Dart and Dash (11 page)

Chapter 22 – Dash

The mall was busy when the three of us walked in. I held Garnet’s hand, as we made our way to the jewelry store. When we reached the counter, all I could see was sparkling diamonds and they all looked similar.

Garnet went in full girl mode and started talking to the clerk. It was like she was speaking a foreign language. Cut, carat, sizes, color, it all confused the hell out of me.

“Okay,” Garnet and the sales person held out two diamond rings. “I’ve narrowed it down to these two.”

“What are you thinking, Garnet?” Dart asked, looking as bewildered as I had been.

“Well, this one,” she nodded at the one in her left hand, “is a two carat, princess cut, platinum. And this one,” she nodded at her right hand, “is a two carat, emerald cut, in white gold.”

At the same time all three of us said, “Princess.” The clerk laughed, and then asked what size. Garnet told her, and Dart handed her his credit card. Because it was already in Daisy’s size, he was able to take the ring with him.

We stopped at Starbucks to grab a quick drink. When we sat down, Garnet and Dart started talking, and I drifted into my own thoughts as I stared at her.

Was it possible that she was more beautiful today than yesterday? Her red hair hung loose, and her makeup wasn’t as dark as usual. Garnet’s gray t-shirt was tight around her breasts, and the words
Team Daryl
were written across the front. Her light colored jeans were cut just right because I’d stared at her firm ass while we stood in line for coffee.

But, her smile made my heart race. It wasn’t that fake smile like some girls wore. It was her true self. It was Garnet.

When we finally made it back to the house, Dart gave Garnet a hug and thanked her for helping him. He lightly pushed on my shoulder as he walked into the house, leaving us alone in the driveway.

“What are your plans right now?”

“Um,” Garnet looked down. “I have plans.”

“Really?”

“I wanted to see if you wanted to go, but you can’t say anything.”

“Are we going to the library?” it was the first place I thought of where you couldn’t do that.

She giggled. “No, but I know you have work to do, so it’s no big deal.”

“Wait, I want to go.” My curiosity was piqued at her plans.

“Let me grab my bag, and you’re driving.”

I watched her run across the street. When she came out, she was holding a large black duffle bag. She threw it in the back seat and told me to drive toward the other side of town. I followed every direction on the paper and told him where to go, until I pulled into a parking lot, where there was only one car.

“Where are we?”

“Dash,” she covered my mouth with her hand. “I don’t want you to say anything at all. Just trust me.”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I nodded. She removed her hand and grabbed the bag from the back seat. I did as she requested, remained quiet, and followed her into the building.

“Garnet,” a small woman behind a small desk smiled. She had gray streaks through her natural dark brown hair.

“Hello, Tina. Thank you again.” I saw Garnet’s face light up.

“No problem. Enjoy.” Tina had given me a nod, and Garnet took my hand, leading me down a long hallway.

Garnet opened a large frosted glass door and turned on the lights. It shone brightly, and I realized I was in a dance studio. Garnet continued guiding me into the room.

“Have a seat. I’ll be right back.” She walked to a small door on the opposite side of the room.

I saw a few chairs set up in the corner. My boots squeaked as I walked across the glossy wooden floor. It was wall-to-wall mirrors. There wasn’t an angle that wasn’t covered. I sat down in the metal chair and noticed the matching wooden railings along one side of the mirrored wall.

There was no sound in the whole studio, and it was almost eerie, like a scene from a horror movie. I thought I knew where we were, but I couldn’t be sure. It wasn’t until Garnet walked out of the side door that it hit me. She was in a black leotard, and pink ballet shoes.

“Remember, no talking.” She kissed my lips.

I nodded.

“I was four when I took my first ballet class. I can still remember it like it was yesterday.” She sat down in the middle of the room, stretching her legs out. “I felt like I was the best prima ballerina, and no one could stop me.”

Garnet reached for her toes. Her legs spread out in a split form. She switched from one leg to the other. I watched as she did this several times.

“After a year or so of dancing ballet, I started tap dance classes, and then more modern dance classes after that. I would dance almost every day. Not including the time I spent practicing at home. Mom would watch me, and when Daisy was home,” she paused, pulling her knees to her chest. “She was my number one fan besides Mom.”

Garnet stood up, and strolled over to a sound box near the small door she’d gone through earlier.

“Dancing is where I feel like myself. I feel like I was born to do it. It’s more important to me than breathing.” I heard her click something, and she turned around and stopped in the middle of the room. A song began to echo through the room. It was
Broken Ones
by Jacquie Lee. I knew the song because it was the hottest song on the radio.

Garnet rose to her tiptoes and began to move across the floor. I couldn’t speak watching her fluid movement. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. When she twisted, turned, or jumped, it was graceful. I realized she was crying, but she continued through the whole song. She was the most beautiful person I’d ever laid my eyes on.

The song ended, and Garnet collapsed on the floor, sobbing. My legs carried me to her before I even blinked my eyes. I wrapped my arms around her, and pulled her into my lap. Garnet curled herself into my chest, continuing to sob. I gently rocked her, smoothing her hair.

After a few moments on the floor, holding each other, Garnet looked up at me. Her nose was red, her eyes puffy, and her lips swollen, and she was still stunning.

“I’m sorry. I had this planned differently in my head.”

I softly wiped the tears from her face. “Please, don’t be sorry. That was the greatest performance I’ve ever seen.”

“Ha,” she barked. “I’m very rusty. I’m sure it wasn’t that good.”

“No, I’m serious, Garnet, that was truly amazing.”

“Thank you,” she said in a low voice. “I guess we should go.”

I held her in place, not letting her move from my lap.

“Dash?”

I leaned in and tenderly touched her lips. I don’t ever remember kissing a girl with so much feeling before. Usually, I kissed a girl to show her that was ready to fuck her. With Garnet, I did it to let her know I was there for her, to say thank you for sharing the dance, and that I loved her.

Loved her?

I quickly released her lips and studied her face. Her soft milky skin was smooth as the pads of my thumbs caressed her cheek.

“Garnet,” I stopped. I couldn’t say the sentence I really wanted to say. “You mean so much to me. Thank you for dancing for me.”

Garnet kissed me. “You, too. Want to go back to my house?”

“Most definitely.”

On the drive back to Garnet’s place, we stopped at the Pita Pit and grabbed some food to take with us. I didn’t think Garnet wanted to eat there because she seemed to be tired from the dancing and emotional breakdown.

I carried everything in for her and heard a bunch of laughter from the living room. It was Daisy and several of her sorority sisters.

“Hi, Dash,” a couple of the girls waved at me, smiling brightly. Sad to say that I didn’t really remember their names, but I’d slept with them.

“Hey,” I said as I kept walking toward Garnet’s room.

“Looks like you have a fan club,” she giggled, closing her bedroom door.

“Yeah, something like that.” I sat down in the middle of the floor. Garnet tossed her bag in the closet.

“I need to shower real fast.” She raced out of the room.

I looked around, alone for the first time in her room. The dark purple walls were highlighted with black swirls, and seemed to be a lighter shade than I remember when Dart and I helped them move in. Garnet had a long black dresser with a mirror on top. She had makeup, jewelry, and several other items on it. Her desk was the same black color. I noticed that her laptop was open, but not on. However, the one thing that did catch my eye was a picture frame: Garnet and Daisy with their parents. I rose and walked over to the desk, picking up the frame; she looked beautiful holding that large trophy.

“Didn’t think you would be snooping.” Garnet said as she strolled back into the bedroom, wearing only a towel.

“Not snooping, observing my surroundings,” I corrected her. “You look very sexy in that pink towel.” She stood by the mirror, brushing her hair. I patted her ass, as I walked past her, and threw myself on the bed. She came over and sat next to me.

“I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated that you came with me today.” Garnet laced her fingers with mine.

“Why did you ask me?”

“Well, I’ve seem you on the football field, and I wanted you to see me dance. At least once.”

I sat up, gathered her in my arms, and laid her on her back. Garnet’s face was cleared of all her makeup, and it was pure innocence. It made me want her more.

A knock on the door interrupted the sexual thoughts that were beginning to ease into the forefront of my mind.

“Come in,” Garnet said.

“Hey, um,” Daisy’s blonde hair peeked around the corner of the slightly opened door. “The girls and I are heading to the mall, did you need anything?”

“Nope,” Garnet’s tone was cold.

“Do you want me to pick up anything to eat?”

“We have food.” Her tone was the same.

“Okay, I guess I’ll see you both later, then.” Daisy gave a beaming, albeit fake, smile, and she left.

“Brrr,” I pretended to shiver. “I see things aren’t better between you two. I’ll say I’m surprised since you spent time helping Dart pick out a ring for her.”

“I know Daisy and Dart are meant for each other; that’s why I helped him out.”

“But, you seemed excited about it, when he told you?”

She shrugged. “A momentary lapse in my anger.”

“Garnet,” I rubbed her back. “She’s your sister.”

“When the fuck did you become ‘Team Daisy’?” She snapped at me.

“Don’t do that.” I kept my voice low. “Don’t turn this on me. You know that I’m always ‘Team Garnet’. I’m pointing out that she’s your sister, and you’ll never have another one.”

She didn’t say anything as she left the bed and went to her closet. She slipped on a large kelly green Marshall T-shirt, and pulled her towel away, tossing it in the hamper.

“That’s my shirt,” I reminded her, as she grabbed our food, and climbed back into bed. “Do you really think I could eat when I know you’re naked next to me?” I saw a small smile on Garnet’s face, but she didn’t comment, only took a bite of her food.

As we ate our pitas, we discussed our classes. We both were surprised how fast time was flying for this semester. Garnet asked me if I was nervous about heading into the NFL.

“No, not really. I’m more curious if I will actually be drafted and where.”

“Do you have a favorite football team?”

“Dart and I have been Green Bay Packers fans for a long time. I won’t lie in saying that it would be nice to be there.”

“Wisconsin?”

“Yep. I mean Dart’s already told me he and Daisy are moving to North Carolina, so I could start my life in Green Bay wearing green and yellow.” I joked, but I thought I saw a hurt expression on her face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she rushed out quickly. “I was thinking…thinking about my dad. He’s a big Carolina Panthers fan, that’s all.”

I could tell that she was lying, but I let it go, and we cleaned up our mess. When she bent over, her ass cheeks peeked out from the bottom of the shirt, and I was instantly hard for her.

I came up behind her and rubbed up against her. “I think you need to ask me to stay the night.”

Garnet stood up. “And why would I do that?”

I leaned in, inhaling her scent of cherries and honey. “Because you want to fuck me all night long,” I whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver.

She moaned. “I have homework, and you do, too. We both know you won’t do it when you’re away this weekend.” She turned in my arms. “But, if you win, I promise to do anything you want when you come back home.”

“Anything?” I raised one eyebrow at her.

“You name it.” She pulled on my neck, pulling me down to her, and drove her tongue into my mouth.

Oh yeah, she was my girl.

Chapter 23 – Garnet

I was curled up on the couch, clutching the beer tightly in my hand. This had to be the most intense game I’d ever watched. Every time Rice would score, we would score on the next play. It was back and forth the whole time, and right now it was the final play.

It was the fourth quarter, and the score was tied at twenty-one. Rice had the ball on the Marshall ten-yard line. The hardest part was there were only a minute and half left on the clock.

“I think I’m going to have a heart attack.” From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Daisy was twirling her hair around her fingers. It was a tick of hers when she was extremely nervous about something.

“You and me both.” I couldn’t look away from the screen.

Rice’s center hiked the ball, and the quarterback dropped back. No one was open, but he threw the ball anyway, and it was intercepted. Daisy and I both jumped up, yelling with excitement. Marshall had the ball and ran out of bounds, stopping the clock.

“Can they do that?” I could feel myself shaking, praying to the football Gods that Marshall would win this game. I knew how hard they had been working for a great season.

“I know they can because I’ve seen it before.”

I took several deep breaths, as Rice called a timeout, and it went into a commercial break. I grabbed my phone and sent a text to Dash.

You better win this or you’ll not have sex for a week.

“Are you texting him?” Daisy glanced over my shoulder.

“Maybe,” I teased.

“God, you’re such a girl.” Daisy joked back.

Since our blow up confrontation, and that was mainly me yelling, we hadn’t talked much. Well, Daisy’s been trying, and I’ve been avoiding her. I don’t want to deal with all of that, right now.

However, Dash’s words were still ringing in my head. Daisy was my sister, and she was the only one that I would ever have in my lifetime. I did love her, no matter what I said. I knew that Dart was going to propose to her soon, and both of our lives were changing.

Damn, I hate when Dash was right.

I turned back to the TV when the game popped back on. Marshall was on the field. I could see number thirty-one as plain as day in the top right hand corner. My heart stopped. This was a do or die moment.

Our center hiked the ball, and Dash took off like a fighter jet. I saw him raise his hand up, and the quarterback launched the ball to him. He caught the ball and as if he was cradling a baby, he tucked it in his arm. Dash continued to sprint up the field. I was screaming for him to keep running. I knew that he couldn’t hear me, but it made me feel better.

When he crossed the white line for the touchdown, Daisy and I cheered loudly for him, and the team. We watched Dart race over to him, and they jumped in the air together, bumping shoulders. Marshall had won, and it kept us number one in our conference.

Once we calmed down, I reached for my phone again, sending Dash another text.

Good job, babe.

I added two hearts at the end of it and sat back down. I took a deep breath, exhausted from the intense game. I laid my head back on the couch, and reality hit me.

I’d called Dash ‘babe’.

I’d sent hearts.

I’d texted him during a game. 

What was wrong with me?

I grabbed my phone and scrolled through the numerous messages I had sent. All fifteen of them. I was pretty sure that I could spell ‘stalker’. I had officially turned into one of those girls that bugged her boyfriend until finally gets sick of it, and leaves her.

God, I was an idiot.

I knew that Dash and I were nothing official. I mean he’d told me the other night that he was hoping to move to Green Bay, and I knew that he was going into the NFL. I couldn’t wrap any hopes that I
might
have into him, because he was going to leave. I highly doubt he was the type to do long distance relationships, and every girl knows they don’t work out. It didn’t matter how hard you
tried
. Why was I even thinking about this? Did I care that much? Well, I did care for Dash. I wasn’t denying that at all, but everything else was something I needed to figure out.

I had been so nervous to ask him to watch me dance. I didn’t think he would actually come with me. I asked him because I knew that he was supportive, but I didn’t know to what degree. When we had come back from ring shopping, my emotions were everywhere. I was excited for Daisy and Dart. They did belong together. A blind person could see that, and I was glad that Dart had asked me to help.

“What are your plans for tonight?”

I looked over at Daisy, still confused by my current thoughts about Dash. “What?”

“Do you have any plans?”

I shook my head. “Not really.”

“We could order take out and watch a movie.” She suggested, and I heard the hopefulness in her voice.

I continued to stare at my phone. I wasn’t ignoring her, per se. I was thinking about when we were kids, and we would watch movies together all the time. We would take turns on who would pick the movie, without any arguing. Wow, had times changed now. Things had been better since the blow up and while things weren’t perfect, Daisy was trying to make an effort.

Maybe she was doing the best that she could.

“You know,” I pointed to the TV. “There’s a
Walking Dead
marathon on; we could watch that,” I suggested.

“Yes,” she screamed in excitement.

“Calm down, Daisy. It’s only zombies.” I patted her shoulder because I thought she was about to do cartwheels in the living room.

“I know, I mean,” she paused, and I thought that she might burst into tears. “I’ll order the food.” She jumped up from the couch and ran into the other room.

After two episodes of
The Walking Dead
, several screams from Daisy when the blood and gore was on the screen, and a whole plate of fried rice was gone, my phone beeped. I saw it was a text from Dash. I swiped the screen to read it.

Glad I can still fuck you this week
.

I smiled at his crassness.

So am I. Sorry about all the texts. I was excited.

Maybe, my apology and explanation would smooth over the fact that I had been in a crazy stalker mode.

Don’t be. I was happy to read them, but it would have helped if you’d sent naked pictures.

My smile deepened and my heart raced. That was something I’d never done before with another guy.

I’ll make you a deal; if you get four touchdowns in one game then I’ll send you some.

Well, thanks for making me hard on a bus full of guys.

I can take care of that in the morning.

It would help more if you could do it now.

Sorry, I’m busy watching Daryl Dixon.

You’d rather watch fake zombies than suck my real dick.

You’re too far away. I don’t think it’ll reach to where I am.

I think that hurt my eg
o
We’re about to load up on the plane. See you soon.

“I know that face.” Daisy cooed, as I sat my phone down on the table. “Dash is sexting you.”

“Something like that,” I shrugged, not saying much more.

“You two are getting closer.”

“I guess you can say that. I mean, we do spend a lot of time together.”

“Well,” Daisy patted my hand. “I’m happy for you. I mean that, too. I’m glad that you found someone.”

“Even if it’s Dash Terrance?” I knew that I shouldn’t press any buttons, but I really didn’t listen to my conscience very much, anymore.

“Yes.”

I didn’t comment on her answer. I let it slide, although I did want to make a snide comment. I kept my attention on the slaughter of zombies that was on the screen.

Daisy and I watched several more episodes together until we both started yawning. I told her good night, and I went to my room.

I lay in my bed thinking of how it was Saturday night and I was in bed before midnight, but I didn’t mind it. I snuggled deeper into my pillow and drifted off to sleep.

I was in a sleepy daze when I thought I heard my bedroom door close. I knew that wasn’t right, because I always closed it when I went to bed. I must be dreaming. In my daze, I thought I heard someone moving around, but I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t until I my sheets moved that I popped my eyes open, realizing that someone was getting into my bed.

When a felt a large hand touch my hip, I began to scream and thrash around. I felt my elbow connect with the intruders face.

“Fuck, Garnet,” Dash’s voice yelled at me, and I leapt out of the bed.

I flipped on my light, and there was Dash, in his boxer shorts, and holding the side of his face. “Dash, what the fuck?”

My bedroom door flew open with Daisy and Dart looking panicked. They looked between us, trying to figure out if we both were okay.

“What happened?” Dart asked.

“She attacked me,” Dash pointed at me, still hold his eye.

“You scared the shit out of me! You don’t come into a girl’s room in the middle of the night, anyway. What the hell were you doing in my bed?” I shouted back at him.

“I’m your boyfriend. Where the fuck else was I supposed to be?” Dash used the same tone with me.

“I don’t know. Maybe warn someone that you’re coming over. Have you heard of the cell phone?”

Dash narrowed his one eye that wasn’t covered up at me. My attention turned to Daisy and Dart who were laughing at our banter from the doorway. I pushed past them, and headed downstairs.

“Where are you going?” Dash yelled his question down to me.

“To get your dumb ass an ice pack,” I told him. I heard Daisy and Dart laughing louder now at my comment.

I made my way to the kitchen and found what I was looking for in the freezer. I wrapped it in clean dishtowel. When I turned to head back upstairs to Dash, I slammed right into his chest.

“I was going to bring it to you.” I could see that his cheek was red and swollen. I was afraid that it was going to bruise.

“I can’t believe that you assaulted me.” His jaw was tight, and I knew that he was upset.

“Oh grow up, Dash.” I gave him the ice pack. “How was I supposed to know you were coming over tonight?”

“I was trying to surprise you.”

“Well, guess what,” I crossed my arms. “It worked.”

He stared at me, and I hated the look on his face. I really didn’t mean to hurt him. I was scared because I didn’t know who was in my room.

“Look,” I tucked my hair in behind my ears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I swear that, but you frightened me.”

“You need to make it up to me then.”

“I promise.” I kissed his soft kips. “Come on. Let’s go to bed without any violence.” I took his hand, and we went back to my room.

I fixed my covers, because everything had been ripped off. When I finished, Dash and I crawled in and turned off the lights.

“Am I the first girl to give you a black eye?” I teased Dash, as I found a comfortable spot on my stomach, curled up with my pillow.

“Well, I’m sure many have thought about it, but yes, you’re the first.” I heard him chuckle.

“I really didn’t mean to. I thought you were a mass murder or something.”

“Maybe I should have called first, but I was trying to be nice and not wake you up. When Dart told me he was coming over here, I thought it was a good idea to sleep with you tonight.”

“You’ll know for next time.” I rolled unto my back, and stared at the ceiling. My adrenaline was still pumping, and I started thinking about something Dash said.

Did he say he was my ‘boyfriend’?

“You’re thinking about something. What is it?” I heard Dash place something on the nightstand, and I assumed it was the ice pack.

“How did you know?”

“What is it?” he ignored my question and faced me. I could see a faint expression on his face, but I didn’t know what he was thinking.

I quickly debated with myself whether I should say anything. On one hand, he might not even realize that he said it. On the other, maybe I misheard him, and I could be overthinking this whole thing. I decided to just ask.

“Did you call yourself my boyfriend?”

“When?”

“Here. A few minutes ago.”

I could tell he was thinking about the events and what he’d said. “Oh, yeah, I guess I did.”

I rolled over and mirrored his position. “Dash, shouldn’t we talk about this? I mean, aren’t we supposed to?”

“Garnet, do you like me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you care about me?”

“When I’m not trying to give you a black eye, yes,” I giggled.

“Okay, well, I like you and you know that I care about you, therefore, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. And there will be no one else for either of us.”

I wasn’t sure if I was happy or pissed off. Dash closed his eyes as I continued to stare at him, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. He actually looked asleep. I did the most logical thing I could think of: I slugged him in the shoulder and yelled for him to wake up.