Part 9 (1/2)
”That's always been the worst of it. You've never been aware of how s.e.xy you are. Like the way you eat strawberries.”
”What's wrong with the way I eat strawberries?”
He opened his mouth, and then thought better of explaining. ”Nothing. Just forget it.”
”Come on; tell me.”
”You don't eat them; you make love to them. It's such a turn-on, I need a cold shower afterward.”
”You get off watching me eat?”
”See!” He shook a finger at her. ”You're innocent. You don't understand. And I do. I'm older, and-”
”If you say wiser, I'm going to smack you.”
He held up his hands to ward off any blow. ”Hey, when it comes to brains, you're clearly way ahead of me. I've never minded. This isn't about you; it's about me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I thought I was taking advantage of a kid.”
”So? I'm a legal adult now.”
”h.e.l.l, you just turned eighteen and never been kissed. And you still look young enough to be sixteen. I'm twenty-eight.”
Tinker studied him, trying to reevaluate the last three years. How had she missed his obsession? Certainly he spent an inordinate amount of time with her and Oilcan-but he'd also had two or three girlfriends that she could remember. ”Yeah, you're twenty-eight and definitely more experienced than me. That doesn't seem fair. You get to screw around while I stay a virgin.”
He kicked at a weed growing up in a crack in the parking lot's cement. ”I thought if I found someone else, I'd stop having a thing for you. It really hasn't been fun, wanting you and feeling like a filthy old man at the same time.”
”You know, you are always going to be ten years older than me. There's nothing I can do about it.”
”I figured that when you hit nineteen, if I was still hooked on you, that was old enough.”
Was he serious about this? It was weird to think he had waited three years already for her to grow up, and planned to wait another year. Certainly at fifteen she could have cared less about men, but in the last three years she had developed definite interest. Most guys she knew were like Jonnie, too slimy to consider. But Nathan Czernowski? She trusted him.
Everything inside her went suddenly, nervously aquiver. She looked at his mouth and wondered what it would be like to kiss him. ”What am I supposed to do for the next eleven months? Sit and twiddle my thumbs until you feel righteous?”
He glanced at her, squinting in speculation. ”You'll probably hit me if I say that would be nice.”
”Yes,” she growled. Eleven months of wondering would kill her. She was too used to satisfying her curiosity to wait that long. ”Why don't we compromise? It would be stupid to spend the next eleven months, waiting, only to find out we can't stand each other in more than a good-friend way. We should try a date.”
”A date?”
”You know. Go out to eat. See a movie. Go to the Faire. Date. That is, if your ego can stand being seen with me, and whatever people might think of you.”
”Ouch.”
”That's really it, isn't it? You're afraid that people will think you're as nasty as the guys you bust for molesting little kids.”
”Okay, yes. You look younger than you are, and anyone who doesn't know how much you've got going on upstairs will see me as some kind of pervert. And that bugs me.”
”I can can look older. If I put some makeup on and some nice clothes, I can look twenty.” Or at least Lain said so. ”Especially in a dark restaurant.” look older. If I put some makeup on and some nice clothes, I can look twenty.” Or at least Lain said so. ”Especially in a dark restaurant.”
A pleased grin spread across his face. ”You really want to go out to eat with me?”
”I've watched you eat. What I actually want is to find out what it's like to kiss you, but I figured I'd scare you off if I told you that.”
The smile vanished to a look of such intensity it seemed to solidify the air between them, making it impossible to breathe.
Oh my, he's totally serious about being gaga about me.
With infinite slowness, he leaned down and kissed her. His big hands caught her hips, pulled her to him, and then held her tightly. Her hands were momentarily pinned between them, and then they slid up, searching for someplace to go. She'd never realized how tall he was, or imagined how solid he would feel.
He nuzzled down her neck and kissed her where her s.h.i.+rt gaped open, exposing the top curve of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She clung to him, feeling suddenly small in his embrace, unsure if she wanted him to stop or go on.
He stopped, though, kissing her more chastely on the cheek, and then just held her. ”I think anyplace we go,” he whispered huskily, ”should be brightly lit, with very little privacy.”
”Possibly, that would be a good idea.”
”Possibly.” He sighed. ”I need to work tomorrow night. Want to say Friday? We could do the Faire.”
”Friday at the Faire would be good.”
They kissed again, and she discovered that by knowing what to expect, the experience was even more enjoyable.
She waved as he drove away, feeling slightly silly doing so. Kids waved. What she really wanted was to pull him back and explore further-only more slowly. After he was out of sight, she pressed her hand to her mouth, capturing again the warmth and pressure.
Nathan Czernowski is in love with me!
Would wonders never end?
4: Beware Elves Bearing Gifts
Wargs, Windwolf, Maynard, interdimensional smugglers, and Nathan Czernowski were all pushed out of her mind at the sight of the loaded picnic tables. The compet.i.tive spirit of the scientists had produced amazing culinary feats. On the slim excuse of alerting people to possible food allergies each dish had the maker's name and the list of ingredients. The most elaborate dishes had the name first. The very simple donations had the makers listed last.
Even Lain was not immune to the compet.i.tive nature of the cookout. Her dish of fresh strawberries, spinach, walnuts, and homemade vinaigrette managed to be simple yet elegant.
Tinker loaded her plate with Lain's salad, dill potato salad, German coleslaw, three-bean salad, a linguine salad, a tortellini salad, baked beans, a sweet bean bun, a brownie, something made with pine nuts, and a cream cheese pineapple Jell-O salad.
She found Oilcan playing grill master, trying to smoke out his forming harem. Something about being stranded on a strange world combined with Oilcan's spry, puckish good looks seemed to make her cousin irresistible as a safe elf subst.i.tute to Earth women wanting to experience Elfhome to the fullest. Oilcan dodged the more aggressive attention, especially from the married women; he tended to be very moral in that regard. Still, Oilcan liked people, clever conversation, and playful flirting, so he went through something close to juggling fire sticks to attend any party at the Observatory. Already two women hung at the edge of the smoke, laughing at his witty remarks.
”Hey.” Tinker braved the smoke to eye the meat on the grill.
”Hey!” Oilcan hugged her soundly. What had happened that suddenly everyone was hugging her? The harem eyed her with slight dismay. Oilcan chose not to introduce her, probably as a tactic to get rid of the women. He edged some of the food threatening to topple over the edge back onto her plate. ”Think you got enough food?”
”I haven't had food since dinner yesterday.” Tinker pointed out the largest hamburger on the grill. ”Can I have that one cooked to medium?”
”Okeydokey.” Oilcan patted it with a spatula. Red juices welled up in the slots. ”It will be done in a couple of minutes. I came back to get you, and they said you'd left with Maynard. I tried calling you. Is everything okay?”
”I left my headset in the trailer.” She balanced her plate in her left hand and ate with her fingers. ”Where's the forks? Have you tried Lain's salad? Boy, is it good!”