Pride's Prejudice (17 page)

Before
pulling away, he planted a soft (and altogether unsatisfying) kiss just under
Beth's ear.  The look in his eyes made Beth feel a bit winded, as though
she'd been running.  "See you tomorrow," he said, backing away
with a thoroughly satisfied expression.

CHOCOLATE

"I
cannot fix on the hour, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation……I
was in the middle before I knew that I had begun."

~Mr. Darcy, Pride &
Prejudice

Beth
sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her bed.  She had woken early
and decided to clean since she had an excess of nervous energy and couldn't
sleep any longer.  After the apartment was spotless she took a long
shower, shaved her legs, and deep-conditioned her hair.  After the shower
she did a facial peel and painted her toe nails.  Feeling lazy after all
that effort, she applied light make up, dressed in an old t-shirt and overalls,
and split her thick hair into two braids.  Every few minutes she would
find herself staring stupidly into her own reflection, out the window, or into
her closet.  Images from last night flooding her out of reality: 
dark eyes and snow-confettied hair, the priceless look in his eyes after she'd
kissed him back, the sheer joy of realizing that all along he'd wanted
her.  His kisses instilled many different feelings in her, depending on
which part she thought about.  Light, swoopy sensations; heat waves that
rolled more slowly and deeply until they consumed her; hunger and thirst
(though she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted was food or water).  Beth
was suppressing yet another butterfly in her stomach when she was startled by
Jenna's incredulous voice.

"Beth? 
You're up early - it's Saturday!  You already cleaned our whole
apartment?"

It was
about nine in the morning, and Jenna was still in her pajamas with rumpled
hair, but this detail did little to diminish her beauty.  She simply
looked like an angel in flannel, rather than an angel in celestial garb. 
Taking a seat on the floor next to Beth, Jenna pulled her into a tight hug.

"I
couldn't sleep anymore.  So.....what time did you make it home last
night?"

"Just
before one," Jenna admitted with pinkening cheeks.  Beth suspected
that they hadn't gotten further than the parking lot for their
"drive."

"Did
you guys double with Kara?  I thought I saw her on my way in last
night."

Jenna
nodded.  "She's actually fun to be around when she's not pawing at
William."

Beth
choked on her laughter.  Jenna had the grace to look slightly ashamed of
herself.  "Who was her date?"

"Someone
from a class of hers," Jenna answered, then paused.  "So…….are
you going to fill me in about last night?"

 Beth
opened and closed her mouth several times, then finally just plunged in. 
"I don't really know what happened.  Jaxon didn't show.  Next
thing I know I'm crying in the snow and William's declaring himself."

Jenna
raised her eyebrows.  "Declaring himself?"

Beth
felt a rush of shame.  "I think I might have, maybe misjudged him at
first.  Possibly," she admitted in a small voice.

"You
don't say."

Beth
grimaced, not sure if she liked the effect romance was having on her
friend.  She had become downright snarky lately.  "I just didn't
see it, Jenna."

"You're
the only one.  It was obvious to everyone else.  Why do you think
Kara is so raunchy all the time?"

Beth's
face broke into a grin.  Maybe the new and improved Jenna wasn't a
complete negative.

"So,
did you do any
declaring
yourself?"

"Not
verbally," Beth hedged.

Jenna
clapped her hands in glee, squeezing Beth again before pulling back. 
"Wait.  Did you kiss him?"

"He
kissed me first," Beth defended.

Jenna's
skin was positively aglow now.  She shrieked in delight, and a groggy moan
issued from the dining room.

"D'you
guys have to be so
freaking
chipper?" Lindy slurred from the
hide-a-bed sofa.

Beth
grinned at Jenna, then extricated herself from the hug with a fair degree of
difficulty.

"I'm
going to shower so we can celebrate!" Jenna declared, dancing toward her
own room.

Beth,
feeling fantastically light and floaty, approached Lindy.

 
"A
deal's a deal, Lind.  The Lucases are expecting you by noon," she
informed her, nicking the pillow off her head and folding up her blankets.

"I'm
GOING
," Lindy answered.

Before
pulling herself out of bed and heading for Beth's room, Lindy gave her sister a
withering look.  Beth thought she heard her mumble the words
"tyrant" and "unfair."

"Make
sure and text me when you get there," Beth sang at her sister's
back.  "If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you've gone
AWOL."  Lindy slammed Beth's door, and Beth smiled to herself.

~:~

Two
hours later, Beth and Jenna sat at the kitchen table, trying not to choke on
chow mien and lemon chicken as they snorted with laughter between bites.

Pride
and Prejudice
played on the small TV/DVD combo that had been
set up on the counter, the long
A&E
version starring Colin Firth and
Jennifer Ehle
. 
Given recent events, both girls felt incredibly
lighthearted, and were taking turns voicing over the movie lines.  Beth
loved Jane Austen and her knack for displaying human nature at its most
ridiculous; nevertheless, she was positive Miss Austen would be rolling in her
grave if she could hear Beth and Jenna's spin on her characters' dialogue.

Colin
Firth emerged from the Pemberly pond in his soaked shirt and faced Elizabeth.

"Miss
Bennet!"
Beth began,
"I must confess myself
quite put out that you missed the wet t-shirt contest down at the lake……"

Beth
actually had to pound Jenna on the back and get her a drink after that
one.  As she sputtered over the kitchen sink and tried to catch her
breath, there was a knock on the door.  "That's probably Les!"
she managed after a few breaths.

Jenna
bounced to the door and opened it, pulling Les inside and throwing her arms
around his neck like she hadn't seen him for a year.  When no one else
followed, Beth smiled at the floor, trying not to feel disappointed.  She
plopped back onto the table top and shoved more noodles into her mouth. 
What had she expected?  William had said he'd see her 'tomorrow' but
hadn't been specific.  At least if Les took Jenna away she could mope around
and feel sorry for herself in private.

Beth
almost choked on her own mouthful when she heard William's voice, low in her
ear.

"Chinese
and sappy British romance, huh?  Great combination."  His lips
brushed her ear and, just like last night, raised gooseflesh.  Her breath
hitched and she choked on her chow mien.  He was definitely going to have
to stop doing that - especially when her mouth was full of food.

"Have
a drink."  William picked up Beth's drink and held the straw to her
lips.

"Hold
- on……can't - breathe!"

It
took a couple minutes for Beth's airway to clear.  Jenna and Les mumbled
something about going out for the night, but Beth didn't hear them.  All
she saw was William, sitting below her in a chair at the table, his hands
clasped behind his head, his legs stretched out casually.  A door closed
in the distance.

"Hungry?"
she offered meekly, handing William some chop sticks.

"Guys
are always hungry."

They
ate in silence for a few minutes, Beth silently obsessing about whether she had
anything green stuck in her teeth.  "So, what did you do today?"

"Just
took care of some stuff back home."  Even though his words were
casual, his eyes were strained.  "What about you?"

"Sent
Lindy home, then spent the rest of the day celebrating."  No need to
add that the celebration hadn't been all for Lindy.

"Not
very sisterly of you," he observed, grinning flirtatiously up at
her.  "Girls just wanna have fun, Beth."

Beth
punched him on the arm.  He had on a white t-shirt that hugged his torso
and brought out the light olive tone of his skin.  Drawing back in pretend
fear, he threw his muscled arms up to thwart the onslaught.

"You
just earned yourself some hard labor," Beth informed him frostily.

He
lifted his eyebrows suggestively, and she smacked him again.

"We're
going to make cookies."

William
suppressed a shudder.  "Thanks, but I've had my share of cookies
recently….."

"No,
I didn't say
jawbreakers
, I said cookies.  You know, chewy, fudgy,
soft?"

William
still looked doubtful.

Beth
hopped off the table, pulling him out of his chair.  "Just trust
me.  The trick is in the baking time.  You have to take them out of
the oven when they're still doughy for them to turn out soft."

William
smiled tolerantly.

Beth
began pulling ingredients from cupboards.  She unwrapped two squares of
chocolate and put them into a glass bowl in the microwave.  William looked
at the bag of chocolate chips on the counter and scowled.

"These
aren't just chocolate chip cookies," Beth explained.  "These are
chocolate-chocolate chip cookies.  You put melted chocolate in,
and
chocolate chips."

William
watched her.  "You're not depressed, are you?  Chocolate
overdose and BBC…."

Beth
walked over to William and handed him two eggs.  "Just put the eggs
in, okay?  And, no shells."

William
saluted and cracked the eggs into the bowl.  "Yes, ma'am."

"Oh,
one more thing," Beth added, retrieving her apron from a drawer. 
"You get to be the 1950s homemaker today."

William
looked at Beth in disbelief as she tried to put the apron over his head. 
He caught her arms in the air and steered it over her head instead.

"No
comments from me, I promise."  Then he reached around her to tie the
apron in the back.  "Okay, I lied." William announced, stepping
back and holding Beth's arms out to get a good look at her.  "All I'm
going to say is……
Desperate Housewives
has nothing on you."

Beth
rolled her eyes but couldn't conceal an embarrassed smile.  Busying
herself with creaming the butter, sugar, and eggs, she assigned William the
task of measuring out the dry ingredients.  After a few additions the
dough became too difficult to stir, and William stepped up behind her,
confiscating the spoon and taking over.  Watching him, she was foiled to
see that his chiseled arms didn't even look strained.  She dumped in the
rest of the dry ingredients vindictively.

They
took turns dropping the dough on the cookie sheet in neat rows of four by
three, and Beth put the first sheet in the oven, setting the time for seven
minutes.  They filled up three more cookie sheets and there was just
enough dough left for them to each eat a spoonful.

"I
always thought cookie dough was better than cookies," Beth mumbled through
a mouthful.

"I
wouldn't want to eat a whole bowl, but I think you're onto something,"
William agreed pensively.  "Hey, weren't we supposed to put that chocolate
in?"

Beth
stopped licking her spoon and stared at the bowl of melted chocolate. 
"Oh, crap.  Now we'll just have to eat it."  She dipped her
finger in and licked it off, wincing slightly.

William
followed suit, laughing.  "What was that face?"

"I
like milk chocolate and this is semisweet."

"No
way, dark chocolate is the best."

"Somehow
I'm not surprised you feel that way," Beth mused.

"I
always think of myself as dark chocolate."

"Let
me guess.  You have a 'deep, dark chocolate layer?'  Exactly how many
times have you seen
One Fine Day
?" Beth teased.

William
colored a little.  "I have a sister, okay? 
Of course
I've seen it!"

"Well,
okay, then.  What kind of chocolate am I?"  She raised her
eyebrows and smiled, overjoyed to see William squirm for a change.

He
looked seriously into her face, taking a step toward her and gingerly picking
up one of her braids.  "You're a hazelnut truffle."

Beth
took a deep breath, which turned out to be more difficult than it should have
been.  They stood close, their faces only inches apart.  She tried to
smile, but felt too nervous, though she couldn't say why.  They'd spent at
least as much time kissing as talking last night.  Maybe things were
different in the light; maybe she wanted to save the best for last.  Surreptitiously,
she reached behind herself to dip her finger in the chocolate bowl.

"William,"
she began seriously, "you have chocolate on your face."

He
looked distracted as he brushed his face with his hands. 
"Gone?"

"No,"
Beth countered.  "It's still there."

"Where?"