Book One In The Ahh-Ness Of Things Series: April & Donnie were once inseparable, but now almost six years have passed since she left NYC. What if April O'Neil could set the record straight, once & for all! The only girl down enough to chill with the...
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I could see him, maybe a few days before, standing in her doorway, her little brother in front of the TV, her tiny cot for a bed in the corner. The drywall was not hung and she was wiping paint from her hands, her hair messy on top of her head, her pretty hazel eyes shining behind her bangs. He was saying goodbye and he was looking at her thinking she was a picture of loveliness and he wanted to tell her so.
"Thank you for everything, Donnie. You do so much for us all."
He lowered his eyes in modesty, "It's really nothing."
She put her pretty hand on his & he looked up. He wasn't used to such a gentle touch. "Do you want some coffee? I was just about to make some!"
I could feel his heart beat pick up a little as he considered the invitation. He knew it was something more. How charming she was in her eagerness. She knew as I did though, coffee was the best way to make him stay.
I saw them sitting and drinking coffee together, knee to knee on her stoop. The aroma overwhelmed the smell of concrete and trash. They were in a place that always seemed to be trapped in the neon glow of the night.
She finished her's first and sat there rolling the mug in her hands, wishing he would ask if she wanted to make more, when she knew he would be too polite; so she suggested it in hopefulness. He was most definitely considering it.
He liked being with her, & the thought went through his mind then that you can let everything go. That he could let go of me. It was obvious that I was always on his mind; but in being with her, he could start over. He could move forward with something new & promising.
*She's so down to earth... she's like me... I think she's really genuine...her little brother likes me, the guys like her ...she's always so damn cute...she smells so good... laugh again... I love your laugh... it chimes through the air like little bells...
Some tiny alarm was beeping in his bag; he reached in to pull it out & check it. Looking back up at her.
" I'm sorry, I have to go." He smiled at her, reassuring her everything was alright, & so her confidence grew. She took his cup & he took the step down, only to glance back at her. He was eye level to her now, slipping his bo into place against his shell, as she stood above him leaning on the rail of the landing, looking into his face with all the straight forward earnestness she could pull together.
"You know, maybe we could do this again. I love it when you come by, I like hanging out with you." She was drawing a line across his fore arm with her finger, as he lowered it from behind his head. The empty cup hooked across the back of her hand. She stopped when she realized what she was doing, his eyes resting on her where she touched him.
He peered back at her mischievously & remarked to himself at how easy that was for her. "Noni, are you coming on to me?"
She closed her hands to her body quickly, banging the cups together, flustered and embarrassed. "Oh!"
*Haha and there it is!* He laughed to himself trying to keep a straight face. She held the coffee cups up by their handles, awkwardly to her face, looking to see if she'd broken them.
"Well yeah. I am. Oh no! I think I think I cracked one."
He stepped back up the to the top of the stoop & placed his hands around her's , not really looking at the cups; daydreaming inside himself.
*I could scoop you up in my arms! I want to tell you how sweet you are, right now! You make me feel like I'm more deserving than I think I am, of someone like you. Hell you make me fee like I have some kind of purpose!*
The alarm beeped again in his bag; someone was coming closer to the entrance of the lair, they'd set off multiple silent alarms now.
"Yeah I really like you too.. like spending time with you! Too..."
They both laughed at his slip of the word & for a moment he lingered. Looking into her eyes, he thought to himself now *"I really don't want to go* So he reached out and touched only fingertips on her chin, pulling her face close to his and he kissed her gently; something soft and short.
With his face pressed to her's, me locked in these memories now, I could feel what he felt. This was different, this was a new moment. In his whole life; he'd never kissed anyone remotely like himself, anyone at all but me. Now I was frantically trying to snap out of his head. I could feel him running his hand up the length of my leg. I could feel his weight against me, but I almost didn't even want to be here now; knowing that I was the one that had tripped the alarm. That I had ruined that moment for a him & he had left this adorable exchange to come and find me. The intruder. I had become an intruder now, not only into his home but into his life. When they parted, she was holding his hand, feeling her fingers unlace from his.
"How about tomorrow? I'm sure we'll find some kind of trouble to get into." He proposed, arm out stretched as he pulled away.
She smiled teasing him; "Donatello, are you asking me out on a date?"
"Yes. Yes I am!"*
He quickly left, into the darkness of the tunnels; not knowing it was me he would find soaking wet & stuck on a god damn ledge, like an idiot. I could hear her girlishly laughing. Excitement swelling in her heart. She was falling in love.
