Can't Make You Love Me - Chapter 7

All three of us looked down at the ground and discovered there was an open manhole in the road. Jesse hadn't been looking when he was making fun of Chris and he stepped right into it. Chris and I laughed hysterically while Ally went to the edge and looked down.

"Jesse, honey, are you ok?" she called.

"Hey! Mocha!" Jesse yelled, but not answering Ally. Chris heard this and furrowed his eyebrows (his very cute eyebrows! LoL). Ally and I looked at him, wanting an explanation.

"Jesse, did you hit your head?" Ally was beginning to get worried now. Chris laughed again.

"He's fine. He had a pet rat named Mocha and he probably found one down there that looks like it," he explained.

"Yea, well that's besides the point… how are we going to get him out of there?" Ally was a little panicky by then.

"Um… good question." I thought and finally remembered there are ladders that go down there. "

Hey Jess," I yelled. "There's a ladder, can you find it?" Makes me wonder why he hadn't thought of it, I mean, it's not exactly invisible.

"I think so," he called back. He eventually did and he climbed back up. Ally ran over and embraced him. It looked as if she would never let go, and she almost squished the life out of Jesse.

"Oh my gosh, Jesse, you reek!" Ally shouted, stepping away and holding her nose.

"Man, you need a shower!" Chris said, wrinkling his nose. (He looks so cute when he does that!)

"Yeah, definitely! I'm going home to do that. Ally, you want to come?" Jesse grinned. I shook my head because I knew exactly what he was thinking about.

"Sure. I have nothing else to do. See you two lovebirds later," she called, taking Jesse's arm as they strolled down the street. I realized why she had called us lovebirds. I had my arm around Chris's waist and he had his around my shoulders. Oh well.

"Let's get back to that movie," I suggested.

"Good idea." We continued in the direction of his apartment and finally arrived at the door.

"Hmmm… no one's home," Chris observed, glancing at the coat rack after opening the door. We walked into the deserted apartment and I looked around at everything. I had that song "What A Girl Wants" by Christina Aguliera stuck in my head and I was half humming, half singing it as I explored Chris's apartment. He caught a note or two of the song, smiled, and began to hum/sing along with me. Eventually, the two of us were singing our hearts out to all the songs we both knew.

"You're not bad!" I commented Chris's singing. He really did have a good voice, better than mine at the least.

"You're not bad yourself," he grinned back.

"Don't feel obligated to say that if you don't mean it. I'm not anything special."

"Of course you are. And I really do mean it."

Stopping in the living room, Chris picked out Pearl Harbor for us to watch together and put it in. He sat on the dark green loveseat with his back up against the corner of the armrest. I joined him, sitting between his open legs and leaning back against his chest. Chris put his arms along mine and took my hands, playing with my fingers.

I could've easily fallen asleep, but the movie was over before I had a chance. Chris's mom arrived home a few minutes after 6:00, almost right after the movie finished. She strolled in, smoothing lotion on her hands.

"Do you kids want to eat something?" she asked nicely.

"Depends…" Chris teased.

"We're having Brussels sprouts!" Mrs. Trousdale exclaimed happily, trying to convince Chris he definitely wanted them. Obviously, Chris wasn't too fond of the idea because he immediately made a face.

"Ewww! Since when do we eat Brussels sprouts?!"

"I thought you might like to try them!" his mom said, sounding slightly disappointed. There was a long silence and Chris finally got up, taking my hand, which forced me into a standing position as well.

"We have to go check on Greg. He might to able to hold the gig Wednesday, so I have to find out." That was an obvious attempt to escape the wrath of the Brussels sprouts, but I felt bad for Mrs. Trousdale.

"Be home by 10!" Chris yelled into the apartment as he pulled me out the door. It was a little chilly, seeing as the sun was going down and I had a tank op on. I shivered, and Chris put his arm around me, pulling me close so I'd be warmer. We really did end up going to the hospital to check on Greg since we couldn't think of anything else to do. We strolled into his room and he greeted us warmly.

"Hey guys! Been up to much?" he asked. "Well, Jesse fell into the sewer, which was rather hilarious if you ask me. He wasn't watching where he was going and he just kind of fell in," I smirked, recalling the moment. "Oh, and we almost got attacked by the evil Brussels sprouts. Otherwise, nothing really happened. How about you?"

"I've been bored out of my mind. I was actually hoping for some company," Greg mentioned, smiling up at me. Just then, Chris's cell phone began to ring. He excused himself to the hallway, leaving me and Greg alone.

"When are you leaving?" I hoped it wouldn't be that long, since he didn't seem in that bad of a condition.

"Tomorrow I believe. But don't ask me, they don't tell me much around here." I smiled. "We missed our date, huh?" he added. "That stinks. I'll have to make it up to you…"

"You don't have to if you don't want," I started.

"But I do," he argued. "I want to. Besides, I have something I want you to see…" Greg grinned mysteriously at this point, and it made me a little more than curious.

"Greg, you up for the gig Wednesday? It's Lou…" Chris poked his head in the door.

"Definitely count me in," he replied. Chris went back to his cell out in the hall. I was probably being a bit blonde at the moment because the gig thing went right over my head and I didn't think to ask about it. I sat in a chair next to Greg's bed and gazed into his face with a smile across my face. I leaned closer and we were suddenly caught up in this amazing kiss. Of course, Chris had to walk in at that moment and observe this event. I pulled away from Greg and looked at Chris. His eyes got really big, like he couldn't believe what he had just seen.

"What's up?" I asked, not thinking anything of the kiss. Chris just turned and began to walk away. I ran after him down the hall and stopped him.

"What's wrong?"