Page 13 of Trusting Trey
“I guess I have to take you home now,” he said forlornly. “I’ve truly enjoyed myself tonight, Allie.”
I nodded and smiled, trying not to look sad that our date was ending. “I have, too.”
He handed a card to the waitress and she went to take care of the bill while he picked up my hand. “Can I see you again?”
“I would like nothing more, Trey,” I admitted, not even caring if it made me sound desperate. “I don’t date a lot because I have a hard time dealing with college guys. They’re surprisingly immature for being adults.”
“Oh, sweetheart, college boys are too busy sowing their wild oats to be mature, at least most of them are.”
We stood and he helped me put on my coat, then held out his hand for me to go ahead of him. As we walked out to his car, I turned and looked at him, pausing in the entryway. “Are you done sowing your wild oats?”
He chuckled as he pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’m twenty-eight, Allie. I’m looking to meet the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, not just one night.”
I nodded, somewhat embarrassed. “I sort of figured that, but I didn’t want to give you my number if you were looking for a quick fling,” I pulled my phone from my coat pocket and handed it to him, “but since you aren’t, I would love it if you put your number in my phone.”
He accepted the phone and quickly typed it into my contacts list. He handed it back and I smiled up at him. “Will I hear from you again?”
“Is tomorrow soon enough?” he asked, holding the door open for me.
I laughed a little, unsure if he was kidding or not. He held the car door for me and I slid in, the slippery coat sliding around on the leather. I quickly typed a text and sent it to the number he put in my phone. That way he had my number, too. He climbed in and turned the heat on in the car when his phone beeped. He looked at me and pulled it out of his pocket, reading the text. “So tomorrow isn’t too soon,” he said as he pulled away from the curb. He looked like the cat that ate the canary, but I secretly felt elated he wanted to see me again so soon. He followed Superior Street toward the college and looked over at me. “Do you have class or work tomorrow night?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m done with class at two tomorrow; I’ll probably spend a few hours at the library on campus doing some work, but that’s about it for the day.”
“Would you like to have dinner with me again tomorrow night?”
I pointed for him to turn left at the McDonalds and go up the hill. “We had dinner tonight. You want to do it again tomorrow night?” I asked surprised.
“Sure do. I figure by a week from tomorrow I’ll have met the eight date requirement to be able to take you to Drakos Agape.”
I laughed, clapping a few times as he grinned from the driver’s seat. “You’re too much. How about if we start with tomorrow night and see where that leads us? Maybe we could go up the hill to the mall and find someplace cool to eat.”
He was grinning and nodding. “I’ll pick you up at six, unless I run late with a patient, then I’ll text you to let you know.”
I pointed out the sorority house and he pulled up to it, putting the car in park, but letting it idle. “I’ll be ready. You can pick me up here.” I rolled my eyes at myself. “Because where else would I be?”
He laughed easily and took my hand, holding it in his for a moment before kissing my knuckles, squelching any hope for a real kiss. “I don’t care where you are; I’ll find you and pick you up, always. Maybe this will lead somewhere that we’re both looking to go, or maybe we’ll end up just friends, but I know I want you in my life for a long time to come, Allie.”
He let my hand go and climbed out of the car, opening my door for me and taking my laptop bag, which I handed him as I climbed out. I adjusted my raincoat and took the bag back. “Thank you for dinner and a lovely evening. When I walked out of the library, I planned to eat at the cafeteria. The Brewhouse was much better.”
His lip curled up a little bit. “I don’t miss the college cafeteria, that’s for darn sure.”
I looked up at him and his dark brown hair blew languidly in the fall breeze. His eyes were like no shade of blue I had ever seen, and I had to admit to myself that in a matter of a few hours I was already smitten with him. He leaned down and laid his lips on mine tentatively, maybe to see how I would react, or maybe to keep it simple, but my left arm went up and grabbed the lapel of his coat. That must have been all the encouragement he needed, because he crushed me to him and kissed me like a dying man. He kept his tongue to himself, and there was no inappropriateness to the kiss, but there was a sense of disbelief that we fit together that easily, and a sense of euphoria that we could be this passionate with each other after sharing only one dinner.
He slowed and then ended the kiss, his hands still holding me crushed to his chest. “What you do to me, Allie. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since last weekend and now I’m certain I never will.”
I let my hand slide down his chest and fall to my side. “I’ve had Loukas on the lookout for you, so she could give you my number if you ever came back. I’m glad you came back.”
“Me, too, sweetheart. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He waved and stood by his car while I climbed the stairs to the house and opened the front door, waving when he climbed in the car and drove off. My hands were still shaking from the kiss as I sat my laptop bag down on the floor near the door and went back out onto the porch.
For some reason my bike had tipped over and was lying on its side in the corner of the porch. The wind blew and the trees to the left of me bent under the power, the few leaves left on some of them cascading to the ground. I heard a stick break and turned, keeping my eyes on the lawn, hoping an animal wasn’t about to surprise me in the dark. After a few moments of waiting, I felt silly and bent down to pick up my bike. I heard the footsteps on the stairs, but before I could turn around my world went black. I felt myself falling, and knew no one was going to catch me.
I woke up slowly and my head throbbed. I didn’t know where I was, but I knew it wasn’t my front porch. My head hurt and I was cold, but whatever I was lying on was soft and dry. I tried to move my arms, only to realize someone had tied them in front of me. I brought my hands up and brushed at my eyes, trying to peel my eyelids open as the pain in my head throbbed to the rhythm of the blood pulsing through my veins. I was alive, but with my hands tied in front of me, it was clear I was in trouble.
“So Sleeping Beauty awakes,” a voice from my left said and I tried to turn my head. I felt a sharp pain in my neck and I closed my eyes, gulping back the urge to vomit.
“Who are you? Where am I?” I asked, my voice croaking like a frog in the pond. I let my hands fall back to my belly and that’s when I realized I was naked. I started to struggle to sit up, but a hand held me down.
