make the shakes.

After a few minutes, the older couple deliberated and decided on getting two, simple vanilla milkshakes. Lizzy turned toward the cooler, grabbed the ingredients, and began to make the frosty beverage.

“Two scoops of this,” Lizzy said unexcitedly, forcefully digging the spoon into the ice cream bucket. “Some of this,” she said, pouring the milk in. “And,” she measured out the vanilla extract. “This.” She turned the switch to ‘blend”, and watched the concoction mix together.

She sighed impatiently as she poured the blend into the paper cups, knowing her expression was less than pleasant. But she didn’t care at that particular moment.

“Two medium vanilla shakes,” she said as cheerfully as she could as she set them on the front counter.

The old couple nodded and walked away. Her expression must have been more unpleasant than she thought it was, for Tim was asking her questions before she could even turn around.

“Why so cross?” He asked, leaning up against the counter.

Lizzy forced a grin. He had asked this every day in the past week. But she replied anyway. “Oh, I didn’t realize--”

Tim cut her off. “It’s no big deal. Just the afternoon drag getting to you, am I right? Yeah. I get it all the time. Wouldn’t worry about it, though, we’ve only got…” Tim looked at the small, plastic clock hung on the wall. “Fifteen minutes left.”

Lizzy sighed inwardly. Truthfully, she knew it was not that long. But today, it felt like an eternity. And Tim’s endless jabber about “afternoon drags” was getting old. She thought he would guess by now that she wasn’t being apathetic because of her job. Then again, she wasn’t sure she wanted Tim knowing the real reason behind her listlessness. She laughed inwardly. Yeah. She thought to herself. That would be bad.

Luckily, the next fifteen minutes went by quickly, on the account of that, there was a rush of customers for a little while. By the end of the shift, Lizzy felt beyond tired. She hadn’t had much energy lately. She closed her eyes and inhaled. She breathed in the aroma of brewing coffee. Lizzy’s eyes shot open. It seemed as though that’s just what she needed, so she grabbed her stuff and exited The Shake. There was a coffee bar just around the corner.

Lizzy smiled genuinely for the first time all day. A burst of energy is just what she needed.

“Hi,” Lizzy said, as she approached the counter. “I’ll have a small latte,” She said. She looked at the clock. She still had a whole hour until Sylvia picked her up; Gwen wasn’t working that day. She had told Sylvia her shift ended at 9:00, but for some reason her schedule said 8:00. Even so, Lizzy was going to enjoy the time alone.

As the cashier handed her the latte, Lizzy heard a voice calling her name, with a familiar accent attached to it.

She spun around almost too fast.

It was Alejandro, the other half of Braden’s “best mates.”

He smiled widely, his bright white teeth contrasting his dark skin. “Hey, it is you. Thought I recognized the blonde hair!”

Lizzy blushed. For some reason, whenever he spoke to her, or girls in general, a flirtatious finesse seemed to top off each word.

She took a small sip of her latte. “Yup,” She said. She wondered what he was doing there, alone.

He approached her as she neared the café tables.

“Yeah, just dropping off a job application at Keffer’s.” He said, looking around. “You want to sit?” He asked, pulling out a chair.

“Sure,” Lizzy said, taking another sip. She sat down at a small, circular table across from Alejandro.

“How’s life at The Shake?” He asked casually, folding his arms up on the table. Lizzy watched as the veins popped out on his muscular arms. “Pretty boring, right?” He laughed heartily.

Lizzy giggled, the straw lingering in her mouth. “Yes,.,” she said. “I pretty much hate it.”

Alejandro smirked. “Well that explains a lot,” he said, giving out another one of his lively smiles. “Robbins loves it there. Dios, he’s such a wally sometimes.”

Lizzy giggled again. For some reason she found his tone amusing. “He’s so enthusiastic. All the time. Kind of annoying.” Lizzy said. “Then again, he is the manager’s nephew, so, I guess he has a reason.”

Alejandro shook his head quickly. “Ha, that’s just Robbins for you. Kind of the right cheerful sort. Good bloke, though.”  He said.

Lizzy laughed again. “He’s nice. I guess I could think of worse people to work with.” She said.

Alejandro nodded. “So, you done for the night?”

Lizzy nodded. “Yeah, Braden’s mom is supposed to pick me up somewhere around nine though,” she said. “So I’m just waiting around.” Lizzy added.

He smirked. “Hey, I could take you home. I live somewhere around Cadwell.”

Lizzy considered the offer. She still had an hour until Sylvia showed up, at least. Most of the time Sylvia was late, by at least ten minutes. What did she have to lose? She felt like a change in atmosphere would be good for her.

“Sure,” she said. “That’d be awesome,” Lizzy couldn’t help but smile. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Sylvia, saying she had a ride home.

“I actually have to stop off at my brother’s flat first…” Alejandro said, getting up. “Should get you back before nine though. Good?” He asked.

“Mhmm,” Lizzy replied. She got up as well.

“Bien,” Alejandro said. “Ready?”

The two of them exited the mall within a few moments. Soon enough they were out in the parking lot.

“Can never find my auto out here,” Alejandro said. “Good thing it’s black,” he said sarcastically.

Lizzy laughed again.

After a few minutes, he found his car and he opened the door for her. “It’s a right mess,” he said as he shut the door. He went to the right side and got in. “But it works.” Alejandro flashed a charismatic smile.

Lizzy found herself blushing again. Alejandro was very attractive, but she didn’t talk to him much. She hated to base her attraction off looks, but her red face was telling her otherwise.

Alejandro turned the keys in the ignition. The rumble of the car was resonant as he pulled out of the parking lot. He made a left turn. “It’s about ten minutes in the opposite direction. Not too bad.” He said.

Lizzy took a last drink of her latte. As she expected, the espresso was kicking in quickly. She suddenly felt a huge spurt of energy. “So, um…” She started. Lizzy had no clue what she was going to say. She just knew that she wanted to talk. “Who’s your brother?”

Alejandro laughed. “Javier?” He said in his rolling accent. “He’s well off in some high up flat. Told me to stop by some night to pick up his old laptop…it’s a Mac, so, not exactly going to pass it up, right?” Alejandro looked over at Lizzy.

She smiled excitedly. “Awesome,” She said. “That’s…great!” For some reason she wasn’t as articulate as usual, just more talkative.

          Alejandro nodded. “So, you like it here?” He asked.

          Lizzy responded immediately. “Yup,” She said. But then she thought about her answer. But not lately. “It’s…” She tried to think of words. “It’s awesome!” Lizzy said.

          Alejandro chuckled. “Awesome? That’s excellent. Most days you seem to be having a good time. Braden’s got you set, right?” He said, stopping at a sign.

          Lizzy’s brow furrowed involuntarily. Words spilled out before she could think. “He’s one fun guy. But you know what? I don’t really know what his deal is sometimes. Kind of ignores me a lot. But that’s okay. It’s not like I like him or anything.” Lizzy stopped herself before she continued. She knew that last bit was a lie, but correcting herself would only make it sound like she did have feelings for Braden.

          Alejandro raised his eyebrows, laughing. “Hah, I always thought you did.” He said bluntly.

          Me too. Lizzy thought spitefully. Instead, she said otherwise. “He’s fine to live with, I guess. But I don’t know him that well.” She lied, but she didn’t have the least bit of rue.

          Alejandro cocked his head, and mumbled something to himself in Spanish. “At least you are friends, you know?” He said, pulling into a parking lot of a tall, sophisticated building.

          Lizzy nodded her head. “Sure.” She said, knowing she had an attitude.

          To her surprise, Alejandro smiled playfully again. “Wow, getting a little sassy tonight, are we? Always thought you were part of the cheerful lot.” He commented, getting out of the car.

          Lizzy smirked to herself. “I guess not,” She said as she followed him up to the building.

          Alejandro looked back at her, his eyes lingering a bit. He gave a flirtatious half-grin before speaking again. “This is it,” he said, opening the door for her.

          She walked inside. A polished-looking woman sat at the front desk. Alejandro walked right by it.

          Lizzy raised her eyebrows at him.

          Alejandro noticed her expression. He pulled a small object out of his pocket. “I have a key,” He said.

          They walked up three flights of marble stairs before getting to his brother’s room. When the finally got there, Alejandro pulled out his key and announced, “I’m coming in!” He twisted the key and opened the door.

          He turned around to Lizzy. “Usually it’s in pretty good shape. He’s a pretty polished bloke.”

          They walked into a large, dimly lit room with pristine white carpet and a grand, spacious living room that was sparsely decorated.

          “Joaquin?” Alejandro shouted. Then a look of realization crossed his face. “It’s Saturday, isn’t it?” He said knowingly. “Of course I stop by on the one night he said that he’d be out.” He laughed to himself.

          Lizzy semi-giggled in response.

          Alejandro started walking to what Lizzy guessed was the kitchen. “No worries,” he said. “I know where it is.” He paused. “You can sit on the sofa if you’d like.” He said, pointing to it.

          Lizzy looked at the living room. A large, suede sofa cornered the room. She sat down on it, but she still felt jumpy. Excited. Energized.

          She looked around the almost empty room. A large coffee table was placed in the middle of the floor, many papers spread across its surface. Leather suitcases were shoved in the corner. She looked to one side. A passport and some other documents were making their way out of a messenger bag. I guess he travels a lot. She thought to herself.

          After a few minutes, Alejandro returned with a slim, white laptop in his hands. “Got it,” he said, sliding it into a case.

          “Wow…it looks really nice,” Lizzy commented.

          He sat down next to her. “Yeah?” He looked at the case. “This’ll be good to replace my other one…it’s basically a piece of dirt.”

          Lizzy laughed. She leaned back on the couch, stretching. For some reason it went right down with her, the back of it reclining.

          “Ah!” She exclaimed.

          Alejandro grabbed her arm firmly as she fell back.

          They both laughed.

          “All right?” He asked, amused.

          Lizzy smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t expect it to go back like that,” She said.

          He laughed. “It’s okay; I probably would have done the same thing.” He smiled, his teeth appearing even brighter in the dim light.

          Lizzy giggled softly. Looking down, she then noticed that his hand was still clasped around her arm. She looked back up. His gaze met hers, his entertained smile turning into a playful smirk. 

          His other hand wrapped around her waist. She blushed again. For some reason, he had that effect on her.

          He moved his hand up her arm and pushed back her hair.

          She exhaled unevenly. It was all in her eyes. She didn’t have to say anything.

          He leaned into her, putting his lips on hers. Lizzy jumped. As much as she was expecting it, the exhilaration just took over. But he continued to kiss her nonetheless.

          Stroking her hair, he pulled away. Suddenly he put his arm beneath her knees, scooping her off the sofa. He was carrying her.

Lizzy’s insides fluttered. She leaned in to kiss him this time, not feeling the least bit of guilt.               

 

Braden didn’t want to fall for her, so, she wouldn’t let herself fall for him.

         

He set her down, leaning up against a wall. His built, tan arms entrapped hers. She placed her hands on his strong shoulders, wrapping them around his neck. She slowly made them up to his thick, dark hair.
          There would be moments where he would simply pull back, and beam at her. Then he would kiss her face all over, and then go back to her lips.

Moments passed. Seconds passed. Minutes passed. Lizzy was too caught up to realize how quickly time was fleeting.

          She savored his kiss one last time before she pulled away. “It’s…” She said breathlessly. “What time is it?”

          Alejandro had a slightly unconcerned look on his face as he smoothed up his hair. He pulled out his cell phone. “It’s 8:55.”

          Lizzy tried not to look alarmed. “Oh,” she said.

          “C’mon,” he said, touching her hand. He picked up his laptop with the other.

          Lizzy followed him out. They hurriedly went down the flights of stairs. They passed the reception desk.

          “Goodnight,” The woman said.

          Alejandro looked back with acknowledgement.

          They swiftly walked across the parking lot, his hand holding hers. She only noticed it was there as he let go when they entered his car.

Lizzy sat nervously in the passenger seat. The familiar rumble reverberated throughout the car.  He sped out of the parking lot, getting out onto the main road.  

          He smiled at Lizzy. “Don’t worry,” Alejandro rain his hand through his hair. “I’ll get you back home.”

          Lizzy laughed nervously. Her buzzed up mood had faded. She was back to normal, and wasn’t sure what she had just done. She barely knew him. But you didn’t do anything wrong, she told herself. It’s not like you’re ‘with’ Braden.

          The rest of the ride home was almost completely silent. Not awkward…just quiet. Every now and then Alejandro would glance over at Lizzy, laugh playfully, and then look back at the road. And every time, Lizzy would smile back, nervously folding her hands in her lap.

          Alejandro swiftly pulled up to the Cadwell’s driveway. “Hey,” he said, as she reached toward the door handle. She looked back at him. “Sorry if I crossed the line.” He said.

          Lizzy smiled, but inside she was questioning, What line?  Instead she said, “Not at all.”

           

“Good,” he said kindly, almost whispering in his Spanish accent. He touched her hair, kissing her softly.

          Lizzy smiled semi-timidly, as she exited the car.

          “Good night,” Alejandro said, looking up at her eagerly.

          “Bye,” Lizzy said airily, closing the door. A grin consumed her face. She watched his car zip out of the driveway, rumbling loudly.

          She walked inside the house; it was aglow with the evening lights. Braden was in the living room, sitting on the ever-so familiar swirl-patterned seat.

          An extremely awkward rush of emotion came over Lizzy. After kissing Alejandro, seeing Braden almost seemed like betrayal.

          “Hey,” she said to him. Her greeting came out more exhilarated and cheerful than she had intended.

          “Hi,” said Braden. He sounded…average. Not happy, not displeased. Just…mediocre.

          That made Lizzy’s lack of regret increase even more. So she just nodded, and walked up the stairs. She felt steadier with Alejandro now than she had with Braden for the past month. Knowing that, she skipped up the stairs without a second thought, regretting nothing that she had done that night. 

Reviews

[compositionc]

WHAT IS BRADEN GONNA THINK?
ten bucks says Gwen was a liar, she just didn't want Braden to find true love. BRIZZY FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. I bet Braden and Al get into a fight, and make Liz choose.
Sucks to be her.

[Short.Nerd]

What will Braden think about this when he finds out? >:D lol Great chapter, although I'm kinda sad about no Braden/Lizzy anymore:( Gwen's warning was kind of cruel, but so true I guess lol xD