Clementine (9 page)

She had walked all the way to his car now and was standing a few inches in front of him. The intense pull he had over her affected her even from there.

“Well technically you’re still on the hospital premises,” he said, reaching his hands out of his pockets and gesturing to the building behind them.

“Well
technically
,” she said, emphasizing his own word, “I’m not in that horrible volunteer’s uniform anymore. In case you hadn’t noticed,” she said, taking a step toward the passenger door of his SUV. She hoped her wry smile veiled how overwhelmed he’d made her feel in such a short time.

“Oh don’t worry
, Clementine, I noticed,” he said, his words dripping with charm and a hint of sensuality as he opened her door.

She felt
goose bumps rise in response to his words as she scooted in and buckled her seat belt.

He
pulled his SUV onto the road in front of the hospital
when she remembered to ask.

“Where did you get Clementine
from, anyway?”

“You don’t like it?” h
e asked with a gentle sideways smile.

“No, I actually think it’s endearing, it just seems sort of random.”
She looked out her window, wondering where they were headed.

“It’s not random at all
, Addison. You remind me of a Clementine... They’re sweeter than oranges in my opinion and they’re small like you are,” giving her a soft smile. She felt her heart surge as he revealed his reasoning behind her nickname. “Not to mention how easy they are to peel,” he added, giving her that wonderfully sly smile.

“You’re so full of it!” s
he said, failing to stifle a laugh and playfully hitting him on the arm.

“You really had me
going there for a second Holden,” she said, incapable of wiping the smile from her face. “I can’t wait to give you a nickname,” she teased, loving the way his laughter sounded in response to her comments. He had a deep laugh that fell easily from his lips. She was beginning to learn that although Holden had every right to be uptight and pretentious, he couldn’t have been further from it. She didn’t have to coax laughs or smiles out of him. He gave his happiness willingly and she felt lighter just being in the same car as him.

They pulled into a vacant parking spot
on the University of Texas campus and Holden shut off the car. “So hopefully you aren’t beginning to piece together what we’re doing yet,” he said as he reached his arm into the back seat to retrieve a black backpack. He swung his door open and walked over to open hers.

“I honestly don’t know, unless it
involves breaking into a professor’s office to find test questions. Which won’t really help me since I’ve already graduated,” she admitted, looking around her. “Where were you a few years ago?” she joked, bumping her shoulder into his slightly as she fell into step beside him. It felt like hitting a hard wall and the contact only made her yearn to feel even more of his body. She gently dug her nails into her palms to distract her hands for the time being.

“Now Addison, what ki
nd of guy do you take me for?” he said, turning smoothly on his heels to face her as he continued to walk backwards. He reached his hand out to hers and she took it without second thought. He pulled her toward him as they walked on a wide sidewalk that sloped upwards, over a hill.

“Come on, I think we’re a few minutes la
te. He better still be there,” he said, beginning to walk a little faster, half dragging her behind him. She laughed and ran to catch up, unable to think of anything other than his hand holding hers.

They reached a tall brick
building she remembered taking calculus in her freshman year. Outside, stood a lanky guy with cute horn-rimmed glasses who looked to be a few years older than her. He nodded when he saw them appear and began walking toward them. Addison looked from the stranger to Holden, completely confused.

“Hey man, long time no see.
” The stranger smiled, throwing a loose hug around Holden. They were still holding hands so Addison was jerked helplessly forward by the force. Holden looked down at her with an apologetic smile and released her hand. She looked down at her empty hand, immediately aching from the loss.
Relax, Crazy, he’ll hold your hand again… probably.

“Seriously, I can’t believe we’ve been in the same city for so long and haven’t made time to catch up. I owe you
a beer for doing this for me,” Holden spoke, taking a set of keys that the stranger was holding out. His friend looked toward Addison giving her a knowing smile.

“Sounds good dude, just have these back to me by midnight, I won’t be able to ge
t in tomorrow morning otherwise.” He patted Holden on the shoulder before beginning to walk away. “Have fun you two, it looks like it’ll be a good night to be up there.”

“Thanks again man, I’ll call you about that beer,” Holden promised.

“You’re taking me into the math building Holden? You know I was joking about breaking into an office earlier, right?” She jested as they walked into the giant marbled lobby.

“Yes, we’re going into the math building, but not for that
reason...,” he winked, still leaving her hanging.
Is he kidding? Does he have to be so mysterious? Why am I thinking in questions?

“We just have to climb up a few stairs and then take an elevator I think. Probably should have read his email a little more th
oroughly before getting here,” he admitted.

“The suspense is killing me.”

He shot her a sweet grin, “Good.”

They climbed
five flights of worn down stairs
before finally stepping onto an elevator. The main doors to the building hadn’t been locked so Addison didn’t think they were technically breaking any laws yet. They’d run into a few professor-types on the stairs that looked to be going home for the day. But other than that, the building was rather empty, especially as they continued to ascend floors.

They stood shoulder to shoulder on
the elevator, the tension radiating palpably between them. His presence usually stole her breath away but this was a whole new sensation entirely. His elegantly broad frame forced its way into her senses, and they both kept their eyes glued to the illuminated floor numbers.
Fourteen… Fifteen…
She fidgeted anxiously with her jean pockets, unable to stand still when she was completely alone and standing so close to
him
.

They made it to the 17th floor before the shiny metal doors slid open.
I bet you can see most of the campus from up here.
She smiled at the idea, finally unveiling his plan. It wasn’t until she looked up at a sign that read “telescope” with a large yellow arrow painted underneath, pointing to the right, that she realized there might be more to the plan.

“Holden?”
she inquired, pointing to the sign.

He smiled
coyly. “My friend back there is working toward a PhD in Astronomy. We did our undergrad together and he’s mentioned this place a few times when we’ve met up in Austin,” he explained as they walked down a long hallway toward another sign that pointed to a small ladder.

Addison nodded, sort of speechless and beginning to understand why they had trekked all the way up here. No one had planned such a special occasion for her before and it stunned her that Holden had gone through the trouble.

They climbed up the short black ladder and Holden used the keys his friend had given him to open the heavy metal door. She stepped through the threshold and felt a gush of wind whip her hair across her face. On the other side of the door was the cement rooftop. The perimeter was wrapped in a chain link fence but the space was much larger than she would’ve anticipated. It was relatively dark on the roof. The only glow came from the bright lights escaping through the windows of the buildings around them. There was a large dome on one section and Addison spotted a large black telescope protruding out of the top of it.

“
This
is the surprise, Addison,” Holden revealed, his hand pulling the backpack off his shoulder as he studied her face for a reaction.

“Holden, this is
... wow.” She turned in a circle to take in the view they had of, not only the surrounding campus, but the entire city around them.
I can’t believe this is my life right now.
She pulled her lower lip into her mouth as she turned back to find Holden pulling out two glasses and a bottle of wine.

“I know the wine is sort of cheesy, but I couldn’t think of anything else to bring up here. I figured we could just hangout and enjoy the view,” He said
with an apologetic shrug. His innocent smile pulled at her heartstrings so intimately that she couldn’t help but melt under its gaze. 

“It’s perfect Holden,” s
he murmured, sauntering toward him and grabbing the wine glasses from him so he could use two hands to open the wine.

“Do you bring all the girls up here
, Mr. Suave?” she joked, trying to lighten the intensity of the moment.

He laughed softly, pouring them each
a glass. “Nope, Clementine, I’m proud to say you’re the first,” he answered with a confident smile before walking away from her, over toward the edge of the building.
A first…

She ended up a few feet a
way from him, giving her mind and body some space from him. The tall chain-linked fence rose from the edge of the roof and she ran her fingers against it’s the harsh grooves. Its presence allowed her to feel safe standing at the edge without completely blocking her view of the city.

“This is probably the coolest thing I’ve done in a while
, Holden. I guess right after... or maybe before, jumping off the Lamar Bridge,” she spoke playfully, giving him a soft wink.

“Well it would appear that there’s a common denomina
tor between those two events…” he mused sensuously.
What do I say to that?
Her gaze stayed fixed on him, watching his beautifully strong features as he tipped his wine glass back and took a sip.

They
meandered around the roof,
taking in the views from every angle and pointing out various landmarks they both recognized. Addison spent half an hour looking over the campus of the school she’d attended for the past four years. It was surreal to take in the aerial view of paths she’d hiked in her daily travels. Holden gave her space every now and then, walking to his own section of the roof. She couldn’t help but wonder about what was going through his mind in those moments. He seemed so composed and lost in his own thoughts; it only served to peak her interests more. She wanted him to stay by her; she wanted to feel that familiar pull he incited from her body.

He finally spoke from across the roof.

“My friend positioned the telescope toward Vega for us before he left. He promised it’d be visible during early fall,” Holden assured her through the cool night air. She watched him stalk over and with each confident step her heart beat rose accordingly. In the shadows of the night, his eyes seemed even more piercing. She took the last sip of her wine, using the glass to shield her rosy blush and just as she dropped it from her red-tinged lips Holden was there, deftly capturing the empty glass in his hand. He didn’t offer any further explanation as he led her toward the large dome, but she didn’t mind. She trusted the feel of his hand on the small of her back.

She’d almost forgotten that the view wasn’t the only reason they trekked up to the roof.

“We actually get to go inside that thing?” she asked excitedly.

They stepped through the small opening and she began taking in their
dim surroundings. The space within the dome was taken up mostly by a telescope, a small desk, and a stool, but they could both fit inside if they positioned themselves side by side.

The whole machine looked foreign to Addison and she vowed to keep her hands to herself for fear of breaking something more expensive than her entire college tuition
. Holden sat in the chair behind what looked to be a small eyepiece protruding off the end of the telescope. On either side of the eyepiece were small switches and buttons lit with reds and yellows.
Steer clear of those, Addison.

“He told me to focus using the two black knobs on the far right of the control panel, after unlocking the bronze switch,”
Holden advised, pushing what looked to be the bronze switch until it made a soft click. He turned toward her and offered a “here goes nothing” shrug before lowering his face and hovering his eyes slightly above the eyepiece. He began twisting the black knobs just as if he were trying to focus a microscope.

Addison took the opportunity to study hi
s profile. She loved the concentration that played across his face as he slowly worked the black knobs forward and back, and she could easily imagine him performing surgery with those same hands...
or maybe using them on me instead
. She was vividly imagining the thought just as he spoke, causing a deep blush to invade her cheeks.
Thank god he doesn’t know what I’m thinking
.