To Keep You Off My Mind

Chapter 12

Lily's POV

We took a step backwards, then the other foot, then forwards, then the other foot followed. We danced for a while until we got to a point where I was just standing on his feet while he did all the dancing. When I was with him, I forgot about my troubles, I allowed time to pass freely without clogging it up with my worries. I think he figured that out, because he wouldn't let me leave until late that night. We did all sorts of things, from listening to some of our favorite songs, to digging up our old Nerf guns and and having a Nerf war. His Mom got home at around 7 and the rest of his family shortly after. I soon decided it was time for me to head home.

Locke drove me to my house and parked out in front of my driveway. "So, did you have fun?"

"Yes, actually. It was one of the most fun days I've had in quite a while. Thanks." He smiled.

"Good. Well, you better get inside before your parents start to worry. I had a great time today, we should definitely hang out more often." Hang out? There was no way he actually believed we were just hanging out! This was a date!

"Yeah." I started to open the door but quickly realized I was still wearing his clothes. "Your clothes!"

"It's fine, just give back when you can. See you later." I got out of the car and walked inside. Lincoln was sitting in the living room and saw me walk in.

"Are those Locke's clothes?" He said puzzled.

"Yeah." I smiled and looked down at the old T-shirt and shorts. "We had a little mishap." He returned his attention to the TV and I walked downstairs to my room.

When I got to my room, I shut the door and jumped on my bed. I had a huge smile on my face as I let out a sigh/laugh from the day I had just experienced. I didn't even care about the fact Locke didn't think it was a date, it was just great to have my best friend back! I couldn't help myself from smiling for the rest of the night as I snuggled up in my bed still wearing his clothes. I fell asleep dreaming about my day and what a terrific day it had been.

***

When I walked upstairs the next morning, I found a stack of waffles, eggs, and bacon that Dad had prepared, ready for me to eat. I also saw Mom and Lando in the kitchen eating at the counter, so I joined them. "Good morning!" Dad had a huge smile on his face as he greeted me.

"Good morning. Why are you so cheery?" I said still a little groggy from sleep.

"Today, we are doing some family bonding exercises!" He smiled.

"No! Not a family workout video again!" A couple years ago, Dad had been challenged to do some workout videos, and us kids had been dragged into it too. So we made a ridiculous workout routine video, although Dad was the only one of us actually working out, we were all being used as workout equipment. It was so embarrassing, not to mention the fact that Dad and Rhett had posted it on YouTube for the world to see, so I still occasionally got teased from it.

He smiled and laughed. "Not those kind of exercises. Bonding!" He was so excited and I didn't want to ruin his good mood, so I agreed.

***

After Lincoln got up, we all piled into the car and drove to the McLaughlin's. "Dad, I thought you said FAMILY bonding, not family and friend bonding!" I started to worry, I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of Locke.

"Oh, relax, Lily. So we invited them, no big deal." Mom scolded.

"Yeah, this is just gonna be a fun bonding activity for everyone!" I don't think I'd ever seen him so happy, so I just sighed and made myself look more presentable for Locke.

Luckily our car was huge, so everyone was able to fit. I had hoped that Locke would sit by me, but he sat next to Lincoln. I tried so hard, but my depression got the best of me and I started to feel lonely and sad. It felt as if everyone had a friend in the group, except me. Mom had Dad, Jessie had Rhett, Lando had Shepherd, and Locke had Lincoln, while I had no one.

We pulled up to our destination and all us kids got very confused. "Why are we at a soup kitchen?" Lando blurted out.

"We have all been blessed so much in our lives, it's time to give some of those blessings back by helping feed homeless people." Rhett told us.

We all got out of the car and walked inside to wash up and put on our hairnets, aprons and gloves. Once we were all dressed properly, a woman assigned us to serving stations. Dad and Rhett to one, Mom and Jessie to another, and Lando and Shepherd to the last station. The woman who was in charge walked over to us. "All the serving stations are full, so we need two of you on dish duty and the other to help cut veggies. Is that okay?" I knew Lincoln hated washing dishes so I wasn't surprised when he volunteered for cutting up vegetables. The woman pointed Locke and I in the direction of the sink and we walked over.

I didn't mind being paired with Locke, I had actually hoped we would be paired together. We started washing dishes and he turned to me. "So, it's been quite awhile since I've seen you, huh." We both smiled.

"I know, it feels like just yesterday we were hanging out. Oh, wait, that was yesterday!"

"Yeah, speaking of yesterday, I had a question to ask you." I got a little nervous, people only ask if they can ask you a question when it's something really important.

"Sure."

"Was I coming off as if I liked you yesterday?" My heart stopped. I had no idea how to answer him. If I told him no, and he liked me, he would think I didn't like him, and vise versa. I gulped and took a breath.

"What do you mean?" I was trying to read him more to see if he really did like me or not.

"Like, did you consider last night as a date?" Nothing. He gave me no clues with his statement.

"I don't know, did you?" I regretted my statement instantly. How could I say such a vulnerable thing? He looked down. What did he mean by that? Did he think it was a date too?!