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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He could feel her eyes washing over him with the velvety softness of flower petals falling on his skin. The attention was exhilarating, but it was the look in her eyes that made his pulse race & he became aware that he was standing as quietly & sturdy as he could. She was a wondrous beast, hunting him in that tiny room. She pulled his hand close to her & unclasped the clip holding all of her multicolored hair up. It fell across her shoulders & down her back. She reached her hand on his, up into her hair, she had figured out quickly that he liked it so. The silkiness like thick, glossy black feathers under yellow bleach & blue swirls of dye. Her pale, iridescent skin was as enticing as cotton candy ice cream. She had told him before, that she thought it was neat that she had become all of the colors of her new shoes, she had gotten on the day she mutated. He had gently joked that he & his brothers called it their "mutation day" but for her; it really was her birthday mutation.
She might have thought of kicks but for him, damn he always thought of something delicious.
Her fingertips danced down his arm until he put his hand on her hip & pulled her against him. One hand in her hair, cradling her face to his & the other holding her close. She stepped lightly up onto his bare feet, grasping firmly to ridge of the front of his shell, kissing him. She wasn't too much shorter than him, but he was so gone; she wouldn't make him stoop down over her. The weight of her little feet on top of his was delightfully cute, but she wasn't trying to be cute.
"It's ok to be selfish. As long as both of us know it, Donnie."
It's a strange dreamlike anxiety, being in someone's thoughts. It's like flipping through channels that all play the same movie at different parts; tapping into someone holding the camera. Through shared consciousness though; you also feel their emotions, know their intentions. Even things they didn't consciously know. You see through their eyes as well as everyone else's. The memories are never linear & sometimes you only see one part, & believe that's all there is. I had only permitted myself into part of the recesses of his heart & mind. This was more. These were things he didn't need me to see. Moments he kept close, because he cherished them & they didn't involve me. I laid there against him holding his hand as he slept it all off. The day had been full of anger & fear. The night before; full of apprehensions & wounds that wouldn't close. He had tried not to think about these things with Noni, wether he was concerned I might see, or he just didn't want them there, with me in his arms.
I could see them now & even though I knew I shouldn't; I wanted to innocently. I wanted to see him from the inside, looking out. I wanted to see how full & classic his affection could be. I accepted I would never have it again & when it had been me with his hands in my hair, drawing little half circles across my cheek & down my neck; I hadn't noticed. Not the way she did. She wasn't fawning for his touch, she just paid attention when he gave it. I closed his fingers up over mine & closed my eyes, watching the gorgeousness of them in my head. I didn't even care when this was. Being in someone else's heart is like iridescence, the way the colors change, the brightness & presence of colors are constantly altering. Fading in & out with relevance. A the way a memory appears may fade over time or change from a bright shining portrait to a tumultuous darkness. I had thought they'd never really gone so far. I assumed, because I couldn't see him being any more than that teenager who couldn't so much as kiss me without turning red. I wasn't angry or jealous, I didn't feel anything towards him for the night before. It didn't matter. He was falling in love with her & I was seeing it all unfold in his beautiful thoughts of her.
I saw him hiding mischievously in her kitchen, whirring away with an electric mixer. He had her wait on the love seat while he took over her space. She was antsy & kept asking what the hell he was doing. He would smile at her & go back to his whisking. He boiled water for tea & scooped melting ice from the bag he's brought. The smell of the tea steeping permeated the room. He was arguing with whatever he was up to, as if it were alive. She watched suspiciously as he lifted a spoon high above the counter & dripped heaps of something white & creamy onto the mess he was making. Before long he was standing before her with his hand covering the front of a glass. There was light flickering against his palm in the shadowy room, & when he moved it away for her to see; she thought she might cry.
"You should have at least a candle to blow out."
She looked side to side as though he were talking to someone else. It was so heartfelt, she couldn't move, so he knelt down in front of her & put her hand on the cup. "Make a wish."
Tiny sparkling tears began to rise up & she squeezed her eyes shut to hide them. When she opened them again she made a soft shaky little blow, but not before she made sure to always remember how he looked at her so sincerely, across the candle light.
"I always feel like I piss you off " he laughed; "now you're crying."
She smiled a teary frown & shook her head. "No, Donatello, you are wonderful."
He smiled & raised his eyes to her.
"So what is this?" she asked holding the cup of what appeared to be iced tea with marshmallow fluff on top. She pulled the candle out of the thick, sticky foam & pinched it between her fingers.
"Taste it." He eyed her as he took a drink of his own, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of her.
She only watched, maybe making sure it wasn't a prank. "You couldn't just make me a cake?"
"No. I don't know how to bake." He took another drink & seemed about to laugh, waiting for her. "I know how to mix things."
She shot him a look, then dipped the candle in the cream & used it to eat a glop. "It's sweet. Not too sweet. Kind of salty. It tastes familiar, what is it?"
"It's cheese."
"Cheese?"
"Cream cheese. And other dairy stuff."
"Oh the random, poorly timed, lactose intolerance question."
" You know; thank you for the coffee the other day. I know it's expensive."
"And this is black tea?"
"Fermented black tea. Hand rolled."
"That's expensive."
"Well, are you gonna try it?"
"Well for a minute I thought you were over there mixing a block of cream cheese into a pot of oolong."
"Not an entire block."
She scooped out another taste & popped the whole candle in her mouth, apparently eating it. Donatello almost choked. "You're supposed to drink it, not eat it!"
She smiled slyly & reproduced the little birthday candle for him to see she hadn't actually eaten it. "I thought you know, since were drinking the groceries."
She reached out & sat it in his hand & he took it out of muscle memory before he realized it. "Oh gross!"
"You're the one that's trying to feed me cheese tea!"
He loved her spontaneous fits of sarcastic humor & he wanted to spend more time with her. They talked & drank their cheese tea, which she really liked, & laughed & talked some more. All about their brothers & being the middle children & even about the way he was raised. He was ever so careful not to disclose too much when she asked if he was really a ninja.
