FicWad

BABETTE

I got up the next morning feeling refreshed and excited. I got dressed and ready for my next date. I cleaned the kitchen and fed Xerxes, who had warmed up to the smell of the jacket and allowed me to cuddle with me. I picked him up and made my way to my piano. He sat in my lap, purring and kneading my thighs as I played.

I played and played until I was lost in music. The sound of the piano was soothing and exciting, wrapping me up in a warm feeling that spread through my entire body. Modeling and piano were just about my only talents. As I played I imagined myself sitting on the piano, in a long sleek black dress. I always wanted to be a showgirl or a vaudeville performer. But I didn’t have the face for it.

There was a knock at my door and I jumped up, forgetting that Xerxes was on my lap. He hissed and skulked away as I rushed to get the door. Of course, Gerard was standing there, smiling at me when I opened it.

“Hi!” I said, pulling him into a hug. He hugged me back without much hesitation and I took the chance to breathe in his scent. Vodka and cigarettes.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yeah. So what do you have planned today?” I asked, stepping out and locking my door.

“Well, I was thinking we could take the ferry to Jersey. There’s a carnival going on. And the maybe we could go back to dinner at my house.” He suggested.

“That sounds like fun.” I smirked, looking forward to spending the day with him.

We got into his car and he blasted the stereo again. I tuned it out and stared out the window and gazed out at the city streets. We parked by the docks and I waited while Gerard bought our tickets.

“Got em.” He smiled, walking back over to me. I grinned as he handed me my ticket and put his own in his pocket.

“Your still wearing my jacket.” He said, smirking. I blushed and looked down.

“It’s really comfy.” I admitted. He chuckled and shook some hair out of his eyes. I pulled the baggy sleeves down closer around my hands. It was black, but faded so much it was gray. He must’ve worn it a lot. I didn’t even know why I had it. It was a warm day.

We sat on a bench and waited for the ferry to show up. We watched the other people going about their daily lives. Some were couples, holding hands and kissing. Some were moms and dads with toddlers running a muck or baby carriages. Most were businessmen and women talking on cell phones and carrying brief cases.

Soon the ferry showed up and Gerard and I got on along with everybody else who had been waiting. We took our seats outside so we could look at the water. It was a brilliant shade of royal blue today and sparkled in the blazing sunlight. Boat got moving waves rippled and splashed as we sailed away from New York and toward New Jersey, which was visible on the horizon.

While we stared, Gerard put his arm around me again. I took the hand that was on my shoulder and held it. I liked how shy and careful he was around me. It was sweet. The waves weren’t rocky and the trip was short. We hopped off the ferry and onto shores of Jersey. I saw a Ferris wheel not very far away along with roller coasters filled with screaming people.

“C’mon. The carnivals just two blocks from here.” He said, taking my hand and leading me down the street.

“Your not afraid of roller coasters are you?” He asked as we walked.

“No, just heights.” I confessed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” He said, pulling me under his arm. I blushed and we walked into the gates.

We stood in line and Gerard bought tickets for rides. We got bracelets so we could get in and were ushered inside by people in weird park uniforms. Gerard lead me over to the Ferris wheel.

“Please don’t make me get on that thing.” I begged, trying to pull back while staring up at the towering ride.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” He said, dragging me by the hand. He gave the man standing in front of the ride two tickets and he showed us to a seat. Gerard and I sat side by side as the man lowered the metal bar across our laps. The machine made a groaning noise as it lurched us back so the man could seat the next two people. On instinct, I grabbed Gerard’s knee.

There was an awkward pause and I pulled my hand away and clutched the metal bar instead. Once everybody had a seat and the wheel was filled, it began to move, lifting us up into the air. I felt like I was going to be sick so I put my head down only to see how high up we really were. I shrieked and grabbed Gerard’s knee again, not letting go of it this time.

The ride made three terrifying trips around before stopping, leaving Gerard and I stranded in mid air.

“I think I’m gonna puke.” I said, putting my head down.

“Woah there! Don’t look down. Look into the horizon.” He said, taking my head and pointing it straight ahead. I took a deep breath and did as I was told. After staring for a few seconds, the nausea subsided and I felt myself relax. I also felt Gerard’s arm creep over onto my shoulder.

“You know, you don’t have to ask my permission to touch me.” I said before I could stop myself. Gerard sat still for a moment.

“Babette…” he mumbled. I turned to face him.

Much to my surprise, he kissed me. This wasn’t your average second date kiss, this was almost a full throttle make out. But oddly enough I didn’t mind. In fact, I quite liked the contrast of his personality and his kissing style. His lips ran smoothly over mine and his tongue made room for its self in my mouth, as did mine. Needing air, he made his way down my neck, planting soft butterfly kissing as he went. A warm tingle went through my spine as he nibbled gently on my earlobe and I allowed a breathy gasp to escape my parted lips. And as if sensing how much I was yearning for it, he slowly worked his way back up to my lips. But he stopped when he reached my cheek, the one with the scar. He ran his lips over it and kissed it carefully, as if it might still hurt.

I jerked my face away, like it was a reflex. Gerard looked shocked.

“Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry about the kissing, I just go for sleazy stuff when it comes to that…” he said, looking down.

“No, no, no. It wasn’t that at all. It’s just that, you kissed my scar…” I said solemnly.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked, looking up. I shook my head. “Then…?”

“It’s just, I’m self conscious about it.” I confessed. Gerard furrowed his eyebrows, as if he were confused.

“Why?” he asked honestly. I let out a laugh.

“It’s a giant scar running from my eyebrow to my lip.” I said sarcastically, pointing at my face.

“I like your scar.” He said quietly.

“Huh?” I asked almost to myself.

“I said I like you scar. It gives your face more character. And it feels good when we kiss.” He told me.

I was shocked, and very touched by this. I reached my hand up and felt my scar and its bumpiness.

“Nobody ever says that.” I said softly. It was true. People always said, “we can work with it”, or “we can cover it up”. Nobody ever said that they liked it.

I dove right back in on Gerard, kissing him more passionately than before. I savored every moment of it, every sensation. It was exhilarating just to feel his lips on mine. We had been so into our kiss that we didn’t even notice that the Ferris wheel was moving.

“Woah!” exclaimed the man who was about to let us off. Gerard and I pulled apart, rather reluctantly and hurried away from the ride hand in hand.

We spent the rest of the day going on rides, playing games and eating. Gerard even convinced me to go on a huge roller coaster with him. It was fun, but I threw up afterwards. And even though Gerard was laughing really hard, he held my hair back until I finished puking.

Now we were sitting at a trash-ridden table, sharing a funnel cake and some French fires.

“These French fries are really good.” I said through a mouthful of them. Gerard laughed.

“It’s getting late, we should probably start heading back to my house. It isn’t very far from here,” he said picking up our trash and dumping it in a trashcan. I stood up and walked with him.

We strolled out of the park and down the streets. The big buildings became more and more scarce and we finally reached a small, shabby neighborhood. Gerard led me to the front porch of a small, brick house with grass growing wildly in the front yard.

“Open up ma!” he called, pounding on the door. I wasn’t expecting to meet his parents, and felt nervous all the sudden.

A woman with curly bleach blonde hair opened the door.

“Hello!” she said, smiling when she saw me. Gerard greeted her with a hug as we went inside. She surprised me and hugged me, too. “I’m Donna, and this is my husband Don.” She said, gesturing to a man with a warm smile and gray in his hair. I smiled shyly and gave a little wave as I introduced myself.

The house was cozy. There was a living room with comfy looking leather chairs and a dining room with the table set.

“Dinner is almost ready.” Donna said with a thick New Jersey accent. “Gerard, show your little friend around and tell Mikey dinner’s almost done.”

Gerard nodded and led me out of the room and down a flight of stairs. He brought me to a dingy, dark basement bedroom that I guess he and Mikey (whoever that was) were sharing. The person who must’ve been Mikey was sitting on a bed in the far corner, reading. He had glasses that were at the end of his nose and greasy, hair.

“This is my room and that’s my brother Mikey.” Gerard said. Mikey looked up. “Ma wanted me to tell you that dinner is almost ready. Oh, and this is Babette.”

“Oh, hey Babette.” Mikey said, standing up. He was tall and lanky. He walked over and shook my hand, flipping light brown hair into his face. “Cool scar. How’d ya get it?” he asked when he saw me up close. I blushed madly and Gerard punched Mikey discretely in the arm, muttering something.

“Oh, sorry.” Mikey said, grimacing. I smiled and told him it was okay.

“So…” Gerard said after an awkward pause. We all kind of stood there, shifting our weight from foot to foot.

“Do you like comics?” Mikey asked randomly after a moment.

“Not really. I’ve never really been into them.” I admitted.

“Damn!” he said, surprised. I turned around to find Gerard riffling through some things. I noticed another bed and sat down as I looked around the room. There were countless drawings taped and posted everywhere. They looked like they belonged in a comic book.

“What are these?” I asked, pointing to a group of drawings hanging on the wall. It looked like an action scene with lots of blood and guns.

“Oh, just something I’ve been working on.” Gerard said, still riffling through the drawers.

“So you’re dating my brother?” Mikey asked, sitting next to me on the bed.

“Yeah.” I said nervously. “You got a problem with it?”

“No, I just don’t know you.” He said.

“Oh. Well, I’m a model for Gerard’s class and I have a cat named Xerxes. I live up in New York and I play piano.” I said. Mikey nodded in approval.

“What type of music are you into?” He asked, squinting his eyes at me. I could tell this was a vital question.

“Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and a few Marilyn Manson And The Spooky Kids songs.” I said, inching away slowly.

“Ew! Manson? You’ve got to be kidding me!” he said, looking at me like I was insane.

“What? The song ‘Lunchbox’ is pure genius!” I said defensively. Mikey rolled his eyes and sighed. “Gerard what are you looking for?” I asked, turning to him.

“A record. And I got it.” he said, holing up a vinyl. “Mikey, get out.” He said flatly.

“Hey, this is my room too!” Mikey said, standing up.

“C’mon man. I wanna spend sometime with Babette.” Gerard muttered. Mikey made an “o” shape with his mouth and left, closing the door behind him.

“Sorry, he can be kind of weird. The whole family is, really.” Gerard said, putting the record on the player and picking the track.

“Oh, it’s no problem. Everybody seems really nice.” I said, scooting over as Gerard took a seat next to me on the bed. The Carpenter’s “Superstar” began playing softly, filling the room with music.

Gerard had pretty eyes. I never really noticed them before. But they were a golden honey color and also kind of gray. They were really sunken in, but it seemed to work for him. I decided to lean in a kiss him, very slowly.

This kiss was slower, smoother than the ones from the Ferris wheel. It seemed almost in time with the music, which was providing the perfect mood. His hand was holding the nape of my neck and I tilted my head back, deepening the kiss. Before I knew it, I was laying down slightly, Gerard’s face buried in my neck. His weight was pressing down on me. But his heaviness felt good. Almost as good as his lips on my scar. It was a sharp shock to my soft side, but extremely satisfying. I felt that I was getting the breath knocked out of me, causing me to breathe deeper, until I was practically panting. Gerard had now moved back to my lips. I heard a small moan escape his lips and I was surprised by his amazing sensuality.

His hands felt so strong and so good on my neck. His lips felt feathered on my neck, but it the texture was extremely welcomed. My pulse was racing and I felt the blood pumping into my brain. At first I thought, “what am I doing? I just met this guy” but I never really moved fast in a relationship before. Maybe that’s why they didn’t work out. Change was good.

Everything felt good. So good in fact I was getting turned on. My fingers were shaking and my toes were curling inside my shoes. We were in perfect harmony, every breath, every gasp, and every little sound we made. What was I doing? What was I thinking? Oh yeah, I wasn’t.

“Um, guys?” asked a ver nervous Mikey. Gerard and I sat up stick straight the minute we heard his voice. He was fighting laughter. “Dinners ready.” He said, trying to stifle a chuckle.

“We’ll be right up.” Gerard said, sounding out of breath. I found that I too felt very winded.

Mikey left and Gerard and I were alone once more.

“Sorry if this is moving too fast for you.” He said, scratching the back of his head.

“No, no. I like this. It’s nice.” I said, kissing him on the cheek. I could feel him blushing. “Come on, let’s go get some dinner.”

DINNER
“So…”Said Donna as we all ate our spaghetti. Everybody had been very quiet and the only sound was that of forks on the plates and ice cubes clinking in the glasses. “How was your day Mikey?”

“Um, it was good. Somebody dropped their coffee on a stack of books and I had to clean it up.” He said. Everybody nodded and went back to eating.

“What about you Gerard?” Donna asked, turning to her eldest son. Gerard swallowed before answering.

“Well, me and Babette went to the carnival and I made her go on the roller coasters.” He said, smirking. I laughed a little.

“Oh, I hope it wasn’t too bad.” She said, obviously glad to have more stimulating conversation.

“I threw up.” I laughed. Everybody else cracked up.

We talked and ate and had a good time. But all too soon, dinner was over and I had to get going.

“We’d better go. The ferry leaves in twenty minutes.” Gerard said, standing up. I stood up too and everybody followed us to the door. I got one last goodbye hug from everybody.

“You have a good night honey.” Donna said, burying me in her blonde hair.

“Thank you guys so much. Dinner was great.” I said, smiling at everybody.

“Okay, we hope to see you soon!” they called as Gerard and I headed toward the car.

“Your family is nice.” I said, buckling my seat belt.

“Thanks. What’s yours like?” he asked. I held my breath and bit my lip. “Sorry, don’t answer that.” he said when he noticed my hesitation.

“Its okay.” I mumbled, even though it wasn’t.

We drove to the dock listening to Iron Maiden and not talking. It was dark out and the only light from streetlights. The night was cloudy, no stars or moon. We got to the ferry just in time. We spent the entire ride kissing, picking up where we left off at his house.

“Where did you learn to do this?” I gasped as he nipped at my neck. He shrugged and continued to woo me.

When we got back to his car, I was thinking about taking it further. But I decided against it. I’d only known him for a short while after all.

At the apartment, when we were saying goodbye, Gerard leaned in and kissed me. This one was very small and very sweet.

“That should have been our first kiss.” He said softly.

As I watched him walk away, I reached up and touched my lips with my fingertips.