Hesitation

I stared at the drawing in my hands and tried to ignore my suddenly hammering heart. Matthew had drawn me leaning casually against big, black gates, one leg bent with the foot resting on the gate. It took me a moment to realise that the picture was set at the front gates of college. My face was partially hidden by my brown hair, and I was looking to my right, laughing at someone or something. The accuracy in the picture was almost freaky; I felt like I was looking at a photograph, not a drawing.

I stared at it a moment longer and then carefully placed it on the floor before pulling out a few more papers from the top of the pile. There were another three of me wearing casual clothes and walking along, always looking to my right or left, never straight out of the picture.

But not all of the drawings were of me. Some were of everyday objects, like a vase of flowers, while some were set against backgrounds I had never seen before. There was a painting of a park at midnight, a pool in the centre, surrounded by trees. The moonlight glinted off the inky black water of the pool, and the overall effect was mesmerising.

As I pulled out yet another drawing of myself, a frown flitted across my face. The pictures were beautiful, but not all of them were recent. There was one which was at least a year old, if the date was anything to go by. But the Aaron’s hadn’t moved to this house until a couple of months ago…

The door to the room swung open silently and I froze, before looking up to find Matthew leaning against a side wall, an eyebrow raised quizzically.

“I-I-I,” I stuttered maniacally for a few seconds before carefully putting the papers back into the pile I’d pulled them from. With Matt’s eyes still trained on me, I stood up and took a deep breath before finally explaining, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

He waved a hand impatiently in the air, as if he couldn’t care less. His eyes were hooded in shadow so I couldn’t tell if he was angry or not. “What do you think?” he asked then, his voice low and measured.

“What?” I asked, confused.

He walked closer to me and suddenly my heart was hammering in my rib cage all over again.

“What do you think about my pictures?”

I chewed my bottom lip for a second – as was now becoming my habit – and then answered honestly, “I think they’re beautiful.” My voice had come out sounding breathy and low, so I cleared my throat loudly before adding, “So that’s how you’ve got enough money saved up for your travelling spree, right?”

Instead of answering, his blank façade disappeared for a moment to suddenly reveal his vulnerability, before returning to his usual mask once again.

But the brief glimpse was enough.

“Do you mean that? Do you really think my pictures are beautiful?” he asked.

I felt a strange emotion in my heart then. I couldn’t think of any words to describe it accurately, but I knew then, without a doubt, that my opinion of his pictures mattered greatly to him, and I deliberately stepped closer to him, feeling his body heat even though we weren’t actually touching. I reached up and touched his cheek impulsively. “Yes,” I replied softly. His skin was smooth under my fingers and his eyelids closed briefly, before opening again and hypnotising me with their intense, emerald colour. “I mean it.”

Hesitantly, and in a manner so unlike the arrogant Matthew I knew, he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and said, “Melissa…”

I looked up at him in question, suddenly floundering in unknown territory. In the past instances, whenever we had been in similar situations, he’d always taken the lead and always made his intentions clear. But unlike previous occurrences, I had no intention of stopping him if he wanted to kiss me. At this moment, I would gladly forget everything we had said to each other – or done to each other – and be willing to start anew.

So why was he hesitating?

Before I could find out, footsteps echoed in the corridor, and Stacy blew her nose loudly as she approached. Matthew dropped his arm and a second later, so did I, back to my awkward self again – and confused by the sudden reserved Matthew that I didn’t know.

I walked to the door but before I could turn the door knob, a gentle hand caught my wrist and I turned around questioningly.

The familiar smirk was back in place on his gorgeous lips as he whispered, “Sleep lightly tonight, princess,” before literally shoving me out of his room.

“What were you doing in there?” Stacy asked with surprise as the door closed behind me.

“Nothing really,” I shrugged. “Matthew just wanted to show me his… erm, laptop.”

“Oh,” she laughed as she rolled her eyes. “I can’t imagine why. It’s broken.”

-

“Melissa,” Mum yelled as she walked into the house. “Go and help your Dad bring the shopping in please.”

I groaned but obediently got off the couch I’d been lazing on before walking outside.

Dad was muttering something about women and shopping. Something which was not very flattering, by the sounds of it.

“Hey Dad,” I greeted him as he opened the boot of the car.

He nodded at me, before handing me a few bags of groceries and grabbing a few for himself. “So what have you been up to in our absence?”

I rolled my eyes at his question. I think he’s always secretly feared that I’d set the house on fire when left alone. “TV is a good pastime,” I replied dryly instead.

“Humph.”

We dropped our bags off in the kitchen and then went out again for the next lot.

“Is Derek not home yet?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

My Dad sighed but didn’t comment.

“Hey, Matt told me that you went shopping with the Aarons. So where are they? Did you ditch them?”

“We didn’t ditch them Melissa,” Dad said disapprovingly as we got the last of the bags and he locked the car. “They were going to take a look at the furniture store and we thought we’d come home.”

“So they ditched you then?” I grinned, and kept grinning despite my mother rolling her eyes at me as we walked into the kitchen.

An hour later, Derek walked through the front door and promptly went to his room to change after greeting us. As he walked down the stairs a few minutes later, whistling happily, I snuck upstairs and listened. He was in the living room, talking to Mum and Dad about his day. I didn’t wait to listen to what crap he was about to say. Instead, I slipped into his room and closed the door partially. There, in the laundry basket, was the pale blue shirt he’d been wearing.

And on the collar were several lip gloss marks.

So my brother did have a girlfriend.

All that remained for me now, was to find out who she was.

-

After supper, Derek said he was going to bed and I followed him a few minutes later.

Tip toeing into his room, I whispered in his ear, “Wake up, freako.”

He opened an eye and groaned. “Go away, Melissa.”

I switched his bedside lamp on instead and sat down on the bed. “I know about your girlfriend,” I announced instead, no longer whispering.

“What girlfriend?” he asked, opening his other eye.

“You’re a crap liar Derek, so give it up. Tell me who she is.”

He sighed and sat up then, rubbing his eyes blearily. “How did you know?” he asked finally.

“The lip gloss on the collar of your shirts.”

He stared at me. “Have you been creeping around in my room?”

“No.”

“Melissa!” he grumbled then.

“Shut up,” I said, pinching his forearm. “And tell me about her.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“It is now.”

“Stop being nosy.”

“Shut up and tell me,” I repeated.

“No.”

“Or else I’ll tell Mum and Dad,” I grinned.

It’s not like our parents were very strict, but Mum had always been a little too enthusiastic about Derek’s affairs.

“Okay! Fine!” Derek said through gritted teeth. “Her name’s Marietta. We met at uni.”

“She sounds Italian,” I mused.

“Her family is,” he agreed.

“So how long have you two been going out?”

Derek shrugged and yawned. “Two weeks or so.”

“Has she told her family about you?”

He nodded.

“And…? Are they okay with you?”

“Her Mum seems unsure, but I get along with her Dad. He’s a complete joker.”

I was silent for a moment, before I asked the ultimate question, “So when are you going to introduce her to us?”

“Probably never.”

“Derek!” I pinched him again.

He grinned suddenly and tousled my hair, making me feel like a five year old. “Soon, sis. Okay?”

“How soon is soon exactly?”

He shoved me off the bed and switched the bedside lamp off. “Next week maybe.”

“You better treat her well, big brother,” I said over my shoulder as I sauntered out of his room.

He chuckled in the dark and I closed the door behind me.

Back in my room, I got changed into my PJ’s, brushed my teeth and got into bed. It was warm, so I only covered my lower half with the duvet, but sleep claimed me quickly.

How long I slept before I heard something tap my bedroom window, I didn’t know. At first, I thought it was hailstones, but then something tapped the window again, and I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My alarm clock told me it was about two in the morning.

Getting up, I walked to the window and pulled the curtains aside. A beautiful, starry blue sky was the first thing I noticed. Then I glanced down and saw Matthew staring up at me, small stones held in his hand.

Shocked, I opened the window wide and hissed, “What are you doing here?”

He smiled his usual gorgeous smile, before whispering back, “Come on down.”

“What? Why?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Come on, princess. Hurry up.”

“Are you crazy? It’s the middle of the night! My parents will kill me if they find out.”

There was a pause as he considered me, before commenting, “Since when did you care about what your parents think?”

I abruptly laughed aloud. “Good point. Let me just get changed. I’ll be down in a sec.”

He nodded and I closed the window, before pulling on a pair of jeans and a T shirt. Trainers followed soon after and I tip toed down the stairs, grabbing the keys to the front door on my way out.

Matthew was dressed completely in black. The porch light was dim but I could make out a leather jacket and dark jeans as well as a pair of gloves peeking out of his pocket.

“What are you doing here?” I asked curiously, a smile stealing across my face all of a sudden.

Instead of answering, he said, “Lock the front door to the house. I want to take you somewhere… if you want to come.”

I didn’t ask him where but did as he told me, before tucking the keys securely into my jeans pocket. There was a spare set in the kitchen so I didn’t bother with leaving them behind.

Matthew turned and started walking up the block towards the main street. I kept pace with him, my heart suddenly fluttering with excitement. I didn’t feel scared in the least – not with a leather-clad, sexy Matt walking by my side. But it was strange. Whatever he wanted to show me, he’d picked the right time of the night to do it. The streets were deserted and only the occasional car passed us on the road.

After we’d walked halfway down the adjoining street, we stopped by a motorbike and Matthew rummaged through his pockets for something.

I stared at him, puzzled. But when he pulled out a set of keys and opened a compartment in the bike before pulling out a spare helmet, comprehension began to dawn.

“You might want to put this on, princess,” he grinned at me as he handed me the helmet, making my already racing heart speed up even more.

“We’re going for a little ride.”

A/N:

Once again, a big apology to all for the delays in updating this story! I’ve been busy with getting my results and preparing to go to university… plus a lack of motivation didn’t help either :P

Note to buzzy and all my other readers: I have no idea how long this story will be now, lol. A few chapters ago, I thought I'd be finishing soon, and I still hold that view... but it all depends on how much of the coming action I can pack into each chapter. If you want an approximation, I'd say there are about five chapters to go. Sorry if it’s starting to drag!

Thank you for all the ongoing support and encouragement. As always, reviews would be much appreciated!