Chapter Twenty-Six

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Chapter Twenty-Six

I’m dreaming of something sweet.

    “Here’s some cotton candy,” Lee says. He’s dressed in a blue plaid shirt and jeans—the most casual I’ve probably ever seen him. His hair is gelled in different directions and he has a piece of cotton candy in his hand. He uses his other hand to open my mouth and feeds me the bright pink, fluffy cotton candy. It melts in my mouth.

    “Lee?” I ask. I look around. We’re sitting at one of those picnic tables in the middle of a very green park. Trees surround us and I think I see the sun reflecting off of a lake nearby.

    “Yes, my love?” Lee replies. He grabs my right hand and rubs circles on the back of my palm. “What can I do for my baby?”

    I blush and feel heat spreading to every edge of my face. Lee’s calling me sweet names. He’s usually either calling me “Miss Ivory” or telling me how much of an idiot I am.

    “Uh, where are we?” I ask.

    “On a date, of course.”

    “A date?”

    “Yes, beautiful,” he replies and I feel my face reddening again. This can’t be Lee. He’s being too sweet and careful. “You look so good today, Ivory. That dress looks amazing.”

    I look down to myself and see I’m in a gorgeous white dress. It’s a floor-touching gown and has butterflies made out of white cotton on the straps. It has ruffles and it’s soft and I love it. My hair seems to be in some sort of bun. I feel the texture of the dress and realize there’s something on my hand.

        A ring.

        I gasp, standing up. There’s a huge ring finger on my left hand. I can’t stop staring at it. Did Lee give it to me? I look up but the scenery changes.  Suddenly, we’re directly in front of the lake and Lee’s in a tux. He looks dashing in his black suit and black bowtie. There’s a priest next to us and to my left, there’s a billion people—strangers I’ve never even met. I see my mother in the front row with Brent and Candy, who’s holding a baby. They have a baby? Mom’s awake?

        “Mom?” I say. “Candy? Brent? What’s going on?”

        All Mom does is smile really big and shouts, “Say I do, Ivory!”

        “Do you, Ivory Flores, take Lee Richardson to be your lawfully wedded husband till both you shall live? In sickness and health, in richness and poor, in life and death?” the priest asks, facing me. He smiles cheerfully with his rosy cheeks.

        “Me?” I say. “I’m getting married?”

        Lee chuckles next to me. “Of course, honey.”  He’s holding both my hands in his. “You’re so funny, sometimes.” He kisses my forehead.

        I’m getting married to Lee? The Lee Richardson?

        “Hell yeah!” I say. “Of course, I do.”

        “You may kiss the bride,” the priest yells.

        Everybody cheers and stands up, clapping. I see my mother jumping up and down and Brent grinning along. Candy rocks her baby as she stands up, smiling at me also. They throw rose petals that land on my hair and suddenly, Lee grabs me by the waist.

        “Ivory Flores, you have no idea how long I have waited for this exact moment,” he tells me, holding me gently. One of his hands rub my cheek and he stares at me with his beautiful eyes and I melt. “I love you, baby.”

        “I love you, too, Lee,” I say, resting my hands around his neck.

        He leans closer and closer, and then his lips touch mine. I smile as he kisses me and he grabs my legs and hoists me onto him. I wrap my legs around him as the bells ring and people cheer. He dips me as he kisses me and everything is going great until someone pushes us into the lake.

        Suddenly, all I feel is water.

        “What the hell are you doing here, you fucking prick?”

        I open my eyes and see my brother, Brent. His face is red and his eyebrows are so close together, it looks like he has a unibrow. His hands are holding a random white bucket, probably one of Mom’s old paint buckets. He looks ready to kill.

    Then I remember last night.

    I jolt up and look over. Lee’s slowly waking up, rubbing his eyes. His face has water all over it and it’s soaking through the jersey he’s wearing—and my bed.

    “Brent, what the hell?” I yell. There’s water all over Lee and a little on me. So the water from the dream was really just Brent angrily splashing Lee with water.

    “What the hell is going on in here?” he yells.

    Lee’s suddenly awake and he sits up straight and looks around. He looks down at his clothes and then at me. He sees Brent and his eyebrow twitches in fear. “Brent, I can explain!” he says before Brent does anything else. He stands up and he’s almost the same height as my brother, a little taller.

    “Brent, nothing happened, okay?” I say, getting out of bed, too. I grab the hem of my shirt and air it, trying to get the water off of it.

    “What do you mean? Why is he in your bed? How did he even get up here?” Brent says. He asks a million questions at once.

    Lee swiftly takes of his shirt, as if it’s normal. He uses a towel that just happens to be nearby on my desk to rub through his hair. My eyes are the size of the moon as he does this. The holy greek god himself is shirtless in my room, water dripping down his solid, muscular body. Lee moves in slow-motion in my head as he shakes his head to get water out of his hair.

    “Ivory? Ivory? Ivory!” Brent waves a hand in front of my face. He follows my path of vision at Lee. “God damn it, I will seriously kill you!”

    Lee discreetly points to the door so only I can see. “Hey, uh, Brent,” Lee says, “is that a new shirt you’re wearing, man? It looks really nice.”

    Brent looks down at his shirt.

    I’m grabbed by Lee and we’re running out of my room. Lee slams the door behind him, leaving Brent in my room. It’ll hold him for about 1.2 milliseconds but that’s enough for us to run downstairs. Mark is nowhere in sight as Lee and I make our great escape. Lee grabs Brent’s car keys on the coffee table in the living room and we run outside before Brent can reach us.

    The sun is adamantly shining down this morning, bringing traces of summer heat along with it, though it is May. The so-called breeze rustling through the air only releases sticky, humid air onto my face, which isn’t helping at all considering all the running I’ve just done with Lee. It’s probably the most I’ve ran in my teenage years.

    “Don’t just stand there, Ivory,” Lee calls, snapping me out of my stance. “Your brother is right behind us. Hurry up and get in the car.”

    There’s the real Lee. He’s rude and nice at the same time. I don’t know how he does it. His words are so sweet and yet his personality is like the Wall of China; built tall and high so you can never fully understand how it could ever exist (like him). But, when you do finally cross the entire thing, you feel amazing. Lee is a paradox I’ll never understand, though, I do wish he could be like my dream Lee at times.

    “I’m coming, I’m coming,” I say, running to the passenger seat of my brother’s beat up truck. He had gotten it right before leaving for college.

        All the saving up from past part-time jobs that never lasted long finally became of use as he declared he was going to buy a car. Mom was ecstatic, so happy that her failure of a son was getting his life around and buying himself a car. So when Brent brought home a beat up, 1977 Chevy truck, you can imagine Mom’s dismay.  I was standing with her, waiting, as Brent brought home his new baby. Mom almost fainted.

        The good part was when Brent finally convinced her that it was all re-vamped and that it may have looked old-fashioned, but the engine was new and so was the battery. Mom was still skeptical about it and thought Brent would probably get stranded one day in the middle of nowhere in it, but she did approve some-what.  She helped re-paint the faded baby blue of the vehicle as Brent started calling the car, Sherry.

        I truly did hate the car at first, but now that I look at it, it gives this vintage vibe and the white leather seats from the seventies get to me.

        Lee jams they key into ignition and turns it. Nothing happens.

        “Shit,” I cuss. “Try again!”

        We are minutes away from the wrath of Brent. He’s already angry about Lee sleeping in my bed but if he sees us with his baby, he will literally behead both of us.

    Lee holds on to the steering wheel with his left hand as he turns the key again with his right hand. “Come on, come on!” The second try is a failure as well.

    I see the front door opening and a very angry Brent turning even angrier. I see my life flash before my eyes. “Lee, hurry up! Brent is here! He is literally five feet away!” I yell, jumping around in my seat, panicked. I lock my door for safe measures.

    “Come on, please!” Lee yells at the car. Brent starts making a dash for the driveway and I know it’s the end. We did our best. Lee and I are just going to have to face the consequences of being utter idiots. I should’ve pushed him back to go downstairs last night. “Come on!”

    V-rrooom.

    The engine roars to life and it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. All I can think is maybe this shit car isn’t so bad after all.

    “Hurry, Lee! Drive!”

    “Get the hell out of Sherry!” Brent yells.

    Brent’s running up to the car and his hand touches Lee’s door right as we back up and out of the driveway. The sudden movement causes Brent to fall on his rear, which makes him ten times more angrier than he was seconds ago. The car turns to the left and heads out onto the street. I see Brent getting smaller and smaller as we drive away.

    And by drive away, I mean drive in a zigzag from one lane to the other.

    “Holy shit, we did it!” I scream. “We’re alive!” Without warning, I’m thrown to my side and my face hits the window. “Jesus christ, Lee, do you even know how to drive? You’ll kill us before Brent gets to.”

    Lee grins sheepishly but his eyes are nervous. “Uh, well, I don’t really drive much. I have drivers so it’s been a while since I’ve been behind the wheel.”

    “Let me drive,” I demand.

    “No way,” he says. “I’m doing fine.”

    “Yeah, and you’re also shirtless and driving in both lanes. I bet you’ll crash us into a tree before we even get ten minutes away from my house,” I counter.

    “Hey, I’m Lee Richardson, I know what I’m doing,” he replies. I grin even though I’m scared I’ll end up wrapped around a pole thanks to his great driving. I can feel Lee’s true personality peeking out. “Uh, do you have any shirts possibly in this car?”

    “Why?” I ask, smirking. “I enjoy this view.”

    He turns, keeping his eyes off the road even though it’s already so dangerous. He stares at me and has this playful smile and I wish I had a camera to remember the look forever. Not to mention, he’s shirtless and driving—I don’t think it gets better than that.

    “Fine,” I say, “I’ll check.”

    I first put on the seatbelt so I don’t bang my head on any dashboard while I’m searching for clothes. Then, I reach down to the floor of the car and look around Brent’s car. Besides a billion wrappers, crushed cans, and a half-eaten sandwich, there’s no clothes. I look around in the back, but get nothing.

    “What a bummer,” I say. “I guess I’ll have to watch you drive shirtless. I can’t believe my luck.” I cross my arms and pretend to frown.

    Lee laughs and gives me that intense look. “Very funny.”

    He keeps staring at me and I have no idea what I’m doing until I realize I’m kissing him. I have no idea how I got my license because I’m promoting all sorts of road danger.  He should definitely be keeping his eyes on the road, and I should be encouraging him to drive properly, not kissing him. But the stare he gives me makes me go crazy—it’s the type of stare every girl wishes a boy would look at her with.

    I’m punished when we hit a road bump and my head hits the top of the car. I groan in pain as I rub my head. “Holy sh—”

    “Oops, sorry,” Lee says, secretly smiling as he turns his head back to the road. “Maybe if I had seen the road bump sign, I could’ve slowed down, but someone was just a little too eager this morning.”

    “Shut up,” I say even though I’m grinning. “Where’d this come from?” On my lap, there’s four twenty-dollar bills, eighty dollars total. I count it again to make sure I counted right. I look up and see that there’s another twenty clipped to the sun shield of the passenger seat. “Brent, that sly devil, hiding money in the sun shield. I must’ve hit it when you were going over that speed bump.”  

    “Clip it back, he’s already going to kill us,” Lee says, being all responsible.

    “Lee, we’re already in deep shit. He found you in my bed, we stole his car, so what else can he do to us if we use his money?”

    “You swear in every sentence, don’t you?” he responds, shaking his head. “And that’s considered stealing if we use his money. He can already sue us for stealing his car, and if we use his money, we’ll definitely be dead.”

    “We already are good as dead. And didn’t you say you were Lee Richardson? I’m sure you can handle my brother,” I say, fanning myself with the money. “And we’re not stealing, Lee. It’s just borrowing.”

    “If only I hadn’t left my credit card,” Lee says. He sighs, taking a right turn. “Fine, but we have to pay him back, okay?”

    “Yeah, yeah,” I agree. I look out the window and see that we are on a completely empty road. The road is black and there are tall, green pine trees blurring past as Lee continues to drive like a blind man. The sun is just rising and I check the time. It’s six in the morning and I groan. Why did Brent have to wake us up so early? We only got an hour or two of sleep. Then again, more time to spend with Lee.

    “What?” Lee asks, grinning. “What’s with the groan?”

    “It’s so early.”

    “I told you that we should’ve slept earlier,” he says. And then he laughs as if remembering something funny.

    “What? What’s so funny?” I say.

    “Nothing,” he replies, covering his smile with his unoccupied hand.

    I turn away from the window and look to him. “Tell me!”

    “Well, you made a promise to me last night and I hope to see that you keep to that promise,” Lee says, laughing once more. I raise my eyebrows. What promise? He sees my confused face and answers, “You promised me you’d wear Candy’s present for me one day.”

    I start choking on the very air I’m breathing. The choking leads to coughing and I feel my cheeks burn from embarrassment and lack of oxygen. I hear Lee laughing but he pats my back with his hand as he actually looks at the road.  

    “Shut up, you’re lying!”

    “Nope,” he says, smirking that one sided, lopsided, ugly—okay, not ugly, but I wish it was—smirk that I haven’t seen in a while. “Stick to your word, Ivory.”

    “I will jump out this car if you keep talking,” I say, so embarrassed I am half-ready to actually follow up with it. I can’t believe I said I would do that. I can’t even remember, which is even more humiliating. Covering my face with my hands, I hide my red cheeks from Lee. “If you mention it again, I’ll have to kill you.”

    Lee’s laughing like a hyena. I hate the way he laughs but I love it. “Fine, fine,” he says, “I already forgot about it.” He reaches over and turns the radio on. “Let’s listen to some music to forget your little slip-up.”

    I send him a glare and then finally relax against the seat. Stacy’s Mom plays throughout the car and I tap my finger as I rest my hand outside the window. The song is a true classic.

    “Stacy, do you remember when I mowed your lawn?” I sing. “Your mom came out with just a towel oh-oh-oh-on!”

    Lee grins and then surprises me. “I could tell that she liked me from the way she stared,” he sings along. I stare at him with wide eyes and he continues grinning. “And the way she said, “You missed a spot over the-e-e-re!”

    I laugh. We both look at each other and start singing simultaneously, “And I know you think it’s a fantasy, but since your dad walked out, your mom could use a guy like me! Stacy’s Mom has got it goin on! She’s all I want and I’ve waited for so long! Stacy, can’t you see, you’re just not the girl for me. I know it might be wrong but I’m in love with Stacy’s Mom!”

    We scream the last part together and start bobbing our heads up and down to the electric guitar part. I start playing my air guitar as Lee sings in the background. It reminds me of the time he was singing Hunter Hayes when I stayed with him. This moment makes me so happy, us singing and just being carefree.

    Lee and I end up singing the rest of the song, which isn’t much because it was nearing the end when we started, but it’s the funniest thing I’ve ever done with Lee. Him singing with his off-tune voice and me rocking out with my air guitar and my guitar skills that are just as real as my air guitar.

    When the song ends, I laugh and roll my head back, enjoying the breeze coming in from Lee’s rapid driving and the sun slowly coming up. It’s going to be a good day.

Lee parks Brent’s car at the parking lot of a small strip mall containing a petite diner called Sally’s, a store called Jen’s Clothes, and a Radio Shack with its open sign flickering on and off. There are other stores but they all seem to be out of business or at least, very close to it. It’s one of those road stops you go to when you’re going somewhere far. I wonder where we are—it’s definitely not Brownwood, New York.

    He turns the key and the hum of the engine dies down. “Ready?”

    I smile. “Of course, but….”

    “But?”

    I point to his chest and he looks down. “You’re shirtless,” I say. “And I’m dressed in my care bear pajamas. I don’t think we’re ready.”

    “Why?” Lee says. “I think your care bear pajamas are cute.”

    “That was so romantic,” I say. He laughs and I’m getting used to hearing this now. It sounds foreign every time still but I’m glad I can make him laugh so much.

    “Fine, let’s go see if Jen has any good clothes,” he replies, throwing his thumb over his shoulder to the store with the capital J of the sign about to fall down. Does anyone even actually shop here?

    I nod and unbuckle myself. Lee quickly gets out of the car and runs over to my side, opening the door for me. “And they said chivalry was dead,” I say when I get out, holding his hand. He smiles and we walk over to the store.

    It’s completely freezing inside and dark. Or maybe it’s just because it’s 6 in the morning, the sun’s not up, and the store might not even be open yet. There seems to be nobody behind the counter but Lee and I help ourselves, going through the racks of clothes. Everything about the store screams, Hey! I haven’t been touched in ten years!

    A part of me wonders if Lee whisked me away to somewhere far and dormant because there are no reporters. So nobody would find out about our whole one day date thing because he’s ashamed of me, ashamed to be seen in public with me. He’s scared it’ll ruin his business, his life, Penny. A part of me knows that’s somewhat true no matter how much he tells me he wants to be with me. I’m not cut out for his life. I’ve been a small town girl with a pretty boring life and stupid high school

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