Post by callie on Aug 1, 2007 1:45:10 GMT -5
Okay, here is Chapter 3. For some reason, this one was really hard and I am still not happy with it! What do y'all think? How does it sound? Please be honest and give suggestions! Thanks!
Emma ushered the children into the house just as Shani came around the corner. As soon as they saw him, they screamed "Uncle Shani!" and ran toward him. He went down on both knees and held out his arms. "Jessica! Shawnie!" He gathered both of them up into a huge bear hug. Emma stepped into the house and Apolo closed the door behind her. He turned to her, smiled again and held out his hand.
"Hi. Emma, right?” At her slightly quizzical look, he explained, “Shani called his cousin after talking to the guard and she told him your name and the whole story."
Emma realized with a start that Apolo was still holding out his hand. Slowly, she reached forward with her own.
“Oh my god, oh my god, I'm actually going to TOUCH him!!” her inner fan girl was screaming.
“Get a grip, woman! He is just a man. Really. Stop being so ridiculous.” her inner mature self was saying.
She quickly made the decision that she was not going to fall all over him. In fact, she was going to play it totally cool and pretend she had no idea who he was. The alternative, falling at his feet and kissing the ground he walked on, was just really too embarrassing. She decided the best way to portray herself, especially considering that fact that she was here as Jessica’s and Shawn’s teacher, was mature and professional. To achieve that, she pursed her lips and pasted a small frown on her face and made herself shake Apolo’s hand briskly.
"Hi. Yes, it's Emma. Emma Gutierrez. I'm sorry, did you say your name was Antwone?"
She knew that was completely unnecessary, but felt a thrill of victory anyway.
"Yep, atta girl!" she congratulated herself. "Way to protect your secret identity as an Apolo freak!"
He opened his mouth to correct her just as Emma turned sharply towards Shani, who was walking up behind her with a child on each arm. They all three looked very happy with each other. Emma gave Shani a big smile as he introduced himself.
"Hi. I'm Shani Davis, Regina's cousin. Thank you so much for bringing them out to me. We really appreciate it."
He opened one of his hands and tilted his whole body toward Emma. She reached out and shook his hand. From the corner of her eye, she could see Apolo still looking her. She had no doubt that he was puzzled at her behavior. The fact that she was completely ignoring him, especially in comparison to her interaction with Shani, shocked her as well. She knew she had wanted to be professional, but she really didn’t understand why she was taking it so far. She had run through the stop-light at “professional” and careened head-on into “rude”. She supposed she had to chalk it up to self-preservation. To be thrown face-to-face with the object of her idolization was not something she had expected to happen right now. In fact, she was more than a little upset at Apolo for being here. Meeting Apolo was something she had dreamt about many times. It was supposed to be the perfect moment. It was not supposed to happen after a long day when she was completely unprepared for it. The thought of how she must look made her cringe. Hair frazzled, shirt with paint, dirt and lunch smeared on it accidently by several small hands, no make-up. She could feel her face start to flush. On the heels of her irrational irritation with Apolo, every thought, every comment she had ever made about him ran through her mind as she stood there smiling and talking with Shani. She felt her face getting hotter. And that made her panic. She did not blush a light, pretty, soft pink. When she blushed, her whole face got very red and there was no way to miss it. Then she got flustered, clumsy and usually embarrassed herself. The need to get away before that happened was strong. The fact that she could still feel Apolo’s eyes on her did not help. She knew she had to get out of there and fast. She turned her mind back to what Shani was saying so she could take advantage of the first break in the conversation to get away.
“…and that rain just keeps coming down, doesn’t it?” Shani was saying.
Emma grabbed at it like a lifeline.
“Yes, it certainly has been raining a lot. I really need to get home and get out of it. It’s supposed to get worse. It was so nice meeting you. Good-bye.”
It was not a smooth get-away, but at this point, she really didn’t care. She shook Shani’s hand again, waved to the children and turned to leave. She froze after opening the door as she heard his voice.
“Are the children’s things in the car? I’ll come out with you and get them.” Apolo offered.
“No, no, that’s okay. Thanks, but I’ll just bring them back in myself.” She hastily refused. But it was no use. Apolo already had an umbrella in his hands and was walking toward her.
“It’s really no problem.” He smiled at her as he stepped between her and the open door. He opened the umbrella on the porch and held it up, waiting for her. She closed the door and walked briskly down the sidewalk, not even glancing at him. He had to hurry behind her, holding the umbrella out away from him to make sure it fully covered her. When they reached the car, she quickly grabbed the children’s things from the trunk and shoved them into Apolo’s arms.
“Thank you. Bye.” She threw a tight smile over her shoulder as she got into the car. As she was putting her seatbelt on and starting the car, she glanced out the window at Apolo. He was still standing on the sidewalk, staring at her with a dumb-founded look on his face. She wanted to run over and apologize and tell him that her abruptness was really just a knee-jerk reaction and it had kind of just snowballed, and that she really thought he was awesome, but she couldn’t. If she ever made it to one of his speedskating events, she would be more prepared to see him and would give herself permission to go gaga over him.
Putting her car into drive, she saw movement up by the house. Shani was standing in the open front doorway, waving a phone in one hand and yelling something to Apolo. She assumed he was letting Apolo know he had a phone call from someone. But instead of heading back inside, Apolo turned to her and started walking toward the driver’s side of her car. He made a circular motion with one hand, telling her to roll down the widow. She did and a few fat raindrops landed inside her car. Apolo immediately bent forward, covering her open window with half of the umbrella.
“Sorry about this, but Shani just got bad news. You can’t get out of here tonight. The rain’s been so bad that the street out is flooded. Looks like you’re gonna have to stay here. Sorry.”
Apolo’s eyes were full of empathy as he waited for her reply.
“Oh, no! Isn’t there any other way out of here? I have to get home!” Emma could not believe this was happening. There was no way she could stay in a house with him all night. Especially after the way she had been towards him.
“I don’t know about any other way out. Shani’d know more about that. Why don’t you come in and we’ll talk about it? Won’t do any good just sitting in your car.”
“No! No, I mean it’s unthinkable. I can’t stay here. With you. I mean, really, it’s impossible. I can’t…It’s just…”
Apolo picked up on her desperation. With a touch of irritation in his voice, he said “Look, I don’t know how to make you feel better, but you certainly don’t have to worry about Shani or me. I guess you don’t know who we are, but we are Olympic athletes, and you know Shani’s cousin. And plus, the guest room has a lock on the door.”
Emma was not concerned at all about her safety. She would have been if they had been people she had never heard about, but, naively or not, she felt like she knew them, at least Apolo. She almost dissolved into hysterical giggles as the thought crossed her mind that Apolo was the one who should be concerned about his safety.
“Oh my god, what should I do?” she thought as she laid her head against the middle of her steering wheel.
“Look, as much fun as it is to be standing out here with the rain running down my back, I’d much rather be inside. Are you coming or you going to sleep in your car?”
Apolo had obviously reached the end of his patience. Emma just stared up at him, not sure what to do.
“Suit yourself.” Apolo pushed himself away from the car and started to turn away. He paused and turned back towards her.
“You know, it’s actually more dangerous out here.” He raised both eyebrows and his lips curved into a sinister smile.
“Anyone can get you.”
As soon as he said that, all the scary stories and movies Emma had seen involving a car in the dark sprang to mind. His smile turned to one of smug satisfaction as he saw that his remark had hit his target. Emma grabbed her purse and keys and jumped out of the car. She moved so fast Apolo didn’t catch up to her with the umbrella until she was opening the trunk to get her bag. She heard Apolo chuckling softly beside her.
“Wow. That worked better that I expected. You moved faster than me!”
Smiling sarcastically, Emma almost said something about “being faster than the a speed-skater” but caught herself just in time. She had worked hard to give him the impression she did not know who he was, and she didn’t want to ruin it now.
“This is going to be one long night. I’ll just go straight to the guest room and stay there till I can leave.” She thought grimly as she slammed her trunk and headed toward the door.
“This is going to be one long night. Hopefully, she’ll just go straight to the guest room and stay there till she can leave.” Apolo thought as he watched her slam her trunk. She headed off toward the house, but he held back and waited. He wondered what it was about her that irritated him. The fact that she didn’t recognize him didn’t surprise him. Not everybody watched the Olympics or Dancing With the Stars. The fact that she seemed to be trying to be rude to him pissed him off some, but she hadn’t really been that bad. There was something about her that seemed to get under his skin. He didn’t plan on finding out what it was. A few more minutes in her company and he’d never see her again. He could hardly wait.
Emma ushered the children into the house just as Shani came around the corner. As soon as they saw him, they screamed "Uncle Shani!" and ran toward him. He went down on both knees and held out his arms. "Jessica! Shawnie!" He gathered both of them up into a huge bear hug. Emma stepped into the house and Apolo closed the door behind her. He turned to her, smiled again and held out his hand.
"Hi. Emma, right?” At her slightly quizzical look, he explained, “Shani called his cousin after talking to the guard and she told him your name and the whole story."
Emma realized with a start that Apolo was still holding out his hand. Slowly, she reached forward with her own.
“Oh my god, oh my god, I'm actually going to TOUCH him!!” her inner fan girl was screaming.
“Get a grip, woman! He is just a man. Really. Stop being so ridiculous.” her inner mature self was saying.
She quickly made the decision that she was not going to fall all over him. In fact, she was going to play it totally cool and pretend she had no idea who he was. The alternative, falling at his feet and kissing the ground he walked on, was just really too embarrassing. She decided the best way to portray herself, especially considering that fact that she was here as Jessica’s and Shawn’s teacher, was mature and professional. To achieve that, she pursed her lips and pasted a small frown on her face and made herself shake Apolo’s hand briskly.
"Hi. Yes, it's Emma. Emma Gutierrez. I'm sorry, did you say your name was Antwone?"
She knew that was completely unnecessary, but felt a thrill of victory anyway.
"Yep, atta girl!" she congratulated herself. "Way to protect your secret identity as an Apolo freak!"
He opened his mouth to correct her just as Emma turned sharply towards Shani, who was walking up behind her with a child on each arm. They all three looked very happy with each other. Emma gave Shani a big smile as he introduced himself.
"Hi. I'm Shani Davis, Regina's cousin. Thank you so much for bringing them out to me. We really appreciate it."
He opened one of his hands and tilted his whole body toward Emma. She reached out and shook his hand. From the corner of her eye, she could see Apolo still looking her. She had no doubt that he was puzzled at her behavior. The fact that she was completely ignoring him, especially in comparison to her interaction with Shani, shocked her as well. She knew she had wanted to be professional, but she really didn’t understand why she was taking it so far. She had run through the stop-light at “professional” and careened head-on into “rude”. She supposed she had to chalk it up to self-preservation. To be thrown face-to-face with the object of her idolization was not something she had expected to happen right now. In fact, she was more than a little upset at Apolo for being here. Meeting Apolo was something she had dreamt about many times. It was supposed to be the perfect moment. It was not supposed to happen after a long day when she was completely unprepared for it. The thought of how she must look made her cringe. Hair frazzled, shirt with paint, dirt and lunch smeared on it accidently by several small hands, no make-up. She could feel her face start to flush. On the heels of her irrational irritation with Apolo, every thought, every comment she had ever made about him ran through her mind as she stood there smiling and talking with Shani. She felt her face getting hotter. And that made her panic. She did not blush a light, pretty, soft pink. When she blushed, her whole face got very red and there was no way to miss it. Then she got flustered, clumsy and usually embarrassed herself. The need to get away before that happened was strong. The fact that she could still feel Apolo’s eyes on her did not help. She knew she had to get out of there and fast. She turned her mind back to what Shani was saying so she could take advantage of the first break in the conversation to get away.
“…and that rain just keeps coming down, doesn’t it?” Shani was saying.
Emma grabbed at it like a lifeline.
“Yes, it certainly has been raining a lot. I really need to get home and get out of it. It’s supposed to get worse. It was so nice meeting you. Good-bye.”
It was not a smooth get-away, but at this point, she really didn’t care. She shook Shani’s hand again, waved to the children and turned to leave. She froze after opening the door as she heard his voice.
“Are the children’s things in the car? I’ll come out with you and get them.” Apolo offered.
“No, no, that’s okay. Thanks, but I’ll just bring them back in myself.” She hastily refused. But it was no use. Apolo already had an umbrella in his hands and was walking toward her.
“It’s really no problem.” He smiled at her as he stepped between her and the open door. He opened the umbrella on the porch and held it up, waiting for her. She closed the door and walked briskly down the sidewalk, not even glancing at him. He had to hurry behind her, holding the umbrella out away from him to make sure it fully covered her. When they reached the car, she quickly grabbed the children’s things from the trunk and shoved them into Apolo’s arms.
“Thank you. Bye.” She threw a tight smile over her shoulder as she got into the car. As she was putting her seatbelt on and starting the car, she glanced out the window at Apolo. He was still standing on the sidewalk, staring at her with a dumb-founded look on his face. She wanted to run over and apologize and tell him that her abruptness was really just a knee-jerk reaction and it had kind of just snowballed, and that she really thought he was awesome, but she couldn’t. If she ever made it to one of his speedskating events, she would be more prepared to see him and would give herself permission to go gaga over him.
Putting her car into drive, she saw movement up by the house. Shani was standing in the open front doorway, waving a phone in one hand and yelling something to Apolo. She assumed he was letting Apolo know he had a phone call from someone. But instead of heading back inside, Apolo turned to her and started walking toward the driver’s side of her car. He made a circular motion with one hand, telling her to roll down the widow. She did and a few fat raindrops landed inside her car. Apolo immediately bent forward, covering her open window with half of the umbrella.
“Sorry about this, but Shani just got bad news. You can’t get out of here tonight. The rain’s been so bad that the street out is flooded. Looks like you’re gonna have to stay here. Sorry.”
Apolo’s eyes were full of empathy as he waited for her reply.
“Oh, no! Isn’t there any other way out of here? I have to get home!” Emma could not believe this was happening. There was no way she could stay in a house with him all night. Especially after the way she had been towards him.
“I don’t know about any other way out. Shani’d know more about that. Why don’t you come in and we’ll talk about it? Won’t do any good just sitting in your car.”
“No! No, I mean it’s unthinkable. I can’t stay here. With you. I mean, really, it’s impossible. I can’t…It’s just…”
Apolo picked up on her desperation. With a touch of irritation in his voice, he said “Look, I don’t know how to make you feel better, but you certainly don’t have to worry about Shani or me. I guess you don’t know who we are, but we are Olympic athletes, and you know Shani’s cousin. And plus, the guest room has a lock on the door.”
Emma was not concerned at all about her safety. She would have been if they had been people she had never heard about, but, naively or not, she felt like she knew them, at least Apolo. She almost dissolved into hysterical giggles as the thought crossed her mind that Apolo was the one who should be concerned about his safety.
“Oh my god, what should I do?” she thought as she laid her head against the middle of her steering wheel.
“Look, as much fun as it is to be standing out here with the rain running down my back, I’d much rather be inside. Are you coming or you going to sleep in your car?”
Apolo had obviously reached the end of his patience. Emma just stared up at him, not sure what to do.
“Suit yourself.” Apolo pushed himself away from the car and started to turn away. He paused and turned back towards her.
“You know, it’s actually more dangerous out here.” He raised both eyebrows and his lips curved into a sinister smile.
“Anyone can get you.”
As soon as he said that, all the scary stories and movies Emma had seen involving a car in the dark sprang to mind. His smile turned to one of smug satisfaction as he saw that his remark had hit his target. Emma grabbed her purse and keys and jumped out of the car. She moved so fast Apolo didn’t catch up to her with the umbrella until she was opening the trunk to get her bag. She heard Apolo chuckling softly beside her.
“Wow. That worked better that I expected. You moved faster than me!”
Smiling sarcastically, Emma almost said something about “being faster than the a speed-skater” but caught herself just in time. She had worked hard to give him the impression she did not know who he was, and she didn’t want to ruin it now.
“This is going to be one long night. I’ll just go straight to the guest room and stay there till I can leave.” She thought grimly as she slammed her trunk and headed toward the door.
“This is going to be one long night. Hopefully, she’ll just go straight to the guest room and stay there till she can leave.” Apolo thought as he watched her slam her trunk. She headed off toward the house, but he held back and waited. He wondered what it was about her that irritated him. The fact that she didn’t recognize him didn’t surprise him. Not everybody watched the Olympics or Dancing With the Stars. The fact that she seemed to be trying to be rude to him pissed him off some, but she hadn’t really been that bad. There was something about her that seemed to get under his skin. He didn’t plan on finding out what it was. A few more minutes in her company and he’d never see her again. He could hardly wait.
i like the story and cant wait to read more 
good work!
I giggled a lot because of parts in this chapter. 
