Yellow Heart
Claire knew Gray was buzzed. She was sober, but she had an unusual feeling in her gut that prolonged her optimism; that’s why she didn’t suggest leaving after his third glass of wine.
After watching Barley win the sheep festival – no surprise there – Karen suggested to a few people that they head on over to Doug’s Inn for some drinks and some food. Hoping to see one of Karen and Duke’s infamous drinking contests, Claire agreed to tag along. They eventually did have a drinking contest, and after Karen won, Duke went home. Rick tried to force Karen to go home too, but she refused. “You’re too drunk!” he yelled at her; she wouldn’t listen. Rick decided to let her stay, as long as he stayed with her and she didn’t drink any more alcohol.
“Claire!” Ann shouted across the table. She was holding Cliff’s hand, but tried to hide it under the table – as if nobody already knew. The redhead laughed. “Claire, I can’t believe you got Gray to come out with us!”
Gray, luckily for Claire, was in the bathroom when she said that. “Yeah,” she replied, “I can’t believe it either!” Her stomach dropped and her face flushed as she recalled the conversation she had with him hours before, but she kept her expression the same. “He told me he was just going to go to the library afterwards!”
“Well,” Rick said, allowing Karen to sleep on his shoulder, “you must be one hard-ass negotiator then.” Karen stirred, so Rick repositioned himself to make her more comfortable. “He never comes out with us, which is weird, because I know he likes wine.” Rick paused, then added, “He always seemed sort of like a loner.”
“He’s not a loner,” Claire defended. She tried to cover herself. “Besides, I bet he doesn’t like wine as much as Karen does.”
As the table roared with laughter, Gray stumbled back into his seat next to Claire. “What did I miss that was so funny?”
“Oh, we were just talking about wine,” Claire answered, gazing at the auburn-haired boy.
“Ah,” he replied. He shot Claire a smile which made her heart beat faster. “I love wine.”
“We know you do,” Rick said. Claire felt as if it was butting into their conversation, but she tried not to look too disappointed. Suddenly, Karen woke up. Rick smiled and spoke softly. “Good morning, sleepy head.”
“Good morning,” Karen slurred with a yawn. She sat up and looked around the table, her gaze freezing on Claire and Gray. “When did they start dating?”
Claire and Gray both blushed and looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Claire tried to explain. “We’re not –“
Karen cut her off. “They weren’t dating before I went to sleep...” Then the brunette’s eyes bulged. She looked at Rick. “How long was I sleeping?”
Rick calmly explained to her, “You were sleeping for almost an hour, and Gray and Claire aren’t dating…” The blonde boy glanced at the two, then continued quietly, “… yet.”
The drunk girl gasped. “Wouldn’t it be so cute if they started dating right now?”
“They’re talking about us like we’re not even here,” Gray mentioned to Claire, who nodded; they both found it rather amusing.
“You two should kiss!” Karen suggested to Claire and Gray. Ann and Cliff giggled, secretly agreeing with Karen.
Gray and Claire locked eyes, caught off guard and embarrassed, but smiling, as if to say “Wow, she’s really drunk.” Claire’s heart began to beat faster, and she glanced at his lips. She badly wanted her own lips to touch his, but she never imagined it to be a show for a bunch of drunk people to watch. “I don’t know if-“
But once again, Karen cut her off. Pounding her fists on the table rhythmically, she chanted, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
Claire gazed into his blue eyes; they were dilated. Most likely from the drinks, she figured dismally. His pale face was flushed bright pink – a look she tended to find horribly attractive – but she figured once again that it was most likely from the drinks. His auburn hair was messy underneath the UMA hat, and he never bothered changing out of his work clothes, even though he was living in one of the rooms upstairs. She then stared at his soft lips, unable to control the way she was breathing through her mouth. At that moment, she felt more sexual tension between him and her than she had ever felt with anybody in her entire life; “Kiss!” had never before sounded so tempting.
The blonde girl’s heart raced; she was scared because for the first time in a while, she couldn’t read him. Her stomach dropped once again when she started to wonder what was going on through his mind He’s probably thinking, “What about Mary? If I kiss Claire, will she ever forgive me?” She had a hard time looking at him again.
“How about this?” Karen slurred, bringing Claire back to reality. “What if I gave you both 500G? I’ll give you both 500G if you guys kiss!”
Claire tried to make it seem like she was more interested in the money, praying to dear Goddess and to anyone else who would listen that it was enough to make him say yes. “500G? Gray! That’s enough for five loaves of bread! Or a pack of pumpkin seeds!”
Gray suddenly looked like a deer in headlights. “But Claire,” he tried to reason, “if we take the money, that would make us prostitutes.”
“No it wouldn’t,” Claire answered. “That would make us…” She thought for a moment. Taking money from someone who is paying to see you kiss…? “… porn stars.”
His expression remained aghast. “Do you really want to be a porn star? Is that really what you want, Claire?”
She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “No, not really.”
“Good,” he said. “No money then.”
“So, are you gonna do it then?” Ann asked, urging them with a smile.
The two of them looked at each other again; Claire shrugged, coming up with things she could say to persuade him if he didn’t make a decision. We’re best friends! We hug all the time! What could one little kiss do? It’s not like a kiss is going to change anything.
…It’s not like a kiss is going to change anything.
Oh, how she hoped that wasn’t true.
“Well…” Gray muttered, shrugging back. He lifted his hat slightly. “Sure.”
Claire couldn’t see for herself, but she could imagine that she was blushing crimson; all she knew was that her face was burning hot and she felt as if she was floating. The blonde girl hesitated, just to make sure it was all actually happening, but Gray decided to just go for it.
At first, the two kissed as if they were twelve years old and had no idea what they were doing, but they eventually relaxed, soft lips dancing on one another. Claire savored the faint taste of wine on his lips; Gray pulled away, probably because he suddenly remembered the spectators, who were cheering. Claire stared at her own glass of water, face burning and heart racing.
“Yay, now they’re dating!” Karen squealed. “Now we can all go on double dates!” She looked around the table, counting on her fingers. “Er – triple dates!”
As Karen hooted and hollered, Rick suggested once again that he take her home. Claire licked her lips, tasting what would turn out to be a bittersweet reminder. Gray got up and went to the bathroom again, and the blonde caught a glimpse of his brick red face; she prayed to the Goddess once again, asking her to make him forget about it by morning, which was something she never thought she’d be praying for.
A sick feeling continued to grow inside of her, gnawing away at her stomach and her heart; she had a hunch that, were he sober, he would not have been quite as complaisant.
Gender:
Points: 1888
Reviews: 38