Inseparable

“I’m sorry,” I gasped, mortified at my response to talking about the deaths of our siblings, “It just struck me how horrified Abby would be if she knew this was how my first date was going,” I giggled. After a minute, Dane laughed too.

“Yeah, I guess we’re both pretty morbid, hey,” He made a face, “So, this is your first date, huh?” He smiled at me playfully. I groaned. Why did I say that? I’d been hoping that would slip by without him noticing. No such luck.

Truth be told, I suppose this was my first date. I’d had a boyfriend before, Dennis Collin. We were together for about two months before Abby got sick, when I was fourteen. Our month together involved lots of kissing, some fondling, and two extremely awkward nights of sex in his single bed when his parents were away.

Abby had been so pissed that I’d lost my virginity before her, especially when she was the one with the steady boyfriend. She’d been so mad that the very next night she’d slept with Will, almost as if to spite me. That was the night dad caught Will in her room, and we were both banned from having boys in the house.

“It’s not my first date,” I said, blushing, knowing there really was no way out of this one, “Just my first in a while.” Dane grinned, as though he was loving my discomfort.

“Well now I’m feeling the pressure,” He joked, straightening his back.

“Well it’s not like I have much to compare to, so my standards aren’t that high,” I covered my mouth. Once again, I’d spoken before thinking. That had actually been me trying to be nice.

“Ouch!” Dane cried, laughing, “That was a low hit, Lily. Enough of the family talk. That’s way too depressing. What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue,” I answered, so happy he’d let me off the hook, “You?”

“Green,” He replied, gazing deep into my green eyes. I giggled. “No, really. I’m not just saying that to be smooth,” He argued as I laughed.

“You think that was actually smooth?” I giggled. It was cute how corny he was.

“Hey!” He pretended to be offended, “You’re crushing me here. You’ll end up sending me home with a complex the way you’re going,” Even as he said it, his smile suggested otherwise. Somehow I got the feeling it would take a lot more than that to rattle Dane Hanson.

“For someone as ‘out of practice’ as you claim, you’re doing pretty well,” I said. The fact that he didn’t move from girl to girl was something that made me feel pretty special, what about me had caught his eye? Maybe I should throw myself at men more often.

We left the restaurant after ten, the cool breeze outside making me shiver. Dane put his arm around me, his hand resting on my shoulder as if it belonged there. It didn’t make me feel any warmer, but having him so close certainly distracted me from the cold. He opened the door of his car for me, shutting it once I’d slid in. His car was even colder, if that was possible. I silently prayed that his heater worked.

“It will kick in pretty quick,” He promised, turning the heat knob on high. Within seconds, the cool air blowing through the vents turned warm, and finally hot. My body began to relax as the warmth encased it like an invisible blanket.

“Better,” I grinned, my teeth no longer chattering. He turned on the radio. I gazed out the window and into the darkness, humming along to the music. I glanced his way to find him looking at me. “What?” I asked. Dane shook his head.

“Nothing. I like looking at you,” He replied. If he were a stalker, or someone I wasn’t impossibly attracted to, that probably would have sounded really creepy, but he was Dane, and the more we spoke the more intense my feelings toward him got, so any confirmation that he felt the same was wonderful,

Too quickly, he pulled up outside my house, only this time he cut the engine and turned to me.

“I had a great time Lily, a really great time,” He reached for my hair, running his hand through, trying to smooth out some of the damage caused by the wind, “Can I kiss you?” He whispered softly, his fingers tracing the edge of my face. I nodded, not trusting that if I spoke the words wouldn’t come out in a jumbled mess. My heart skipped a beat as he curled his hand around the back of my neck, under my hair, pulling my lips toward his. Every expectation was surpassed as his lips met mine. For someone so out of practice, he was a damn good kisser. Because I was such an expert on kissing.

He pulled away enough to look at me, his lips parting into a small smile.

“You’re pretty amazing, Lily,” He said, drawing me in for another kiss. He cradled my face, his lips searching mine as I kissed him back forcefully. My lips tingled as his mouth met mine, his tongue gently caressing my own. Everything about his kisses, and his touch was perfect.

I exited his car, still dizzy from what was possibly the greatest five minutes of my life. I could get used to being felt up in the car by Dane.

“I had a great time, Lily,” He smiled, looking up at me, his arm resting on the door frame, “Can I call you?” His eyes met mine, and I shrugged.

“Sure, you can call me.” I replied, smiling devilishly. He laughed as I backed up the path, my eyes still firmly on him.

“Will you answer?” He chuckled, throwing his head back against the seat.

“Maybe,” I smiled, walking up to the door of the apartment building, then turning back to face him, “Maybe I won’t.” The sound of his laughter filled the night, and I’m sure we were both thinking the same thing. I’d be sitting by that phone waiting for his call.

Crawling into bed still fully clothed, I thought about our night. In spite of my weirdness, he seemed to like me, especially if that heart stopping, coma inducing kiss was anything to go by. Reaching up, I touched my lips, which were still a little numb from my make out session. Dane was amazing, better than amazing, he was everything.

“Lily’s in lurve,” Teased Abby, her face mirroring my own happiness.

“It’s one date, Abs. I’m hardly in love,” I rolled my eyes. It was true, it had only been one date, but I could quite easily see myself falling for him.

“Yes, well, I know you better than anyone, and I see the way you look at him,” Abby smiled knowingly. She saw the way I looked at him. Knowing she was always around me, watching over me gave me mixed emotions, both happy and sad. It reminded me of all the things I couldn’t share with her anymore.