Page 62 of The List of Things

He opens the car door on the driver's side and looks me up and down, and shakes his head once more, climbing back into the car. He’s wearing black pants, and a yellow button up, partially unbuttoned with necklaces dangling on his chest. The sleeves of the shirt are tight and cuffed on his muscular arms. I watch as his hand moves forward, tilting my face up to look at him.

“My eyes are up here Ryn,” He doesn’t hesitate to use sarcasm and shows the ego that’s always breaking through his surface.

He leans in, bringing my lips to his for a quick kiss before he backs away, and moves away from his parking spot, “You beat me to the car, that’s a first.”

“Why do you think I wanted your location?”

He scoffs, “I’m unsharing it then. I like coming upstairs to get you.”

I’m the one grinning now, “Maybe it was a one time thing. We’ll play it by ear.”

I know just as well as he does how incredibly rare it is for me to be early. On time, yes. Early, not a chance. Sometimes, like today, I’m lucky.

We settle into the normal comfortable stance, and I pull my legs up, crisscrossing them in the passenger seat. My hair is in long waves down my back, pieces gently blowing around me from the circulating air that comes from the cracked windows. I look over at Bellamy as he places a hand on my thigh.

“You look absolutely stunning Kamryn,” He speaks over the radio, and the wind but his voice carries over to me.

I’m wearing a dress once again. It’s low cut and has buttons starting at my chest that go all the way down to the hem that rests right in the middle of my thighs. The dress is tight on my chest and flows out as it goes down. It’s white with red flowers littering the entire thing. The compliment feels natural to me as it falls from his lips. Even so, it still makes my stomach do a million summersaults.

“Why thank you... I tried exceptionally hard to look this good today. You should be appreciative, but don’t get used to it,” I wag a finger at him, and he shakes his head, his eyes on the road now.

“I already am... You always look good,” He says and I smile, sitting quietly next to him. “I’m serious. You always do. When you’d come into class you always had something like this on… Your hair was always nice… And on the field or court, you always look so pretty but in a subtle way. I was never there to see you, I was there to see a game, but I always caught myself looking at you. Always.”

This confession is completely new to me. My heart is beating faster with every word, and I don’t know if I like the feeling.

“And these dresses... It feels like you’ve been in them every chance you’ve gotten since this started. They drive me insane.”

Heat dances up my chest, and claws up my throat, “Maybe it’s on purpose.”

He shakes his head instantly, “I know it isn’t... If you knew the power you had when you wore these little dresses... You’d have used it all by now. I mean that.”

I shut up right away, not caring to make any smart comments back. I don’t know what’s gotten into him tonight, but I feel a pit in my stomach at his honesty. His fingers swirl on the exposed skin of my thighs, and part of me regrets the dress choice tonight. It’s getting me into danger because if he wants me, god knows I want him... I can’t think of that right now, or the power he’s claiming I have because it will go straight to my head. I decided right away to change the subject.

“Are you good at babysitting?”

He laughs instantly.

“Why do you ask?” He glances over at me, his hair moving a bit, its soft nature making it lose its shape with the wind whipping through the car.

“Because I plan on having fun tonight... Too much fun equals a babysitter,” I tell him.

“I can be a wonderful babysitter babe. Kind of hard to believe you’d even have to ask me how I’d feel about taking care of you.”

My stomach drops once again as he squeezes my thigh. Once again I wonder what’s gotten into him. A large wave of confidence seems to have settled somewhere inside his head. He’s always been confident around me, but he’s timid too... Maybe he’s just realized how comfortable I am around him, and that’s helped. Or maybe he’s faking it. Whatever it is, I’m not going to complain.

Bellamy pulls into the karaoke bar, and I wait in the car after he parks, knowing he’ll throw a fit if I don’t let him open the door for me. He does and helps me from the car. I hop down in front of him, looking up at him, having more height now that I’m in platform Docs. He’s still taller than me, looking down on me from where he stands. He takes my hand and spins me around, walking me forward. He lifts me up onto the curb and joins me on the sidewalk. We walk a bit down until we finally reach the front of the bar.

The minute we step through the doors, there’s a pool of people, everyone seated around the place, a stage set up for the karaoke that should be starting any second now. Bellamy’s hand connects to my lower back as he walks me in, and seats us at a table right next to the stage. He pulls my chair out for me, and sits right next to me, not across. He curls his arm around my leg, his hand on the inside of my leg close to my knee as he sits next to me.

“What do you want to drink?” His lips tickle my ear as he whispers.

“Tequila sunrise,” I tell him, and he doesn’t hesitate to get up, and go to the bar.

While he’s away someone takes the stage, Hungry Like The Wolf plays over the loudspeakers. I laugh at the confidence, seeing how much fun the man is having on stage. Bellamy comes back, and everyone is cheering for the loud stranger. He’s probably decently intoxicated, which is the only thing that is going to get me on that stage. I’m not an awful singer... But I chose sports medicine for a reason.

“I hope you know I will not be singing on that stage...” He whispers in my ear once again, and I laugh.

“I didn’t think you would,” I talk over the music, and he leans in closer.

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