Hey Neighbor

Chapter Sixteen.

"Bye, Mom," I waved to my mom as she backed the car out of the driveway and watched her drive down the street.

As soon as she turned the corner, Dana's front door opened.

"She gone?" he asked, walking towards my porch where I was standing.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"You ready?" he asked, grabbing my hand.

"Let me just lock my door," I let go and walked back in my house to get my keys from my kitchen counter.

"Now are you ready?" he asked when I returned and twisted it in the lock.

I nodded, grabbing his hand that he was holding out for me as we walked across our driveways to his house.

"Does your mom like me?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah," I laughed a little. "Can you not tell?"

He shrugged, locking the front door behind us, "I've never met a girl's parents before."

I nodded, I looked around the house I've only been in a couple of times before.

"Where's your dad?" his question caught me off guard and I didn't answer. "Jerin?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat before sighing, "Good question."

"Huh?" I could hear the confusion in his voice.

"I don't know where he is," I explained. "And I stopped trying to know two years ago."

"Oh," was all he said.

I rubbed my hand over my arm. Maybe coming over wasn't a good idea.

"Did your mom say anything about me after I left?" he changed the subject.

"She just asked why we hung out so much," I answered, walking into his kitchen and taking a seat at one of the stools. "And she asked if you were my boyfriend."

Dana furrowed his brows, "What did you say?"

"I said no," I played with my phone in my hands.

"Oh," was all he said again.

Why did this feel so awkward?

"What was I supposed to say?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I don't know," he shrugged.

I don't know why, but I was a bit disappointed in his answer. What did expect him to say anyways?

I looked at the time on my phone and saw that it was already eleven and I wasn't the slightest bit tired.

Dana walked to his living room and sat on the couch, pressing buttons on the TV remote.

He looked to me while I watched him and playfully patted the cushion next to him, "Care to join me?"

A small smile played across my face and I stood off of the stool and moved towards him so I could sit next to him.

As soon as I sat down, his hands found my waist and lifted me to sit on his lap and I rested my head on his shoulder as I sat sideways with my feet on the couch.

We sat there in silence, watching TV until he finally said something, "What did you want to say?"

"What?" I looked up at him, confused by his question.

"To your mom. What did you want to say when she asked if I was your boyfriend?"

"Oh," I didn't know how to answer. "I don't know."