..I Wish, Chapter 2, 3 (Chapter 3 now complete!)

[Mars]

(Chapter 2's really really short, so as soon as 3's typed I'll add it here


Unfortunately, by the next morning nervousness had decided to screw me instead. I kept waking up at odd hours, plagued with nightmares that the whole thing was just a sick setup...or that I'd just imagined it. It took one look at one little thumbprint to convince me that I wasn't dreaming.
It took sufficiently longer to suppress the mad case of butterflies. They came fluttering back shortly after I reached our meeting spot.
This was really happening! I was really there! This was real!!! Speaking of real...There I was, looking around with a sketchbook hugged to my chest. Then...Ah, the joy of glancing in the right direction at the right moment. He smiled and gave a small wave, and I immediately felt my knees weaken.
Crap. Time to tough it up, I thought, flashing a shaky smile as I walked over.
"Hi, Apolo. I'm not late, am I?"
"Nah. I'm actually early." He offered his hand. I took it...hesitantly. "So, Marlise. Shall we?"
"Ah...sure." It doesn't mean anything, I kept telling myself, He's just being nice.
That didn't stop my heart from fluttering away the moment our hands touched...or silence the little voice in my mind that was yelling "we're-holding-hands!!!" over and over again.
Oh well. He knew this place a lot better than I did. If he wanted to be nice, if that's all it was, then fine with me.

[teri]

Very cute. Looking forward to the next chapter.

[mellie]

The little voice in my head would be screaming that too. LOL Another cute chapter. More please.

[Mars]

Okay, here's part 3!
“Is this table okay?”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah. It should be fine. Unless it, like, collapses or something.” I was fidgeting nervously with an earring, which he clearly found pretty amusing.
“No. I mean, is the lighting alright?”
Oh. Duh. Oops.
“Y…Yes. It’s perfect.” We sat down. I busily opened my sketchbook and selected the ‘right’ pencil for the job. Easy enough. I let the pencil rest in my hand and looked up with a small hint of a smile. His eyes met mine and I felt small tinglings of pride pushing the nerves away. A waitress stopped, introduced herself, took our drink orders, and handed out menus. As she stepped away I cracked my menu open, but couldn’t concentrate on it to save my life.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine but…I can’t believe I’m doing this!!!” I couldn’t stop grinning…even though I was getting some pretty strange looks from around the room.”Sorry. I’m really psyched. This-I mean, wow..”
“You’re fine.” He smiled and tapped my free hand. “Relax. I’m only human, after all.”
..A really really awesome human. Wiith legions of fans, several of which were seated of near us and trying (vainly) to get his attention. “Just ignore them.” He whispered, rolling his eyes before switching his gaze back to me. “..I’m used to it.”
Those eyes…Wow. I could’ve stared all day if I didn’t have work to do.
“So…um…How’s their salad?”
“Great…if you’re a supermodel. You’re not getting a salad.”
“You’re not paying.”
“Actually, I am.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re drawing me. I figure I can at least treat you to lunch. So…what are you hungry for?”
“Um…ah, er…something with chicken?”
“Okay. Leave it to me.” The waitress had returned with our drinks. I sat, star-struck and dazed, as he rattled off our orders.
“What did you do?”
“You’ll see. Now…” He leaned forward on his elbows. “On to the real reason we’re here.”
“Ah, right.” I took a sip of cappuchino and tilted my head to observe. Something wasn’t right…Ah. That was it. I reached over unconsciously and moved his chin a few inches with my fingers. Then I realized what I was doing and immediately dropped my hand.
“S…sorry.”
“No. It’s fine. You’re in the zone, right?”
“R…Right.”
“Don’t think. Just do what you do, and don’t worry about it.”
“Gotcha.” I lifted my hand again and ruffled a few strands of his hair loose. Ah. Scruffy.
Perfect. “How did you know?” My eyes never left his face as I sketched out forehead, cheekbone, jawline, and so on. Still, I was curious.
“You have a super-focused look in your eyes.”
“Sure that’s not just mascara?”
“I’m positive. I don’t care if you’re an athlete or not. The zone is still the zone. I saw the same expression every day.” A beautiful nostalgic expression swept over his face, softly smiling as he gazed far-away. “..I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, Apolo. I get how you feel.” For reasons unknown (probably impulsive), my free hand moved over to his and gave a sympathetic squeeze. “I mean, competing for so long…”
“Exactly.” Another smile and silence, except for graphite scratching on paper. “..So. How’s it coming along?”
“Better than usual.” I slid the book over to him. “The lines aren’t shaky, which is cool.” Pause, gazing intently at the page.
“…I wouldn’t call this ‘cool’, Marlise.”
I was mortified and confused, trying to read his face. Problem was, his expression was completely unreadable.
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Ah, the famous Ohno Game Face. Sorry, I thought this was a good place to stop for now. Plus...my hand's cramping up! Ow!

[mellie]

I wanted to keep reading, but I will forgive you this time for stopping and leaving it as a cliffhanger due to your hand cramping. More please.