30 Day Trial Period

3.4 Day One: Parker/Lizzie

PARKER

Lizzie wouldn't stop glancing at my hand. She could be so cute it made my stomach hurt. I kept staring at her until Lizzie realized she'd been caught. She jumped a little and snapped her eyes up at the screen, focusing so hard she didn't see anything at all. If only this theater hadn't been so dark, maybe I could've caught her blushing too.

I'm reminded that between us, I am the more experienced.

And that wasn't saying much.

With a sigh, I worked up the courage and snatched Lizzie's hand, bringing her to join me on the armrest. She looked at me, blinking blankly. I must've sprouted two extra heads. Leaning close, I whispered, "Hey, I'm sorry I yelled at you... I'll try not to like fly off the handle at you anymore. I know you're trying. I didn't mean it when I said you gave up."

"I just get..." She swallowed and leaned closer to me. My stomach curled seeing her this close to me, a breath apart. Her hand was soft. I bet everything about Lizzie was soft. "I just get nervous," she admitted.

Ouch. Punch number two. She didn't know it, but she could really kick my ass.

I said, "As your girlfriend, I won't make you text in class if you don't want to do that. I shouldn't make you uncomfortable. But... I still might text you and I don't want you to feel guilty. Sometimes, I just might want to text you. In class," I smiled weakly and shrugged just a little, "I just wanted to talk to you. I do like talking to you."

"You're not so bad yourself." She chuckled a little. With a nod, she promised me back, "I won't ignore you... I do want to get to know you better."

"Dangerous."

She rolled her eyes, but her smile was stuck on. She didn't let go of my hand either. Our hands were locked and frozen against each other. Neither of us made a move to let go, but we also didn't adjust or even move our arms. My mind tried compelling my thumb to caress her soft velvet skin, but the fear of her hating it, of it being too soon, kept my fingers in check. The awkward position destroyed my arm, making it sore, but it was worth it to me.

After the movie ended, Camille groaned and stretched her tired limbs to the ceiling. Lizzie and I detached, glancing at each other. I smiled a little, a small thanks for playing along. The blood returned to my arm from my heart furiously pumping away.

#

LIZZIE

As soon as I got home, I threw off my clothes and changed into yoga pants and a huge T-shirt my older brother Danny didn't want anymore. Before anyone could see me, I scurried to my room and locked the door. I didn't want anyone to see the dumb look on my face. My cheeks ached from trying and failing to hide my smile.

I've never held hands before.

Not with a girl.

Especially not someone as beautiful as Ashley Marie Parker.

Running to my computer, I opened my Spotify and opened an appropriate playlist:

Lizzie's I'm full of butterflies and I just wanna jump around playlist:

1. Cousins by Vampire Weekend

2. Drive It Like You Stole It from the Sing Street Soundtrack

3. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At the Disco

4. Love Today by MIKA

5. etc.

With a squeal, I jumped into bed and crawled underneath the covers to curl up with my cellphone. My fingers itched, but when I opened Andrea's contact, my smile faded. She really didn't seem that interested in hearing about my relationship (or whatever) with Parker. I looked at my messages from Camille, but she had already texted me.

CAMILLE: [Thanks for not ruining the movie by murdering Parker in cold blood]

My stomach twisted a little. Maybe she wouldn't understand either. I deflated. I turned, facing my ceiling and watched the fan twirl round and round. Little glow-in-the-dark-stars were still stuck to my ceiling from when I was a kid. The didn't glow very bright and some of the points on the stars caught a lot of the dust.

There wasn't really anyone I could talk to about Parker. Not my family. Maybe Danny one day. I planned on coming out to him first, definitely not now, but in the future. He'd be cool with it. He had a Trans roommate and defended him to our parents and even explained to them what it meant to be a transgender person. My chest shrunk, compressing my organs like a book that preserved flowers. I really didn't want to think about coming out.

My phone buzzed.

I jolted upright in bed and opened my phone.

PARKER: [Hey. Thanks for the almost date]

I snorted and rolled my eyes. Only she could call it that. Climbing out of bed, I paced around my bedroom, drafting a few options. The anticipation squeezed my heart and filled a hearty cup full of anxiety. I needed to send a damn text back before I choked on it.

LIZZIE: [Call it adate you coward]

LIZZIE: [*a date]

PARKER: [It's not a real date until we're alone]

I rolled my eyes and texted:

LIZZIE: [Holding my hand makes it a date]

PARKER: [🤔 Hmmmmmmmm......]

PARKER: [You win this round Elizabeth] 

With a smile, I fell back on my bed and stared at the screen. I could hear Parker's voice and it warmed my face. Biting my lip, I thought about a reply a little bit longer and finally decided on what I thought a girlfriend would text:

LIZZIE: [Goodnight, Parker]

Staying on brand, Parker immediately texted back:

PARKER: [Goodnight Lizzie]

I stayed awake for hours after that.

#

Author's Note:

Day Two is coming up and it's just going to get better and better (and then worse) and better from here on out! These scenes were so fun to write and I love coming up with Lizzie's Playlists! What would you add to this one? 

All comments are appreciated and framed on my wall, can't wait to read them! And votes are appreciated. Also, if you add this to a Reading List with a funny name, I will absolutely laugh. 

Twitter: @AuburnMorrow

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