Teach Me to Please | Please Me #1 - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

A week went by rather quickly, and, before I knew it, it was next Monday. I found myself sitting in English class, mindlessly filling out some random worksheet but secretly texting Rya.
Rya: Look at this.
An image came through and I had to stop myself from laughing.
Sienna: Omg! Where did you get that?
Rya: I found it on the floor going to class. It must have dropped out of her bag!
What I was looking at, ladies and gentlemen, was a picture of Leah Kingston's diary and, god, was it gold.
Sienna: And you took it? Shame on you, Miss McCoy
She sent the emojis of the monkeys covering their eyes, mouth, and ears.
The image was of a certain page in Leah's diary that had me cringing but begging to laugh.
Mrs Leah Reeves was written all over the page in swirly letters with a picture of Adam she must've printed all glued to the middle. It was the one from the Basketball Team at state nationals Sophomore Year.
It was so weird! Even when I had a huge crush on Adam, I did nothing to of the sort. An idea bubbled in my head.
Sienna: How many weird pages are in it?
I tapped my pencil on the desk and watched the clock tick second by second as I waited for her response.
Rya: So much I'd ask for a restraining order.
Oh, this wasn't just pure gold, it was pure platinum, baby!
After turning in the worksheet to Mr Wright, I rushed out of the classroom to meet Rya by the music room.
She was sitting at the piano, waiting for me to arrive, with Leah's pretty, yellow and purple, fluffy diary.
"Give it." Was all I said as I ran in and held out my hand. Rya passed it to me, and I flicked through the pages.
Dear diary,
..... Today Adam Reeves said hi to me in the hall and I think I almost fainted. It was a moment I had dreamed of all my life ever since I was a little girl and it finally happened! I don't know what to think, did it mean something? Was it intentional? Did he specifically pick me out to say 'hi' to? I don't know, but all I can tell you is that it was so much better in real life than any of the dreams I've had of him!
Holy shit.
Dear diary,
..... I dreamt of Adam and I last night. We were married and had three kids. Is it weird I glued their names to memory? They were all boys and looked just like him! Hunter, Brady, and Trent. They were so cute!
"There's no fucking way." I laughed. "She's like borderline obsessed with him!"
Rya got off the piano and ran over to me, "Oh, you haven't seen the worst of it yet."
Dear diary,
I found one of these love potions on reddit yesterday and so I decided to make it. I slipped it into Adam's morning coffee but and I don't think he noticed. Anyways, he said hi to me twice! AND he helped pick up my books when that horrible girl Sienna bumped into me. I think she did it because she was jealous, but I don't care, I was so happy with him being near me. He even touched my hand when he gave me the books back!
"A love potion?" I turned to Rya with eyes wide.
"I know." She hummed. "Fucking creepy, am I right? But it's this one I think you should take a look at." She took the book from my hands and flipped a couple of pages forward.
Dear diary,
I think I broke up Adam and Sienna.
I mean, accidentally... kinda. You see, I was at this party – my first ever high school party I might add – and I was just going to the bathroom when I heard Adam and Sienna having an argument about something, I think it was about him ruining her new shoes. Anyways, she stormed out and I don't think she saw me and so I went in to check on him and he was all sad. I don't know why he puts up with her really. I hear she sleeps with every boy when they're on a break which is so messed up. However, I asked if he was okay, and we just talked. I mean TALKED! As in I talked to ADAM REEVES!
I told him how he shouldn't put up with Sienna anymore and he agreed. So.... I think I broke them up. We'll see. I don't know. I just hope Sienna doesn't kill me.
"I'm going to kill her." I muttered under my breath. "She's literally the reason we broke up! What does she mean 'he shouldn't put up with me'? What a bitch!"
"Honestly, this girl is crazy."
I stared at the page with anger bubbling in my veins. This girl was the stupid reason I wasn't with Adam. Did she think this was all some fairy-tale? It sure fucking wasn't but, even so, she was messing with the wrong princess.
I balled my fists, "Does your dad still have that printer in his office?"
Rya turned to me and furrowed her brows. "Yeah, why?"
"Why don't we give vanilla a taste of what it's truly like to play with fire?"
❦❤︎❦
I was packing my bag to go over to Roman's whilst searching around my room for my phone. I swear I put that thing down and lose it without seconds.
Today had already been a whirlwind of a day and I still had tutoring. Roman had progressed great with the box and was getting nearer to the spicy section. Every time he returned to the living room, freshly cold showered and was somewhat eager to know what was next. He usually set me work to do when he was up there but I mostly got bored halfway through and ended up watching Netflix on my phone. It usually took him one Gossip Girl episode to return downstairs, but this particular time I went round, he took longer.
I began to wonder through the house once more. This time I ventured to the kitchen.
Magnets stuck up tonnes of papers on the fridge, they looked like souvenirs from different countries, like cheesy, family keepsakes. I noticed how a lot of the papers on the fridge were of Roman's test papers, all marked with either A's or A+'s. I cracked a small smile at the way his mom still did that even when he was in his Senior Year oh high school. There were more baby pictures up there as well. A shopping list with foods in all different types of handwriting was stuck there too.
Apples, yogurt, milk, orange juice, bacon, was written in soft, cursive writing and I assumed it was his mom's. Peas, cheese, Captain Crunch, chicken pie, avocado, was written in rough capital letters which must have been his dad. BBQ pizza, strawberries, apple juice, graham crackers, Cheetos were written last in Roman's sharp, neat handwriting.
A whiteboard was also stuck to the fridge with small messages.
Roman, clean your room, Grandpa's coming tomorrow – Dad
Dad, didn't realise Grandpa was coming into my room – Roman
Mark, your dad is coming over next week, not tomorrow – Mom
I laughed and noticed how his mom left a heart at the end of her name, like his sister in her textbook.
"D'you like snooping?" I jumped back and spun around to see Roman standing in the doorway. "Did you finish the work early?"
"Yes." I lied. "And I got bored." He nodded carelessly and walked to sit at the table. "How did you find it?" I then asked.
"Um... good." He answered. "I've finished the other two books you gave me and the DVD set." In a way, I still couldn't believe that this boy was watching and ready some seriously erotic stuff and still hasn't tried to.... fiddle with his pickle.
"Can I ask you a question?" I walked to the table. He didn't object and waited for me to continue. "Why haven't you done any of anything before?" he still hadn't given me a straight up answer about that.
Roman coughed awkwardly and ran a hand over his mini man-bun. "I never really had guy friends to talk about it with, and my dad hasn't been around a lot till two years ago –"
"Because of the military." I said without thinking. Roman looked taken aback for a moment before I explained, "The pictures on the mantle."
"You do like snooping then."
I laughed and sat down opposite him.
"I never really had a guy-to-guy talk, you know? I guess that's where most guys learn everything but as I got older, I grew occupied with other things and it wasn't like girls were interested in me anyways." He sadly looked away for a second before looking back and I felt a small pain in my chest. "I don't like the unknown." He then confessed. "And because I didn't know anything about this." He gestured between us, "I was scared to try it."
I realised that in some ways, I could relate to Roman. I didn't like the unknow, how not knowing things made you feel so inferior. It was why I hated the idea of tutoring in the first place because, deep down, I made me feel so weak.
"How did you know you first liked Emily?" I then asked out of pure curiosity. It was weird to think about, but this whole thing was mainly because of Emily Lewis, and yet I didn't know the reason why Roman liked her so much.
He chuckled and leaned back in his seat. I had never seen him so relaxed before. "It was probably a few months into kindergarten, and I had really bad homesickness. Even though kindergarten was only a few hours, I remember hating it. I loved my mom, but in my mind back then, anything to drag me away from her was the route to all evil." He laughed and continued, "I used to hang onto her leg so she couldn't leave me. God, I cried so hard."
I could imagine it. A little Roman hugging his mommy's leg like his life depended on it because he loved her too much. My heart warmed at the sight and I chuckled softly.
"And then this girl came up to me and held out her hand. She told me her name was Emily and that everything was going to be okay and that she would keep me safe. And I guess I believed her because I let go of my mom's leg and went over to the reading corner to play with the little finger puppets they had there."
I could envision it perfectly. "That's so cute." I grinned and Roman laughed.
"I guess as we got older, Emily got smarter and prettier and kinder, and I ended up liking her more and more. Her mom works for mine and so I see her all the time outside of school. It wasn't like we grew apart, I talked to her frequently at the shop and she was always so perfect. The day I asked her out –" he paused and glanced down at the table before letting out a heavy sigh, "I had it all planned. God, I even had this stupid idea of a date. You probably don't want hear it –"
"Tell me." I cut him off. He looked up in slight surprise, but I smiled for him to carry on.
"W-Well, I had this idea of taking her to the museum, there's this music section there which I know she'd love, and then there's this small café down the road which sells the best pastries and coffee. I even had this whole route planned out to walk around the local park afterwards too."
I subconsciously laughed at how Roman it was to have everything down to a tee, even on a first date.
He looked up and narrowed his eyes amusedly, "What?"
"Nothing." I shook it off. "I just love how you had the whole thing so perfectly planned. Very you."
"Oh yeah? And what's your perfect date, hmm?" he playfully raised a brow and I leaned back in my chair, thinking hard about everything I had dreamed off as a little girl.
"A picnic." I finally answered.
"A picnic?" whatever he considered my answer to be, it definitely wasn't that as his eyes lit up with surprised amusement.
"Oh, and a museum is better?" I teased.
Roman shook his head and chuckled, "No. I just never had you down for a picnic kind of girl."
"Seriously? Picnics are so romantic! You get to dress up cute and have tiny little sandwiches and drink champagne in those plastic cups. Plus, if you go at sunset, you get an amazing view!"
Roman bit back a smile and shrugged, "And you say I had my date perfectly planned. Look at you! Sunsets and tiny sandwiches." He mockingly said the last bit with doe eyes and a swaying head.
"Shut up!" I exclaimed with laughter. "It's romantic!"
"Oh, I'm not saying it's not romantic!" he held his hands up in defence. "I just didn't expect it."
I crossed my arms over my chest and grinned. "And what did you expect?"
"I don't know." He shrugged. "Clubbing or something like that." I faked an offended look with my hand on my heart which made him laugh. "You're telling me you've never been clubbing? Weren't you dating like the cliché 'bad boy' of the school?"
"Adam is not a cliché 'bad boy'" he kind of is. "And we're on a break." I clarified. Even Roman knew about mine and Adam's drama. I guess that's what happens when you're popular, it felt like your life was everyone else's entertainment.
"Have you ever been on a picnic?" Roman then asked out of pure curiosity.
"No." I sheepishly shook my head. Roman laughed. "What?" I demanded.
"Nothing." He shook his head still laughing. "But isn't Adam also like the school's heartthrob and you're telling me this guy never took you on your dream date?" that sounded pretty stupid, didn't it? Adam and I didn't really go out on many dates. We did at first, but nearer to our last break, we kind of stopped.
"So, what if he hasn't? It doesn't mean he won't in the future." I suddenly got defensive. I love Adam. I always will. He really did mean so much to me and it was so annoying watching people create their own perceptions of him when only I knew the real him.
You and Leah Kingston.
No! I knew Adam better than that obsessive, vanilla stick.
"I thought you guys were broken up?"
"Break. We're on a break." I clarified. Roman sceptically nodded. Pssht, like I needed to prove anything to him. "And when this is over, maybe Adam and I can go on a double date with you and Emily?" I changed the subject.
Roman gave me a look as if to say 'really?' and replied, "That's optimistic."
"Well, in a perfect world, I'd say we'd have a great time." I smiled back at him. It wasn't enthusiastic or fake but faint, somewhat compassionate.
Roman stayed quiet for a few minutes, placing his hands on the table, staring down at his open palms with an expression mirroring sorrow escaping from all his features. I cocked my head to the side and watched him. There was something haunting about the way Roman showed expressions of sadness, the look on his face was one that could follow me for days, like a sad song on the radio that drilled itself into your head but each time you replayed it, the lyrics always meant something different so it hit you a little more each time.
I watched as he took in a deep breath and shakily let it out, his shoulder slumping before he rolled them back. "What if Emily doesn't really like me?" the quietness to his voice echoed across the tiled walls of the kitchen and bounded up the stairs.
"What d'you mean?" I asked. A few minutes ago, we were laughing. Why this all of a sudden?
"I can do all of this, but even if I do gain 'experience' what if she really just doesn't like me for me and made that up as an excuse?" I usually would have had to refrain myself from laughing but I understood what he meant. It was insecurity that leaked through his words and made me sympathise.
"Like, let's be honest." He continued. "Barely anyone likes me in school and so why would someone as great as Emily truly like me back? She'd probably just finds me as weird as everyone else does and was being nice because she would never believe me to actually go out and get experience for her..." he still rambled on. I got up from my seat and walked over. Without thinking, I straddle his lap, cup his face with both hands, and kiss him.
He acted surprised at first but kisses me back instantly, his hand resting on the back of my neck, fingers entangling with the loose stands on my hair. He held me there as his other hand push my body into his at the small of my back.
His tongue grazed the seal of my lips and I open on instinct, allowing him access as he kissed me harder. Just as he was about to push me for more, I pull away, both my hands still cupping the sides of his face and I look at him sternly.
"Emily Lewis is going to like you." I insisted.
"And how do you know that?" he whispered back.
A strand of his hair fell onto his forehead and I brushed it away whilst answering, "Because if I can come over here and kiss you – me of all people, someone that is supposed to find you weird and repulsive –"
"Gee, thanks."
I rolled my eyes but continued on, squashing his cheeks in my hands so he couldn't interrupt. I tried not to chuckle at the sight but failed miserably. "If I can kiss you on my own given will, why wouldn't Emily? What you need Roman is confidence. Would I kiss you randomly because I think you're annoying and weird?"
"I don't –"
"No." I cut him off. "I wouldn't. You have let me in to see the real you and the real you isn't a bad person. It isn't some weirdo or a creep, it's a genuinely good guy. When you become more confident, the whole world will see that and I promise you, Emily Lewis will come chasing after like I'm sure hundreds of other girls will too." Maybe I was exaggerating but I didn't find myself lying one bit which was new.
Roman looked down and laughed.
"What?" I narrowed my eyes.
He met my gaze and smiled softly, "I think that's the nicest thing you have ever said to me – that anyone has ever said to me."
I grinned back and pinched his cheek. "Don't get to used to it, nerd boy."