9 Put Your Leash On

I am out on the town with Tina and is forced to buy expensive gifts for the family, which I know they won't like anyway. They just care about their little "click" that they like to call family. I never really fitted in with them. They like gifts that represent the wealth that they are. I like to buy gifts that mean something on a deeper level.

Don't get me wrong; when I was younger, I would care a great deal about what they would think about the gift that I spend hours even days to buy the right one. But then I soon discovered that their reaction was always the same "That's nice, dear." So I gave up on the whole "trying to get the perfect gift thing" and just picked the first thing I see. I know that their reaction will be the same.

I walk arm in arm with my sister from one shop to another, and the day hasn't even started yet. I need my hot cocoa and maybe also a bit of that bad boy that seems to have captured my attention, at the very least, my thoughts. I give my best perky voice I could muster.

"Tina, honey, don't you think we have enough gifts already?"

She turns to me and looks utterly shocked by my accusation; I just threw her way.

"NO! What about your only bothers kids? We haven't even started with them yet? And you know that Ted will also be joining us this year."

"Are you and Ted still together?"

"Yes! How can you ask such a thing?"

"Well, it's just that you don't exactly have the best record to hold on to one man for more than three months?"

"I feel so hurt by your insult. I will have you know that Ted is a great man, and he…"

And then you say the rest of her sentence with her in your head.

*…might be the one I could be married to one day…*

"I'm so sorry, Tina, I didn't know it was so serious."

Every man that Tina meets is "the one," but soon after she drops him like a hot potato, she just says he was too slow or too needy, or she makes up one or the other excuse that will be a good enough reason for her to have left him. Of course, we aren't allowed to call her on that, and mother is always on her side, agreeing with her unreasonable reasoning.

It feels like I've been smiling and laughing and walking for almost a day. I can't do it anymore, and all the energy is drowned out of me. But then I see someone I would have never thought would cheer me up the way he does. He comes walking our way. I try to ignore him because of the uneasy butterflies that suddenly sprang to life within my stomach, but then he walks up in all he's delicious glory and says while tipping his hat.

"Howdy"

"Oh, hey. Didn't see you there."

"It's hard to miss me."

"Cocky as always, I see."

"Wouldn't have me any other way."

"So you don't just hang out in coffee shops and tell people you're self-proclaimed desirable, but you also proclaim it on the streets."

Damn, Summer. Why did I use the word desirable? Do I think he's desirable? Then, the not-to-be-missed Tina jumps into the conversation.

"Ahh, Mr. Pierce, have you been rolling around in that god awful haystacks of yours again? You should really put on something decent before you present yourself to a lady."

She flicks her hair with her hand and looks the other way. Urgh, so typically, Tina but Mr. bad boy knew exactly how to handle her.

"And I see your nose is up in the air as per usual; you should be flying by now."

I can feel the tension building between them and decide to save this bad boy from my insufferable sister, even though I'm not sure he deserves to be saved.

"Tina! Look! Isn't that the teddy bear we've been searching for all day? Go and get it quick before someone buys it from under our noses?!"

Tina speeds away like a woman on a mission, and I take a deep breath of relief. She makes my world more complicated than it needs to be, and right now, I find myself wanting to keep this delicious man's company. I look into his deep blue eyes and give him an uncomfortable smile.

"I'm sorry, my sister, she's…well, she's a special kind of person."

"This whole town has special kinds of people, but something gives me the impression that you're different."

"But still it has its charms. That's why I would like to return-"

Suddenly I realize that I'm starting to open up to a complete stranger. What hold does this man have over me?

"…I mean…nonetheless, it's beautiful here."

I watch as he chuckles at me for falling over my own words. Damn, he looks so fine when he laughs like that.

"Did not think city girls like getting their shoes wet in a bit of snow?"

"If I were a true city girl, I would understand where you're coming from, but you've got me all wrong, Mr. Pierce."

"Well, maybe you should try proving me wrong then, Ms. Knightley."

"I'm afraid you're going to have then to wait for a very long time before I need to prove anything to you, Mr. Pierce."

I'm stunned by the words that come out of my mouth. I can't believe I'm so cheeky with someone I've barely met. What is it that he's doing to me? I feel every hair in my body stand up with excitement as this exchange of words is much more than I can handle. This man that's standing in front of me seems to have become the object of my desire.

Tina comes out of the shop and looks at me with a disapproving look on her face.

"Summer, leave the garden boy, and have a look at these adorable teddy bears."

Oh god, please can I just put my head somewhere so that no one will know that she's my sister, especially this hunk of a man in front of me.

"I really don't know what to say. We don't allow her to come out of the house much; she's not trained to be among people. I'm so sorry; I have to go and put a leash on her"

I start to walk away, trying to hide the deep red shade of color that's speedily finding its way to my cheeks. Then he stops me with his unforgettable voice.

"Nice ass Ms. Knightley."

"I'm glad I could give you something satisfying to look at…Mr. Pierce"

Satisfying? What de hell Summer? Have you gone completely insane? And with that, I disappear behind the shop door, barely breathing.