Sheepish and sly

You can’t help but blush a bit. Still, determined to make the best of it, you keep your focus on Andi’s direction. “Glad you liked it. We go on-stage every night at 8pm with a matinee every Saturday.”

Instead of defusing the situation or making her laugh, Andi’s smile widens a bit more. “Mmm…will have to get my tickets early then. Wanna catch a front row seat.” With that, she turns quickly and saunters down the hall. You rapidly finish putting on your shoes, snatch your keys and wallet from the dresser, and take off after her.

As you drive to the nearby diner, you can’t help but steal glances at Andi. She innocently looks out the window, watching the scenery and singing along with Korn’s “Make Me Bad” on the CD player. You can’t help but think how cute she looks…and you can’t help but try to find a way to ask her just how much she actually saw…

Once at the diner, the waitress guides the two of you to a small booth in the back of the diner. After some debate, the two of you decide to get a decanter of orange juice along with eggs and pancakes. Andi opts for the cinnamon pancakes, while you go with the fresh strawberries.

Once the two of you order and the waitress leaves, Andi looks at you with a sweet and innocent gleam in her eyes. You try not to squirm as you fidget with your fork. Finally Andi’s amused voice breaks the silence. “No, I didn’t see your wang. But I did get a nice view of your butt as you were putting on your boxers. Your butt’s pretty cute.” She gives you a playful wink.

Amusement and embarrassment erupt as you laugh and blush deeply. “Glad you liked it then.” You look at Andi as if to change the subject, but you notice a small shadow of thoughtfulness on her face. “Andi?” Hearing her name breaks the reverie and she looks at you. “What is it?”

She smiles at you, but it doesn’t seem as natural as the smile she gave you a few seconds ago. “I just thought of something I should take care of soon…it’s kind of scary though…”

You offer her your hand as you ask, “Anything I can help you with?”

For the first time ever, Andi doesn’t take your offered hand. And although she tries, she can’t quite meet your eyes. “John, I appreciate it, but it’s nothing you can help with. It’s something I have to do for myself.”

At that moment the food arrives and the two of you eat in relative silence. Each of you try to initiate a conversation, but every attempt fizzles quickly. The drive home seems even more awkward since your compact car doesn’t allow for much space between you. The close quarters makes the air between you tangibly thick and dense.

When you arrive home, you walk up the stairs to your room, wondering if you’ve done something wrong. Andi follows a few steps behind you, still lost in her pensive mood. As you open the door to your room, Andi calls out, “John?”

“Yeah?” you answer softly as you turn to face her.

She seems to be struggling with keeping that worried, pained look from her face. “I’m sorry about breakfast.”

“It’s okay, Andi,” you smile bravely at her, then start to turn towards your room.

“John?” You turn back towards her again. Andi steels herself and continues. “Do you think you can come cuddle with me again tonight? I have something I wanna talk to you about.”

Inwardly you prepare for the worst but still keep up your brave smile. “Sure. What time would you like me to come by?”

“Nine o’clock?” she asks sheepishly.

You make your smile widen a bit. “I’ll see you at nine then.”

Time drags slowly for you. You remember nothing of work or school; all you can think about is Andi. When you get home, you make a point of knocking on her door right at nine. While you don’t want to appear demanding or needy, you can’t help but be afraid of what would happen if you keep her waiting.

So, nine o’clock, you stand there in the hallway wearing your grey sweats over matching boxers with a grey T-shirt. After a moment, Andi slowly opens the door. Her eyes seem so soft and fragile as she stands there in a grey tank top and pajama pants. She looks down at your attire, then at yours, and she smiles at you. But then the nervousness comes back and she moves away so you can enter the room.

The Cure’s “Inbetween Days” starts to play on her stereo as she motions for you to sit down on the bed. She stands in front of you and takes a deep breath. “Can I still trust you?”

“Of course, Andi.” You look into her excited, frightened eyes.

“John…please take off your sweats and your shirt.” She swallows hard, watching you as you comply, a look of curious fear creeping on your face.

“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, John. I’m not ready to go further. But I want to do this, and I figure it’s only fair since I’ve seen your butt and your chest.” She tries to smile at her joke, but the smile falters a bit.

“Andi,” you reach out and place your hand on her wrist. “If you’re not ready, then don’t do this. Whatever you’re planning, I’m willing to wait for it.”

A look of relief shatters all of her worries and trepidation. “I knew you were special. I’m sorry, but I got scared and I had to be sure.” With that she peels off her pajama bottoms and, after a moment’s hesitation, her tank top as well. She stands there above you, wearing nothing but a grey pair of panties, a blush working across her face as she tries not to pull her hands in front on her chest to hide herself. Her eyes gaze into yours as she waits for your response.