Last Summer Part 16 (P.1)

**As you probably noticed, there is a (P.1) in the title. Well this chapter/part whatever was way too long to be just one chapter/part so I broke it into two. The next one will be published tomorrow and will have a (P.2) in the title. Anyways, a lot happens in this chapter/part. I really hope you like it!! Comments are always appreciated!**

We pulled into the driveway and I sighed. I had had such a fun time and I sure wasn’t ready for it to end. Tiffany probably had that guy over-what was his name? Dave?-and I wasn’t in the mood to watch them tongue wrestle on my grandparents’ couch.
He put the car in park and I smiled to myself. That meant that he was anticipating us being out here for a while, right? He looked over at me and said, "We should definitely do this again."
I nodded and then grinned; I hadn’t turned him off! "Definitely."
He reached over and then swept a strand of hair out of my eyes. I hadn’t even noticed it being there. He leant forward and then pressed a tender kiss against my forehead. "I’ll call you," he said finally after he pulled away.
"You’d better," I warned with a smile and then walked hopped out of the car. A smile was permanently on my face as I made it to the door. I turned around and he waved at me with a smile. I blushed-thank God it was dark and he couldn’t see. I’d been doing that all night-and then waved back. As soon as the front door was open, I heard him pull out of the driveway.

I had fully expected Tiffany to be waiting for me on the couch as soon as I walked in, but of course she wasn’t. Instead, what I found was pretty surprising. Another note was placed on the TV and Tiffany’s writing was once again prominent on the pink Post It. "Nikki, guess what?! Dave just called like five seconds ago and was all ‘I’m around the corner, be ready in five minutes’ so of course I like have to go! Anyways, I know your probably going to be pissed at me because your date was tonight and you won’t get to tell me all about it, but I swear to BOB that we’ll talk tomorrow. Oh, and I hope that this is the last note I leave you, but they’re kind of fun. I mean, who writes letters anymore? It’s so 1920’s. Okay…he’ll be here in four minutes! Love you!"
I sighed out loud and then realized I should be sleeping. It was already twelve o’clock and I was usually in bed by ten or eleven-yeah, I was that big of a loser. So I trudged up the stairs and then washed my face to rid myself of the make-up. I was actually pretty proud of myself; usually Tiffany would laugh at my attempt and then make me up herself, but tonight she had applauded my efforts. It was nice to be called "hot" even though it was a lie.
I slipped into an old T-shirt and then buried myself into the bed. The quilt was doing a great job of keeping me warm in the drafty house. Within mere seconds, I was in dreamland.

For our second date, Todd decided to take me to the Swaying Palms to hear this "totally amazing" band. But since Tiffany had had nothing to do, she had decided to tag along. And of course, she brought her "one true love"-yeah, that’s what she called him now; just not to his face.
The Swaying Palms was so different from the Coconut Lounge. The club wasn’t hidden underneath a think layer of smog and a prostitute wasn’t working the bar. So my optimism raised a few bars when I walked into the place. Even though I had been there numerous times with Caleb last summer, it still could have changed.
But it hadn’t. The walls were brick, but everywhere you looked was a neon palm tree or flamingo. The owner still made his nightly rounds to all of the tables to make sure that everyone was getting along great. The air didn’t smell like the Coconut Lounge, it actually somewhat smelled like palm trees. Smoking wasn’t allowed and neither was drinking before six at night.
The band had just come on as we walked through the doors-Tiffany and I hand in hand. Teenagers started gathering on the dance floor and swaying to the music. The first song they played was an up-tempo dance song made certain to get people out of their seats and onto the dance floor. I loved it.

Tiffany yelled to the guys, "We’re dancing!" and then led us all out onto the dance floor. Of course, she had to bring us to the middle of the crowd and Todd rolled his eyes at her behind her head. I stifled a laugh.
She started jumping up and down to the beat and motioned for me to do the same. At first, I felt ridiculous doing so, but about a minute into it, I felt carefree. It was amazing what one up tempo song could do to your mood.
Far too soon, the song ended and was replaced with a light rock song that I could see myself singing to in the shower. Tiffany rushed over to Dave and started to dance with him which left me with Todd. Todd looked like he was as uncomfortable with dancing as I was.
But five minutes later, we were both having a blast. Well, I knew I was and by the wide grin on his face, I could tell he was enjoying dancing too. His hands were on my waist, drawing me closer, and it made me feel like I was on air. "This is fun," he mouthed to me over the pounding music.
I nodded and smiled at him. People around us were whooping and hollering; enjoying being young. And so was I. For the first time in a while, I was having a blast with someone other than Tiffany. Being at a dance club kind of reminded me of the dances in middle school except for that puberty was pretty much over and people were much more mature. I didn’t see any guys sneaking in with water guns like they had done for my seventh grade end of the school year dance.

All of a sudden, the lead singer of the band announced, "We’re going to slow it down for a bit so no one gets motion sickness." He smiled and then motioned for his guitarist and pianist to start.
You know how in all of those movies when a slow song comes on and the main character and the love interest gets all awkward? Well, that was definitely not what happened between me and Todd. It was almost as if we were both waiting for a slow song to come on so that we could get closer.
And that was exactly what we did. His hands made their way around my waist and my arms slinked behind his neck. We started swaying to the music and I couldn’t have felt more content. He was taller than me-just like every other guy in America-so I had to strain my neck to look at him. It actually wasn’t all that unpleasant. He asked me quietly, "Are you having fun?"
"Well yeah," I reassured him. He smiled down at me and then looked towards the door. Apparently some more people had come in. I turned my head to see who had entered the club and the sight made my stomach plummet all the way to my toes.
Of course as soon as I was having an amazing time with a new guy, Caleb had to ruin it for me. Him and his three friends-Ava in tow-waltzed into the place like they owned it and it made me nauseous. Why? Why had they had to choose the place where I was having my date? Did Caleb really have to ruin everything for me?

Before Caleb and I could make eye contact, I jerked my head to look at something else. Todd seemed to have noticed my reaction as he asked me, "You alright?"
"Of course," I said, bending my face upward to look at him. But I wasn’t alright. I had been having a blast until Caleb and his posse had decided to make an appearance. What really pissed me off was that Caleb looked absolutely drool worthy wearing a black shirt and dark faded blue jeans. His dark hair was hanging in front of his eyes, but the piercing green was still visible. I could see the eyes all the way through the throng of people. Yeah, they were just that powerful.
Ava looked just as gorgeous too; of course. She was wearing a pair of ripped blue jeans and a silver shirt that exposed her flawless back. Her black hair had been straightened and her eye make up was the perfect cat eye. Damn her. Just seeing her made me take a hit on my self esteem.
But I wasn’t going to let them bother me; not at all. I had an amazing date and my best friend wasn’t too far from me. What she was doing with Dave, I had no idea, and I really didn’t even want to know. At least she was here though, right?
Before I caught myself, my head turned to see where the group of perfection was going. Mostly everybody was on the dance floor, so it was pretty easy to spot them. They were all being seated at a booth; apparently they were too good for dancing. Caleb was the first person to slide into the leather seat and once he did, his gaze fell on the dance floor. He was probably scoping out more innocent girls whose heart he could break.

Then something happened that I hadn’t been expecting. He looked in my direction and his gaze met mine. His eyes then caught the sight of me dancing with Todd. His mouth turned into a hard line and he looked ready to pounce. He looked furious.
I quickly turned my head to look up towards Todd. Maybe looking at him would reassure me that maybe I could get a guy who wouldn’t crush me. He looked down at me and smiled lazily. He looked like he was getting tired.
He raised his hand and brushed a piece of hair out of my face and it made my heart beat start to increase. His fingers rested against my cheek a little too long to be platonic and then his face started to bend towards mine.
Before I could even think twice about what I was doing, I pushed my lips that needed centimeter and pressed my lips against his. It felt so good to kiss someone again and I couldn’t stop. And neither could Todd. His hands on my waist jerked me closer to him and he threaded his hands in my hair. The kiss wasn’t breathtaking or bone melting, but it was nice. It made my heart pound and my hands tingle, but that was far as it went.
The entire room seemed to have melted away as our mouths danced. I just let myself drown in it and forget all of my worries. Well, it seemed that way until I heard a girlish voice yell, "Caleb! What are you doing?"
My mouth broke away from Todd’s and looked over his shoulder. What I saw made my skin go ghost white. Caleb had left his friends at the booth and strode furiously over to where Todd and I had just been kissing. What was he doing?
My grip on Todd’s arm tightened and he turned around to see what I was staring at. He noticed Caleb at once and asked me, "What’s going on?"

But before I could answer him, Caleb had made it in front of us and then punched Todd square in the face. I heard a faint cracking noise while a scream escaped my lips and I watched in horror as Todd fell to the ground. Caleb yelled to the crumpled figure on the ground, "Don’t you ever touch her!"
"What the hell, Caleb?" I yelled; dropping down to the ground to make sure Todd was okay. My heart was pounding so loud to where I could hear it in my ears and sweat was forming along my forehead and down my neck. What was going on?
Everyone else on the dance floor had backed away to where they were forming a circle around us. I looked down at Todd and asked, "Are you okay?"
Right as he nodded, Tiffany kneeled down beside me and then asked, "You okay Nikki?"
"He just punched him!" I cried out, looking down at Todd who looked so confused. He didn’t even seem to be worried about his nose. He probably just wanted to know why the hell some guy had just punched him.
Tiffany looked up at me and said, "Go talk to Caleb and I’ll take care of Todd."
I didn’t need to be told twice. I kissed Todd on the forehead and then looked up to where Caleb had just been standing. He was no longer there. I looked towards the club door and noticed him making his way through it. Oh no. He wasn’t getting away from me without an explanation.
I called his name while I ran after him, making sure he knew he was about to get the third degree from me. It was almost as if everything was a daze. My mind was jumbled with thoughts and I wasn’t thinking clearly. All my mind was focusing on was that Caleb had just punched Todd in the nose. What the hell was wrong with that boy?