Fear of Falling

“Well…when you look at me like that, you roll your tongue. Like you’re playing with your piercing. And it’s very, very distracting.”
    His hands were suddenly cupping mine, causing me to look up into his face. He was giving me that look, yet it was laced with something else. Something more. Something that made my insides clench with desire and my belly do somersaults. The feeling was new and unknown, and it both thrilled and terrified me equally.
    “What’s this?” he said just above a whisper, picking up the origami flower formerly known as a paper advertisement.
    I shrugged. “It’s a habit. When I’m nervous or stressed, I tend to do it without even thinking about it.”
    A frown marred his features, yet he never let go of my hands. “Are you nervous or stressed with me?”
    I shook my head and gave him a slight smile. “No, you don’t stress me out. But you do make me nervous. In a good way,” I replied, repeating my words from last week.
    “Hmmm, I wasn’t aware there was a good kinda nervous.”
    We sat there for a few more seconds, his hands still housing mine, before Ms. Patty arrived with our food.
    “Now here y’all go, just the way you like ‘em, Blaine,” she announced, placing giant platters of waffles covered with butter, fresh blueberries and whipped cream, with sides of bacon and sausage in front of us. My eyes grew twice their size.
    “Now you take care of this young lady, ya hear?” she told Blaine, smiling at me sweetly. “Kami, you come by any time you like. And if this rascal gives you any trouble at all, you let me know, ok?”
    I returned her smile with my own, and nodded. “I’ll be sure to do that, Ms. Patty. Thank you.”
    Ms. Patty gave Blaine one last swat with her rag and turned to tend to the masses.
    “She likes you,” Blaine remarked, unrolling the silverware in his napkin.
    I rolled my eyes playfully. “She probably says that to all your dates.”
    “Yeah right,” Blaine scoffed. “First off, Ms. Patty doesn’t do fake. If she doesn’t like you, you will know it. And secondly, I’ve never brought a date here. Ever.”
    I tore my eyes away from the mountain of food in front of me and gave him a skeptical look. There was no trace of humor or deceit on his gorgeous face, and it quickly rendered me speechless. What could I possibly say to that?
    “Eat up. You’ll need your energy for later,” he instructed, pointing his fork towards my plate.
    “Energy?”
    Blaine just chuckled and shook his head, taking a giant bite of blueberry-smothered waffles.
    After nearly polishing off a plate of the best waffles I had ever had and earning an “I told you so” from Blaine, we said our goodbyes to Mavis and Ms. Patty and headed back out to Blaine’s truck. I was beyond stuffed, so I was grateful that Blaine took it upon himself to lift me back onto my seat. I felt bad for him; I must’ve packed on at least 10 pounds in the past hour. Ms. Patty’s food was more than worth it though.
    Housing developments, strip malls, and restaurants became scarcer as Blaine drove east, the sight of thick, lush foliage whizzing by in the darkness. He turned onto a dirt-paved road surrounded by tall trees, and a niggling feeling in the back of my head set off alarm bells.
    “Um, where are we going?” I asked with a trembling voice. Images of my body chopped up and stuffed into dozens of Ziploc baggies flashed in my mind. I shivered despite the warm temperature.
    I felt his warm hand on my knee without even seeing him move. “You’ll see. Don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re safe with me.”
    I eased back into the seat, his touch radiating comfort and tranquility. It didn’t feel like a sexual touch, being that he didn’t stray from his position on my bare knee. It felt soothing…calming. It was all Blaine .
    When he finally stopped the truck, I noticed we were at a field of some sort. I didn’t really understand why he had brought me here. It was nearly pitch-black out. Suddenly, the earlier vision of my gruesome demise didn’t seem so far off.
    Blaine reached behind his seat and recovered two Mason jars, handing me one.
    “And what do you expect me to do with this?” I asked.
    “Catch lightning bugs, of course,” he smiled, the lights of the dash illuminating his face.
    “Lightning bugs? You mean fireflies? Why would you want to catch them?”
    “Tomato, tom a to. I can’t believe you never caught them before. I know y’all had