Scratching Her Vinyl

"It must be nice to have those kind of roots. We never had the luxury of being able to stay in one place long enough to call it home,” I frown, “Even with my company, I'm always travelling. I got so used to living that ‘always on to the next’ lifestyle. In fact, I've only been in this area a few months. I don't know anything about it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s great that I get to travel and stuff..." I trail off, realizing I might be rambling a little bit, but something about her makes me want to open up to her.

I feel like I can share these things with her and she just gets it. She frowns, those big blue eyes filled with sympathy. "That doesn't sound like much of a life at all. In fact, it sounds really lonely.”

I'm so surprised by her words that I stop walking for a second. She pauses too and looks at me. After considering it, we start walking again. "You know, I never thought of it that way. I just got so used to it growing up that I adopted that whole 'on to the next one' as my own attitude and way of life," I admit.

She blushes a little and looks at the ground. "Is that why you go to those auctions? So you can always move on to the next one?" She asks shyly.

For some reason I can't meet her gaze as I answer. "Um, yeah. Pretty much," I answer softly.

We're both quiet as we walk to the car. I unlock the door for her and close it once she's inside.

I hurry to my side so I don't keep her waiting. I wonder what we are going to talk about now, since she knows the truth about the auctions. I can't tell if this makes me feel nervous or ashamed. Why should this even matter? I don't know why, but it does to me.

Somehow, in the span of a few hours, this girl has gotten under my skin. And I don’t know why, but I don’t want to let her go.Chapter 13 - DominicAfter a quiet, and somewhat tense car ride we arrive at my house. I hurry to open the door and turn on the lights. She looks nervous, maybe because of where we are. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable." I encourage.

She gives me a little smile and sits on the edge of the couch. I laugh a little. Across the living room, near the tv is a stereo along with a sound system. I walk over and turn it on. She waits patiently. I'm grateful for the distraction. That whole conversation involving the auctions had soured the mood.

I think it might have depressed her a bit as well. That sadness she had when we first met at the auction seems to have returned. She seems so different from the person she was when she was talking to me inside of her store.

Since we’ve just got this one night together, I want it to be memorable for her. I want her to enjoy it and be happy. I want to see her smile again.

I think I know a way to make that happen. The service comes online and I began searching through all the music. I don't see what I want right away, so I decide the quickest way is to just type in what I want. After a few quick seconds I find the song I'm looking for. I push play and immediately, music fills the room.

I turn back to Juliette and she gives me a surprised smile. I smile in response as I walk over and take her hand. She places her hand in mine and stands. I pull her to me as we dance around the living room.

I picked the song that she said was her favorite. Her head rests against my chest. We are both quiet as we dance, just losing ourselves in the music for a while. This is nice, I don't know if I will ever get used to doing stuff like this. I doubt it will ever happen again in the future, but for now it's a nice way to pass the evening with someone.

I keep reminding myself that it’s just one night. Because part of me keeps wondering if it has to be.

Eventually she lifts her head to look at me. I meet her gaze curiously. "So, final answer time. Which was better, the digital or the vinyl?" She asks curiously.

I let out a chuckle. "Ok, you were right. There was just something special about the vinyl." I admit, “You win.”

She smiles again and looks up at me. Something in her gaze, I can't look away. Almost shyly she leans up and kisses me. It's a sweet, tender kiss that quickly turns into a lingering one. When we pull apart, her lips are still parted and her eyes are bright as if she wants more. Without a word I lead her upstairs to my room and she follows, just like I knew she would.