Chapter Twenty-One: "When I See You Smile"

Mathis recruits Dani to help him buy a new car

Black Oval

Chapter Twenty-One

"When I See You Smile”

I almost didn’t hear the doorbell ring.

I was in my room, still lightly decorated from my years as a teen.  I suppose I still was a teen, but I wasn’t as fond of the powder blue walls and bed coverings as I was when I first moved here at the age of sixteen.  Davis wasn’t able to get legal guardianship of me until he was twenty-one, but I had moved here a month earlier of when I was legally able to in able to start school.  My room was full of soft blues, and creams.

I loved our Brownstone home.  The home was elegant and unique;  I was a bit sad that I had decided to paint over the beautiful walls of my room to match the ornate design on my cream comforter.  My four poster bed was painted a soft white, that matched the white armoire that stood closest to the door.  Being one of those people who rarely made their beds, my covers were tossed to the side, exposing the cornflower blue sheets that dangled slightly onto the hardwood floors.  Now that my hand was still a bit sprained, I had a proper excuse for not making my bed; Davis was always giving me a hard time about it. Sure I could use my hand at about 90 percent capacity by now, but I still used it to my advantage when it came to chores. The walls were a powder blue with intricate darker blue vine designs on the wall.  

Sitting in the corner of the room was a cream Victorian style armchair that was more for decoration and discarded clothing than for any real use.  Two tall narrow bookshelves filled to the brim stood, twin towers to either side of my queen sized bed.  The books overflowed from the bookshelves to my antique desk, which sat in front of my window next to the Victorian armchair.  

The most modern piece of furniture that looks completely out of place, but my favorite to use, was my keyboard.  It was there that I was sitting when the doorbell rang.  My fingers flowed effortlessly over the keys, as the music rang clear to my ears.  It was difficult, since I could only play with one hand at the moment, but I managed.  Davis, Madeline, and I had both learned piano from a young age.  Our mother played and decided that every one of her children would learn to play the thing.  Davis and I had both hated it as a child as Madeline had excelled at it.  Now I would not trade the instrument for the world.

So many good memories were associated with the piano in my mind, and though we had never talked about it, I knew Davis felt the same way as well.  Both our mother and sister had played the piano, and our dad had always smiled a soft gentle smile when he listened to us play.

I was halfway through Fur Elise, one of my favorite classical pieces, when the doorbell rang.  I was so transfixed on what I was doing that it did not register until the second time it rang that someone was at the door.

Pulling on the first quarter sleeve shirt I found over my  tank top, I nearly launched myself down the stairs hoping to catch the person before they left.  I was not worried too much about it being anyone suspicious at the door.  Greenwich village consisted of mostly students attending NYU from rich backgrounds, middle to upper class families, or elderly couples who had lived here since they were newlyweds.

I put my eye up to the keyhole curiously and was puzzled when I saw Mathis standing on my doorstep, shivering a bit from the cold.  I opened the door and frowned at him.  “Hey Mathis, Davis isn’t here right now.  I thought he was with you at practice not too long ago.”

“Oh, I know,” he said putting a big grin on his face.  “I came to see you.”

“Me?” I asked a bit puzzled.

“Yeah, hurry up and grab a jacket!  The cabbie is going to get irritated that I left him on the crowded street.  Honestly I don’t know how you guys has a car living around here, it’s always packed.”

I laughed a bit, and grabbed my yellow jacket off the coat rack and slipped it on.  I wasn’t sure what he had planned, but I did not have anything to do tonight, and was curious what was on his mind, besides I was eager to get away from the prison my home had become since the crash.  As I snatched up my purse, Mathis stepped in the door to get out of the wind.  “You are one to talk, living in a high rise.  And if you recall I do not own a car.  Typically I take the subway or a taxi.”

“Very true, but if you recall, I do not currently have a car either, which is why I am here.”

I gave him another puzzled expression.  “I am not sure if I should be getting in a car with you after last time,” I teased, then turned to face him.  I immediately regretted teasing him when I saw his happy smile turned to a pained expression.  I could not understand why he felt guilty about the car accident.  Other than my concussion and a few scratches, I was perfectly fine, besides it was not his fault.  He was the one who was still healing from the incident.

“I’m sorry, I really did not think about it.  You must not still be feeling well, I can find someone else to drive.”

“Mathis, please stop it; I am fine!  Besides I am going crazy sitting here in this house.  I wish Davis would just let me go back to class already.”  I swung my purse over my shoulder, snatched up my keys, then walked out the door and waited for Mathis to follow me.  I locked the door and looked at the taxi that was waiting for us.

He opened the car door for me, then slid in beside me afterwards.  “I thought you said you needed someone to drive you somewhere, but we’re taking a taxi?”

“Oh, right.  I forgot to tell you why I was here,” he smiled again, looking like a child who was just told he was being taken to the candy store.  “We’re going to pick up my new car!”

I laughed.  He couldn’t even drive yet and he was already picking up a new car.  “Really?  Don’t you think you should wait a bit for that?”

“You give me too much credit, Dani.  I ordered a new car the next day after we found out everyone was okay.”

“Ordered it?  Don’t you usually just go to a lot and pick one out?”  I didn’t really know, I had never had a car.  My mother started going off the deep end when I was sixteen, so I did not get my licence for another year.  By that time I had moved to New York and did not need a car very often.  When I did I would just borrow Davis’s car, despite his protests.

“Oh no, no.  I had one shipped in that had all the bells and whistles I wanted.”

“Oh, I see.”  I guess I just didn’t understand boys’ fascinations with their cars.

“I can’t play my guitar, I don’t have a fancy car to drive, basically I can’t do any of my hobbies,” he informed me light-heartedly.

I giggled as we headed down Husdon towards 9th Street.  “I think you need some more hobbies.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” he said leaning back in the seat, only to look over and smile at me.

“So why exactly am I the one going with you?” I asked curiously.  

“Well, your brother went to some party with Clive, Jo’s girlfriend is in town, and apparently Shane had to do something with her sister.”

“Oh, so I’m your last resort then, huh?” I said teasing him again.

He glanced at me and frowned a bit, “No, that’s not how it is, it’s just--”

“Calm down, Mathis,” I laughed.  “I was just messing with you.  Since when do you get all antsy?”  I smiled at him.  “Anyway, thank you for coming to get me, it was a nice surprise.”

He smiled and looked out the window.  “Despite it being really crowded on the streets here, I’ve always liked it in this area,” he told me changing the subject.  “It is sort of the soul of New York City.  There is such must history here: Shops, restaurants, bars.  It’s very charming, and I’ve always enjoyed Washington Square.”  He glanced at me again, and gave me a softer smile this time.  “We should go after we pick up my car, if you’re not busy.”

“I’ve got all evening.”  We sat there both enjoying the pretty day for a moment before I looked back at him.  “You really are going to trust me to drive your brand new car?”

He glanced at me.  “I don’t seem why not, you are a safer driver than Davis.”

“Anyone is a safer driver than Davis,” I argued.  “And he is going to be uber jealous when he finds out you let me drive your car, since you never let him drive.”

“Oh, ‘uber’ jealous, huh?  That’s serious stuff there.”  He smiled as I blushed a bit.  “And I won’t tell if you don’t.”

“Deal.”

---

I looked around the showroom as Mathis sat with one of the dealers and filled out his paperwork.  I glanced through the window to the parking garage where Mathis’s new Jaguar sat.  An XKR-S or something like that?  I wasn’t sure but it was a very pretty looking car, I loved the dark grey color that was similar to his last car.  To be honest I was a bit nervous about driving it.  I had driven sports cars plenty of times, Davis let me drive his mustang when I needed to borrow a car, so a standard car was really all I was use to driving.

I glanced back at Mathis, and couldn’t help giggle a bit at the frustrated look on his face as he tried to sign everything with his left hand.  Poor guy, he just wanted his car.  I walked out to the garage to take a look at what Mathis assured me was a “supercharged monster”.  I peeked down and looked into the bucket drivers seat and glanced around at the rest of the charcoal and blue interior.  Dealerships in New York were vastly different of what I remembered them looking like back in Georgia.  No space for large parking lots here.

I looked around at a few of the other cars as Mathis finished up payment and paperwork, and smiled back at him when he walked out, twirling his keys on his left index finger.  “Dani, I’d like you to meet Charlotte, my one true love,” he informed me grinning as he patted the top of his new car.  He could be so incredibly silly when he didn’t have any responsibilities resting on his shoulders.

I watched as he pressed a button on the car to unlock it, then climbed into the drivers seat.  I walked over and rested my arm on the top of the door, looking in while he pressed the button in the center console.  The engine roared to a start, and the grin on Mathis’s face was priceless.  He looked more excited than a child on Christmas morning.  He revved the engine a couple of times, making me almost go def.  

I giggled and had to scream over the noise. “Should you be doing that here?”

“I’m sure they are use to it!”  He revved it again, then started playing around with the features on the car.  It was a beautiful car.  I shook my head at the boyish grin on his face.

“When do you get that sling off anyway?” I asked curiously.

“Next week sometime, though I’m tempted to take it off right now!”  He informed me, not taking his eyes off of his new toy.

“And guys say girls are expensive.  From my experience boys tend to have the more expensive toys.”

“You’ve obviously never shopped at Tiffany’s,” he responded idolly.
“Nope, obviously not.”
He looked over at me a bit wide-eyed.  “You’ve seriously never been to Tiffany’s?  Dani, you’re practically famous!  I thought every girl had to at least go look in Tiffany’s, it’s a staple.”
I giggled at him.  “You are ridiculous.  I don’t see why I would have had a reason to.”
“Well s**t,” he started, “I didn’t realize girls had to have a reason to go in there.  I’ve obviously been dating the wrong girls.”
“Well maybe you have,” I threw lightly at him, sticking my tongue out a bit.
“If you haven’t ever had a guy take you into a Tiffany’s store, then you’ve obviously been dating the wrong guys.”
“Is that a hint?” I said playfully, then muttered, “I’m not going to argue that point though.”  Wrong guys was an understatement.
I glanced at Mathis when he didn’t respond and could have sworn I saw his cheeks flush for a moment.
“Well,” he started, “I guess we should take off.”  He got out of the drivers seat and waited for me to crawl in before he shut the door for me.  I adjusted the seat while Mathis walked around and got into the car.  I shivered a bit as the car started to warm up.
“Cold?” he asked, while pressing the buttons to turn on the seat warmers.  How nifty.  I sat back in the bucket seats as I waited for the car to warm up a bit.  “I cannot wait to actually drive the thing!”
“Wasn’t your other car, you know, better or something?  Or more expensive?”  I asked him.
“Oh hell yeah, the Vanquish was nearly twice as much.  It’s always fun to have a new toy though; I’ve always wanted a Jaguar.  Davis is going to s**t a brick.”  I giggled with him.
“So where are we headed?” I asked as I made sure all the mirrors were adjusted.  I was a bit scared to drive his brand new car.  I could not believe he trusted me this much with it.
“Back to your place.  Washington Square Park isn’t that far away, I figured we’d walk.  There is zero point in trying to find a parking space over there,” he told me as he buckled his seatbelt.  I followed suit and buckled mine.  “Though I wouldn’t argue if you took a few spins around the block,” he said, his boyish grin back on his face, his cute little dimple prominent on his right cheek.
I laughed and put the car into gear, driving it ever so slowly out of the garage.  I really enjoyed spending time with Mathis, I had never really thought about it before.  He was so warm, cheerful, funny, and sweet.  Not to mention he was kind of hot.  I felt heat rise to my face, and hoped as hard as I could that Mathis did not see my blush.
“S-so you want me to take it around the block before h-heading home?” I stammered.
“Yeah, that’s cool.”  He didn’t seem to notice, good.  Or maybe he was pretending he didn’t notice.
I timidly took the brand new sports car around the corner and stopped at the light.  I took it around to streets that I knew were not quite as crowded, wanting to be around as few of cars as possible.  Lord help me if I scratched it up on the first hour it was off the lot.
I noticed Mathis fiddling with something on the center console.  “What are you doing? I asked him curiously.
“Making sure the traction control is one.  You definitely want it with this car, the back in drifts like a motha-f***a.”  I shook my head at him, apparently he didn’t have a problem with his colorful language around me today.  Either he was that excited, or he was more comfortable around me to let his true side out.  “Dani,” he said looking over at me.
“Yeah?” I asked keeping my eyes on the road.
“Don’t be shy,” he chuckled.  “Floor the thing!  I wanna hear the engine.”
“Do you not recall us both getting into a wreck just a few weeks ago?” I asked him exasperated.  I caved though and gave the car a bit of gas, surprising even myself a bit.
“Yes!” he exclaimed.  I didn’t let the car go too fast though.  I was glad there was no snow or ice today.  
I turned and took us down Lincoln Highway to overlook the Hudson as I steered us back toward my home.  Mathis hummed to the music on the radio and tapped his fingers on the dashboard, looking out over the river.  He grinned when he got a reaction from a car full of young looking guys in the car over at us.  Boys.
I was halfway glad it wasn’t a convertible; if it was he might have insisted we ride with the top down, and it was just way too cold for that.  Then again he wasn’t Davis, he probably wouldn’t have put me through that torcher.
We finally made it to the house, and I parked his car in Davis’s spot in the garage.  Mathis looked a bit disappointed that the ride was over with.  Well he would just have to wait until his arm was healed to take it out for a joyride, poor thing.
“I still don’t see how you live this close but haven’t made it down to Washington Square yet.”  I shrugged at him.  I mostly stuck to the house and the college, I didn’t get out much.  “I mean you’ve been here two and a half years now, where’s your adventurous side, Dani?”  I knew he was teasing me.  Mathis has surely been to things way more “adventurous” than Washington Square Garden.
“I never said I hadn’t been to Washington Square, I’ve just never really took the time to look around and shop is all.  I guess I’m just dull.”  To be honest I was a bit embarrassed.  
“You are far from dull, you just haven’t learned how to let loose yet,” he assured me.  “You’re only nineteen, and been sheltered most of your life.  Trust me, you have plenty of time to learn about yourself.”  He gave me a warm smile.
“Learn about myself?” I asked incredulously.
He draped an arm around my shoulders as we started walking down the street towards Washington.  “A lot of times you only think you know who you are in high school.  People say that high school is the best years of your life, I disagree.  Who you are in high school doesn’t really matter.  I mean who cares if you are the big football star in high school if you can’t get a job worth s**t because you didn’t study hard enough?  On the other hand, who gives a s**t if you were the biggest nerd in school?  All those years of hard studying pays off if you become a CEO and use hundred dollar bills to light your cigarettes.”
I guess I never really thought about it that way before.
He continued.  “My point is, what you did, or who you were seen as in high school doesn’t matter.  College is all about discovering yourself, figuring out what you want to do the rest of your life.  I mean, sure it’s best if you know what you wanna do right off the bat and get your degree, yet on the other hand it gives you time to experiment to see what you really wanna do the rest of your long life.”
He smiled down at me again.  “You said you wanna be on Broadway, right?”
I looked down at my feet, embarrassed again.  “Well yea, but I don’t have any hopes of that.  I mean I’ve done the lead role in highschool and college, I’ve even done a few acting productions for stand alone companies in town, but that doesn’t even compare to Broadway.”
“Hey,” he stopped, turned me to face him, and tilted my head up by my chin to look at him.  I started into his blue eyes which were so intensely staring at me.  My heart thumped up into my throat and I felt hot all over despite the cold air outside.  “Don’t doubt yourself.  Everyone starts somewhere.  Your brother started in a garage band, my mother was a waitress when she was discovered, and she was a broadway star!  You gotta start somewhere, and work hard.  It doesn’t hurt if you have connections too,” he said winking at me.
I smiled at him and hugged him, which I think surprised him a bit.  He hesitated, then wrapped his arms firmly around me as well.  “Thank you Mathis.  For everything, you have been so supportive when you didn’t have to be.”
“Don’t sweat it,” he assured me, kissing the top of my head.  “You really have a beautiful voice, Dani, and it sounds like you at least have the basics on acting down, if not more.  We will see what we can do about Broadway.”
I looked up at him a bit wide eyed, still wrapped in his arms.  “Really?  You’d do that for me?”
He laughed, a deep warm laugh.  “Well I can only do so much.  I’ll talk to my mother and see if she knows of any tryouts in the near future.  Honestly, Dani, I can only dig around a little, if you get the gig, it’s because you have talent, so don’t thank me yet.”
I hugged him tightly again.  “You don’t know how happy this makes me.”
I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “I think I have a small inkling.”

---

Washington Square Garden was beautiful.  I looked around at the landscape, the Washington Arch, and I could see the spray from the fountain all the way from the edge.  “This place is really neat.  I love how many different types of buildings are just right here in this area!” I said looking over at Mathis.
“Yeah,” he started, “There is over two hundred years of architectural history just right here in the Square,” he informed me.  I nodded at him interested.  “Did you know that part of the Square was a burial ground?  Nearly twenty thousand bodies are buried here.  Something about unmarked graves, and an epidemic of yellow fever.”
“I don’t think I knew that,” I told him.  “You really know a lot about this place.”
He shrugged as we walked.  “I grew up in this area, it would be a shame if I didn’t know a lot about my hometown.”  That made sense.  I knew a bunch of my hometown history and legends.
We made our way over to the Washington Arch.  It was amazing.  I looked up at the marbled archway.  It was huge.  I noticed two angles in the corners of the archway, and an eagle right in the center of the top.  There was of course a carving of George Washington.
“One more tidbit,” Mathis said grinning down at me.  “The Washington Arch was originally made of plaster and wood, but after discovering how popular it was, they turned it into a marble arch to make it permanent.”
“Well you are just full of fun facts today, Mr. Blackwood,” I smiled up at him cheerfully.  He smiled back.
We walked along the pathway towards the grand fountain.  As we got closer I could feel a bit of cold mist from the fountain as the wind blew our way.

I saw a timid brunette girl, probably around my age come up to approach us.  Mathis just smiled at her, he was use to this sort of thing.  “You’re Mathis Blackwood, right?”  She asked in a soft pleasant voice.

“That’s me, sweetheart.”  Sweetheart?  Seems like all of the southern charm that Davis lost, got rubbed off onto Mathis at some point.  It was rather amusing how their personalities seem to have swapped in the past few years.

Her face lit up with excitement.  “Is there any way I can convince you to get a picture with me?  Please, it would mean the world to me.”

I heard Mathis chuckle next to me.  “Sure, no problem.”  He must be in a good mood today.

She went and grabbed one of her friends excitedly, gave her the camera, then posed next to Mathis.  He smiled towards the camera, with his hands in his pockets.  After the first snapshot the girl finally glanced over at me.

“Oh my gosh, you are Davis Vinson’s sister right?  Dani?”  I blinked at her, I wasn’t use to people on the street recognizing me on sight without my brother with me.

“Yes, I’m Dani,” I answered her a bit unsure.

“Oh wow! You have to get in the picture with me, please!”

I smiled and stood next to her, “Sure.”  Mathis and I posed with her for a couple of pictures before she left our side.

She had a shy smile on her face.  “Um, can I ask one more favor?  I’d love a picture of just the two of you, you are so cute together.”

I felt my face blush a bit, and I noticed Mathis’s face was as well.  “We’re not a couple,” I informed her, “Just you know, good friends, because of the band and all.”

“Oh,” she said, “Well I know that, but you still look nice together.”  Neither of us saw any harm in it, so we posed in front of the Fountain for her.  She thanked us again and went off with her friend, goth looking down at the camera and giggling from their good luck.

“Well that was entertaining,” Mathis said to me as we both looked at the fountain.

“Definitely not a typical day for me,” I smiled up at him.

“Me neither,” and he smiled back down at me.

Author's Note

Okay, so this is definitely my last chapter that I have types and edited. Expect everything after this to come out slower and a lot more raw!

Hope you like this chapter :D It's definitely one of my favs

Reviews

[Stefanie Holmes]

Finally got back to reading this! I can't believe I'm almost to the end! This was another good chapter. :)

~Stefanie

[ashesonfire]

Thank you very much!

Oh you are not yet close to the end. I think I have 30 chapters written, and still a few to go. I just have not posted all of it up here yet. :D

[Stefanie Holmes]

Ahh I thought twenty-five was the end! I'm glad to know it isn't!

[♔ CrownedDevil &#..]

Amazing write. I loved it. :-D

Kaze~ :-)

[ashesonfire]

Thank you very much! This is chapter 21 to the book I'm working on.

[♔ CrownedDevil ☾]

Your very welcome! :-D

[Bella Luna]

Dani and Mathis are so cute! He's so adorable taking her to get his new car! I love how they both are into each other but way to shy to do anything about it at this point! The scene is the park was perfect! I can't wait to see what happens next! XD

[ashesonfire]

:-D

[char]

It was okay...but a little boring. Maybe that's just me...don't like the fact that we caught up to you though...now, I wait. :)

[ashesonfire]

Oh really? Hmm.. interesting. What did you find boring?

Haha, well I just finished the next chapter, but I wanna go through it before I post it.

[ashesonfire]

Hmm.. or perhaps I should ask what could I have added to make it more interesting?

[char]

Well, Dani and Mathis are a cute couple. But for some reason, their conversations sound so...guarded. But maybe it's just me. I'm not exactly a romance writer :D

So, don't jump yet until someone else says the same thing.

[ashesonfire]

They are a bit guarded at this point. Dani is guarded a this point because she's had rotten experience with guys, and is a bit insecure. She doesn't think Mathis would see her that way. Mathis is guarded because it's his best friends little sister, which is always a bit taboo.

Ill keep it in mind though when I'm editing!